Lexi Toufas
Author
Lexi is a third-year English major. She enjoys bird-watching, crocheting, and taking long walks (especially when flowers and colorful fungi are involved). Her favorite bird is a toss between the Carolina Chickadee and the American Goldfinch.
November 18, 2020
Art by Kim Salac
Zenaida opened his eyes on a couch to a crowd of voices surrounding him. He could see no people. He saw a small round table decorated in a dinosaur party theme with what had been a large T-rex ice sculpture. It looked like it had a broken neck bent backwards and the arms were nearly completely missing. He glanced at the puddle underneath.
“We apologize for the ice sculpture. We hadn’t anticipated how long you would be unconscious,” a voice spoke from in front of him. He wanted to speak, but his entire jaw ached.
He glanced around the room....
October 28, 2020
Art by Kim Salac
It all started with a Snapchat. I usually only Snapchat my cousins, and I have no idea how or when this guy became my friend, but I received a notification from a John**. The photo was of a shirtless boy with squinty eyes and a little smirk that said “wyd.” I showed it to my brother asking who the guy was. My brother said he had played basketball with him in middle school. I responded to the gold-chain-shirtless-boy and asked if he played basketball with my brother (why did I even entertain this? I have no idea, boys never talk to me, and I like to keep it that way). He responded with a...
October 13, 2020
Art by Kim Salac
“Yeah, you would know all about this. I need a lovey, romantic card for somebody,” the large- framed man said in a lowered voice. He glanced around the store from the counter where we stood and squeezed the fingers together near the top of his chest. He made me feel like this was a secret, but he also didn’t know that I was a new employee, so I didn’t know exactly where the cards were unless they were for an anniversary, a brother-birthday, or a bar mitzvah. I also might add that I don’t know anything about “lovey romantics” because my last “relationship” was in sixth grade, and I wouldn’t...
September 29, 2020
Art by Kim Salac
The evening began as it always did on these occasions. As our moms set popcorn and brownies on the green countertops, they warned us that they would be back to pick us up early the next morning. My cousins and I grumbled and argued that the next day would be Saturday, and we wanted to stay longer. It never mattered how well we argued our case, my mom and my aunt would be back at the first ray of daylight with my Grandpa’s pancakes barely off the pan (he always made pancakes and still does whenever we stay the night). We would be forced to scarf them down, still scorching hot, in a bleary-...
September 15, 2020
1. “You Want It Darker” by Leonard Cohen
Cohen released this song three weeks before passing away from leukemia. He recorded it in his living room. From the man best known for the ever-covered song “Hallelujah”, “You Want It Darker” is completely unlike any other song in his career. It is heavy, raw, and completely unsettling. Cohen is staring death dead in the eyes. Why listen to it at 8:30 A.M. on the way to work at a simple retail job then when I know it always...
April 20, 2020
Art by Kirsten Hemrich
5. The Northern Mockingbirds AKA the Sentinels
They get last because as cute as they are as a couple, and as much as I appreciate them making a nest in the bush outside my window (hopefully I see some babies sometime soon, fingers crossed), Northern Mockingbirds are territorial as heck. They scare all my other birds away when they are being aggressive, and that is not okay. That’s why I call them the Sentinels. Northern Mockingbirds don’t even eat seed in the summer (preferring...
April 11, 2020
Art by Kirsten Hemrich
Easter always begins the same way for my family. My mother and aunt compete to see who can call my grandpa first on Easter morning to say, “The Lord has risen,” to which my grandpa will respond, “Indeed.” Last year my mom woke at the break of dawn to beat my aunt, but generally my aunt wins. Then my grandpa will call my cousins, brother, and me to relay the same message. As a whole, we’ve always been “indeeders,” rather than “the Lord has risen-ers.” This year is so bizarre because nearly every other tradition in my family will be through the phone as well.
Generally, we wake up...
March 04, 2020
Art by Kirsten Hemrich
I remember the first time I found out dads could cry. I was in the backseat of my mom's old Honda Accord tracing over the various pen marks on the headliner of her car, and it was February. I hated how the sun somehow always managed to be on my side of the car behind the passenger seat, but I wouldn't trade with my brother, Berkley. I would take the side with the heat against the sticky leather because he had the side with the weird, greenish gum stain on the seat, and it made me nauseated whenever I looked at it. This repulsion is exactly why we still sit on our respective sides when we...
November 14, 2019
“You’re too little,” my cousin Kelsey said, pushing my cousins and me out of the Green Room at my grandpa’s house before she slammed the door and locked it. She, my brother, and my other cousin were watching the video to “Helena” by My Chemical Romance (MCR), which in all honesty is a bit creepy. They were in the middle of their pre-teen emo phase. Kelsey, Jackie, and Berkley all had a variation of side bangs. All three wore skinny jeans and studded belts. Jackie and Kelsey were just beginning to work out exactly how...
October 24, 2019
Art by Kirsten Hemrich
A Carolina Chickadee sat at the bird feeder, unable to see through the one-way glass. Though I was unseen on the other side, I would hold my breath anyway. Papa received magazines every month for arbitrary gardening and home tools, and for my granny’s birthday, she specifically asked for a special window bird feeder and a soft toilet lid with carpeted flowers on it. My great-uncle, Kit, had nearly broken the window to get it in, but somehow managed to rig the feeder into place. Papa held his breath, too...