FIRST PRIZE

Desiree was the first to come across Mr. Lockton’s Library. She discovered it on a cloudy morning in April, puddles scattered about from the rainshower that night. The air was damp and she breathed it in deeply as she wandered about the grounds of Hillsay Academy.

SECOND PRIZE

“I call the window seat!” I jolted through the aisles, being a nuisance to neighbouring flight passengers. Everyone settled in after storing their carry-ons, each class compartment filled with indistinguishable chatter, making it even more difficult to hear the pilot over the speaker.

THIRD PRIZE

In the morning, as the sun began to show itself and peek beneath the curtains, I woke up with a blistering headache only a strong cup of coffee could fix. Careful not to wake him just yet, I sat up and observed the bed.

FOURTH PRIZE

There’s a picture I took of you, somewhere, looking up awkwardly from one of the van's back seats. That’s how I know there was confidence, for you to not shy away from me. We are the last generation that grew up without an omnipresence of cameras, but not also without a camera's presence in most moments.

FIFTH PRIZE

One drab November morning, I woke up to an empty world. The sky was a murky stew of grays, and the remains of shattered vehicles littered the otherwise empty streets. From them, billows of smoke rose, which combined with the dense autumn fog to create an eerily dark and still atmosphere, untroubled and untouched by human movement.