Ever since they've banned smoking in bars around here it's been hard to make a dramatic entrance, but somehow this guy pulled it off. The fact that more than a few people in his wake showed a sour face followed by a bit of coughing might have indicated he'd brought something else along with him.

Sails at the bar looks down, shakes his head and frowns.
Bending down he whispers "bubagum, go get Mawma".

"But Paw, Maw's'leep, I don'wanna".

"You shush an do as your pa sais".

"But what'a I say?" Sails' little daughter asks, slowly starting to rise from her fort she made at her daddy's feet.

"You tell her we got company", Sails takes a deep breath, "With a capital P".

[Exterior Shot]

The Sails Inn has been an institution at the Docks for as many generations as the local Sails could be held in the same room without knives being drawn. It is a low ramshackle building borne of recycled timbers and shake. Anyone familiar with the locale would take no notice to the fact that the lights on the second story were never extinguished nor would they they care to notice the locks on the lower floor were ever engaged. No one so experienced would ever test them anyway.

[Sails' Bar]
[Interior: Medium to Close]
[Two men appraising each other]...

He said "You like what you see?" to which I promptly threw up my hands in disgust.
Which was strange because I couldn't remember eating them.

I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and replied, "What I can tell you, buddy, is that I don't like what I smell. Like something putrid that crawled out in the hot sun to die. Something putrid and oozing and crawling with maggots".

He snickered and his hand moved toward his jacket. His dead eyes took in something over my shoulder.

"Oh hey, over here!" he shouted.

I ducked down and wiggled away, behind me (oh please don't make me look) persons or things were coming up to join the party.

I had come looking for my friend but now would be happy leaving with just all my my parts.

It all started last week when I got a desperate message from a friend of mine. I had been one of the few that was allowed (forced) into the nom-o-gender school here in town.

My folks are in the military so for better or for worse I am a year or two behind in what would be condidered 'normal age'.

in actual legal terms I have been an adult for six months at least. My parents hardly noticed that I achieved the Majority. I don't think they think about things like that at all.