MAGICAL REALISM|HORROR
Shannon Leaves Home
A short story
The sign made Shannon gag. The fact that her dad was so proud of being able to erect the damn thing, with a party and everything. So gaudy. It loomed along the freeway in front of her, a nightmare. That roach slashed through the O in their last name. Gross.
The billboard read, 80 Years Dead: Cortney Family Exterminators
Yet, she couldn’t really complain, could she? She turned on the heated leather seats in her new birthday BMW. Being finally 17, she could drive herself away from the house and on past that stupid sign.
She knew she would be late now. She’d left the house already running behind, in a huff, slammed the front door, even. Ahead of her now, brake lights appeared in the morning rush. Great, she thought, some texter trying to merge, probably. Shannon came to a halt maybe six cars before she could pass the billboard. She scratched at her forehead. 80 Years Dead.
The cars did not move. She would be late for her lit class again. It wasn’t as if she had finished her final paper anyway. Mr. Johnson had come to expect lateness from her, but she didn’t want to disappoint him again. Maybe if she got there a few minutes late, she could creep in undetected. Or if he looked down at her, she would tell him she was in the…
