Stories

There’s an old adage that states, “It’s too late to close the barn door after the horses have gotten out.” Sixteen-year-old Neil Michaels learns this lesson on a summer afternoon when he joins his best friend on a biking adventure to the old barn on Engle Mill Road. A secret door opens, and his life will never be the same.

I remember my life now as if I'm looking out a window. Streaks of my life flash by me. I try to open the window and catch them, but the window won't open. So, I sit and watch them, and I wonder did they really happen or was it just a dream? Take a journey back in time as 78-year-old Phil Reid relates his life experiences to a younger man.

According to Egyptian mythology, Seth is the God of Chaos. Seth, the main character of this story, is appropriately named because his life becomes a whirlwind of chaos. He is sixteen years old and lives at home with his mother and twin sister. He is gay. However, he tries to keep it a secret from family and friends. His life begins a downward spiral when his sister's boyfriend discovers his secret. Then, he meets a new boy in school who has a troubled past. Will Seth be able to control the chaos erupting around him?

Love takes off the masks that we fear that we cannot live without and know that we cannot live within. -James Baldwin

At sixteen, James has an almost perfect life. Then two boys enter his life and turn it upside down. Dion is a shy boy who James can't understand. Donovan is the star basketball player who James admires. Read how an incident with one boy will bring him closer to the other as masks are slowly removed.

Parker Frazier attends Somerset High School, a suburban white school. Over the weekend, a fight breaks out during a basketball game against an inner-city school. Tempers flared, and racial epithets were shouted. On Monday, protesters appeared outside the school. One young man caught Parker's attention. While driving home after school, he witnessed a police officer brutally arrest the young man he saw earlier that morning. Parker videotaped it with his phone and posted it on Facebook. He was not prepared for what happened next.

Matt Stevens is a normal sixteen-year-old. He goes to school and makes good grades. Even though he is being raised in an extremely religious home, he manages to do well. Then, unexpectedly, his life takes an abrupt turn late one night when his best friend, Ricky, kisses him while wrestling on the bed. Matt starts to question his own sexuality, and he begins to realize he is gay. His life starts to spiral out of control, leading to many unexpected twists and turns.

Jack Woolery's life was safe and secure. He was attending high school, and he had no intention of coming out to his parents or best friend, Jimmy. Then Tracy Craft moves in across the street and changes his plans. Tracy, a new student and an aspiring ballet dancer, is strong and confident. He challenges Jack to reevaluate his life. Can Jack become friends with an openly gay boy and yet maintain the secret life he trusts?

A wealthy business discovers the meaning of Christmas because of the generosity of a young employee.

Sometimes life isn’t fair. Fifteen-year-old Richie Ferguson must learn this lesson the hard way when his mother dies of cancer and he is forced to live with a father who left the family two years earlier for another woman. Richie’s life becomes a storm, whirling around with no sense of purpose or direction. Will the tumultuous winds destroy him, or will he find a calm sea in time to save his own life?

Gary gets outed at school by his best friend. After his mother discovers his 'secret,' will he still be the apple of her eye? Find out as Gary discovers love, friendship, understanding and forgiveness in this heart-felt story.