The first day back at school after the break was cold and overcast, the weather mirroring the moods of the student body. Mr. Burns, the English teacher, on the other hand, walked into class with a smile on his face. “Hope you all enjoyed Twelfth Night. Does anyone know what twelfth Night is?” I knew, but I didn’t want to call attention tp myself. “Anyone?” he repeated. Reluctantly, I raised my hand.

“Mr. Evans?” he said.

“It’s the end of the Christmas Season, and involves a lot of drinking and eating.”

“Very good,” Mr. Burns responded, “which is tomorrow for those who care. Please remember that your papers are due on Wednesday, which is Epiphany. From your papers I should be able to discover who actually read the play and who only surfed the internet for easy answers.”

I felt smug. Not only had my friends and I read it together and discussed it among ourselves, but I had actually written my paper, It was entitled: ‘Twelfth Night - Successful Cross-Dressing.’ In my paper I also made references to Cheribino’s cross-dressing in Der Rosenkavalier.

The high-ranking members of the party have accepted an invitation to overnight at a nearby mansion - but there is great danger! Duke Jarwin will do anything to get his hands on the female members of the party. The men know of his reputation but struggle to inform the women. It is left to Lars to take decisive action.

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

7 - Lair of the Beast

The young woman helplessly bound and gagged opened her eyes and began shivering. She felt cold as if she was a frozen body in a morgue. She looked around as much as she could with terror in her eyes. With a final shiver, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep but restless sleep...

*****

https://youtu.be/OSbCqp_a3iE

*****

“Eine Kleine Nachtmusik …”
(Apologies to W.A.M. Formerly titled…A Wee Bit O’ Seasonal Fluff – Version 6.0.1)

By Kelly Blake

“If I help with dinner, does that mean that I can stay in the kitchen the whole time?” I responded.

“No!” she announced. She turned to me, and added, “And you will wear a suit.”

“A suit?” I questioned. I knew what she meant, but I decided to be a smart alec. “I have this nice suit with a pencil skirt and matching tailored jacket. Maybe a ruffled blouse?”

Amy thought this was humorous, and began to chuckle. My father didn’t. “You know darn well what your mother meant, so stop being a smarty pants,” he exploded.

“Maybe that should be ‘smarty panties’,” Amy said under her breath.

Unfortunately our father heard this and he said, “You behave yourself, young lady.”

Chapter 26

The first opportunity I had to talk to Gem, I asked for a private meeting. She couldn't straight away, but after a promised five minutes that ended up being half an hour, we met in my bedroom. I explained what had happened with Dr Barn and the love that Laura was showing and my desire to come clean. I also mentioned my fears about Eve and my thoughts that if we convinced Laura, she could decide what to do with Eve.

Jem… Chapter 209

Jem…Chapter 209 by Bailey Summers Copyright © 2013 Bailey Summers All Rights Reserved.

Usually I write, to quote a Guest Reader, ”short, light and witty tales”. However, every now and then I post a dark story. This is a rather dark story. Actually I think it’s quite dark which is why I have flagged CAUTION above. Please note that there is a reason why.

I never liked driving into town. People acted strangely around me so I usually stayed on my property and put off going as long as I could. Now I really needed the petrol so this morning I went into town. ”Old” Tom at the petrol station wondered why I filled up three jerry cans of petrol. I told him that I was getting old and the new ride-on mower was a gas guzzler. The lawn between the Old House and the lake is huge. So is the Old House. My family built it some 200 years ago. Then we had already owned the land for over a century. Quite a lot of land. Most of it still untouched forests, lakes and mountains. Most people never realized where the border between the National Park and the Delaforge land was. We have always had a very strong bond - the Delaforges and the land.

Chapter 25

The rest of the day was partially planned. Eve had managed to shift her schedule so that we could still do the singing lessons and gym, even if I was at school. Eve had her lesson or practice session, starting at three and mine was at four pm. Jane was due to start the personal training at five. In the meantime, I had to make some choices as to what to study. Eve and Laura were going to call some friends and see if they had any recommendations regarding therapists.

The school had a course in Civics during the first semester of the year with U.S. History during the second semester. For reasons which were rather unclear, all seniors had to take the Civics course and pass periodic exams in Civics to be allowed to graduate.

Becky, Sue, Joe and I were doing a joint study session at Joe’s house. The topic was the functions of the federal, state and local governments, and how they interrelated. Joe, the cynic, expounded, “All these layers of government do is pass silly laws, tax us to death, and then spend the money foolishly.”

“Yeah,” opined Sue, “let’s say that Roy was all dressed up as Renee, which washroom would he or she be allowed to use?” She turned to me and said, “What do you do?”

“Learn to hold your water and not drink too many soft drinks.” I responded, not wanting to go into the issue too deeply.

"You could just have a taste?” I suggested.

 

Fantastic Mars
9. Warriors of Mars

by Erin Halfelven