Oh my gosh.  Parting after that first spark!  So painful.  You can see them pulling toward each other like two magnets...the kind that pull at each other,not the kind that push away...that wouldn’t be a very romantic image.

It seems like Penny is leaving, partially, because of how we see Jack’s parents react.  Like our favorite shy, mini giantess can’t handle the impending drama...or at least awkwardness.  That is so sweet, but so sad. 

Though, if he’d been left alone, the rest of Jack’s night would have consisted of something resembling pure joy.  A heartfelt longing, with something to actually look forward to, can be this joyous thing.  Like the anticipation of Penny is almost as good as having her there.  He’d be allowed some warm romantic feelings to supplant the stress and horror he’s endured over the past few nights.

If he’d been left alone. 

Two of the great “accidental villains" of the genre show up to ruin his night.  If you’re a fan of “unaware"  you should get a bang out of these two.

Mom having to have explained to her that there’s no beta girls (hate the term, more and more) for the umpteenth time is certainly happening at the wrong time.  With the “near universal" dosing of that evil drug to the girls of the population she might have noticed the absence of what she might consider “suitable companionship" for Jack.  What?  Does she work somewhere that gives the idea that normal girls Jack’s age aren’t nearly extinct?  Is there a tiny girl’s boutique that she’s been watching? 

Dad’s “so you’re not gay” comment seems especially thoughtless.  With the ratios of beta boys to beta girls being so brutal...and since all alphas all seem to be that jerk you knew way back when...guess what everyone imagines the most likely future for a beta boy is...   Jack must have heard comments like that his whole time at high school.
So, dad sets Jack up for that and then has the ... what’s worse than gall? ...to make that little joke?

Of course, they still picture themselves as parents and go through the motions of acting like they’re part of a family, but their past selfishness and thoughtlessness still hangs in the air.  And they can’t imagine that Jack endures constant teasing and abuse at school, do they really think he needs to come home to that?  What paradise were they raised in?  They really have no excuse.  It seems like they are in denial of what their selfishness has cost Jack.  They seem pretty irredeemable.   At least as a reader, even if Jack doesn’t want to see it that way.

Still loved the chapter.  It was so dramatic and sad.  There was sweetness and realism.  It’s another brilliant work by a thoughtful and deep writer.  Imagin8 is going to spoil us all if he keeps this level of quality up. 

Thank you for sharing some awesome work.

Peace

pix

Another Great Chapter. It's normal Jack exploded that he kissed a (alpha) girl and he's happy and confused at same time. This parental teasing did not help. I hope to see Caitlin soon.

Of course the Dad get's the brunt of the hate here and somehow gets blamed by the Mom. Honestly he only said one screwed up thing at the end and it was a joke and had nothing to do with the fact that Penny was an Alpha. It more more like a mean-spirited "that's mah boy" sort of thing for bringing a girl to the house.

The mom on the other hand was passive agreesively attacking Penny for being an Alpha and implying that she wouldn't be good for her son for a good while before the dad uttered a peep. Imo, she was much more antagonistic but that's just how I see it.

Anyway if ONLY the parents knew what their son had REALLY gone thru, it's not even funny how much they don't know!

This chapter is....tiring.

Not because it's bad but because of the rollercoaster of emotions Jack went through in one day! One moment is the greatest of his life and the next he's questioning his self worth and full of resentment! Come up for air Jack!