Prompt 58

It was a quiet day; the type that you are neither happy nor sad about, the ones that cling to you like the itchiness of your Mum’s old jumper and kind of made you uncomfortable but reminded you of home. It was the type of day that Jack spent lying on the couch eating popcorn and reading a book- today’s was Crime and Punishment- without bothering to put either a shirt or pants on. I mean really there was no real need for either items of clothing as he was currently without a roommate and even then it didn’t matter all that much.

Jack was in all aspects an average Joe except his name was Jack and he wore very extravagant clothing, he had brown hair that was sort of shabby and brown eyes that sometimes looked hazel. He was not all that interesting and had given up about a year ago on trying to date, his life was beyond dull.

It couldn’t be helped; his ex-roommate that had been dead for a month was the interesting one but now he lay, dead, in the morgue where Jack worked. Mathew was the sun to Jack’s moon, a man with too much charm and a happy disposition that would make anyone want to take a gun to either their head or his on a rather bad day. He was blond, too, with rather big glowing green eyes that peered at you the way Jack’s cat did when it wanted to play. In all reality Mathew was not your usual kind of guy; he was a notorious player who prowled night clubs and brought anyone willing home.

Like the time he forgot his keys and had to knock on the door with a red-head, looking like a cat that had brought home a dead mouse.

 In all reality, now that the house had turned quiet and the rooms cold and the idea that every time he came home there was no smell of food on the stove, Jack had begun to miss Mathew. He would take it all back: the dishes in the sink, his missing bread, even the late rent that he had to cover because Mrs. Cray was demanding and scary-- and may have actually been related to the Cray twins.  Not giving her rent would be the worst mistake ever made by him or anyone.

The clock chimed one so he decided to turn to bed. He had work in the morning and there is only so many times you can put organ failure before agents knock on the door wondering if there is an epidemic. At this hour there was nothing more that looked like Heaven than the large well made up bed. He flopped down onto it, exhaling as he went. He bounced three times before being hissed at by a small blond cat that ran from under Jack’s head and took a far corner away from his human counterpart.

Jack did not react, simply snaking onto the bed and curling under the duvet and not moving again. Well that was until the clock chimed three…

The grandfather clocks chime echoed like a summoning about the house, his cat hissed out and darted with a screech under the drawers. Jack began to feel stifled, wriggling uncomfortably under the duvet, kicking at it until it eventually fell off the bed and he lay there in his boxers with a cold sweat. There was a hellish hot glow that leaked out from under his door its origins leading to the living space on the other side. There was a wind that kicked at his door and something that sounded like a million dead souls screaming for their lives from the other side.

If this is my bloody neighbours again, I’m calling the police.

He opened his door, not grabbing a dressing gown from his way out and stumbled upon what could only be a literal portal to hell. It was alive and moving with red smoke that danced about the air leaving it hot and humid and yet right in the middle stood Mathew wearing what could only be assumed as red satin jock strap and nothing else. As the smoke cleared both young men were left to stare at each other in a somewhat level of dismay, I mean one was meant to be dead and the other hadn’t expected to see his ex-roommate for another eternity.

‘Hold on, you died.’

At first, Mathew didn’t reply.

‘Yeah, well, it didn’t stick,’ Mathew said simply. He leant over the couch arm and picked up a hidden bottle of merlot, pulling out the cork with his teeth. They looked, and Jack rationalized this due to the lighting, as though there were four elongated fangs.

‘What do you mean? That isn’t how death works.’ Jack was more than flabbergasted at his friend as he threw his arms about in great exasperation before settling down on the couch too.

‘Well, I was killed because God thought I was a good match for Lucifer,’ Mathew said rather nonchalantly.

‘Wait- they’re real?!’

‘Yes,’ Mathew again replied like it was a perfectly rational thing to say to someone who has 1) never died and 2) was a strong atheist. ‘So I went down to Hell, and Lucifer was at the gate and what I didn’t understand is that I’m a very good catholic and I repent all the time so I tried to figure out what it was I had done before I died.’

Jack knew as a fact that Mathew was not a good Catholic and he did not repent for every sin he made in that room of his. Only the ones he found to be an unpleasant experience.

‘Anyhow,’ he took a sip from the merlot, ‘I say is it because I do it with everything that says yes,

‘And?’

‘And he replies no-- apparently they changed that rule ages ago.’

Another sip. ‘So we go through everything and he was just about to call Peter to the gate when he asks if I’m gay. I tell him I’m Bi and he looks like someone had hit him in the face.’

Jack snatches the merlot away and begins to down a good part of the bottle; it was more down to the part where his friend thought this was a perfectly reasonable story to share. ‘So he mutters something in Enoch and he takes me aside to his palace and he pours me a glass of wine and we get talking-’

‘You were chatting up the devil?’

‘Yeah.’ He takes the bottle back. ‘So we start dating and everything’s good-‘

‘You were dead a month. Not even buried.’

‘You’re awful at your job and that’s twenty years in Hell,’ Mathew says. ‘So we get dating, then he wants to go slow and I say no because I don’t want that type of commitment.’

‘Wait, what?’

‘So then we start arguing. He tells me I shouldn’t be dead anyway and brings Azrael into it. She was pretty peeved.’

There wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to get him drunk enough for this story.

‘And she’s like yeah, he’s not actually meant to be dead, and voila! I’m back here.’ He gulped down the rest of the bottle. ‘Worst breakup ever.’

It was the first time in that month that Jack wished for quiet and then his phone rang: The morgue.

It’s not like it’s four in the morning or anything…

Or that there was a missing body.

By Chloe Howard

Kindly and Joyous

1.
An Empress Is Born.

2. 

An Empress taken from her family, bundled through the back of the Palace - for someone like her could not possibly pass through the front, it's unthinkable - and stripped of her name. To this day, it is still unknown.

3.

An Empire surrounded on all sides, being eaten out from its insides. Bottom of the pecking order, one of eight wives, a mother and nothing more, she is told. An Emperor intent on war.

4.

The Summer Palace destroyed in an inferno. The treasures raided, a lone puppy discovered. Bottom of the pecking order, one of eight wives, a mother and nothing more, she is told. An Emperor intent on dying. 

5.

An Emperor gets his wish. An Empress ignored - someone like her could not possibly rule, it's unthinkable - and strangers are crowned.  

6. 

An Empress grows out the nail on her littlest finger and coats it with the finest jewels. It becomes so long, so sharp, one could easily mistake it for a knife.

7.

An Empress is crowned.

8.

The Empress changes the world.

9.

At some point, The Empress begins to lose her hair. She isn't quite sure when. All she knows is that the thick black locks on her pillow and the skin-coloured patches on her head terrify her. She wears a wig.

10.

 A Summer Palace rebuilt, treasures abundant and shared, her lover executed. An Empire saved. The Empress revered, but the Woman destroyed.

Anxiety

It's not a sting of fear, nor the nail-biting tension of worry.
It's the sharpness in-between.
An ache in quiet moments,
A stress unheard of at sixteen.

It's found in chest pains that leave me paralysed,
In migraines that last days.
I can push it back, for a moment,
But still it always stays.

It finds its way home, like the cold creeps in Winter.
Into soft blankets and candlelit rooms,
It lingers, slips under every door,
And taints the bed sheets, like smoke fumes.

It's not a warming crimson, but a bright white,
That makes my head hurt.
It's a destroyer of opportunists,
And a breeder of introverts.

It is parasitic.
But it is not a definition,
Nor a dangerous disease.
It does not rule me.

By E.H.

Single, Don't Want to Mingle

If you’re single, raise your hand.

Now, raise your hand if you want to be single.

When I asked my creative writing class the last one, every hand went down. This got me thinking, what exactly is wrong with being single?

Just to preface this: I’ve never been in a relationship, I don’t want to be in a relationship, and I’m quite happy with my inevitable future of becoming the resident crazy cat lady, so my experience with love and relationships is entirely what I’ve seen from other people. And honestly? I don’t see the appeal.

In my opinion, relationships just take up time and effort that I could be putting somewhere more useful. For example, the ever-growing mound of college work that, much like the items in Bellatrix Lestrange’s Gringotts vault, burns me and multiplies every time I touch it. And when I’m not busy with that? Well, you can bet that I’ll be spending my free time doing fun, mindless things that I want to do, not sat on someone’s lap making kissy faces.

Don’t get me wrong, I do think true love is out there; I firmly believe it’s impossible to hear the way Ellen DeGeneres talks about Portia de Rossi and not think so. If being in a relationship would truly make you happy, then I’m sure there’ll be a Prince Albert to your Queen Victoria somewhere out there (except hopefully not your first cousin). I’m just saying that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be single. After all, Queen Elizabeth I never married and she did pretty well for herself, didn’t she?

Society puts so much emphasis on relationships, and you can see it everywhere. Babies who waddle remotely close to one another being referred to as a future couple. High school kids gossiping about their crushes and firmly believing that you’re lying about not having one. Valentine’s day, a can of worms I am absolutely not opening here. There’s never any doubt that everyone will one day find the perfect partner and settle down, but sometimes people don’t want to do that, and that’s completely fine.

Relationships aren’t everything. If you don’t want to be in one, don’t get into one solely to please the people around you. Proudly embrace the single life. Marathon that series you’ve wanted to watch. Hug a friend. Eat those chicken nuggets. You only have yourself to impress, so why not go all out?

By Beth Robertson

Popcorn

Scoop the pale Lurpak butter,

one knob… plop and puddle.

Add a splash of oil

to dance in the pan;

to mush, meld till a single sticky layer

coats the metal like a blanket.

Sprinkle in the kernels,

to roll in the butter like children in mud.

Playing patiently

until the heat finally grabs them.

They leap, reach into the air,

pop in springs of cool cream.

Finally, toffee drizzles

it slivers into each popped piece;

smears them in a thick sticky skin.

I bubble with excitement.

Wait to fill my senses

with popcorn sweetness.

“Dad, I’ve had a bad day today…”

“Shall we make some popcorn?”

Whenever I'm feeling at my worst I always remember the simple pleasures I have in my life: like making popcorn. You don't have to make dramatic changes in your life to make yourself feel better. Small moments make life, appreciate everyone you have.

By Laura Rose Russell

AnXieTy

It's a feeling of walking into an empty room, 

and having people stare.

It's the burn on a pan that

never washes.

Imprinting itself permanently on your heart. 

It may fade, like that of autumn leaves may

fall, 

but just like such leaves,

it returns.

Stronger with a burning desire

a hot body filled with hate and determination

to silently wreck your soul.

All without a single word. 

Yet it's your words it fears, 

the stern 'no', 

the varieties of telling it no, profanities, singular words and clustered sentences meaning the same thing.

You have this, not it. 

You own your mind, not it. 

Everyone faces anxiety at some point in their life, some people more than others and that's ok! There are multiple ways on asking for help or coping methods and the most accessible being your PT or asking your friends. You can get further help from childline.org.uk not only with anxiety but various other issues you may be facing as a young person. 

Anxiety is a common thing and 41.6% of students have issues with it: along with 36.4% struggling with depression and 35.8% of students struggling with relationship issues. ​

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Don't feel as though you're excluded from your rights as a student.

Know you aren't alone and can do this; no one has died from anxiety you are ok, it isn't a problem to just look over and there is plenty of confidential help in and around college to help support you! 

By Tarni Barclay

Sleep Anxiety: The Monster Under Your Bed.

Sleep: it's important. It gives your body a chance to rest and recuperate; getting 8 hours a night helps you function and concentrate properly. But it's easier said than done- around 1/3 of people in the UK have insomnia or sleep anxiety. Sleep anxiety is more than just not sleeping; it's a tornado of physical, emotional, and mental symptoms. I know students always pull all-nighters: we get zazzed on Red Bull at 3 am and zoom through homework (that probably has to be done for first lesson). But by the time the sugar rush has worn off, we're exhausted and don't pay attention in class. However, people with sleep anxiety do this every night. It's a vicious cycle. You pull an all-nighter, feel tired in college, lose concentration, don't absorb information, and worry about it the next night.

 

 The symptoms include:

• Fear (like when I watched Insidious and couldn't sleep without the light on).
• Physical symptoms like a clenched stomach.
• Dizziness/nausea (imagine riding on a merry-go-round going 50 miles an hour).
  • Worries about amount of sleep- “If I go to sleep now, I'll get 5 hours and 48 minutes before I       have to get up”.
• Worries stopping your mind from 'switching off' (such as exams, relationships, body image).
• Exam stress/hormones (tiredness could be why that giant zit popped up)
   
  Top Tips:

1. Wind down in the evenings
   It's no good trying to sleep if you've stayed up until 12 working. Set a specific bed time and start your bedtime routine 2 hours before.
2. Ban caffeine after 7pm
   Drinking coffee leaves caffeine in your system for 4-6 hours. It stimulates your mind and body, so try drinking decaffeinated tea or chamomile (if you can stand the taste). Tea includes a protein called theanine, which is a natural calmer.
3. Listen to Mindfulness/ASMR
   A great way to squash worries before sleep is to meditate.  Mindfulness is designed to help people with anxiety, such as “imagine your worries are a balloon and release it”. It is a great time to reflect without low mood or anxiety controlling your mind. ASMR is familiar sounds like the splat of rain or tapping on a box. It commonly helps insomniacs, as it can lull you into sleep.
4.  Grounding Techniques
   I'm sure you've seen the posters in the toilets, but grounding is a technique to stop you from feeling overwhelmed and spaced out. All you need to do is look around and identify 5 things you can see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, and 1 thing you taste. Try to do it with your eyes closed using 5 things you can visualise.
5.  Don't try to force sleep
   If you don't feel tired, don't get worked up. Sleep will come, even if it doesn't feel like it. It's not be-all-end-all if you don't sleep. In Mythbusters they found closing your eyes for 20 minutes improves work efficiency by 50%. Do this throughout the day when you need extra energy.
6.  Get up & have breakfast
    Breakfast is key. I know a lot of you come to college without it. Eating food with slow-releasing energy like Weetabix can stop you feeling tired and hungry. Even if you wake up too late, the canteen sells cereal and toast that you can grab before lesson.
7. Stop using social media before sleep
   I know, I know. It's hard not to grab your phone when the group chat's lit at 3am. But put your phone on silent and mute your mates for a good night's rest.

 

 

By Lucie Stanfield