“You’re flirting with the waiters.”

Another Country -13-
by Erin Halfelven

Destination Female

My girlfriend and I had been going steady for almost six months. I was already working, though I had only recently graduated from college. Sherry was still in college, finishing up her last semester.

I was working in the IT department of a local corporation. The job was fairly easy; the only problem was the hours around the weekend. If the gods were with us, the weekend could be enjoyed, but if the servers were acting up on a Friday, the hours piled up as we had to make sure that all was back up and functioning normally for Monday morning’s business.

To the tune of “You Oughta Be in Pictures”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Oughta_Be_in_Pictures
Composed by Dana Suesse and Edward Heyman
Originally recorded by Rudy Vallee.

https://youtu.be/aYkO1Jwlue4?si=JakMphzejll6iOID

Photo by Olga Solodilova on Unsplash

I blame it all on AI. So OK, everybody blames everything on AI these days, but in this instance it is the complete, unvarnished truth.

The ward bathroom. You are standing at the mirror with your shirt off and you don't know how long you've been standing here. The bathroom is empty except for you. The strip light hums above. Your hands are pressed flat against the sides of the belly, which is — large, is the only word, enormous compared to the last time you looked, the navel pushed outward, the skin taut and marked down the center by a dark line you didn't put there. You have been doing the inventory.

Absinthe and Roulette both go home for Christmas vacation, but events draw them and their friends together.

http://whateleyacademy.net/index.php

Maltese Escape
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

They called ours a family, but it was not as you understand that word. A family is supposed to be a safe place to bring a child into the world, to nurture that child when very young, and to support him or her in at least the first part of a journey through life. That is what a family is supposed to be – not a money-grubbing enterprise where every member is expendable.

Chapter 25: Fade to Black

As the scene from 1866 Seattle does a slow fade to black, a scene from 2026 Seattle comes into focus. Kate was seated at her vintage typewriter. A page from the final rewrite of her novel had her consumed. She had debated for months whether she should change her main character to a transsexual, or leave her intersexed.

A Bimbo Experience

I was heading to the salon to pick up my sister, her appointments at the salon only scheduled till eight today. She is one of their stylists, working for them for six years now. Her car was acting up again, thus my ferrying her to work and picking her up at closing. When I pulled into the parking lot the place was jammed. I found a spot near the back of the parking lot and made my way into the salon.

Acidalia XXVI
By Amanda D

Thursday October 8th:

2:45pm EDT

The White House:

Politics As A Female

I had entered the political race because of some friends’ urging. It is for state senator in my district. The incumbent James Kincade, recently making a lot of statements that had pissed off a lot of factions. He originally got the office because of his family name. His father and grandfather both were office holders in the state for many years.