"I get the picture: The processing center looks at my old world and my new world and asks each one if they want me."

"That's a good way to put it. Then, if you're a no-go in both directions, they give you their whole-new-life bit. It's a package deal: a new name, a Greyhound bus ticket, and the offer of a shitty job that you'd never take. They walk you to the door, tell you the world is your oyster, and give you a great big swat on the butt, 'cause it's your birthday."

Eighteen-year-old Nicholas Hammerstein is at the cusp of finishing high school in his hometown of Los Alamos, NM. He has a seemingly ideal life and is blessed with loving parents, a cute baby sister, and great friends. Nicholas is a gifted student and martial artist who has dreams of leaving for college at the end of his senior year. But, living in a world of Emergent humans, he will soon find his life turned upside down as his life and the fate of a kingdom hang in the balance. His future and theirs will be determined by how he navigates the drastic changes in his body and the magical and superpowered Mergent population he joins.

CHAPTER 57
The place we were based at was indeed a clone of the Brenin, with extras in some ways, and surprising omissions in others. The dorms were larger, and we ended up all in one ’gender-neutral’ bunkhouse affair, which demanded a certain finesse in dressing and undressing. Looking at the rows of bunks, I remembered all those jokes about ‘The Promise’ and blessed my Dad’s insistence that I travelled with a little box of reusable foam earplugs.

This was originally published here on September 7, 2009. And I’m republishing it for a couple of reasons, it’s the start of baseball season on this side of the pond, I’ve done some cleaning up to it, and for the new readers who weren’t here to be able to read it without digging too deep. Enjoy.

I finally had my first therapy appointment the Wednesday after graduation. I debated over whether to venn into my human girl body for the appointment — I’d been wearing my dragon-girl body ever since graduation — but decided it would be more honest to meet my therapist in my most preferred body. If she couldn’t handle my being a scaly, it would be good to know that up front so I could start looking for another therapist.

My next class was Differential Equations with Mr. Stewart. The bell rang as I plopped down in my seat, wincing as my long locks caught on the back of the wooden chair.

“Something to tell us today, Mr. Atkins?” Mr. Stewart said, glancing over his spectacles. Stewart was a norm, with no magic, and no supernatural abilities. He made up for the lack of magic in other ways..

“Uh…April Fools?”

He shook his head, then began to call the roll.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Mitzi’s concerned face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said.

Chapter 6

When we had cleared customs in Sofia, there was a driver with a board saying ‘Holdsworth’ on it. In the car he took us to our hotel. We checked into the hotel and our bags were carried up to the room. Tipping the two boys as they left, we closed the door. We freshened up, changed into jeans and tops, then went down to the reception, booking a dinner table for two, before walking outside and stretching our legs doing a little bit of sight-seeing.

I was looking at a photo of a much younger Irene Trainer, a husky, bearded man at her side and an infant in her arms. She was young. Pretty. Smiling like a spring morning. I started to cry, and somehow completely forgot that Mom was on duty. “I . . . I . . . Oh, Mom, it’s so awful!”

“Come on,” Rylee said to her hair, which paid no mind to her, as she ran a brush down the right side of her head. Ever since she’d started presenting herself as a woman, she’d found that hair was the biggest battle; the way it framed her face was essential for maintaining the illusion, and today it just wasn’t falling right.

Mirror Changed – Chapter 07

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~David~

David sat on his couch. An old styled rotary phone in his lap. Not even one from the nineteen nineties. More like something from post world war two era. Coiled cloth phone cord and wooden casing. Old style brass and resinous plastic ear piece located in the proper place.

I am sorry with the delay in getting chapter two out, but I was working hard on my revisions from The Return of Lilith. I have it being reviewed by another person and then I hope to have it published. In this chapter you will see Lilith's overall personality changing. I hope that the changes make sense with the story as we would all change with different experiences. I am going to continue to write this book in the third person because it will allow me to develop some of the other characters better and increase the story as a whole. Thank you for reading Lilith's story so far.

She’d laid there for what seemed like hours, but probably wasn’t. Rylee was stiff as a statue, trying to will herself to disappear as sunlight replaced the eerie glow of the moon and pressed warmly against her cheek. At the back of her head, a dull throb nagged at her, letting her know that she’d laid idle for too long.

Chapter Two

The popular girls all gave squeals of laughter as I dropped to my hands and knees in front of April. I heard groans from the rest of the students, and dimly heard Jeff say; "Aw, dude! Don't do it man!"

I refused to let myself feel humiliated. This was April's twisted sense of payback. I was protecting Mitzy from her rage and possible magical repercussions. April was a powerful witch and when in a fury, Witches had been known to wreak havoc on those less powerful. If I could become her target, even for one day, it could spare lives.

CHAPTER 56
Jordan didn’t actually move in to our shared house directly, but he became a very regular visitor. Our beds were all doubles, so there was presumably enough room, although lee did try being smug about it. We were sitting down to breakfast one November morning, the hints about milk purchases and porridge consumption having finally worked their way into the usual suspect’s understanding, when he stretched theatrically and grinned at the rest of us.

Story:
Hill Street High School was built in the early 1990's in response to the town's recent growth. Too, the old school was a remnant of the 1920's, and looked it. The town had eventually given in to the inevitable and voted in a new school.

The new building had everything. As befitted area weather, it was totally enclosed (except for the athletic fields, of course). Yet its public areas never felt claustrophobic, for it relied a great deal on glass. The cafeteria was large and clean, the library well-stocked even with fiction, and the gymnasium included an indoor pool.

Warning: there is some sexual violence in this story, as well as explicit mention of female body parts.

My Brilliant Idea

Eighteen-year-old Nicholas Hammerstein is at the cusp of finishing high school in his hometown of Los Alamos, NM. He has a seemingly ideal life and is blessed with loving parents, a cute baby sister, and great friends. Nicholas is a gifted student and martial artist who has dreams of leaving for college at the end of his senior year. But, living in a world of Emergent humans, he will soon find his life turned upside down as his life and the fate of a kingdom hang in the balance. His future and theirs will be determined by how he navigates the drastic changes in his body and the magical and superpowered Mergent population he joins.