Graeme

Lane is a well developed character. He's acting exactly how I would expect someone in his position to act. Casey's interactions with Lane reminds me a little of "You and me against the world, kid". Casey's lining up with the other underdog in the story

I can appreciate Casey's disbelief with starting classes immediately. He doesn't have any books, papers, etc. He probably didn't even have a backpack to put things in. As for Monica, the less said the better

A different family dynamic, definitely. The one thing that has me wondering is whether Karen didn't show up until late before she knew Casey was there, or whether they regularly left Lane home alone? I'm hoping it's the former because the latter would make the family even more dysfunctional than it's already appearing.

This is one of my favourite chapters in the story, simply because it's where we see that Casey isn't completely hardened and cynical. Lane finds a soft spot in Casey's armour and Casey's lost before he knows it

Pint of Science Festival takes science to the pubs Fighting cancer with Australian sea snails

LOL -- it's okay. Being a moderator has some privileges. I moved your other post into this thread. It's on the previous page Thanks for the second birthday, wishes, though

Thank you, everyone! I especially liked all the yummy-looking cakes. I may be getting older, but since 53 is a prime number, I believe that means I'm in the prime of my life... Nope, he's two days older than me...

Thank you! To be honest, my original plan was that Dave would snap at the combine, that the pressure would be too much for him. When I came to write it, though, he didn't snap. All I can say is that he's got a good psychologist... I like it when my characters surprise me

Happy Birthday, Mark! :music: :music: It's one my joys in life, knowing that you're always going to be older than me

I think there are enough examples to show that the stereotype has a basis in reality, but also enough examples to show that it's by no means universal. I like Cameron because he's at the more extreme end when it comes to showing a smart athlete He's also not afraid of people knowing it and he does it in a way that isn't snobbish One of my favourites is this Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/t2Ek1ZG3Um/

Thank you! I will generally post on weekends, not weekdays, but this was a special case. The 4 day combine is still intense, but there are more activities (including psychological and medical examinations, and additional tests they don't include in the one day combines) and also more participants (~100 players for the 4-day combine, while there is ~100 players spread across the 3 one-day combines in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth). As for Liam and Neil, they explained things in a conversation with Ollie and Helena back in chapter 4. If they moved in together and then they broke up, Neil would be left stranded. Liam could move back in with his parents, but Neil wouldn't have a place to stay. Also, Liam wants Neil to concentrate on his studies -- he doesn't want him to work parttime while he's at university.

Thank you. Ross is unlikely to contact that guy until he's much more comfortable with people knowing that he's gay. At the moment, he's terrified about anyone finding out. That terror is also making him vulnerable to Stuart. It would be better if he was more self-confident, but not everyone is...

Themes? The story has themes? Regarding the woman in Sydney, we don't know all the details of that night. Did she intend for Kevin to find out the truth or was she intending to keep their physical interaction to only oral and not reveal that she's transgender? We don't know. Yes, she wasn't open, but maybe she thought she didn't need to be.

Thank you! Regarding Neil and his parents, they are selling the house, but to do that they need the place kept in good condition. They have to move interstate for the new job and they can't stay around to make sure the house stays presentable for prospective buyers, so they're asking Neil if he would do that for them. They're also stipulating that any sale must go through after his exams, so he will have access to the house until then, if needed.

Happy Birthday, Thorn! :music: :music:

Thanks, Gary! The story has been written so it can read in one shot, so binge read away!

“Thanks for the lift,” Ross said as the three guys left the car park in the Docklands suburb of Melbourne and headed towards Etihad Stadium. Dave shrugged. “I didn’t want to take the train, and there was no reason to come in by myself.” “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay something towards the petrol and parking?” “I’m sure.” The look he gave Ross was one of slight amusement. “It didn’t cost me anything more to pick you up. All you needed to do was to be on time.” Deon chuckled. “I don’t

So to show that science and sports do mix, I'd like to introduce Cameron McEvoy. Australian Olympian, and science geek, nickname "The Professor". To quote from his Wikipedia article: A more complete article, with some interesting pictures from facebook and Instagram, can be found here.

Kevin's basically a nice guy, and he's developed a quick and strong friendship with Warwick. From his perspective, the two have just 'clicked'. We'll have to wait and see if anything more develops Because Deon stuffed up at the combine the year before, he's anxious about this one. For Ross, not only is it his last chance to impress the AFL clubs, but he's also aware that he wasn't on the first list of enough clubs to make the main combine. That's putting extra pressure on him.

Thanks, Gary! I know this story is long, but I hope you enjoy it as much as the first book. This one is a lot more complex You should get lots of reminders as you go through, since I wrote it assuming the events of the first book may have faded from the reader's mind, so don't worry.

Thank you for taking the time to write, even when exhausted!

:joe: Happy Birthday, Suvitar! :joe: :wizard: :wizard:

Thank you! Gramps is an interesting character. A mixture of someone who lets people make their own decisions, and someone who pushes people to make the decisions he thinks are right. In this particular case, I think Scott will agree that Gramps is right. Gramps has resolved the situation so Scott is no longer torn in two as to what to do.

Well...to be honest Gramps was pushing Scott pretty hard. He wanted Scott to make the decision, but Gramps was doing what he could to make sure it was the 'right' one

Thank you! I like stories where readers can see a future, but where it's not always spelled out. That way the reader can imagine for themselves how that future unfolds.