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.

“Ex- excuse me?” The young woman asks, her facemask muffling her soft Yorkshire accent. “Can — can we get a selfie with you, please?” I allow myself a small chuckle as I turn to face the asker of the question — a girl barely older than sixteen, standing with three others of her age. All of them are wearing t-shirts with cartoon caricatures on the front and, even though I can’t see them, angel wing prints on the back, just like all t-shirts promoting the group I tried — and failed — to join.

“Annnnnnnnd that’s £500, please,” Lil says with a smug grin, which widens as I sigh and hand her the pretend pink banknote. “Much obliged, Miss Williams!”

“Do NOT stuff that one down your bra, as I’m going to take it from you very soon!” Lydia teases, before rolling the dice and continuing our game of ‘Angels Monopoly.’

Today is day nine of our ‘incarceration’ in the Lincolnshire mansion, and the restlessness is already starting to kick in — hence why many of us have already resorted to Monopoly.

Turnabout, A Pair Of My Own

I earned my living as a consultant, advising people in how to invest their money and hold on to what they had in today’s economy. I purposefully selected only female clients, most males think they know better and do not listen to the advice I offer them. Then, when they lose a chunk, they blame me for steering them wrong. I avoid all of that drama by not taking them as clients in the first place.