John Henry

Yeah, the Barton Twins are supposed to be obnoxious at this point in their lives, as (frankly) most teenagers are. I may give them redemption in another story, but for now, they are who they are. Diego has an idea of how things should work, which Billy doesn't exemplify. Billy is theatrical, melodramatic and most importantly, antagonistic, which is not a quality you want in a lawyer. The last thing you need is to piss off the wrong person or people, because you never know when you may need them on your side. Diego's concerns are not unjustified though maybe a little over blown. I don't write protagonists as bigots, so I would never have a "TERF lesbian" in a story, who isn't clearly a bad guy, let alone one who holds a position of power in a queer student union. As for the "playing with drugs" thing, it's fiction. It isn't based on any real event that the story is loosely based on. I'm not going to spontaneously have a character die from Viagra or any other such thing. I mean, I randomly kill characters like George RR Martin does, but this isn't that kind of story. Humor is subjective and everyone has a right to decide for themselves what is and isn't funny, but I think there's a suspension of belief that needs to come with all works of fiction that people today seem to forget.

Again, the side effects in real life are bad, but I'm not a medical expert and not likely to fuss over that sort of thing, unless there's comedic value to it. And yes, the Barton Twins could get into a lot of trouble, but I think Quinton will get in more trouble since he brought the cupcake into the party. But, we'll just have to wait and see what pops up. 😉

In real life, something like that is pretty serious, but thankfully this is fiction.

I was going to have him be Jerry Falwell, but I figured most readers wouldn't know who he was, especially compared to Pat Robertson.

I guess you're just going to have to wait and see? 😉

The boys couldn't contain their excitement for the rest of the day. Diego was also happy, but grew tired of the boys constantly recalling how Billy had spoken to the school board. Mrs. Mitchell was also pleased that Kenny wasn't expelled, but she wouldn't let go of the thought that her troubles with CPS weren't over. Diego dropped Kenny and his mom off at their apartment and took Bryan out for lunch. They hadn't had a lot of father-son time in months and Diego missed having time with his ki

I hope your health issues get better soon. Mine seem to have resolved themselves for the most part.

I will go into things further in the blog for Billy, of course, but I do enjoy writing for him.

Thank you for the kind words. I've actually based Billy's "court room antics" on Alan Shore (a character from the US legal dramedy Boston Legal, who is wonderfully portrayed by James Spader.) Billy's father was also based on this same character but also another James Spader character named Raymond Reddington from the show The Blacklist. I just love the way James Spader presents those characters. I get very entranced by his cadence, mannerisms and charm/menace. If you've seen those shows, you may have a guess at what's to come. Unfortunately, Mr. Thomas can't face a prison sentence for sharing privileged information. However, he can lose his license, get fined by the State Bar Association and face civil litigation.

I struggled with starting this chapter. I had forgotten about the hearing and almost skipped it, then I remembered the hearing then had some health issues, which delayed things further, so I'm glad people are liking it.

It just felt right in the moment, especially after Billy calling the Superintendent and Mrs. Thomas bitches.

I definitely know people like that, too, and currently live with one. Anytime you make a counter argument or take an opposing stance, he yells, screams and makes threats. Unfortunately, where I live, you can't just kick people like that out; however, he's on his last chance here, so there is a positive for the moment.

I'm always taking shots at myself in the meta-humor. Lol And I actually knew a gay guy who hated heterosexuals, especially straight, cis men to the point he would harass them, even if they were allies. It got so bad one day, I chewed him out for it. Eventually, it got him killed.

Thank you very much, and I try my best.

Kenny's School Board review was scheduled for the morning of October 31st, Halloween. He was growing bored, having to spend most of the week by himself at Bryan's house. He did his best to not be a bother to anyone, but he was developing a major case of cabin fever. His mother came to visit several times, but Kenny got the impression she was glad to not be a full-time parent. Well, part-time, at any rate, he said to himself, feeling bitter. Diego was feeling a lot better about his lawyer. B

If I remember to post a link, I will try to do that. Thanks for the like and suggestion.

There's deeper, psychological reason for it that's implied. You're meant to infer the reason without me having to flat out tell the reader.

Due to life and stuff, this week's chapter will probably be delayed a week, though I'm hoping to get the blog entry for Chapter 6 done.

Si, papi! 😜

1. I'll see what I can do. 2. Caleb certainly deserved the punishment. 3. I thought about changing that line, but decided to leave it for this exact situation. Lol 4. Halloween is my favorite holiday, actually. It's an opportunity to dress up and eat a bunch of junk food, especially as a kid. At a point in my life, I ended up hating Christmas and pretty much every other holiday, but Halloween was full of happy memories. 5. I needed a transition, so this was the best way I could think of at the time.

It was. I needed a transition chapter and wanted to introduce the previously unnamed business partner.

I've debated on how to answer this....

That joke was for you, Buddy.

You're very much welcome. I know it wasn't the most exciting chapter, but I needed a transition.

Diego considered waking all the kids up before he left for work. He was still upset about the events at the mall, but decided that his soon-to-be husband didn't deserve the chaos that would come with rousing a house full of teenagers. Instead, he left instructions that Terra was to go home, while Bryan and Caleb were on strict cleaning duty, and Kenny was not allowed to help in any way. Diego rationalized that, even if Kenny was a little at fault, the boy was not his kid and was still pretty mes