That Sunday night was a quiet one for all of us. I surprised mom and dad by making no protest when dad said I needed to be in bed. I'm not sure, but that may be due to the feelings Allison and I have been going through since that jerk Dawtrim tried to kidnap us Thursday night.

Anyhow I was in bed a few minutes later and soon asleep, that sleep broken by dreams several times. Most of the dreams, well, the ones that I could remember when I woke up, were about Dawtrim and had him successfully kidnapping and abusing us. Scary shit, oh, yeah!

"Miracles do happen, then?" Janet asked, making Ellie roll her eyes as she walked into the kitchen, her fluffy pink dressing gown wrapped around her to shield her from the morning autumn air.

"So I'm excited about today," Ellie shrugged. "Sue me. And besides, it's not like I shouldn't be eager to get back to college- it's not like my summer holidays have been anything to write home about."

The story of Jack and Jill's roommate, Niki, who undergoes her own transition despite family disapproval and an uncertain future. Takes place during Black Ring 1-3.

Thirteen is an awkward age, stranded somewhere between ‘just a kid’ and ‘old enough to know better’. At thirteen Halloween costumes are the peak of uncool; trick or treating is something for babies, and high school parties are a long way away. But that wouldn’t stop Grayson from making the most of the holiday.

The next morning I had a bit of a headache. I went to the bathroom and took some of my sister’s pain medication. For some reason, they came in a little foil pack with individual pills labeled with different days. Strange!

I showered, using Sarah’s body wash because I was out. As I applied it to my skin I felt a strange tingling! I checked the label to see that it had a special exfoliating formula.

After my all my disappointments last week, I was sure that it was finally my time.

“I’m sorry, I think you’re a little too short to play Romeo,” the drama teacher told me. “Maybe try out for a different role.”

“I know. I’ll try out for Juliet! I’m sure I’ll make the perfect female love interest.”

The teacher looked at me strangely. “I was thinking something more… appropriate to your talents. Maybe Verona Citizen #1.” I was crushed, but I tried to remain firm. I could always try again next year!

The fair wound down on the following Saturday night, with the final visitors to the fair leaving just after midnight.

Dad had firmly but politely told off both Allison and I for not having gone to bed already, then said we had better get there rather quickly. As the simple thought of one of dad's 'punishments' is not something I look forward to experiencing, I was soon in our RV and in my bed.

The crowds had been no bigger over the last two days of the fair than they had been before. In fact, they might have been smaller.

## 4 ##

Abby, Nicole, Rachel and I were in the aquarium watching the fish in the large tank. Nicole and Rachel were near the front watching the fish swim to and fro, getting excited when they saw one they'd not seen yet.

"What do you think our parents are talking about?" I asked Abby, who turned to look at me.

"Probably what to do with all of the stuff..." Abby replied.

I glanced down at our sisters as I saw movement near the large glass wall that separated us from the fishes. "What stuff?"

“Oh my god, I promised myself I wouldn’t get so emotional…” Laura sobs as she fans her thickly made-up face with her hands, or rather, the dark red fingernails on the ends of her hands. Even though we’re at school today, Laura, Suriya, Harriet, Nicole, Mia and even Megan, have opted to come to school today looking as feminine as possible, because they know that today is the one day they won’t be punished for it. This is because, apart from their exams, today is the last day that any of them will ever set foot in this school.

I wasn't out of it for more than a minute or two, as far as I know. Someone put some smelling salts under my nose, and... I came out of it.

It still took a few minutes for me to really be aware of what was going on around me, I guess that shocked me more than I had expected.

I leaned against mom, listening to Dr. Sandridge as she explained in more detail while a nurse lurked nearby watching me. Maybe the doctor just wanted to play it safe and prevent any repeats. Either that, or have a nurse immediately available if something did happen again.

“Here she comes!” Hayley squeaked excitedly as the black London taxi pulled onto the street. Sophie fidgeted nervously in her loose dress, forcing a smile on her face as she prepared to hold up the banner that she and many of her friends had spent the previous evening making.

“Everybody ready?” One of the two identical ginger-haired Scottish women asked, smiling as everyone nodded affirmatively.

“On three,” the other ginger-haired Scotswoman said. “Ready? One, two, three…”

The encounter with Carl Delaforge in "Commutation" was a bit depressing so let’s cheer up and revisit the family from “Where did I go wrong?”, only two years later. If you haven’t read that story this will contain spoilers.

I was not feeling very well coming down into the living room that Saturday morning. What I saw there did NOT make me feel any better. The room was a mess! A ridiculously short, and expensive looking, sparkly blue dress on the floor. On the same floor some flimsy lace black thong panties featured prominently. Black 5 inch heel shoes thrown around, one on the floor, the other in an armchair. A bra, that matched the panties in material, color and sexiness, in the other armchair. Stockings, and garter belt draped across the back of the couch. A couch that by all evidence had been used to have wild, wanton sex on. Fortunately I couldn’t see any stains and the used condom had missed the carpet, Who could be responsible for this?

Cheryl? No, she’d never wear five inch heels. Wait, five inch heels? Michael!!!

It was interesting in a way, regarding adjusting to having Allison with us. For the first few days after she found us, Allison was sharing my not very big bed over the driver's and front passenger's seats. That changed a few days later when one of our folks inflated and placed a double size air mattress in the covered back of their large pick-up truck, a Dodge Ram 3500 long bed. That suited Allison just fine.

A short story...

A hero may make many sacrifices. Some even make the ultimate sacrifice for someone who loves them back with their whole heart.

Copyright © 2018 by AuP reviner

Innocence

The kindergarten teacher looked at me with a slight bit of concern but then her eyes sparkled as she introduced herself to my mother and myself. I didn’t think about it too much at the time as she invited me to go over to the play area in the middle of the room: model houses and kitchen play sets with small metal bowls and plastic foods; the classroom has more fake food in the refrigerator than we ever had in ours at home.

Some of the set-up hadn't been finished by the late evening of Wednesday after we arrived at the site, so some folks stayed on site on Thursday morning to finish it, the rest of us would find some way to relax while we wandered around Greenville to see what we could discover.

We were up by about 7 AM, even without using an alarm. I guess we're used to being on the go early, even when we aren't doing anything.