On "The Movement of Horses" by Adam Cushman (8839 words) ***

This is a sad story made funny, which is what a lot of really good stories are. What makes this story so humorous is the narrator, a troubled teen who hides his insecurities and loneliness behind a facade of bravado--and utter stupidity. The story shines from the moment one starts reading, largely because of that narration, but it really gets going when the narrator and his not-so-legitimate friend Dane steal a car with intentions of fleeing west to start a band (which of course requires a tattoo). These being teenagers--and young ones at that--the scheme goes predictably nowhere, but not before we learn quite a bit about our narrator, enough that he becomes an object of pity rather than just laughs. Read the story here at Fawlt magazine.