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Under the Big Tree / In the Wings

December 7, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Kate Angus

The rules are simple: the Boys chase the Girls, and the Girls are dragged under the slide when captured. I look down to see the growing crowd of Girls beneath the slide, kicking gravel, as the gangs of Boys grasp at arms and ankles and the backs of LimitedToo t-shirts sprinting breathlessly away from them.[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Kate-Angus-scaled.jpg 2560 1440 Lizzy Young https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lizzy Young2020-12-07 15:38:572020-12-08 10:28:11Under the Big Tree / In the Wings

I Am Going to Share a Secret With You

December 6, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Aditi Bhattacharjee

If you need to feel new again, go out and feel the rain drop on your skin. If you have things to say but no one to listen, let your mind converse under the shower. If you are about to stress-eat, don’t.[…]

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Playthings

December 5, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Bailey Bujnosek

We’re given the dolls when we’re young. We tear off their arms and legs and heads, reattach them with glue and hair ties with a little fire for welding.[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Bailey-Bujnosek.jpg 426 426 Lizzy Young https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lizzy Young2020-12-05 15:20:532020-12-19 22:51:31Playthings

June/ My iPhone Died Three Years Ago and I’m Still Not Over It

December 4, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Annette Covrigaru

When you find a Polaroid of your dying grandmother, should it go back in the hallway drawer with last year’s birthday cards, or into your wallet? Can leather shelter the dead? Safekeep ashes of past-life?[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AnnetteCovrigaruHeadshot.jpg 701 526 Lizzy Young https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lizzy Young2020-12-04 16:44:512020-12-09 16:54:40June/ My iPhone Died Three Years Ago and I’m Still Not Over It

Wordscapes

December 3, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Rukmini Kalamangalam

In Wordscapes, you cannot pull a jagged tooth from a lovely mouth. Pretty makes try makes yet. Beautiful makes flit makes fate. Wordscapes has never asked me to spell death, which makes heat makes date makes tea. Without power, heat is unbearable.[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Rukmini-Kalamangalam-Headshot-scaled.jpg 2560 1920 Lisa Croce https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lisa Croce2020-12-03 15:08:302020-12-19 22:52:42Wordscapes

Help

December 2, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Suzanne LaFetra Collier

Man: Honey, I really want to support you. I know it’s a lot with the kids and school and disinfecting the mail and everything.[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Suzanne-LaFetra-Headshot-scaled.jpg 1707 2560 Suzanne LaFetra Collier https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Suzanne LaFetra Collier2020-12-02 15:29:422020-12-19 22:53:20Help

Gravel

December 1, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Rachel Laverdiere

I had scattered the scallions too soon for the oily black seeds to germinate. They needed warmth, patience, and timing, but I’d rushed them. They sniffed the chilly air, trusted their instincts, and refused to sprout.[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Rachel-Laverdiere-Headshot.jpg 1431 1908 Manzi https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Manzi2020-12-01 15:26:442020-12-19 22:57:26Gravel

By Morning / Person, Place and Thing

November 30, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Colette Parris

I was blown over by the swift, sharp gale that was your dismissal; it knocked me flat. When I finally got my breath back and gingerly sat up, the monster was directly in front of me, and I saw that it had grown again.[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ColetteParris.jpeg 270 240 Ben Lewellyn-Taylor https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Ben Lewellyn-Taylor2020-11-30 15:40:232020-12-19 22:55:29By Morning / Person, Place and Thing

La Violencia

November 28, 2020/in Flash Prose, Flash Prose, Winter-Spring 2021 / Connie Pertuz-Meza

I remember a damp paper towel in my hand, a dusty rose-colored lampshade on my night table, and the sun streaming through the windows of my bedroom. My hand spun in a circular motion, watching as the dust became trapped in the sunlight, even after I heard Francisco had been shot in broad daylight.[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fullsizeoutput_6886.jpg 762 594 Lisa Croce https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lisa Croce2020-11-28 17:57:452020-12-19 22:56:03La Violencia

Issue Archive

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Friday Lunch Blog

Friday Lunch! A serving of contemporary essays published the second Friday of every month.

Today’s course:

Being A Girl is Hard

November 28, 2025/in Blog / Shawn Elliott
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Diagnosis: Persisted or Silent Inheritance

November 7, 2025/in Blog / Paula Williamson
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The Queer Ultimatum Made Me Give My Own Ultimatum

September 26, 2025/in Blog / Lex Garcia
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Garcia_Headshot.jpg 1088 960 Lex Garcia https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lex Garcia2025-09-26 11:00:112025-09-24 11:22:02The Queer Ultimatum Made Me Give My Own Ultimatum

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Midnight Snack

Take a bite out of these late night obsessions.

Tonight’s bites:

The Lilac and The Housefly: A Tale of Tortured Romanticism

October 24, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Nikki Mae Howard
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Headshot_Nikki-Howard_1770x2000.jpg 2000 1770 Nikki Mae Howard https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Nikki Mae Howard2025-10-24 23:55:032025-10-20 10:59:03The Lilac and The Housefly: A Tale of Tortured Romanticism

Dig Into Genre

May 23, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Lauren Howard
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Lauren-Howard-credit-Terril-Neely-scaled-773x1030-1.jpg 1030 773 Lauren Howard https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lauren Howard2025-05-23 23:59:492025-06-17 18:29:02Dig Into Genre

The dreams in which I’m (not) dying

April 25, 2025/in Midnight Snack / paparouna
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Amuse-Bouche

Little bites every third Friday to whet your appetite!

Today’s plate:

I Try So Hard Not to Bite Off His Tongue & One Poem

November 21, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Sheree La Puma
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Those from sadness – Found Poem

November 14, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Yirui Pan
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My Town

October 31, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Shoshauna Shy
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School Lunch

An occasional Wednesday series dishing up today’s best youth writers.

Today’s slice:

I’ve Stayed in the Front Yard

May 12, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Brendan Nurczyk
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A Communal Announcement

April 28, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Isabella Dail
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Seventeen

April 14, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Abigail E. Calimaran
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SL-Insta-Abigail-E.-Calimaran.png 1080 1080 Abigail E. Calimaran https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Abigail E. Calimaran2021-04-14 11:22:062021-04-14 11:22:06Seventeen

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Word From the Editor

Editing issue 28, I felt something similar to the way I feel near water: I dove into my own private world. The world above the surface kept roaring, of course. The notifications, deadlines, the constant noise was always there. But inside the work, inside these poems and stories and artwork, there was a quiet that felt entirely mine. A place where I could breathe differently.

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