Chester57

Thanks! I'm at work, of course-- have to wait until tonight.

Good deal. Since this will be the last chapter in the Transition Saga, I’ve been wondering how it will end. Either a long, bittersweet good-bye for everyone or perhaps something unexpected happens— a cliff-hanger that will follow Jack and Kayla all the way to Iowa.

Well, I think Jack lost his appetite there at the end of the chapter but I’m not too worried. I don’t believe that Kayla would be so insensitive as to give him bad news on his birthday. She said she wants to talk to him about “college stuff,” so I don’t think it’ll be that serious. So Jack got a roommate named Tom Collins, an Iowa kid who uses Bible quotes? They’ll make an interesting pair! And Tara reserving a room to herself seems to have Arthur worried. I’m wondering why Amanda is obsessing so much about the sex with Alan two years ago… unless she’s afraid she’ll be tempted to do it again once Jack is no longer there. -------------- I glanced at Kayla and raised my eyebrows. “My gift is a bit…different,” she said slowly, feeling out each word as if it was a fragile bit of pottery, “I’ll give it to you later when we’re alone.” ...but you go ahead and try to guess what she got me before I eventually get to it. Go on. I dare you. And I promise you that you’re not gonna be able to guess it. Easy. A four-year supply of condoms.

Awesome! You just saved the day.

If Jack has his own room then the possibilities will be interesting to say the least!

What makes it curious is that they both applied and were accepted to Iowa State at the same time. Why would Kayla be assigned a roommate and not Jack?

Okay, finished Ch. 82 last night. As I was suspecting, the ‘Talk’ between Jack and his Dad didn’t include any scandalous revelations or family secrets. Mike Harrison was probably the original frat-boy party animal when he was in college and perhaps wanted to be sure that Jack didn’t make any of the mistakes he did? To quote Mike— “I’ve done plenty of bad stuff in my life. Stuff that you don’t know about. Stuff that…” He dropped his voice a little, “…your mother doesn’t know about.” Hmm? I wonder if any of that “bad stuff” is relevant to Jack and his siblings? As far as the college goes, I’m wondering if Jack might not get a roommate and have the dorm room to himself? That might be interesting. I got a smile when Jack mentioned his “adventurer’s kit.” I used to call mine a Go-Bag. A small back pack I could just grab and head out to the woods or wherever. Still got it around somewhere.

I’ve been thinking along this line as well. Also, don’t forget that Becca and Craig are in the same situation. It was probably the happiest day of Becca’s life when she got the promise ring. Craig represents a much better future for her. I was thinking that they would break up over the summer but now I’m not sure. They may find a way to make it through to Becca’s graduation and then get married.

My graduation was held at Blossom Music Center, an outdoor venue that is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra— pretty fancy by today’s standards. Class size was 450. We walked across the stage to get congratulated by the principal and then handed our actual diploma by the vice-principal. Done and done. Before that, however, was the small matter of a $6 locker rental fee that I refused to pay because the fucking lock didn’t work!! They wouldn’t fix it or assign me a different locker so I had to buy a separate padlock to keep my stuff from getting ripped off. Second-last day of school I get called to the office and am gleefully told, “Sorry Chester, but no $6, no diploma.” I was seething but decided not to become an object lesson. Off-topic note: For fans of Riverdale, season 2 starts Wednesday at 8PM on the CW.

Yes, another fine chapter. I am not holding out much hope for a long-distance relationship between Arthur and Tara. We still don’t really know her true feelings about him. Arthur’s conversation with Jack could suggest that he’s not sure Tara would stay with him through the separation of college. Jack mentioned that Kayla never really tells him about what is going on at her house and with her parents. Well, for damn sure something is going on. I wonder if it was true that Chester Hannigan was out at a job interview when Jack came to pick up Kayla for the prom? And “Too late to change, anyway…?” Now that’s an interesting comment. Kayla is definitely having second thoughts about Iowa. Two possibilities that I can think of— Her folks have been quietly pressuring Kayla not to go. Recall that Mary had wanted Kayla to follow her into a political career. Kayla is afraid that if she leaves her parents would separate. Thoughts?

I haven’t finished reading Ch. 81 yet but I noticed two things— When Jessica’s mom meets Jack and Kayla’s parents at the graduation she introduces herself as Alaina Wilson. In Ch.79 after the musical she said her name was Ursula Wilson. I could have sworn that Jack’s middle name was Matthew— not Robert. I believe it was mentioned early in the story. I’ll have to go back and see if I can find it.

Congrats, Uncle Joe! Thanks for the new chapter.

Something I really liked was Jack and Nick having lunch for the last time. Especially when Nick said he was going to spend the summer reading books. That is exactly what I did the summer after I graduated. Up to that point I only read what I was required to read— never for my own enjoyment. It was the weirdest thing that I didn’t have to read anymore but that I wanted to. An awakening of sorts. One thing Nick was right about was going back and re-reading a book at a later date. You always pick up things you missed and gain a new appreciation of the author’s work. Good luck in the future, Mr. Tallorn.

Chapter 80 seems to back up your contention that Kayla is annoyed about something and may indeed be having doubts about leaving her family. Could be that Chester and Mary are still having problems. I was glad that Jack had a good-bye scene with Beth. As for Jessica-- “I hate you.” Perfect exit line! A bit of a let-down that Belle didn’t show up. Ah well, we’ve still got graduation and the whole summer yet to come. It will be interesting to see what happens when Jack and Kayla get to college— assuming they get there. When Jack was choosing courses with his counselor in Ch. 79 he seemed to want to take the least amount of courses necessary to get his degree. Kayla will be just the opposite— a lot of hard science courses and labs. Throughout high school they had a fair number of classes together, but in college they won’t have anything together. They won’t be seeing each other nearly as much as they do now.

Don’t underestimate Jessica’s vindictive nature. Perhaps her mother can rein her in, we’ll see. So far whenever Jack and Kayla go to a dance or party it doesn’t turn out well. Can you pinpoint where Kayla mentioned that her co-workers are older? I do recall that she hangs out with them. I based the ‘Jeff theory’ on the fact that Brad had been gone for more than a year before he came out of left field. Granted, we all knew he’d be back.

Theory time-- Jeff has been stalking Kayla via phone calls and text messages for well over a year and she decided not to mention it to Jack. Then right after the last day of school he shows up at her door. Jack expresses his dismay in no uncertain terns. Catfight. Jack and Kayla decide to bury the tomahawk and attend Jessica’s year-end party. Bad idea. Snippy words are exchanged and the situation rapidly goes south. Jessica slaps Kayla, who responds by breaking Jessica’s nose. The police become involved. Remember GarboCon? How about if Kayla and some of her co-workers at the clinic get invited to a week-long series of veterinary seminars in Pittsburg? Jack is fine with it until he drives Kayla to work on the morning of the trip and sees a large travel van with three girls and four guys waiting on her. Pleasant dreams, Mr. Harrison.

The Transition Saga. I have a feeling that something will happen with Kayla.

Yeah, he’s stringing us along for a reason. Does the next crisis happen during the last month of school or over the summer? Your suggestion that Kayla be the one to mess up and hurt Jack is pretty good. It would be interesting to see how she reacts when the shoe is on the other foot. Any ideas about Jessica’s mom? Mrs. Wilson’s adversarial relationship with her ‘spoiled’ daughter is something we need to know more about.

Know what I just realized? While it was good, Chapter 78 was a little too quiet— like the calm before the storm. Something is gonna blow up soon.

Don’t want to spoil it for you, but I’ll just say that it gets worse before it gets better.

Okay, pretty good start to the new Saga but I’m a little put out that Belle and Ms. Cartwright appear to be on their way out of the story. I really like those two so hopefully this isn’t the end of line for them. Does anyone really think that Craig will propose to Becca? It keeps coming up but I’m convinced it’s just a high school thing. Craig will be in college God-knows-where for a year before Becca graduates. Promise ring or not, there’s too much against it. Big break-up coming there. This father-son talk that Jack will have with his dad is starting to get me puzzled. At first I thought it might be something earth-shattering like, “Jack, your Aunt Blanche is your real mother and Tara is your half-sister” or something along that line. But when Jack mentioned that Mike seemed to enjoy making him wait for it, I wonder how serious it can be? Amanda wants to work in politics? That I believe! ...And that was the best sex scene of the story.

Interesting title. Does it perhaps indicate that certain relationships are going to be changing? I have two possibilities in mind but I’ll wait to read the new chapter.

If Beth gets killed I will be very pissed off since she’s my favorite You feel me, Jashley? But seriously, I agree that Ms. Cartwright’s death would affect Jack deeply. It would be just as bad— if not worse— than Coach Walburn’s suicide. Jack would mourn for the loss of a friend, but it really doesn’t affect anyone else in the story. Now, Grant dying would send Amanda over the edge and that strikes to the heart of Jack’s family. So, maximum damage results.

I somehow don’t believe that it will be anyone in the core group. The Saga that just ended was about ‘rebuilding’ the group. Jack has made progress with everyone except Amanda. If Grant dies in a crash then she will be distraught to the point of withdrawal, just like she was when Sam cheated on her. Guess who will be the focal point of Amanda’ anger and despair?

Probably not. This next Saga begins the last semester for the group at Brow Ridge so events will no doubt happen fast and furious. Now, Mr. Long… your previous post dredged up some unpleasant memories from my own high school years. I dug out my yearbook and right near the middle was a page titled ‘In Loving Memory.’ Four classmates didn’t survive to walk across the stage on Graduation Day. I really didn’t know any of them and only recalled one of the tragedies with any clarity. The guy died instantly (according to the police) after slamming head-on into a telephone pole. I never knew the details of the crashes that killed the other three but for damn sure they were all DUI. Another one that I most definitely did know… a pretty girl who lived down the street, the youngest of three sisters. I was a senior when she was a 9th grade freshman. What a sweetie! No, there was nothing between us and I think she liked me because I would always give her a lift to wherever she wanted to go. A couple years go by and now she’s a junior. One morning my Mom tells me that dear, sweet Elena from down the street had been in a terrible accident last night. Four girls in the car and all of them drunk. At the hospital it is determined that Elena has suffered a severe spinal injury and is now— at age 17— a quadriplegic. I swear I cried for a week, just as I’m crying now bringing all this back. Elena’s family moved away shortly after that. To once again quote Billy Joel— “The good old days weren’t always good.” A good ending to the Saga. Don’t blow it again, Jack— the learning curve gets very steep from now on. As I said, I think it’ll be Grant who buys the farm. You read it here first.