Hunger is a Good Discipline

A pair of paunchy boys rushing in and pointing up at #1, the Whopper Sandwich Special, (“…and I want cheese.” “Me, too. And bacon.”) on the backlit menu. Me, sipping my Joe, taking advantage of the free WiFi, trying to finish up a story. Finally, the boys coming toward me with their trays, joshing each other, sitting in the booth right next to me, talking loud, full-mouthed in no time at all, swerving french fries through a puddle of ketchup on a napkin. Me: click, clack, click. They look at me and laugh, and I feel like telling them I’m hungry too. Hungry in a different way, though, like Hemingway said Cézanne once was. They crumple their wrappers, empty their trays in the trash, and are gone.

Eat as much of the stories below as you can stomach, folks. But remember to stay hungry, always.

– Train cases, blue lung, marines uniform underwear, correct pronunciation of caesura, suicide tree house cult, koi ponds, psikhushkas, doll with a head at both ends, how to defer student loan, yogurt mountain birthday club, Gwendolyn Brooks, can a penis literally break in half(?), – Daniela Olszewska in McSweeney’s

– I tell you I have a small God living in my desk and you ask me what the box is like. I bet if Moses had told you about the burning bush, you would have asked what kind of bush. It’s a very plain wooden box with a rusted lock, and slightly creaking hinges. – Steve Toase in Café Irreal

– “Parallel universes, sir. Universes where they’ve also invented ePhones. See, it turns out the instantaneous effect occurs because of Feynman’s One Electron Hypothesis connecting electrons in parallel universes — ” – Ramon Rosas III in Every Day Fiction

– The devil, from Javi youth, screams icy Dante-esque three faced gnawing skin peeling tortures of hell; or a Milton-esque creature whose allure raises the hairs on one’s back as easily as the evil he brings those who seek him out. Nowadays Javi, of course, places no faith in ancient tales or superstitions. He rarely even thinks of them. The creature’s name comes up mainly during juvenile drinking games and meaningless oaths. – Baruc Avrim in Short Story Library

– Everyone in their appropriate hemispheres: adults soaking in the overdrawn silence, perpetuating; the youngest in the back gurgling, figuring out how to remove his shoes; the oldest singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” even as the CD switches tracks, moves on. All the way home. – Luke Emile Williams in The Volunteer Review