jkwsquirrel

Another story to add to the list!

You know those little off-year elections that happen on odd numbered years when no one shows up to vote because it's not a big presidential election? Or those primaries that only old people show up for at 8 o'clock in the morning? Yeah, those are the truly important elections where local power is formed. They just tell you they're not important.

I don't think Mr. Taylor thought Miss Winston would resign. He's probably had these little meetings before and no one's made a big deal about it. Billy teaming up with Joey reminds me of those games where Mario and Bowser team up to handle a larger threat. Once it's over, Bowser goes right back to trying to kidnap the Princess.

I'm sure there's something less than an iota. Let's not feel too bad for ol' Joey. If the situation were reversed, he'd have reveled in taking the better grade.

Exactly!

In Pennsylvania, almost every school district has its own set of schools (elementary and high schools), it's own board, and its own set of principals for each of the schools. It's a very localized system, a Republican conservative's dream, really. Every school board is elected in public elections, usually those off-year elections that no one shows up for. The school boards have a lot of power within the district, mainly in hiring. You'll see a lot of the same last names on school boards and on the faculty and staff of the school, if you know what I mean. Lots of favors, lots of nepotism, lots of politics. If you don't have the right last name, you're out of luck. That was kind of what I was hoping to capture in the last chapter and in the chapters to come. It's small town politics that Billy has only dealt with from a distance until now. Now he's ruffling feathers and getting in the way, so he'll be dealing with the consequences more directly. But this stuff has been part of the undercurrent of the story all along. What I want to capture in Commencement is the idea of what parents want for their children and what those children want for themselves are often in conflict with each other. As the kids have grown up, they've matured from the what their parents expected them to be into their own people. Sarah and Joey were expected to be the perfect angels who got good grades and would allow their parents to bask in the glory of their achievements. Their parents were willing to cover up their sins in order to preserve their own reputation and pride. Both kids rebelled through the one thing their parents couldn't control, sex. The McKenzies had done a good job of keeping Joey's anti-social behavior under wraps until Billy exposed the abortion scandal. John Taylor thought he could just easily brush Sarah's pregnancy and abortion under the rug, but Miss Winston wasn't willing to play along. You could go through each of the kids and find the same thing, the parents want one thing, the kids want to be their own person, and conflict ensues. (Think of Linkin Park's "Numb" and Good Charlotte's "The Anthem.")

D'oh! Yes, 1975 not 1985 with the story now in 2005. I fixed it. -JW

New chapter is up. It's a short one this week, but a necessary piece of the puzzle as we begin removing Billy's security blanket.

We had a nasty winter storm come through the week between my birthday and Christmas, but for the most part, it was a mild winter. It wasn’t too cold, and there wasn’t a lot of snow. That meant we didn’t have any days off from school for weather, which meant we would all be able to graduate on time and get the hell out of there. As December turned to January, my thoughts and the conversations with my fellow classmates turned toward what was next on the horizon. What were we go

Thanks Shadow-dude! I like that you have a picture in your head of how ridiculous Brett looked with his beard! I think of this chapter of what could be between the boys when everything is normal. Of course, it's the calm before the storm, but it's nice.

Thanks glennish! I think Billy is beginning to realize that things aren't as terrible as he thought they'd be. But we'll soon discover that everything isn't the sunshine and roses that Brett thought they'd be either.

Thanks DQ! Brett's beard had a purpose. Brett has always tried to act more mature than he really is. You might think that's crazy, considering the way he acts. But think about it. Why did he feel the need to add the f-word to every sentence he uttered? He wanted to sound like a grown up, and grown ups swear. But the more he swore, the less mature he sounded. He urgently pushed Billy to do sexual things before they were really ready. That led to him flaunting it to Dustin, which made him sound like a spoiled brat. The beard was just another attempt to give the outside appearance of maturity. "I can grow a beard, I'm a man now." Of course, everyone thought he just looked like a kid trying to grow something on his face. Once it was gone, Brett was convinced he looked like child, but Billy only saw the young man he loved. And yes, everything that's dysfunctional between Brett and his mom is on her. She's the adult. Brett treats her the way he does because she's allowed him. We give Paula a bad rap, and rightfully so because of her passive aggressive bigotry, but Brett would move in with her in a minute. Brett craves the structure and discipline that Billy grew up with, Billy covets the absolute freedom that Brett grew up with. They both want what the other has.

Thanks Dahawk! I really enjoyed writing this one. It's nice to see how the boys behave when things are not crazy.

Thanks Wesley! It's sort of a Joey chapter coming up, but not really, more of a Miss Winston chapter. This was a fun chapter to write.

The new chapter "Eighteen and Life" is up. It'll explain what these videos are about. Enjoy!

As I emerged from the woods, the sun had already set, and the darkness of a winter evening was quickly chasing the last of the daylight away. That’s the thing that sucks about having a birthday on one of the shortest days of the year. That and my birthday’s close proximity to Christmas meant half the time my birthday got lost in the holiday shuffle. I realized that I was going to need to invest in a hat. I hadn’t needed one in a while since my hair naturally kept my head warm. I felt like I

Well, as Paula said, she didn't think Billy would actually go through with leaving. She had no intention of cutting off his medication, he just called her bluff, something which he'd never done before. George talked about it during the card game in his last appearance. If Billy ever learned how to tell when someone's bluffing, he'd be unstoppable. That said, she really shouldn't have made that threat, and I think it's clear that she regrets it. Now as for the way she's treating Brett, that's cold. Like I said above, I think she's looking to run out the clock. Once Billy graduates, she's sure that the boys will move on from this thing they've got going on, and maybe Billy will find a nice young girl to settle down with. That's how it works, right?

It reveals that Paula is seeking support and guidance from someone who she deeply trusts. It also reveals that she is giving Carl all the ammunition he needs about Billy.

Thanks! Still some work to do with Paula, that's for sure. Seems like she's just trying to run out the clock until Billy graduates and moves out, then she can keep her son and her church. At least that's what she's hoping. What coin collection?

Brett doesn't share his boyfriend.

"You're making too much sense! Stop it!"

As long as there is such a thing as googling, Billy will have plenty of Bible verses to use. My favorite part of that portion of the conversation was Paula's ignorance of Google, and her suspicion that it's something vulgar. What coin collection?

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it, my friend!