Mark Arbour

February 27, 2004 The Beta House Westwood, CA Will I walked up to the door where there were a couple of big dudes guarding it. The biggest dude was talking to people: he was about 6’4” and huge; he had to play football or some sport like that. The other dude wasn’t quite as big as the other guy, standing at about 6’ tall, which was probably why he stood slightly in the background. I guess these two Goliaths

Thanks. This is the Bridgemont story I’m most proud of.

He wanted them to track his phone then and set it up that way. That’s a lot different than having records of your every move out there somewhere

He'd get the basic security issues, but being tracked without knowing about it is a serious invasion of privacy, and that's something he won't tolerate. At this stage in his life (keeping in mind that he's much younger than you and me 😀 ), he feels invincible, with a cockiness that makes him sure he could work his way out of a jam. That makes security even less of an issue.

I can't think of any situation Will would be in where he would be glad they were tracking his phone (without his knowledge).

Lmao. You were a wild man and you know things were just as complex. 😂😂😂

February 27, 2004 Malibu, CA Will I was lounging on the sofa in my room, snarfing down the leftover junk food from last night. I’d promised Cody I’d stay out of the way, but stupidly forgot that meant I couldn’t go into the kitchen. I frowned at the pretzels, which were kind of stale, then ate them anyway. I’d just finished talking to Stef and decided to lay a little groundwork for my trip to New York. I flipped through my contacts until I found Susannah’s nu

Good observations Jeremy! I hadn't really thought about Zach and JJ and their attitudes towards athletics, but that's spot on.

That will be something they'll all have to grapple with in a few years. I personally didn't see the evil side of social media back in the early days, and I doubt that these characters did either. It's easy to forget the actual crap ads we had to watch back then and how it wasn't so bad to have them at least be relevant to our lives. I see a huge awakening in the future. I think that with some break-ups it's sudden and explosive, while this one has been more caring and thoughtful, at least so far. It's like they're both trying to move to that 'friends with benefits' world in a way that doesn't destroy their relationship. Zach definitely has some negative traits, but he hasn't tossed them at Will, at least all that much. I think what you're seeing here are the remnants of the hero who helped Will through the 9-11 aftermath. Will knows Zach can be a dick, but Zach isn't a dick when he's with Will, and that has to make Will pretty special. It's when that changes that Will is going to have a revelation.

February 26, 2004 Hotel Bel Air Bel Air, CA Will “Fuck!” Zach said, as he looked at his phone. “I have to make a quick call.” We’d finished our sexual extravaganza, at least for now, and that had prompted both of us to check our phones. I had a bunch of messages, while he only had one. He got up from the bed and started to head to the bathroom to make his call. “Remember you’re not leaving until tomorrow,” I said firmly. He stopped and looked dow

No

His Lordship died in 1792 and I wasn't planning on conjuring ghosts

No, but that’s a very good guess

I’ll come up with more clues as we go.

Not through Anson

Anson will ultimately introduce Granger to a person still famous today. Any guesses?

May 27, 1801 Visby, Sweden Granger bowed his head as they lowered Captain Pitcairn’s coffin into the ground. Pitcairn had evidently sobered up, realized the mistake he had made, and been unable to grapple with having his career destroyed. He’d killed himself in his cell yesterday. He had somehow managed to fashion a sharp implement from the plate his dinner had been served on and had used that to slit his wrists. He’d uttered not a sound a

Actually, the problem is that they connect so well on the mental and emotional planes. If it were just a physical thing, Will would have kicked him to the curb a long time ago.

February 26, 2004 Hotel Bel Air Bel Air, CA Will The drive back to the hotel ended up calming me down. Back by the pier I’d been damn near having a panic attack, but chilling here on my patio and smoking a few bowls of my prime weed had mellowed me out considerably. Darius was the dude I needed to talk to. I’d tried to call him but got no answer and assumed he was in class. Somehow after having made the effort to track him down, I mellowed out about the whole

I agree, and I’m sure Will is going to make that very point to Cody.

A hint: someone in the younger generation who is a relationship sage

February 26, 2004 Malibu, CA Will We walked into a really nice place, one that was not too dissimilar to our house. The décor was chic and modern. “This is where the magic happens,” Cam said playfully as he led me up the stairs to his bedroom. It was very simple, very masculine, and very tasteful. “Let’s see this magic,” I said in an alluring way. He kissed me again, firing me up, then backed away and started to take his clothes off. He didn’t hurry, and whi

I’m thinking adjacent to rather than preceding

This. Too funny, but a bit off. First of all, Grand wouldn't be the one doing it, it would be Brad. Then it may only be possible if Stef intervened too, but I think that's unlikely. Besides, forcing JJ to learn about managing money? ROFL. I think the other part of this is that Brad isn't all that interested in JJ learning how to manage his money. If he did, JJ might start questioning things. This way, they don't really have to worry about a Susannah all that much, and they can just make sure JJ has enough money to fund his lifestyle. It also gives them a control valve to rein JJ in if he goes off the rails. Besides, why would JJ want to worry about that? As long as he has money to spend, why would he bother himself with the details?

You did a really good job of summarizing JJ's situation here except for the highlighted section. He didn't really figure Mary Ellen out, he overheard her scheming with Alex and that clued him in. I don't think his perceptive abilities are that well-honed, because he's more focused on himself than others. I think that his family treats him like they do because while they recognize that he's a royal pain in the ass, they also are sympathetic because of his mental health struggles. That would definitely make them more protective of him, and less confident in his own abilities to watch out for himself.