Richard Leise

Richard Leise recently accepted The Perry Morgan Fellowship in Creative Writing from Old Dominion University.  While completing a MFA, he has a novel out on submission, and is completing a collection of short stories.  He placed first in SUNY Cortland’s All-College Writing Competition, and has work accepted in Eckhard Gerdes’ Journal of Experimental Fiction.

PRINCIPAL ALPACA by Richard Leise

Interim Principal Gregory Jenne has Alopecia universalis.  But he is accustomed to this; has dealt with the condition all of his life; survived the childhood taunts; rationalized the rejections; no longer dreams of eyebrows and eyelashes.  Having recently celebrated his thirty-fourth birthday, he assesses his present position. He finds that he is satisfied, proud of his accomplishments. Lesser men would have created excuses.  Weaker individuals would have hidden in their parents’ basements. He likes to think of himself as methodical. Scrupulous. Tall, his arms are longer than they should be, and this makes it difficult—no, this makes it impossible—for him…

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