The Garden Party
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

“Maybe you should go down to the strip and find yourself somebody to do the job,” I suggested. “You know, just like Richard Gere did. Find yourself a Julia Roberts.”

“If I thought that would work, I might,” he said, the man who had just introduced himself as Jerome. “Now do you want the money or not? Will you do it or not?”

And now for something different. Not different for me, come to think about it, but a change from the general gloom.

This is a sequel to “And the Winner is …” To understand this sequel you really need to (re)read that.

While my parents just stood there shocked Arnold said

“Until tomorrow morning then. I’ll take you up in the mountains so wear sturdy shoes and suitable skirt if you have one.

Thanks to my parents I did have one. A short one.

True to his word Arnold rang the bell at exactly 10 am. The skirt was the only girl garment I wore. Shoes, socks, shirt etc. were all my ordinary boy stuff. If only they had screamed “BOY” instead of just whisper it!

 
Warning: This chapter contains a brief reference to sexual violence, including rape. It is not explicit, and it is only presented as a recalled fragment of memory central to the protagonist's identity. Reader discretion is advised.
 

I resisted laughing, for fear it would come out as a giggle.

Pete's Vagina
76. Bullet
Erin Halfelven

Chapter Five: Unfolding

The week after the salon night stretched like a taut string. Aria returned to her daily rhythms—emails, project deadlines, cooking lentils in her tiny kitchen—but everything felt changed. When she brushed her teeth in the morning, she remembered the pressure of Ava’s finger on her lips. When she sat on a Zoom call, she caught herself touching the ends of her hair, twisting them the way she’d seen Melissa do.

And at night, when she looked at the photo gallery Ava had given her, she no longer saw “costume.” She saw herself, whole and luminous.

A remake of the classic story written by The Suejrz nearly 20 years ago. More than simply reviving the original title, this piece was written with the intention of diving deeper into the characters, situations, and the evolution of a husband who never expected how much a harmless bet would end up costing him.
This first part covers events up to the double date with Tom and Mike.

Coach Wilson was not a boy, any more than I was.

“Do you prefer to be called Gayle?”

Pete's Vagina
70.2 Defense
Erin Halfelven

It was about 7 PM, and Jonah had just finished painting his nails in a light purple color. This was his fourth color thus far, having followed white, red, and pink colors in the previous weeks. He and Kelly were staying true to their word, which meant that they kept doing everything that they’ve been dared to do. That night, Kelly was wearing gym shorts and a white t-shirt, whereas Jonah was wearing a set of pink pajamas.