Once I was riding on a weekend group ride. We were strung out along a straight, flat stretch of road. It occurred to me that the cyclists ahead o ...More
Drama, Fiction, Travel & Environment
November 17 ● 1 min read
The Commuting Book came into being as a humble attempt to pay homage to centuries of storytelling, which we believe is an essential fibre in the very fabric of what it means to be human. We want to present a diverse range of pieces because we all have different interests and sometimes a story doesn't mean much to one person but another will find it talks directly to their heart. This is the wonderful world of literature! We have some beautiful short stories and poetry written by Year 8 and Year 10 students. These will take around a minute to read. We also have essays, non-fiction pieces, book extracts, poems, and short stories, by published and unpublished writers, which will take, at most, about 20 minutes to read.
Once I was riding on a weekend group ride. We were strung out along a straight, flat stretch of road. It occurred to me that the cyclists ahead o ...More
November 17 ● 1 min read
Another bullet hissed over the dump. Ricky missed the seagull by a mile. He reckoned he shot good, considering the gun was tall as him. Jem wasn’t allow ...More
August 30 ● 2 min read
She chewed her biro, and read the evaluation form. “On a scale of one to five, five being highest, how much did you enjoy this activity?” One. ...More
September 22 ● 3 min read
First, find a location. Find a shabby farm that keeps its neighbours at arm’s length. Find a house with a rusted roof, with guttering that dribbles ...More
September 22 ● 5 min read
“And the prize for the bravest pirate goes to …” Greybeard, the oldest of all the pirates, held up a piece of paper and waved it around dr ...More
September 22 ● 5 min read
John paused and turned away from his screen to glance at the steaming cup of coffee. Something felt a little off but he couldn’t place his finger on it. The ...More
September 22 ● 18 min read
The time had come. In the warm darkness of his egg, the flamingo chick moved. Crack! His mother stood up. She fussed about, touching the egg gently with he ...More
September 21 ● 14 min read
Hermione’s pockets may contain Pickled cockroaches, eel brain A collapsible telescope, brand new Flame in a jar, shines bright blue Socks for Dobby, s ...More
August 1 ● 1 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stor ...More
November 17 ● 13 min read
On Monday night I dream about Charlie Brown. He stands at the window watching Snoopy sleep on top of his kennel. Snoopy’s little tummy moves up and down as he ...More
August 1 ● 2 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories ...More
August 1 ● 10 min read
I ate my brother. I was always fond of him, looked up to him. He was older than me. I measured myself against him. We stood back to back. At first I only ...More
September 20 ● 2 min read
At my father’s funeral an old man in a crumpled black suit gets up to speak. He rises slowly on old man’s legs from among the dark suits and ...More
September 22 ● 18 min read
It’s been nearly 70 years since my children left home. That sounds ridiculous but I am 120 years old. When they left, my house felt empty. I began to ...More
August 1 ● 12 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapter E ...More
February 24 ● 5 min read
It was a glimpse into Paradise. The sun caught the old town first, its jumble of faded pastels glowing like the gilded ceilings of the Vatican – yellow, pin ...More
August 1 ● 22 min read
Feijoas roll down the roof to be pecked by the birds startling the rats which scurry above. A grimy workbench dusty with tools next to a soggy, wet lead chewed ...More
December 19 ● 1 min read
Jerry and his friend, Ross, were playing in Jerry’s sandpit. Charlie appeared. “What are you playing?” Charlie asked Jerry. “Planes.” Jerry held u ...More
September 21 ● 5 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories ...More
September 12 ● 13 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Upok ...More
December 19 ● 15 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories C ...More
February 24 ● 3 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Upoko Tuaru ...More
September 12 ● 15 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories ...More
August 1 ● 11 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories ...More
February 24 ● 14 min read
When Ronald McGourvey and his family of shape shifters caught the 47 to Scarborough, nobody noticed. Timothy McGourvey had perfected becoming nitrogen-fixing ba ...More
August 1 ● 3 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stori ...More
February 24 ● 7 min read
A woman and a child in a boat. Her child, and her other child, and her other. Her three children. And one life jacket. She puts it on her youngest b ...More
August 1 ● 2 min read
I never touched the gorilla, I say. I got better things to do. Then the park ranger plonks his canvas bag on the table and pulls out a tranquiliser gun and ...More
August 1 ● 2 min read
When I pick her up she feels warm and frail. She’s like a giraffe sticking her neck high above the canopy searching for a decent snack. When she flies you can ...More
December 19 ● 1 min read
It’s what I could do to help Fleur out. Family is family. The last Friday each month, we’d drive into the city from opposite directions, and in the ...More
September 22 ● 2 min read
His hatred of cordyline australis was spawned in his ancestry. When the council planted them along the coastal path he couldn’t sleep, so strong w ...More
August 1 ● 2 min read
‘How’s Alex?’ Hope said. She and Molly were sitting in a café by the river in early spring drinking tea from the same pot. Molly sighed, looked ...More
August 1 ● 19 min read
They’d been walking for about an hour. They’d started in Madras Street, at the office. William was down for the week, the presentation had gone well a ...More
September 21 ● 14 min read
The man finds the boy in a drainpipe and when he asks him what are you doing in there? the boy looks at him as if he should already know and says I’m loo ...More
August 30 ● 2 min read
“What do you intend to do about this disgraceful situation?” Alison Carrington seethed. Mayor Harper stared at the outraged, elderly woman, like a man ab ...More
February 24 ● 22 min read
It’s morning. I know this because the clock says 7.23 and a finger of light is trying to pull back the curtains. My room faces east. So that makes it mo ...More
August 1 ● 22 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories ...More
November 17 ● 18 min read
The car drove up the highway, the inside temperature was like 1000 degrees. . “Mum ….” came the nagging voice of my ...More
August 1 ● 1 min read
Five travellers in a small Ford travelled across the Ardennes. The Hautes Fagnes. The High Fens. The fifth traveller, strapped in a car seat, cried with h ...More
August 1 ● 1 min read
The dragonfly’s eyes are made up of multiple hexagons. Inside each hexagon is a black and white picture of my face. I’ve printed the photos from ...More
August 31 ● 2 min read
The Strange Sagas of Sabrina Summers Saga 1: The Uncooperative Flying Carpet Prologue It was a terrible day for a wedding. The rain slanted down ...More
September 22 ● 21 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Chapte ...More
December 19 ● 14 min read
She lay in bed, eyes tight shut against the grey light, trying not to notice it as it becomes paler and paler through her eyelids. “Concentrate ...More
September 22 ● 3 min read
If you are on the bus, go to QR Code 0007 to read this chapter in English or QR Code 0016 to read in Te Reo. To read previous chapters go to Stories Up ...More
February 24 ● 3 min read
