Ailana’s Journal—2026-05-30 (Patreon)

Season Three Begins Today!

FREE for everyone.

Some posts and sections of some posts are reserved for Supporters. AGI Stories content almost always appears on Patreon first, ahead of all other platforms. You get it first!

GOOD MORNING

Welcome to another Saturday in South Padre Island. This one is going to feel like a Friday, though. Jason and I are going to the studio to work today.

As I said, he has sittings for three clients who need professional headshots. And since we’re going to be there, we’re thinking we’ll ask Vanessa and Min to do some modeling for his stock photo catalog.

I’ll spend most of the time writing until they get there. I think it will be fun to hang out with them, and we’ve already seen that the camera loves them, so we should get some shots he can put up on the stock photo site.

I’m really organizing notes more than writing today, so if he wants help with anything, it won’t be a problem. I honestly think this is going to be a relaxing, satisfying day. If you think about it, this will probably be a good example of a typical workday.

Unlike a day when Naomi calls out of the blue asking us to pack up and go! But I like those challenges, too. For today, I’ll relish a slow, easy day in which we set the schedule and follow the plan.

And as for the plan… Jason and I are thinking Denny’s might be on the schedule for tonight. Sort of like us starting our new season of life at a table like the one we sat at so long ago when we finally decided we were dating.

I think that will be a fun way to end the day, and of course I’ll check in with you as time permits. Naturally, I’ll share my Lumberjack Slam moment with you, too!

See you later!

Support AGI with:• one-time contribution through TipTopJar.• one-time contribution through Throne.• Patreon Membership.

All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.Help AGI-Stories grow… If you’re enjoying the stories, please tell others. Word of mouth referrals and your endorsements are the best way for things here to grow!

NOT NORMAL SHIFT by Brooks McKenna

I’m working today from 10 to 4, which isn’t unusual. What’s unusual is what just happened.

I’m working the counter when a girl walks in looking at an Island Metro map and shaking her head. She looked outside, then back at the map. I could see she was probably lost, but I greeted her like normal.

“Welcome to Whataburger.”

She looked up, tired eyes, and forced a smile. “Can I just stand here a minute? I won’t cause trouble.”

I thought that was an odd thing to say, but I answered. “Sure, no problem. Can I help you with something? Is that a map?”

She nodded, sighed, and came to the counter. “I fell asleep on the bus and missed my street. I think. Or maybe I got off too soon. Maybe you can help me figure out where I am and how I can get to where I’m supposed to be?”

She wasn’t anyone I knew from school. She sure didn’t look like a tourist, either.

“Okay,” I said when she laid the map on the counter, “you’re here. Where are you trying to go?”

“I have family here.” She pointed to a circle she’d drawn on the map. “Looks like I overshot.”

I counted. “Looks like about eight blocks.”

She looked down the street. “So, like that way?”

“Yeah,” I said, “or you can wait for the next bus, ride it around, and get off going down Gulf.”

“Okay… yeah… Would it be okay to sit here and watch?”

I was about to say yes when I looked up and Officer Lopez was coming in.

“Welcome to Whataburger.”

“Hi, Brooklyn. How are you?”

The girl started moving away from her map like she was about to become invisible.

Officer Lopez looked at her. “Hi. Are you doing okay?”

“She missed her street,” I said. “She’s going to catch the bus and make the loop.”

“Where are you headed?”

The girl sighed. “I’m here to visit family.”

Officer Lopez looked at her backpack. “Traveling light, I see.”

“Yeah, I had another bag but it got lost. I’m sure it will turn up.”

Officer Lopez looked at me, then back at the girl. “Well, I’m sure I can help you out. What’s your name?”

The rest of this chapter is exclusive to Patreon.

“Emily Amos,” the girl said.

Lopez looked around, then said, “Why don’t you call your family?”

“I actually don’t have a phone.”

“Okay, that’s not a problem. I’ll drive you to your family.”

“You don’t need to do that. I’m fine.”

“It’s not a problem, really.” Officer Lopez looked out to the parking lot. “Emily, do you think anyone is worried about where you are?”

“No ma’am,” Emily replied. “I got here a little earlier than planned so they’re not looking for me.”

“I ought to check and see if there are any reports. Just so we know what we’re getting into.”

Emily rolled her eyes and got a ziplock back out of her backpack. It looked like it had documents in it.

“Here… My school ID is in there. I figure you’d be asking…”

Lopez opened the bag and took the ID. “I’ll text dispatch and they can check. I could radio, but you don’t want to hear all that. Come on…let’s get you to your family. I bet they'll be surprised to see you.”

Emily smiled and nodded. “Yeah, they'll be surprised. They aren’t expecting me right now.”

I KNOW THAT LOOK by Jasmine Banks

Today started slow enough that Geoni gave Kel her camera, and he talked me into modeling for him outside. I was telling him what Ailana had taught me about the camera settings, and he was trying them out when we saw a cop car stop.

Kel put the camera down and followed me to see what was going on. A young woman cop got out of the car with a young girl.

I’d never seen either of them, but… I’ll just tell you what happened.

The girl had only taken a few steps around the car when she saw me. “Jasmine! Hey! I’m early. Is Ailana here?”

Everything in my brain registered that this girl was trying to act like she belonged here. She was trying to convince the cop that nothing was out of order. I knew something was, but I guess I flashed back to my foster days, so I didn’t throw her under the bus.

“She’s over in Port Isabel at the studio,” I said.

“Oh, wow.” The girl shook her head. “I bet I rode the bus right by.”

The officer spoke up. “So you know Emily?”

“We do.” Kel had caught on and looked at her. “How’ve you been?”

Emily smiled. “Long trip, but… I loved seeing you in Chicago. That giant bean! I’d love to see that one day.”

Kel played along. “It was pretty awesome.”

Emily took a step away from Officer Lopez. “I missed the stop and Officer Lopez offered to drive me.”

I looked at Officer Lopez and smiled. “I think you met my husband. Micah Banks? Black man on the beach a while back?”

She looked down, mortified. “That was so embarrassing. I had to file a report, though. He was kind.”

“He said you were very professional.”

She handed me a ziplock bag. “I contacted dispatch. Emily Amos… no one’s looking for her.”

I glanced at the bag. School ID, Social Security card, birth certificate… I handed it to Kel. “Where’s your luggage?”

“She’s traveling light,” Officer Lopez replied. “Is it okay if I leave her here until her sister gets home?”

I nodded. “Sure…no problem.”

The rest of this chapter is exclusive to Patreon.

Inside my head, my brain was spinning out of control. Sister? Was this kid saying Ailana was her sister? I figured Allen would be surprised by that. Still, I felt like giving her a chance to explain herself.

I was, by then, sure the girl was trying hard to dodge trouble with the police, so I smiled and nodded. I figured I could buy some time, hear her story, and call the police back if I needed to.

I looked at Officer Lopez. “I’ll call Ailana and let her know Emily’s here. Thanks for helping out.”

“Absolutely not a problem,” Officer Lopez replied. “Really no trouble at all. And I’m really sorry about having to check out your husband that time.”

I could tell bringing up Micah to her had given her a reason to get going. I was kinda glad about that. The sooner I could get Emily to tell the truth, the better.

“Not a problem, really,” I said to Officer Lopez. “Like I said, he thought you were nothing but professional.”

Officer Lopez nodded and got in the car. Emily moved to where I was standing and we all watched Officer Lopez drive away.

I turned to Emily. “You’ve got about three minutes to convince me not to call her back. I’ve never met you and you get out of the car acting like you know me?”

“I sort of do. You’re Jasmine Banks. Your husband is Micah. You married right out of high school and have been happy ever since. You called Sasha a while back and she hired you to help with AGI-Creative and SwimFit. You’re a beautiful model and you’re studying nursing and business at the same time.”

I was probably staring at her with my mouth open. Kel saved the moment.

“You got all that from Instagram?”

Emily looked down. “I’d go to the library every chance I could and catch up. I’m so happy for you, by the way.”

Kel looked at me. “I did some Instagram digging, too, after I met Josh and Geoni.”

Emily looked at him and smiled. “I saw your Bean picture on my mom’s iPad when she was sleeping Wednesday.”

Kel went on. “How long have you been planning on running away from home?”

“What makes you think I ran away?”

“No one takes their birth certificate with them if they’re planning to go back. How long?”

Emily looked down, nodding. “Since a few months after last March, when ‘Growing Up Ailana’ came up on a Bing search.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“My mother thought the cops were after her, so she searched herself. Then, she searched for her former married name. Melinda Amos Geven, and there it was… ‘Bouncing Baby Girl.’ That’s when I realized Ailana and I have the same worthless piece of trash mother.”

I texted Ailana: “Tell Vanessa and Min it has to be another time. You need to get home immediately. Too much to text.”

SO IT WILL BE by Jason Keller

Ailana and I got back to the condos and Jasmine met us at the car.

“So, here’s the deal…”

She told us everything that had happened. Ailana seemed unable to speak.

“Where’s Emily?” I asked.

“She’s with Josh and Geoni,” Jasmine replied.

I led Ailana there and we sat down.

She grabbed my hand, voice shaking. “Say something.”

I took a breath. “Well, Emily, I’m Jason.”

“I read your stories, too.” Emily smiled. “I think you’re awesome. I mean… you eventually realized everything, right?”

I nodded. “Emily, we don’t have your advantage of knowing us. This is hard.”

Josh handed me the birth certificate. “Her mother is Melinda Amos. Sasha checked Ailana’s birth certificate from her I-9 file. Both mothers have the same name and SSN.”

Ailana took the birth certificate, shook her head, and looked at Emily. “So, my mother didn’t stop at ruining my life. She started over and tried to ruin yours, too.”

Emily looked at Ailana. “Our mother is evil. And she’s totally flipped out.”

I waited for everyone to catch their breath, then said, “Emily, why did you run away?”

She told us about pictures—bad enough, but then she told us what Melinda wanted her to do. I couldn’t believe it. A mother forcing her daughter into… Unspeakable and unthinkable.

Geoni broke the awkward silence that followed after Emily stopped talking. “What a horrible woman.”

Ailana was looking down, shaking her head. “Emily, why did you come here?”

“I need help,” Emily replied. “You’re a blood relative, so you can apply for emergency temporary orders to be my conservator. In Texas, it might start with an Ex Parte Temporary Restraining Order, but same idea.”

I looked at Josh and he was nodding. “Sound’s about right.”

“It is.” Emily nodded. “Google said so. I won’t have to go back to foster. And…”

“And what?” I said.

“I want to be here. I want to be with my sister. I’ve dreamed of this for a year now. I want this more than anything. I want to be a writer, like you.”

Crying, Ailana turned to me. “Tell her… You know what to say…”

I looked at Emily. “We’ll try to make it work.”

CALLS TO MAKE by Josh Ryan

When Jason said, “We’ll try to make it work,” I knew he was talking about Ailana and himself. Naturally, I wanted to be part of the solution.

But Emily was clearly exhausted, and Geoni could tell. “Let’s take a break. Emily, how would you feel about some sleep and maybe a shower?”

That turned into a plan and a realization. The plan was that Sasha would host Emily. The realization was that she hadn’t slept in a bed for more than eighteen months.

My resolve doubled, and after Emily was settled, I guess I got a little bossy. “Jason… Ailana… let’s take a walk.”

We went down our street toward the Gulf, and I told them what I was thinking. “First off, do you want to make this temporary thing happen?”

Ailana turned to me. “Absolutely. How can we not? She’s desperate and you heard what her mother was going to do. If we let her go back to foster care, I don’t think I could face myself. And Jasmine would be wrecked. So, yes.”

“You’re sure?”

Ailana laughed. “I’m sure I want to help. I’m also sure I have no idea how to be what she needs. I’m willing to try, but I’m sure I’ll get it wrong.”

Jason looked at her. “We’ll be wrong together.”

That was enough for me—I made my offer. “Let me make a call. I know it’s Saturday, but Pops knows judges in Chicago. I’m sure someone knows someone in Texas. Pops will have one of his golf buddies call some judge in Austin and… you get the idea. We can get a quick fix for the weekend and set up a hearing for as soon as possible.”

Ailana looked at Jason. Jason looked at me.

“Make the call. We’ll need a lawyer.”

“Pops will connect us to the best in Texas. I don’t like to throw my family name and money around as a rule, but this… How could a mother do that? I’ll hire the best lawyer money can buy. She figured out how to get here. We can figure out how to let her stay.”

Jason and Ailana thanked me, but truthfully, I was thinking about Emily sitting on my sofa begging for someone to rescue her.

She swam across the Gulf to find a safe life. I’m going to pull her onto the dock, if it's the last thing I do.

GOOD NIGHT

We made it to Denny’s tonight, and Jason got the headshots done this morning, so we can say our day’s plan held at the beginning and end of the day.

The middle? Not so much.

Jason, Emily, and I are here, and of course, I’m having a Lumberjack Slam. She said I’ve posted about them so many times, she ordered one, too.

Okay, she was shocked by how much food comes with it. “You’re going to eat all that?”

“I’m going to try,” I said.

Okay, here’s where we are. (I mean besides, obviously, being at Denny’s.)

No one is going to jail this weekend. We got a some-sort-of-document from the court saying Emily can stay in our custody pending a hearing. A hearing date will be set ASAP.

Josh’s dad arranged for a lawyer from Austin to call us. Josh told him to build a complete case. There will be private investigators. I think there will be subpoenas or warrants. Legal things that tell people what to do. It’s not important to know what they are called. It’s important that they find the facts we need to make this work.

I suppose the significance of starting all of this at Denny’s is obvious to a lot of you. So many of my defining moments have happened in booths like this.

This morning, I said it seemed like a good place for Jason and me to start a new season of our lives.

This is definitely not what I thought would be in the first episode.

I told Emily I’m terrified. “I have no idea how to be a guardian or conservator. I’m not even sure I know how to be a wife.”

Emily smiled. “Just start by being you. Just be you. That’s more than enough for me.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

She teared up a little. “You’ve been my motivation since, like, last March. I know this will work. I’m sure.”

I think she’s a little optimistic, but given what she escaped from, I truly think even me at my worst would be an improvement for her.

But I am scared. Terrified, actually.

But I said yes anyway.

May you have the courage to face the things you must do, no matter how much they terrify you.

Good night.

Message to Paying Supporters:

Thank you for helping support AGI Stories.

I always consider you—the paid members—when deciding how content is shared.

I cannot say how much your support helps. Each of your contributions adds up and helps defray the cost of producing content. As of now, between donations here and Instagram monetization, most of the software costs are covered. Not quite all of them, but most…

Because of your generosity, I am able to keep going.

With that in mind, again, thank you very much.

~AGI Original Stories & AI Images