How a Nuclear Accident Can Melt a Mixtape in Verona in 1986
I wrote this piece a few months ago, a play on acronyms and 1980s pop culture. It’s one of those occasions when I had great fun writing a story and hopefully it shows. Delighted that Bending Genres accepted it for publication in their 27th issue, out in June 2022. Here is how it begins.
Marco is the coolest boy in school. He wears a bomber jacket he bought on holiday in Los Angeles, and his hair is as shiny as Michael J. Fox’s. When I grow up, I will marry Marco. That is unless I marry Michael J. Fox first.
I bump into Marco at the library after school. He says Hi. Lucia says he definitely likes me, and I should leave him a message somewhere. Where? I ask. In a book, she says, it will remind him of where you met. And what should I say? I ask then. Like, just say hi, she says. So I leave him a message in his history book: I just say hi, and forget to sign it. I cry all night. He’ll never know it’s me.
Photo by henry perks on Unsplash
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