Introduction: Adam is beginning to learn about the vagaries of business. Last in, first out: he is being laid off due to the downturn in business. That's the bad news. Less bad is that they have an opening available in a small satellite office in Hartford, CT, the 'Insurance Capital of America'. Adam is going to move, and Phantom will come with him, of course.

This is another story in the Cynthia Chronicles series. Other stories in the series are An Incremental Journey, Cynthia and the Reluctant Girlfriend, Cynthia and the Dumpster Diver, Cynthia and the Moment of Truth, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part I, Cynthia and the High School Years - Part II, Charli and the Girl Cave, Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling; and Randi and the College Professor,. The time frame of this story takes place about three to four years after Charli and the Girl Cave. If you haven't read the stories before, it might be a good idea to go back and start at the beginning.

I was killing myself in stages they said.

“Charlie you're 23, you've got a great job and a fat bank account, so why are you drinking yourself to death?” said Wills, my older brother after another of my drinking binges.

“Mate you need help quick. I thought you were gonna black out last night,” advised Pete as he helped me into his car a week later.

Previously

Previously

Mark, a loner who grew up in a small Kentucky town, has always been a lonely and tragic figure. When his mother passes away it marks the end of his former life and forces him to rebuild as he moves away to attend college. Helped by Todd, his only friend, Mark finds himself anew but struggles to find happiness as Megan, his alter ego, insists on a place for herself.

Previously

The brothers never said a word but nodded yes and took off like two scared jack rabbits.

Monday morning Colin strutted into work with his head held high. He entered the mechanic’s bay through a side door by the employee’s parking area. For the first time ever he’d left his cap at home. Yesterday at the mall he’d stopped at a salon and got his hair cut in a funky spiky style with soft highlights that framed his face.

He was wearing his new 501 boyfriend jeans and a new tight fitting tee shirt emblazoned with a butterfly that read “Get out of your cocoon and PLAY”. An inch of creamy smooth midriff was revealed above the waistband of his jeans. He wore a sports bra and bikini panties under it all.

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“Honey?”

Colin glanced up. He calmed his mind, preparing himself for what was to come. He was very familiar with the syrupy, slightly wheedling tone Dee was using. She wanted something and didn’t want him to realize he was being manipulated. She would be mortified and loudly deny she ever did such a thing if he were to make the mistake of mentioning it to her.
 

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*Gasp!*

Heather quickly sat upright in her bed, panting heavily. She was completely drenched in sweat from head to toe. The amulet beneath her night dress was glowing brighter than ever, pulsing and pounding like a beating heart against her chest. She placed her hand on her chest as she tried to catch up with her breath. For a moment she thought she was hyperventilating. Then, she thought she was dying.

‘’Oh no,’’ gasped Heather. ‘’No, no, no!’’

Dreamer

By Tanya Allan
Original Version Copyright © 1972
Revised version Copyright © 2012

The author asserts her moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

All Rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Any adaptation of the whole or part of the material for broadcast by radio, TV, or for stage plays or film, is the right of the author unless negotiated through legal contract. Any commercial use by anyone other than the author is strictly prohibited.

This work is fictitious, and any similarities to any persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental. Mention is made of persons in public life only for the purposes of realism and for that reason alone. Certain licence is taken in respect of medical procedures, terms and conditions, and the author does not claim to be the fount of all knowledge.

The author accepts the right of the individual to hold his/her (or whatever) own political, religious and social views, and there is no intention to deliberately offend anyone.

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Philip Coates is seventeen and convinced that he is not only trapped in a boarding school for boys, but also trapped in the wrong body. He spends most of his time lost in a world of his imagination. In this world he is the girl he always wanted to be. The girl who screams at him to set her free in every minute of every waking hour, and most of the sleeping ones as well.

Trapped in a social square hole, he becomes simply what everyone - parents, friends, teachers - want and expect him to be. He knows that he wants to be a round peg, but will, in reality, never make it.

Well, he wakes up one morning convinced that his dream might just be coming true.. or is it?

The signs are there, but then again, are there other explanations for what he is going through?

After a rough few days, the girl is set free.

The future is now gloriously uncertain and fresh, as she sets out on a journey, turning her back on her school, her friends and her old home.....

My thanks to PEGLEG for help with proofing