Just Before Recess by James Van Pelt

“Just Before Recess” is a 2008 science fiction short story by James Van Pelt. It is about a boy who finds a small sun in his school desk.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

Parker likes having a sun in his desk – it keeps his arms and legs warm. It’s also fun feeding objects to it, and watching it consume them. But it proves to be a little bit distracting when it eats all his school supplies! That is a small problem, especially when his stern teacher commands him to retrieve his reading book. Uh-oh… nothing good can come from this!

Slipping a pebble out of his pocket, Parker carefully lifted his desktop a quarter of an inch and slipped the rock in. It made a tiny clink when it dropped to the bottom. He leaned the desk away from him until he heard the pebble roll toward the sun, followed by the tiny hiss that meant the rock had vanished into it.

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• This was a great little story that was a pleasure to read!
• The ending was awesome!
• Short, well written and a good story – what more could you ask for?

• The bad:

• Um… nothing. Just an all around good story!

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 2
• Word Count: 782

Where you can find “Just Before Recess”:

• This short story first appeared in the March 2008 issue of Flash Fiction Online.
• You can read a free online version of “Just Before Recess” at the Flash Fiction Online web site.

Some Interesting Links:

• Did you know that James Van Pelt is a high school English teacher? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction author by reading the bio page on his web site.
• If you like this story then be sure to check out James Van Pelt’s award winning short story collection Strangers and Beggars.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like The Cube Game, about a game that is played by the children of Rijuan – an experimental environment just outside of Nypron’s third moon, by Emily Seife.

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