In this chapter, our hero runs into a hall monitor, and school policies.

A Day Called Zero

Head Injury
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Part 1 - Mike

I remember those few minutes after I regained consciousness so very well.

I opened my eyes and reached to my face. There was a tube in my nose. I knew immediately where I was, I was in the hospital. But then I looked at my hand. I looked at the back of my hand and it did not look right. I found myself thinking that my hand should be beautiful. That is needed to be smooth and soft and that the nails should be shaped and polished.

Posted Aug. 7, 2020
Revised Aug. 8, 2020

On the planet Zhor, as in most pre-modern societies, careers appealing to women can at first seem rather restricted. But in so complex a civilization as Zhor's, a capable woman -- if determined enough --may discover that some rather unique fields of endeavor lay open to her. Lady Caron thinks that she has found one that will suit her nicely.

This story is inspired by Ranbarth's novelette "The Lancer's Tale," available at Fictionmania.

It was a perfectly fine day.
My espresso was perfection: overly sugared with whip cream along the top.
The coffee kept me level-headed—zen in a cup. Nirvana. A way to get my mind to not think about the forty-five minute drive it took to get to work from the suburbs. I had no issues getting from my apartment to the local Starbucks and then onto the “they call it an interstate highway, but it’s a parking lot”, just like Joni Mitchell said.

Tammy spotted two figures trying to sneak up on Kat and Paul. She adjusts her scope and pulls the trigger. She drops one guy, and before he hits the ground, the other one falls as we.

Kat didn’t even hear the two guys sneaking up on her and Paul. She heard them drop as she looked behind her. She was glad, Tammy was an excellent sharpshooter.

“Thanks, Tammy.” Kat moves with Paul through the forest.

“Anytime, Kat.” Tammy had found a nice tree she could shoot from.

The parents of a troublesome teenage son finally had enough and sends him for special training. He gets more than she bargains for.

“If you walk out of this room, if we never see you again,
I will think about you every day.
I won’t want to, but that’s what will happen.”

BIGGER THAN ME

Laundromat
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Despite the fact that they were the only two people in the laundromat at that hour, she came over to use the machine next to his.

She was tall. Her hair was blonde, in a short bob with slight curls. She wore makeup despite her clothing being casual. She was looking at his load of laundry.

To our readers, I would like to introduce a new coauthor Cagivagurl. Do yourself a favor and check out her story page on FictionMania.

We were so impressed with her resume of stories we went out and actively recruited her to join our team. For our faithful readers you might be able to detect a more sensual leaning to this production.

We hope you enjoy this tale.
Marina and Monica

I Was Promoted from CFO to Secretary

Aurora

A Short Story by Rosemary

August 2020

I was born in the lower 48, back in the 1963. My dad was an engineer for an oil company, and my family moved around a lot.

When I was seven, something happened. I began to realize that I was looking at girls. My mom caught me one day, and told me it wasn't polite. Besides, I was too young to be checking out girls.

New Forms
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I have to hand it to Caitlyn Jenner. She is not a person that I can agree with about much, but she certainly had the courage to transition later in life. It was her example that persuaded me to take the decision I had been putting off for years.

CHAPTER 3
We spent two hours in the car park, as Rosie talked me patiently through the mechanics of riding a bike as opposed to not interfering with it from a pillion seat. There were a few niggles I could see, such as the odd speedometer and the lack of a side stand, but the little machine was docile and uncomplicated to ride.

“Down here, Debbie. This is the drain plug, and…hang on…”

She put some effort into unscrewing a black plug in the crankcase.

A Comedy of Errors

A short story by Rosemary

August 2020

Doug North and his wife, Carol, were truckers. For many years, Doug had pulled flatbed all over the country, while Carol stayed home with the kids. Now that the kids were out of the house, Carol traveled with Doug.

On this particular day, they were in a backwater town, somewhere in the middle of northern Idaho, having just loaded up some treated fence posts. Doug was throwing a strap over the load when out on the two-lane highway, a car blew a tire.

MOST OF ALL

Father of the Bride
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

“Dad has every right to bring a partner to my wedding, having paid for all of this,” said Sonia, waving her hand around the reception area.  There were hours to go before the ceremony, but they had already been to the hairdresser and she wanted a final inspection of the facilities.

Sometimes you can’t appreciate what you have, until it’s gone.

"We were face to face, me sitting in his lap, sort of sideways. “Damn,” said Rory.