It’s dark ten o’clock, down near the roses as I watch Trix uncover Tony’s face. Maz had tripped on his head, buried as it was among cheery autumn leaves. He was sooo dead, but his amber-eyes were still glaring up at me. ‘SLAY’ had been written across his forehead. I stifled a scream, then hiccupped […]
The Quarry Journal
A journal of creative writing by students at Macquarie University
How To Get Away With Unfinished Homework, Elizabeth Campbell
‘Motherfucker,’ I whisper, too preoccupied with my frustration, forgetting myself in the night’s silence.It’s what I get for buying the shitty fifty cent pencil pack from the IGA, I know, but my anger flickers and boils regardless. It’s two A.M, the lead on this god awful pencil keeps breaking, and I can barely even think […]
The Playground Shadow, Chloe Louis
None of the other children ever wanted to play with her. They pretended she wasn’t even there as they shrieked in delight, running as fast as they could to win the game of tag. Kids visited the playground every day, but no one ever offered to push her on the swings. On cold days, she […]
Drifting, Ebony Troon
The air made it hard to weep. Even the plant in the teacup curled in on itself, green having long since turned to brown. It was curious how the plant was even able to wilt while surrounded by such a thick layer of dust. Ara herself felt weighed down. Laying on her stomach, she carefully […]
Fairy-Taled, Jodi Small
The dawn light falls through the narrow window, across the thick woven carpet, and reflects off the leather encased feet of a man who paces. ‘Read it to me again!’ From the lacquered escritoire that borders the rug, the scratch of a quill abruptly stops. There is the light rustling of parchment before a tentative […]
Gedo Youssef, Karoul Riyad
There it stood, cap coated in a film of dust nobody dared remove. Aftershave. In an all-female household. It looked out of place on the bathroom mirror shelf, a broad glass container among the array of gaudy plastic tubes and makeup paraphernalia. It dominated the scene. It had to. This was all we had left […]
Night Market, Ry Feder
Circle The markets glimmer in the dark like firelight. It’s the fairy lights draped over each booth, Jamie thinks, and the lanterns that criss-cross the paths between them. Individually, each bulb is small. They don’t produce much light. But together… massed together, they’re breathtaking. It’s a nice metaphor. Jamie mentally notes it down to use […]
The Showman, Scott Monk
Applause and confetti rained down on the Showman. Thousands and thousands of fans rose to their feet and stood, spellbound, for another five minutes, as he walked to each corner of the stage serving out kisses. Camera phones pop-pop-popped, each reflecting blue light and freezing their owner’s whimsical faces, double chins and yawns. Fathers ushered […]
Swan Lake, Swarna Pinto
If you keep walking west along the Woodend Road, passing newly built double story houses with double garages and flower pots at the front, you will come to Blue Gum Tree Lake Reserve without noticing my house. It is the last house on the street and is hidden behind large weeping willows. Overgrown apple, plum […]
Decontaminate, Natasya Currie
There are bodies on the sidewalk. Quinn’s eyes dart to them briefly. The closest of them, a man dressed in a tailored black suit, lies half-curled in the foetal position near the bus-stop. Another woman has collapsed two metres away from him, a half-eaten muffin fallen from her outstretched hand. A speckled finch cocks its […]