jkwsquirrel

Thanks Lisa! Yes, Mr. Rogers, a Pittsburgh guy! It'll definitely be interesting when Brett comes back. So much to talk about... As for Billy, he's very much in that glass closet, isn't he? Poor Dustin! He made his move and got blocked at the last possible moment. Billy is such a jerk. But what's this about Brett buying drugs? I simply don't know what you're talking about!

Thanks for these thoughts, my friend! You've articulated the thoughts, I'm sure, of many readers who are having mixed feelings about what took place in this chapter. Billy usually doesn't respond well to people pointing out that he's being an immature little brat, even from people he respects. He's a fighter. He's usually never at a loss for words, so the fact that Amanda got under his skin and left him with nothing to retort is interesting. Billy has a lot of growing up to do. I really appreciate your kind comments on my writing style. I try to make everything in the story mean something, and I like to reward readers who pay attention to details. I think of writing like planting seeds. I've planted some seeds earlier that are blooming now, and some seeds are sitting there in earlier chapters waiting to grow. I always hope that if someone re-reads the story they'll enjoy it even more because they'll see some of the fun stuff I've put there to find. It's a lot of fun, and a real joy for me!

Thanks jay! Yes, it was very important to me that Amanda have some more character to her. It's so easy to turn someone like her into a one-dimensional monster, but she has her reasons for the things she does. She's still a bitch, but she isn't a monster. Families are complex creatures! As for the way Billy treats Dustin, that's pretty complicated too. Dustin is loyal to a fault. He's loyal to people who don't deserve that loyalty. Sometimes Billy is a jerk. Sometimes he says and does really stupid things. But he's a kid who has a lot of love for his friends and wants to do the right thing, but he's being ripped apart by the battle between those friends for his heart. It's going to be a fun ride!

Thanks Okie! Don't worry about young Mr. Reilly. He's a fighter! He'll be back in a few chapters and it'll be quite interesting to see what his reaction is to all this! Maybe we'll catch a glimpse of what Dustin is up to as well. Thanks for your kind words about my writing style! This is a lot of fun!

Thanks bubby! I love your passion! It's fun to share the story with you. It's a war, my friend! The boys are each going to do things that'll make you wonder what's wrong with them! I hope you'll enjoy it!

lol, I don't mind begging. I love to hear from readers! It really makes my day to write something that makes people happy. Thanks for you kind comments on my writing style. It's fun to think like a teenager again! As for the date, summer of 2000, so you were very close! I hope you'll enjoy the story.

Thanks Karl! I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

Awesome! A great moment indeed! Glad you enjoyed the chapter.

Thank you, Karl! Teenage boys being teenage boys is my thing. Glad you're enjoying the story!

There was no sign of the fight which we had fled from as we neared Dustin’s house in the darkness of night. It was eerily quiet and I worried that we would enter the house to find one or both of Dustin’s parents dead on the floor covered in blood. We didn’t though. We opened the kitchen door to find Carol sitting calmly at the kitchen table, eating. The macaroni and cheese and hot dogs were waiting for Dustin and me on the stove. “Billy, I am so sorry you had to see that,” Carol apolog

I've been enjoying this story and here seemed like a good place to stop and let you know. Very light-hearted and fun to read. Surprising how quickly love can grab hold of us and turn our world upside-down. I'll be interested to see where the story goes from here.

Thanks Lisa! This was certainly the most difficult chapter to write so far, and there are even more tough ones ahead. We've taken a turn toward a darker side of life, a far way from arguing about bowling scores and borrowing dad's porn videos. If you go back and read Brett's insults to Dustin during his tirade at bowling you'll see that Brett knew right where to hit him - "Your shoes don't fit your big ugly feet, your parents are assholes, and no one cares about you." Ouch. It's interesting being the author of an evil character, because I have to write him doing and saying such nasty things, but I have to keep it real, and write it in the perspective of a fifteen-year-old boy who is witnessing these things. It's not a fun head to get into. He's not just doing these things to be evil, he has to think he's right. Hopefully it makes for a good story!

Thanks skinnydragon! It's my hope that this chapter exposed a lot of the underlying issues that have been below the surface in the story. Certainly Dustin's behavior makes a lot more sense when we realize that Billy is all he's got, and Dustin feels him slipping away. It also makes more sense why he'd have such hatred for Brett. For Billy, it's got to be hard to go to your friend's house knowing that you might be a witness to some terrible events. We'll have to see how it all works out!

Thanks Rob! Billy's a good kid, but he's still just a kid. It's got to be hard for someone who wants to save the world to see something like what happened in this chapter and feel powerless. He can poke the dragon in the case of Amanda, but Frank and Carol are out of his league. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.

Thank you so much my friend! It wasn't a pleasant chapter to write, either, since I do like my characters. But unfortunately, it was necessary to show what Dustin's life is like. This is how they behave with a guest in the house. Just imagine what goes on without witnesses.

Thanks Rocky! It's not something that would ever become a reality, but it would be nice if people showed some responsibility before bringing a kid into the world!

Thanks for this review, Okiegrad! I agree, no one should have to grow up in a house where they feel unloved. Hopefully Billy can lend some support, but we'll see!

It was certainly a different experience staying at Dustin’s house than staying at Brett’s house. Each place was fun, but in different ways. At Brett’s we did a lot of watching television and movies or playing video games or on the computer. But Dustin didn’t have a computer or video games. His family still didn’t even have cable and they only had one television. So at Dustin’s house we had to find ways to entertain ourselves without having modern technology. I think that’s why Dustin

We're just getting started with Frank. He's pretty evil. You're going to hate him a lot. Dustin's whole family is a bunch of winners!

Thanks Lisa! I'm always happy to see your reviews! Crabby and cynical are Billy's default settings, lol!

Thank you my friend! I really appreciate the review. Why, I have no idea what you're talking about with Brett! Brett Reilly, a stoner? No way! I simply can't believe such a thing. Here's the thing about Billy, he's the worlds biggest closet case. It's a glass closet, but he's in there, convinced no one can see him. He'll be the last one to figure out he's gay.

I'm not going to hurt them, I'm just going to break them! Seriously though, it was a lot of fun writing this chapter. Dustin's family is so screwed up. Dustin's dad has only begun to make you angry.

Thanks for this review Rob! It's going to be fun finding out the answers to your questions.

I was so happy when the bell rang and school was over until the following Tuesday! Almost a whole week away from that stinking place! I really hated high school. I had liked elementary school and even middle school was okay. But there was just something about Mon Valley High School that just made me hate the place and everything and everyone in it. Everybody I’d known and loved from eighth grade had seemed to go off in different directions, and all away from me. Joey had been one of m

I was there 20 years ago (or however long ago it was). I remember finding nifty in my college computer lab. We were just discovering the internet back then. Everything was geocities and netscape. Pictures took longer to download than whole movies take today. If I was skilled, I could time the printer to print something from nifty before anyone else would see what it was so I could read it without worrying about someone looking over my shoulder. I remember the quality of the stories. It was mostly spank material. I remember thinking, "I wish someone would put some effort into the characters in this stuff." Couldn't someone come up with a decent mix of plot and characters and sex? And then I found you. "New Kid in School" to be exact. There was something different about the way you wrote. It reminded me of the stories I loved as a teen, Johnny Tremain, the Outsiders, Tom Sawyer. It was the characters. Ryan and Randy were like friends to me. They were boys who happened to be gay. Yeah, every chapter had a sex scene in those days, but it was more than that. Oh, I hated Tyler in those days. He was going to break the boys up, I just knew it! But it was the little things. Tootsie rolls, and "How do you like those apples?" I read some of your other stuff, but it was always "New Kid." that had me. There were other authors and stories, "Storm Front," "Working It Out" and the like. But through it all, you were always there, quietly writing away. Hundreds of chapters and other stories. I wanted to be like you. I wasn't nearly as talented, but I wanted to write the kind of story that made people care for my characters the way I felt about Ryan and Randy. I couldn't nearly write as much as you, there's no way I could keep all those storylines straight in my head. But I wanted to write something that would make others happy the way you made me happy. So I did. At least I tried. There wouldn't be a "W.A.R." without "New Kid in School." You reached some 19 year old college nerd back in the day, and I'm guessing dozens of other writers could say the same thing. I hope that even if you retire from this writing thing some day that you know that your legacy is one of inspiration and joy for a whole lot of people. I love you, bro!