Part 17 The Dead Penny!

The following week in the studio we worked hard to get the ‘Thursday’ and ‘Friday’ episodes sorted out. Andrew had us do a couple of linking scenes in last weeks’ outfits to tidy up the ‘Wednesday’ show and then we all changed to start the ‘Thursday’ one.

I was given some time off this time as the big sex scene for the ‘Thursday’ show was Susan telling Tanya to join her in the ladies’ room where she pulls out the dildo that they had spent Saturday night with.

“How can that woman be so hot?” Marcus asked the world at large as he drank from his tumbler.

“Who?” His friend, Paul, asked.

“Over there. With the long straight platinum blond hair and eyes so green we can see their color across the haze of the dance floor.”

“You’re really into this girl? Oh, her. Wow. That hourglass figure must have been work.”

“You think?”

“Maybe. Why is no one near her?”

“She’s in a league all her own. Deservedly.” He drank again.

“Or they all know she has chlamydia.”

Mark Lansing never wanted to stand out. He was perfectly happy disappearing into a football huddle with the rest of the team until one play made him the talk of the town. Thrust into a spotlight he never wanted, every choice can reshape his future, and every decision could transform him in ways he never believed possible. Mark’s destiny will be determined on the field … assuming he can figure out how to dress the part.

Brightbird and the Cosmic Egg

Chapter One - Oops

By Jo Dora Webster

A Transgender Coming of Age Adventure

From the Limoxian Universe

Dance, Dance, Dance, Amy

A Transgender Mythology Romantacy

A Lamur, GA, USA Novel

Chapter Twenty-One: Salon Surveillance

By Gail Rose Landers

Mark Lansing never wanted to stand out. He was perfectly happy disappearing into a football huddle with the rest of the team until one play made him the talk of the town. Thrust into a spotlight he never wanted, every choice can reshape his future, and every decision could transform him in ways he never believed possible. Mark’s destiny will be determined on the field … assuming he can figure out how to dress the part.

Part 15 The Shiny New Penny

Monday morning arrived on time and so did Sam to take me to the studio. Odette went in Tonys’ Porsche and Tanya went with Steve, via his place so he could get a change of clothes. It looked like the penthouse had gone from housing one tenant to now looking after five, at least.

At the studio we had a cast meeting to talk about the direction that the show would go next. We ended up with a good set of scenes that would take us beyond the halfway point, and we would think about the further plot lines then.

13.1 Your Sister

Sunday passed quietly.

Aarav felt relieved that the haircut had been cancelled, but he still did not know what would happen at school.

Once, while sitting with Riya, he picked up a small clip and fixed it into his hair. He kept it there for several minutes, removed it, then put it back again.

Neither of them knew whether they were preparing for a new beginning or only enjoying one more safe day at home.

On Monday morning, Mother called Mrs. Patwardhan.

"I would like to meet you," she said.

11.1 The Closed Door

Mother returned from work at six-thirty.

Riya opened the door. Mother placed her bag on the chair and removed her sandals.

"How was the carnival?"

"It was good," Riya said. "We enjoyed it."

"Where is Aarav?"

"He was tired. He went to rest."

Mother nodded and went to freshen up. She did not ask Riya to wake him.

By half past seven, dinner was ready. Riya sat at the dining table, but Aarav's bedroom door remained closed.

"Call your brother," Mother said.

7.1 The Quiet Weeks

For the first week of vacation, Aarav liked having nothing to prepare for.

He slept late, wore old T-shirts and shorts, and left his schoolbag untouched in a corner. There was no temporary pass to carry and no reason to think about which building he had to enter.

8.1 Riya's Result

The summer routine continued for a while.

Not every day. Aarav still wore his own shorts and T-shirts most of the time. But every few afternoons, he brought the clips to Riya, asked for the soft T-shirt, or chose one of the kurtis. Sometimes he went downstairs dressed that way; sometimes he stayed inside.

Then Riya's Class 10 result arrived.

5.1 Known By His Name

By the second month, Aarav knew the girls' building well enough to move through it without looking for Riya first.

He knew the crowded staircase after Marathi period, the library timings, and the corner near the office where students waited after forgetting an ID card. He could go for water alone and sit with Anaya and Kavya even when Riya had an extra Class 10 lesson upstairs.

Still, new girls sometimes called him "Riya's brother" before remembering his name. A substitute teacher once asked whether he was visiting.

Mother did not go to school in anger.

That frightened Aarav more than shouting would have done.

She ironed her cotton kurta in the morning, packed his tiffin, and checked his diary twice. Riya stood near the kitchen door, holding her own school bag.

"Aai, should I come?" she asked.

Mother shook her head. "You go to your building. I will handle this."

Aarav looked at the floor.

"I told you not to make it big," he said.

Mother closed his tiffin box and kept it in his bag. "If a child is scared to enter class, it is already big."

Reader note: This story contains scenes of teasing, bullying, and humiliation in the early chapters. These scenes are included only as story conflict. They are not shown as acceptable, funny, or something to copy. Bullying, forced humiliation, harassment, and pressure around clothing or identity can seriously hurt a person. The story supports safety, consent, dignity, family support, and respectful treatment.

In Green Park Society, Aarav was the only boy in his age group.

This story is set in Ireland during the War of Independence, 1919-1921.

The Players.

An Cailleach, approximately Old Hag in English, is a term found in both Irish and and Scots Gaelic. It carries connotations of divinity or magic.

Volunteers, the name used by Irish national insurrectionists engaged in the War of Independence. After independence, these formed part of the basis for the new National Army which still has the letters IV (Irish Volunteers) on formal uniform buttons.

RIC, Royal Irish Constabulary, an armed police force responsible for crime and internal security. Recruited locally, it was heavily infiltrated by the Volunteers and many members left the organization during the war.

Black & Tans and Auxiliaries. These were paramilitary police recruited in England to support the RIC, notorious for indiscipline, terrorism and extra-judicial killings.

Part 14 Very Bad Penny!

As the room filled people started finding their seats and we went with the organisers to the head table.

The guy next to me sounded startled.

“You are sitting in Julians’ seat, is he not coming?”

“Never fear. All will come good as the night progresses. This is the first one of these that we have organised and there are a few wrinkles to be ironed out.”

He seemed happier and Sam got up to the microphone, made sure it was on and then started the proceedings.