Mark Ponyboy Peters

@Summerabbacat a few of you readers seem to have crystal balls that are surprisingly clear!

@everyone thank you all for your views and comments and reactions. It's very gratifying to know that you are all enjoying where this little tale is going! To answer a few queries, I deliberately haven't fill in all the gaps, especially regarding Levi's religion and school etc. as I kind of like the idea of letting a reader use their own imagination sometimes and fill in the blanks with their own experiences or affiliations, if you know what I mean. After all, there are so bloody many religions (or wannabe religions) out there these days, so I'd rather not have any of them offended by their being named, or not being named! LOL Even though I have used the Catholic religion (yep, my own childhood revisited) in various stories, I decided against it this time. Even the little church in T'ville is non-denominational! By the end of Chapter Thirteen I think you will have answers to most of your relevant questions . . . maybe . . . 😁 I hope you continue to enjoy Levi's journey! ♥️

@Summerabbacat almost. Tony and Aaron own Bayview ... just up the road . . . Avalon is Matt/Luke/Tim/Guys little place in the sun!

-- Chapter 9 -- As they drove down off the mountain, drawing closer to the lights of the town with each bend in the windy Lookout Road, Levi mostly stayed quiet, though occasionally Matt caught him studying him carefully, as if he was seeing him in an entirely new light. Trying to work him out. He hoped that wasn’t a bad thing. When they made it back to the house there were questions, of course, about where they had been for the afternoon, but Matt just answered with, ‘Just spendin

@Summerabbacat so, the way i see it, this tale is in three parts, or acts. Act 1, 13 chapters, all about finding out about Levi and his past and the path to where he is now, and his meeting his dad and Luke, of course. By the end of this Act, you'll have most of the pieces of the puzzle! I think I might need to do a little re-labelling to allow for this.

@Summerabbacat well, it's definitely not what you would call a traditional mystery!

@Summerabbacat I think Levi will work out OK. I'm just a little worried about what might happen when he starts to experience some freedoms and spread his wings, so to speak! lol

Bought my first, a Motorola, in 1996 ... the year I switched jobs. Had all Android phones since ... yep, I'm a cheap-arse! lol Can't see the point in paying $1000+ for something when a $200 phone does the same thing! haha

@Lozza bloody Victorian's always have to be different! LOL (Just kidding, really! )

Yup. And I was hopeless at maths, so it certainly didn't help. I think I only got one when we needed a scientific calculator in the last couple of years.

@Summerabbacat yes, at one stage we had 'training sheets' where we used to put them behind a page and virtually trace the writing, before then having to just 'copy' it. I went to public school in primary and year 7, then a Catholic high school after that.

@Summerabbacat oh yes, there are always exceptions!

@Philippe oh, you'll find out soon enough why Julie behaved as she did!

@Philippe oh yes, many amongst the older generations would say 'If I got by without such-and-such, you should be able to as well!' and so they deprived their kids of what would now be seen as everyday items. Classic example ... my old man never allowed me to have a calculator at school!!! (I did get one eventually though ... like in year 11 or 12 --- right at the end! lol)

@Summerabbacat hmmmmmn ..... but was it really all Julie's fault? We'll see! lol

Agreed @Summerabbacat And I think that religion in Australia has always been far more reserved, at least when compared to the fervor that American's exhibit while worshipping!

Back in my day (lol) it was called running writing! It was years before I heard the term cursive.

-- Chapter 8 -- The mood was distinctly lighter the following morning over breakfast. Matt and Luke had walked up to the house after showering so they could have breakfast with Levi, along with Matt’s parents, and found the three of them in the kitchen, which was filled with the aroma of frying bacon. ‘Mornin’ boys,’ Matt’s father said, as they entered the kitchen. ‘Ready for another day?’ ‘We will be, once we’ve fuelled up,’ Matt answered. Levi didn’t say anything, but offer

@Summerabbacat hard to say, actually. lol

@Summerabbacat maybe grandpa had some? lol

@Summerabbacat or perhaps ... If only! hahaha!

@Ivor Slipper "There haven't even been any friends or neighbours appear." ..... yet!

@centexhairysub Levi is in the exact place he needs to be right now. Let's just see how he handles it, eh?

@weinerdog not everyone has a mobile phone, even these days, though it is certainly unusual. Some folks even still have landlines! haha! Imagine that! Pay phones are still available here, but they are few and far between these days. And we have religious groups here that are not even permitted to use computers ... when I had a printing business I had some of them as my customers ... they would bring stuff in they wanted created, then I would have to design and print it. I suspect that Levi is going to be shocked when the real world catches up with him ... but he does have support!

@CincyKris yes, tough stuff indeed, but where will the blame ultimately lie for the bubble they lived in?