Changing Roles
By Julie Dawn Cole
Chapter 19

“Petey’s tough. She plays football.”

Sheena strolled quietly through the bustling halls, hoping that she could at least find somewhere to think; somewhere other than that musty waiting room. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but for that first hour she had found herself feeling helpless, knowing that her sister was on the other side of the door in the hands of someone else.

“Sheena,” Kayla called out, trotting over to her. “Are you well?”

I had trouble at first holding the pages of the trade paperback open with my little hands, but after a few minutes of trial and error, I managed to get the hang of it, and started reading.

“Would this be a good time to talk about it?” I asked Sheena as I set up in the bed. She was already sitting at her desk; the room was dark save for the green lamp-glow from her desk that illuminated her face. I watched her look up from her papers, black hair glowing softly in the lamplight as she shot me a look that was nothing short of a silent lecture.

“You ought be sleeping,” She told me. “You’ve got another hour before you need to ready yourself.”

“I’m not tired,” I shrugged, and then I thought better of it and laid back down, pulling the covers up to my neck.

Barrettes
Copyright 2022 by Heather Rose Brown

This is a drabble (100 word story) about a boy who decides to trust some new friends, and experiments with something he'd never had the nerve to try at home. It's a continuation of my Pigtails drabble, but told from Lenny's point of view.

“We’ll be rid of that chair,” Sheena said as I limped out of the shower. “You seemed to have an awful time with it.”

“It was…hard…to push,” I sighed. “I’m kind of weak I guess.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” She smiled and patted me on the head. “your mind is where the worth is to be found.”

I limped across the floor and sat down on one of the benches, letting a small moan of relief escape my lips as the pressure was alleviated from my ankle. Off in the distance, I heard the broken showerhead sputter again.

“Where are you going to go, Jessica?” Kelly watches as Jessica packs her suitcase with what meager belongings she owns.

“I don’t know, Kelly.” Jessica looks over towards Kelly. She has been like a little sister since she came to the ranch.

“Why can’t you stay? I don’t want you to leave.” Kelly walks over and hugs Jessica tightly.

“I don’t want to go, Kelly. But Mrs. White said the state wouldn’t allow me to stay here.

awyers can usually find trouble to get into. COVID’s a disaster, and disasters breed lawsuits like prize bitch spaniels breed puppies. I doubt I’ll see the inside of a courtroom anytime soon though. So, I decided.”

She said, “Decided what?”

I opened my hands and showed her the bottle.