Two lonely high school students walk parallel paths.  One, impoverished and losing hope, yearns desperately to become their authentic self. The other, wealthy and the victim of unfathomable manipulation, resists changing to something they never wanted to be. Can these two, meeting amidst the clatter and chatter of the school cafeteria, find connection? Can they embrace their fractured selves and each other and then become whole? Or will a duplicitous villainess, in the guise of a loving mother, destroy their fragile hope and leave them living a miserable, incomplete existence?

CHAPTER 82
We had a week to settle in, a process that didn’t leave a lot of free time. We did get some exploring in, though, which included a trip to the Botanic Gardens. Maz had seemed almost ashamed when she had asked what amounted to my permission, and our late-night discussion became quite emotional for some very obvious reasons. We were both a little bleary-eyed when we roused Ish that morning, asking him to pack his raincoat and the little digital camera we had treated him to.

I had just recently moved to Scottsdale, Arizona as a result of my mother’s death. My only living relative was going to allow me to stay with her for a couple of years, since there was no one else. Up to recently my Mom and I were living just outside of Amarillo, Texas on a small farm that my Dad used to operate.

He got killed several years ago when his tractor overturned as he drove it along a small stream next to one of his fields. He was caught under one of the wheels when it rolled over and he was squashed.

[Sunday evening, Washington DC]

“Thank you for not being angry with me over all this,” said Jeff as he poured some wine.

The coffee shop's exterior wall provided a convenient prop as Nathan leaned against it, watching the steady stream of people moving along the sidewalk. His posture was deliberately casual, but there was nothing relaxed in the way his eyes tracked each passing figure. Three days since he'd last been on campus, and already the routines of normal life felt alien to him.

By Penny Lane and Iona Laing

Another fight with my wife, the couch probably where I will spend the night, a fate that has happened more often than I cared for recently. This time, we had just got comfortable watching a chick flick on the T.V. when I reached over to massage her breasts. She was cradled in my arms sitting directly in front of me. It was only logical for me to reach around her to fondle her breasts.

CHAPTER 81
We landed in the afternoon, just after a rain squall had blown through; the place was a lot wetter than WA, that was clear. Maz had the window, and as we descended towards Changi, she was almost dancing in her seat, pointing out places that I couldn’t actually see, as Ish was already leaning over her for his view. I would just have to see it all from ground level.

“This was the military airfield originally, Mike. Alan’s Dad used to go to the beach here. There was a place called the South China Sea Club, but it was just palm thatched huts, a bar, a juke box and a local man cooking chips in a wok over a gas ring. On the floor. Such changes!”

Security Training Center Number 2:
Jake and Jessica look at the young fifteen-year-old teenage girl standing before them. She was wearing the black skintight outfit they had given her to wear. The suit had sensors built into it to monitor her vitals.

“Alright, Brandi. First, you’re going to stretch, so we can get a baseline on what your body is doing.” Jessica was standing near the monitors and already getting basic readings from the suit.

Chapter 25: Mother's Training

Chapter 24: Fallout

The fallout from the lawsuits and the court’s decisions rippled through the town like a thunderclap, leaving residents in a state of disbelief. Initially, the community seemed paralyzed by the overwhelming revelations, the weight of the truth rendering them unable to process the gravity of what had transpired. As time passed, however, emotions began to stir, and the townspeople found themselves divided, their reactions as diverse as the patchwork of lives they led.

Author's note: I am posting these today because I will be busy for the next two weeks. There will be no posts during that time.

Chapter 22: Media Backlash

This is an AI-generated story and is a continuation of “Test Drive”.
I have kept edits to a minimum, making changes only when the AI would repeat phrases a bit too much.
(Only the Test Drive series will be written with AI assistance)

Chapter 21: The Charges

The ride to the station felt like an eternity to Yuqi, though it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes. She sat in the cramped backseat of the patrol car, her mind swirling with a tempest of confusion and fear, the biting metal of the handcuffs digging into her wrists like a cruel reminder of her predicament. The two officers in the front seat maintained a stony silence, their eyes fixed on the road ahead, amplifying the sense of dread that coiled tighter in her stomach with each passing second.

I was an assistant producer for a TV station, in Phoenix, Az. Deedra, my producer, and I were discussing a bit of information we had just learned about. It was still in the rumor stage, but if true might require us to delve into this mystery, since anything remotely connected to this would make for a great story locally, maybe even nationally.

The parents of a troublesome teenage son finally had enough and sends him for special training. He gets more than she bargains for.

The New One
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

I had come home from the party early. Walt had been talking to some of his business buddies and I was bored.

“That’s okay, sweetie,” he said. “You go home and slip into something nice and I will be along shortly.”