Chapter 3

When the girls joined me, they had several bags. I bought them all a lunch and we acted as if we didn’t have a care in the world. While we were eating, I had a text from Abbas to go and see him in the afternoon. We took the bags back to the hotel and then took a taxi to the Museum. In his office, he sat us down and showed us some paperwork.

Mending Bridges
By
Rebecca Anna Coleman

I took a deep breath as I walked into the dinning room of McDonald's. The air inside smelled of greasy french fries, freshly brewed coffee, random pieces of cow that had been ground up and smashed into hamburger shaped patties. And mystery parts of chicken that had likewise been ground up and formed into nugget-like shapes that had then been deep fried in three or four week oil at temperatures that would boil the skin from your bones. All in all it reminded me of my childhood.

Note: It's been a while between episodes. Here are some quick links to One and Two. Enjoy.

A man in his early thirties answered the door, “Yes?”

The following day, I brought my dad to school, hoping to finally get some clarity on what I was. Together, we walked up to Principal Elara's office, my heart pounding with a mix of nerves and anticipation. When I knocked on the closed door, the Principal's voice called us in, and I led the way.

Progress in Pink

That’s progress – isn’t it?

This is mostly a transcript of a conversation I recorded at my T-club a while ago. There’s the occasional comment so it doesn’t flow perfectly. But it’s got some thoughts I want to share about how I’m going being a girl, sorry, correction, at my age, I’m a woman as far as I present to the world. I’ve got a job, a flat, friends. I’m doing ok.

Chapter 1

On sunny days I would sit on my window seat and think about how I had arrived at this point. Had there been times when I could have changed the outcome? Had there been stages where I could have dug my heels in and shouted “No!’? Would it have made much difference? The important thing was, that when push came to shove, I allowed things to move along in the same direction, wondering what the results would achieve. I was now at the fitting end.

Chapter 9

The next few months went by in a rush of business, hospital visits, the odd Weed Run, and life in general. Al and I were regulars on the Weed Runs, with Cate coming along occasionally, with Angelique looking after Jenny.

Pablo and Antonio were good contacts, telling us a lot about life on the island. It was their sales of weed that allowed them to live above subsistence. We discovered that the cigars came from the Party Headquarters, with some going missing before the final delivery.

Since you read this on BCTS you are familiar with my situation.

I wore a skirt to school ONE day to see what would happen. At the time I was known as Toby. Well, it was supposed to be only one day. Things snowballed. Being tagged as a girl. Cheerleading, ballet, standing up to bullies, assigned to the girls’ locker room. Even a boyfriend. Ending up as the popular girl, slayer of bigots, savior of damsels in distress (perhaps not the last). The Prom Queen ruling the school.

This Little Light of Mine
by
Rebecca Anna Coleman

“Ye are the Light of the World. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that in the house. Let your light  shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.” Matthew 5:14 – 16

All Hello’s Night

Harold Benjimin Harrigan was a loner. He had been a loner all his life. At school, he had merged into the background but did well enough to apply for a few good jobs. He wasn’t a handyman but had one redeeming skill that set him apart. It was the inability to become bored with repetition.

He landed a job with the London City Council. It was probably because nobody else was interested in being in charge of the public toilet maintenance, mainly making sure that they were cleaned regularly and ordering the tons of toilet paper.

I was lost in his arms and dazed by the music, which had switched into a more somber piece halfway through our dance. At this point, we weren't even swaying anymore; we just stood there, holding each other.

I had long since closed my eyes and buried my head in his chest. If I listened hard enough, I could just make out the soft beating of his heart-- or was that mine? I couldn't be sure. I couldn't be sure of that, or anything else for that matter.

‘Are you getting dressed tonight’ was the question I asked myself

‘Yes, I am ... but I want to try something different. I want to take one more step.’
That was how this happening happened last night.

Chapter 8

It was dark again when I woke up. Cate had stripped me while I was out to the world and covered me up. I was having dreams about shooting people, only to wake to realise that my dreams were only a reenactment of real life. When I put a gown on and went to the toilet, Cate was there to help me stagger into the kitchen, where she plied me with a fry up.

Making her mission succeed requires Mantra to establish a truce between two warring factions. To do so, she has to negotiate with a woman who was one of the most admired heroines on her Earth. But what can she expect from the vengeful version of that person living in a world as mad as this one?

Title

The New Girl at Uskweirs Manor

a pastoral romance by Miriam Robern

Strangers on a Hill

Bath, June 1812

The carriage, like everything else that Ashbourne owned, was well-appointed, suffused in rich fabrics, and, at least objectively speaking, very comfortable.  But Amelia perched at the edge of her seat, back teetering stiffly, a torrent of hasty words spilling out of her mouth.

I'd woken up at the crack of dawn to the sound of the cocks crowing. This had been the second night in a row that I hadn't been able to get any real sleep.
 
I'd managed to sleep for a few hours after Nabo bid me good night but dreamed only of fire. Her destructive nature had infected every facet of my imagination and I feared what she would do to me.
 
'Look what she had already done' I thought to myself as I stared at our reflection in the mirror.