Ailana’s Journal—2026-06-06 (Island Kids) (Patreon)

Part of this post is "continued" from Instagram, so it is 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 by Ailana Geven Keller

I started to title this one “It Feels Like Something.” I don’t know exactly what, but definitely something good.

I woke up looking forward to a day of working, but I rolled over and whispered, “Want to go for a walk on the beach?”

He nodded. We were swapping places in the bathroom when he suggested we invite Emily.

She texted back instantly: “Yes! I’d love to!”

She asked if she could be in the Good Morning carousel, so Jason took her picture before she took off the T-shirt and shorts she had on over her two-piece. He took mine when I was halfway ready.

The three of us waded out to above our waists, which is pretty far given the gradual slope of the beach here. We swam a little and watched the sun climb higher.

Once we were back on the beach, we walked along. I was in the middle and suddenly felt… something good.

The beach felt smaller, still as familiar, still as settling, but smaller. Not crowded. Just closer.

The smell of the air was the same. The sound of the waves and the gulls was the same. The sand felt the same.

But the beach felt different. Emily at my side made it feel richer and somehow more meaningful.

We walked for a minute or so without talking, then Emily put her hand on my arm.

I looked over and she seemed a little unsettled. “I forgot my phone.”

I smiled. “It’s okay. We’re with you.”

She fished her personal alarm from the leg band of her swimsuit. “I brought this, though.”

I fished my pepper spray out of the waistband of my bikini bottoms and showed her.

Jason said, “I feel totally protected.”

We both laughed, then walked a few more steps.

“Ailana, I’m not going to ruin your life. I’ll do whatever you say. This has been the best week of my life.”

Yeah… I cried. I told her she wasn’t ruining anything.

“Can I hug you?” she asked.

We hugged and I cried more.

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!

STRETCHED by Jasmine Banks

Kaylee and I are taking a little time to visit and keep an eye on Hudson. Some conversations stretch you. This was one.

We started talking about yesterday’s photo shoot. We thought it went well.

“Did you get all the fashion tape off?” she asked.

“Mostly, after the second shower. How about you?”

“Stuck to the sheets in bed last night, but okay now.”

“You mean your nightgown?”

She smiled. “Just the sheets…you know… How was mom mode the other day?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “They’re sweet girls. Nice, you know. I didn’t mind at all, but I sure didn’t get much work done. They want me to hang out so they can have a sleepover there.”

“You gonna do it?”

I looked down. “Probably. I never went to a sleepover growing up. Things like that didn’t fit into foster-system life…at least not in mine…”

“You missed out on a lot. “You missed out on a lot. I was poor, and I wouldn’t say my parents were great, but everyone I knew was in about the same boat. At least I didn’t get moved around every few years.”

Hudson came for a check-in and a hug, then went back to playing. I decided to talk to Kaylee about something different.

“So, I had a call last night from a girl who works with Micah.” I went on to tell her about Sofia calling me to say she wanted to clear the air about some things she had said to Micah.

“What did Micah say?” Kaylee asked.

“He said he never got the vibe she wanted anything more than a little company over fast food, but he didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. I asked why he never told me about it. He said it never really seemed important. Just a little awkward.”

“Do you believe him?”

That drilled to the core of the issue. The truth is, I do.

“Totally. He said the context was always reasonable. Not sneaky or anything. Just spur-of-the-moment… ‘Wanna grab a burger?’ I think he’d have acted funny toward me if he thought there was anything to it.”

Then I told her that Sofia wanted to meet face-to-face, and she said, “What did you say?”

“I said sure, and we agreed to meet at the Dairy Queen by the factory. We’re meeting there tomorrow.”

SEA GLASS AT SEA by Kirina Yung

When I heard the wind snap the sail taut for the first time after we got past the jetties, I remembered. When Sea Glass bumped forward as the lines went tight, I remembered.

The feel of the tiller in my hand reminded me, too.

“I missed this,” I said to Eli. “I shouldn’t have waited so long.”

Sea Glass rose up and over the waves as she carried us into the Gulf. For a moment the world behind us faded from mind even as the details on shore shrank away.

“We can do this more often,” Eli replied. “You can teach me.”

“Here,” I said. “Take the tiller. Feel the push of the water?”

“Yes,” he said. “What now?”

Turn us…” I pointed astern. “That way.”

Sea Glass responded to the rudder and changed course.

And at that moment, I think I changed course a little, too. The Gulf stretched out before us like a future. An infinite number of headings were available, and Eli and I were free to pick one.

“We should do this more often.” I repeated what he had said earlier.

He went into management mode with his reply. “Put it on the calendar, or it’s not a plan.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.”

I decided I’d return to Sea Glass in the marina on Wednesday, after I handed off duties at the café to Ricky. Writing music was going to be part of my future course, too, and my studio was in the saloon.

DRINKS AND THINKS by Emily Amos

After lunch, an idea came up in the Snap group that we should all go to Island Food Truck Park, get sodas, and hang out. Gabe picked up Jenna and Brooks, and Mateo drove himself and met everyone here.

Josh said they could park here, and we all took off. We walked over to Gulf Boulevard, hopped on Island Metro, and rode it down.

We had a good time. Gabe said some things that sounded like he was trying to be ridiculous but might have had a little truth hidden inside.

Then, he dropped everything to do a random act of kindness that had all the girls saying “aww… how cute!”

Somewhere in the middle of it, Kel got to talk a little bit about his past. Gabe made that funny, too.

But we were having so much fun that Kel and I forgot to check in. Jason texted us and threatened to ground us for nine years.

There was an escape clause, though, that didn’t seem too bad.

And right in the midst of all that, I had a thought. I suddenly had an idea of what it was like to be one of the happy kids in the school cafeteria at lunch.

The rest of this chapter (but not the images) is exclusive to Patreon.

We had barely started sipping our sodas when Gabe shook his head. It was sort of dramatic, and the rest of us noticed.

He cleared his throat and said under his breath, “Well, I guess we should just acknowledge the elephant in the room.”

Mateo looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

Gabe waved his hand. “Three white girls and three Hispanic boys…”

Brooks looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

Gabe pretended to be discreet. “Everyone’s thinking it.”

Mateo looked around, then raised his hands a little. “Gabe, no one is thinking that… It’s just you!”

Gabe shook his head. “Bro, you don’t see it because you’re used to it. I’m telling you, some of these tourists look at us like they’re doing math.”

Mateo laughed and shook his head. “Some, maybe. Not everyone. What are you talking about?”

Gabe carried on, pretending he was keeping his thoughts secret from everyone but us. “Bro, every one of the tourists is! They’re, like, from Montana. Their neighbors are all moose, gazelles, and mule deer. They don’t even know what teenagers are!"

Brooks laughed. "Are there even gazelles in Montana?"

Mateo tried to counter his argument. “Bruh… really? Come on! Montana? That guy’s got on a Yankees T-shirt.”

Gabe insisted. “He could be a fan! The Yankees are popular, even in Montana.”

Jenna looked at Mateo. “My dad’s a Yankees fan.”

Brooks rolled her eyes and shushed Jenna. “Don’t help him!”

Gabe did that thing guys do where they tap their friend with the back of their hand to make a point. "Come on… admit it… all these tourists are looking at us just like I said!"

Mateo hung his head. "Gabe… really… no one is looking at us like that."

Gabe let a little silence pass, then added, "Bet they are…"

At that point, it was like everyone ran out of will to argue. Mateo was laughing and shaking his head. Brooks was literally covering her eyes and looking down.

Then Kel spoke up. “I’m actually not really Hispanic. My birth mom was only half Hispanic.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

Finally, Jenna spoke up. “Do you know what the other three-fourths are?”

“Mom’s dad was half White, half Middle Eastern. She didn’t know what my dad was. He’s not on my birth certificate.”

Gabe waxed thoughtful for a moment. “Did she ever tell you anything?”

Kel shook his head. “I was six when she had to give me up. But I looked up my name… Mom said he picked it out before he bolted. I found something that said Kelin was Siberian. Specifically, from some language called Nivkh.”

Gabe’s thoughtfulness waned immediately. “Bro! You’re telling me you’re Russian? That’s fire!”

Kel laughed and shook his head. “No, my name’s Siberian, not me!”

“You can’t take it back.” Gabe was on a roll. “A Hispanic Russian! One-fourth counts. There’s a rulebook somewhere!”

Mateo put his arm around Gabe and pulled him to his side. “Too much… You’re over the line.”

Kel smiled. “It’s okay… I know he’s just joking.”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah… I’m actually not sure if there’s a rule book. I made that up.”

“Really?” Brooks pretended to be shocked.

Kel laughed. “Most people just take a guess about me… and since we’re in Texas, usually it’s Hispanic.”

Gabe calmed down. “Well, I think it’s cool you have a Russian name, and I’d bet your dad had roots there, or else why pick that name?”

“I like the name,” Brooks said. “Kelin… It’s interesting. I like that your dad wanted you to have it.”

I nodded and said, “Yeah, way more interesting than how I got named.”

“How did you get your name?” Mateo asked.

“Emily was number one for twelve years running, ending in 2007. Like, by the time she was pregnant, it still looked like the safe, everybody-does-it choice. She chose it just because it was what other people were doing.”

Then Gabe held up his hand. “Stand by, everyone! Gotta do something.”

We watched as he jogged over to where one of the food carts had set up a water fountain connected to its water supply. There was a kid trying to get a drink, but he was way too short.

Gabe looked around and spotted the parents. “Can I give him a boost?”

The dad nodded, and Gabe moved in and dropped to one knee. “Climb up on my leg.”

He helped the little boy stand on his raised leg and waited for him to get the drink. The kid just stood there on Gabe’s leg drinking water like he’d never had anything so good in all his life.

Jenna looked at me, smiling. “So cute!”

Brooks looked over. “Which one?”

“Both of them!”

She was right about that.

Once the kid was finally done drinking, Gabe came back to where we were still standing. “Can’t leave a kid thirsty, right?”

“That was cool,” Kel said. “I don’t think I would have even noticed.”

“Really sweet,” Brooks said. “Stuff like that is what I like about you.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That was really sweet.”

That was when I got a text from Jason: “You forgot to check in.”

I panicked. “Kel! We forgot to check in!”

I was texting as fast as I could when Kel’s phone buzzed.

“It’s Jason.”

“What’s it say?” Mateo asked.

“Kel, you have twenty seconds to send me a picture of Emily making a goofy face, or else you’re both grounded for the next nine years.”

“Brutal.” Jenna shook her head. “Who’s Jason again?”

Kel looked at me. “He’s Emily’s… something. He’s cool. What should we do?”

Gabe looked at me like it was obvious. “I’d go with the goofy picture if it were me.”

Message from AGI-Stories…

ABOUT ISLAND KIDS—So far, everyone seems to be enjoying the new ensemble of teens joining Emily and Kel as part of Ailana's new world. I'd love to hear any comments or questions you have!

And I think Ailana and Jason would welcome your advice on dealing with high schoolers, too!

GOOD NIGHT by Ailana Geven Keller

I said before that being responsible for Emily was changing everything. I have a growing concern that it’s overshadowing everything else, including being Jason’s wife.

Those of you who have teens you raised from birth should, I think, be thankful for the 16 years you had to ease into relating to someone Emily’s age. However, I don’t envy the diapers and nursing era!

We’re trying to give Emily something that resembles a normal family—normal in the sense that I’m only 13 years older than her and her bedroom is two floors above where we have meals and hang out. And normal in the sense that we only met a week ago.

After the dinner dishes were loaded, she followed me to the living room. I sat down on the sofa and Jason took a seat in one of the chairs.

Emily hovered a little, then said, “I want to say I’m sorry for today.”

“Would you like to sit down and explain it?”

She sat beside me and took my hand, squeezing it. “One day after we promised to follow the rules, I forgot my phone and then forgot to check in. I’m really sorry about that.”

“Well, the phone on the beach doesn’t count, because we were together. And out with the group… Nothing bad happened. Geoni and I checked Life360 and we could see you were together. You were in a big group, so we figured everything was fine and you just got caught up in the moment. That’s when Jason decided to have some fun by harassing you.”

Emily smiled and looked at Jason. “I hope you liked the picture.”

Jason shook his head. “Not nearly goofy enough. I’m sure you can do better next time.”

Emily laughed and rolled her eyes—and at that moment, I think I knew what it felt like to be a parent. I know she’s my sister, but I’m supposed to take care of her.

If I can do that and make her laugh, then I guess it will be all right. It’s complicated. But I believe it will work out.

After that, I followed her upstairs, said good night, and set the alarm as we’d agreed. She waved good night as she fast-walked to her room and hopped onto her bed.

Good night.

Be your best you!

Become a Patreon Member (Click Here)

Message to Paying Supporters:

Thank you for helping support AGI Stories.

As of now, between donations here and Instagram monetization, about 75% of the software costs are covered. That's huge, and it is because of you.

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

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

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

~AGI Original Stories & AI Images