Andlat's Story Spot

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...

Are you sure you don't want a haircut?" She asked him once or twice a month, more frequently now that his hair was so long, but the answer was always the same shy refrain. "No, mommy. I... I like it long." She had no way of knowing the real reason her son had hair past his shoulders now. She smiled and nodded, feeling like she had done her part as a parent. Colby was old enough to make his own choices. “Alright. I’m off to work. Promise not to boss your brother around too much.” Colby made a face. He never was the one doing the bossing. “Promise.” He mumbled. “Bye, mommy.” It still felt strange calling her that, but he knew he had to. Once she left, he headed up to his room, but a note on his desk made it clear he would not get even a moment to himself. He shuffled down the hall to his brother Nate's room, sighing before knocking. He used to burst into his brother’s room whenever he wanted to, but the new arrangement put an end to that.. "Come in!" Colb...

“Josh, come play with me!” Kinsey's shrill voice seemed to have no trouble getting through the door, her annoying habit of stretching his name out somehow even more grating this early in the morning. Josh groaned and pulled the covers over his head. “You promised!” “Computer, make Kinsey go away.” He moaned. He had been six by the time the dorky little girl came along. Why did his parents have to have a second kid? “I cannot do that.” The computer replied in that strange androgynous voice Josh had taken weeks to get used to. What was the point of living in an automated house if there were things it could not do? He sighed and kicked off the blankets, grateful that Kinsey did not know the passcode to his room. She could only get in if he left the door open. “Let me get dressed.” Josh yelled through the door as he gave his butt the best good morning scratch it had had in a long time. “Twerp.” He muttered. “I heard that!” Kinsey said, shocked. “Go tell mom then.” He muttered a...

“New doll day, new doll day.” Melanie sang to herself as she checked her favorite doll collector website. Rumor was the new doll was going to be a deluxe version of Adrianna. She had the playline version, but the deluxe was all but guaranteed to be better. As she waited for the website to load, she eyed the tidy line of deluxe PrincessCulture dolls across from her. Sure, they were technically called the Prestige Line, but everyone who knew anything called them deluxe. There was Morgiana, Elsbeth, even the much maligned Chretianette, whose dress was deemed as ‘too low-cut'. Melanie did not see herself as a completionist, but if Adrianna was anything like what the rumor mill had spun out, she knew she needed to get her. “Load!” She muttered. New doll day always made the PrincessCulture website and all the major sites discussing PrincessCulture as slow as molasses. At last, the glossy photo of Prestige Line Adrianna began to load. Melanie gazed appraisingly at her strawberry blond...

All his life, Ryan had loved reading about knights, whether they were slaying dragons or going on other gallant deeds. Maybe that was why he jumped at the chance to go to the tower that his brothers said stood in the woods behind their house. They had teased him about going to rescue his princess, so he had snuck out before anyone was up. He did not know why he even believed their story about there being a tower in the woods behind their house. He must have explored every tree of them by now! He gasped as he saw the tower, literally like something out of a fairy tale. For the briefest moment, he wondered… if the tower existed, did the princess? Ryan did not even know what he would do with a princess. Sure, he had started noticing girls, but he was not old enough to get married! He dismissed the thought. It was a broken down old building, that was all. “Gonna go in?” He jumped and turned around to see his little sister standing behind him. “Where’d you come from?” She giggled. “Tho...

"No way!" Jonah said, backing away slightly. He should have known it was a mistake to see what the girls were up to. Sure enough, Beth and Anna were wearing princess dresses and wanted him to wear one too. "You want to play, this is what we're playing." Beth replied. "But" "But nothing. Princesses or you go back to whatever grandma's doing." Anna said. "Only princesses allowed in this room." Beth held out her skirt as if Jonah could not see that she and her sister were each wearing princess dresses and tiaras. "But" Jonah began, but Anna gave him a look. "Grandma's got out those photo albums." He sighed. "Fine." "Fine what?" Beth asked. "I'll play princess with you." "Great! We're hunting a dragon and three-" "Beth! He's gotta get dressed before we can tell him our mission. Geez!" Anna grabbed a dress. It was too small for them, but for the yo...

  She giggled excitedly. It was time for her favorite TV show. She turned it on just in time for the theme song. "Princess Parade! Princess Parade!" The TV sang as bright colors filled the screen. "Time for a princess roll call!" "Elsa!" "Anna!" Each princess announced herself with a cheery wave. "Cinderella!" "Ariel!" That meant the best one was next. "Uh, um, Max." She giggled seeing her brother's panicked face, looking as ridiculous as ever in a purple gown with enormous puffy sleeves. It was all thanks to her spellwork that he was trapped in Princess Parade. The rest of the show, she would watch for Max. He was never the main character of the episode, but he would be present in every group scene, dancing with the rest of them during the singalongs and, her favorite part after the theme song, giving the Princess Pledge in unison with the other princesses at the end of the episode. She still had not decided how...

Ash sat on his bed, unable to get his nervousness under control. His dad had been dating this woman for the last six months and he had never met her. That is, until tonight. She was coming over to meet him and, as his dad put it, 'hang out' while he and this woman's son Dylan went to a movie. He knew she was his babysitter for the night, even though he had not had one for years. Dad had said it was something about swapping kids so each of them could get to know their future stepson. To Ash, that was the worst part. He did not even know her name, but the wedding was set for a month from now. "Ash, they'll be here in just a minute." His dad called, knocking on the door. "Kay, dad." Ash called back, getting off of his bed and straightening out his shorts. He had refused to dress up for this, not that his dad had asked him to. He shook his head as he looked at himself in the mirror, trying to make his hair as messy as it could be. If there was one thing...