I stood frozen in the department chair’s office, staring at my own research displayed on Professor Harrington’s laptop—my algorithm, my data visualizations, even my awkwardly named variables—all now bearing his name in a prestigious journal publication that had just earned him the Waythorn Innovation Award. My life’s work—stolen. My future—derailed. My voice—silenced. But as I …
Justice
There’s a particular kind of arrogance that drips from certain men. Men who believe their wealth insulates them, who think the world is neatly divided between those who matter and those who don’t. Servers like me learn to spot it when you work jobs like this. The way they glance through you, not at you. …
Train delays happen. Most people accept it with a sigh, maybe a glance at their phone. But then there are the ones who take it personally, who act like a slight inconvenience is a grave injustice. I’ve dealt with plenty of them working at the station. They don’t want explanations, they want a miracle. And, …
Some landlords cut corners. Stuart Grayson* carved them out completely. The first time I met him, he strutted through the building like a king surveying his kingdom. “Best deal in town,” he had bragged, handing me the lease agreement. “Includes everything. Utilities, maintenance, even insurance.” At the time, it seemed like a good deal. The …
Some people just treat others without any respect or consideration. They think their needs are the most important. Here’s what happened when one lady learned that eventually, being a total jerk catches up to you. Coffee Chaos Atlas (my medical alert dog) and I were in our usual café spot when this woman walked in, …
People say love is about compromise. About putting your partner first, about meeting in the middle. But what happens when “compromise” means erasing yourself piece by piece? I used to think love was about keeping the person you cared about happy. You know, doing whatever it took to make things work. Every time she asked …
Some people think love should be a spectacle. The kind of romance that turns heads, demands attention, and leaves everyone watching in awe. For as long as I’d known Austin, bigger always meant better. The grander the gesture, the more it meant. At least, that’s what he believed. And for a while, I told myself …
Every office has a Mason. You know the type. The guy who thinks he’s hilarious, the one who lives for cheap laughs at someone else’s expense. And when you finally snap? He grins that smug, punchable grin and says: “Relax, it’s just a joke.” Management lets it slide. But Mason’s version of fun isn’t harmless. …
Friendship breakups don’t happen in a single, dramatic moment. They unravel slowly. At first, it’s just a shift in tone. Then come the missed invites, the conversations that pause when you walk into the room, the feeling that something is being rewritten when you’re not around. You try to ignore it, tell yourself you’re imagining …
I never expected much from this job. The hours were brutal, the pay barely enough, and the bosses? They saw us as numbers, not people. But we kept the place running. Warehouse workers, drivers, the ones moving the medical supplies hospitals couldn’t function without. So when the company announced a “historic holiday bonus” to thank …