Setting: Modern
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The Labyrinth
A woman keeps ending up in bad relationships. A businessman works so hard he has heart problems. A young man killed his friend by drunk driving and now he can’t stop drinking. All three of them are lost. All three of them go to drive. They go to the place where all roads lead: the labyrinth.
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The Perfect Pet
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Genre: HorrorSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Allergy, Bite, Blood, Butcher, Covered in, Guinea pig, Lock, Mean (unkind), Named after, Pee, Scratch, SocialWord Count: 1424Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyRory has always wanted a pet, but his parents don’t like animals. When Rory finishes university, he decides to get a pet. First, he gets a dog, but then things start going wrong…
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The End
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Genre: FantasySetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Agony, Base instincts, Bioregionalism, Bloom, Buzzard, Cannibalism, Cathartic, Curl up, Cymbals, Horizon, Intentional, Millennium, Mourn, Roar, Solace, Tapestry, Tinnitus, Umbilical cordWord Count: 866Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyOne day, God came down and took all life from earth. Except humans. But how can you survive in a world without life?
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Sisters, Sisters
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Genre: DramaSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Broadsheet, Compliment, Cut out, Dye, Fiddle, Flap, Flirt, Hike, Keep your nose clean, Note (music), Pinch, Sprinkles, Synthesiser, Vocals, X meets YWord Count: 5405Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyAngeline and Annabelle are a classic sister act. Annabelle writes the songs and they sing together, but Angeline gets all the compliments. When a music producer offers a deal to Annabelle, she realises she can’t let the opportunity go. But what starts as a harmonious collaboration soon turns into a discordant nightmare…
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A Lucky New Year
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Genre: ComedySetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Ashes, Choke, Clock strikes midnight, Coal, Doughnut, Good-luck charm, Lead (metal), Noodles, Pomegranate, Shortbread, Signify, SuperstitionWord Count: 2081Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyHarold has terrible luck. Bus shelters collapse on him, he makes his dates vomit, and no matter how many good-luck charms he wears, his luck won’t change. So he decides that this New Year’s Eve, he’s going to follow every tradition and superstition in the world, to see if he can change his luck around.
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The Tattoo
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Genre: Science FictionSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Anxious, Barber, Bum, Go bald, Hidden, Lie, Months in advance, Original, Remove, Shape, Shave your hair off, Tattoo, Treat someone likeWord Count: 2244Original Author: Ariel Goodbody‘I know you think you don’t want it,’ said Gary’s girlfriend, Claire, ‘but just think. When you turn 18, most of your friends will have their tattoos already. People will want to see yours. Look, you can tell them that you’re getting it later, that you couldn’t book an appointment, but how long can you lie? One day, you’ll look around and think, “God, why don’t I have a tattoo? Everyone else does.” ’
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Have You Seen This Woman?
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Genre: Science FictionSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Christian society, Doughnut, Drunk, Embarrassed, Hungover, I wish I had…, Lecture, Poetry, SurprisedWord Count: 1345Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyShe was singing. She was drunk, I think, the way she sang. Maybe she had drunk a big glass of vodka. But her singing was good. She sounded sad, but the music was good. We were all so surprised to see her there.
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The Shadow Club #12: The Elephant in the Room
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Genre: ActionSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Assume, Distract, Elephant in the room, Jealous, Knight, Pretend, Seagull, Shake your head, Step down, SwoopWord Count: 2178Original Author: Ariel Goodbody‘No!’ said Max, shaking his head. ‘You don’t understand. I want to do this. Not just because I’ll have more time for Heroes of Forever. If you’re all busy at the academy, one of us has to deal with the sh—I mean, one of us has to stay and run The Shadow Club.’
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The Shadow Club #11: Fighting Cats and Fighting Bulls
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Genre: ActionSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: An escape, Apparently, Copy (Media), Echo, Fluent, Football academy, Foundation programme, Get the feeling, Share a look, Through gritted teethWord Count: 1929Original Author: Ariel Goodbody‘Here you go,’ I said, giving her the book. ‘Los Gatos Luchadores. You like cats, right?’ Willow looked up at the word ‘cat’, and then her eyes grew wide. ‘Fighting Cats!’ She grabbed the book out of my hands and immediately started reading it. It was a Spanish translation of a Fighting Cats book, apparently.
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The Tightrope Walker
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Genre: ActionSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Arrest, Beauty, Break the law, Drop by drop, Imagine, Leak, Shoot, Step by step, Suddenly, Tightrope, Worried to deathWord Count: 1147Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyThe people began to shout and cheer: ‘You can do it!’ ‘He’s three quarters of the way across!’ ‘Just a bit more!’ Everyone’s hearts were open to the tightrope walker. They did not imagine him dying now. They imagined him making it to the end. They imagined the feeling, when he would make the last step, and everything would be OK.