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101 Words

101 Word Short Stories

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First Day

November 27, 2020 6 Comments

By Samantha Peirce

They huddle on the tree-lined street, clipboards in hand, gathered with the palpable earnest intent of making this feel somehow normal. I slow our car to a crawl along the curb abutting the school sidewalk. A woman, kind of voice, probably smiling underneath the colorful cloth mask (but who can really tell?) approaches the open passenger side window. “Name?” With gloved hands she places a cardboard box containing the hope of fresh textbooks and syllabi on the back seat. She hands a rose and PPE to my daughter. Before we slowly pull away, she kindly intones, “Have a great school year.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Derek says

    November 27, 2020 at 10:02 am

    School is strange these days, isn’t it? This tells the story well.

    Reply
    • Samantha Peirce says

      November 27, 2020 at 10:18 am

      Thank you, Derek. It really is a different world.

      Reply
  2. Cassandra Hamilton says

    November 27, 2020 at 10:20 am

    Great vivid pandemic telling that evokes emotions. “Hope” and the rose are great details.

    Reply
    • Samantha Peirce says

      November 28, 2020 at 12:55 pm

      Thank you, Cassie! As always, your feedback is much appreciated. 🙂

      Reply
      • Cassandra Hamilton says

        January 9, 2021 at 3:48 pm

        Am enjoying your writing, Sami. Keep writing, keep writing!!!!

        Reply
  3. Jonathan Sampson says

    November 30, 2020 at 8:08 pm

    It puts me there. A slice of life.

    Reply

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