Summerabbacat

It emerges Will is NOT teaching at the same school which he attended, which Andrew only works at as part of his University degree. This explains why the two are not known at the school as a couple. Will's statement he is working at a Call Centre to help Andrew get through law school I assume means he is partially, at least, supporting Andrew financially. Peter's relationship with Will in particular is very supportive, but like Will has stated, he should be trying to cultivate some friends his own age too. A very revelatory chapter @Topher Lydon.

I assume the character of James is based on Blake himself, and that he was terrified to reveal this because he assumed West was a 'big ole redneck homophobe'. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hope his father is not a homophobe.

Uh oh! I hope there is not trouble in paradise. Is Will's apparent sadness melancholy or something deeper, and is it something he has withheld discussing with Andrew? Mr Greenwood continues to delight every time he makes an appearance. He is a great teacher as he is able to engage his students in discussion and debate, whilst retaining a wry sense of humour. Blake and West, an interesting combination perhaps.

Matt sure is a horndog. His comments, although a little too much at times, demonstrated he has absolutely no issue with his best friend, West, being gay. He is far more perceptive than I thought he would be, particularly his deduction West is attracted to Peter. His parents sound vile. I suspect if West does ask Blake out on a date Peter will be very upset.

West is a deep thinker, very reflective and self-aware, seemingly unlike Brad at least. Andrew gave him sound advice, without appearing to give him any advice.

I feel sorry for West @drsawzall. Jenny-Lyn will be even more intent on scoring with him now Brad has been disgraced by his drug use. Jenny-Lyn. LOL @Topher Lydon. She is not from Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia or Alabama originally is she? I wonder if the expose of Brad will have a domino effect and Joey will also be exposed? If so, West might be found "guilty by association" by at least some of his fellow students and/or teachers.

Brad and Joey may be doing drugs together. Brad's comment in chapter "Why should I be worried? It's all bullshit anyway, it's not like they can actually tell shit from my piss." takes on a new meaning now. He is worried. And I wonder if the black Celica is owned by Brad and/or Joey's drug dealer. I hope they are not dealing drugs.

A "violent vegetarian" like me.

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" Methinks some of the Storm players may be using performance enhancing drugs, thereby potentially giving them an advantage over teams not using such drugs. Such drug usage will leave a stain not only on the team, but also on Coach Thorburn, particularly if he is involved in any way facilitating the said drugs for the players to use. I think Peter is being unnecessarily aggressive towards West now. West has not given any indication he is going to do anything to harm him, either verbally or physically.

That I can well believe, but seemingly the "rumour mill" has not been active either. Perhaps Micheline has infiltrated "the network" to shutdown any gossip about her son.

Devon keeps popping up all over the place, and his first question always seems to be "do you have a boyfriend?". Methinks he may be unlucky in love/lust. It is hard to believe Will and Andrew's relationship is apparently a secret at the school where they both work when both were outed individually and as a couple whilst still students at the same school. Seemingly Jesse only knows because his brother, Turd, disclosed it to him.

West has his work cut out to convince anyone he is gay, but particularly Peter. It seems the intervening years between being in Will's English class and now have been difficult ones for Peter, with continued bullying likely. West's parents are gems.

It appears Peter is still being picked on at school, and disappointingly it appears his brother Bobby, now known as Robbie, may either be part of the taunting, or do nothing to discourage or stop it. Jessie is a Gadreau, and although perhaps not as big of an arsehole as his brother, Turd, he may still share his limited view of the world. It appears West is too butch to believed as gay by Peter. Clearly the latter's gaydar is not well developed yet. Jenny-Lyn and Mel. The former I feared may be something like Jennifer, the skanky ho who outed Will. So far she appears to be relatively harmless. The latter is vile and not worth my wasting words on. The scene in Zaphod Beeblebronx reminded me of when I first moved to Sydney from rural Australia. Suffice to say they are not memorable times as I had zero interest in "picking up chicks", even if only to satisfy my then friends urging me to do so.

I shall try not to savage Jason Jensen, whom I assume becomes a pastor/minister/priest, but if he is a zealot I may have to be allowed a little leeway to tear strips off him. LOL.

West, presumably a descendant of "the" Theodore Harding, and I like the portmanteau of his two given names, Wesley and Theodore, to form the name by which he is known, so much imaginative than had he been known as Wes. Dad has leant Joey, his 16 year old son, his mobile phone for the night. Are you crazy Papa Harding? Either you are or Joey is an exceptionally mature 16 year old. An entertaining start to Book 3 in the series @Topher Lydon.

A delightful conclusion to this story. Peter McCormick could not have found himself in a more supportive environment than the one he has "fallen" into. Perhaps if Jared and Will take the time to occasionally visit and or acknowledge him at school this may have an impact on the cowardly bullies who are making his life a misery. Marvellous story @Topher Lydon. Now it's onwards and upwards to the third story in the series.

Indeed so @drsawzall. What has Will done that the minor major cannot forgive him for? Is it that Will "chose" to be gay, that he chose not join the army, that he was born to a mother who clearly should not have had children and a father who wanted a mini-me, a little soldier? The man is a fool, although I must applaud him for his quick action in rescuing Peter from what could possibly have been a life-threatening situation. Peter needs support now, and the bullies at school need a fucking hiding.

My opinion of Gran plummeted in this chapter; she is a little too much like her odious son for my liking. Her admonishment of Will and direction he remove his hands from his pockets because that is what a gentleman would do, complete bullshit; and her demand he go and have a drink with a man who beat him and threw him out of his home just because he donated his sperm and he is her son, degrading to her grandson. Is Gran not disturbed by the treatment of her grandson by her son? The minor major should be in jail for what he did. And he is so pretentious, wearing his uniform all the time. Unless he is required to do so, he is just stroking his ego. The only good thing which may emerge from this very uncomfortable meeting is finding little Peter McCormick. As for Gran, she should just fuck off and return home unless she is prepared to refrain from interfering.

It appears RJ believes he IS the Pride Centre, and that all others present are his minions to do his bidding as he sees fit. Firstly, we do not know the "nature" of the kiss between Linda and Kerry i.e. was it a simple peck on the lips or was it a full-on pash, with tongues duelling for supremacy. If it was the latter, then grow up Linda and Kerry, many people don't want to see this kind of behaviour in public regardless of the gender of the participants. The adage "get a room" does have sensible application at times. Secondly, it is obvious to me the logical thing to do would be to have some straight allies visit the Sportsplex and kiss, and if they are also asked not to do so, end of story. If not, then video said straight allies kissing and present it to the Sportsplex management as evidence of selective enforcement of their policies. RJ's "solution" appears unnecessary at this point in time, more about stroking his ego than resolving what may not be a case of discrimination at all. Frankly, the bullying of little Peter McCormick is more pressing than the alleged discrimination against Linda and Kerry.

Peter should tell his twin Bobby who the bullies are. If the bullies hunt him in a pack of three, then he could even the odds up a bit by having Bobby help him smack the living daylights out of the three bullies. I imagine Bobby might rather enjoy such an activity.

If the purpose of the Pride Centre is to serve as a meeting place for gossip, partying and seduction then it is in "capable" hands, however, if its purpose is political, for want of a better descriptor, then it is in trouble. Of those present, only Devon asked pertinent questions, with the others either impertinent or totally ludicrous. Apart from Devon, the others present may as well have been cheerleaders in Charlene's group.

Very sad indeed, and an indictment on the school. Nothing can be done for Mrs Casey now, but her cat is a different story. I hope someone takes the cat in and looks after him or her.

Hopefully

Clearly Corcoran followed Rick and Adam from Adam’s apartment complex to the Imperial Hotel. He is becoming increasingly brazen, suggesting to me his sanity is deteriorating further and his lust for revenge growing stronger and stronger. He is toying with Rick, playing a game of cat and mouse. Like many of my fellow readers have commented, Rick’s opportunity to corner Corcoran and apprehend him is very limited as Corcoran is likely to have slipped away before Rick can get through the crowd. I just hope Deborah’s optimism is not misplaced in this case.

A little like premature ejaculation, it was over way too soon, the fun had only just begun. I am pleased to read you are contemplating revisiting Aaron and Brad in the future @Odie as they complement each other well.