Dodger

Thank you, @AquariusGuy

Happy New Year to all my friends on GA and a Happy 20th Anniversary. I wish you all well and hope for a better future, but wishing and hoping doesn't do much. Over the next twelve months, we will all get an opportunity to do something for others that will make 2022 better than the year they've just had.

Hello Gary. I think almost everyone is going to be exposed to this variant sooner or later. In the UK it is replacing the common cold. I know several people over here who have it and many more who have been exposed. The good news is, none of them have been ill, other than cold-like symptoms, including a ninety-two-year-old relative who has only had one shot of the vaccine. I wish you well and obviously hope you avoid it, but unfortunately you can't avoid the quarantine. Happy New Year anyway buddy and to everyone else on here. I hope in 2022 we are able to return to a better way of life, and get close again to people we love and care about without fear of harming each other.

The clock in the classroom above Mrs Reigor’s desk took an age to reach two-thirty, but when it did, I was the first to rise and head for the door. It was Friday the first of April, and I was on a mission, walking as fast as I dared without running to make it to my locker before the corridors filled with excited kids. I nailed it! After exchanging my English folder for my backpack, homework, and coat, I closed my locker, snapped the lock, and was gone. It was as slick as any Formula One pitstop,

I love this word but I had to google The Little Rascals.

Back again. Nice start to what I know will be an interesting time for Brandon. It's been a while since I read the Billy Chase stories but I remember the split with Joanna.

Robert Duvall in The Godfather.

Originally within the sound of Bow Bells, but I don't think that applies anymore. Most people outside of the capital think of Londoners as cockneys, and the distinctive accent has long since migrated out of the city and into the home counties i.e. Kent, Essex, Surrey, Hertfordshire.

I think Jo will want to make sure Don doesn't go back to his worst ways. I agree that Robbie should make time to contact his father's family and Jo will probably be able help him do that.

Thank you @wenmale64. Jamie is a likeable boy, but also as you point out 'an admirable character'. His life is very different from the other characters in the story and he's a good influence on Robbie, who genuinely wants to help and be his friend.

It's probably a good thing that Robbie no longer needs Jo, even if he thinks he does. She works mostly with kids who are considered most at risk of hurting themselves and it's not a good place to be. As Ginny said if you're seeing Jo, then it has to be serious. Robbie was probably never in real danger, but his circumstances alerted the right people and being a gay teenager put him in the high risk category and into Jo's domain. Whether or not she will be able to help Matthew is unclear, but there's no love lost between her and Symmonds, and an opportunity to bring him down would be difficult for her to resist.

Oops, sorry, @weinerdogI must have forgot about these comments. I make a point of trying to reply to each one. This news comes at a difficult time for Robbie and he may not fancy the prospect of meeting a new uncle, but you're right, he has nothing to lose and possibly much to gain.

I do know someone with CF. He's married to a cousin of mine and much older than Jamie, but he has the same straightforward, no nonsense character that Robbie finds so interesting in his young friend. Like your friend, he has consistently defied the odds and is an inspiration to everyone. His character was impossible for me to ignore and I had to find a way of getting someone like that into the story. There is hope for young Jamie. He's a bright light that refuses to be extinguished. I can't comment yet on the pastor or Symmonds, but they will reveal themselves soon enough. I'm glad you noticed Robbie's clever little hint for Jo, without betraying Matthew. He couldn't let her go without saying something about Symmonds.

Jo will always make herself available to Robbie if he needs her. Her job basically is to prevent as many teenage suicides as possible, a frighteningly high figure that scares politicians, educators, and health officials. So considering the nature of her job, it's probably a good thing that Robbie is no longer on her books.

I think the taking Jamie to the beach was a good thing for both of them in slightly different ways. Despite being four years older than Jamie and charged with looking after him, Robbie is, in many ways, not as mature as his young friend. They are learning from each other.

A lot to digest in this one as the story moves on to its inevitable conclusion.

After a restless night thinking about Matthew, I was woken by the rain pelting the window at the side of my bed. I sat up to peep between the blinds at the waterlogged backyard, then glanced at my clock. It was eight-thirty. On a typical weekday at that time, I would already be in my classroom standing for the national anthem, but the spring break provided a welcome respite from the rigours of school life and a well-deserved rest. I had a few good reasons to feel proud. After a year plagued

This is a popular word at the moment in Canada, where apparently, not every indigenous person is indigenous.

Wow! Tremendous chapter, Gary. Gradually building towards a nightmare scenario. I assume Boone survives but I'm worried about Blue. I always feel sorry for the animals, even in fiction. I've been looking forward to returning to this story after a hectic few weeks.

I don’t think the quality of writing is a huge problem on GA, but my expectations aren’t super high either. It’s reasonably easy for anyone to post a story on this site. You don’t have to prove your competence or even have any previous experience. A basic high school understanding of grammar and a somewhat coherent story should get most wannabe authors past the moderation queue, and from there, you either sink or swim. I believe it’s self-regulatory. Content is judged by your peers and site members and counted not so much in likes and comments but by the lack of them. Poor grammar and storylines aren’t rewarded, so unless you have the skin of a rhinoceros, you either have to knuckle down and improve or hold your hands up and admit that you’re probably not a future contender for a Pulitzer Prize. I know I’m not the only one who cringes whenever I read my early chapters or stories, and I hope in the future I’ll be cringing at the stuff I’m writing now because that’s how it works. I’m pleased with my progress, but I always want to get better, and I know I’ll never be satisfied. The point I’m trying to make is, I’m sure a lot of good authors would not have made it onto the site if the bar had been set any higher because, for many, this was their first attempt at fiction. I probably only scraped in as it is, and maybe some wished I hadn’t, but like most authors here, I’m a work in progress and GA is geared towards helping writers hone their skills. I like this part because there’s an abundance of free advice and articles covering every aspect of writing, as well as author promotions—however rare—to encourage improvement. It works all ways because the site has without doubt benefitted by discovering and hosting some truly talented authors, and the readers have free access to thousands of great stories, including mine! Okay, so maybe not all of them are quality fiction, and some may even border on the unreadable, but it’s a necessary evil. You take the rough with the smooth and spit out what you don’t like!

This is an enjoyable story linked to Book 1 of Comicality's Billy Chase Chronicles. It's written as a journal through the eyes of the very likeable Brandon Temple, as he slowly comes to terms with his sexuality and becomes increasingly besotted with his new friend Billy Chase.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading book 1. Thanks for all your hard work @MrM I will definitely review and read book 2.

It must be difficult for Brandon to keep following Chandler's advice. I don't think I would have been able to do it, but I guess Chandler knows what he's doing.

Poor Brandon is fast losing the plot, but he's starting to see the real Billy!

Well done, Billy. It was a clever thing to do. Now Brandon has to mull it over, but Billy just made things a lot easier for him.