Hera Is Spectacular

By Adrienne Marie Wood

Teenaged Hera worries she might be crazy. Her mother worries constantly about her. But when two bullies attack her in the hallway, both Hera and her mother must face reality.

 

A quick-reading fantasy story.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adrienne Wood
• Release date: Aug 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201821616

Adrienne Marie Wood

Adrienne Marie Wood discovered that her very random academic studies in biology, sustainable development, and feminist spirituality were actually the exactly right training for writing fiction. That, and reading every novel she could get her hands on. Connect with her through her website, adriennemariewood.com.

Book preview

Hera Is Spectacular

by Adrienne Marie Wood

Copyright Notice

©2022 Adrienne Marie Wood

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Hera Is Spectacular

Copyright Notice

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Hera

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6: Hera

Chapter 7

Chapter 8: Hera

Chapter 9

Chapter 10: Hera

Chapter 11

Chapter 12: Hera

Chapter 1

T here’s no blood, no broken bones, and no fire. This isn’t an emergency and I won’t violate her bodily integrity if it’s not an emergency, I said. The words were different, but it was all the same thing I’d been saying for the last half hour. The physician, a young woman fresh out of her training, scowled at both me and my daughter, crossing her arms and sighing heavily.

We were standing facing each other in an examination room—cramped, a little dingy, smelling strongly of disinfectant. Muffled voices from the hallway and the other rooms around us leaked into this space, and our argument could surely be heard out there. Hera and I had come here for a medical consultation with a specialist. A specialist who wasn’t used to working with opinionated teens, apparently. Nor with teenagers whose parents aided and abetted them in their opinions.

Mrs. Raymond, said the doctor, tight-lipped in her frustration. The pretend patience that she’d earlier worn like a coat had long-since slipped off. There can be several causes for your daughter’s condition. Some of them are benign but others are quite serious. It’s critically important that we understand what’s going on so that we can treat her properly. This was her constant refrain. She never deviated from it.

I understand your point of view, and I sympathize with it, I said, careful to keep my voice steady and not reveal how phenomenally upset I was with her. I would also love to understand what’s going on, and to find the proper treatment for her. I worry that there could be long-term repercussions for her health. I worry that we’re missing out on a window for treatment. I worry, full stop. An understatement so great as to be almost a lie. I wasn’t worried. I was terrified. And yet, my hands were tied.

But I’m also very cognizant of the bigger picture here, I continued, "which is that she is unwilling to give her consent for the exams you want to give her. And barring a life-threatening emergency, I have no intention of overruling her and violating her trust in order to ride rough-shod over