The sound of a door slamming echoed through the Altura household, but Melissa barely registered it. She sat cross-legged on her bed, staring at the wall opposite her. The black and gray tapestry she'd hung there featured an intricate mandala design that she used to find captivating. Now it was just another pattern, devoid of meaning.

The Banberries

A musical journey

by SUZIE DALKIN

Sam Simpson was a bit of a nonentity. Nowhere near top of the class or the bottom. Not the life and soul of the party – not that he ever got invited. Not a sportsman and not tall, short, fat or ginger, he was just inconspicuous, and terribly shy. And, while his classmates at his all-boys school were growing up and out, he seemed to be lagging behind. Inconspicuously.

This is a paraquel to “Pawn …” as told by Dawn (Bill). (Since it isn’t prequel or a sequel it must be a paraquel)

At the beginning of my sophomore year I finally was ready to act. Perphaps not really ready but I had to do it this year. I had carefully researched the possibilities. This was the year to come out. Next year the conditions would be much worse.

As soon as I saw Bill walk towards school in a dress I knew that I had been handed a golden opportunity. No, I had no interest in Bill himself but his actions opened up so many possibilities.

This story arose from a dream, it has no ending

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the alley, freezing the boy in his tracks. His heart hammered against his ribs as he pressed himself against the cold brick wall, barely daring to breathe. He shouldn’t have followed the man in the black coat. He should have stayed home, right where his mother had told him to. But curiosity had always been his weakness. And now, he’d seen something he couldn’t unsee.

Jimmy is in love with a boy named Alex. His twin, Rachel, is in love with a girl named Alexa.
Two bedrooms, one wall apart. But the person that they're really crushing on is...?

The Interview (2)
by
Angharad.
I spoke to the principal about our upcoming event and to be prepared. He was busy so told me to organise it and provided I stuck to college policies, which included diversity and variety, to just get on with it. He'd see the student involved in a couple of weeks. I told him what I'd done and that we were on fieldwork all next week and Fiona was one of the field workers. He told me to do what I could and any dissenters could be warned that they agreed to the policy about Difference and Diversity before we accepted them.

I was ostracized for most of my junior year in high school.

It was all my sister’s fault. Well, perhaps not all of it but if she hadn’t forced me to save her bacon, twice, all this would never have happened, so I blame her, and only her for what happened.

Chapter Two

Taylor so badly wanted to correct her.

Chapter 17: The Harassment continues

Yuqi walked into school the following day, bracing herself for what would come. The weight of yesterday’s events still lingered heavily in her chest, but she tried to push through it, her shoulders squared and her head held high. She didn’t want to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing how much the incident had hurt her.

The morning started quietly enough, with students milling about the hallways as usual, but as soon as the PA system crackled to life, the memory of the previous day came rushing back.

Chapter 7

Ashley looked at the picture and then had to put his hand on the nearest support.

“That’s the picture. Why have you got it?”

“Before you start hyperventilating, let’s sit in down and I’ll tell you who he is.”

They went and sat in a pew and Rupert laid out the family history, as he knew it.

Celeste Rawlins pulled her jacket tighter against the evening chill, grateful she'd thought to bring an extra layer. October nights in Millridge were unpredictable—sometimes clinging to late summer warmth, other times plunging into winter's preview. Tonight was definitely leaning toward the latter.

There are five completed books of this story, with a total of 114 chapters. I figure that if I post them every few days, it will take the rest of this year to complete. Hoping that you all stay with it.
Marianne

Chapter 6

The Millridge College campus was bathed in the gentle glow of autumn sunshine, golden light filtering through the maple trees that lined the quad. Traci Walholme checked her watch for the third time in ten minutes, her foot tapping an impatient rhythm against the weathered brick pathway. Celeste was late, which wasn't like her at all.