pH Balance

Happy new year! Regular readers of the blog will know that I intend to read differently this year. Sometimes, reading books allows you to see things differently in your daily life, even if you don’t retain everything you read. For example, reading Babel forced me to grapple with my relationship with language. I compiled a…

Part III is finally here! Read Part I and Part II here. He remembered. It was part of the routine tour he had to give as part of his Prefect duties. Most of his tour attendees were first-years. A few days ago, the headmistress called Duckie into her office and informed him that there would…

This year, I had the privilege of traveling to Colombia. Colombia is known for its coffee, so we went on a tour of a coffee farm located just outside Medellín. We learned a lot about the coffee-making process and what goes into making good coffee vs. average coffee. Some would say the highlight of this…

The year is 2000. A small child looks at her grandfather, eager to recite the lines from the picture book she memorized. It’s not something he asks her to do. But she does it anyways, with shining eyes and perfect recall. Then, she grabs her book and her grandfather’s hand, and says “Hurry up! We’re…

Hello readers, You may have been wondering where I have been. More importantly, you’re probably wondering what happened to our illustrious students Bex, Duckie, and Laila. Rest assured that they are right where we left them—trapped in that supply closet.  We haven’t heard from them recently because I was lending my creative writing skills to…

This story is a continuation of my Q3 project. Here’s the link to Part 1 Bex thought back to that first day in the Phoenix House common room, with Laila. She wondered if she’d ever see her roommate—or anyone else—ever again …  Bex and Laila decided to spend their first afternoon reading together. For about…

Earlier this year, I binged-watched House of Anubis. That is what, in part, inspired me to write this story. Another part was trying to get better at writing romance/character development/dialogue. I’m a very plot-oriented person, so an exercise in writing believable, fun characters was my goal with my Q3 story. Enjoy! “Do you want to…

[Finally, in one place, my second story. Perfect Poe vibes for Friday the 13th and spooky season] PROLOGUE There were only two rules: People referred to each other only as the colors they wore. The premise seemed silly at first. It got scarier once you realized what it meant: everyone was replaceable. Black stared at…

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V A side Within minutes, the library was in flames. Scarlet took off a glove and used it to cover her nose and mouth. “The profane theft of human life ends here,” Black boomed through a voice modulator. It was a gratuitous precaution: nobody was expected to survive…

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV B Side December 11, 20— The figure in Black reached under the podium and picked up an old velvet bag. When he stuck his hand in, I heard clacking, like the sound of pool balls hitting each other. Black took out a large, light pink marble from the…