It seemed like just seconds ago Avery had snuggled in a warm bed in a dark room. He awoke to a room that was bathed in sunlight. He headed toward the kitchen, stopping for a bathroom break. He found his mom at the kitchen table, reading some papers.

“Hello, Sweetie. Oh, we don’t go around the house in just a nightie. Go slip something on over it.”

Saturday morning Avery awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking. Mom was fixing a nice breakfast so, presumably, he would have a full stomach to make a full confession. When he went into the dining room, she put a full plate in front of him and inquired, “Can we talk after breakfast?”

He gave the only answer he felt would satisfy her, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank you, Honey. You know ….” Her cell phone chimed. She looked at the screen and the blood went from her face. “Hello?”

Note: When you start reading this, you will probably think, “Yeah, I’ve read this already”. It is a bit different, however. I had fun writing it, and I hope you will find that it was worth about 5 minutes of your time.

Thanks, ♥ Jamie

Chapter 4

Amy showed up at school the next day looking not quite as gloomy as she had been. Celia hoped that she had helped Amy by sharing the burden. Then, after just a few minutes in class, Amy was called to the office. On her way out, she looked at Celia. It wasn’t an accusing look. It looked more like a sad “goodbye”. Celia was sure Amy would be back, but just the fact that she was called to the office set Celia’s mind to manufacturing terrible scenarios. Maybe Amy’s parents were headed to prison. Maybe Amy was headed to prison! Whatever was happening could not be good!

Celia Thomas and Amy Jordan had been friends for a very long time. As Amy put it, “We’ve been friends since ‘forever ago’.” They had most classes together at school and sleepovers as much as possible. Amy lived straight down the street a few blocks from the school. Most everyone knew where she lived, but she was very shy and Celia was the only one who was able to befriend her.

Katie Reed’s life was perfect. Scratch that; Katie’s life was just about as near perfect as an 8th grade girl’s life could be. Her dad had a great job, her mom worked on the computer at home, and her sister was in the 12th grade and would be going to a college 200 miles away next year. Katie had a boyfriend who was just about the cutest guy at school. They had been going together several months and he treated her great. All the other girls knew Aldo was Katie’s guy and they should stay clear.

This is the first update of “Rivers and Brooks” following the end of the novel. If you haven’t read the novel, you may have a hard time understanding what’s going on, but you may enjoy reading about Lisa’s first date with her girlfriend. She tried to tell me everything was above board … no “hanky panky”. Those of you who have read the novel know a little about Lisa, and will not believe that statement for one second.

La Prima Donna

The day after the funeral, I got my mom to take me to visit Ken at the hospital. He was sitting up in bed looking as healthy as could be, and he smiled when I went into the room,

“Hey, Chrissy! How’s it going?”

“Fine! I wanted to come by to talk just a bit. First, I want to say thank you!”

He was obviously confused. “For …?”

“Saving my life, of course!”

“I did? Oh, yeah! Well, thank you for breaking my fall!”

Rivers and Brooks 32 (Final Chapter)

The heat was record-breaking. Most of the businesses in town were well equipped for hot weather, but the air conditioners at the high school couldn’t keep up and it was 80 ͦ in the coolest part of the school. Most of the girls were coping pretty well, as skirts and dresses got shorter and thinner. But the dress code proscribed the wearing of shorts, so the boys suffered in long pants while the girls managed to get a cool breeze on their nether regions.

I don’t like hospitals, but my doctor warned me that I needed to get my appendix removed before it became an emergency situation. I figured I could handle day surgery or even an overnight stay. My wife dropped me off and went to work, assuring me that she would be back when I woke up. It was kind of nice being pampered a bit. I arrived at 6:00AM as instructed. I was put through the required procedures and asked dozens of questions. Finally, they got to my name.

My whole family attended Bryan’s funeral. We heard that, because his mom was so lacking funds, an anonymous donor had paid for the funeral, casket, and graveyard plot. I didn’t have to ask who that donor was; because there was only one person I knew who did such things anonymously. I decided to wait a bit to ask my dad to help Bryan’s mom any more financially.

Hi. It’s Sarah again. You would probably know soon anyway, due to the superior quality of my writing. Also – with the bestest gramer and gratest speling in the world. Seriously the whole family was so happy about Lisa’s news! She came home exhausted after dinner, so I didn’t ask her how it went. I also got up quietly the next morning and let her sleep late.

But I realized that Lisa and I now had a growing problem at school with which to deal.

This is about molestation but, as you will see, there are no vulgar words or violence, so I would rate it “G” (for General Audiences).(Note: changed my mind when I uploaded it and rated it "Mature Subjects PG")

Christmas vacation ended and, as my grandparents left, Dad told them he would prepare a place for them in the main house, where they could stay while a contractor came in to paint and update the interior to the servants’ quarters to Pop’s and Mama’s specifications. They made a short list of the things they wanted done, telling they trusted him to make whatever other changes he felt needed to be made. We said our goodbyes, but we were happy that they would soon be back to stay.