The Toast of Despair

Mike stared at the toaster, its crimson light blinking like a taunt. The bread had been in there for seven minutes. He yanked it out, revealing a charcoal briquette. ‘Come on,’ he muttered, scraping it with a butter knife that…
Mike stared at the toaster, its crimson light blinking like a taunt. The bread had been in there for seven minutes. He yanked it out, revealing a charcoal briquette. ‘Come on,’ he muttered, scraping it with a butter knife that…
Mabel tightened the last bolt on her birdhouse prototype, which resembled a chrome-plated toaster with a 1980s boombox attached. The scent of sawdust and burnt cinnamon wafted through her backyard workshop. ‘Perfect,’ she whispered, patting the siding. The door hinge…
Mittens, a sleek black cat, crouched low in the hallway, tail flicking with anticipation. The aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafted from the kitchen, calling to her like a siren. She’d plotted this heist for days—slept in the…
Every morning, Gary told his blender, “You are capable of making the best smoothie ever!” One day, the blender hummed, then spewed a green swirl that tasted like regret. Gary grinned. “See? Confidence is key!” He sipped. “Wait… is that…
Gary downloaded TikTok at 3 a.m., fueled by 12 cups of coffee and a deep-seated need to be relevant. By 7 a.m., he’d mastered the “Renegade” dance, though his hips looked like they’d been greased by a confused raccoon. He…
The morning started normal enough—until Sir Whiskers, my cat, decided the vacuum cleaner was a rival for attention. I’d just poured my coffee when he leapt onto the counter, tail flicking like a metronome set to panic. The mug trembled.…
Jake held up a garden gnome, squinting at its face. “This is the masterpiece of the century,” he declared, balancing it on a bicycle wheel. Lena tossed him a paint can. “You’re the guy who thinks ‘modern art’ means glitter…
The dog, a golden retriever named Biscuit, eyed the ingredients with the focus of a wartime general. Flour, sugar, eggs—each item was a soldier in his culinary coup. He knocked over a jar of jam, which exploded like a neon…
Marla stood in the grocery store aisle, her cart a rogue spaceship spinning out of control. ‘I am calm,’ she whispered, as a box of cereal launched itself into the air. ‘I am organized,’ she declared, while a bag of…
Chad stood in front of his bathroom mirror, lips curled into a sneer as he rehearsed the Renegade dance. The TikTok clip looped on his phone: a teen in a neon saggy pants twerking to a beat that sounded like…