Xanadu Prose
Student Prose
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By Judy Reilly
Photo by Sonja Sample
A Herd of Bubbles
Kiara De La Cruz
In a quiet morning, sunlight danced on the soap’s thin surface, transforming the tiny spheres into shimmering orbs of color. They floated like dreams, rising on the warmth of the day, fragile yet persistent. One hovered close, reflecting the sky in its skin, before bursting in a silent, fleeting moment. Children laughed, chasing the glimmering shapes as they drifted higher, evading eager hands. Each one seemed to hold a secret, a miniature world that vanished too soon. They giggled, their joy as light as the floating shapes. In a glimpse, the world felt as weightless as their journey.
Kilig(Flag of War)*
Madeleine Bas
I’m well aware that you’re instant coffee—dreadfully acidic and drowned in artificial sweeteners—but some days, when my face is painted and dolce pink Milani hides naturally flushed cheeks, I walk to you. Feigning caffeine addiction, I excuse glances at caramel eyes and raspberry lips with fuel for all-nighters—but vanilla lattes dilute and paper-cup-shaped puddles form on faux wood tabletops before textbooks flip open. You apologize for smokey mocha-scented sweaters, threads exchanging bitter matcha and traces of cinnamon, brewing in embraces. A touch too long and I’m burnt—a heart palpitating under El Paraiso decaf, frappuccino in a percolator.
*Kilig: Tagalog term for the feeling of butterflies in your stomach, usually from a romantic experience.
Haiku & Thoughts
Romel Farquharson
Increase my tempo.
Endless flow of thrill and fear
At last satisfied.
Imagine feeling empty every second of the day, and no matter how good of a citizen you try to be you never feel excited or have your heart race. That is until your first mess up, when you finally realize this is the feeling you've been missing. It was never good and you knew that. But why must you follow the rules all the time, especially when you only wish to feel something once in a while. This is why you committed a crime. Well, at least that's what others call it. But in reality it's an action of relief, a moment of freedom. You're sorry and you didn’t want to, but at the same time you will do it again. Only to feel something, anything, once more.
Regeneration
Emma Lucana
I’m sitting at a lab table when I get the notification: “Congratulations!” But I’m not so sure. I read the acceptance letter multiple times— my teacher rambles about the regeneration of cells in the background. With the entire final months of high school filled with uncertainty, I know I expected too much when I thought this letter would fulfill me. How much longer will I exist as this version of myself? My anatomy teacher says that cells are completely replaced every 7 years. In 7 years I will be a different person. In 7 years, I will be entirely new.
Photo by Angelina Lorente
Handmade Mug
Alexandra Lynde
It was the beginning of November–cool air, leaves falling, pumpkins everywhere. She went
through the cabinet–she saw it. She could feel the warmth through its small bumps and creases. She saw him in it. She remembers the moment they met and when he got shot on the battlefield. She was the nurse who saved him. Soon they would be young and in love with two kids. After the cancer everything changed. He slowly started to wither away. She takes it and sips hot tea, the one that was his favorite. She can still see his face in every sip she takes.
Keep Reading, Please.
Faults
Emily Simorowski
He broke up with me yesterday. He said that I’m the problem. What am I supposed to do now? I’m in class now, hearing the teacher talk about earthquakes: tectonic plates, seismic waves, faults. “We are unable to stop them,” she says, “but it’s natural for Earth to change and earthquakes will come and go as they please.” I stop listening, continuing my thoughts on the breakup. The aftershock is hitting me. It feels like my world is crumbling down and I’m shaken up. I don’t want him to leave. I don’t want to change. Is it really my fault?
Girl Math
Dayaneliz Veliz
Cash is free money.
A refund is free money.
Spend more— free shipping.
If you buy a purse that is $300 and use it 20 times, that is $15 a wear. If you wear and use the purse 200 times, that is .66$ a wear, which is basically worth it. If I pre-load my Starbucks account with $25 and I go to Starbucks the following week, my order was free. Concert tickets, a trip, or any event that is bought months in advance will become free. Anything bought with a gift card— free. If you buy something and return it, you’re making money. If you offer to pay for something and everyone pays you their cut back, you’re making money. You didn't spend money yesterday on breakfast, now your budget doubled today. If you don't look at your bank account you can’t see the money leaving and seeing is believing so you aren't actually losing money. Girl math.
Astrophysicists
Kaitlin Guttler
She hadn’t felt his touch since they fell apart. Always an awkward encounter, sitting next to him at a lab desk. Inches from each other, yet so far apart. Close enough to feel the radiation of his burning eyes on her right cheekbone. Her teacher asked a classmate, “What is conduction?” A flip must have been switched in his brain; a reminder. He shuffled his leg closer to hers; they both knew what conduction was. She could feel the heat of his thigh grazing her kneecap— she was consumed by his haunting warmth.
Newton's Laws
Kevin Brown
Her boyfriend said nothing could change him. Newton’s first law of motion states a body in motion stays in motion, said their physics teacher. He had the belief that nothing could change him. He pushed her away. I'm okay. Their physics teacher taught them Newton's Third Law of Motion, when two objects interact, they apply equal force in opposite directions. The more he pushed, the more she loved. I love you, she said, tightly hugging him on her warm body. He forgot one part of Newton’s first: unless external force acts upon it. Love brought back to equilibrium.
