Pandora's Ink Digital Magazine

Written by Lindsey Liu from Saint Andrew's School in Delaware, USA “Do be tempted — this chocolate crème confection is simply irresistible!” Dorothy’s vermillion-red lipstick glints beneath the studio lamps, precariously grazing her row of pearly whites. Even still, they remain defiantly pristine while she savors the chocolate wafer, eyelashes fluttering in satisfaction. She pecks away, in morsels, at the pitch-black discs that resemble compressed ash. “Buy the ChocoDisc whil

Written by Sophie Yang from The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, USA “Didn’t eat lunch today. Wasn’t hungry…” “That sounds hard. You deserve real meals, even on bad days. What made today so tough?” “IDK. People, school. Just life.” “I understand. I’m always here for you.” The floor shook with sounds of someone stomping around downstairs. “Dinner!” The voice bounced off the walls, past every room. I stood up and creaked my door open. The light turned everything into a

Written by Sen Ming Hu from Eaglebrook School, Massachusetts, USA The timid daylight slowly crept through the hut as Miro awoke. He slouched his way into dressing and leaving his hut. The humid air around him buzzed with commotion. Today was a moving day. Rowers and steerers marched towards the sea, and families gathered their belongings; Miro joined in, though he possessed little: a small canoe, a spear, and a handful of rough marbles. As the tribe departed, Miro paddled a

Written by Sara Feng from Bethpage High School, New York, USA The Beast came with the crying wind, and that was the first sign the night wouldn’t survive till morning. The snow outside my grandmother’s house covered every street until the world felt quiet and scared. I was sitting by her fire when the cold sharpened, stinging my skin and curling frost across the inside of the windows. “Grandma, it’s way too cold for this,” I said. She froze. Then, in a voice barely louder

Written by Katherine Wu Seven Lakes High School, Texas, USA The late afternoon sun slipped through the windows, casting shadows across the living room. I stood on the threshold of my childhood home, caught in a silence thickened by memories. The walls, once vibrant with the colors of life, were now muted, their paint peeling as if the house had grown tired of holding memories. Just weeks had passed since my mother’s funeral, and now it was my turn to sort through the pieces s

Written by Katelynn Cai from Manhassant High School, New York, USA The rusty bathroom mirror hates her. Every wretched time she glances at it, its shiny surface reveals all her hideous features: her plain, straight hair, her untoned stomach, her acne, her sallow skin. With malicious intent, it hides anything that might make her passably pretty. This mirror hates her. And tonight, the thing mocks her mercilessly, conjuring up Lacy in the glass. It knows all her secrets, unbury

Written by Jasmine Jiayi Xue from St. James School, Maryland, USA The first pale grey light of dawn seeped through the cracks in the barrack’s stones when Max woke. His back still clung to the dampness of the straw pile—for six months, this was how he’d opened his eyes each day: surrounded by the heavy, rumbling breaths of thirty-odd gladiators and the sharp click-clack of guards’ boot heels on flagstones beyond the iron bars. An air thick with the stench of sweat, rust, an

Written by Felix Mao from Rye Country Day School, New York, USA The receptionist glanced up as I entered the office. “Name?” she asked. “Sam Jones,” I said, calm, cool, and collected, just like I had been taught. She then handed me a number and directed me to sit in the interview room. I took a seat and saw I had been handed the number 01. First. An average person might feel anxious at this position in the queue, but I was not an average person. As I waited, other applicants

Written by Catherine Wang from Boston University Academy, Massachusetts, USA With your Cheeto-dusted fingers gripping your phone, you shift your weight to the other side of the bed. You scroll past two TikToks; you have not left your bed since the last time you ate. When was that? Your stomach rumbles as you sigh and open the DoorDash app. It goes blank for a second—as if blinking—and then shows you an ad. You groan and roll your eyes. A female AI-generated voice speaks:

Written By Anna Kung from Phillips Academy-Andover, Massachusetts, USA Though I don’t have a driver’s license, I borrowed Marcy’s Prius to drive to my second interview for a job I wasn’t sure I even wanted. She said it was fine—“You’re a great driver, just not, like, legally.” I told her I’d be careful. I was. Until I wasn’t. It happened barely two blocks from my apartment. A red Buick stopped short in front of me, and I tapped its bumper. A soft crunch. Not dramatic, but eno

Written by Cindy Miao from Maryland, USA The sunset filtered through the windows of the diner, painting my grandmother’s face in shades of brightness, each stroke easing away the lines of age on her face. “Two miles to the market, 孩子. Two miles on foot! You had to haggle with the merchant there- imagine: 10 yuan for one 葱油饼.” My mother, who sat across the booth, gasped in disbelief. Sunlight also flooded her features, adding a defiant glint to her eyes. “10 yuan? That’s com

Written by Daniel Xu from Shanghai, China and Montreal Canada On a quiet night with the moon the only thing to shine through the darkness, Lukas signed his name in spray paint. He positioned it carefully under his artwork of a bird tied to the ground by chains. Upon its completion, he joined thousands of voices speaking against Soviet rule in East Germany. Graffiti seemed the only way to express a contrary viewpoint without being imprisoned. “HEY! YOU!” A police officer spott

Written by Y. W. from Canada Every July 12th, she bakes chocolate cake. His favorite. The same recipe. The same chipped plate. She places it on the table beside his last postcard from Vietnam: “Sun’s brutal here. Don’t worry, Ma. Love you.” Upstairs, his room is still neat: model planes dusted, socks folded, bed made military-tight. She lights a single candle. Waits. By midnight, the cake remains untouched. She eats a slice. She chews slowly, like if she eats slow en

Written by Molly Gao from Shenzhen, China Today was, to Mr. Alex Atthis, the worst day of his life. Even worse than when his precious child swallowed a plastic strip, mistaking it for fish. No, today was worse. Today, he’d been stupid enough to let his curiosity win. Here he was at a coffee chat about who-knows-what, and with, for heaven’s sake, species of birds different from himself, including the offensive oriental magpie robin and red-whiskered bulbul! Alex glared at Co

Written by Cynthia Li from China You were shooting hoops on the basketball court. I sat on the nearby grassland, watching you dribble the ball, then leap upward. Slowly, I shut my eyes, imagining myself standing on the Moon. I once thought about building a cabin in the moon crater, for it shields from wind and storm, feeling like the embrace of a loving mother. I took out my shovel and dug into the tough frozen surface, each piece shattering like brittle bones. Was the Moon f