The Bradbury Chronicles

The Weight She Carries

         The rough shake on Emma’s shoulder jolted her awake.

         “I’m up,” she murmured, offering a weak smile as she peeled a sheet of paper—damp with drool—from her cheek.

         “The library is about to close,” Mrs. Simmons said primly, her bouffant wobbling with each nod.

         “Oh… sorry,” Emma replied.

         She gathered her textbooks and stuffed them into her duffel bag—so worn and frayed it was a miracle it still held anything at all.

         “And get something to eat, young lady,” Mrs. Simmons added, watching the teen sway on her feet. “You’re nothing but bones.”

         As if I need the reminder, Emma thought as she stepped out of the warm haven of knowledge and possibility and into a ravenous world ready to tear her apart.

         Taking the bus would have been wise, but her pass had expired. A few more double shifts at The Diner, and she could afford a new one.

         Soon, the familiar battered alleyways and cracked roads signaled her return to reality—where the groan of the rusty gate, the absent kick of an overturned tricycle, and her brother’s wail from the kitchen reminded her why she endured everything.

         She would tune out her mother’s slurred accusations, clean the chaos, piece together a meager dinner, tend to Mikey’s newest scrape on his hip, and—once his gentle snores filled the room—flick on her night lamp and open the pages of her beloved textbooks.

         “I have to study,” she whispered with every scribble of her pen.

         Because a better life—for her and for Mikey—depended on her stubborn determination to succeed where so many around her had fallen short.




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Winning Entry
Word Count: 274
Prompt: Write a story that includes the line: “I have to study.”
Written For: "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"