Lola has a lucky escape as she throws caution to the wind.

 

Tom didn’t know why he booked the appointment.

It had been over two years since he last cut his hair. At first it was laziness. Then pride. And then… something else. He never said it aloud, but he liked how it looked in the mirror. How it felt. How it moved. Especially after brushing. The glide, the shine—it stirred something.

But now he was standing in a boutique salon, pretending he was ready to chop it all off.

A single chair. No receptionist. Just her.

The stylist looked up from her phone and froze.

“…Wow.”

Chapter 4

by Jamie Simms

It seemed like just seconds ago Avery had snuggled in a warm bed in a dark room. He awoke to a room that was bathed in sunlight. He headed toward the kitchen, stopping for a bathroom break. He found his mom at the kitchen table, reading some papers.

“Hello, Sweetie. Oh, we don’t go around the house in just a nightie. Go slip something on over it.”

CHAPTER 74
Life seemed settled at last, especially for Charlie and Tiff. They were still rationing their trips outside, but at least Charlie had started wearing something other than night clothes, and when we made our Summer expedition, they came with us, as did Gemma and Kim.

This time, Lim was driven up by Phil, and there were happy grins and congratulations from Cathy and my original Nell. As for Alicia, she rode up with her father, and when Owen the barman commented on how nice it was to have his guitarist back, and Alun made a comment about looking after his daughter, Alicia beamed for days. The weather blessed us for several days, and there was one shining moment that lifted my heart even more than Alicia’s wide smile at her father.

Blake and his friends explore career opportunities at a local ladies strip club. Blake - transformed to Bunny Boy - is singled out to be a star of the Butch and Bitch Bistro where he meets his true love, Betsy Boss.

Acting as a Cleaning Lady

By Susannah Donim

Chapter 10 – Our New Careers

Maria, the cleaning lady, gets a new boss (same as the old boss). Business booms.

There were no real changes in Luke or Lori’s life until the spring of their junior year. Luke was thriving in California. Good grades, good friends, and good weather helped Luke to live the good life.

Luke's grades were as high as the waves he loved to ride. His being in the top 20 of his class was going to get him into Stanford. The Harvard of the West Coast was his dream school. The university had one of the best, if not the best, computer engineering programs in the world.

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.

Chapter 8

The next few weeks sped by with more than a fair share of drama…with a capital ‘D’. Lei finally got busted on campus for smoking pot with her friends. Mixed feelings swirled around as I felt both happy and sad for her. Lei finally got what she wanted. She was going home to party with her friends. No doubt every rude boy would be on notice.

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Total number of drivers 40. Number of company teams 10. Number of tracks 20. Number of countries 12. Time frame 6 months. Number of Fallen Angels hooked on speed 2. The McGuire sisters are and they’re out for blood in the newly founded International Stockcar Racing Association. After two years driving the Formula One circuit Professional Drivers Roberta Bobbie McGuire and her sister Elisabeth ‘Beth’ McGuire have made real names for themselves. The two young ladies took the world by storm in their first year by placing 3rd and 4th in the Championship points race. Now their plans and dreams of starting in the International Stockcar Association have come to fruition. The Fury twins plan to prove to the world they belong in Stockcar Racing. And they don’t care who they have to put into the wall to bring home the inaugural championship.

Acting as a Cleaning Lady

By Susannah Donim

Chapter 9 – A Life in Service

Life settles into a routine for Maria, the cleaning lady and reluctant maid. Then a new business opportunity arises.

To Return Home

Thanks to Malady for his help editing and for ideas.

Cover image from Unsplash

2.5

The room started to spin as the blackness enveloped John. I felt as though my body was being ripped apart, piece by piece, each molecule separating from all the rest. I lost all sense of what was happening around me, and my mind focused on the link with him. Suddenly, it simply disappeared. I don’t know what happened with it. One moment, I could feel it, and the next there was simply nothing.

For a long time, I stared at the hologram in horror, but there was nothing to see. It was entirely black. Was my husband still there? I couldn’t tell from that at all.

I looked around, and found everyone staring at me. Dumbly, I asked, “Could the tricam have burnt out? That was a bright flash.”

For several minutes, no one answered, then Marc said, “No. The tricam doesn't use any standard light sensors. It measures the light differently. There's no way to overload the sensors.”