"Piercings," by Dean Marshall Tuck

The opening line of this story spins out a character who’s lonely but still has a sense of humor. He wants to spark a relationship with the girl in the front office who takes the rent checks. Her smile catches him off guard but it’s her facial piercings that illuminate more about him than her. At first pass, the story portrays this shy guy who imagines himself beginning to score with her. But the story provides a fuller picture when we see his family through his eyes, a family most readers would describe as predictably conservative. It’s the full story that surfaces after the first read and blooms in the reader’s mind of a character more familiar with feelings of shame than emotional connection. Read it here in Night Train.