Two Year Time Jump:

Backstage At AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas:

Hard roads and endless lines
Flow through his veins
Cold steel and hot fuel injected
Is the dream that fills his brain

But no, not slow
The speed fever grows
He rides, he sees, he knows
You've got to ride to live
Live to ride

Feel the flames burn inside
And though you know
You ride to hide

You ride to live to ride
Life's short and goes too fast
Most pages burn

The coming-out-at-work theme in Steph C's recent chapter of Perspective got me thinking of this little bit of comedy from back when I was in mid-transition. Couldn't fit it into a haiku, so a tanka it is.

Chapter Three:
Brutal Training

Devyn did not believe in easing Valerie into anything.

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.

Home at ten-thirty. Emily pays the cab while I get the keys. Inside, the house quiet - Jenna on the sofa with her phone, the monitor on the coffee table showing Theo's breathing steady and slow.

"He went down at nine," Jenna says. "Took the bottle fine."

Emily thanks her and counts out cash and I wait by the door. When Jenna's gone Emily sets the monitor to low and looks at the stairs.

"He'll wake in a few hours," she says. Not a complaint. Just the math of it, working out what the night holds. She takes her shoes off at the bottom of the stairs.

---

CHAPTER 58
I hugged him hard, almost bursting in my love of my son. That phrase bubbled up again: ‘This one is mine; I made this’.

“We’ve got a couple of boat rides coming up, son”

“The Reef?”

“Second one, yeah. I want to try a quieter one with LC first, let her get used to stuff before she goes all the way out there. Now, what looked good at this Italian place?”

Next week is orientation for this year's new students, so here's something related.

The Sisters

By Jenny with a G

Chris was already at school when Lily arrived.

That was not unusual.

Chris was usually there before almost everyone, sitting on the wooden bench outside the library with a backpack tucked close beside one foot. Teachers passed with coffee cups and key rings. The custodian pushed a cart down the hallway. Students came in laughing, yawning, arguing, complaining about homework, and never wondered why Chris always seemed to be waiting before the day had even begun.

Lily noticed.

Lily noticed most things about Chris.

The Magician's Force

Author's note. This essay contains a discussion of abuse. please read with care

It had been a wet and cold summer my sister April and I had been
cooped up indoors nearly every day and we were getting bored. April
said Danny have you seen these films on YouTube, I said which ones are
you talking about. April said these and she showed me it was a short
film about a sister making her brother look like her sister.
April said I have watch a few of these and I bet we could make a
better one. I said you want to turn me into a girl. April said no just
looking like one. April said you are quite slim and about my size you

My Diary.

By Nikkie Silk

Dear Diary

Today was a busy day. This morning, I kissed Daddy goodbye at the front door, wearing my pink baby-doll nightie. The nightie rides up to show my matching knickers, which barely cover my little cockette in its cage. Daddy keeps the key close to his heart on a chain around his neck, which I think is supersweet of him. It is gestures like that which make me love him so much. Only he can use the key, as it should be, I hasten to add.

I wake at half past four to something wrong with my underwear.