Summerabbacat

Clearly you "assessed" the situation far closer than I. I saw the word headphones and immediately thought Ali, and when Felix said he was Ali's twin I obviously linked him with the headphones, overlooking a "minor" detail that it was not he who was actually wearing them. LOL

I assume you made these errors deliberately @Robert Hugill, testing we readers to observe who is sufficiently perspicacious to notice. LOL. I certainly will not notice, unless you are referencing pop music from the 1970's to 2010's. As for English literature of yesteryear I am very fond of Austen, the three Brontë sisters, especially Emily, and D H Lawrence. Anyone else and I haven't the foggiest. As for Shakespeare, well, no.

Maryanne is ghastly. One of those insufferable mothers who thinks their children are the smartest, the prettiest/most handsome, the most delightful and generous, without fault. Perhaps Frank might slip a little something in Maryanne's drink @Wombat Bill. Something to calm her excitable state, something which makes her a little unsteady on her feet. Perhaps she might fall overboard? A most unfortunate accident of course. Although a different mode of transport, I had a song by The KLF playing the whole time I read this chapter. The lyrics "all aboard, all aboard" could just as easily be applied to Gran and Caleb's departure.

Surely not. I can understand James killing his father, but marrying his mother? She is a fucking bitch. Let Sam marry her.

Yay @Lee Wilson. I love it.

Gran's "theme" song for the cruise. One she and Nigel used to dance to as a younger couple, blissfully unaware of the "real" meaning of the lyrics.

Gran enjoying herself on the cruise with some gay men looking on, envying Caleb for having such a cool Gran. It might even be the Village People (minus one).

Brilliant @Davide. This thought occurred to me too but I dismissed it as crazy. You have applied logic and assessed it and now it does not sound crazy at all. It was the headphones Felix was wearing that strongly suggested duplicity on Ali’s part to me.

Time to call in Sawzall & Associates to investigate?

What would a Balkan do in a situation like this @Cane23?

The favouritism is so blatant @dboggs9700. I won't be surprised if there is something in @VBlew's speculation about James' lineage. Another possibility is that he is adopted, that neither parent is his biological parent and Sam is their only biological son, a son whom they thought they could never have.

Rector Reichenau. Just his name alone made me think of the nazis, and his demeanour and behaviour did nothing to dispel this. The man oozed evil, and is in a position to orchestrate it. I would not trust him as far as I could throw him. In comparison, Boris seems almost pleasant and harmless. The Golden Circle are a motley crew. I am intrigued as to why Ali's twin Felix is a member of this "exclusive club" and yet Ali is not. Was he perhaps a member before and he was exiled by his Dark Eminence, Anton, for some transgression. Anton reeks of repressed desire, quite possibly for Bastien, who is likely oblivious to this. I think Anton is the likely killer at this stage, jealous of Lukas because he had what Anton does not, Bastien. He is controlling and uptight, with barely contained fury waiting to burst forth. On the one hand we have Ali, Felix and Bastien, all of whom appear pleasant, but can they be trusted? On the other, we have Anton, Boris and Rector Reichenau, all of whom are unpleasant to varying degrees, and all of whom I do not trust. Another spellbinder @Laura S. Fox. If only Jack could teleport himself and his cards from Beyond The Veil to Veridien Academy, Lawrence may have a valuable ally. At this point in time I think Lawrence is on his own.

Hopefully the cranberry scones, the blueberry muffins and the carrot muffins contained a significant amount of e coli, enough to give James' parents and Sam an extreme case of diarrhoea at least. Of the three James' father is the least objectionable. He is clearly consumed with something akin to hatred for James but he at least keeps it to himself most of the time, with the occasional look of distaste. His mother and Sam openly mock him and both need to be bitch-slapped into the middle of next week. Another infuriating chapter @ChromedOutCortex. It is like observing the behaviour of some of the criminals in power from south of the border. Sickening. Hopefully before the story concludes James' father won't be the only one of James' family who is dead, and if the other two are not dead, hopefully they are suffering severely. Rotten to the fucking core.

I have to ask @Lee Wilson, did you write Buried Alive, words and music? If so, wow? I had a great laugh at Russell's disclosure of Reid's 13th birthday party tryst with Javier Gomez. It's funny how all the band members, including his replacement Fabian, can hear Russell speaking but Reid cannot. Is it a the age old case of workers vs management? LOL.

Jeez Louise. If Gran's offer to take Caleb on a cruise wasn't "sweet" enough, his positive response “Of course I’d love to go if it’s all right with you and Craig” sealed the deal. I shed a tear or two @Wombat Bill and I cannot blame hay fever or having just patted the cats excessively for this. “You’ve never mentioned your grandparents” “Don’t know who my father is so….and Mum’s parents disowned her and cut off all contact when she went on the streets. I don’t even know if they’re still alive”. I think I may have commented in the prior story, speculating it may be possible to trace Kilby’s maternal grandparents if he wishes to do so, particularly if Edward and he asked for assistance or guidance from Pamela. I eagerly await an update on Rajani's transition and if her ghastly sister, the uber-bitch Rani, has become aware of this. If so, I expect she will make an unwelcome reappearance with the intention of causing trouble and unhappiness for Rajani. I cannot remember for sure, but I vaguely recall she and Daniel may have moved interstate or even overseas. Hopefully he may have come to his senses by now and dumped her.

Riveting start.

Me too @Gary L, anything to piss off property developers. The initial physical description of Maudie "The speaker had emerged from the door into the other excrescence. She was probably in her 60s, rather buxom, with dyed blond hair, a pink sweater and alarmingly patterned leggings, her feet in pink mules and a cigarette in her mouth." had me thinking she was going to be a senior Vicky Pollard. "Yeah but, no but, yeah but, no but, yeah..." Fortunately for Alex she isn't, in comparison to Vicky she is a Rhodes scholar who was initially educated at a Swiss boarding school for young ladies. Uncle Edwin is a grub. It appears his "generosity" towards Alex has nothing to do with altruism, and everything to do with him keeping his flat (broom closet) safe until such time as the property has been rezoned so it can either be knocked down or redeveloped. Profit is Uncle Edwin's sole motivation for appearing to be "generous". Fortunately Alex is a good judge of character and has learned to expect nothing from Uncle Edwin which does not come with a price tag attached. Alex may have had better luck with expanding his musical audience if Uncle Edwin was friend's with another Dame Vivienne, Westwood to be precise, except she is dead. Neil is up to something. Either Charlie fancies Alex and Neil is going to test the waters for him, or Neil fancies Alex. Although I have no interest in classical music or opera, and have never read any Dickens @Robert Hugill, I am still enjoying this story because of the characters you have created and the humour which you are once again peppering this story with. Very English.

I have no idea what you and @Gary L are talking about @Robert Hugill, but you do make it sound as if it might be interesting.

A superbly crafted tale from @Mark Ponyboy Peters. Short, thought-provoking, universal, and more relevant than ever in the hostile times in which we currently live. A must read.

More damn hay fever @Mark Ponyboy Peters. A heartfelt tale, one which highlights demonisation of bunji-bunji, two-spirit, poofter, faggot, fairy, pansy, cocksucker, pillow-biter, shirt-lifter, and a myriad of other names for men who are same-sex attracted, is universal, regardless of culture, religion or any other man-made beliefs. I have often wondered why this is so, and I guess it must be the most basic explanation, because we are different, a minority. The mere mention of the Monolith, albeit in passing only, was enough to get my blood boiling. And for the first time that I can recall, Tony's biological father was mentioned, albeit in passing only too. This story showcased your imagination to its fullest @Mark Ponyboy Peters. I particularly liked how you attributed "human" characteristics to trees and rocks, and how Woorabull "shifted" to avenge the murder of his lover. Was he perhaps an "inspiration" for Septimus, part-human, part-serpent?

I just watched the video for We've Got Tonight and it was quite amusing. I did not realise there was such a height difference between the two, Kenny's 183cm to Sheena's 154cm. She still had the "good girl" image she had when she released Morning Train (9 to 5). She later shed that image with Strut and especially Sugar Walls (written for her by Prince) which made it onto Tipper Gore's Filthy Fifteen, and her magnificent duet with Prince, U Got The Look. You may not remember this MPB but Sheena was a wee Scottish lass, the birth nation of The Proclaimers whom you so admired. LOL.

Something In The Water @Mark Ponyboy Peters? Prince raised this same question 44 years ago (which I strongly doubt you were aware of). You are in rare company, the purple genius from Minneapolis and the Aussie genius from Armidale. Do you also like purple, can you sing and do you think Sheena Easton is hot?

Well that is the best news I have had since you posted Part 1 yesterday @Mark Ponyboy Peters. LOL. Shania will be happy too.

I didn't figure you as a fan of The Three Degrees @Mark Ponyboy Peters, especially this Eurodisco gem courtesy of Giorgio Moroder.

I have a question @Mark Ponyboy Peters. At the conclusion of this chapter you have indicated 'To be continued' but the story's status has changed to Complete.