Win Cash Prizes & Get Professional Feedback @ Flash Fiction Magazine
Learn More
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

101 Words

101 Word Short Stories

  • Subscribe
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Volunteer

Pill Popper

February 19, 2023 6 Comments

By S.T. Myers

What she should have done was get back to work.

Pick up the blaring phones.

Check the eighty-seven orders in the queue.

Administer shots to the patients lined up.

Answer questions about cough syrup from a mother at the counter.

Instead, she reached into the pocket of her white coat and fished around for the three little pills.

Oxycodone.

Diazepam.

Soma.

Examined them in her palm.

Without thinking, she popped them into her mouth and swallowed hard. A sigh escaped as her shoulders fell.

The fluorescent lights began fading in and out.

Soon the lights—and her pain—would be gone.

Share this:

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

The Power of Imagery with Nina Schuyler

September 12 & 13 on Zoom
Enrollment closes Thursday, September 3 at 7:00 PM Pacific

If your descriptions are vivid but your stories still feel thin, this workshop is for you.

Join award-winning author Nina Schuyler to learn the difference between description, which tells a reader what things look like, and imagery, which carries plot, character, and meaning at the same time.

In just two days, you'll learn to choose images that hold emotion without naming it, pair them so each one deepens the other, and build patterns that gather meaning as the story moves.

Learn More and Enroll

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Derek says

    February 19, 2023 at 9:30 am

    This is a good topical story.

    Reply
  2. Maggie Elliott says

    February 20, 2023 at 4:26 am

    Perfectly illustrates the stress that not just pharmacists but front-line workers all over the country are under. Well done.

    Reply
  3. Eric T. Knowlson says

    February 22, 2023 at 8:10 am

    Great!

    Reply
  4. Toni Brayer says

    February 22, 2023 at 2:04 pm

    Well done. The struggle is real.

    Reply
  5. S. T. Myers says

    February 23, 2023 at 11:17 am

    Thanks for your feedback! My first submission here.

    Reply
  6. Sandra says

    February 23, 2023 at 7:20 pm

    So it is, the heart of America as we know it now.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search Stories

The end.