Red Letter Day
()
About this ebook
Graduation Day at Barack Obama High School. The day the Red Letters arrive, the day that students get a glimpse into their own future.
But a handful never get a letter and no one knows why. One teacher has an idea though: a teacher who never got a Red Letter herself, a teacher finally finds the answers to her own fate.
Called "a fresh, solid, entertaining take on time travel" by Tangent Online, "Red Letter Day" was chosen as the best short story of 2010 by the readers of Analog Magazine.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award. Publications from The Chicago Tribune to Booklist have included her Kris Nelscott mystery novels in their top-ten-best mystery novels of the year. The Nelscott books have received nominations for almost every award in the mystery field, including the best novel Edgar Award, and the Shamus Award. She writes goofy romance novels as award-winner Kristine Grayson, romantic suspense as Kristine Dexter, and futuristic sf as Kris DeLake. She also edits. Beginning with work at the innovative publishing company, Pulphouse, followed by her award-winning tenure at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, she took fifteen years off before returning to editing with the original anthology series Fiction River, published by WMG Publishing. She acts as series editor with her husband, writer Dean Wesley Smith, and edits at least two anthologies in the series per year on her own. To keep up with everything she does, go to kriswrites.com and sign up for her newsletter. To track her many pen names and series, see their individual websites (krisnelscott.com, kristinegrayson.com, krisdelake.com, retrievalartist.com, divingintothewreck.com). She lives and occasionally sleeps in Oregon.
Read more from Kristine Kathryn Rusch
By the Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fantasy Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lady Sleuths MEGAPACK ®: 20 Modern and Classic Tales of Female Detectives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Writers Fail: A WMG Writer's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Detective Stories of Edgar Allan Poe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhysical Therapy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sherlock Holmes Megapack: 25 Modern Tales by Masters: 25 Modern Tales by Masters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Freelancer's Survival Guide Third Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Thomas Jefferson Dined Alone Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecovering Apollo 8 and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Twist of a Knife: Mystery Stories from Pulphouse Fiction Magazine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving the Legend Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Negotiate Anything: A Freelancer's Survival Guide Short Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Strangeness of the Day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOlivia’s House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Second Time Travel MEGAPACK ®: 23 Modern and Classic Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Retrieval Artist Reading Order guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove and Justice Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Speaking of the Fantastic III: Interviews with Science Fiction Writers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFate Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFacade Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Hook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSins of the Blood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGetting Started: A Freelancer's Survival Guide Short Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tower Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Way: Totally Twisted Tales: Stories from Pulphouse Magazine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Networking In Person and Online: A Freelancer's Survival Guide Short Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Five Fantastic Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMorning Shift Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Red Letter Day
Related ebooks
Crimes Collide Vol. 1: A Mystery Short Story Series: Crimes Collide, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmith's Monthly #13 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Call Me Unfixable: A Bryant Street Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFacade Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Smith's Monthly #2 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Smith's Monthly #3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cold and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPulphouse Fiction Magazine Issue #16: Pulphouse, #16 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAutonomous: A Short Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Case of the Simple Passage: A Pilgrim Hugh Incident Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmith's Monthly #26 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrimes Collide Vol. 3: A Mystery Short Story Series: Crimes Collide, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmith's Monthly #1 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nathan's Pet Shark Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow Writers Fail: Analysis and Solutions: WMG Writer's Guides Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSmith's Monthly #22 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Assassin's Dagger: Abracadabra Incorporated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Case of Pilgrim Hugh: Five Strange Detective Short Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMark Twain, A Literary Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pulphouse Fiction Magazine Issue #19: Pulphouse, #19 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Domestic Dispute: A Short Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue #5: Pulphouse, #5 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Big Book of Genre Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Old Girlfriend of Doom: A Poker Boy story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where Memory Hides: A Writer's Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDownton Abbey and Philosophy: The Truth Is Neither Here Nor There Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Midwinter Sacrifice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShort-Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Portable Writers Conference: Your Guide to Getting Published Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEasy Cash Writing: The Easy Way to Write Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Science Fiction For You
The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wool: Book One of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rendezvous with Rama Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silo Series Collection: Wool, Shift, Dust, and Silo Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sarah J. Maas: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Annihilation: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shift: Book Two of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Psalm for the Wild-Built Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Who Have Never Known Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust: Book Three of the Silo Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers for Algernon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brandon Sanderson: Best Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas: A Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perelandra: (Space Trilogy, Book Two) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Troop Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England: Secret Projects, #2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roadside Picnic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein: Original 1818 Uncensored Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cryptonomicon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Red Letter Day
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Red Letter Day - Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Red Letter Day
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
WMG PublishingContents
Red Letter Day
Newsletter sign-up
Also By Kristine Kathryn Rusch
About the Author
Red Letter Day
Graduation rehearsal—middle of the afternoon on the final Monday of the final week of school. The graduating seniors at Barack Obama High School gather in the gymnasium, get the wrapped packages with their robes (ordered long ago), their mortarboards, and their blue and white tassels. The tassels attract the most attention—everyone wants to know which side of the mortarboard to wear it on, and which side to move it to.
The future hovers, less than a week away, filled with possibilities.
Possibilities about to be limited, because it’s also Red Letter Day.
I stand on the platform, near the steps, not too far from the exit. I’m wearing my best business casual skirt today and a blouse that I no longer care about. I learned to wear something I didn’t like years ago; too many kids will cry on me by the end of the day, covering the blouse with slobber and makeup and aftershave.
My heart pounds. I’m a slender woman, although I’m told I’m formidable. Coaches need to be formidable. And while I still coach the basketball teams, I no longer teach gym classes because the folks in charge decided I’d be a better counselor than gym teacher. They made that decision on my first Red Letter Day at BOHS, more than twenty years ago.
I’m the only adult in this school who truly understands how horrible Red Letter Day can be. I think it’s cruel that Red Letter Day happens at all, but I think the cruelty gets compounded by the fact that it’s held in school.
Red Letter Day should be a holiday, so that kids are at home with their parents when the letters arrive.
Or don’t arrive, as the case may be.
And the problem is that