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Stories and shorts Helen Hladik Spring 2021

A reflection Over the semester it s been difficult to focus on writing I feel like a kid again I m trying to hold onto something I ve maybe outgrown but I m beginning to realize that isn t true I haven t outgrown writing and I think I ve delved back into that this semester I still find enjoyment from writing and I found ways to improve upon my writing It might sound silly but I think I ve enjoyed rewriting and editing my works for this portfolio more than the initial writing I loved reading the feedback I received on my writing I could see the mistakes being pointed out I could rewrite and reread what I had written As a teenager I d never rewritten things or whenever I did I found the task to be rather bothersome As an adult I think rewriting things is one of my favorite parts of writing I can refine what I have I can learn from my mistakes and I can improve my grammar Working on this portfolio and being given the chance to write again has been pleasant and I really hope I get back into the art of writing again in my life be it soon or later in life I hope I use my craft someday When rereading the stories I ve written this semester I can see what topics truly do interest me It reminds me of simpler times when I d spend hours upon hours reading YA fiction which is what got me into writing in the first place I m not sure where my writing will take me in the future but I will say that I ve learned to improve the craft of writing for my own benefit I hope that I ll continue writing so I can continue to get better

The Eyes that Don t Matter It should ve been a normal day at school Tilly s mother kissed her forehead and sent her out the door She looked both ways while crossing the street and counts the number of yellow cars passing by on the way to school When she arrives she arrives early enough to eat breakfast today s menu was breakfast pizza It was one of her favorites Upon entering the school she slowly heads through the hallway She usually tried to avoid eye contact with the students she passed by but she catches other students looking at her It wasn t like Tilly to avoid stares so she offers back a gentle smile to those looking at her but they don t return it They stare The occasional stares soon turned to people whispering pointing and snickering Her confidence starts to fade as she continues down the hall Had the hallway always been this long Finally Tilly reaches her locker but she hesitates unlocking it Why was everyone staring at her She could see them whispering just out of the corner of her eyes but she couldn t catch what they were saying Swallowing Tilly grips at the cold locker door and opens it with a harsh creak Huh Everything seemed intact There wasn t anything strange about her locker no one had messed with it or left any nasty notes but she could still feel eyes burning into the back of her head staring After putting away her things Tilly goes to the cafeteria with a heightened pace eyes now glued to the floor Even without looking up she can still feel the eyes on her all too many Had the hallways always been this crammed or this long When she makes it to the cafeteria it feels like she can finally breathe There aren t too many

students more space When she looks up at the room she freezes Tilly s stomach knots up So many eyes meet her own in that moment Instead of going to the line to get breakfast she makes a beeline for an empty table seating herself and focusing down at the table Even when looking down at the table she can feel them all watching her judging her thinking about her what had she done What had happened Hey is it true a male voice said She swallows unable to alter her gaze from the table or even respond when addressed Hello Is it true a male voice repeats Is what true Tilly s voice was hardly audible You know what you did What happened between you two The voice asks Finally Tilly looks up at him It isn t a student she knows he looks like he might be a grade above her dark hair dark eyes he isn t familiar in the slightest He stares down at her without emotion purposely unaware of her discomfort He asks again with meaning with purpose So what happened No Tilly pauses It isn t true In an instant he reveals emotions to her deceit formed into a grin disbelief with the shake of his head and simple disregard with a dismissive hand gesture He walks away saying something about it all about being a liar about everyone knowing what had already happened about something like that Tilly just looks back down at the table his voice becoming static as he leaves her She can feel all the eyes still observing her as if she were a new specimen under a

microscope but suddenly it feels less intense It almost feels fabricated They didn t know the truth they were just believing something they d heard The stares don t feel as intense their intensity becoming less and less until they re nothing at all Slowly she begins to let her shoulders slouch beginning to lift her head allowing her gaze to drift from the table She catches others looking at her and when she does she offers a gentle smile one that quickly causes them to look away Good The eyes didn t bother her anymore their opinions didn t matter

Something isn t right Something isn t right Wide eyes search among the grass Paws moving to push aside anything in their way and then she stops Judy s ears shoot upwards and her nose begins to rapidly twitch as her movements grow slower hesitant as she moves through one last bush She pauses at the clearing Her ears then lose their rigid stance her shoulders slump and a smile starts to etch its way onto her face There in the middle of the clearing she sees him standing there with his back to her but most importantly he s standing there He s okay In a quick movement she approaches him mouth opening excitedly words flowing out eagerly Before she can embrace him she stiffens His fur usually so sleet is rigid A low gruesome sound emits from him and in an instant her ears are upright She begins moving backwards something isn t right something isn t right and when he turns to face her she can see it Those friendly intelligent eyes are nowhere to be found They are now replaced with something devoid of anything but her own reflection She can see herself so clearly her mouth partly agape her nose frantically twitching and her ears no longer upright but now flattened back against her head against her ever shrinking form Suddenly she s moving back through the bushes and through the grasses but his figure begins to linger over her He grows closer even as she stumbles away movement becoming more frantic She kicks at him clawing the ground in an effort to get away but then her back hits the wall Nothing prevents him from towering over her The grass and bushes seem so tall now so threatening His teeth teeth he d never shown her before are now the only thing Judy can see so big so white Had they always been that dangerous that close Bye Bye Bunny A voice looks from above her Judy glances up and sees that sickeningly sweet face Bellwether Bellwether glares down at Judy her arms crossed a trace of a smile splattered across her face When looking at her Judy can almost pretend this situation isn t life and death Bellwether s careless expression makes it seem like it s anything but serious like she isn t going to die from this A low growl forces Judy to come back into reality She looks back at Nick but he isn t there His eyes still look at her without meaning his teeth are still barred

Then in one quick motion he lunges Teeth lunge at Judy s throat teeth that d once only smiled at her now grip at her throat The heat from his mouth it s so hot so uncomfortable this is it But the pressure never comes The pain the pressure none of it ever comes but Judy can t find it in herself to move Her heart beats beyond her chest the nose just shy of painful Those teeth are still wrapped around her throat but they have yet to deal the final blow they have yet to kill her It s just a matter of time Any second now she ll feel it It might be quick if she s lucky maybe with one quick bite it would be instantaneous Pausing Judy thinks about it Maybe this really is it Maybe in her last moments everything feels slow because it truly is the end Were there regrets No she shouldn t think of regrets That s not the type of rabbit she was No she d lived a great life she d made her parents proud right As the seconds tick on Judy realizes this isn t happening The teeth wrapped around her small throat still haven t ended her They hold her there still but she struggles to find the courage to speak Her heartbeat still races Nick It s hardly a whisper and as soon as she speaks his name Judy finds herself struggling for air She hadn t even realized she d been holding her breath The jaws around her throat still hold her a moment longer before they begin to move Nick s warm breath passes over her fur for several more moments before in one rapid motion he pulls himself away Against her will Judy does the same She finds herself kicking back and away from him instinct finally kicking in as she puts several feet between them A hand moves to grab at her rapidly rising and falling chest It takes all she has to stay there to not stand and start running away from him a monster but Nick wasn t a monster When Judy looks back up at him he looks nearly as distressed as herself His hands are grabbing at his jaws forcibly closing them It was an anxious tick he d done many times in the past but his current grip looks so tight it could be painful Nick s ears are still pulled back against his head his fur nearly doubled in size He looks down for a few moments shaking before looking back at Judy Nick s eyes now stare at her with recognition they look at her in horror and realization They re not empty like they d been before

Nick She repeats quickly clearing her throat and attempting to find her trembling voice Nick s ears do perk up at his name He looks like himself again she thinks He doesn t reply He still holds his jaws shut his form shaking as he starts to turn his head upwards Judy follows his gaze heartbeat still racing as the two of them look back up towards Bellwether She stands there much like before staring down at them but she no longer smiles Her nose crinkles as she lets out an audible sigh not even bothering to look at Judy but instead looking straight at Nick C mon have you grown soft on her I admire you really but you re just the same as the rest of them Bellwether shakes her head at the two of them before raising her hand revealing a tranquilizer gun to the both of them Judy stiffens That s the gun That s the gun Bellwether had shot Nick with before the gun that d turned him savage Nick whines causing Judy to look towards him Her features quickly soften Nick still stares up at Bellwether and her gun his feature no longer trembling He s frozen solid paws still tightly grabbing at his jaws to keep them shut His eyes the ones that d looked at her devoid of emotion just minutes ago now are filled with horror There s a thought to comfort him but Judy can t bring herself to do anything She swallows finding herself frozen again If Bellwether shot Nick again he would probably kill her The two of them would become another news story just like Bellwether said Their headline would be insane the entire city would be in riots over it Rabid Fox Murders Partner in Crime Judy can already see the headlines Bellwether and her goons would cause other predators to go savage everything Judy hoped to accomplish no Everything they d hoped to accomplish would be ruined And Nick would kill her Author s Note The original prompt for this piece was to write a scene from a movie I chose the movie Zootopia for that original prompt Later in the semester we were to try extending from a story we ve previously written and I chose this one because it was fun to write This is the result

The Sight Faeries didn t linger in the human realm Time passed by strangely and the people within the human realm were thoughtless but even so humans could be interesting Humans were so similar to the fae in appearance yet so severely underwhelming in almost all aspects At best humans were mildly entertaining sometimes even amusing They always held an unreal innocence to them something faeries could never obtain Maybe that was why younger fae were so interested in humans For most faeries their first time entering the human realm was exciting Dave vividly remembers the first time he had dipped into a glamour to blend in among the humans He could ignore the headaches their iron cities would give him as the technologies in such cities were too fascinating to keep from There was something special about being there and watching the humans how they interacted with one another how they interacted with him Dave could remember times where he d sit at bench and just observe strangers for hours watching them hurry along to continue their short lived lives As a proper adult Dave now finds it difficult to view the human realm through those same rose tinted glasses There was still plenty of innocence to be found but nowadays Dave only fled to the human realm to avoid court duties Things were always tense when summer turned to winter as the courts power shifted from the seelie to the unseelie Dave found the seasons changing to be pleasant The warm days turned cold the color in the world starts to fade away into white Everything becomes hushed chilled and dormant Beauty was in the eye of the beholder and winter was always beautiful in the eyes of the unseelie court God the tension of shifting seasons was still overwhelming at times When Dave had been a younger faery it d been so easy to avoid it all he could slip away into the forest and waste the day away Now he always found himself getting caught in the court s affairs It was funny how things changed back then Dave had thought it was stupid all of it The courts bickering the arguing all of the adults obsessing over the courts The courts practically dictated their entire lives and Dave had sworn he d never grow up into that but here he was Playing right into it Dave takes a sharp drag of his cigarette before tossing it onto the ground He stomps on it once twice then exhales a cloud of smoke into the cool night s air At least here in the human realm things were much simpler In the night things weren t as lively nor as cold as it would be during the day but Dave still felt more at peace here

Here in the human realm Dave knew no one was trying to spy or watch on him no one could even see him for that matter thanks to his glamour His glamour hid him away from humans entirely meaning he just existed in the moment He didn t exist for a court for winter but rather for himself With his arms crossed and his figure leaning up against a brick wall Dave just watches the human world go by Cars pass by frequently despite the later hours and Dave idly wonders where the people are going Are they shopping at night or maybe heading home Out grabbing food out for emergencies maybe some even worked during these nocturnal hours The possibilities are infinite and for a moment Dave envies that Endless possibilities It s unfathomable to him Every so often people walk past him on the sidewalk some alone others in groups They never glance his way instead chatting mindlessly with one another or staring at their phones They might look around him or in his general direction but never at him Only through him Anytime someone passes Dave catches himself contemplating removing his glamour It s an intrusive thought When he was younger he d do that type of shit and scare humans by suddenly appearing out of thin air He d make them doubt themselves and watch them try to figure out how he d done that or maybe if their own eyes were playing tricks on them He wouldn t get in trouble for pulling harmless pranks like that at least if he wasn t caught but the courts still didn t like that type of behavior Granted Dave s court was much more lenient when it came to fucking with humans In the seelie court the punishment for killing a human even with valid reason was a long and taxing trial For the unseelie if the reason was justified and not too many humans were impacted the trial would be short It was still heavily frowned upon and wasn t worth it Besides only younger faeries did things like that anyways unless the human carried the Sight Humans with the Sight could be killed without any consequence Ending the life of a human like that was a honorable task as was capturing them as those with the Sight weren t meant to exist A human with the sight had traces of faery blood running through their veins they weren t meant to exist Those types of things were mostly unheard of faeries hooking up with humans but sometimes they did occur Some poor faery would be found living in the human world pretending they were one They d often have a lover sometimes spawn and in those cases they were all executed Faeryhuman crossbreeds weren t meant to exist as faeries were from one realm humans anther Those types of cases were rare though Nowadays if a human did carry the Sight it was probably because one of their great great grandparents were a faery

Humans with the Sight were rare even Dave hadn t ever met a human that was unfortunate enough to have the Sight Dave wasn t sure he ever would either With a gentle sigh Dave begins to stand up straight He rolls his shoulders a moment before letting his eyes follow a human walking past him Their own eyes are glued to a screen earbuds plugging their ears so oblivious to the world around them Dave lets them pass by before adjusting his own jacket He moves his hands into his pockets and begins to walk off down the street He d probably return back to the faery realm soon but there wasn t any harm to stay for just awhile longer He hadn t been in the human realm for too long yet maybe a day or two for a human but probably only a few hours in his own Now he was just left with the question of where to go or what to do The human world was so different at night hardly any places provided the stimulation Dave sought He couldn t find much live entertainment in the dead of the night so maybe he would indulge in nature Or go across the city to see if any clubs were still active With his head in the clouds Dave continues strolling down the sidewalk The wind toys with his pale blonde hair and his crimson eyes are a bit vacant lost in thought He wears a long dark coat that tightly hugs his frame but even his coat is just for show Unseelie faeries don t get cold but if Dave wanted to take off his glamour to engage with humans he needed to be wearing proper attire As Dave ponders where to go a figure up ahead walks towards him Dave doesn t think anything of it as when they come closer he can see they re just another human They re one in a million a guy with tired eyes Dave would almost bet money this human was getting off of work probably heading home something of that sort He hardly even glances at them just barely meeting their eyes as they cross paths Dave meets their gaze and they meet his When the human passes by Dave stops He blinks and turns around to stare after the human They continue to pass by but their pace is quicker than before For a second Dave almost thinks it d been a mistake There d been many occasions where a human had been staring at him and he d almost thought they could see him They never were of course no they were looking through him to see a poster or a window No one ever saw him at least not with his glamour on But the ways their eyes had met the human s increased pace had they seen him Dave still stands there in the middle of the sidewalk watching the human continue to walk away They still walk at a quickened pace they don t look back they never do

It was a silly thought Dave finds his shoulders slumping back as he watches them grow farther and farther away Right a silly stupid thought The human was just one in a million probably getting off work from some low paying mundane job They had no business in anything greater just another face among the crowd just another pair of eyes that d never see him Dave watches as the human now a block ahead of him begins to turn down another street They look both ways before crossing they re just almost about to disappear behind a building now and then the human turns their head They look right at Dave They don t look through him They don t even look past him but rather directly at him Upon realizing their crucial mistake even from this far away Dave can see their expression It s an expression that becomes ingrained in his head instantaneous one all too telling The widened eyes parted mouth a particular realization written across their face when the human sees him staring back at them That human had the Sight That very same human breaks into a sprint leaving Dave standing there in the sidewalk staring after where he d seen them last

Trust I think I saw you yesterday She stiffens a moment before glancing up at him She then quickly averts her gaze again when he looks back at her I don t remember seeing you sorry Hey I m not like upset about it or anything I said I don t remember seeing you sorry She doesn t look up at him again She turns her head away to look down the street The bus is late She says Yeah I guess it is There s a pause in the conversation The bus still hasn t arrived Do you really not want to talk about it About what There s not really anything to say Why are you playing dumb I literally saw you it looked just like you can t you be honest with me Can t you just drop it So it was you I didn t say that I just said to leave it alone it s too early for this and you don t really know what you re talking about Okay fine Don t tell me I thought we were friends She can t help but let out a sigh not responding instantly We are friends But you can t trust me I trust you

Right That s why you ve been hiding this from me this entire time because you trust me That s why you still haven t told me even though I m like trying to bring it up right now I m trying to make it easier for you to tell me and you still just won t I wasn t even there last night dude you know this I was doing homework Excuses always with the excuses and I never even said where I was I didn t say where anyone was I was just saying like wherever you saw me I wasn t there Okay Fine We ll just ignore how you re perfectly unavailable or missing whenever it appears and how it like totally looks a lot like you We ll just ignore how everything just sort of lines up perfectly and how you aren t gonna be honest with me Then let s ignore it because you re really overthinking things Okay I just okay Fine Down the street the bus begins to turn at the corner It seems slower than usual a bit quieter too She straightens up as it comes closer Faces begin to appear in the bus windows as the door draws closer a visible escape I won t tell anyone about what you are because we are friends but you re really cutting me deep here Em I just really wanted you to be honest with me y know I just thought you d want to tell me to tell someone about it that s all She glances over at him once more and pauses taking in his expression She looks a moment as the bus begins to cast a shadow over them The door swings open from the corner of her eyes but she still gazes at him Her mouth opens as she suddenly feels a need to say something but he moves forward and onto the bus She stands there a moment before hurrying after him When she climbs into the bus he s already seated expression entirely different as he speaks with someone else She goes further into the bus taking her usual seat and glancing over towards where he would usually sit the spot now empty What d you do What do you mean His expression when he came on the bus what was that all about Did you two have a fight

Oh No we didn t It s probably nothing Alright If you say so I guess She looks out the window as the bus takes off towards its next stop replaying the conversation they d had imagining if she d said anything more

Fear Forest Walking through the forest like this alone makes her feel small Even with her head held up high Cassie can t keep from glancing from one side to the next She searches for any movement within the forest ahead for anything that could be a potential threat It wasn t often she went through this part of the woods alone Usually Cassie would be among a group of some sort be it with friends or others needing to pass through to the other side Which is why right here with hundreds upon hundreds of trees staring down at her Cassie can t help but feel exposed The distance between the trees was so far apart They were spaced out it wasn t crowded but the horizon still seemed blurred with trees There were too many almost too much With a deep foggy exhale Cassie stops Inhale exhale Get a grip Taking a moment to reclaim her head Cassie allows her eyes to thoroughly scan her surroundings For the hundredth time nothing is out of the ordinary There s no figure in the distance No monster creeping around the corner No one standing behind her breathing watching stalking nothing like that But even so Cassie still can t keep her heart from racing like something s wrong Shaking her head Cassie continues forward The sound of her feet trampling over the forest undergrowth becomes louder as she moves forward Everything else is so quiet On the subject Cassie can t recall if it was this quiet last time she passed through the forest Maybe it was this quiet but last time she d crossed the forest with others They d told stories the entire way through probably to deafen the silence I should ve let Wally come with me It wouldn t have hurt any She murmurs while moving along Cassie still can t keep her gaze set forward as she keeps glancing off to her sides anxiously If Wally had come with her she wouldn t be like this Having literally anyone with her would ve erased this entire paranoid mindset They could ve laughed and made light of the trip or maybe they might ve been afraid together Being afraid together was surely better than being afraid alone right Behind her a stick breaks The sound is loud too loud and it causes Cassie to freeze in an instant Immediately her worst fears come to life a beast of some sort stands behind her or maybe a man draped in dark clothing He probably has a knife of

some sort or maybe an axe How close was it behind her would she feel the blunt impact at any moment Then the footsteps follow Loud clunking heavy Thump Thump Thump Cassie can t move Her body despite her mind wanting to sprint for her life remains still Too still The footsteps are so loud they re louder than her own frantically beating heart Every second spent standing there is becomes more and more painful her chest grows tight it becomes all too much and all too little The footsteps stop directly behind her and Cassie s life flashes before her eyes

Closure Will I still see you tomorrow He ask with one hand running through curly locks the other firmly placed on his hip Ash walks over to one side of the room taking slow strides His gaze trails across the room before settling onto the bookshelf He moves a hand to grab at a book looking at it for only seconds before placing it back He repeats the gesture with another then the next Probably not I ve got things to do around here I just can t see myself having time for anything else The woman in the room watches him with her arms crossed as she leans on the counter Her eyes follow Ash s hands one book removed placed back repeat She s left sighing a bit too loudly At the sigh Ash turns his head Their eyes meet a moment then eye contact is abruptly broken off You can t find time Ash asks grabbing another book from the shelf and holding it He puts some effort into looking over the front cover this time then turns it around to skim over the back He never reads a single word For a moment he can hear everything in the room the clock ticking against the wall other customers shuffling near the back cars outside Everything except words While holding the book his hands start to tremble He quickly places the book back on the shelf in favor for fetching another You ve already looked at that one Ash stops in his tracks looking down at the book in his hands It doesn t look familiar not in the slightest When he looks back over at the woman and sees her expression he knows it s true He s already grabbed for this book Oh Yeah I have He puts it back on the shelf starts to reach for another book but then stops Instead he shoves his hands down at his sides They remain there for only a few seconds before they fidget one working its way into a pocket the other still lingering Are you going to buy anything She asks voice quieter than before She no longer leans against the counter I guess not I don t think I have time to read books Me neither

Taking a hint Ash begins to move for the door Before he makes it out he stops a second looking back over at her Again their eyes meet she doesn t look away this time she just stares back at him A wide frown is plastered across her face her arms still firmly crossed Sorry I won t bother you at work again I just needed to hear it And with that Ash leaves the store never to bother her again Thanks for reading Have a nice day