Agreed. The relationship must remain exactly what the opening presents it as: lifelong friendship. The reader should discover everything else naturally.

Kev Williams and James Ashbourne have been inseparable since they were fifteen—two village boys united by rugby, motorsport, gaming and an apparently limitless ability to torment one another.

But Kev has been carrying a secret that could change everything.

Author’s Note

This story is part real life. It is partly based on an inspirational story from the British Press. The latter part of the story is entirely fiction. The names used are entirely fiction, including the scant details of the Weight Loss program used, although there are several programs available here in the UK that offer a similar service.

Chapter 5

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.

"Dancing bears, painted wings... things I almost remember

"Ha ha! You're always singing that song," she said, giggling.

Her brother looked up from the couch, still singing.

"It's my favorite song!"

"But you sing it every day... every... day!" she said, giggling.

"You know, you kinda look like her with your green eyes."

He blushed with a gentle smile and dreamy eyes.

Breaking out of his reverie, he threw a sock at her.

Something's different before I'm fully awake. The weight of the blanket, or the mattress, the way my hips sit against it, two contact points spread wider than they should be. There's a warmth at my chest that isn't how my chest feels when I sleep. I lie there tracking it with my eyes closed. The body keeps giving me things I don't want.

The alarm says 5:21. I got there first, which is normal.

Part 7 Penny in a Spin

We took it slowly from then on. We were to meet all the others at an Italian Restaurant for a meal before we went to the club. The owner knew Andrew and we would meet up with the sound guys to get our mics fitted there before we ate as the filming would start with our meal.

Before we left, I was told to strip off completely and then was totally taken by surprise when Tanya pulled out an enema kit and squeezed the contents up my arse.

“So, you don’t get a sudden desire to have a crap once you are dressed.”

Now that the term is starting again for real, the commute reminded me of this incident some years ago. I guess the moral of the story is that voice therapy works.

Hide and Seek
by
MichelleA

Good night, Gwen. Don't think anything of it; Bob was fine looking after
James while we went out tonight. Do you have everything James? Alright
goodnight again.

Bob. Bob. Are you in your room? Janet hears sniffling coming from
Bob's room. Opening the door, she sees a young girl crying on Bob's bed.
Looking up the girl sees Janet and begins to cry harder. Janet realizes
that the girl looks like Bob.

"I heard you," he said. "I ain't deaf."

The Marrying Kind
by Suzan Donamas

Magnolia Blooms & Sakura Petals
By
Rebecca Anna Coleman

-2-
Chocolate Sunde

I took a deep breath. According to the army green wrist watch I always wore on my wrist the time was around two thirty in the afternoon. I'd been mowing grass, pulling weeds, and pruning bushes for a good five hours now. It was now in the hottest part of the day and I was thankfully I'd just finished the job. Dripping sweat I took a shallow breath and sat down upon the concrete steps of our front porch and peered out at the sun drenched vista that spread out in front of me.

CHAPTER 24
Our next shifts were lates, and we decided, after the delights of New Year’s Eve, we deserved a bit of a break, so we parked up in Splott once more.

“What’s got you so bouncy, Jen?”

“Um, stuff”

“What sort of stuff?”

“Sort of personal stuff”

“Ah! You rang that woman, didn’t you?”

“Er, might have done”

While Paula searched for a suitable date for Faye and dealt with other clients, Stephanie continued to work on Faye’s behaviour and appearance. When Steph mentioned ‘behaviour’, Faye went a little mad.

“My behaviour is very good, isn’t it?”

I was in my early twenties, a few weeks after I started my first semester in a visual arts college, burning the candle at both ends, working grueling night shifts while trying to keep up with my studies during the day. By the time morning arrived, my body was running on absolute fumes. Stepping onto the bus for my usual ride home felt like sinking into a heavy fog, and within minutes of finding a seat near the window, my eyes drifted shut and I fell fast asleep.

Part 6 A Penny in the Slot

After finishing our filming on Thursday, I was walking out of the place in my black outfit, fully made up with red nails and great hair.

Paula laughed.

“Hey, we all look fabulous. Why don’t we all get ahead of tomorrow nights’ filming by going out on the town? I know a little dance club where we can relax.”

So, we were all driven into town and dropped off outside a restaurant, the drivers saying they would pick us up on Saturday evening for the club scene.

CHAPTER 22
We had had Christmas off, so the unwritten rules said that we would have the delights of New Year’s Eve, and a night shift at that. It was never a popular slot, because anyone who was anyone HAD to be out, had to be drunk, and had to fall over, and that ‘anyone included an awful lot of arseholes, not just the ones with the liquid ‘engage twat mode’ button, but those who started out bad and simply got worse.

Chapter 1 — The Job Nobody Expected

The advertisement had been sitting on Maya’s monitor for less than thirty seconds when she looked across the desk at Evan and said, “Absolutely not.”

Evan had known her long enough to recognize the expression. Maya worked for a staffing agency, which meant that when she looked at a computer screen that way, she had either found precisely the wrong job for someone or precisely the right job for the wrong person.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re smiling.”

“I smile.”

“Not like that.”

Waking up and living a day as both Jody and Victoria was old hat to me now. But I realized this was another day where I had to let Victoria control things. I’m sure Victoria would love to marry me, but I have to do it right. I can’t simply ask her, “Will you marry me?” and then with her mouth say, “Yes.”