Dubious Voices Senior Creative Writing Project Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For a Degree Bachelor of Arts with A Major in Creative Writing at The University of North Carolina at Asheville Fall 2007 By Vicente J Hernandez Thesis Advisor Dr. Dubious Voices short stories by Vicente James Hernandez 1207 Beeston Court, Wilmington NC 28411 (910)262-6125
[email protected] Dubious Voices Hernandez 3 Contents The First Listen...................................4 Acid....................................................11 My Girlfriend's Pants .......................... 17 Secret ..................................................23 Look at the Wall ..................................27 Out......................................................31 No Thanks ...........................................43 Sign..................................................... 48 Mya's Roommate Moves Out.............. 54 Shadows ............................................. 59 I Am In Arcadia...................................76 Hernandez 4 'The First Listen" Perhaps like every other late twenty-something, white male, downtown apartment resident I was partially educated with artistic aspirations; had rich parents that inconspicuously named me Alex; and lived in debt with clothes on the floor and dishes that spent most of their time rusting in the sink. I spent most of my time planning out sculptures in my sketchbook. They were useless things that made me no money and took up space. As my brother, Jake, loved to conspicuously remind me. I lived in an apartment with him. He was younger, and I gained points for maturity but still delivered that desperate monologue hi hopes of gaining a drop of sympathy: "It was actually pretty bad. I mean I am glad I had the experience, just because it was an experience. But, based on that night, I have decided that I don't enjoy drinking plastic bottled tequila with salt on my tongue, discovering my knee is miraculously bleeding on its own, not being able to figure out or remember if I know the person driving the car.