When my youngest, Lawrence (or more usually Larry), began high school I was not surprised that he had problems. Not scholastically. Larry is a bright boy. No, the thing about Larry is that he is “odd”. I can’t describe it better than that since I haven’t been able to pin it down better myself. There is nothing tangible. He doesn’t look funny in any way. No big nose or limp or anything like that. He’s not a macho boy but in no way girly (even if some would characterize his love for ballet as girly, which anybody that had seen him on stage would know is a mistake). He’s just “odd”.

Anna Smith and her twin brother John had just turned 13 when both her parents went to the Amazon on a research mission for 6 months. Their parents were lead researchers. They worked long hours before the mission, so the children were accustomed to being alone much of the time when they were not at their school. The youngsters knew how to have groceries delivered, had debit cards and could transfer funds around various accounts.

My eyes can't tear themselves away from the image I see in the mirror, and I'm about to cry.

My name is Daniel, I'm 12 years old and I didn't go to school today because I felt bad. Mom works as a nurse and my sister Katherine (Katty) is in High School, so I have the house to myself.

I've always been attracted to my sister's pretty clothes (especially her cheerleading uniform), so as soon as Katty left, I ran to her room and took off these annoying, boring boy clothes and grabbed my sister's cheerleading uniform. sister, so I put it on.

Kobayashi Mary Lou

"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the star-ship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: …"

The Enterprise computer automatically signaled Red Alert when more than one hundred unidentified ships materialized ‘from nowhere’, partly surrounding the Enterprise.

Captain Kirk, who was on the Bridge ordered: “On screen. Mister Spock. Analysis please. Lieutenant Uhuru, open hailing frequencies and standard greetings.

The lingerie and swimwear gig didn't pan out. The lady in charge was a bit too much to handle and ended up letting me go because of a certain incident she reported to Mistress Athena. I admit, I made mistakes too. But there was this strange urge in me to explore wearing lingerie (maybe hidden desires), so I indulged in it secretly (after work hours, of course). I couldn't resist and kept doing it until I was caught, leading to the lady's anger and betrayal. Mistress Athena was not happy, and I felt the need to redeem myself.

Monday morning I woke with a feeling of dread. My mum came into my room at 6.30.

"Come on John. It takes women longer to get ready than men. You'll soon get used to it. Now, shower shave and meet me in the spare room."

After that was done, I walked into the spare room and saw what lay in wait for me.

A pair of smooth black knickers with lace panels at the sides.

"They were the least fussy ones I could find before you moan," Mum said.

I slowly dressed in the soft, unfamiliar clothes.A black bra with lacy cups came next. Mum stuffed them with tights.

Battles of the Sexes

The estrangement between men and women that had been becoming a deeper and deeper divide for over a century became a matter of hate to many if not most.

3/30/2024, 6:20 AM

Completely True Account.

Almost Captive In A Box

This is what I can remember of a completely true story that I have never written about or talked to anyone regarding the creepy people I met. It was so traumatic that I blanked it out until now.

This took place between 2005 and 2006 near Sherwood, Oregon. Later when I returned to make sure I was not remembering a hallucination, The place was gone, and tract houses had been built there.

Re-engineered
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Dominic Grady came from a long line of engineers, and he was smart enough to follow that line. Not as smart as others in his family, like his older brothers Rod (structural engineer) and Paul (environmental engineer), but smart enough not to let the family down.

The Plagiarist

Plagiarism is alive and well, and it is the greatest literary art form ever known.

A super-short based on a conversation on our way to songwriters’ group.

Life can be tough if you're an artist, and I don't want to hear any agita about whether a potter is an artist or craftsman. Craftsperson. Whatever. A painter uses his hands to paint, a musician uses her hands to play; I use my hands to sculpt wet clay into interesting shapes. Then I use my hands to paint them.

So: I'm an artist. Stop arguing!

Extended
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

If I don’t look happy about it, it’s because I wasn’t. I had tampered with my sister’s shampoo so she ended up with purple hair the day before the big dance, so my mother agreed upon the punishment.

“You need to understand what hair means to a girl, Mason, so you will spend a month with girl hair.”

Occulta puella

To those who helped I give my blessing.
To the rest, may you one day receive what you deserve,
On my deathbed, alone as always,

Occulta puella. [Hidden Girl]

The last day of school has students and classes competing against each other in fun games. Two best friends have a conversation with each other after one of them lost a competition.

Summary: Discovering who you are is not easy when you're nine. Especially, when Mom wants you to clean your room.

Summary: A Mom reflecting on her little girl growing up.

“Bobby, sit still!”

“I can’t help it, it itches!”

“Bobby, be reasonable, I haven’t even picked up the clippers, it can’t itch.”

“Mom, I don’t care, can’t we just leave my hair long? It isn’t very long, it barely reaches my collar, there are lots of boys that have hair longer than I do.”

"Suzy, I can't decide," Bobby whispered.

"Bobby, you don't need to whisper, no one is around. And even if they were, it is 2023 and, at least here in Calfornia, no one cares if you buy a blouse."

"OK Suze, which one, the light blue silky one or the white with roses and lace? I can't afford both of the.... eep!"

Pronouns

This is a snippet out of GOM 46 that I am currently working on, but I thought it may be of interest as a short short stand alone. I’m still working on it in GOM 46 so it may end up slightly different and probably much longer. These are the words of a fictional character in a tale that is pure fantasy, so whilst comments are always welcome it is pointless to have a go at me.