About to start a load of laundry. That's what birthdays are for at my age, right?
I tried to pack a lot in this one chapter, I'm glad it's been well-received.
CJ's a fearless flirt. LOL Him having Yaniel pose for a picture with him proves it. But I think he feels comfortable doing that shit because he has his anchor in Owen.
Jay's not done spouting crap and maybe I should have had him deported on the spot. Having Anton and Camilo frog-march him to his room to get his luggage and then to the airport might be fun.
Thanks.
Camilo wasn't planning to skulk around forever, he observed in the morning and approached CJ at lunch. I think he was trying to get the measure of the man he had been assigned to. CJ's likeable, calls Camilo out on shit, and is not intimidated. I think an intelligence officer would approve.
How do some of our politicians ever get elected? Stupidity and lack of tact are not barriers, and Jay falls into the same category. Not everyone in high positions should be there, but shit happens.
I don't think it's so much Camilo being incompetent, he admits he didn't expect CJ to be so perceptive, but the fact that CJ's well-tuned into his surroundings. Between the lessons in practical diplomacy and his natural curiosity, he's bound to notice stuff most of us would miss. He also admits he was on alert since he was in a totalitarian country.
Plenty of action left.
As for CJ and Owen, they're media magnets and will slowly learn ho to manipulate publicity to suit their purposes. My guys have layers, and I try to peel back a bit more in each story.
Although the cadets are close to CJ's age, you can tell how their life experiences affect what they do and how. CJ and Owen may still like to party, but it's all tempered by having a toddler at home. I tried to use dialogue to highlight some of those differences.
Thanks, Theo.
I pick settings so I can describe locations and the experience of exploring them. It wouldn't be a CJ story, particularly to such a unique destination, if I didn't include sightseeing and history. You may OD on that stuff by the time I'm done.
The next handful of chapters retell or allude to a few events I described in a couple of spinoffs (Ranger, Cadet, & Malibu). For those who read the stories in the order posted, going to the Oscars did not come as a surprise. However, my take on those events was modified to shift point of view to CJ and expand on what previously written.
I can't wait until you read those and give me your take on the differences.