Graeme

As Reggie said, true love stories never have endings I hope things work out for Jayson. He has his brother's support, but what's going on with his father is still up in the air. There's still a lot of scope for drama and complications in that family. I hope Jayson stays in touch with Reggie, at least until he can make some gay friends at college. Jayson needs to know there's nothing wrong with him, despite his father's expectations. Thanks, Ron! I really enjoyed this story. As I said in an earlier review, as a general rule don't like journal-style stories, but this one is exceptional and is a definite exception to that rule!

And the fallout from Jayson's incident continues... As I said in my last review, something like that has an impact bigger than just on the person in the middle. Cory's affected, Reggie is still affected, and Mr. Byrd has been dragged in, too. I hope it all works out, though I think Mr. Williams is going to be the key to a successful outcome. I suspect Jayson's father is going through a lot of soul-searching at the moment: he's another one significantly affected by what happened. It's unfortunately, but too many men today are taught not to show their emotions, to hide them away and show only a tough exterior. Sadly, that can cause more harm than good, as we've seen... Jayson had learnt that lesson well, and showed only a tough image, but inside he was being eaten alive until it almost killed him.

A very emotional chapter (and we never did find out exactly when and how Reggie and Perry became boyfriends). I don't want to dwell on what happened with Jayson, but I think it's worth pointing out the effect it had on Reggie. He's having nightmares and trouble sleeping because of what Jayson did. No one is an island, we're all connected. What we do affects others in ways we don't always appreciate or understand. Jayson badly needs help, but so does Reggie because of what happened and the role he played. This was Reggie's biggest fear when he started at the crisis center, and it almost came true...

When Reggie was writing about his dream of having a boyfriend turning into reality, I was thinking that dreams rarely match reality. Real life isn't perfect, but I hope Reggie finds what he really wants in Perry, and doesn't become disappointed by Perry's flaws. As for Robert, I think when the light dawned on him that Reggie's also gay, that was the best thing that could've happened. He now knows he's not alone, that someone else understands. It's a simple thing, but it can make all the difference in Robert's situation. He now has an outlet to the pressure he's experiencing, and letting some of that pressure go can make the difference between exploding and surviving...

For me, the most impressive part was when Reggie thought Perry could have anyone he wanted. Reggie just couldn't see Perry's stuttering as a negative That little detail shows a lot about Reggie's character.

I remember the loneliness that Reggie mentioned. It was well into my twenties before that changed. It's a real fear, and it's not pleasant. At least Reggie has the opportunity for real friendship to help him; I only had acquaintances. Perry shows us that being gay isn't the only barrier to friendships and love. Anyone who is different can have the same problem. James showed that by the way he giggled when Perry was stuttering. It's worst during the teenage years because that's the age when everyone wants to fit in, but that's also the age that's important to our emotional and social growth. Being isolated at that age can have long term detrimental effects. Finally, I had to grin when Reggie wrote "I'll be brb". "brb" stands for "be right back", so it should've been "I'll brb", but that obviously felt unnatural to Reggie. It's like everyone who says "PIN number" when the "N" in "PIN" stands for "Number". When abbreviations and acronyms become their own words, we can get some weird results. English is such an interesting language

Reggie's spotted what I spotted earlier: he worries too much Now he just needs to learn how to recognise when someone likes him. Not thinking of anyone in particular (Perry ), but it's a useful skill. As for "Robert", I'm sure we all suspect he's gay, but we'll have to wait to see if he'll tell Reggie.

Ryder is getting better. I hope Tyler realises this and doesn't give up on him. Overall, a nice, encouraging chapter

I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only teenager who didn't want a birthday party In my case, it was due to insecurities and a distinct lack of friends. In Reggie's case, I think it's the insecurities -- he doesn't want to be the center of attention, and he doesn't want to do anything to embarrass himself in front of others. Both perfectly normal! I wonder if that caller is someone who knows Reggie. I'm discounting Cory as a possibility because he'd also know Mavis's voice, but the way they hung up as soon as Reggie said hello is interesting...and hopefully not disturbing.

Happy Birthday, Valkyrie!

The train guard who puts a smile on communters' faces

LOL. Reggie has a crush! I think Cory may have one, too. I wonder if either one will find the nerve to act... A crisis call center must be one of the most stressful jobs around. There's the constant fear of doing something wrong and making things worse. Reggie's already identified one of the 'worst' possibilities. People make mistakes, and that includes people in crisis call centers. Their mistakes can have a major impact on other people, though. Reggie is right to be worried.

There's nothing wrong with having sex, per se. It's the reason you have sex that's important. Abe and Sarah had sex for the wrong reason, and that's where their problems start... I'm glad everything worked out with Reggie's parents. However, he's missing the signs that Cory may like him. Having said that, with Reggie being 'out', it's up to Cory to make the first big move. Reggie has to assume that Cory is straight until Cory tells him otherwise. It's sad that's the case, but with the majority of guys being straight, Reggie doesn't have much of a choice... The amusing thing in this chapter was how the other students are clearly using their journals to write about things they want to get off their chests. The journal is becoming the confidant to spout things to when something happens in school (and presumably elsewhere). It's not just Reggie who is doing that.

The evolution of Reggie's thinking is fascinating to read. How his attitude to the journal has changed, how he writes about his fears, and then how he addresses them. I wonder if he reads back over this journal from time to time to realise that most of what he's afraid about doesn't happen... Normally, I don't like 'journal' style stories, but this one is exceptional. Reggie writes about things that are important, in a conversational style that easy and fun to read. I can't wait for next week's entry

Thanks for another great story. I think a lot of us know a Ronnie. I think a lot of us have been a Ronnie. Because of that cage that Kevin saw inside Ronnie, Kevin needed to be the one to make the first move, and I'm glad he did. That was true with his father, too, though Bobby gave him the kick that was needed to get him moving

A great feelgood story, with characters that feel so real. I could really imagine how Steve felt for first Jerry, and then Chris...and the difference between the two. Excellent work! Debbi was the real surprise. I fell in love with her almost immediately. She's a treasure and I hope she finds her love, too. She deserves it.

The reason it jumped out at me is because learner drivers here in Victoria need 120 hours of logged driving before they're allowed to get their license. My son is currently working his way towards that goal. He's over halfway, but he's also had his learners permit for almost 12 months. So I know how big a target of 120 hours is for a teenager when you factor in everything else that goes on. 200 was even more. If they had to do it in a short period of time, say twenty weeks, then that's ten hours a week, every week, for twenty weeks. Goodbye social life, because they still had schoolwork to do in the meantime. They would have almost no time to do anything else.

He overthinks things because of that stupid word limit. It's his way of padding his journal to the required length 200 hours of community service is a lot. Realistically, 4 hours a week is decent amount of time to spend on it, given everything else a teenager needs or should be doing, but that means 50 weeks...effectively an entire year of community service. Indeed, I think 200 hours is probably more than you would get from a judge for a lot of misdemeanors... What crime did these poor teenagers commit? If I've understood that section correctly, their crime was being smart enough to be in advanced classes.

I think I'm right -- Mr. Bryd has set the word count so high his students have to think of something to write about, and that often gets to be something very personal. That makes them think. As for Reggie, I'm glad to see his other classmates have rallied around to support him. No one has explicitly acknowledged whether or not he's gay, but they's showing that it doesn't matter to them. He's their friend and, as Reggie said in one of his bold statements, it doesn't matter if he's a little different.

I'm not impressed by Reggie's friends, but they're all still young and it may be a short term separation. Fingers crossed for our budding author/teacher/plumber/whatever...

And life goes on...

There aren't as many consequences of Sean's ordeal as I expected, but those that are there are still serious. At least Sean is still able to make love with West. After being raped for two weeks, it wouldn't have been surprising if Sean had developed some hangups about sex.

I was mentally on the edge of my seat during that last scene. I almost stood up and applauded when Chelsea and the other waiter started their missile attack. So unexpected, but also so brave, since they knew there was a gun. Now we understand the very first scene in the story. Storm will do anything for his family.

Storm's breakdown was painful to read. Rachel was right that their family wouldn't survive if Sean didn't come back. At least now there's hope. Sean is still in danger, but he's managed to leave a clue as to his location. I also wonder what his uncles will tell West, and what West will do...

Two people in pain. Sean's feeling physical pain from being raped, while Storm is feeling emotional pain from helplessness and fear. I'm not even going to try to work out which one is in more pain...