Chapter 6

As the term progressed so did all the groups’ confidence. Everyone was helping each other and the teachers were really enjoying being part of a session that they had trained for. The four boys were becoming able to talk to, and with, the girls in the study group and they all grew up more as time went on.

Chapter 4

Wednesday morning both his brother and father ignored him so he and his mother made the running until they both left the house. At school the three boys walked in with a new purpose again. The classes went as expected and at the lunch break Timothy got to where the seating was and saw Geoff sitting alone again and looking very sad.

Chapter 2

He had some time before dinner and decided that he could finish his homework to give him the weekend off. He usually left it to Sunday morning. When he went down for dinner neither his father nor his brother were at the table and he asked his mother where they were. His mother looked very unhappy and tried to palm him off but he pressed on.

Chapter 12 And then You Will Rise…

To say the video was a hit was an understatement. The ‘Osaka Bananas’ were written on a lot of lists for when public shows would be opening again. Once we got out from the virus we all had secure futures for a while to come.

Chapter 10 You Have to be Strong…

Just before the end of the term I had a text from Naozumi asking if I could come to Tokyo for a meeting or two, in regard to my choreographic work. One Monday I was back on the bullet train, with Aiko and my mother who were not missing out this time. With me now at fifteen and my sister sixteen, my mother intended to hit the shops with us and spend some of the money I had earned last year.

Chapter 8 Nose to the grindstone…

It was total mayhem for a while, the lights, flashes, screams and pushing was not only dangerous, but frightening to us children. Luckily the adults from the school had been able to take control and it was better when our own families could comfort us. . It took the combined might of the schoolteachers that had come along to maintain some sense of decorum and Machiko was put out in front to answer questions.

Chapter 6 And Illuminates my World…

Naozumi came down with the three singers and they stayed at a hotel near the school. We had arranged for them to come after school on the Wednesday and we were all quivering with excitement by the time they arrived. I had gone to the school entrance to guide them to the gym and I must say that they were all more beautiful in the flesh.

This chapter introduces some Japanese J-Pop groups. They are all real and you can watch videos on… https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/the-9-most-unique-j-pop-bands-right-now
Marianne

Chapter 4 And Now is a Spotlight…

One of the common aspects of a J-Pop performance is usually the large number of bodies on stage. The band had two keyboard players, guitar, bass, drums and two singers. There were eight of us and Aiko with her four other cheerleaders so we had to fit the twenty into whatever space we were provided.

Chapter 2 There was Light…..

For myself, I had been trying to figure out where I stood with my new companions. Although I was dressed like a typical American student, I clearly did not fit with them because I looked, and spoke, more like the Japanese boys.

Chapter Three

The next morning Dani went around the garage and the living quarters, placing small bundles of explosives and running all the wires to a timer. This was set for twenty hours later, when they would be a long way away. They had come to the conclusion that the police would think that they would make the break either directly north, over the border; or directly south to loop east and head for the big smoke.

This is a short story I wrote last year for a competition that was part of an LGTBQ Festival. It got an Honorable Mention. Marianne.

Where there’s a Will……

It has been said that when someone dies, everybody grieves. This is not always the case, as the richer that person was, the greedier some people get. Of course, we would all say that this would never happen in our own family but it is a good job that we are not around to see the fireworks.

Stamp Part 5

The cooks and I had made a buffet which turned the afternoon tea into a stand around and chat session and a lot of various alcoholic drinks made the ladies very cheerful by the time they left. There was enough left over for the household to have a good meal which took the load off the kitchen.

Stamp Part 4

I gave them their drinks and then went back to the kitchen to make sure everything was all right. Laurel came in and sat at the kitchen table and chatted. She wanted to know when I was leaving and she was happy when I told her that his parents had organised a car for me on Thursday afternoon, just after lunch.

Stamp Part 3

What I did not expect was for him to come into my room and sit beside me on the bed. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him as I blubbed. He made soothing sounds but I could tell that he was getting more and more excited.

Stamp Part 2

For the next two hours or more I was wondering just why I was doing this as she worked on my hair, my face and digits. She wove extensions into my already reasonably long locks and then put a colour in it. While that was setting she did my toenails in a bright red which she told me was acrylic and would not be easily chipped.

Stamp Part 1

It was one of those days where you should follow the song lyrics. ‘Know when to fold, know when to walk away’. I was playing poker with a few of my drinking mates and we were betting in one pound coins.

Part 35

The Head of Studio was now starting to turn grey and Mr Singh called over the hotel manager, saying “Sam, do you think you can help our friend there to his room and then get someone to help him pack. Then, I think, you can call a cab and see him off the premises.”

Part 33

The next day we all assembled at the recording studio. Tom had extracted the twenty tracks required from the CDs and made a new one with just those needed. He had also sorted them into his idea of difficulty level.

Part 31

We left Bristol very early the morning after our last night there. At Slough we unloaded all of our kit, stock and costumes at the venue. On the way Anu was deep in conversation with the band, working on a Hindi version of one of the songs.

Inter-Galactic Transfer Point 27

Part 3 – Escape Plans!

After Epsi and 3 came back, more refreshed but bearing munchies to help them stay awake, 7 and I went off for our one-sixth break. After this we would be moving to one-third breaks so that everyone would get a proper rest.

Part 29

We stayed in our bunker for four days before we needed to go out and get some more supplies. We went to a restaurant first for a meal as we had always been taught that you should never shop on an empty stomach.

The Inter-Galactic Transfer Point 27

Part 1 – On a world, far away

I was off-duty and sitting at an observation window looking out into the dark void when my best, that is, only friend joined me to contemplate the darkness of space. I say darkness but it wasn’t truly dark; there were millions of light specks out there, all showing where a sun and a possibly inhabited world may be.

Heaven to Hell

Have you ever thought about heaven? They do say that the Catholic Church denies the existence of Hell, just admitting that there may be purgatory awaiting lost souls. Whatever you may, or may not, believe; you can experience Hell on Earth.

Saddled 6

As the babies were all now six months old we needed to get them baptised and it was arranged for the last Sunday in January. The church was quite full of friends and family as all four of the aunts had come along. The one that I had met on the first day with Louisa gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, saying “I knew you would be a keeper.”