Will I need stitches?
(with apologies to Shawn Mendes)

Hanging on the Telephone Line (with thanks to ELO and Jeff Lynn for the inspiration)

“Hello. How are you?
Have you been alright, through all those lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely nights
That's what I'd say. I'd tell you everything
If you'd pick up that telephone yeah yeah yeah”
I looked at the phone for the umpteenth time.

Why didn’t it ring?

What was wrong?

Has something happened to him?

Pale moonlight streamed through the window and bathed the floor of my hospital room. Through the haze of the painkillers dripping down into me, I thought the full moon reminded me of a ghostly ship, cut adrift in a sea of darkness. My name is Mark Brewer, I just turned fourteen. Two weeks ago, I was in a horrible car crash that killed my mother and has left me a ward of the state. I’m told by a case worker that my older sister.. Kayla Brewer, who lives in Benton and owns and a operates a Christmas Tree Farm has agreed to take me in. Okay I lied a little.

What’s the Matter With You: Part 1

By Camospam, editing by Wendy K

The third story in the ‘It Matters’ series following the adventures of Outlook, based within the Whateley Academy Universe.

December 19, 2007: Whateley Academy

Virgil Cooper cranked the steering wheel to bring his garbage truck off the main road and onto the gravel driveway leading up to Whateley Academy. The snow had delayed him since the roads were a mess, and he’d lost time helping push a stuck car out of the ditch.

When the Quads where just starting 8th grade. I was at work one day when I got paged to the phone.

“ Hello, this is Doctor Reid, can I help you?”

“ Dr. Reid this is Mrs. Wilson the secretary from Cooper middle school.”

“ Yes, Mrs. Wilson how may I help you?”

“ Well I have Kelsey and Kalley here in the office. They have been in a fight.”

The House

By Dawn Natelle

Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter out. I needed some down time. The next chapter will be out sooner. Happy Thanksgiving to the Yanks: Dawn.

The House – Red

Gaby Book 17 - Seasons

“That was intense,” Laura allowed when she arrived in the girls’ changing room, one of the meeting rooms in the Rathaus.
Seven Apollinaris girls actually outnumbered the rest of the female competitors, some of which had already disappeared.

“Ms Wilson will see you now,” said the assistant.

I stood up and after a moment’s hesitation; I followed her into the very impressive office. The views out over East London were impressive.

They should be. We were on the twenty third floor of one of the large tower blocks that fringe the edge of the City of London.

Ms Wilson stood up from behind her desk and came to greet me.

“Thank you for coming Susan. Please take a seat.”

I was shown to a comfortable seat where after smoothing my skirt I sat down.

AMBER PT 8

On Saturday, the girls where 3 months old. A knock came to the door. Opening it there was a small girl. She looked 15. “ Hi, Can I help you?” I asked her.

“ I'm Emily Chapmann. I saw an ad and wonder if you are still looking for a surrogate mother.”

“ Emily How old are you?” I asked.

“ Everybody asks that. I am 21.”

Amy returns home for Thanksgiving, but her weekend is a little more eventful than she'd planned.

http://whateleyacademy.net/index.php

Ursula finally gets to experience the city of Joth as she is taken to have her hair done. Afterwards, in the market, an opportunity presents itself... cue haste, confusion, desperation and sudden violence.

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

14 - Street Life

Where’s my stockings ?

An AP-500 follow-on …. I was given an idea and here we are. AP

Time on My Hands

Chapter 45: 361-362 CE: The End of Alpes Graiae Et Poeninae

"Not only do I learn human languages, I can speak with all animals," Raben explained. "I use ravens as my eyes, I can see what they see, I can hear what they hear. They scout for us. In return we see they are fed and sheltered and we attend to any wounds they might suffer."

Needless to say the natives were quite unnerved by what Raben told them but the ravens did seem to be talking to him. Raben stayed ashore that night. The next morning all but 1 ship set out to scout the other islands. The natives were amazed as Raben answered their every question and they answered most of his. Each day more natives arrived until by the end of the third day they had a representative from every village present.

Lately I had actually enjoyed going to school. It had started when a group of documentary filmers had chosen our school to do a documentary about every-day high school life. This would be their fifth week here. The first week everyone tried to get their attention. They strongly discouraged that. Their goal was to be as unnoticeable as possible. Blending in into the background while filming with their carefully disguised cameras, as well as some fixed cameras. By the fourth week they had succeeded quite well. The students didn’t take more notice of them than they did of the poster for the Chess club’s next game in the state championships. Quite a pity, I had spent quite a lot of time making that poster.

So given that the film team wasn’t interested in any drama queens why did my best friend Phil come to school dressed as a girl?

In the near future, Andy is looking for a way to earn some money. He decides to go along with what appears to be a Nigerian scam. Things don't go as planned of course.

[This story is based upon a conversation I overheard the on the train to work in 2011].

“Hi Wendy. I’ve not seen you on this train for a while?”

“Oh, hi Kylie. Yeah, I’ve been at the branch in Slough for the past few months. I could drive there in twenty minutes from home. Now I’m working in Reading for the next six months. The assistant manager is off on maternity leave. So here I am on the commuter express that stops at every station!”

“How are your kids?”

“Davy is a real handful. All he wants to do is play football.”

A Tale of Two Kitties

By Dawn Natelle

During lunch break high school freshman Tom was sitting on a bench outside, reading a sports magazine (but with the edge of a Penthouse sticking up), alone as usual. Well, as usual as it could be the fifth day of term. Tom was not a popular boy. Small, ”dainty” and with golden locks that was rather longish. There really was nothing wrong with Tom except that he was terribly shy and new in town. He had lost his parents and the only relative was a cousin of his mother's. Matthew and Martha were considerably older than Tom’s parents but they considered taking care of Tom as their duty. Tom had all the material support he could wish for. However, they didn’t really care for him and since they never had had any children of their own they didn’t understand him at all. So the less he bothered them the happier they were.

Anyway Tom was sitting there ostentatiously reading a sports magazine featuring baseball. Tom was quite a good baseball player and had great hopes to get onto one of the junior teams. However, if you looked closer you could see the edge of a Penthouse sticking up behind the magazine. Not that Tom was interested in the pictures. Actually he found the sports magazine much more interesting and if he wanted to look at naked girls internet had an abundant supply and Matthew and Martha had no clue how to restrict his access. No, Tom had arranged the Penthouse very carefully to throw off any suspicions about what he had hidden behind the Penthouse. His real secret was much worse, something that absolutely NO ONE must know. Tom was totally absorbed by the latest “Thumping ❤❤, Broken ❤❤, ❤❤United” book, according to some the soppiest, most braindead romantic drivel ever written. Tom just couldn’t get enough of it.

Gaby Book 17 - Seasons

 
“So what is it this week, Gab?” Herr Thesing enquired.
“Thought we’d try chicken?”
“Okay, just change the meat like last week then?”

With everything going on last week our pie was mince, the meat variety.