The empty field had been transformed into carnival wonderland. Attractions of all kinds had been set up by the staff and student organizations. Food trucks of course were on hand to provided food and cheap meals to hunger students. The smell of burning charcoal filled the air along with the smell of sweating hot dog's and hamburgers. In the center of everything, the dunking booth stood, as proud as a queen at court. And sitting perched at the edge of the drop seat was me, Jamie Sarah Potter.

Part One - P.D.Q

I was a normal, happy child; or so I thought. My change of life came on October 31st, 2005 but I had no idea what was to come. My name is Dana Quartermaine; actually P.Dana Quartermaine, to be exact. My parents had always called me Dana for so long I had never even bothered to look on my birth certificate to find out what the P stood for. I had a great-grandfather who was Philleus and a great-great-grandfather called Parthonagene (we were from some odd tribe in the Mediterranean way back) so I thought it was better left alone.

Princess

"Well, look what the cat dragged in!"

"Christ! That's all I'd need, a freakin' cat. I just got done wrestling with a hyperactive black standard poodle that had enough fleas to start a couple of circuses, and then barfed while I was trying to trim around his eyes. The damn thing outweighed me and he was absopositivlutly taller than I am! If he tried to chase a goddam cat he would have ripped the leash out of the ceiling and taken the entire building with him as he tried to catch it!"

Since Devi didn’t come through the portal speaking Zyuni anymore, because the cabinet was in an apartment whose residents only spoke Stasari, Nidlaya had loaned her a language talisman, a gold necklace with a ruby pendant, which enabled her to speak and understand Zyuni.

The news of me volunteering for the dunking booth had traveled around school like a Californian Wildfire, the hallways too were buzzing too with rumors of the two open spots at the bottom of the list would go to. One rumor said Mrs. Kimberly the girls P.E teacher had volunteered, another rumor said that one of the girls from the Junior High had volunteered. I tried to float above the rumors. The night before the fete, I took a good hot bath and made sure to shave under my arms and my legs too. I wanted to smooth as velvet for my time in the booth.

A family living in the deserts of New Mexico makes arrangements for their son to try out for a little league team. They deal with life's challenges as they find solutions for their son's future too. How far will their family, friends, and work be torn apart by the choices that have to be made?

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