“Liam?” Sonia calls from the living room, making me groan as I wake up. “Come on, time to get up!”

“Yeah, I’m awake,” I reply, not even bothering to stifle my yawn.

New Year's Eve

By Melanie E.

Originally posted to the BCTS Patreon on December 31st, 2022

A Different Pair of Queens
By Sabrina G. Langton

***

Author's Note: Just a couple of words I came up with while being really nosy at a bar. Sometimes I listen to other conversations instead of being involved with the conversations that I am involved with, ha. I do have a little background about that bar too, that I will put up here inside The Big Closet soon, thanks. I hope YOU like it.

“Hi!” I say with an excited squeak as I open the door and am greeted by the grinning, dark-skinned face of my bandmate. “Virtual hugs and kisses!”

“Virtual hugs and kisses!” Adeola giggles as we both hold our hands up and wiggle our fingers at each other- our latest attempt at a covid-safe greeting. “Is Becca already here?”

“Not yet, I think she’s still getting used to there actually being traffic on the roads of London!” I chuckle, before grinning as Adeola’s fiancé enters our flat carrying an expensive-looking bottle of wine. “Hi Marco! Virtual hugs!”

The thing I remember most is that I didn't cry. It's funny how the mind works like that. I don't remember the words my sisters said to me, or what they were wearing, or even if they were crying- all I remember is that I didn't cry.

And that I'd just been told the most devastating news a 13-year-old boy could hear: that his parents were both dead.

Luke grunted as his phone’s alarm woke him from a deep sleep. His mouth was dry and his head throbbed, but what concerned him most was that he didn't recognise his surroundings, particularly the feel of his bed- the mattress was much stiffer than his usual one, the pillow and the sheets thinner than what he was accustomed to. As his eyes started to focus, he was able to take in his surroundings.

“Okay, seriously,” Hayley groaned as she relaxed back onto the sofa. “Just pick one already, they all look great and they all look great on you as well.”

“I know,” Sophie sighed as she picked another dress from the pile in front of her and held it against her body. “I just want to make the perfect first impression, you know? This is my first ever book- well, not ‘tour’, thank you co-bloody-vid, but- you know? Especially considering what the topic of the book is as well.”

Author retains all rights to this original work of short fiction.

------------------------------------------------

The author retains all rights to this original work of fiction.

FINAL CHAPTER?
----------------------------------------------

Saturday, June 9th, 6:51 a.m., 53 miles south and southwest of Boulder, CO
The engines throttling back woke me. Flagg was watching me get my bearings, then raised a bottle of water to his lips and finished it off.

“Get a good rest?”

Author retains all rights to this original work of fiction.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Author retains all rights to this original work of fiction.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, June 8th, 4:51 p.m., Phoenix, Arizona
Getting back to the office turned out to be a quicker trip than I thought it would be, though I had to use Lyft first to get my car from the police station. This late in the day, the office was almost empty, and my attempt to find Valerie and recruit her in my quest to deal with Gabriella fell way short. She'd gone home for the day due to a sick child. Damn it!

The author retains all rights to this original work of fiction.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Ask the Right Questions, Chapter 1 of 6

--- Six years and 5 days ago ---

June 3rd, 20:23 local time, Patsah Melah, Afghanistan
I had been connected on and off to the SAT-Link laptop since arriving an hour ago at our position on the outskirts of Patsah Melah. Colonel Flagg's delegation was just east of our position over the Afghanistan/Pakistan border and had arrived about three hours ahead of our making it to Patsah Melah.

As the rain continues Dennis finds that his options have become less and less. Time for a left-field solution, one which leaves him wondering if he is doing the right thing.

Scratch!

an amusement by Penny Lane

2 of 3 - Bank Holiday Monday

There are days when you can see your whole life in a coffee cup, I guess. I certainly could, today.

The worst-looking car in the company lot was Jerry’s. It made no sense to Ron. Jerry was, pardon the expression, a hell of an engineer, and a beloved mentor to his younger colleagues. His skills were rare. Knowing so, he did all he could to pass them on, for his responsibility was an arcane but critically essential part of the company’s flagship product. Tens of billions of dollars worth sold; not Apple, but you’d know the name.

I grew up in a smallish town in one of the Prairie states. The town has about 50 000 inhabitants. It was quite a straight town. The straws in the surrounding wheat fields were straight. The plough furrows were straight. The edges of the fields were straight as were the roads separating them. The roads just kept on going straight on until they disappeared beyond a horizon unobscured by hills, mountains or forests. In town the streets were straight and the blocks square. To be honest the people were straight and square as well. Even my sister’s flushes were straight.