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?

REAL Love:

A Transgender Coming of Age Adventure / Romance

By Jo Dora Webster

George in VR Discovers Their Authentic Self

~~~~~~~~

Will George and Lisa, forced to go on the run from Bruce and EdenVR find a way to evade them using Lisa's spycraft and disguises?

Copyright 2025 by Ariel Montine Strickland. All Rights Reserved

Love, especially when sentimental or idealized.

I, me, the one with the rapid-fire gob, it was still hanging open, so I hauled it shut by pure force of will, and sought the right words, hoping to avoid the reflex “Didn’t think you were a queer”. I may be ‘queer’ myself by most people’s definition, but I had to learn about homophobia. I’m as straight as they come, in every double meaning of that word, and the idea of two men together had always been a bit ‘ick’ to my younger self. I know full well how wrong those thought are, so did my best to make it ‘were’, but my hindbrain still kicks in at inappropriate moments.

I took the skewers out as instructed. Leaving them to be slathered with gloop and slapped onto the grill, and then stood for a few seconds to put my thoughts in order. There was something about him, something off, that didn’t match the Norman Rossiter I remembered from that school. The lad I had known had been one of the rugby crowd, exactly the people I had spent so much energy in avoiding., and their behaviour could never have been fairly described as ‘accommodating’ or ‘inclusive’, unless it was a matter of intersectional hatred. The Venn diagram of their world had been a classic double circle: ‘Us’ and ‘every lesser being’. That second circle could just as easily be labelled ‘targets’.

Delivering Love

A Transgender Coming of Age

Adventure - Romance - Book

Written by
Ariel Montine Strickland

Will Lucy be able to win over Patrick with kindness and in the process find both herself and unconditional romantic love?

Miracle Love

A Transgender Paranormal Romantasy

From the Paranormal Visitor Universe

Sasha Zarya Nexus

A Wish to Gain Truth and the Miracle of Love

Will Dora's sacrificial love overcome Pastor Mark's failings

and save Hope Shelter's promise that Hope Lives Here?

“YOU A GEEZER, OR WHAT?”

Volume control wasn’t his strong suit, evidently. Thankfully, the bus was already there, so I stepped on as if he hadn’t spoken, eructated, puked, whatever. Good start to the day.

Usual start to the day.

The Crystal Hall cafeteria buzzed with morning activity, sunlight streaming through the massive geodesic dome to illuminate the central arboretum. Ethan sat at what had become their regular table, surrounded by what she now hesitantly thought of as friends. A full week had passed since her dramatic teleportation incident with Kira—seven days of intensive training, gradual improvements, and subtle shifts in her relationships with everyone around her.

Ethan entered the small practice room in Laird Hall, her stomach knotting with a peculiar mix of anxiety and anticipation. The space was modest—just a square mat area surrounded by mirrored walls, with a few practice dummies and basic equipment stored along one side. Designed for individual training rather than classes, it offered the privacy she desperately needed for what was about to happen.

Ethan sat nervously in Professor Miranda Webb's Warper Theory classroom, fidgeting with the white "Pacifist" band around her wrist. The band had taken on a more complex meaning after the incident with Rex in the cafeteria yesterday. What had begun as a simple designation had become a constant reminder of just how dangerous her uncontrolled abilities could be.

Ethan sat alone at a corner table in Crystal Hall, pushing her food around her plate without much enthusiasm. The massive geodesic dome cafeteria buzzed with lunchtime activity, students of all descriptions moving between the various food stations and tables. Sunlight streamed through the transparent panels, illuminating the central fountain and tropical arboretum that gave the space its distinctive character.

Ethan stared at the female school uniform spread across her bed, each piece mocking her with its inherent femininity. The Melville Cottage uniform consisted of a black pleated skirt, black feminine dress jacket, white blouse, and a dark purple necktie with three gold stripes. Black mary jane shoes completed the ensemble, arranged neatly beside the bed by someone with far more enthusiasm for this nightmare than Ethan possessed.

Dedicated to Sephrena Lynn Miller, in the hope that this story fits her expectations. Thank you for all you have done for the group.

Frances and Jill were friends from a long way back. They had met in their nursery school and unlike many small girls, or boys for that matter, had not been selfish, but had played happily together with imaginative games like ‘Doctors and Nurses’ or ‘Mummies and Daddies’ for as long as they were awake.

Jimmy is in love with a boy named Alex. His twin, Rachel, is in love with a girl named Alexa.
Two bedrooms, one wall apart. But the person that they're really crushing on is...?

PART 4
I found myself laughing, almost automatically. I dealt with so many dogs I had a routine check-list for their owners, a method of deciding whether the owner was Dog People or rather someone who liked accessories. Small dogs in handbags, oh please.

My boss did much the same thing, not only refusing jobs where one or more of us had raised enough concerns, but passing them up the line for official action. As she also ran a kennels and cattery near Shipley Bridge, we saw a LOT of dogs and their owners.

I sobered up quickly, giving him a smile, but refraining from patting his hand. Most definitely not a good idea.

“Sorry again; not laughing at you. It’s just ridiculous, given how you look after her. Who has this come from?”

“You got time for this?”

“Not working for anyone but myself today. What do you have?”

“Well, I’ll put the kettle on first, then. Tea or coffee?”

“Tea, please, in this weather”

He smiled.

“You can lie down again if you want, but I will be in a chair”

Part 2
I gave him enough time to get back down the path to the public car park, then gathered my two for their ride home. Ryan was wanting a chase again, so he stayed on the lead while Tara did her own in and out of the trees roaming, which I had worked out meant she typically walked and ran about a dozen times the distance I did. It was heading towards school run time, so I stopped by the little tea place, where they had a warm pasty and, to my delight, a piece of lemon drizzle cake.