The Slide

Liam Lynch, MD Class of 2026

“I woke up after a nap one day with quite a bit of inspiration, so immediately I went to write this short story.”

“Welcome to Summer Camp,” the sign read. The excitement was palpable; the lot of us were all clamored together in that first courtyard. No one here had been to camp before, despite everyone being different ages. From the younger middle-schoolers, to the older of us high-schoolers, everyone was witness to the halcyon summer about to unfold. I knew going in that it was a goal of the summer camp to grow the older campers into leaders so that they’d come back the next year as counselors, and quite frankly, I was all-too-naïve and looking forward to the recognition and responsibility that would soon come with it. As we waited for the counselors to join us, I took in the moment.

A Friend

Justin Coogle, M4, Class of 2019

Justin Coogle is a published writer of the Kingdom Come series.

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1 year before the events of Kingdom Come

I MISS MY old school, this new one is too lonely. No one is interested in being friends with me here, it’s probably because I came in late. I used to try to sit with a group of other boys during lunch, but they kept ignoring me. My teacher is really nice, her name is Miss Flora. She says that she is a master gardener and that we are her valuable flowers. I don’t like being called a flower. Flowers get stepped on a lot. The bell is about to ring for recess and my hands are sweaty. I can’t say I want to use the bathroom this time, I just went a few minutes ago. Maybe if I said I was sick? But I don’t look real sick, and I don’t want Miss Flora to think I am a liar. I really don’t want to go to recess. There is no where I can hide from them.