By: David Hajdu

“Yes, I know wearing pince-nez makes me come off as pretentious.”

By: Davy Rothbart

“Dude,” he said to me, “You can’t walk around everywhere holding your pants up.”

By: Douglas Wolk

THE MEETING PLACE

By: Douglas Wolk

VILLAIN HQ

By: Douglas Wolk

BIRTHDAY CAKE

By: James Gaddy

“Maybe it’s that clicky sound, which can give just about any task a metronomic rhythm.”

By: Hillary Chute

“My pocket knife tumbled out of my pants pocket and fell into the toilet and was immediately swept away .”

By: Kristin Parker

“Then she took the steel bracelet off her tiny wrist and fitted it onto mine.”

By: Anne Quito

“I imagined the earrings as a kind of heirloom from a fabulous ancient ancestor.”

By: Adam McGovern

“What really turned me into a princess were the bronze-to-cream-fade plastic alligator shoes.”

By: Mark Frauenfelder

“The second I saw the Clark Kent eyeglasses he was wearing I knew…”

By: Jennifer Howze

“They made me feel sexy and independent, like I had been before marriage.”

By: Deb Chachra

“Clothing is often referred to as metaphorical armor; this armor is entirely literal.”

By: Abram Himelstein

“A loose-fitting ring, missing most of the fake diamonds…”

By: Debbie Millman

“I knew what it was before I even opened it: the magical necklace.”