Chester57

Still reading the chapter but I found a small mistake— “No way. I’d talked with the cops twice in my whole life. I wasn’t going to go for a hat-trick.” Jack has already had three brushes with the police… Coach Walburn’s suicide, the gun in his locker and when Don’s muscle boys put him in the hospital. Yeah, those were the days! Whoa! Take it back… FOUR! There was the time when Ted attacked Kayla in her bedroom.

I’ll just say that I hope Jack has some strong security on his laptop. I’m sure he doesn’t take it with him every time he leaves the dorm.

Just a sneaking suspicion I have. It seems to me that the dynamic between Jack and Thomas has been adversarial almost from the get-go. The reason, I believe, is plain jealousy on Thomas’s part--- Jack has a hot girlfriend and he doesn’t. The inconsiderate behavior of playing his guitar all night was deliberate, as well as insulting Kayla by not using her name. So when Thomas immediately agrees to Jack’s plan I can’t help but wonder if he is planning something himself. Am I paranoid? Maybe. Thanks for the new chapter— I’ll get started on it after some much-needed sleep!

I don’t know about that— Jack was having dreams about a dark-haired girl long before he met Heather. Possibly his dream girl is a composite— the ‘anti-Kayla,’ so to speak.

Oh yeah, she was laying awake waiting for the sex to happen. Heather is envious of Kayla because she has Jack right there in the same building while her own boyfriend is back home. I was half-expecting her to sit up and ask, “Can I play, too?” You notice that Jack did compare the situation to their vacation with Tara. If we’re lucky we might see our intrepid hero in another threesome. Prediction— Jack will come to regret his deal with Thomas.

All kidding aside, I have a theory about Thomas and how he figures into Jack’s future. Don’t want to say anything at this point except that the two of them won’t become the best of friends… or even casual friends.

I’m waiting for Thomas to walk in while they’re doing it. He’ll either faint dead away or have a stroke.

Wanna hear my 2-cent theory? Of course you do! Throughout the story, Jack has been a one-woman kind of guy. He has stated a number of times that he isn’t interested in any girl except for Kayla. Be that as it may, Jack is your prototypical 19-year old male (i.e. constantly horny). Since arriving at college he has met (in alphabetical order) Amelia, Amy, Heather, Holly, Jenny, Jerica, Kaitlyn, Kim, Madelyn, Mary and Vanessa. Maybe the plethora of nubile young ladies in close proximity is causing Jack to strain at the leash— at least when he’s asleep. Recall that when Jack had sex dreams back in high school they involved a dark-haired girl he couldn’t identify. He made the right decision to keep this to himself. Why is Amanda trying so hard to justify dumping Grant? Maybe she wants someone else instead?

That’s our boy Jack— he was born to suffer for our enjoyment. Very good chapter. Kayla’s version of ‘tough love’ was well timed. There’s nothing like your girlfriend calling you a pompous ass to make you stop and re-evaluate your life.. Well done! I hope Jack has the common sense to keep this sex dream thing to himself.

Yeah, it completely sucks when your day job gets in the way of the things you really want to do! Maybe sometime you can fill us in on what you’ve been up to in the months since Boot Camp? We know you can’t discuss the specific systems that you’ve been training with, but just a basic outline of what’s been going on in your day-to-day routine would be pretty fascinating.

You’ve got a point. Maybe it’s because Holly blew him off about hanging out together and then Jack doesn’t get paired with her for scene work. Lousy attitude all around. He needs to suck it up and stop whining. Considering that he just spent the weekend boffing Kayla, one would think that he’d be in a much better mood.

Be still, my beating heart!

I’m really starting to like this College Saga. It’s similar to the early chapters when we were first getting to know the characters. Jack’s crushing setback of not making the cast reminded me of the time when he read on Facebook that Craig and Kayla were a couple. He bounced back with a little help from friends/family and appears to be doing the same thing now. Two things— a) I suspect that Jack has a thing for Holly but doesn’t realize it yet, and— b) he’s going to get into some kind of trouble at the picnic. Good chapter.

Thanks for the list! I’ll watch your Top Fifteen as they become available on Amazon and Netflix. Haven’t been to an actual movie theater in a couple years. Sitting in one of those seats for two-plus hours is torture. Give me my leather recliner and plasma screen, my own bathroom and my own snacks. Am I getting old? Yeah…

Well, that was unexpected. Jack gives the worst audition of his acting career? I know he’s been having some self-doubts lately, but I didn’t think he’d blow his first stage appearance in college. Be interesting to see how Jack bounces back from this. I bet he gets a ton of advice from Kayla, Rhona and Tara. I’m becoming increasingly convinced that Thomas is more than a bit weird. Referring to Rap as ‘nigger music’ tells me that a religious upbringing was lost on him. Jack’s not going to take much more of his crap. Looking forward to the next one.

Don’t rush anything! Quality— not quantity. Remember that we’re patient fans.

Finally got caught up. A good couple of chapters, I thought. Kayla’s admission that she’s happy that she came to Iowa State is exactly what Jack needed to hear since he was afraid she would be miserable so far from home. Actually, I think Kayla is somewhat relieved to be away from her folks for a while. Don’t know what kind trouble one or both of them will get into at this point. Maybe Jack will get a scene partner who’s hot for him like Jessica was? And Jack needs to call Tara and find out how she’s doing in her own dorm room.

Hey Joe, Haven’t finished the chapter yet but I was wondering— are we going to get a list of your best and worst movies of 2017?

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas— especially Jack and Kayla!

Thanks, Joe! A merry Christmas to you and your family. God Bless!

I don’t know what to make of Thomas. I sort of get the impression that he’s going to try imposing his will on Jack. Maybe he was the top dog among his high school friends and figures that college will be no different. The fact that he immediately approved of Kayla and then immediately disliked Heather tells me he’s pretty shallow. He asks if guns are allowed and then tells Jack that he would never join the ROTC. And why would he want a pellet gun, anyway? To shoot the chipmunks? Weird vibes coming from that guy. Jack should record whatever Thomas says in his sleep and play it back to him each morning. (just a thought ) I’m liking Heather more and more. Smart, sweet and she’s got a horse. Kevin reminds me a little of Joe, so I think he and Jack will become good friends.

That was quick. See what you can accomplish when you stay up all night?

First Timer and BashfulScribe are right in pointing out that Jack’s character has morphed from the early chapters. Everything that has occurred thus far— especially the near-breakup with Kayla— has pretty much done away with Jack’s noble White Knight complex and made him more self-centered. Does that make Jack unlikeable? No more than any other 19-year old college freshman, I would think. The chapter itself was okay. I personally hate long car trips so I could well sympathize with Alan and Amanda. I thought the checking-in process at Iowa State was interesting— for damn sure we never had a Cigar Club when I was in school. I was also intrigued by Kayla’s roommate Heather, a Physics major. I admit that I hadn’t heard the term ‘astrolabe’ in decades. [A precision inclinometer used by astronomers and navigators.] This will be the beginnings of the new group, I suppose— Jack & Kayla and their roommates Heather & Thomas? And what’s the name of this Saga?

Thanks Joe! Going to take my beagles out to the park trails for a while and then just relax. Best wishes to you and yours for a happy and safe holiday.

Good chapter and good-bye scenes. Now, then— knowing Jack as we do, what kind of trouble do you think he’s going to get into once he gets settled in at college? The title of the new Saga may give us a hint. Don’t forget that Jack still has that Chinese water torture ad pipe bomb in his future.