January 2001

“If it was just Mom, maybe. But Dad . . . you know, he’s got the whole Christian thing going. Church every Sunday, Bible study. The full catastrophe.”

CHAPTER 64
We clicked back into our courses as if we had never been away, my slightly skewed beak bringing more than a few jokes, including one from our tutor. His was a cheeky remark about remembering the old formula ‘Grid to mag, add’ if I ever found myself following my nose.

Cheeky, but actually quite clever.

In a nation plunged into the abyss of chaos and darkness, where the boundaries between the tangible and the otherworldly had evaporated, the President's authoritarian grip tightened, and his loyal advisors were bound to him in a sinister alliance, driven by anger, fear, and desperation.

NOT TG. Eliminated.

CHAPTER 14
I managed to steady the bike enough to get it onto its sidestand, pain ripping into my chest as I did so. Something felt broken there, and I found my vision greying out as I struggled to get off. There was a lorry stopped just to my left, another pulled slightly away to my right, angled into traffic. I found myself falling, another agonising stab from my chest as I sat down hard on the tarmac. I really didn’t want to look behind me, but it had to be done. I had to know.

A needed change - Part 1

I sat there and looked at the surprise on her face. I think she was expecting me to be nervous, not do what I just did, but I wanted to show her I was serious and it was the easiest way I could think of to prove it. I took hold of the end, pulling it back and looked at her, then I did it again, taking my hands away and waggling my eyebrows at her. I hoped she could see I was smiling, but instead I saw the door open and her boyfriend, Rich stand there looking at me.

Gina’s Unexpected Adventure, part the third.

“Yes please, tea or white wine.”

Melissa looked at her and waggled her eyebrows, “aren’t you underage to be drinking….”

Gina looked affronted, “no I am….” And then tailed off as she looked down to remind herself how she was dressed, she blushed a little, and then grinned.

“Well you could always spank me for it….”

Melissa grinned back. “And of course, I should be spanked for subverting a minor….” And grinned broadly.

“One moment I have just the thing,” She added as she went into the kitchen.

Bonus Chapter: Helen turned 18, she now has the right to contact her father. Now that she’s out, how will that affect her interaction with her estranged father?

A group of friends streams their gaming on Wednesday nights. But not all the action is on the dining room table.

One would expect that after all the excitement of last week, I’d be enjoying the mundanity of Monday morning classes. Solving formulas during algebra, calculating vectors during physics, and reading about the War of 1812 during history. It wasn’t quite as engaging as the emotional rollercoaster I went through last week. Nonetheless, I needed to keep notes religiously trying to keep myself in my mother’s good graces.

I twirl and strike a pose. A dozen different cameras go off, capturing me from every possible angle. I smile the sweetest smile you could ever imagine, and blow a kiss to the camera. The cameraman nearly passes out from the excitement.

My name is Candy. Well, that’s my stage name, anyhow. I’m a 12 year old boy, but I’ve been modeling girl’s clothing for about a year now, and I’ve made quite a name for myself. Everyone wants “The Cutest Girl(y Boy)” in their magazine! I even do fashion shows for big companies, and my youtube videos get tens of thousands of views.

Stratford-on-Avon calling! Can a scrawny, irreverent guy save the play by . . . being Beatrice?

“Trying to be impulsive for once?” I jested back at Riley while rubbing the palms of my hands on my jeans in an attempt to distract myself from the pain.

“While I admire the gumption, this isn’t quite what I expected from your glorious return” Riley looked at me while shaking her head. “When I said you needed to break out of your shell, I didn’t expect you to take it so literally.”

CHAPTER 12
That next morning will always be special to me. I woke to bright sunlight shining around the edges of the curtains and filtering through the material, Caro still burbling away in her sleep, the room ripe with the smell of our demonstration of parental intent the night before. I felt embarrassed as I imagined what the cleaners would make of the state of our bedding.