John Henry

You'll get a chance to see the start of all that this weekend....

By "meta" we mean meta humor. Meta humor is a type of comedy that's self-referential. In this case, Bryan has made subtle references to being in a story, especially in the earlier chapters. An example was when they were in Diego's truck after Bryan got into the fight with Dan Thomas. Diego brought up the fight, and Bryan said, "That's so last chapter," because it was, indeed, in the previous chapter. Movies like Deadpool and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, along with shows like Boston Legal have used meta humor as little gags here and there or to poke fun at the staff, actors or executives. In this case, I was mostly doing it to poke fun at myself, using Bryan's annoyance with "John" to exercise some self-deprecating humor that I've been "chewed" out for in the comments, such as when I've mentioned writing filler chapters, or like when I say my writing sucks, or promising content that I just haven't gotten to yet. This chapter was all fan service, basically. Throw some inside jokes, make fun of myself, make fun of this "crappy, basic bitch, online story," and to just have fun with it...before shit starts to get real.... Also, GPS trackers would be very 1984...but you never know....

Exactly, but it so in this case? 🤔

Yep

Don't we all, though?🤔

It's good to let the tension drop periodically.

Very true. In this case, I would've assumed that Diego got as much info from Calvin's mom as he could before she died.

You'll find out soon enough.

Definitely.

Okay. Just checking. 😁

EDITOR'S NOTE: I realized that I got my own names wrong for several character. lol I'll be correcting them. In this chapter, James Barton was originally and incorrectly named "David." David is his middle name.

Which part deserves the applause?

And my story isn't more important than sleep or work? Where are your priorities, man?!

I do like me some twists. 😁

There's a reason that you'll find out soon enough at the rate you're going.

Preach! Lol

You got Mrs. Thomas down exactly. Her precious little boy can do no wrong in her eyes. As for the blog, I've kind of dropped awhile ago. It got too self-indulgent and started to annoy me, personally. I think it's still posted, and there will be links in future chapters.

It has been a minute since I read this chapter, so glad this came up. Alright, lets see things from two perspectives: 1) Diego as a parent, and 2) Bryan's situation. 1) Diego doesn't believe in corporal punishment whatsoever, so what options are left? Diego did take away the phone, but this was also the second time that Bryan broke the rules in a relatively short period of time, so should that be addressed? Grounding could work, but sitting around doing nothing doesn't really achieve anything. Diego was raised by a woman born and raised in Mexico (this hasn't been mentioned yet, though may have been inferred at some point), while his father was a fifth generation Mexican-American. From my experience, the Mexican people are extremely hard working and take pride in that. Diego would've been raised with the mentality that idle hands are the devil's play ground, so if you're not doing something, you're up to something. Diego carried that over to his punishments. Don't want to clean? Don't get in trouble. The length of time was an escalation of Bryan's continued disobedience. 2) Bryan knew the consequences prior to messaging Calvin. He knew damn well that Diego would not approve, so he kept it to himself to avoid getting in trouble. Bryan is also 14. In two years, he could get a part-time job, a driver's permit, be criminally charged as an adult in most US States, and go for his GED. In 4 years, he'd be considered an adult. A month's worth of cleaning an already well kempt house isn't has harsh as y'all may think it is. Bryan gets breaks, food, allowed to do his homework, etc. but any free time is spent doing chores that Diego can come up with, from cleaning the bathroom to mowing the lawn. Also, Bryan doesn't complain about it. He may feel it's unfair at times, but he does it without rebelling. Bryan also gets almost anything he wants, within reason, so as much as the punishment may suck, he also has a very privileged life. Is the time excessive? Perhaps, but again, we're not talking about a little kid. My younger brother had his own part-time lawn care business at 14 and worked 12 hour days on the weekends. It's also okay to have differing opinions. Some authors promote spanking, while I find that to be extremely abusive. It's really a matter of perspective.

I wrote a lot of the meta with you in mind. There hasn't been a lot lately, and with it being April Fools, I thought, Fuck it! I also wanted to try writing a 4th Wall Break, and pay off a couple jokes from the comments, like the judge's nickname. It was fun to write.

John gives zero fucks. Lol Bryan is very loosely based on the real Calvin's son, however, "Bryan" is still a little kid. Roughly 90% of the non-Calvin stuff is completely made up; however, a lot of what Calvin in this story has done in his past is based on real things that the real Calvin did. Everything you guys don't like about Calvin's personality is exactly how the real Calvin behaves. Calvin molesting Diego is based on the real Calvin doing that to me, multiple times. Diego not turning Calvin in for it is based on my own experiences. Calvin abandoning his kids to move thousands of miles to be with a woman is loosely based on a real thing, though the kids weren't left with me. More of this will come out in the coming courtroom scenes. I haven't hid the real life connections, especially in the comments sections of each chapter. I'm also not worried if the real Calvin sees this, either. There are far worse things the real Calvin has done that would come to light if he had a fit. I also warned him that I was going to write a story and he claimed to not care. There is no restraining order. It got dismissed in the first hearing. Even if there were, they're very ineffective in the US, as the police aren't required to enforce them, since they're considered a civil matter and not a criminal one. The only reason the police could do something is a contempt of court charge for violating the order. Some jurisdictions may vary, but they're the exception, not the rule. As for Billy hiring someone to tail Calvin, that is a possibility, though the visit unsupervised visit has already been written and will be out this Saturday, with the fall out coming this Sunday. Oops! Did I drop a hint? 🤔

Thanks. Honestly, if it wasn't for it being April Fools, I don't think I would've written this chapter, but I'm glad I did. I'd been looking for a reason to do a 4th Wall Break, and finally found the perfect time.

Definitely. The next chapter will be on Saturday, as normal.

The court date was looming causing all kinds of stress in the Padilla household. Diego focused on work, which made his employees uneasy, as his temper was worse than ever. Steve was finding being a high school teacher challenging. He remembered having a good time in high school, and seemed to have forgotten how obnoxious teenagers were, though it did make him appreciate Bryan and Caleb more. The brothers fought more than normal, as well. It seemed that anything Caleb did got on Bryan's nerves, a

I've actually said that line to homophobic customers. Luckily, I haven't been fired...but I have said a lot worse than that, so....