jkwsquirrel

Absolutely. But more than that. She's known Brett for ten years, since he was a little boy. He practically grew up in her house. Billy sometimes wondered if his parents loved Brett more than him. This wasn't just any old rescue mission. I can't wait to get her side of things.

That would make a whole different story, now wouldn't it?

Thanks Benji! What are the odds that Brett would be seriously injured twice in a row on a bike? Apparently the odds were 100%. But hey, at least he didn't mess up his pretty face!

I didn't want to get too gory. Brett 's fears were justified, that's for sure!

Yes it could be trouble. Yep, one of my favorite moments in the story! We'll find out very soon!

The "sweet little Dusty" scene is one of my favorites in the whole series. We'll learn a lot more about Paula in the next chapter!

Billy's graduating class would have been the last one to take the SAT before the redesign from 1600 to 2400 (which I guess is now back to 1600?). I never really thought about what their scores would be. I could see Billy scoring pretty close to perfect in the math section as he eats numbers for breakfast. I could see Sarah doing well in reading, but nowhere as good as Billy in math. I could see Joey's dad making him take the test again and again until he got the best possible score. Would Brett have even bothered?

Well it does answer at least one question people have been asking about a certain But I've changed so many elements of the story, that story is almost in a different world.

The new chapter is up now! I'm guessing there will be some discussion about it, but it had to be done. If you want to yell at me that's okay, just don't spoil what happens!

Mom was really cracking down on the whole Brett situation as we approached the end of February. I knew it was because Pastor Carl was bearing down hard on her. Carl had moved beyond the idea that just homosexual practices were bad. Now, every Sunday sermon was full of the most hateful things about those who allowed the sin of homosexual thoughts to even be permitted within their homes. “I wish you would end things with that boy,” she would tell me with increasing frequency.

New chapter coming tomorrow! Should be exciting! “I’m not going to spend all day watching you guys work on that stupid thing again am I?” Brett asked as he sat down on a lawn chair. “No, we’re going to ride it,” Dustin said with a smile.

A list came out of the 50 worst schools in the state (sorry, commonwealth) of Pennsylvania. The school on which I very loosely based the school in WAR made the list with a 35% proficiency rating in math, a 54% proficiency rating in reading, and a 94% graduation rate. Way to go Mr. Taylor!

I can't imagine why! We have many districts like the ones you described. For instance, Billy's made-up school is based on a real-life school that was formed by a merger of a few smaller schools that joined together after the steel and coal industries moved out. You would have folks of all stripes going to the same school, which is why someone as poor as Dustin can go to the same school with people like Joey and Sarah. Much like I described in the story, it's rare that someone from the poorer population is able to reach the heights of prestige and privilege because of who there are, not based on their abilities. Your last name can pen or close a lot of doors. But then, I'm cynical like Billy.

I knew a girl who went there. I think that's kind of how it ended up in the story. She was much nicer than Sarah. It's not likely that Miss W. will get involved in the situation now that she resigned.

Can I just say, I love your visions of Billy's enemies being swallowed up by their own arrogance! Of course, in reality sometimes the bad guys win.

We have what I like to call "donut districts" around here. What happens is the city itself has a school district within the city limits. So the suburbs form a school district around the city, leaving a hole in the middle for the city kids. It's all legal because the school district lines are based off the township and city lines. Of course, you know how it goes, the city kids get garbage and the suburb kids have all the breaks because that's where the money is.

Well, honestly I don't know what they'd do. But I know what will happen to Sarah when she gets there. (And you might too, if I decide to do the additional and mysterious seventh book!)

I believe Billy's exact words were, "they're going to screw me somehow. They have to." Billy is more angry at the injustice of the situation than anything else. Joey takes it personally. After all, it's his ex-girlfriend. Billy seems to be enjoying the irony of Joey being the one who isn't getting his way. That's the thing about these people, they eventually eat each other. Billy has also become so cynical that he is surprised when anything goes his way. He always expects the worst. As for Billy's future, could you really see him being truly happy working in an office all day counting other people's pennies? I think it would eventually drive him mad. I'm sure there could be some legal issues in the school situation, but think about it, who would hear that case? Just another one of John Taylor's friends, or another person taken in by Pastor Carl's charm. When you own the town you can get whatever you want. The roots of corruption are deep.

It's like a scene right out of those old movies where everything is just grand in the small town world! Mom, apple pie, and the American flag for all! Just don't look behind the curtain or under the rug, or in the closet...

I don't think Billy really cares all that much about Joey's plight. He knows he screwed up Joey's life, and he really doesn't feel all that bad about it because of what Joey did to him. Brett, on the other hand...

Thank you so much! It's going to be fun to see how it all works out!

Billy set the whole situation with Miss Winston into motion a few chapters back when he accused her of being a hypocrite. That really bothered her. She even brought it back up in this chapter. Billy really touched a nerve with her. She grew tired of the politics that had oppressed her for years and finally took a last stand for the sake of her integrity.

Yes - for Joey it's much more personal. For one, Sarah was once his girlfriend. But for another, there's much more pressure on Joey to be top dog than Billy. Billy's parents just wanted Billy to live up to his own potential. George always insisted that Billy do his own personal best, and not worry about what someone else is doing. His parents got on him for relying too much on his intelligence to the point that he didn't try very hard. George couldn't have cared less what someone else was doing. (Think of when Billy and Joey got into a fight at school. George didn't care what Sarah did to Billy, he only cared about what Billy did.) Joey's parents not only expect him to do his best, but to be the best, period. (And if you have to take out your competition along the way, so be it...) Joey's always had the expectation of perfection thrust upon him and he's growing resentful and even hateful of it. As for "The Erotic Adventures of a Boy and His Bike," I've had that one planned for a very long time! I like to reward readers who pay attention to the silly little things!

You've got to listen to Linkin Park's "Numb." That's my "Joey song."