Kozuke gently runs the washcloth through the basin of scented soapy water, and begins to gently sponge the sweat off of her body. For some reason, she is always very sweaty in the morning. He suspects her dreams aren’t pleasant.

"My power flurries through the air into the ground," I sing as I dramatically glide across the stage, my ice blue dress flowing around me with every step I take.

"My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I'm never going back, the past is in the past..."

"Let it go, let it go," I sing, my lungs feeling like they're going to break under the strain.
"And I'll rise like the break of dawn,
Let it go, let it go,
That perfect girl is gone.
Here I stand,
In the light of day,

The girls stop to put up the top on the Mustang and get some refreshment, unwittingly putting on a show for the locals.

Sabina is a cynical, homeless young trans woman who prioritizes hormones even over such necessities as food and shelter. Deborah is an anxious workaholic with social issues and an apparent softer side, a responsible up-and-coming professional who has just had surgery. A serendipitous encounter on the subway system brings these two women briefly into each other's orbit, where they leave powerful impressions on each other and reveal vulnerable aspects of themselves through their differences, without fully realizing all that they have in common.

“Cheese!” I yell, pulling my widest grin as I and my other bandmates pose for a selfie with the excited young woman.

“Oh my god, thank you so much!” The girl- who I am told is barely eighteen years old- squeaks, before heading into the crowd to find other famous faces to photograph.

“You know, I like the idea, yeah?” Adeola says. “Giving, like, fans the chance to come to these parties…”

“Especially as, if memory serves, that’s how someone became part of this ‘family’ in the first place?” I tease Becca, who rolls her eyes and sighs over-dramatically.

"See you tonight!" Janet said with a smile as Ellie, Kacey and Monique paid for their purchases and waved goodbye to her.

"Bye!" Ellie replied with a giggle that warmed Janet's heart.

It had been almost four months since Ellie had moved in with Janet, and in that time, a lot had changed for both women- mostly for the better.

The woman I was interviewing for a job at first gave me a very good impression. In person she confirmed her CV. Competent, decisive, with a no-nonsense getting things done attitude. Perhaps a bit aggressive but for the position in question that was not necessarily a problem. In fact everything went well until she noticed that I was wearing a bra. I should have known better. Never wear a colored bra under a white shirt, even if it’s the most exquisite turquoise.

A short story...

Copyright © 2017 by AuP reviner

Sarah Daniels could not be considered beautiful, or even cute. She was larger than most girls in her class, and did not have the curves associated with eighth grade girls. She looked a lot like a boy. She was physically strong and enjoyed sports.

On a warm spring afternoon after school, Sarah walked into the kitchen of her family home and dumped her book bag on the floor. “How was your day, honey?” her Mother asked.

“Okay,” Sarah replied as she walked over to the refrigerator.

“Learn anything interesting?”

“No.” she started. “Wait, Yes, In health class they talked about boys who think they are girls, and girls who think they are boys, or something like that. It got me thinking. I am more boy than girl.”

Vanilla Sky Part 1 by Bailey Summers

One of the only real femme things is my face…I’m a strawberry blonde so kind of baby faced and I keep my hair long…but the rest of me is…I’m five ten, one seventy almost and got too much size…too much shoulder from working as a contractors helper for my step dad.

I hate my body.

And not really looking like a girl gave people plenty of ammo at school to make my life hell. Pushed, shoved, kicked from behind…spit on. Getting yelled at and accosted by the preachy kids, prank calls, online torture…then the last straw was getting jumped by a crowd of kids…I was lucky some good Samaritan had showed up with a baseball bat. But the teachers didn’t do a thing with the stuff in school and the cops with the swarming attack…

Yeah well why wasn’t I pulled out of school?

“God, I always feel so out of place every time I come here…” I moan as I step into the vast dance studio, surrounded by my friends.

“I really hope that’s NOT because you feel uncomfortable wearing THAT!” Lauren teases, making me giggle as I stare down at the short-sleeved black leotard and baby pink tights that are covering my body.

“Hell no!” I reply, making my friends giggle and cheer. “It’s just- you know? You girls are all so good at ballet, and I’m still just a beginner… Not to mention the fact that everyone here is, like, famous!”

“…Wow,” Lauren breathes as Ophelia and I step out of her bedroom, dressed in our elaborate costumes.

“Sure you’re wearing enough make-up?” Katie teases.

“Is it ever possible to wear too much make-up?” I ask as I preen and playfully flick my hair away from my face, which has been smeared in a bright white foundation and ‘enhanced’ with thick black eyeshadow, long (and heavy) fake eyelashes and thick black lipstick.

“Think you’re missing the words ‘at Halloween’ from the end of your question,” Katie asks.

“Does it change the answer?” I ask.

Ashley Roberts and his older sister Megan are forced to move to Littleton Colorado after Ashley’s father was released from prison, Philip Roberts was an abusive drunk with a very foul temper and Unfortunately, Ashley was his main target.  Ashley was around 5’6 and weighed maybe a hundred pounds. He had been a disappointment to his father for years