“FLAMING MARSHMALLOW,” by Camille Alexa.
Read by Colleen AF Venable. (20min)

I’m so freaking excited I can hardly stand it.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow is my birthday, the birthday. The birthday everybody waits and waits for and until you get there you just hate that all your old friends already got theirs and you’re the only one without it yet, and sometimes you think holy-freaking-eff, I’m never going to turn sixteen, but then you do.

This is what I’ve been waiting for all these months. All these years, I guess, though before my friends started getting theirs, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. We were all No-Knows then.

Tomorrow, I’m finally going to feel like I belong.

Tomorrow, I’m going to find out how I die.

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Camille Alexa lives with fossils, dried branches, pressed flowers, and other dead things in ¼ of an Edwardian house in the Pacific Northwest. She’s fond of big dogs, warm bread, post-apocalyptic love stories, and the serial comma. Her short fiction collection, Push of the Sky, earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly and has been nominated for the Endeavour Award.

Colleen AF Venable is a designer, author, and girl who laughs till things come out of her nose. During the day, she designs graphic novels for First Second Books and at night, she writes graphic novels about a not-so-imaginary-anymore hyperactive hamster named Hamisher. The world is a very lovely place.

In the book, “FLAMING MARSHMALLOW” is illustrated by Shannon Wheeler!

TRIVIA: This story was also published in audio in 2008 by Escape Pod, read by Dani Cutler!

TRIVIA: We have just learned that Jonathan Shockley, who read “MISCARRIAGE” for us, is also behind the internet phenomenon “100 Ways to Love a Cat.” You’re welcome.