The next morning at the breakfast table a freshly grounded Tracie was almost shouting. "If I was a boy, I wouldn't be grounded, and we wouldn't even be having this discussion right now!”

Speaking through his teeth, Tracie's dad spat, "You ARE a boy!"

"No. No, she's not."

It was spoken quietly, almost unheard, but it had a force behind it that shut everyone up.

Corinne looked at her husband, "Face it, honey, she's not a boy and hasn’t been for a long time, if ever, really." He sat back down and put his forehead in his hands, staring at his plate.

The Hitchhiker
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I know that you take your chances when you stand on the highway shoulder with your thumb in the air. It was just that I had no money, and no real place to go. It seemed like the best way out of a home that didn’t care for me was to just walk to the edge of town and stand on the side of the road and make the sign. If somebody woud stop for me I was ready to go as far as they were, and then keep going.

Ed makes an accidental discovery at work that challenges his ideology. Should he go to HR and demand that Carl act appropriately, at least while he’s at work?

Prince Connor sat in his lavish study, a glass of wine in hand, watching a recording of the trial's conclusion on a large screen. His expression shifted from intrigue to irritation as he leaned back in his chair, swirling the wine in his glass. The sight of Alex standing firm alongside Princess Helena, her loyalty unshaken, clearly displeased him.

"Huh," he muttered, narrowing his eyes at the screen, "I hadn't expected Consort Alex to completely abandon her parents like that. She played the part well—loyal, unflinching. It seems going after her family is not going to work."

When Akari returned to Gale Haven Academy, the atmosphere had shifted. Word of the king’s summons had spread quickly, and the students and faculty alike were abuzz with speculation. Her walk through the academy halls was met with hushed whispers and furtive glances, and the once familiar surroundings now felt tense and uncertain.

Chapter 4

We both got out of the pool, and we walked hand in hand, down to the beach. We would stop every so often to kiss and he wanted to fondle my breasts. Eventually, we came up onto the promenade and into a park which gave us some privacy.

Not only was he fondling my breast as we kissed, now he was stroking my groin. Had I been a true girl I would have been ready to have him ravish me. I reminded him that my lower half was out of bounds, but I could make him happy.

"Just--" I raised a finger to get her to stop talking if only for a moment. I couldn't understand what she was saying. Or maybe I didn't want to understand, "What are you telling me?" I asked plainly.

"You have been manipulated ever since you stepped foot in King Richard's court" she replied. "I had tried to warn you but I'll admit I could never have known to what extent"

Chapter 13

“What’s happening?” he asked as we arrived at the comms tent. Stuart and Jen were there along with our remaining guards.

“We’re er, waiting for Laurel,” Stuart said. “She and Nick are on their way. I’m not sure she would have been able to do anything by herself, any more than these, er, people can.”

“This has to do with what you were saying when I left the tent, isn’t it?” I asked one of my former captors. “That heuristic defence thing you were talking about. Care to tell us about it?”

CHAPTER 61
Things did settle down after that fortnight’s busyness, for the simple reason that even the best management magicians can’t come up with a new and revolutionary idea every day. We almost gave up on the sausages idea, for example, because there was no feasible way to fly out a sample pack to the east coast, and by definition anyone renting a van in Perth was likely to be heading over that way, so wouldn’t exactly be in the area for a repeat purchase.

Instead, Chad had a word with Rhona, who was definitely SWMBO in that business, and breakfast packs for their camping sessions started being ordered from a former miner. And Maz bought a helmet.

Chapter 2

Dido sent her team of ‘dips’ off for their summer break in late June. That allowed her to see how being on the ‘right’ side of the law felt.

Margaritas, Beaches, and Bikinis

Chapter One
A meeting with my Editor

I took a deep breath as I peered across the wooden desk. Sitting in front of me was a woman who seemed to be in her late thirties. Her long brunette hair was tied back in a tight bun and she was dressed in a charcoal gray skirt suit. Her dark green eyes reminded me of the eyes of a Russian Blue.

One of the best things about going to any conference was the networking and socialization. The talks, lectures, and Q&A sessions gave the participants valuable information, but the stated purpose of a conference did not help as much as the human interactions. Making those social connections helped those who went to the conference in many other ways than learning about a new trend. The conference-goers made their network bigger by getting new friends, new job leads, and a nice little bullet point to put on their resume.

This one's not for the faint of heart. Over the course of the story there will be death, suicide attempts, a fair amount of physical and mental abuse, some egregious torture and a hefty dollop of foul language, but hopefully a happy ending. Actually, the last bit's a given since it's me doing the writing, but between here and the end is a rocky road, so please if any of the above is likely to be triggering for you, please, please think twice about reading.

Set for Life
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

It was my grandmother’s hair that fascinated me. She was one of those women who always believed in keeping her hair looking great, even when it turned completely white. I remember as a boy wondering why women kept all their hair where men lost most of theirs – sometimes all of it. It seemed so sad to have been born a boy and to be condemned to a future without beautiful hair.

 
Hi, my name is Kevin. I am a ten-year-old boy, or at least I was until everything changed. Let me tell you a little about myself I live in the Hollywood Hills of California with my parents, Robert and Karen, both in their late thirties.

Chapter 2

We sat until I could stand, and she helped me to go to the dorms. I could hardly go up the extra stairs alone, but a long shower and some liniment helped me regain a steady posture. I sat on my bed and looked at the article until I had a bit more understanding. It looked like Bastien was under suspicion for drug trafficking and a possible murder. The Spanish and Portuguese police had a lot of circumstantial evidence but nothing concrete.