Krista

Thanks for reading. Yeahh.. I honestly can see Jackson telling his mother that no other parents was present.. lol. The Garrisons do seem like the type of people to frown upon parents showing up, I mean Tony didn't let the boyfriend stick around - even if he was nice at telling Charlie to get rid of him.. lol. He still told him to do it, so I think Tony likes to be in full control of his palace - so to speak. So I think to save Jackson the embarrassment of having to kick his own mother out of practice, I just won't have her joining them.. lmao. There was a lot of jocky-ing for position last chapter and I feel only two people still don't know where they stand. We'll see if that becomes a problem for Jackson or not. At least he is learning already - even if it is on the side with Emily. But he is being instructed by someone that was an Olympian.. I mean DDDAAAMMNN.. lol. Not many people would ever be so lucky. And you and Graeme will see if your delusional hope is worth having in the next chapter or so.. lol. We're all authors, yes.. we all know how evil we authors can be.

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're liking Jackson's growth as a character. Maybe it does have to do with Luke and losing swimming as a future that woke him up and made him realize he has to do a lot more work... I was afraid that maybe Jackson grew too quickly.. that people might fault me for not having him relapse more in the story, to make change a bit harder? I felt it may have been too easy.. lol. But I think forcing him backwards would be... forcing things at this point. Not going to say he's not going to have some fun his final year of high school though. There are still milestones I wish for him to cover.

Thanks for reading! I do hate seeing Jackson apprehensive. In the beginning of the story he was so full of himself that he couldn't see that he could fail. At least that growth is good, that he can see that even if he does everything he can, failure is still a possibility. At least he's back on more solid ground with his swimming and has a better frame of mind about it. He was on the fast track to becoming an entitled Townson brother.. Heavens! I'm glad you liked the chapter.

Thanks for reading! I hope Charlie becomes a good role model for Jackson. Drae is all business he wants to compete and knows they need a full line up of swimmers to be able to do that, so he's at least going to give "the new boy" a shot. I like them both as a contrast to the spoiled Townson brothers. You will definitely see what happens next with Luke in the next chapter.. I just need to write it.. oops. lol

Thanks for reading! I couldn't make it too easy for Jackson on his first day of practice with the new team... Those Townson boys are the example of spoiled.. but I could also call them insecure, a new guy coming in - and unknown.. that could wreck their perfect bubble...? Charlie, I think represents what Jackson could have if he was brave enough to take it. So hopefully he is!

Thanks for reading! I think personality conflicts are pretty inevitable in situations like these... new guys will always be measured and pushed around a bit. At least Coach was on to their business and nipped it down a few notches.

Let the fanfictions begin...

Thanks for reading! He did?... He did!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

Happy Birthday!

Just dropping in to say, Welcome to GA. I'm sure you'll find plenty to read here, there are a lot of great stories and authors.

Ava, Addison, Ella, Emily, Sophia, Heather, and Sara have always been my favorite girl names. It was fascinating to see Mary hold on for so long, I've always liked the name. Richard and Robert were in the top 10 forever, which explains my in-laws. Those two names are the most passed down names they have going for them. In boys, I've always liked the traditional names like, Johnathan, Jacob, Daniel, William, Henry, and James.. I guess the most new-ish is Aiden, Hunter, Jackson, and Craig It was also interesting to see pop culture and historical faces playing on names as well. Taking the place of biblical names at times. The girls are seeing a resurgence of older names, which is good. The boys on the other hand are getting more new age and creative. I wonder if they'll swap in the next couple of decades.

Happy Birthday!

After Tuesday night, I felt like my year was starting to turn around. I still didn’t have a college plan figured out and I hated not seeing Luke after the fight in the parking lot. I tossed and turned that night hoping to hear pebbles tapping against my window, but they never came. The next morning Connor sat beside me in Ally’s spot, since his table had been invaded by Heather, Toby, and Ally and it no longer left any room for him at Bailey Ashton’s table. Then morning announcements Wednes

Non-American films are better representations of LGBT characters and cultures overall. At least I feel that way. A lot of their films, of course, fall for the same/similar tropes as American medias, but I do think American films/books/television whatever is still far behind the standards of other countries. Some of my favorite gay films are foreign films.. the only thing that would make them better is for me to learn French, German, Spanish, etc so I don't have to solely rely on subtitles.. lol.

Happy Birthday!

The Mortal Instruments does have Gay/Bisexual and Sexual ambiguous characters. The author is very open to representing minorities, they're not "Main Characters," but she makes sure they are well represented in plot. She has one trilogy currently with.. two bisexual male characters that are romantically involved/estranged. I believe two more characters are hinted at becoming involved with one another. In the same series one character is diagnosed with Asperger's, which is interesting. In another trilogy that is coming out.. soonish, there is a Transgender character represented. And they're all represented as "normal." By normal, I mean they're not represented as extra or "sideshow" characters. I feel your pain though, what is out there is extremely overdone and full of stereotypes.

Thanks for reading! Poor Jackson.. getting yelled at in the cafeteria would be embarrassing. Luke is very smart. If you're afraid of accepting something about yourself.. especially with other people involved it pays to be cautious and smart. So I do think the idea for Luke to back off and allow them both to cool off and be seen distant from one another by other people is a good enough plan. It has holes though.. They can't continue to be hot and cold.. the dance has to end. I've had coaches like that. Earning respect is part of it. But it goes both ways, we don't know if Tony is worthy of respecting.. or if he is one of those coaches that kill dreams. I honestly... (spoiler worthy) didn't want Tony to be soft, but I didn't want him to be perceived as such a butt either. So maybe I tipped the scale against him a bit more than I intended. I don't think he'll be a dream crusher though.. unless Jackson relapses back to Chapter 1.

Heyyy thanks for reading! Ally Ally Ally.. hmm. Lily tried to talk sense into her, but I think Ally took it the wrong way. Lily more or less hinted at her being a bitch.. lol. Ally didn't see it that way and quickly turned the tables on poor Jackson when she didn't get her way.. She has plans too, she has a perfect picture of how her Senior year will be too.. and Jackson was part of that picture.. might still be if she has her way.. Tony is definitely a bullish person. He knows what he wants out of the people that join their program. But people like that may also be good at what they're doing.. it doesn't necessarily forgive all the asshole tendencies though, but I definitely know of that sort of coach. Some people drown under the scrutiny and some excel, so hopefully the Garrisons are the type that can push their kids to excel.

Thanks for reading! Yeah! I didn't want Jackson to be that small town kid that just wasn't "good enough" to live his dream. I think people deserve chances if they put the time and effort into something, which I think he has. So even if the Scholarship to that one college fell through, if he improves under the Garrison's then I think he can shatter his former glass ceiling and go farther. That would be my wish for him, so lucky for him I am the author... lol. So far I don't think my mind will change on that front. On the personal front, you're right as well. Things may explode in their faces... But will that be a bad thing? Does that automatically make it bad? I'm not sure... I guess it all depends on the outcome.. Which, I'm not necessarily set on yet.. lol. Hopefully they come through relatively unscathed, but if very well could be a complete disaster for them both.

Thanks for reading! Tony comes across as a no-time-for-bullshit sort of guy. The name thing annoys me too. My first name can be shortened and so can the name that I go by... Krista. I cringe people when they call me Kris.. lol. So, I do think that was an ass move by the coach that I overlooked. He honestly shouldn't come across as assy as I sort of made him this chapter.. definitely someone Jackson might butt heads with though, for sure. But I think, these people can get Jackson to where he wants to be - thought he was at since the beginning of the year with his scholarship. Poor Lily, tried to be the voice of reason... and Ally has a bit of a temper as well. lol. I think Luke was being smart too, it probably scared him to be linked/so closely tied to Jackson already, especially for there not really being a reason for that. Ally isn't a dumb girl, she knows what she wants and knows how to get it for the most part. As for Mom - I don't know. I think if my son got into something that was his dream, I'd be a happy Mom and may embarrass him with a kiss/hug.. lol.

Heyyyy, thanks for reading! I think Ally linking Luke/Jack together with the change in Ally/Jackson's relationship scared both boys a little bit.. Luke still is a little bit of a rebel, of the quiet kind. Ally showed some of her cards, but she has others.. will she get what she wants out of 'her' last year? We'll see.

Congratulations!

Thanks for reading! Glad you liked the chapter.

I arrived at school, nervous for the first time since walking in as a freshman. Everyone was a little worried then, but it wasn’t long after that I found my place at the top. Now that everything seemed to be falling to shit around me, I didn’t know what to expect. Especially when I looked over at my usual table in the morning, thinking I wouldn’t see Ally there waiting. There she was though and I stood by the entrance waiting for her to notice me. When she did, she smiled and waved. I looked