Part 38 By Anistasia Allread Edited by Edeyn “Why does she have to tell him at all?” Samantha asked. “Some guys go psycho if they find out that they have been sleeping with a girl that was once a guy. Beatings and even murders have taken place. She has to be careful.” |
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Previously in The Princess and the Plague. . .
“Are you dating him now?”
She didn't think they were an item now. They did kiss and he took her to his special place, but as a couple? She didn't feel that way about him. Yes she enjoyed his attention and feeling like a princess all night. It was magical under the stars as well as under the reflections of the pool. But the night ended with a hug and a bit guarded. Could she see herself cuddling up with him on the sofa like she did with Tricia? It would be nice, but she would have to be on guard all of the time. She would never be able to relax, never to be herself, all one hundred percent, one hundred percent of the time.
“No.” She answered. “I'd like to still date you. That is, if you'll have me.”
Tricia met Erika's gaze. Tears spilled out of her eyes. “I love you too much not to.” She smiled weakly.
“Summer once told me something. I don't know where she got it but it was meant for you.” Erika finally took Tricia's hand in hers. “A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart; and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”
The two stood and wrapped their arms around each other, holding one another and crying into one another's shoulder.
And now for Chapter 38. . .
Samantha came back to join the two at the table and found them holding hands looking into one another's eyes. “Can you two Play Nice?” Samantha sucked on her juice drink.
“We're better.” Tricia didn't look away from Erika's blue eyes.
“So, lets bond while we shop.” Samantha coaxed, “Erika needs tights, leggings, and hose just to start. She also needs a new wardrobe.”
“Good thing my dad gave me money, huh?” Erika joined Samantha, her fingers interlaced with Tricia's.
“We also need to get you a Halloween costume.”
“Costume?” Tricia looked at Erika. “What are you going to be?”
“I have no idea.” Erika shrugged.
“What have you been in the past?” Tricia inquired.
“Lets see. . . Vampire-”
“Thats one for black cat.” Samantha noted.
“Surgeon. . . “ Erika continued.
“One for Princess.”
“What are you talking about?” Tricia interrupted.
“Just trying to see if Erika would have been a black cat or fairy princess for Halloween.” Samantha explained.
Tricia giggled and looked Erika up and down.
“I was Spider man. . .”
“Princess.” Samantha noted.
“The Punisher. . . “
“Oooh, that's a tough one.” Samantha bit her lip. That can go in either column.
“Buzz Light-year. . . “
Samantha and Tricia both giggled.
“Princess.” Tricia suppressed her tither.
“One year I was a Nintendo controller” Erika beamed. “That was a fun one to make.”
“You mean from the original Nintendo?” Samantha asked.
Erika nodded.
“Princess.” Tricia gave Erika's hand a squeeze.
“Oh and one year I was a zombie.”
“Black cat.” Samantha guided them down the mall. “I'd say that you'd be more of a Fairy Princess girl than a black cat girl.”
“I agree.” Tricia nodded. “Now, do you want to be a mayhem fairy or a fairy princess?”
“What is a mayhem fairy?”
“It's a fairy with a bit of a mean streak. Lets stop by Hot Topic to show her.” Tricia suggested. “We can show you a mayhem fairly in there.”
Samantha nodded.
Erika decided that having shopping money was so much fun. She and her two best friends spent the afternoon grazing one store after another. By the time they were done, they all had their arms loaded with bags and Erika had a sixty dollar balance on her card.
“My feet hurt,” Erika complained.
“Thats a sign of a good shopping day.” Samantha smiled. “Now, lets get you home so that you can put this away and we can help you decide what to wear tomorrow.”
“I have an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Barts.” Erika informed them.
“Will you be at school at all?” Tricia asked.
“As soon as I'm done.” Erika nodded.
“So you are allowed to have a Dress Up Day for Halloween at Washington High?” Tricia asked as they waited for the bus.
“As long as you aren't wearing full faced masks.” Samantha nodded. “But most of those costumes are what the guys would wear anyway.”
“That's cool.” Tricia smiled, “My last school didn't allow for dressing up, or Halloween. It was supposed to be that lame 'Harvest festival' crap.”
“Why do adults always ruin our fun? 'Oooh, you might offend some real witch if you dress up, or only Satan worshipers dress up.” Samantha rolled her eyes.
The girls climbed on the nearly empty bus and took seats in the back.
“So I take it you didn't get in trouble for smoking last night?” Erika asked softly.
“No. I didn't get close enough for her to smell it.” Tricia stated.
“Did she wonder about you getting home early?”
“I needed a little Leeway so I told her that I was cramping so bad that I needed to come home and take a hot bath and go to sleep. I was in the bath when she brought me a hot water bottle. By that time I had brushed my teeth and the scent of my body wash masked it.”
“Oooh, sneaky.” Samantha commented.
“Tips from my sister.” Tricia corrected.
“How is Leeza?”
“Doing okay. She said she might have a boyfriend.”
“Might?” Samantha questioned.
“She won't know until she reveals her secret.”
“Why does she have to tell him at all?” Samantha asked.
“Some guys go psycho if they find out that they have been sleeping with a girl that was once a guy. Beatings and even murders have taken place. She has to be careful.” Tricia explained. She looked at Erika. “Trans-girls have Secret Lives.”
“So has she been sleeping with him?” Samantha asked.
“No. She tells them first, then if they don't go screaming out the door and peeling rubber out of the driveway, they work into that.” Tricia looked to Erika. “We don't have that problem though.”
The walk from the bus stop to Erika's house was only a block and a half. Erika's mom's car was missing from the driveway as they walked up.
“Home Sweet Home.” Erika entered the front door. “Hello?” Erika called.
“I'm in my office.” Her dad called.
“Where's mom?” Erika asked.
“She said that she had to go out for a bit.”
“Do you know where?” Erika asked.
“No. I've been busy in here. I'm in the middle of a project.”
“I have Samantha and Tricia over. We're going up to my room. Okay?”
“Sure.” he waved her away.
Erika picked up her bags and joined the others and trooped up to her bedroom. “It's kind of messy.” She warned. “I haven't gotten around to making it less boyish either.”
“Boyish?” Samantha snickered.
“I spent all of my money on clothes rather than getting new bedding.” Erika pushed open the door to her bedroom. She dropped her bags on the bed and hurried to pick up a few items that were still on the floor.
“Its not that bad.” Samantha set bags on the bed and looked around.
“It smells like you.” Tricia breathed deep.
Erika wrinkled her nose at that thought.
Tricia opened the closet doors and looked inside. “Thank goodness we went shopping!” she exclaimed. “You only had a couple of decent outfits.”
“I know.” Erika sighed. “But we changed that today.”
“And you have more pink.” Tricia beamed. “You are going to let me borrow that pink sweater, aren't you?”
“Sure.”
“I didn't know you owned any color but pink.” Samantha teased eying Tricia's blue polo.
“I borrowed it from Leeza.” Tricia fessed up. “It was one that she left behind.”
“Why did you cut your hair?” Erika asked. “Don't get me wrong, I do think that this is very cute on you, I was just wondering.”
Tricia looked down at the bed loaded with shopping bags then at the walls of the room. “Its stupid.”
“Why is it stupid?”
“I . . . . well, when I got home last night I wasn't thinking. I thought that you were starting to be attracted to boys.” Tricia began playing with the handle of one of the shopping bags. “I figured it you wanted a boyfriend, that I could try and be one. . . . I took some scissors and chopped away at my hair.”
“Oh Tricia.” Erika rushed across the room and gave her girlfriend a big hug.
“This morning I was still in a rotten mood so I pulled on this and went to Hair Magic at the mall to get the mess I made, fixed.”
“Well, I for one love it!” Samantha announced. “It is very cute.”
“I like it too,” Erika ran her fingers up the short hair on Tricia's nape.
Tricia leaned forward and embraced Erika's lips with a hard, passionate kiss.
The girls helped to organize Erika's closet and agreed on an outfit for the following day before departing.
“Night Mr. Martin.” Samantha and Tricia called before they left.
“Erika?” her father called.
“Yes, Daddy?” Erika stood at the door of his office.
“What happened between you and your mother this morning?”
“She was being a jerk.”
“Can you be a little more detailed?” he poured himself some Southern Comfort.
Erika told her father what had occurred at the church and the confrontation that she had with her mother. He asked a for a few details here and there and just nodded as she finished up.
“I'm sorry that you had to go through that.” he sighed. “But look at it this way. So far you have been pretty isolated in not hearing the bad that people think about people like you and my Aunt. Perhaps this will open your eyes a bit more to the ignorant hate that is out there.”
Erika nodded.
“I'll have a talk with your mother tonight when she gets home.”
“Daddy?” Erika asked.
“Yes?”
“Will mom ever accept me?”
“I don't know.” he shook his head. “Just remember that deep down inside, she loves you very much. She does what she does because she thinks it may help you.”
“Taking me to a bigoted church helps me?”
“If you can learn what you can from backwards thinking people so that you can avoid them in the future, it might.” He looked away and at his computer then back. “Erika, your mother feels that your transitioning means that she failed as a mother. She needs our love and support to understand that what is happening with you has nothing to do with her.”
“Still. She shouldn't force me to sit through something like that.” Erika pointed out.
“You're right. It was wrong of her. I'll talk to her about that.” Her father nodded. “Your mother was raised during a time when people didn't cause 'scenes', Erika. You were supposed to politely endure what ever the situation was then leave discreetly and try not to put yourself into that situation again.”
“Dad, it's a new millennium.”
“Some things are ingrained in us.” Her dad grimaced. “I'll talk with her. I promise.”
“Thanks Daddy.” Erika turned to leave.
“You know,” her father said catching her attention. “You used to be a Momma's Boy. It would be nice if you could get to a point where you could be a mommas girl.”
Erika and her mom drove to Dr. Barts office in silence. The two had spent most of the morning avoiding communication with one another. Sleeping in a bit on a school day had been a nice treat. Breakfast was a bowl of cereal and tension filled silence as her mother savored a cup of coffee across the table from her, making a point not to look in her direction.
The car came to a stop in a parking slot. Erika opened the claustrophobic confines of the car and smoothed out her skirt before slipping her purse on to her shoulder. She paused to allow her mother to get out of the car then started in to the building staying a few feet a head of her.
“I'm here to see Dr. Barts.” Erika told the receptionist.
“Have a seat, Erika, she'll be with you shortly.”
Erika found a chair and perched on it, making sure to fold her skirt under her. It wasn't long before the door to the back hallway opened and Dr. Barts greeted Erika.
“How are you doing, Erika?” Dr. Barts asked.
“I'm okay, I guess.”
“I hear that you are conflicted with your medical issues.”
“That I have a brain tumor, and I don't want to go under the knife? Yes.”
“Are you afraid of the surgery?” Dr. Barts asked taking a seat across from Erika.
“No.” Erika shook her head. “That kind of pain doesn't bother me.”
“What kind of pain does bother you?”
“The mental and verbal kind.” Erika bit her lip. “If I get the tumor removed, then I'll have to go through puberty. . . . as a boy.”
“You know that there are ways to keep that from happening.”
Erika nodded, “Keep the tumor.”
“Dr. Lipdick can prescribe hormone blockers that would keep the testosterone to minimal levels. When you turn eighteen, you can then make an informed decision to take female hormones and go through a girl's puberty. It is a serious decision and there are No Half Measures.”
“But what if I want to go through female puberty now?” Erika asked.
“Right now the law doesn't allow for someone of your age to make that kind of decision. You know the old adage, The State Does Not Make Mistakes.”
“That's bullshit and you know it.” Erika cursed.
“I know it is, but that is the law. So, is this whole 'not wanting to get the tumor removed' thing about puberty?”
“Pretty much. Mom is like, 'it's a tumor and you have to have it removed so that it will fix everything and you can go back to being Eric.” Erika tried to imitate her mother being all upset. “I don't want to go back to being Eric. I've worked too hard getting to where I am. Why can't she just accept the fact that I'm a girl now?”
“Well. . . . Why can't you accept that fact that these Changes are very hard on her?” Dr. Barts turned it around.
“But she doesn't need to make me go to a church that preaches that people like me are evil and works of the devil.”
Dr. Barts started to chuckle.
“It's not funny.” Erika was getting upset.
“It's not that.” Dr. Barts said trying to regain control. “I was just picturing the Devil in Drag.”
“I'm not a Drag Queen.”
“I know, Erika, I'm sorry. It was just something that popped into my head.” She cleared her throat. She fixed her glasses on her face, “So your mother took you to a church that you were uncomfortable in?”
“It was more than uncomfortable, it was down right nasty. It was filled with these nasty, bigoted people.”
Erika went on to explain the previous morning.
“Wow, those people really are experiencing a Tradgedy of Spirit.” Dr. Barts shook her head in disbelief.
“They are all psycho.” Erika corrected.
“Have you and your mother spoken about this experience?” Dr. Barts asked.
“A little.” Erika nodded. “I spoke to my dad about it last night. He said he was going to talk to my mom about it.”
“And?” The doctor prompted.
“And nothing.”
“You and your mother haven't talked about it any further?”
Erika shook her head.
“It sounds like you two have some Unfinished Buisness.”
“I really don't want to talk to her right now.” Erika looked away.
“Erika go stand in front of The Mirror on the Door.”
“Why?”
“Please.”
Erika got up and stood in front of the mirror. She glanced around the room in the reflection then looked at herself. She fingered a few tresses of hair into place and checked her makeup.
“What do you see?” Dr. Barts asked.
“I see me.”
“How would you describe yourself?”
“I don't know? Kind of pretty, I guess.”
“Look below the makeup, and pretty skirt.”
“I see me.”
“Who are you? Do you see a man or do you see a Woman in the Mirror?”
I see a woman.”
“Your mother sees a young man wearing makeup and dresses.”
“But I'm not!” Erika was getting upset.
“You have gone a long way in proving that you aren't, but you have only been doing this for a relatively short time.” Dr. Barts explained. “Most TG girls know from a young age that they are in the wrong body. You didn't discover this until this last summer. A Mother's Love is unconditional. Yes, your mom needs to support you but she is also is in her right to question if this is a truly wise choice.”
Erika turned away from the mirror. A scowl on her face. She stormed over to her chair and stiffly took a seat and stared out the window, Lost In Thought.
“Erika.” Dr. Barts tried to soothe. “Your mother wants the best for you. We all do. Your father, your friends, your teachers, everyone. Right now, Getting that thing inside your brain removed is what is best for you.” Dr. Barts paused. “So Would you like me to see about getting you in to seeing Dr. Lipdick so that you an talk to him about Hormone therapies or blockers?”
“You think I should have the surgery too?”
“I think that it is your decision, but one that you can better make once you spoken with a professional in that area.”
Erika shrugged her shoulders, “I guess. If I do this, I don't want to be given Little Pink Pills or one of those Placebo things.”
“I don't think Dr. Lipdick would do that. How are things going at school?” Dr. Barts changed the subject.
“Fine, I guess. We had Homecoming on Saturday.”
“Who did you go with?”
“My girlfriend Tricia and a friend, Julian.”
“You went with two people?”
Erika nodded.
“Did that cause problems?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Tricia saw me kissing Julian and got upset.”
“Have you stopped dating Tricia?”
“No. It just happened.”
“The kissing.” Dr. Barts wanted to clarify.
Erika nodded.
“What did Tricia do?”
“Got high.”
“At the dance?”
“Outside. We took her home.” Erika erected a stone wall.
“Who's we?”
“Julian and I. Julian was pretty upset.”
“Weren't you?”
“A little. I was too busy feeling guilty.”
“Over kissing Julian?”
She nodded.
“Did you like kissing Julian?”
“Yes.” Erika's response was reluctant.
“Do you like kissing Tricia?”
Erika didn't even hesitate. “Yes.”
“Do you have feelings for both Tricia and Julian?”
Erika shook her head. “No. I like Julian, but I have feelings for Tricia. It's just when I'm with Julian, Something Feels Strange.”
“Strange? How?”
“I don't know, exactly. He is the only guy I've been attracted to. But Tricia. . . Tricia knows me. She's like the other half of me. I know this now. She loves me, and . . . . I love her.”
To Be Continued...
Comments
A note from the author : )
Okay I'll admit doing this kind of thing is fun. It is a LOT of work, but it is fun playing with everyone's titles and fitting them into this story.
If you are upset that I used your title in this chapter, please let me know and I'll get rid of it and try something else.
I decided to do this again because a recent reader read through Camp Kumoni and left a comment saying that they thought it was fun. The last time I did it, the stories mentioned ended up getting a jump in hits and readers so I hope that it happens again. I worked in as many as I felt I could but there are MANY titles that I just could not figure out how to add. I'll try one of these things later and hopefully I can incorperate them.
I hope you enjoy the fun. BTW if you haven't figured it out by now, The titles are all in CAPS.
A.A.
p.s. I didn't count. How many did I use?
Mind?!!! you must be kidding!
Anistasia,
I nearly jumped three feet when I read mine in there... Thanks!
A good chapter, I liked the conversation with Dad, and frankly the one with Dr. Barts was important too.
Great work as always, A.A.
Hugs,
Kristy
Tee hee hee!
...a recent reader...
/me looks around innocently... :)
I make it 22 - here's the list, together with authors for the 20 I could find on BCTS search...
01) Play Nice (Laika)
02) Dress Up Day (Angel O'Hare)
03) Halloween (Lisam)
04) Leeway (Justme)
05) Secret Lives (Joanne Foxcourt)
06) Home Sweet Home (Barbara Lynn Terry)
07) Hair Magic (Maritessconcepcion)
08) Southern Comfort (Theide)
09) Momma's Boy (Dauphin)
10) No Half Measures (Jenny Walker)
11) The State Does Not Make Mistakes (Penny Lane)
12) Changes (SueBrown)
13) Devil in Drag (Lainielee)
14) Tragedy of Spirit (PrairieGirl64)(Uploaded by Stanman63)
15) Unfinished Business (Brianna Luna)
16) The Mirror on the Door (Kristine Roland)
17) Woman in the Mirror (err...can't find on BCTS search!)
18) A Mother's Love (Alys)
19) Lost in Thought (err...can't find on BCTS search!)
20) Little Pink Pills (Michelle Wilder)
21) Placebo (Lacey)
22) Something Feels Strange (TiffQ)
Hmmm...I've only read two on that list so far...so that's another 20 for my reading list... :)
--Ben
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
I think...
That the whole thing would have been a lot better without the caps. I found it very jarring, adding the titles of other peoples works was a great idea and I liked that, though 'The Tragedy of the Spirit' one was a little forced. But putting them into all-caps made them a little too in your face. Either changing them to lead caps (first letter of each word capitalized) or using the <em> tag to change them to italics would IMO be a much better way of making them stand out... or hell leave them in the normal structure and let only those savvy well read readers see them.
Sorry to be negative.
JC
The Legendary Lost Ninja
agree
The caps were distracting. I'd really suggest removing them and letting your readers have a pleasant surprise as they notice the titles.
AA could have
perhaps - made it less distracting, by making the titles "links" to the first chapter of each of those books, but used "normal" text... It'd have been bold faced (unless she played with the font too), but might have been less jaring to others.
Personally, I didn't have a problem with it. In the first one, I thought she was SHOUTING, and couldn't figure out why. But, by the second, it suddenly clicked, and then I recognized most (if not all) of the titles from seeing them posted.
Best of luck to all those OTHER authors! May you get deserved boosts from the references. :-)
Annette
P.S. Interesting chapter.
It's Strange, but...
It's strange, but cool. Thanks! I was wondering if mine would make your short list. I am honored. Keep your great story going.
Tiff Q
Tiff Q
I think Erika should give
I think Erika should give her mother a little slack, but at the same time it doesn't look like her mother is trying very hard to accept Erika. Hopefully Erika will get the hormone blockers and get that surgery! This was a fun one Anistasia, and I counted 22 titles!
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Read and Feed
Mmmm. I just had a good dinner and a good read.
I like how you added the titles. I saw your blog where you said you'd do it but I forgot about it. It took me awhile before I realized that the uppercase words were all story titles. Duh.
I really like how understanding Erika's father is being towards his wife. I have to agree that people don't change easily when they're raised a certain way. I'm going through the same thing with my mother. *sigh*
Thanks very much for the chapter. Please keep up the good work.
- Terry
I , for one, was totally flattered...
That one of my stories merited inclusion by the writer of such a fantastic tale. Keep it up please!.
Distracting...
Way too distracting. The conversation's so artificial that I can't tell what the problem is with Erika getting the tumor corrected and then being placed on puberty blockers. (That is, whether she doesn't think she could convince a gender specialist to approve it or thinks her mother can block it.)
Eric
Cute and fun!
Thanks for the story and the nod, Anistasia!
Michelle
Erica is a minor and
her parents could force the surgery for the tumor on her. Also of course not removing the tumor could and will cause more severe problems. I'm surprised the doctors aren't putting more pressure on the family.
Perhaps they could..
In most places, yes, either parent could sign the papers to authorize the surgery. It's only if the other violently disagrees (& goes to court to stop it) that the second parent's disagreement could cancel the first. Erica would have difficulty getting declared independent of her parents.
Hmmm, that's an interesting thought. If Erica went to court, to be declared independant... Could she bypass the age 18 rule? Never mind... Back to my former comment...
That said, getting Erica TO the Hospital for the surgery would likely be VERY difficult, without help. And, a 15/16 year old screaming they don't want surgery... Not what any Hospital wants. So, the only way I can think of for Erica's mom to FORCE Erica to have the surgery is something like the following:
1) She signs authorization at a private clinic
2) She slips Erica a sedative and takes her there "out cold"
3) She tells the clinic that Erica passed out, and go ahead and do the surgery now anyway, that she's worried that the tumor might have contributed to her child passing out.
Easy to do? No - plausible? maybe...
(The other option is darker - a group - perhaps like members of that church - "rescue" Erica from others, and help CURE him (hypnotism, etc.) to believe he's Eric again. As Eric, he would likely "jump" at the opportunity to "grow up"... Well, until the conditioning wore off and/or he was "broken free" from the cult, and deprogrammed. (Before you say this couldn't happen in this country, think again. I actually KNOW someone - personally - who got "sucked" into a cult... An intervention was done (his wife & family) got him "away" from their influence, and were able to "deprogram" him. (While he was in the cult - he was a very different person - I met him. He knew all his old friends, even his wife, he just no longer cared about that or his lifelong passion for music or... you get the picture. The intervention just got him to look at things (didn't try to replace programming that had slowly happened over about a month), and once he realized what he was doing - the rest he did on his own over the course of about 6 months... A dozen years later, he's still grateful for the intervention.). So, such a thing COULD be done to Erica/Eric, and with her(his) mother's help, it'd be not THAT difficult. Authorities wouldn't believe the friends - even if they tried to claim something had happened to their friend. *sighs*
Annette (who's now looking for something happy to read/think about)
Me, I Find The Usage Of Titles
To be an honor. You did it quite wel, A.A. But I wonder what Erika's mother is up to. She's proving to be a troublemaker. Could she be setting up Eric's return by scheduling Erika for surgery? If so, Erika's Dad will huopefully stop it. BUt f she is causing trouble, *d*i*v*o*r*c*e* is very likely.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Julian or Tricia
RAMI
I wonder what further questions Dr. Barts will ask about Erika's relationship with Julian and Tricia.
It seems that our esteemed author, is following a path, at least so far of happy endings to possibly tragic encounters that Erika is having. For example, she survived the fall at school, without any serious injury, and Tricia did not do anything really stupid or dangerous after the fiasco of the homecoming party.
I wonder if Tricia is telling the truth about her sister's encounter with boys, or was just telling a story to make Erika understand what could happen if she is discovered to be Eric. Is she perhaps trying to get Erika to tell Julian the truth in order to force a break-up.
Using other stories titles is a great idea and you need to be creative to do so and keep there use in context.
RAMI
RAMI
Latest Chapter
Why did you feel the need to turn a good story into an advertising gimmick?
It wasn't...
It was for fun... >.>
I, for one, found it quite amusing.
hmmm
I found it very distracting.
I'm sorry, I understand that it was important to the author, and that the authors mentioned are pleased, but it kept jerking me out of the story and into "This is a significant reference" land. I ended up switching to skimming halfway through.
Amy!
(really not trying to be insulting, or anything, just ... I like the series, but found this story hard to read)
Being a dimwit
it took me almost to the end before I figured out what was going on. Of course, by the time I read it, the caps had been replaced by boldface, otherwise I would have interpreted the references as shouting too. It's always fun to read the next episode, c'mon, let's all give our intrepid author a break, it's the least we can do for all the fun she's given us. I'm just afraid that Anistasia is going to get bored or something and not bring it to its obvious conclusion, whatever she's decided that should be.
As for following the storyline, just reread it and you'll be okay, ;-)
Hugs
Carla Ann
Nice one!
Well done Anistasia,
Nice continuation to the story. Being a bit of a softie, I hope that Mum comes round and thinks more about her daughter than herself. Erika needs her mum at a time like this!
Oh, and thanks for the Changes mention, nice play on words!
Hugs
Sue
Awww
It's too bad that Dr Barts did not offer Erika some 'Tips' :).
I know Tricia represents the mixed bag with regard to smoking pot and stuff and that is reality. However, I still wish she can be made to stop, in the context of the story line of course.
Kim
Well I thought it was fun
though I admit to being a bit biased, as one of the other commenters pointed out. :)
Better watch out though, AA, or Geoff might come after you for misusing a nautical term! ;)
For those who groused...
At Anistasia's little literary joke...
Well, considering how much time and work it takes to write a truly wonderful story(like this one and Camp Kumoni, both being novel length), and to deliver new chapters in a timely fashion, I think she deserves a little slack for playing the joke.
Me, I love word play, so I was personally delighted.
Thanks for another wonderful Chapter, A.A.
Julian
Still worried he is going to spread rumors that she hasn’t gone through puberty. Also damn you and your teasers stop doing that.
hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna
hormone blockers
can be good, but for me, it wasn't as effective.