Krista

Three tents in one night... there's probably a good Golden Girls meme floating around for this very thing. I don't hold it against my husband for knowing the stats of players that his father and grandfather watched. Or how to estimate the score of a rack on a deer at 200 yards away, etc. So you're not broken for not knowing. You just have different interests. I once saw a woman complaining that her husband called and asked what size diaper their baby needed -- failing to see that he was the one currently out buying them, mind you. And another woman asked, "Does he change the diapers any?" And when the woman complaining about that answered, "Well yes.." the woman who asked just nodded and let that answer rest. He may not know the size of the diaper, but he's helping where he knows he can. It was just something that stuck with me as I've went along with him. We do bicker about things... I threatened to put him on the couch recently.

Well I can safely say I haven't.

I thought the very video was posted on GA? Paris 2024 - Anthony Ammirati *whistles* I'm too much of a lady to post such a thing... but I'm pretty sure I saw it on GA.. lol.

Yeah, I actually think I behaved and wrote the next three chapters well below 17k. I think two of them were just above 8k. But chapter 19.1 is being written.. so that's adding to the word count, which I have not added to the total in my "Character/Note" sheet. The last... maybe not last chapter, the hell if I know.. being 26k of that. Mercy. It is all getting way too complicated at this rate. I fear I've fallen well off my rocker.

Joel and Colt banter. Never did I think I'd see the day where I read those words. For two people that don't like talking, they worked themselves up to a banter. 😮 Progress made. Proud of them both. Lacey would agree, he does need more riding lessons.

He is allowing tentative little feeler thoughts to come through. Maybe to see how his body responds to them. Realizing he's calm, maybe more calm than he would be at Tempton. He's not totally recoiling from having slightly off-the-back-foot way of thinking that's going to turn him around and lead him back down the same road he's been on for ages. He's done it some before, but those thoughts were allowed to die before they got their second breath. Maybe he'll not let all of these fall out of his mind so easily. Cody is missing. It is during the school week, but they've not really held up their end of that bargain that Trace only made, and Joel's father reluctantly saying he'd consider it. I don't know who is winning out in that war. The thought of Trace having communications with them, at least to get documents and such needed to better help Joel live with them -- Trace probably mentions Cody and that promise. But yes, he is still missing. And yes, Joel needs him.

I think he'd choose outcast, because that would give him an out. It would take more of an effort to be a traitor, I'm thinking. lol. Neither sound good. Maybe day three will be a totally different experience. Bad and good? The weekend is approaching too, a respite before the war all over again. Maybe his better more calmer judgment will see Jaxton's arm and nose properly functional and not busted, broken, or bruised. It is too bad that people like that only can get a bruised ego by getting their noses busted up for them a few times.

I felt the words, "little side romance," they sting... oh poor Davin. *hands him a comfort cookie* And yeah, he does risk missing things. I think he knows that. That's why he's teetering on those ideas. If he was headstrong in his thinking, he'd be far more blind to it and possibly wouldn't realize anything lost until it was too far gone to salvage. And, there are a lot of voices in his head attempting to tell him how to be, who to be, what to do, how to do it. They're small, they're attempts to be helpful. Friendly, even. He's just not where he needs to be in order to consider that it is just advice, and not pressure. If he is as good as he is, he will miss out on future opportunities. Opportunities that he would grab in a second if he thought that he'd be helping out the Connley family and get rid of some of that lingering guilt. Despite Celia telling him that it wasn't his to hold on to.

Smacking around the QB successfully might get him left alone, sure. If that fails, then I don't think he'd be able to stay there either. Very risk. vs. reward. I think everyone involved loses in that scenario, most of all Joel. Being homeschooled by Celia might not be a pretty picture, she'll probably demand more from him than his teachers. He does need to better establish what he actually wants. Right now, he's being pulled by so many thoughts, directions. I'm not surprised he's not sleeping. and sigh.. Roy. Those brown eyes.

Ohhh.. maybe he'll stop being a prickly butthead. Davin doesn't seem to mind for now.

Opens document: Learned to Lie 19.1 (which I can't even remember where that falls in numerical form here at this rate, 26.1? 25.1?) Scrolls to the bottom where I left off: Colt, buzzed and teetering on a loose pile of rocks along the gentle flowing water of the river... --- if that's all it takes, consider that guaranteed. The boy's about to get soo wet, and clothe-clingy.. and jeans sagging to the top of his rounded butt cheeks. (I didn't ruin that with the use of the words butt cheeks did I)? And yes, I agree. I think that's the very lesson he does need to learn. And he needs to realize that he's living that life now and it perfectly okay to let go of the fear and guilt and welcome it. When he realizes that, he does need to get out of his own way. He needs to give himself a talking to. People have talked to him about this a few times. Maybe it will sink in. Hold right on now. Baseball is nowhere near the top of the list of boring sports if Golf is just above it. I mean, the only time pole vaulting caused a stir is when that one dude's dick cost him a medal, but it really bounced in slow-motion, didn't it? I do know the dude you're talking about, but I'd have to look up the spelling of his last name and I'm not going to. The only way I'd go see a theatrical release about baseball is if the title was: Jockstraps. And it was a musical, because curiosity would get the better of me.

Yeah, you don't disrupt Football season before the first kickoff. My goodness, I hope he calms down. And he did stand up for the entire table. Jaxton's anger might be more about what Lorianne did to him... spurned him, I'd guess. Davin and Rissa seem to think that's the reason. And, him wanting the "new kids" to know where they fell in his eyes anyway. It was a surprise for Jaxton when Joel did react that way. People saw him do it too.

Our boy could be a hopeless wreck of a lost cause. Jeremiah is also secretly rebel hot with his tattoos, scowls, and I'm not going to put up with bullshit whole snack, and Joel has barely noticed. I don't know why I put in so much effort if he's not going to appreciate what I do for him. Jaxton, the new Jonny? Also, for TBY readers, Jaxton's name is entirely intentional. I didn't want it so on the nose and call him Jackson, but yeah. Imagine me writing Jackson to the level of jock-bully-shallow that I have so far with Jaxton. I did a little bit, but the POV saved him eventually.

I don't know what's happened... Just because Davin and Joel are in the kissy-sneaky phase. I may have to write a very wet Colt, with a see-through shirt scene and slide that in somewhere. Put him in a pair of tight fitted ass-showy jeans as well. Colt needs this. Otherwise all he's got is Sierra. And yes, the school names are confusing to me. I actually had to CTRL F and change them more than a couple of times. Tempton is located in Johnston County, which I hardly ever name outright. I just refer to it being Tempton, but it is actually Tempton High. His new school, Fletcher, is Fletcher County High School, which shares the name with the county. It is too much work for little effort I put into this nonsense. I have no idea why Tempton broke the mold and decided that it wasn't going to be named after the County it is located in. As far as we know it is the only High school in that county. But like you said, that's not the issue. Although I just spent more letters in making it so. I do think he's starting to see that, or he's not really connected the two dots, but he sees that the same issues Tempton has, Fletcher matches to the letter. Trace told him that he might need to think about not being so backed into a corner, that it may be the only way he can feel differently. Maybe he'll connect the dots to the advice and get ahead of all this and allow himself to finally fall into the place he actually wants to fall into.

Yeah, not having a firm foundation in a place where all of that matters would likely make a person feel outside that whole culture. You do see it playing out on college campuses as well. It goes well past High School shenanigans, at least for four more years. I didn't see it as much after I got my Bachelors and started my graduate programs. It was sort of laughed at during my Doctorate programs and I was too busy to worry or fuss about school spirit. I wanted to be over and done with my education. But yes... it all seems so big in the moment, school pride and all that. Sometimes small towns, aside from a bowling alley and substances that leads to bad decisions, they don't have much else to do. Although, I don't find that a slight against small towns, I just see it as a difference. I'd not give up small town living. I moved my husband out of his little city, but he never really fit there anyway. And, I assure you that Joel's face is as smooth as an angel's, thank you very much. His hair is brown, with deeper auburn tones if he gets a lot of sun. You've turned on Colt, the boy can switch bodywashes! I can't believe this. Colt is supposed to be the blond, broody, periphery hot dude distraction. I'll scrub him up and slap a bow on his ass, if you want.

Ah. that just just seems too far-fetched and utopian, I would almost have to see it playing out in front of me.

I don't start out thinking I'm not allowing y'all to have nice things. It is just funny how it seems to always end up that way. I don't know what that says about me... I wouldn't read too much into it. 😇 Joel certainly seems to like Ag Science, doesn't he? I wouldn't call Rissa a friend, more like someone that's not pulled a shiv and chased him from the table yet. That may still be coming his way if he slips up... And one day maybe Joel can stop tripping over his own shoe-laces...

Thank you, although I find the scenes tedious to write... mostly because I've lived in these stories off and on since like 2004, it is nice to know that I'm still making them seem organic and authentic to experiences. Also, if I were into betting, I think there's no odds on that happening. You don't slight the king in his castle and get away with it, do you? Colt might be scared of rational talks with his parents. He knows them, so he knows how they operate. But yes, the sooner the better. It is a little cute that Joel is giving him his own advice back to him. Colt told Joel to tell Celia, because she would be the easier one. But, he hasn't told either of his parents his decision... because it is made, seemingly. The sooner he lets people know, the sooner things may change for him.

Yeah, the boy seems to be always going through a lot of emotions. When I read over this chapter, I knew that he was reading 'mean' so I understand the prickly comments. I mean, the boy can be a full on cactus. Rigid and prickly. I just hope there's still some faith in him softening to something more like a... I don't want to say kitten... something more manly than a wee little fluffball kitten. But something that is more flexible and doesn't sting the people that gets too close. Trace and Celia have shown him grace and patience, but that doesn't mean everyone will. Although the more prickly that Joel gets the more interested Colt seems to be in opening up to him and talking... so maybe I'm wrong. And yes, I do like the prickly comments for this chapter. They do fit him and they are 'different' slightly than the last two chapters... so are we seeing growth? Maybe... hopefully... yes? Baseball is important to him, so important that he's putting a lot of weight to that decision and a lot of emotion behind it. And yeah Mrs. Finch didn't just seemingly write this off as a new student new problem sort of thing. Still yet to be seen if she follows through on the Strike 1 threat Jaxton might have received though. He only has two more.

Yeah, he's seemingly switching from 'just' fear to, frustration and anger a bit. I wonder if there's a boiling point with him, or if he's going to let the steam out, because he might have kicked Jonny's ass on the creek... because Jonny is an ass that deserved it. Jaxton may be one too... but what he isn't is the town drug dealing drunk with no future, the fallout from that rash decision would be a lot different. So hopefully Joel will walk a little bit smarter in the coming days. Yeah, Davin still wants to talk Baseball, I'm sure he will... the twins don't like taking no for an answer it seems. Which for Joel, might be a good thing if he lets them keep talking.

With him driven by fear, people can put some weight on his problems. Tempton is a perfectly okay place for him to be, possibly. He didn't allow it, because he was unwilling to tell people about his sexuality, or have them know. Then his mother confirmed that for him. He may have found acceptance there, we'll never truly know with him making the decision to spare himself from that possibility. He was in the complete mindset to run to save himself 'only after' Trace talked him off the bride. So there was a lot of rapid fire thoughts and processing that happened, that I don't think he's recovered from yet. So yeah, the waffling between old and new continues, and his unwillingness to reach out for either one of them. I hope there's a shift starting in all of what you said and I responded with. If not, there's no growth for him left to make. But there's like 40k words left in the writing... lol. Increasing mind you, because now I have a chapter titled 19.1 which makes no sense to you guys, but perfect sense to me.

Also, my second favorite Disney villain.

Social cohesion? What the hell even is that? Small town tribalism, hmm... at its finest, I guess. There seems to be some hard lines drawn in the sand with some of them. A lot of schools have adopted a zero tolerance platform for bullying. It is a lot more difficult to get control over though, with social media giving such easy access and a screen and a bit of anonymity to hide behind. He is prickly with the wrong people right now. He has softened with Colt a bit, but to be fair Colt does pick at him some so some of that is just retaliation. But it is good to see that Colt is taking the time to pick at him and not ignore him with mostly indifference.

It might be a little late by social media standards? They waited for like half of a whole second day? And, I think Gavin had already started. I don't think he was the one that started the whole mess, not intentionally, but who knows. Rest assured I didn't write it that way, I couldn't do that to Gavin. It would be yikes for Joel to break the QB's arm in a fight. I don't think Fletcher would keep a kid that's two days in and already being this much of a concern. Hopefully Joel can smooth out those thoughts before he messes more stuff up. But also, if he were to take over and lead them to a District championship... Seven is late when you wake up around 6am. Or during a hunting season when your husband lets his damn alarm go off twice at 4:30 after you stayed up clucking and editing and writing with a certain Wildman until after midnight. I didn't know who I was wanting to murder this morning, but I hope one of the two felt something tingling in their bones that made them look over their shoulder.