Krista

You're welcome. @wildone surprised me with getting this chapter done. He told me yesterday or I wouldn't have noticed. I've been writing the "bonus chapters." He gave me permission to post this as a small gift, and I honestly don't know what my weekend is going to look like. I thought about not posting, but you know me, if I see a completed and edited chapter to post... I post. At least this time it wasn't followed up with a tiny lecture from an angry Canadian. Joel may have been riding a little high for his chant that scared the hell out of him, and then feeling a bit relieved that he wasn't in trouble. Davin has been slowly working on him. I don't want to credit his "hand skills" the other night... but you know, could be a factor who knows? He 'made' the decision, we're still yet to see if he will like that decision or not.

I thought we would end up in Mrs. Reynart’s office, but she found an unused classroom. It was small and close to the front foyer. It didn’t have a room number above the door, and she had to put all her weight onto the door before it opened. Following her inside, she turned on the lights, and I watched all of them slowly build to their full strength. “Take a seat boys,” she ordered and I saw a neat row of desks. The room was clean and well maintained. The board wasn’t a marker board, but a s

We're not heading into Friday yet, so no promises. I guess all may be forgiven if I tell everyone that I'm currently writing a third "bonus" chapter that wasn't in the original writing? Maybe? Even if I do miss this week due to stress and holidays? So far I've added just over 20k of "new" writing to the already bloated word count story...

And kick Warhawk ass, I guess.

Yeah, he went more than a bit dramatic about it. Frustration can be a bit of a motivator as well.

Part of that is likely why Celia pressed him to invite two people that weren't the family and twins he's been around since his arrival. From what we know, Joel does isolate himself to a lot of people and keeps 'safe' people around him. He's said he's kept a comfortable distance between him and his Tempton teammates as well and he's known some of those players since little league, the ones that came up in the school system with him anyway. So it is a habit he's had for a really long time. The only person that's going to talk sense into Joel, might be Joel at this point. Different people have put thoughts into his head and some of them have got him thinking about things.

He does have a bit of an abrasive streak in him. Davin and his banter can come across as mean to one another as well. They have this odd teenage banter, name calling thing going on, but also some tenderness in a more private setting. Pressuring Roy in the moment wasn't the smoothest of moves either, but Roy rose to the occasion. He's probably kicking himself for dragging him into it. But, I don't think he'll be apologetic for standing up for himself with Jaxton aside from that. He isn't easy to like all the time. That's fine, it is very human for people not to be.

Goodness this was entertaining. Also, the effort to find all the fitting ogre .gifs to go along with calling out the football team.

At this point he may cause poor Roy to develop a complex... he's been put through it. Maybe he'll calm down. We'll see how Reynart felt about his stunt and that may or may not sober him up a bit.

At least his plans have shifted from: I gotta get out of here, I owe 'these people' too much. To.. "We'll see what happens, I kind of like it here..." Growth in baby steps.

He probably does wish he knew how he stands with people back in Tempton, despite him saying the opposite a lot. His refusal to reach out still being hindered mostly by his fears. Him doing this, makes think that he still values the opinions Tempton would have about him, and not Fletcher. That might need to change going forward...

Lol. No. I will just go on about my lady-like ways and not say what popped into my head that would question that completely.

I don't think that's happened at one of our family functions for at least.... a tentative decade.

I think me and wildthing will be able to keep the schedule. I don't think this next chapter is that big... I've not look at it though, been writing. No promises though, my schedule next week - even with the holiday days off, is a brutal one.

Oh my... don't encourage him!

Maybe he'll keep those balls the size of baseballs. He may need them after doing what he did.

Jaxton might have learned that some of the student body that he's trying to rule over don't appreciate it. Rissa made her point quite clear at least. I think it is safe for me to say there were two warring thoughts in his head about his plans. Well three, if you count... "what the hell am I doing?" But he went along with it anyway. The other two were pretty much what you said. To get ahead of it, take power out of it. And, to sneakily have them focusing on that with him and not anything else. If they see 'that' they can't see 'this..' sort of thing. On a sadder note Lorianne kind of did the same thing. Let them see the slut so they can't see how much that hurts her. I don't think he says it, but I wouldn't be surprised if she inspired him a little bit with that.

They're written, but they're not edited. My shoes aren't the ones that will get you anywhere. How about you do all the cooking and I do all the drinking, and we skip toes altogether? Hmm.. the husband wants to sneak in some venison offerings this year, because our oldest daughter recently hunted one, and then he got one this evening. So we're kind of... overstocked on that. I told him no. He's a bit sullen about that. And his sports teams have sucked this year, it might just be ball talk that saves the day.

No one told on you. You're loud enough to tell on yourself, you manage to do that all the time. As for my dinner preferences, I don't get much of a say. Being the one trusted to do the majority of the important cooking I get told that the family would prefer both a ham and a turkey. It has been a tradition for years that has trickled down to me. Not to call my mother out, but the woman could burn air... and up until recently, most of my sisters did not live within the state which is the central hub for my family to congregate for dinners such as these. So it is also my house that gets wrecked and I have to stress clean before and after the dinners. There are other things that I get suggestions on about cooking like burgers, chicken, and vegan suggestions. I've started to insist that picky eaters bring their own food. I am one person. I may sound grumpy about this... I'm mostly not.

I am the dessert maker, bird cooker, ham baker, house cleaner, and all of that... sooooo... we may not even get a new chapter next week.

oooh! That sounds so interesting. I like playing the villain, I think it suits me.

And we do remember that Celia planted this whole thing into his brain, right? She told him to think of ways to break the ice... and there he went and done it. Done and dusted. Probably the most efficient he's been about listening to anyone really. It may also just be his growing frustration getting the better of him. Consequences likely wasn't thought much about. There were hints that people didn't care about him being from Tempton. That there wasn't this hard line between him and everyone. He could still co-exist and that people find him a bit of an oddity, but not an unwelcome infringement. He's gaining friends... if he lets them be that for him. Lorianne, both sets of twins, maybe even the grumpy 'trio' at their lunch table.

Yeah, Joel has been just 'there' on the line about baseball for ages now. Unwilling to not consider himself anything but a Tiger. Worried about how that would look. How his high school legacy would play out now. How he could possibly play with people and for a school and team that he's been in a rivalry with since the eight grade. That's a lot to overcome, history can be a heavy sort of baggage to carry around. He does miss it though. If he didn't miss it, he wouldn't have entertained the Coach's first meeting. He would have simply said no to any interaction.