Andlat's Story Spot

"Alright, Dad's gone. You can leave me alone now." Nolan muttered, tugging down one of his sleeves over the paper wristband as he led the way through the gate. "Uh-uh. Dad said we have to stay together." Miles reached out to grab his brother's hand to stop him from getting too far ahead. He spun and glared, an instinct that was much less threatening now that his eyes met his brother's chest. He looked up, cheeks turning slightly pink. Stupid growth spurts. Little brothers were supposed to stay that way. "No one else has to." "You don't know that. Plus, this way you don't gotta go down the haunted trail alone, right?" Nolan grunted something that sounded like 'I'm not afraid'. Miles chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Stop!" Nolan dodged, pulling the hood of his black Nike sweatshirt over his chestnut curls protectively. "Fine. Don't want my hand to smell like that stupid Gunflint shampo...

Micharosa looked around the library, smiling to herself. It had been a month since she had last set foot in here, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Of course, in her new life, she had quickly discovered that there were far more books than could ever fit in this library, perhaps even the whole castle. Still, the smell brought back a flood of memories. She ran her fingers through her hair as if to remind herself that she had left this life behind. Her new life in that new world was simply marvelous. The friends of the boy she had traded places with had been a bit confused at first, but once she began to mimic the way they walked, the way they spoke, they accepted that she was Mike. It helped that physically, they were so much alike, and that was not the only similarity. "Even the names." She mused, shaking her head. Mike was just a character she played. When she was alone, she remained Princess Micharosa, albeit a princess who wore trousers and played sports. "You!" S...

"Another day of school." Mike muttered in disgust, scuffed sneakers scraping on the sidewalk as he shuffled toward the school building. He knew better than to be late, but as long as he had plenty of time before the first bell, he did not want to make it look like he was in any kind of hurry. It was the same classes, day in and day out anyway. He kicked a pebble and watched it bounce. It was only as it came to a halt that he realized it was no ordinary pebble. It was blue-green and seemed to almost glow in the early morning sunlight. He hurried over to it, but misjudged his foot and kicked it under a hedge. He wanted it so bad. "Come back here!" Mike grunted, crawling into a small space in the hedge. Where was it? It was so dark in the hedge. He yelped as he suddenly tumbled, head over heels and everything, through the hedge and into a manicured garden. The temperature was warmer and more pleasant than the fall morning he had left behind and he could not shake the f...

James sighed as he stared at himself in the mirror. It had taken some time, but he had accepted that the fifth grader looking back at him was him. It was and it wasn't. He knew he was James. He could remember weightlifting yesterday, he could remember his first kiss with Stacy Evans, but that was Brook looking back at him, right down to the Minecraft pajama shirt and the thankfully dry Goodnites. "Just gotta shower. It'll clear my mind and" he sighed. "Then I'll figure out what to do about this." Brook's high pitched voice sounded foreign in his ears. It was unsettling for his audible voice to no longer match his inner monologue. He started the shower and stripped, groaning as each discarded article only further revealed how scrawny he was. He had lost five years, a good fourteen inches in height, his shoulders felt less than half as broad, and the less said about the rest of his body, the better. "Shit." James groaned as he looked up at h...

Maddox tried to hide his panic as he once again had to dodge a group of excited swimmers. Everyone seemed to be growing up so fast and he felt as though he was the only one who hadn't been told. Everything had seemed so normal at the start of summer but now that school was around the corner, suddenly his Sonic beach towel and his lime green clogs felt horribly childish. He had planned to spend most of the day at the community pool, but now that he had seen everyone else, he was too anxious to stay. “Oops, sorry” his heart could not seem to decide if it wanted to stop or pound out of his chest as he realized he had nearly run right into Allison Klein. Of course. Of course it had to be her. “I didn't- Oh, wait. You're” she paused and looked him right in the eyes, no small feat with how much she towered over him. “Maddox, right?” “Uh, yeah.” “Wow, I didn't recognize you out of your school uniform at first! I haven't seen you all summer! Course, I've been in cam...

“And you promise you'll wake me up if the clouds go away?” Orion asked. Dad tried to hide his frustration, but this was the fourth time Orion had asked. "Not if you ask me again." He said before adding. "It's not going to clear up tonight, but that comet will still be visible for a few more nights. You're the one who told me that." "I know." Orion sighed. "Forecast for tomorrow looks clear." Dad said. "Forecast for tonight’s go get ready for bed. Calum's already been in bed for half an hour and you haven't even started getting ready." "Well, he's eight." Orion said. "Even twelve year olds need their sleep. Scoot." Orion took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and managed to get his underwear on – even putting his dirty boxer briefs into the hamper – before he finally gave in to temptation and checked out his bedroom window. Nope, still cloudy. He groaned. "Get out." He grunted as he ...