Thanks to all for a rewarding and imaginative series of entries! Though not possessing critic credentials (and not having entered the contest), I will say what I felt as a reader about the entries that were most, hmmmmm, interesting to me. And remember, my comments are as those of a layman. jstro: (read ahead to my comments on dialyn as you are just as good in this respect). Most believable story. You captured the essence of childhood crushes. And the ensuing brushes with your peers. Great job. Your dialogue flows very very well with just the right about of description. TJ: A lot packed into a small package. As was said, a bit chilling and thought-provoking. I think it could have used a bit more polish. With your talent at precise words in poetry, I know you could have read over it a bit and tweaked it a bit here and there. Yet, an intersting story. I missed the "confrontation", but that may just be me. Sho (sorry I keep calling you Sho): I'm easily lost, sometimes, in the beginning of stories. A small type lost me at the beginning and I had to struggle to re-group. "So you see why I called you Janet." he finished apologetically..." I read that and thought immediately that a guy had made the dreaded mistake of calling his girlfriend by another name. If you had put a comma here..."So you see why I called you (comma) Janet." he finished apologetically", then I would have known that Janet was a "noun of address". After stumbling (so to speak), I recovered and figured out what was going on. I would say that it brought up the most emotion in me of all the stories. I felt a certain empathy with her. Kind of sorry for her. Good job. jgeorge: I think most imaginative. I always make allowances for your words 'cause I know you are working in a different language. So, I didn't let that detract from your story. A clever confrontation! At first, I thought it was her arguing with herself then to find out it was with the writer...so to speak. A nice piece of work. dialyn: (reading here yet, jstro?) dialyn, to me, you are the master of dialogue. From the first story I read of yours involving a diner, I have been able to follow exactly what your characters are doing and saying. Your story kept me guessing where it was "going". Just when I thought I had you figured out, you ambushed me! I just KNEW the keys were to a new car for her...but then you whacked me (and I assume, the poor girl). I should have guessed you'd lead me down the wrong path and then surprise me. awayne2: I must confess, some spacing would have helped your story some. Also, my fault, for some reason I kept thinking about an old song, whose title I can't remember at the moment, about lovers swimming toward each other in raging waters and drowning in each other's arms. So, my apologies for my personal history interferring with your story.