“Big Nothing” by Andrew Lawler

This is me at fifteen, splayed out on Carly’s giant trampoline—stargazing, helpless, hopeful, smiling through a mouthful of stolen popcorn . . .

“Chasing” by Carly Milne

I didn’t know he was hooked on smack when I moved in. That confession came two nights later . . .

“Expiration Dates” by Levi Rogers

I light my cigarette lovingly, laughingly, with a light purple lighter. Burn, baby, burn . . .

“Where There’s Smoke” by Siobhan Lyons

Stella and Chris were arguing again—something about the television. They made me want to pick it up and just throw it out the window onto the street, Led Zeppelin–style . . .

“Booger’s Big Grab” by Scott Kaiser

“Lousy son of a . . . a . . . bitch! . . . He d . . . d . . . deserved it anyway! . . .”

“Raw” by John Oliver Hodges

Walking through the weeds of a highway shoulder at night. That was okay. She’d check on Valerie and finish off the bit on Joey’s mirror. Whenever cars passed she turned and stuck out her thumb like she was in a movie. She felt ridiculous, but a car pulled over. Milk ran up to it, got in, and came to in the morning in the weeds of another shoulder . . .

“Deviation From” by Cameron Young

A typical Thursday. A typical night.

Jerry stretched his feet under the dining table, yawning. His eleventh grade math homework seemed to glare at him from the fluorescent white of the overhead light. They were covering probability in class, something Jerry knew plenty about.

There was a thump above him.

Typical Thursday night . . .

“@selfie #selfie” by Soniah Kamal

“You need to build your confidence,” he says. “You need to build your self-esteem. You need to build a @better-you. For a @better-us #selfie-rule . . .”