Chester57

Could be. With that fake phone conversation I'm wondering if she is with Arthur at all anymore. He has yet to show his face in the story-- perhaps Tara is just using him as a prop so Jack and Kayla don't feel sorry for her.

I feel that something is going to happen with Amanda. Her self-esteem is at rock-bottom. Her boyfriend dumped her for a guy and she can't go back to Alan because he has a girlfriend now. Remember the comment by that-one-guy raising the possibility that Amanda has been watching from her bedroom window at Jack and Kayla having sex? If true, that's got to be driving her crazy. Something will break soon with Amanda and it will mean more heartache for the rest of her family.

Reasonable again, but I've been wondering how pay-as-you-go sex has been kept from becoming the talk of Brow Ridge High. Maybe this-- Let's assume that Evan and his cohorts are the on-site pimp/handlers. They not only recruit the girls but the johns as well. They only approach guys they know personally-- guys who can pay and also keep their mouths shut, sort of like a fraternity. When showing them the catalogue (on tablet) Evan makes it clear that if they talk about it, they're out. Being a member of an exclusive sex club would be a powerful incentive to stay silent.

Sorry to hear that, but trust me-- you'd feel ten times worse with a shoulder separation. Don't ever fall or roll on your shoulder if you can at all avoid it (ask me how I know). Football players wearing state-of-the-art padding get shoulder separations often enough. Breaking a fall with your forearms and hands is preferable, but you were simply unlucky.

Hope you're on the mend... How did that happen, by the way? Been thinking about your theory that someone other than Jessica or Rhona could be running the ring. Well, here's a slim possibility-- we know of one other person who is an alpha female with a group of followers. That would be Helena. As stated before, I firmly believe that the girls involved are students since bringing outsiders into the high school would be far too risky. So far, Jack has spied on four different girls and heard them speak: the one with Matt under the bleachers, the two at the Homecoming dance and the girl in the restroom. He didn't recognize any of them which leads me to believe that none of the girls were in his class (juniors). Helena and her group are sophomores so Jack wouldn't know them. I don't know how Belle would fit into this scenario but Shannon just might. Also, since Amanda and Helena are close then Jack would definitely consider it his business.

Don't worry about it. As always, take your time-- we're a patient lot.

I think the fact that Joe hasn't posted in over a week means a lo-o-o-ng Chapter 47.

It wasn't Belle. Jack would have recognized her voice. By the way that girl talked, she was an experienced hooker. Remember how she told her john that none of the other recent guys had been able to make her cum? She was enthusiastic about it-- Belle would have been nervous as hell.

Thank you for that! I like the revised format as it's easier to read.

I just read that section again and am wondering... What if the ring took advantage of Belle's emotional state and recruited her? Jack didn't recognize the guy she was talking to because his back was turned. Her handler telling her what she had to do later on? As Jack said, Belle seemed resigned to the situation. If Belle is now a teen hooker then it means (1) that Jessica is also likely involved and (2) that Jack will be big-league pissed off when he finds out.

This is a reasonable-sounding theory. It got me thinking that Rhona could be the ringleader and not simply a go-between. Think about it. If the ring were larger than five or ten hookers every guy (and girl) in the school would know so it has to be kept on a small scale. And with Evan and his pals to handle and recruit the girls from the student population she really doesn't need anyone else. Besides, the profit margin is small enough without having to split it further with someone upstairs. But if she is the ringleader, then the end is in sight. Evan and company are seniors and will be gone at the end of the school year. Rhona will no longer have any excuse or reason for being seen around Brow Ridge High. Unless... she can convince another student or two to join the operation. Now, who do you think she has in mind?

Any money she gets from the ring has to remain hidden and off the books. That's why she doesn't have her own place (yet). Best bet is Joe Long's guess that Rhona is middle-management. She probably was a working girl herself at one point but now recruits and handles the girls after her brother and his buds point them out. That might be why she was hanging around the high school during the dance. Working at GameStop gives her a visible means of support and allows her to stay close.

Even if Kayla does think that way, there isn't much she can do as long as Jack and Rhona's relationship stays as GameStop. If she is feeling jealous about their friendliness then I suppose she could "get back" at Jack by hanging out more with her group from the clinic-- especially if that group has a guy or two in it. You make an interesting point by noting that Rhona doesn't seem to have any friends (outside of work). Evan and his posse are physically afraid of her, no less. If Rhona is part of the ring-- and I think she is-- then maybe she is wary of letting anyone get close to her. That would make GameStop the only place she can have friends and maybe the reason she returned to work there (aside from the paycheck). This would make the friendship with Jack very important to her.

Okay, the thing is...I don't see any big explosion coming between Kayla and Rhona because that would seriously affect Jack's job. He can't go to Frank and say, "My girlfriend's pissed at Rhona and doesn't want me working with her." Even if Kayla is angry, she'll realize that Jack is basically stuck with Rhona at work. Also, I think Rhona is too smart to let "raging hormones" rule her actions toward Jack or anyone else.

I think that Jack would have a little more sense than to come right out and say, "Listen, I talked this over with Rhona and she thinks..... " Actually, it wouldn't be all that uncommon for someone to talk over a problem with a trusted colleague or co-worker before discussing the matter at home with their significant other. I think that Kayla knows Rhona well enough to not feel threatened by the relationship Jack has with her.

Agreed. In the next chapter Jack will bare his soul to Kayla about his peeper fetish. Kayla will ask, "When did this all start?" and Jack will have to say, "Well, I used to look through the keyhole while Alan and Amanda were having sex." Even money as to whether he admits that Amanda handcuffed him to the bed. You're right, I can't see her getting overly pissed about it. I'm wondering why Jessica's party fizzled after she went to the trouble of making sure Jack and Kayla would be there. Maybe Belle said to Jessica, "It's either me or them!" I'd also like to know who Belle was talking to when Jack spotted her in the hallway.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

I remember reading that in Chapter 1 and wondered if it would be expanded upon, but no-- the girl was never named. Besides Jessica, the only one of Craig's conquests that has been named was Amy Kirk (Ch. 38). I think Jashley used it as a plot device to elevate the animosity between Craig and Jack. Indeed, Jack said that Craig had a "special hatred" for him ever since he saved that girl. The fact that the two are good friends now sort of makes the girl's identity a moot point. You correctly state that we don't know a lot about Jack's past but I don't imagine it was all that special. Prior to his sophomore year, Jack described himself as "nothing special, regular teenage stuff" and "in a rut"-- I know, he was just feeling sorry for himself. However, one thing I would love to know more about is Jack's early relationship with Tara and her family. There's got to be something very interesting there.

Hope you're enjoying yourselves-- you've certainly earned it! Have a great time.

Well, that was a Christmas I'm going to remember! Hiking through the woods with my dogs in NE Ohio... there's a full moon and I'm wearing shorts! Hope everyone had a great day. Oh, and I got a new laptop!

...And the Bride Wore a Green Hair Bow

I was re-reading some sections of Chapter 8 just now-- it's one of my favourites-- and I was hoping that one or more of you SITO experts could offer opinions on a statement that Jack made. It starts out with Jack describing his first day working at GameStop. He then says that the job ended up becoming "an important part of my life." That statement, at least to me, is a little puzzling. I have never known anyone who would call their first part-time job an important part of their life. And now we have Jack and Kayla making plans to boogie to Iowa in less than two years so GameStop will soon not be a part of his life. So then... any ideas on what Jack meant when he said that?

I suggested she be named Kristen a while back. He already named Kayla's dad after me, so Emily Cartwright sounds fine.

Me, too. Jack said once that he wanted to go say hello and see how she was doing but never got around to it. I think Joe (the author) is keeping her in the background for some reason-- and I still want to know what her first name is.

So many questions indeed! Since Jack has the self-admitted voyeuristic tendencies, I'm going to assume that he will be doing most of the peeping. But how will he know where to peep? He caught Joe and Sam basically by chance-- same with Matt and the two girls at Homecoming. Granted, Jack keeps his eyes open but he can't hang around the gym all the time and no one will be having sex outside this time of year. But on that thought-- who can hang around the gym all the time? Well, phys-ed instructors of course. I hope Ms. Cartwright pops up again in this Saga. Bet she knows all about what's going on.