Graeme

Thank you! Dave's still got a long way to go, but now that things are out in the open, so to speak, hopefully that helps him.

Thank you. I'll admit I was worried about that scene...

WARNING: This chapter touches on the subject of child sexual abuse. Readers who are particularly disturbed by this subject may wish to stop reading when a birthday party is mentioned, about two-thirds of the way through the chapter. It will be possible to skip that portion and still continue the story with the next chapter, though some details of the events described will be missing. Stacey grabbed Karen. “Charlie kicked a goal!” Karen laughed. “I know. Now, could I have my arm back before you

Just the right story to read at the moment. Thank you! I disagree about a continuation, though. The story is just right as it is.

Thank you! Neil's changing, as you've said, and becoming a lot more 'human'. Maybe all he ever needed were some friends?

Thank you! My view has always been that people are complex and different. We don't all view things the same way, and labels can just as often hide differences at the same time they group similarities together. Liam has just found a new label to assign to Neil and it's changed everything for him. The old label was hiding things that Liam now wants to know about. Will the new label do the same?

Don't be so hard on her. She was trying to be helpful and find Neil a potential boyfriend. How was she supposed to know who she was talking to? She was ignorant as to what was going on, not stupid.

Maria smiled across at Jim as she spoke into her microphone. “It’s time for Pride FM’s footy tips. For those who don’t follow the football...shame on you! However, in case you’re not aware, round five of the AFL starts on Thursday night this week, so we’ve brought in our experts from the Lilydale Leopards a day early to preview the round.” Michelle gave Jim a wink. “Today, Jim Henderson has joined Paul Crowman to bring us the tips. We’re also pleased to announce that Jim is going to become a re

Thank you! As indicated in that last scene, the AFL clubs don't have Ty's contact details. Yes, they could talk to him through the Leopards, but they probably wouldn't do that on the first try. They'd use the contact details that are on his draft nomination form. Given that the issue with Ty the previous year was his attitude, if that initial contact indicated that the attitude hadn't changed, why would they go any further?

The rumour is not identified as having come from Alan. As Christopher said, Ty and Jim are seen to have a close relationship. Given that one of the two is gay, there will naturally be speculation as to the nature of that relationship. Most people will take Ty at his word and assume it's a platonic relationship, but there will be a reasonable number of people who will speculate....

Thanks, Maarten! Yes, hopefully Dave's teammates will be able to help, though how difficult that will be remains to be seen. Dave hasn't been open to help from anyone except Charlie up until now, and even Charlie couldn't always help (as was shown in chapter 17 when Dave got drunk).

Owen glanced at the kitchen clock. “Dave’s going to be late for work.” Charlie looked up from the textbook he had next to his bowl of cereal. He had a test coming up, and he needed to review the material. “Should someone go wake him up?” Jarrod made a face as he put his dirty dishes in the dishwasher. “He’s going to have a monstrous headache. I’m not volunteering.” Charlie found himself the centre of attention. He sighed. “Okay, I’ll do it.” He glared at his housemates as he stood up. “You’re

Kai Bogert classified: Mum's ad tells transgender son 'It's all cool' A mother places an ad to retract the 1995 announcement of the birth of her daughter, and replaces it with the announcement of her son. Some people just get it

We alternate Christmas between our house and the in-laws houses. This year it's our turn to go visit My family celebrates Christmas before the actual day so everyone can spend the day with the other side of the families (in my case, my wife's family). We're looking forward to a couple of weeks off! Both of our boys are teenagers now, so I'm not sure if Santa and his reindeer will get milk and carrots this year. But I'm happy to wait and see. Getting the boys into bed before he shows up is more of a challenge. Since the Christmas holidays correspond to Summer holidays here in Australia, it's very much a time for being outside in the fresh air. I'll probably get out my dirtbike that I haven't ridden for months and go for a ride when we're at the in-laws farm for a few days

My concern is why this is being reported? I hope the three guys in question are all out, because if they weren't, they are now. I'm also worried about the implication that two of the three are escorts, as if that's not true it's an accusation that will following them for a long time. I believe most escorts (legal in Australia) use a false name to keep their business life separate from their personal. Because of this report, the tag of being an 'escort' is now attached to those two guys' real names

:joe: Happy Birthday, Andy! :joe:

:joe: Happy Birthday, Lisa! :joe:

Thank you! Pacing has been one of my major headaches with this story. It's so easy to push things along, but I've got a fairly rigid timeline for many things, such as when matches will be played, holidays, school, plus a few others that I won't mentioned just yet. Getting things to happen at a reasonable rate has been challenging.

Thank you! I like writing about real people. I'm actually pushing myself on this one because I generally don't like to have characters that are 'elite' in any respect, but I don't have a lot of choice here. AFL players are celebrities (some more than others), but that's not true for VFL players. The VFL isn't even on most people's radar as a competition. The average crowd for a VFL game is around 1000-2000. The average crowd for an AFL game is around 40,000.

Thank you! A good observation on Neil and his parents. Most of the perception of his parents so far has been through Neil. How well does he really know them? How well do they know him?

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say at this point. Dave is looking forward to a nice sleep without dreams. We just don't know how long that sleep will be.... Deon's agreed to try to be a bit more reasonable with his father; that has to be positive. As for icing, too much icing can make you put on weight At least that's the case for some people....

Ty checked the house number as he parked his car. “Yep, this is the place. A pity I turned down the BMW. Now that would’ve created a good first impression.” Karen chuckled. “You would’ve had to explain how you happen to own a brand-new luxury car, but I’m sure you would’ve been up to the task.” “Easily done. I’ve got friends who own a BMW dealership.” He sighed. “A pity it’s just a dream. Still, it would’ve been nice.” “Do you regret turning down the offer?” “A little, but it was the right t

Oh, wow!

Congratulations to everyone: authors, reviewers, and readers. A special thank you to Myr for not only having started GA but also for having the vision that resulted in the GA Stories software that allows us to post our stories so easily

I know this is probably only going to be of interest to the cricket fanatics, but Phillip Hughes was pronounced dead today, two days after being hit by a bouncer in a Sheffield Shield (Australian interstate competition) match two days ago. Phillip Hughes dies from head injury at age 25 My thoughts go out to not only Phillip's friends and family, but also to Sean Abbott, the bowler who's ball ended Phil Hughes' life.