My school day as Penelope continues as I find out what the wish did to Cindy and some others. I also discover some disturbing evidence that I might have become more than just a girl on the outside.

No good deed goes unpunished. When I agreed to help my best friend fix her life with the aid of a wishing stone, I knew there might be potential magical ramifications. I just never thought they'd include me trading my lightsaber and gaming dice for ballet shoes and pom-poms.

This is a true story. It doesn't matter if you believe me.

When I was small I met an angel.

I was standing in a field with tall grass, sunflowers and dandelions. I don’t know how I got there, and didn’t care. The sun warmed my chubby arms, and a gentle breeze blew the grass so that it tickled under my dress.

There’s another thing that was strange but wasn’t; I was wearing a dress - canary yellow, with thin straps over the shoulder. Not the kind of thing I could wear at home; not the kind of thing I was allowed.

Angels assemble!

Charlotte: the leader, dedicated to using her wealth and fame to help those less fortunate.

Jamie: the social media star, dedicated to proving that anyone can be the person they were born to be, regardless of how they were born.

Hannah: the supermodel from the lower-class background, dedicated to proving that a person is worth more than their background.

Krystie: the dance teacher, dedicated to bringing out the inner beauty in everyone.

Mary: the mother of the group, dedicated to protecting those who struggle to protect themselves.

When Andy finds a genuine Genie bottle he mistakes it as junk.
Giving it to his best friend, Kyle. A mistake of epic proportions, as Kyle knows exactly how to exploit a genie. Or does he?
This story won't end with just one instance of being screwed over.

John is a boy who is bullied a wants to be a hero when he is asked to clean out the attic he finds a magic genie and gets wish and wishes to be a hero but the outcome is not what he thought it would be....

I walked until the sun was high over my right shoulder. Then walked some more as it sank towards the horizon. Afternoon brought new problems as the glare of the sun made it hard to see the distant smoke.

Rachel's first day of Summer Midterms looks like she could be making a friend at last. Well as long as one of her relatives doesn't mess everything up at least.

Ich bin nunmehr seit über 5 Jahren mit meiner Freundin zusammen, aber irgendwas hat sich für uns beide immer komisch angefühlt, auch schon vor unserer gemeinsamen Zeit.

Ich war schon immer der eher zurückhaltende und devote Typ und meine Freundin eher durchsetzungsstark und dominant, für die Rollenverteilung von Mann und Frau also genau anders herum.

Mich haben Frauen schon immer fasziniert und so kam es, dass ich irgendwann auf Transgender-Seiten im Internet gelandet bin, wo sich Männer in Frauen "verwandelt" haben, um ihr Äußeres dem Inneren anzupassen.

Had you ever had a dream? In your sleep? So real and so detailed that you noticed rivets in the bus bodywork? Or colour and the pattern of the seats upholstery?.. And yes, seats were dull brown, and a pattern was a quite worn out artist's idea of the leather on vinyl.
And another thing. I traveled quite a few countries in my life, but never visited India.

A wish for Joy

The old man fingered the ring, then summoned the genie.

“What is thy wish?” the genie asked.

“I’ve come to realize I never gave happiness to anybody. So my wish is that for whatever time I have left, I would be a person who makes others smile when I come into a room. To be a source of happiness wherever I go. “

“Granted”

Some time later, in a hospital across town, a baby is presented to her parents.

They say “Let’s call her ... Joy ...”

End?

Rachel has become fed up on how she is treated and is preparing to stand up for herself. As she concludes that the latest punishment, by being too much actually has empowered her, her Mother is feeling weaker especially with Dad away in London for the week, and worried her child is going to succeed in disrupting her tenuous grip of power. The dichotomy of beliefs in their powers is setting for a storm to rage through the family.

Rachel is pushing against the control and barriers to freedom her parents enforce. Those rebellious teen years might arrive earlier than expected.

“Flapjacks,” I said. I have no idea why....

Geoff estranged from his UK relatives is a widower living in Portland. He is in his late forties when he faces the bad midlife crisis of being forced into retirement. Unlike many it might be one of the best things to have ever happened to him recently. For sure the next bad thing that happens could also be considered candidate for the title of 'Usually a really bad thing that is actually for the best'.

Geoff estranged from his UK relatives is a widower living in Portland. He is in his late forties when he faces the bad midlife crisis of being forced into retirement. Unlike many it might be one of the best things to have ever happened to him recently. For sure the next bad thing that happens could also be considered candidate for the title of 'Usually a really bad thing that is actually for the best'.

“Your disguise as a boy is lots better from in front than from behind,” he said with a grin..

Thinking about that made me grumpy for a bit.