underthehoodster

LOL! No worries there, Hobo. But thanks for your kind comments.

I agree that this chapter is probably one of the craziest things I ever wrote and in hindsight, unnecessary. However, I don't see this as anything near rape as it was a consensual situation, even if it got a little out of hand. It's also important to keep in mind that the whole saga of P&J is completely made up. Perry is a fantastical creature like something out of a Harry Potter book. If a real kid had been through half of what Perry went through in those few months in the eighth grade, his head would probably explode. Yuck. underthehoodster

This Clarissa cracks me up! It's been so long, I'd completely forgotten about many of the side characters in the story. I wanted to give NimirRaj a special shoutout. I don't check my underthehoodster email that often any more, but I was surprised to see all your comments. I even ended up rereading a few chapters. I think the Hode Ranch stuff holds up pretty well. NimirRaj, if you have any other questions or thoughts on P&J, feel free to email me directly at underthehoodster@netscape.net, but in any case thanks for reading and thanks for your comments. underthehoodster

I had my moment and made the most of it. P&J opened a whole world to me and allowed me to meet people (at least through the internet) that I would never had encountered otherwise. My failure to finish what I started with Perry and Jesse's story is one of my biggest regrets as a writer. I very much appreciate anyone who takes the time to share their thoughts and opinions. One more thought, having recently reread a few chapters here and there. P&J was composed as a serial with chapters originally released a few weeks apart. Frankly, I think the story works better that way and suggest that, if you decide to read to the end (such as it is), you leave a little time between chapters. Perry is constantly recapping everything that happened before, so you'll always be caught up. And let's be honest, he sure goes through a lot in a very short amount of time for a dopey little eighth grader. If you do find anything to enjoy, send me a note at underthehoodster@netscape.net. Does anyone remember what Netscape even was? 😉 underthehoodster

As we got closer to home, I noticed Mom spending more and more time looking at herself in the small vanity mirror embedded in the visor. I was surprised when she pulled, unannounced, into an uncrowded Carl's Jr., a tacky fast food outpost on the quiet stretch of road between Escondido and Santa Corina, perched incongrously on a dusty brown, chapparal-covered hill. It was a little before noon; I wasn't even the least bit hungry, and it wasn't just because of the doughnuts. "You can w

I had intentionally set my alarm clock not to go off in the morning, so I was more than a little annoyed when I was awakened from a deep, dreamless sleep by someone knocking on my bedroom door. "Perry?" "Mom...?" I croaked groggily. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand: 9:00 a.m. Well, I supposed it wasn't unreasonable to expect a person to be up by now, even on a Saturday. "May I come in?" "Um...sure," I responded uncertainly, trying vainly to shake the heavy veil of sle

I hurried back downstairs and walked into the middle of a joyous rendition of "Deck The Halls." A long, glossy black, grand piano had been wheeled into the middle of the great room and I was happily surprised to see Tom pounding away at the keyboard, a look of intense concentration on his cute, round face. But even more astonishing was the sight of Jesse, replete with Santa hat, and Jessica sharing a leather bound folio of Christmas lyrics, standing in front of the piano and leading the rest of

Kyle was standing there looking singularly uncomfortable in his Sunday suit and tie. He had his hands stuffed clumsily in the front pockets of his dress slacks. "We were just making out," Jesse explained calmly. Good thing I'd just used the toilet, otherwise I would've wet myself for sure. But Kyle only laughed. "Ha! Man, Taylor. You gotta wicked sense of humor. Who woulda thunk? The bashful kid....Man, the way you had Bainbridge fuming in there...shit, that was priceless!" "

"Everything okay?" Morgan asked. I shrugged. "Jessica's brother's a pretty interesting guy," I remarked, trying to pull my own emotions back down to a more neutral stance. "Always seemed a little creepy to me. Kinda stuck up and full of himself." "Yeah, I see that part. But he was just telling me some stories about his time at H.T. " "What kinda stories?" Morgan asked innocently. "Just about him and his friends...They had bullies and stuff to deal with, just li

"Shit!" I gasped. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Jessica's older brother said quietly, a slight smirk on his long, expressive face. "But-but-but..." I stuttered. I glanced at the door, which was closed but...Hadn't I locked it? "It doesn't take much to open these kinds of doors," Noah remarked with a sheepish smile, seemingly reading my mind. He pulled a tiny screwdriver out of his shirt pocket. "Artie and I were forever sneaking into each other's rooms to spy or cause so

"Well, like she said, my brother is around...somewhere. He's down from Berkeley for the break." Jessica unlocked the door and let us in. I was just about to set my bags down so I could hang my hoodie next to Jessica's jacket, when suddenly I heard a raucous flurry of high pitched yipping and yapping. Like race horses coming out of their chutes, two shaggy little dogs came bounding into the sprawling kitchen, their claws clicking on the fancy tile floor, sprinting around the large center island t

The mood at school was definitely jubilant. Not only did we have a great basketball victory to celebrate, but it was a half day and the beginning of Christmas break! During homeroom, Sister Mary Margaret announced what we had been hearing rumors about for the past several days: there would be an extended homeroom period to be used for prayers and good wishes among students and faculty, followed by a Mass to be celebrated by Father Marlen, followed by a pep rally to acknowledge the great seasons

Getting out of bed the next morning was a painful experience. Every joint in my body ached, but it was worst in my arms, chest and gut. I forced myself to do some stretches and even a few toe touches before taking a long, hot shower--my fourth in the last twenty-four hours. Despite our unexpected and highly emotional encounter last night, I felt incredibly self-conscious in class all morning, knowing that Morgan had seen my private parts in such intimate detail, front and back. It was such

I still had my blue and gold wristbands on, even though I was now alone in my room, logging onto the internet. I quickly launched my IM server and waited anxiously for Jesse to respond. Even after a long, long shower, my wrists still hurt a little and were starting to itch. For that matter, every muscle and joint in my body was sore to some degree, most notably my shoulders and pits. My mom was already home and making dinner by the time I got dried off and dressed in my sleeping clothes: a

Morgan and Derek were still waiting for their ride and Jesse was standing at the bus stop when my mom picked me up. I’d already told her that Morgan wanted me to come over and work on some strategies for the game on Thursday, and she had readily agreed. It was clear that she saw Morgan as the ‘right’ kind of friend, the earnest but sensitive jock, a ‘normal’ boy with whom she felt a sense of comfort. And Jesse...I knew she had apprehensions about him, but to her credit, she seemed more than will