After the dinner – and two big ice creams, on Carlo’s insistence – we came out. It was already dark, the evening was warm – the ideal time for a romance. If only I was Carlo instead of Lexie…

The Proposition
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Connor Dunn had never been to the Metropolitan Club, so when Christian Warbeck invited him there for lunch, he felt that he could hardly say no. He had toiled for decades in a Wall Street back room to make money to support his family, so to be standing beneath the portrait of J Pierpont Morgan in the club he founded, was a special treat. Christian met Connor under the portrait and escorted him the rooftop dining area, with its grand view over Central Park.

Masks XXVIII: Old School

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part Two

Unknown, South Pacific Island:
Nick looks over where Cheshire and Jack are sleeping. He knew the two of them were lightly sleeping. They had managed to tear the sleeves off the jumpsuits they were forced to wear. All the weapons they took had been reloaded. Each weapon had three reloads to it. After that, they were shit out of luck.

The man had failed to meet an agreement, so his son would pay the horrible price. Now she, SHE would always be doomed to wear black, to include head covering, face covering, gloves, and floor length gown. The nerves to her vocal cords were cut, so it was intended that she would never speak. They had threatened to blind her and if there was any attempt to escape the curse, they surely would, they threatened.

The Whole Team Arrives

I updated my report for Earth to add some of these details about the sims, and about the time I was done, the crew from the other ship arrived. So we spent a while getting those 9 registered in the computer system, and finding them homes. They already had a bit of orientation into the way things work here, since they were watching much of it from the ship, but we explained some details, and everybody took a turn in the bathroom sim.

Me, My Brother, and the Last Night of Summer
Copyright 2024 by Heather Rose Brown

This is a short story about a preteen nonbinary kid trying to deal with gender issues, and what happens when a sibling with similar but different issues reaches out to them.

Chapter 1

"Hey, Gorgon, did you twist last night?" Called the familiar and unwanted voice of Tommy Radner. "Look, somehow you got uglier." Suddenly a hideously mangled image of my face appeared floating in front of me where everyone in the hallway could see it.

"Tom, I think you may have improved his looks." John Lee joked. Tommy and John were both on the football team and could do no wrong according the school administration. No wrong apparently included accosting innocent students such as myself.

Masks XXVIII: Old School

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part One

Vic's new helmet was slightly bulkier than the previous one, but it was also actually lighter. Drake had called Vic to his office for the presentation. While her boss read aloud the note which came in the box, Vic examined her new headgear.

"Ugh," she said, peering it from various angles. "Looks like something a Star Wars Stormtrooper would wear."

In spite of this opinion she put it on. At least it fit well.

Part Two

Less than five minutes later, Chris found himself alone in the bathroom with the gift box.

He had tried several more times to argue that this was absurd, but all of his words fell on deaf ears. Aunt Mary was using him as a scapegoat to make her daughter feel better, Chloe was jumping at the chance to embarrass her younger brother, and Amy clearly arranged this whole thing to begin with. It was three to one, and all of them supported each other with ‘logic’ about why Chris should do it.

Mantra and Gabriel have come to a version of Los Angeles that exists in parallel time, but this is the worst version of the city that Mantra has ever visited. As bad as it is, something important that is about to happen, and before it does, Mantra has to get her ducks in a row. That is not going to be easy with danger on every side, and with people who used to be her friends acting like enemies.

Anne Marie has bullied Cameron for a long time. Suddenly she finds something about him she likes.

Chapter 33

Chugiak, Alaska

2:00 AM

It had been an eventful day for the Johnsons. That morning, or yesterday morning to be precise, they had no thought of a new child in their care. Now, in the guest room, a thirteen-year-old girl was in bed and would be for quite a while to come.

The ongoing saga of Oak Island ended and Bob stood up and stretched. It was a repeated episode from the tenth season, and he once again wondered if Mage, Chet, Marcia, and Darryl could solve the mysteries if they were to tackle it.