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Thank you @mastershakeme, for taking the time to answer my questions. I also wanted to clarify to everyone that I did not in any way mean to imply (by asking the questions) that there are "glaring mistakes" in the story. The story is just very thought-provoking in general, and made me think of these questions. I had completely forgotten about "right to work" but y'all are certainly right about that. (Never mind the fact that, as @pvtguy pointed out, there wouldn't have been a story in the first place, without this chain of events taking place in the beginning!) This is a totally engrossing, impossible-to-stop-reading story -- like all of @mastershakeme's work -- and I can't wait to find out what's going to happen next!

Burning questions! These are all serious questions, but especially #2 and #7. And #10! If the author is able to answer some or all of these, I would be very grateful. I really love this story. I think it's even better than the one about the alien! 1) If no one in Warren has any money, who is buying all the drugs that Vinny and Carmine's branch of the mafia seems to be getting rich by selling? Or to put it another way: it appears that so much cash is getting collected in Warren, that the mafia has to hire a runner to deliver said cash from Warren to the boss in Cleveland. Who in Warren has that much cash to spend? 2) Is "Uncle Leon" D's "real" (biological) Uncle, or is the "Uncle" moniker just a euphemism? 3) If Vinny knows about the Safe House, and the "evidence", wouldn't he have just deployed some of his minions to the Safe House to collect all the "evidence" for immediate destruction? 4) If Carmine had Nina's phone bugged, shouldn't he have known about all of the other boys that Darius was supposed to have killed, who in fact were not killed due to Nina's interventions? And therefore, shouldn't Nina and Darius both have already been dead, before this story even began? Because why would Carmine let them get away with this even once, much less multiple times? 5) Exactly how many boys has D not killed, who he was supposed to have killed? 6) Exactly when did Carmine start bugging Nina's phone, and how did she find out about it? 7) Do you think there's any chance that Josh would be willing to leave his pregnant girlfriend, and go gay for Zeke? (If I were Josh, that would be a no brainer - but obviously I am not Josh.....enquiring minds want to know what the real Josh thinks about this.) 8. What do they make at the factory where Ronnie Sr. works? Is the factory on the verge of closing, and what will happen to Joey's family if it does? 9) How does Josh's pregnant girlfriend have a car? 10) If you owned an auto shop, and you found out your recently-brought-in intern or apprentice or whatever you call him - you found out he couldn't read - but he was otherwise quite skilled with regard to his car fixing abilities - would you really just fire the guy? That seems totally counterproductive for all parties involved. Why not make a deal with the intern that you'll work around his reading problem, if he'll go to night school and learn to read? You would think that someone who's smart enough to own a profitable auto repair business, would be thrilled to find an employee who is not only intuitively good with cars, but also isn't a crack addict, and has a sunny disposition, and shows up on time, and takes showers before coming to work. So the guy can't read, big fucking deal. I strongly feel that Joey needs to consult a good Employment Attorney, because he has a very compelling case for wrongful termination. Assuming Nina isn't actually the bad guy, and assuming Joey and D are somehow able to clear their names, and assuming Joey and D are somehow able to get their names off of the Mafia's list of people to kill as soon as possible - maybe Nina could take Joey's case. By the time Nina was finished, Joey would OWN the auto shop!

I just read all of the chapters in less than a day. Brilliant page-turner as always, mastershakeme. The main question I have at this point, which comes up every time she enters the story, but even more so now: why should we (and that includes D) trust Nina? How do we know that SHE isn't the one who's betraying Joey and D? After all, didn't she admit (several chapters ago) that she's been in love with D all along? And that she had harbored what she now knows to be delusional fantasies that one day, she and D would run away together and live happily ever after? Jilted ex-lovers (like Zeke) are one thing, but jilted psychopaths who never were your lover in the past, but genuinely believed that they were destined to be your lover in the future -- only now they know that's not going to happen - are something else entirely. What if Nina is lying about everything? How do we know that a single word she has said, is true?

OMG this is so entertaining, thank you so much for the laughs. Robbie really needs to get it together, but at the same time, I love, love, love him just the way he is. Now can we please get to the swimming lessons with Rory scene?!! PS - I hope Don doesn't somehow find out about the Buffy incident....that would be......very bad!

It seems like the obvious confession that most of the readers, myself included, would be hoping for, would be Rory confessing his undying love for Robbie, and also confessing that he's longed for Robbie to ravish him in every possible way since the first day they met, and also confessing that his only desire in life is to marry Robbie and have 8 kids together and they live happily ever after. Unfortunately, I don't think Rory has come to terms (yet) with the depth of his feelings for Robbie. Therefore, the scenario described above would be premature. I think a more realistic confession would be that someone is going to finally tell Robbie who pushed him down the stairs in the school. Or maybe Alex is going to confess to having a torrid affair with Nathan (before Robbie arrived in Cobourg.) Or heck, maybe Alex is STILL having a torrid affair with Nathan! Or maybe Matthew is going to confess the vile and sick details about the horrors that Symmonds and the other religious elders inflict upon him in the church basement on Friday nights. Or it could have something to do with how and why Miranda would have saved a lot of money if only Robbie had said "no" to Stephanie's advances. Any of these possibilities is far more likely than a confession of true love from Rory. But damn, it would be great to be wrong! Thanks for another great chapter, Dodger!

I was so happy to stumble across this latest installment. I agree with the person who suspects that Daniel isn't going to let the Matthew/abuse matter go. And maybe he shouldn't. But he's also in way over his head, and he lacks a realistic understanding of the size of the can of worms he'd be opening if he does something to try and help Matthew. There's a good chance Daniel would be putting Matthew in grave danger. To say nothing of himself. (Then again, it could also be argued that we, the reader, lack a clear understanding of the size of the can of worms that Daniel would be opening if he does something to try and help Matthew. Maybe it's a really tiny can?) On another subject - until about 5 or 6 chapters ago, I just kind of assumed that Rory really loves Robbie, but Rory isn't gay, and therefore, isn't sexually attracted to Robbie, and therefore, as beautiful as their friendship is - that's all it could ever be. But recent actions by Rory - in this chapter (talking about masturbating on the phone to Robbie, which he's never done before, and even making a sexual innuendo towards Robbie), and the last chapter (where Rory and Robbie were play-fighting/wrestling, and they rolled off the bed and onto the floor, and were having one of those moments where they were staring deep into each other's eyes, until they were rudely interrupted by Mrs. Rory), but most particularly, a few chapters back when Robbie was lamenting to Rory how awful it would be if Rory got a girlfriend and didn't have time for Robbie anymore, and Rory said, "Don't worry, that's not gonna happen," and Robbie said, "You say that now, but no one knows--" and Rory interrupted, yelling at Robbie - "Believe me, it won’t happen!” -- all of these incidents have added great confusion to the question of what exactly is the nature of the relationship between these two guys. I have no idea. It's very bewildering! What I do know is that Rory has always been an unfailingly loyal and wonderful friend to Robbie. He's been reliable and dependable and supportive and honest. Without exception. Friendships like this are extremely rare -- priceless, really -- so it would be a tragedy to muck it up because of an awkward sexual encounter. BUT - if Rory has been coming to the conclusion that he's actually gay (or bi), and if Rory is as turned on by Robbie, as Robbie is by Rory - then the potential exists for a truly beautiful, healthy, long-term relationship to bloom. I will say - Rory has never come across as the kind of guy who would say, "Who said I was joking?", and intend it to be only a joke. Rory has always been a very straightforward and direct kind of guy. The more I think about it, the more I think that Rory was dead serious. (Of course, this could just be wishful thinking on my part....) Hopefully Dodger will bring us clarity at some point. Certainly it will be something to look forward to, regardless of how it plays out. Thank you so much for continuing your amazing work on this story, Dodger. It really does bring me great joy every time I find a new chapter has been posted.

Rory totally confuses me, but probably not quite as much as Robbie confuses Rory. (Although now that I think about it more - maybe Rory's feelings were hurt by how Robbie just casually blew off their sleepover at the last minute.) Nathan is quite obviously a slut and if Robbie believes Nathan is being monogamous, then Robbie's going to be in for (another) rude awakening in the not-too-distant-future, would be my prediction. To the author, Dodger: I implore you to please, please, please, and you can multiply that times a quadrillion - let Robbie and Rory have their private, romantic dinner on Wednesday in peace. There needs to be copious quantities of alcohol involved. And you CANNOT write a scene where Robbie and Rory are finally like 2 seconds away from consummating their love with the most passionate kiss in the entire history of Cobourg, only to be stymied when Alex comes pounding on the door. Or Nathan comes pounding on the door. Or that Social Worker dude comes pounding on the door. Or Rory's parents come home early. Or DON comes pounding on the door. (What about, all of the above?) Have I told you lately how much I love this story? The Cockney Canuck has brought me great joy for nearly 10 years. I'd be hard-pressed to name anything else in my life about which I could say the same! Thank you for continuing to concoct new chapters. The story just keeps getting better! Michael PS - How far along are you in writing the sequel? Chronicling Robbie's adventures as a teenage single dad, a role which he is unexpectedly forced to take on following Stephanie's tragic death immediately after giving birth to their son. I assume Tom moves to Cobourg to help with the parenting duties. But where does that leave Rory? And what about that kid from the church group who's getting abused/molested by his father? Not to mention Alex.....

OMG you can’t just leave us hanging like this! I hope Corbin makes the right choice…….

It's very possible that I'm completely mis-reading or misunderstanding this, but.... I've always understood that David is Fran's brother. I definitely remember this from when Robbie was dating Fran - David was (is) Fran's older brother. But this chapter seems to be suggesting that David is Stephanie's brother. If David is Stephanie's brother, and David is Fran's brother, would this not mean that Fran and Stephanie are sisters? Yet I am quite certain that Fran and Stephanie have never been sisters. Which is why I have this feeling that I've completely misinterpreted something somewhere (?) Also, isn't Mitch the guy who pushed Robbie down the stairs? Or actually we don't know (yet?) who pushed Robbie down the stairs, do we? (I want to say it was Don, but presumably he has an airtight alibi...) In any event, it is not my intention to harass you about a (possible) continuity error. I love this story so much. I still remember it like it was yesterday (even though it was actually 6 years ago) - the time you told us that there were only a few more chapters left, and The Cockney Canuck would be completed in about 6 weeks. At that time, I begged you to please, please, please study the techniques and methods of Comicality for real-life guidance on how an author can craft a story in such a way that it never has to end. Much like Robbie, I prayed that you would see the wisdom in this advice, and it has surely been gratifying to know that God really does answer some of our prayers. The important ones. Keep up the great work, Dodger! PS - one last random comment: for about the first 161 chapters, I've been steadfastly hopeful that Tom would emigrate to Canada so that he and Robbie could be together for eternity and live happily ever after. But the past few chapters have helped me see the light. Robbie & Rory. Are meant for each other. It has to happen. Soon! The chapter where Rory confesses that he never thought he was anything other than 100% straight. Until Robbie came in to his life, forcing him to open his eyes to the truth: while Rory may be 100% straight when it comes to everyone else, he's 100% gay for Robbie. And he can't fight this feeling anymore. In fact, he's forgotten what he started fighting for. Robbie will be overcome with joy, hardly daring to believe that it's time to bring this ship into the shore. Rory will say yes, yes, a thousand times yes, and let's throw away the oars forever. It will be beautiful. Goosebumps! PPS - for a long time, it felt like Robbie was on the verge of getting kidnapped by Don or Symmonds or the Preacher and transported to a gay conversion camp deep in the Canadian outback backwoods, where Robbie would be held against his will and probably get sexually and/or physically abused. It doesn't feel like that's about to happen anymore. But wouldn't it be great if it did happen, so that Robbie could then be rescued by Rory in dramatic fashion? PPPS - what if Don completely drains Robbie's Trust before Robbie even reaches the age of 18? Because where else would Don be getting the money to buy a yacht, besides Robbie's Trust Fund? (I guess even if this does happen, everything will still be ok as long as Robbie and Roy get to live together happily ever after.)

This is a very interesting comment which has compelled me to note that my impression is the exact opposite. It seems clear that the story after the fantastic prologue is written by a different person - or, to be more precise, it's being told by a different narrator. I feel that the evocative, descriptive narrative that was present in the prologue is equally present in the first two chapters. While I obviously can't speak for the author, I would surmise that if we give it a chance, the story will develop the prologue. The budding relationship between Jericho and Mat might (or might not!) end up being predictable. (I guess "predictable" would be where Jericho and Mat have an intensely passionate summer fling but in the end, Jericho marries Jill -- and Mat, while devastated in the moment, eventually comes to appreciate and treasure all that he learned from his "first love". (?) Yet surely at least some other readers will have a completely different take on what would have to happen in order to ultimately classify Mat and Jericho's relationship as being "predictable".) I definitely agree that the prologue was "exciting and different" but I just as vociferously disagree that the first two chapters have regressed "into an unremarkable tale." I will be the first to admit that it's not impossible that I'm giving the author far too much credit, but nevertheless, my impression is that Mr. Slocum is carefully laying the foundation for a story that, on the whole, is more likely to be "an intoxicating immersion into a rather unique scenario" vs. merely "a simple tale". It will be fascinating to see how it goes!

This story is worse than crack. I’m happily reading along, in a zone, when I come to the words, "They say you always remember your first kiss" and for like the next 20 seconds I'm frantically looking for the next paragraph. Then even more frantically scrolling down trying to find the "Next Chapter" arrow. It feels like I'm waking up from a deep sleep or a trance as reality starts to set in. There is no next chapter. Fuck! Why can't there be like 2 billion more words and 22 million more chapters so that I could do nothing but read The Cockney Canuck nonstop for the rest of my life? Instead I have to deal with these crushing withdrawal symptoms. (I guess I kind of know how Nathan feels when he runs out of the little white pills.) Some of the readers seem to feel that Robbie has a substance abuse problem. I do not see it that way. Robbie has taken drugs maybe 8 times in 163 chapters. No objective analysis would ever conclude that 8/163 = addicted. While we can all agree that yes, Robbie would certainly be much better off if he would just listen to Rory and never do drugs again - if there's one thing Robbie does consistently, it's failing to heed good advice. And honestly, I'm glad that we're not likely to see Robbie following Rory's advice about this, because Robbie's antics when he's drunk and/or high are part of what make this story so addictive. Speaking of Rory - he is just so cute and sweet and loyal and supportive. I love how he tells Robbie what he really thinks, as opposed to what Robbie wants to hear. It's a huge plus that Robbie loves how he smells. And he’s completely ok with letting Robbie steal his underwear. If I were Robbie, I would not be able to stop myself from just grabbing Rory and shoving my tongue down his throat and never coming up for air. Sure, there is probably a 50/50 chance that Rory would reject him. But what if he didn't? There’s also the possibility that doing this could end up ruining their friendship. But what if it didn't?! It seems inevitable that ultimately Nathan will break up with Robbie so that he (Nathan) can run away to Toronto to do drugs and be a club kid. This kind of thing could easily drag on for years of Robbie suffering through watching Nathan’s drug use escalate. Imagine Robbie’s anguish when he catches Nathan in the act of whoring himself for drugs at the truck stop just outside town. Or Robbie checking out the porn on xtube and stumbling across a video where Nathan gets plowed by his 27 fraternity brothers. Dodger, you could spare all of us (and Robbie) a ton of grief by having Nathan do the responsible thing for once in his life. By “responsible thing”, I mean that Nathan doesn’t have to wait until after high school to run away to Toronto. He could do it now – or really soon – for example, before the Cup Final. This would give Robbie and Rory the perfect opportunity to be able to spend the night together, guilt-free. In fact, now that I think about it – what if the only reason Rory never follows through on his flirtations with Robbie, is because Robbie has always been dating someone else, for pretty much the entire time that Rory and Robbie have been friends? Because Rory is definitely not the type who would sleep with Robbie while Robbie was dating Fran, or Nathan, or Rebecca's brother, or Nathan again. Plus Rory was dating the sister of Robbie's boyfriend for quite awhile. But if Rory was single….and if Robbie was also single....at the same time!.....maybe that's all that needs to happen in order for Robbie and Rory to finally realize that they're destined for each other. They really do seem like they’d be perfect together. Plus, I think that people who flirt with each other like Robbie and Rory do, really want each other. If the flirtation was all one-sided, that would actually be a bad sign. But Rory seems like he flirts and makes innuendos towards Robbie, just as much as Robbie does it to Rory. This has to mean that they have a mutual and reciprocal attraction to each other. It has to! On a more somber note – it’s pretty obvious that Mr. Symmonds is going to violently rape Matthew at his earliest possible convenience. I wish Robbie would have consciously thought about this, and figured out a way to stop it from happening. (Of course I have no idea how that would even be possible.) Maybe a more realistic solution would be for Robbie to hide and get video evidence of Mr. Symmonds being a child rapist. (Also, enquiring minds really want to know: is the preacher knowingly allowing Mr. Symmonds to sexually abuse Matthew? And isn’t Matthew the preacher’s son?) I do give Robbie credit for briefly regretting getting Matthew "in trouble". I just wish Robbie had pursued the idea a little further - what specifically does it mean for Matthew to be "in trouble" with Mr Symmonds? Sure, it's understandable why Robbie didn't -- he is a teenager, after all -- but it would have demonstrated significant emotional maturation on Robbie's part, if his thoughts had veered in that direction. Then again, as has already been noted, Robbie is a much more interesting character when he demonstrates lack of significant emotional maturation. So there's that. Thanks, Dodger, for continuing to bring us this masterpiece. Any normal saga of this length would have started to suck about 600,000 words ago. It is truly a testament to your talent as a writer that not only is The Cockney Cancuk just as engrossing now as it was in the beginning – in fact, it’s actually even better. PS – Maybe Hannah will loyally follow through on her promise to tell Matthew that Robbie is sorry. And in doing so, catch Mr. Symmonds in the act! Maybe she’ll even be smart enough to get video evidence of the crime with her phone. And maybe she’ll completely shock us all by realizing she can’t give the video to her parents, or to the pastor, or to anyone at her church, and certainly not to the Cobourg Police. I think the only people she could safely give the video to, would be Jo, or Sue, or Mr Andrews, or Rory’s parents. Possibly Fran's older brother. Or the best choice of all would be to seek out The Retired Social WorkerTM...

I have also always been a Mike fan. However, given that the title of the book is The English Year, I've also always figured Pete was going to be the "winner". But now I'm wondering if maybe Pete will only be the short-term "winner" whereas Mike could have a more enduring role to play in Corbin's future. I also think that Corbin is the kind of guy who would be totally bored (and boring) if he were stuck in a long-term, serious, commited relationship. One also has to wonder: is Corbin even capable of being in a long-term, serious, commited relationship? Hopefully we'll all learn the answers to these mysteries, and more, in future installments. Thanks as always for continuing this hugely entertaining story. P.S. - is it really true that a college fraternity can require a Dean (a female one at that) to come to their House at 1 in the morning and get blindfolded and led in to a secret chamber where she has to answer questions under oath?? This strikes me as being totally ridiculous, so much so that I can only conclude it must be real! I would love to interview the dean and ask her how frequently she has to do things like this. And are there any other similarly-strange obligations that she has to fulfill as part of her job? And is there like a manual for the position of "dean" where it lists the job requirements e.g. Must be available 24/7 to testify under oath as needed in basement chambers of any in-house Fraternity or Sorority legal proceedings and Must be willing and able to tolerate being blindfolded and physically manhandled by unknown student(s) for up to 60 seconds without losing composure. It seems like this would make for a fascinating human interest story which the editor of The Founder ought to pursue. PPS - is Corbin breaking the code of secrecy by disclosing all of these confidential proceedings to the general public under the guise of fiction? Not that I'm complaining - it's really interesting to read -- but what if the real-life Dominic were to stumble across this story (he does seem pretty gay, albeit apparently closeted at the time). Couldn't the real-life Dominic use the existence of this story as ammunition to finally (decades later) get revenge against Corbin? Or maybe there's a statute of limitations?

This is riveting! Brilliant drama! The plot twists are dizzying. You are an amazing writer. I am in awe. Can’t wait to see what happens next. Thank you!

The whole time Robbie was hanging out with Alex and Alex’s loser “friends”, I was consumed by this horrible ominous feeling of impending disaster. It was hard to keep reading. It seemed inevitable that Robbie was about to get the shit kicked out of him, or gang raped, or worse (?) Robbie is a god damned idiot to put himself in such a dangerous and volatile situation. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Rory saved Robbie’s life by coming back for him. It would be great to find out in the next chapter that Rory does in fact have that “little bit of gay” in him, that Robbie has been wishing for since chapter 32. P.S. I laughed out loud when Rory brought up the possibility that he and Robbie might stay in bed all day tomorrow and play games. Indeed!

I hope you want the story to keep going and going because it’s as interesting now as it was in chapter 1. More so, actually. Thank you and keep up the great work!