8teensworld Barely -

The fluorescent lights of the library hummed, a stark contrast to the quiet panic rising in Maya’s chest. The deadline for the Write the World writetheworld.com competition was tonight, and she had nothing but a blank page, or rather, a half-finished story that felt entirely too thin. She was 17, and in her world, "barely" was the theme of the week.

Barely sleeping. Barely passing AP Physics. Barely keeping her thoughts from crashing into a mess of anxiety. She stared at the prompt: Insurmountable Obstacles . "Maya, library closes in ten," Mrs. Gable said softly. 8teensworld barely

She thought about the advice she’d read on a writing blog — If you’re stuck, stop trying to write a 'good' story. Write the story you need to hear. The fluorescent lights of the library hummed, a