AN UNUSUAL BOY"Otavio, as expected, did not react at all. He simply turned his back and left, leaving them laughing. Only then Clara recovered from the laughter that had overtaken her. Wiping the tears of laughter, she left the room and followed him. He had gone to his room, she saw when he closed the door. Fully recovered and thinking she might have offended him in some way, after all what they had gone through, especially his mother, was not funny at all.Giving three light knocks on the door, she entered."Otávio," she called, and he was standing in the room, pulling off his shirt. This momentarily left her static. He was in his room, and she was invading his privacy.Otávio turned to her, not seeming to mind her invading his personal space, with one raised eyebrow, he looked at her. It was so rare for him to look directly into her eyes, and being so comfortable, seeing that she was standing there speechless, he sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes. Clara approached m

AN EFFICIENT HANDICAPPED PERSONClara grabbed two beers from the fridge and followed Frank to his house, number eight. It was quite far from the main house, and their friends continued to party and have fun without even realising that the two of them had left. Frank's house was like Otávio's, quite similar, but with different furniture. Like most of the houses there, you entered the living room first. The colours were warm, nothing sober. A wonderful painting took up a good portion of the entry hall wall, its bright colours brightening up the room alongside a console table that also exploded in colours with natural flower vases. A perfect combination of colours that matched each other, making the room cosy."Your house is so beautiful, Frank!" Clara exclaimed, looking around. The fluffy red carpet made her feet disappear into it, and the girl took off her sandals and left them aside."I'm glad you like it. I love my house, and if I could, I wouldn't leave it.""I understand. I'd also

CONTRACEPTIVE IMPLANTClara and Frank had fun for a few more hours and were both exhausted when they went to take a shower together."My goodness! I don't even know what to say, except this, my goodness!" Frank laughed at her, both under the powerful showerhead, luckily the box was spacious enough to allow them to share the shower together.Clara took the sponge from his hand, turned him around and began to scrub his back."Then it's my turn," she warned him. "Wow, you can see the screws under your skin, Frank!"While she scrubbed and depending on the position he took as she turned him around to pass the sponge, the object under his skin could be seen perfectly, and you could almost see the screw ridges, the embedded striations on it. "That's cool. And does it hurt?" Clara ran her fingers over his skin."No, fortunately it's painless now, and in the part that I believe you're touching, it's kind of numb. Are you done?""Yes, now it's my turn," she turned around, gave him the sponge, a

SPECIAL, NO, I AM NOT."Clara, do you think I really need to go see my parents this weekend?" Megan asked as the taxi driver searched for an alternative route in the chaotic morning traffic."Only you can decide that, Meg. They're your parents. Do you miss them?""Of course I do! But they keep insisting that I go to church, talking about so-and-so, throwing in comments about my sexuality. You know, it just wears me out.""I know how that feels, friend. But regardless of how they act towards you, they're still your parents, right?""Yeah. I think I'll go see them next weekend.""Do you want me to go with you?""Obviously, what kind of question is that?"Both laughed, because every time Megan visited her parents, Clara went with her."Even though they'll keep comparing me to you, it's still better than going there alone.""I don't know why they compare you to me. I've never talked to them about my sexuality, whether I'm straight or not, and yet they still compare us," Clara said, though

BYPASSED CRISIS"Obviously, what Patrícia had told you earlier crossed Clara's mind and the feeling wasn't good. She didn't want to be the person she had talked about, didn't want to help people because she didn't consider herself strong enough. She didn't want to and couldn't bear that responsibility."I need you, Clara, I think that's it. I've never had someone to guide me, Rômulo was like that, he cared for me, you know, now I feel adrift..."Clara felt like crying when she heard that. She had never thought about it, about how Dália must have felt lonely and helpless since her first husband and love of her life died. Especially with only one child and being somewhat closed off like Otávio. Surely that was why she had married Gerard, the loneliness must have been great and when someone had shown interest in her, she had taken the opportunity. It was a shame she hadn't had the same luck in her second marriage."I'm here, okay?" Clara put a hand on the woman and wiped away her tears w