Elaine watched stoically as Frog’s class let out and a flood of students torrented past, breaking like a stream in front of her and reforming behind. They looked tired, as if worn down by the proceedings within; some of them carried sheets of green-lined scrap paper, folded neatly or crumpled in their fists, others had … Read more
“There’s a lot of reasons people cheat,” Frog said. She tossed a lock of her green hair from her shoulders and shrugged dramatically. “In high school all the cheerleaders cheated in one way or another—no, not me, you know that. I didn’t have to… Though, I did go through the motions. You were expected to … Read more
The dean made a long show of feigned disinterest as Frog and Elaine exited his office. Although he stared intently at the terminal on his desk, Elaine could tell that he kept his attention raptly on her as she walked away. Comparing his body language to previous encounters, she surmised that Frog would have hypothesized … Read more
“As I intimated,” he said, settling back into his chair again. “I want to hire you. I will pay you for your services—no academic favors, if you’re going to work for me, you must do so as an outside party and not a student under my jurisdiction. Of course, I cannot offer you the resources … Read more
Frog fell heavily into one of the stiff, thinly upholstered chairs and crossed her legs. She leaned back with all the bravado of someone just along for the ride, but stopped short of putting her sneakers up on the dean’s desk. Elaine pulled the remaining chair a little closer and angled it so that she … Read more
Frog borrowed Zane’s motorcycle, which he graciously offered after she flashed him a brilliant grin and promised to spend a yet-to-be-determined night over watching Battle Star Galactica on his new plasma TV with the boys. As she rolled it to a stop in an available space next to the ASU Book Store, an evening breeze … Read more
To that the preacher crooked his staff in his arm, raised his Bible overhead, and then beat on it with his hand. “It’s not a physical place, sister, it’s a spiritual place. And if you don’t get right with the Lord, your soul will be burning in a very real, spiritual hell.” “And you can … Read more
Without another word she burst into motion and ran—at the fairly restrained rate of about the speed of a sprinter—up the length of Cady Mall towards a heavy clustering of college students all standing around a single orator. Elaine almost dropped her phone trying to grab Hadaly’s arm—several feet too late. “Oh fsck,” she said. … Read more
[Hadaly’s Day Out (feat. Brother Jed) by Kyt Dotson is a short story in the Black Hat Magick series. If you would like to skip this and move on directly to chapter 4 click here. Otherwise enjoy!] — Elaine powered down the Enoch and put it into energy saving mode. The small handled device, akin to a cell phone … Read more
“Those students all have fit our guidelines for graduate prog—” “I’m not finished.” Chairwoman Naughton raised a knifelike finger and stabbed the air with it. “I expect every department to bring airs and distinctions to our institution. This one included.” Stab. “Behind the last quarter the admirable increase in scores across the board have brought … Read more