www.storymania.com
Storymania Logo

 

 

Short Stories




After Two Days by Tunde Alabi-Hundeyin Ii After Two days is about a promising girl who suffers from an unknown disease in rural Nigeria. I... [1,881 words]
The Bear by Keri McGriff - [222 words]
The Deluded Youth by Michael Harris A boy and his dreams... [3,699 words]
Tangled Berry Bushes by E Rocco Caldwell In the style of Edgar Allen Poe. [1,892 words]
Different Paths by William S Patten First work and I am looking for feedback [2,007 words]
The Hummingbird And The Chipmunk by Bob M Ra - [738 words]
Where Chaos Reigns (Page Uno) by Wolfa Page one of a sci fi/fantasy/urban fantasy story (formerly called "e") I am worki... [386 words]
The Silver Ride by Timothy Houlihan Obsession. Insanity. Murder. [2,264 words]
The Line by Ezh Mimsyboro A quicky about two fellows in a line. [1,108 words]
The House Next Door by Moya Green What evil lurked behind its blank windows? [1,249 words]
The Eclipse by Ovidiu Bufnila When major�s Sanchez coach came, the daring Florio has just succeeded to get over the wonderful wor... [718 words]
The Awakening, Part 1 by David B Doc Byron The first half of a story me and my son had collaborated on. [491 words]
The Awakening - A 'short-Short'' by Jason ''The Bloodman'' Taylor Like my dad has said before, YOU figure it out. [305 words]
Tales Of Time And Travel by Michael A Hyer It is an anthology of 5 short stories about... well, time and travel. [21 words]
Silicone by E Rocco Caldwell (The centralized theme of the story is to ask the question in a marriage how much of it is companionsh... [3,012 words]
Mascara by Tweez Boys will be girls. [1,350 words]
It's All In The Teeth by David B Doc Byron Like alot of my darker work, there is no logical explanation. [388 words]
It Runs In The Family by David B Doc Byron A subject I've never had to deal with, but have known people who have. [214 words]
Green by David B Doc Byron A man's guilt catches up with him. [496 words]
Gibsin The Night Fall by Wesley B Rose Drley A story of how one man can make a difference. Even though he had many reasons not to. [2,130 words]
Ghosts- A ''Short-Short'' Short Story by David B Doc Byron A man's demons catch up with him. [418 words]
From The Glow Of The Gaslights Comes A Prayer by Timothy Houlihan The prayer of a man who has seen the lie. [738 words]
Choices by David B Doc Byron Bad drivers are born losers. [376 words]
A War Life by Wizard A Child and his mother seek refuge from the events of WW11 [1,203 words]
A Peaceful Sabbath by E Rocco Caldwell A reflection on modern times. [915 words]
1:25 A.M. by David B Doc Byron Is he dreaming.... or is this reality? [262 words]
Vital Signs by Jason ''The Bloodman'' Taylor At rare times, a love between two people is so strong, they dont want to let go, even in death... [307 words]
The Sand Dollar by Wesley B Rose Drley A story about a child and how she wins hearts. [1,790 words]
The Penalty Is Death by E Rocco Caldwell A Private Investigator is hired by a client to find out if his wife is having an affair. W... [4,184 words]
The Hankie Files by Mark Nash This work is inspired by real people and places, but its plot and setting is purely fiction. ... [2,676 words]
The Hankie Files, Chapter 1 by Mark Nash A serial about a Geometry class trying to catch their teacher, who is the head of a... [1,028 words]
The Belch Of A God by Timothy Houlihan Kids learning to fit in. [2,586 words]
Shadow Dancers by Wesley B Rose Drley The story of how truth and inner strength can make a difference. [4,448 words]
Salute To Courage by Arthur Zulu - [1,172 words]
Prophecies by David B Doc Byron A different take on the typical werewolf tale. [886 words]
Out Of The Ordinary World Part 2 by Metzger Visit my website www.personal.psu.edu/dmm439. [2,283 words]
Out Of The Ordinary Worlds by Metzger - [1,796 words]
My First And Only Love by Theresa A Myers A sad story of love, between a human woman and a male vampire. [1,898 words]
Lucky Ones by Staci Christophers How bad can a blind date be? [836 words]
Life Sucks by David B Doc Byron - [360 words]
Life Sucks - Part 2 by David B Doc Byron Haven't you figured it out yet? [144 words]
Letters From Purgatory -Part 4-Ending by David B Doc Byron The secret is finally revealed! [147 words]
Justice For Mrs. Millicent Meeks by Timothy Houlihan - [1,428 words]
I'm Bored Of You. Can I Be Somebody Else? by J L Watts Two alien bounty hunters are on Earth, one with a unique abiltity whi... [2,184 words]
Headstones by David B Doc Byron - [200 words]
Filling The Pages by Krige Van Rensburg A true Hithcock thriller! [2,280 words]
Popular? Part 2 by H Wood Cont. on from popular? Part 1 - A teenage party, drunken sex and upset parents ends with distur... [2,530 words]
Popular? by H Wood the most popular guy at school? read how kenny smith manages to put up with his social status at high ... [709 words]
Why I Like Watermelon by Sarrabisco - [379 words]
Tortured by J L Watts Wrote this about three years ago as a GCSE 'Victim Writing' piece. Am annoyed with the way I finish it... [986 words]
The Tragedy That Was Dave by Slick Nick A man that has lost hope and can't find meaning in life commites suicide. But was it... [1,580 words]
The Portrait by Judith Goff A painting with a dark secret ... [1,352 words]
Michael.... By J.D. Stiltner by J D Stiltner It's about a young man who is faced with the harsh realities of life and they take... [1,034 words]
Letters From Purgatory by David B Doc Byron Figure it out as you go along. [244 words]
Letters From Purgatory Part 3 by David B Doc Byron He's getting closer to the truth! [227 words]
Letters From Purgatory Part 2 by David B Doc Byron You figure it out as you go along. [186 words]
Letters From Purgatory - Interlude by David B Doc Byron - [70 words]
Hamilton by J Eric Eckard A short story. [4,890 words]
Diary Of A Killer Kat by Kathryn J Gabrielle A week in the life of a Kat. [1,263 words]
Clouds Across The Moon by C A Steen A short story. [1,558 words]
Cassandra by Wandering Minstrel The story of Cassandra and the domination of her vanity. [1,205 words]
Bird In The Hand by E Rocco Caldwell Gothic story of two men on a battlefield dealing with racism. [5,695 words]
Victor And Louise by Salai G Prit Rough draft for the first half of a short story... please read and comment... please.. [3,962 words]
Transitions by Tom Soukup An unusual love story that will tingle the back of your neck. [3,628 words]
The Myriad Slips by Salai G Prit A reworking of an old piece... more of an extension. [3,074 words]
The Healing by Jill Snider - [2,911 words]
The Gift by Tom Soukup Jeremy struggles with his ability to predict death. Is it a gift? He learns the curse of it when cal... [3,934 words]
The Club Monster by William Spongberg A city girl and her two friends confront both the prospect of finding love out on the town and... [4,958 words]
The Candle by N M A Al-Sharekh It has 5 kinds of living ceatures. It has a candle that gives you 5 wishes if u own it [1,083 words]
The Bus Station Tearoom
Taking Care Of Your Own by David B Doc Byron The father of a quadrepalegic finds out love does not conquer all. [521 words]
Pipe Dreams by Tom Soukup A boy uses new-found mystical powers to bring revenge to his bully classmates. He almost gets away... [3,860 words]
On This Lovely Day... by Daroga Daae A short horror story about four children and one crazed "Hannibalistic" killer. [436 words]
Dream Lover by David B Doc Byron A tale of true love that never dies. [417 words]
Bruising by Emmie Sinclair Strange tale, make of it what you will - I was in a weird mood when I wrote it. [506 words]

Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 [34] 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
TITLE (EDIT)
The Bus Station Tearoom
DESCRIPTION
A girl waits for her bus and as she does so she decides to go on a journey longer than the one home.
[802 words]
TITLE KEYWORD
Motivational
AUTHOR
Rebecca Vaughan
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
-
[February 2003]
AUTHOR'S E-MAIL ADDRESS
[email protected]
The Bus Station Tearoom
Rebecca Vaughan

He was hunched up, his head and shoulders swaying over his polystyrene coffee cup. As the draft from the door blew across the bus station tearoom I could see the cup wobble as it struggled to stand up, the small amount of liquid left in the bottom was the only thing keeping it from falling over. His face was raw and red, like a piece of meat that had been left to dry out on a butcher's sideboard. A grimy overcoat collar covered the bottom half of his face so all I could see were his high cheekbones and his grey unruly eyebrows sprouting over his dark sunken eye cavities. He was wearing a dark green woollen hat that covered lank grey hair, thin wisps poked out through a hole in the back of it. I was glad I was sitting on the other side of the room from him because I was sure that if I was any closer I would be able to smell the dirt on his clothes.

He didn't seem to be doing anything other than staring at the table. I looked down at my table, it wasn't much to look at, it was made of chipboard, covered with fake wood effect vinyl, blistering and peeling off. The wood was chipped at the corners where, for years, people's suitcases and rucksacks had banged into them as they squeezed through the cramped isles to rush for their bus. I fingered a blistered circle where a hot teapot had been put down without a place mat. The bubble split, and as I pushed down on it, a yellowy resin-like powder puffed out of the crack. I dabbed my finger on it and sniffed it. It stank of old dishcloths.

The door to the tearoom banged open. I looked up with a start to see the old man wiping the dregs of his spilt coffee off the table with the sleeve of his overcoat. The blast of cold air had brought in with it some leaves and a crisp packet. As the door banged shut again the crisp packet shot up into the air then gently floated back down to the ground. The old man reached down and picked up the packet, he looked inside then shook the contents into his hand, just a few crumbs. He tilted his head back and tipped the crumbs into his mouth, as he did so I caught a glimpse of the lower part of his face that had been covered by his collar. It bore two scars, one pink and fresh, the other white and old. I wondered how he had got them.

I turned my head to focus back on the blistered wood coating and began picking at the crack in it I had made.

"More tea?"

I looked up to see a waitress, different from the one who had served me earlier, she was young, about nineteen, her hair was greasy and was falling out of its pony tail. A growing out fringe was hanging in her eyes making her squint, she had a cold sore on the side of her mouth.

"er… no thanks" I said.

She sighed, turned away and began to walk over to the old man. She then changed her mind halfway there and walked back to the food counter. She walked in an awkward way, like she was afraid of stepping through a rotten floorboard. I looked at her feet and saw she was wearing high-heeled shoes that were two sizes too big for her. As she disappeared through the kitchen door, it swung back and forth making the tatty posters on the pin board next to it, flutter in its wake.

I looked back at where the old man was sitting to see he had gone. The crisp packet was scrunched up inside the polystyrene cup which was no longer wobbling in the draft. I stood up and reached for my rucksack, it felt lighter than usual as I pulled it onto my back. I walked over to where he had been sitting. As I came closer to his table I noticed a feint smell of body odour and urine hanging in the air. The table had a blistered ring on it too but someone had already burst the raised bumps and peeled away the fake wood covering. The chipboard underneath was brown and stained, but some fresh scratch marks formed the words;

"grab it while you can"

I stepped out of the dank café into the bus shelter, the wet bitter wind that hit my face was a relief from the dry, stale atmosphere of the café. I hesitated briefly as the number 55 pulled up, then walked over to the National Express office. The next bus was bound for Dover.

 

READER'S REVIEWS (2)
DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.

"A strong piece of descriptive writing." -- Luke Witcomb.
"I liked the motivational message this story puts across, I also like the way the descriptions make me feel I am really in such a grim rundown place. " -- Beatrice Vaughan.

TO DELETE UNWANTED REVIEWS CLICK HERE! (SELECT "MANAGE TITLE REVIEWS" ACTION)

Submit Your Review for The Bus Station Tearoom
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.

Your Name*     E-mail*

City     State/Province     Country

Your Review (please be constructive!)*


Please Enter Code*:

Submit Your Rating for The Bus Station Tearoom

Worst     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     Best

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2003 Rebecca Vaughan
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
February 2003
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2538
 

Copyright © 1998-2001 Storymania Technologies Limited. All Rights Reserved.