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The Imperfect Present

25 Cents by Tiffany Wells (Georgia, 23)

8/23/2023

 
​The new pair of panties is covered in a thick red liquid. The sound of flushing is loud, and the
chatter of girls dissipates to nothing.
​
Her bag is empty, gone, of all its contents. Toilet paper is thin and barely does the job, soaking up
the red liquid like a desperate sponge in water. Toilet paper dries her up and scratches her legs.

She looks at the metal bin and its gaping mouth and its sharp teeth. It taunts her with bolded
black numbers 25¢. Her fists punch against the metal bin. Her hand is covered in red liquid. The
metal bin clatters to the floor with a clang and white packets litter the floor. The greedy girl picks
up the packets and stuffs them in her bag, leaving some for the next victim of thick red liquid.

Step out of the building and see the stands with free gifts for college students, grab a gift it's free.
In her hand sits a blue packet of condoms, free for the taking. You need these for sure, they
protect you, they are a necessity. Take as many as you want.

It's cherry-flavored.



​Tiffany Wells (she/they) is currently pursuing a MA in Professional Writing. They were published in Wishbone Words and nominated for the AWP Intro to Journal Award when they were getting their bachelor's. You can find Tiffany on Twitter at TeaWritesStuff.

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