Sara Alva

yay, glad you liked it I debated my ending for a while, but in the end a little openness seemed like the best way to go. This was a really fun one to write-- I guess it's good to get out of my comfort zone sometimes. Thank you for the review!

A review from Lugh, I'm so honored Glad you liked-- tried to keep it light and fun. Thanks for commenting!

I kept changing my mind about the ending . . . I knew the tail-end dare would be sorta obvious but I guess I hoped the story would still hold interest . . . so glad you enjoyed it!Thanks for the review!

Thank you I figured people might 'get' the ending, but I had fun telling the story along the way. Glad the time jumps worked, it's sorta a different format than I've ever tried writing w/ before, but I liked it Thanks for the review!

Phew, so glad you liked it! The 'end' you're talking about was my true goal in the story-- the other bit was just a little icing on the cake (possibly--depending on what you take from it) Thank you for the review!

Lol, were you the perfect little angel? (I sorta was ) Yeah, open ends . . . what can I say? They work for short stories

I went back and forth w/ the ending, but I didn't want people to get annoyed if it didn't turn out as they expected. Tried to leave it just a little open Really glad you enjoyed the story, it was something different for me Thanks for the review!

Well, you know you left me w/ questions, since I bugged (am bugging) you in chat I would love to know more, because your characters are so intriguing, but I will accept your open end . . . yeah, as you said, life is a blind step at times, we can't always know all the answers

I wish I could see this in a longer story-- you gave us really intersesting little tidbits of the MCs life, got me curious! And you love those open endings, don't ya Very cute premise . . . I have more (good stuff) to say but I'm gonna PM you, hope ya don't mind

I loved the realism of this story-- it didn't sugercoat the aftermath of the accident (hospital scene felt very real) or the issues Wes and Doug will face, yet it still had a beautifully happy ending. Held my interest and left me with warm fuzzies-- win win

Cia beat me to what I was gonna say. I don't read much scifi/fantasy online (though that used to be my primary bread-and-butter) b/c I find many authors get bogged down in trying to slam me over the head with their worlds . . . by "telling" for paragraphs on end. I much prefer to be dropped into the middle of the action, as you did w/ this story. Say, you're pretty good at fight scenes. Is the longer story gonna include this, or spring from it?

Totally lol'ed. Nice to have a moment like that right at the opening of a piece. Nice, sweet story I like happy endings.

“C’mon, Mark. I dare ya. I triple dog dare ya.” The triple dog Derrick threw in was totally unnecessary. I’d already agreed to be the test subject, and it’s not like I wanted to be humiliated for chickening out in front of all my friends. I searched the expressions of the gathered crowd, growing more confident by the second. The excitement, the enthusiasm . . . hell, even the fear in Sean’s eyes gave me an adrenaline rush. I offered him one of my trademark smirks, then reached out and too

Mark always takes a dare.

Oh! I remember this from the sneak peeks section (I think ... or some writing section). I like your style, and the details you throw in. Are you going to continue it?

Happy Birthday! Hope you have (had) a great day

Happy b-day Stu

!!!!!! That was mean. No more complaining about my cliffs But seriously, a fun, absorbing read

*Now* we get some answers, though not enough . . . But haha! my strategy has paid off-- I can go on to the next chap.

Wow, what a beautiful story. Just read it all in one sitting. So glad I randomly clicked on it! You are a talented storyteller.

19 to 1?? My dream ratio. LAUSD is saying 32 to 1 next year BTW are Charlie's students english language learners? Well, a very emotional chapter, and like Cia I agree it's good Charlie came to the realization on his own. Truthfully, it's something many people in relationships should probably do before falling into a commitment just because it's convenient.

Thanks I love to get readers' perspectives, even when they differ--- I know not everyone can 'read' the story the same way, so it's good for me to hear a variety of interpretations. Ben may not be the most sensitive guy in a world, but in a way the jokes are a good sign-- that things can at some point 'go back to normal'. I tried not to write any "straight villains" into this story (inc. poor Veronica ) so w/ Ben I wanted to make him 'redeemable'. Liked your analogy regarding Connor's growth Thank you again for the time you put into your thoughtful comments-- I truly appreciate them. And yes, I'll get back to work . . . though you want quality, not quick, right?

That has to do with when/how Renee posted her stories. Many were up on the old system (before rep points were given for stories) and were posted in their entirety over here. If she'd released them chapter at a time over here, or if the rep points had been in use before, I'm sure she'd have many more points than I do. I'm new-- just started posting after the changeover. Also rep points are not only for authors. They're for all member who post on the forums . . . so I don't know that people think rep points mean an author is 'better' than someone else. Stars are not terribly accurate either, since many people I've spoken to didn't even know about that rating system. I can't speak for other authors, but for me, the rep points are pretty meaningless past 100-- I just wanted to get out of the mod queue and out of the blue background.

I try to give rep points, especially to those authors who are still under 100. I also leave reviews for everything I read. When I see specific areas of need or have suggestions for improvement, I tend to send a PM (in case the people aren't interested-- that way they don't have to see my opinion up in the reviews). Maybe the star rating could go at the bottom of the page? I'll admit I often used to forget about the stars until some issues cropped up that caused me to think more about them. I use the stars like I use rep points-- I rate high when I like the story, and don't rate when I don't like.

Wait . . . wha??? LOL. Maybe I should read after you post all of it so I don't have to wait to get the answers