Chapter 14, Page 3 It came from the drain

Gee. I wonder what Mary's reaction to this thing is.

[/sarcasm]

Actually, I'm kinda surprised the rest of the neighborhood didn't hear that.

Chapter 13, Page 6 Pre-performance problems

More delays. Really should do something about that. Maybe if I actually budgeted my time. Though considering what's happened in the past when I tried to maintain a daily schedule... *sigh*

Well, I rather hope this is an exaggeration of actual events. I don't think I ever caused this big a scene before a performance. Though I was rather vocal about my dislike for make-up. It feels... *wrong.* I don't like having stuff stuck to my face.

Chapter 9, Page 13 Why that look?

Mary is in trouble. Though perhaps she's suffered enough for her crime?

Chapter 7, Page 9 Walking

Babies. Lots of fun. With the way Mary reacts to trouble it's amazing she hasn't had a heart attack already. Oh dear.

Chapter 7, Page 5 Definitely broken.

Such a nice house. A great house. The previous owners? Not so great. I have no idea who they got to make the built-in sofas, but they flimsy things that were more annoying than they were worth. They didn't even look nice.

Well, the start of a slow change in decor starts now.

Chapter 7, Page 4 Little situation

Ever have one of those days? I think Mary feels like she's having one. She may be right. (Maybe if she wasn't such a klutz...)

Chapter 5, Page 18 Psycho Goat

That goat had issues. Big issues.

Mary was minding her own business chasing geese when BAM! this psychotic goat bursts out of nowhere and chases her! Finally ended up treeing her at the top of a slide. I'd illustrate the whole thing but we gotta get to Duluth sometime this summer. lol

Chapter 4, Page 42 Babysitting chaos.

Sorry this is a bit late. ^^; Well, it's still technically Wednesday.

Anyway, Mary once again is called upon to babysit for Becky's family. Gotta come up with a last name for them. If for no other reason than Mom being able to refer to Becky's mom as something other than, well, "Becky's mom."

Oh, and yes, Mary is trying to tie the door shut. It's actually SOP in Becky's home because otherwise her little brother would run rampant all night. Fun family, huh?

Chapter 4, Page 38 Again?!

Mary is not having a good day.

What could possibly be worse than doing such a good job babysitting that she gets hired for a second job?

Wait a minute...

Chapter 4, Page 12 Soaked

Don't you just hate it when ice forms over puddles but the water underneath doesn't freeze? So does Mary, now.

This isn't the river, thankfully, so Mary isn't going to be totally submerged. She will, however, have to deal with a tidal wave when she gets home.

Chapter 3, Page 29 Anxiety Attack

Funny how everything looks like a crisis when your twelve. Of course, in Mary's case it's not so much because of her age as because of her personality. "Tightly wound" is putting it mildly. (Note to self: never feed her coffee.)

If future posts are a little late, please forgive me. I have a really bad cold. And on Thanksgiving, too. T.T

Chapter 3, Page 27 I hate math

This is a stand alone episode, but it connects to the main plot in that it serves as a reminder of why Mary's home schooled.

Out of fairness, I should mention that the entire flashback involves a single teacher. Mary's third grade math teacher to be precise. She appeared is another short flashback here.

Why someone like this was ever allowed to teach children is beyond me. What's crazier is that Mary was apparently the only kid she picked on. At least, when Mary begged her home room teacher to take her out of that class, other students said that the math teacher wasn't as bad as Mary said.

In any case, this is the only teacher to scare the bejabbers out of Mary. (She was a little afraid of one of the sixth grade teachers, but only because he was somewhat intimidating.)

Chapter 3, Page 22 Unexpected Discovery

So we're back to looking for the teaching license. It's amazing the things one finds when looking for something else. Sometimes those things aren't very pleasant.

This is only a small detour and thematically it's very important. (Though perhaps more to the next chapter than to this one.)

Chapter 3, Page 21 Acrophobia?

This was not one of my, ah, Mary's smartest ideas. Granted, it did prove that it was possible to jump from a single story roof without suffering serious injury. It also proved that Mary and heights don't get along very well.

Funny, since she loves climbing on things. It's the getting down that's the hard part.

Chapter 3, Page 19 Last Minute Evacuation Plan

I sometimes wonder if Mom just made that up on the spur of the moment.

Still, it is a good plan. Though it's missing a few steps.

Chapter 3, Page 18 Overkill?

Twelve is such an impressionable age.

Actually, this was closer to being a reasonable concern when I was that age. There were a lot of stories on the news of kids being taken into foster care because some social services type felt that the parents weren't properly PC. At least, that's the impression I got. I was twelve, so it's possible I missed something. A lot of the kids seemed to have been home schooled, too, so I really freaked out.

It is true that home schooling gets a pretty bad rap from the media. I have yet to see a positive portrayal in a major TV series. Heck, *any* TV series outside EWTN.

Chapter 3, Page 15 To War!

So, Mary's Dad is declaring war against the school system. ^_^ I remember this very clearly, and how heroic he looked to me. I still think he's the greatest dad on the planet.

For some reason, though, Mom doesn't remember the incident. Ah well, what's important to one isn't so much to another.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had gone back to school then. Nothing good I imagine, but whatever the case I'm quite happy that my parents stopped me.

This chapter is going to be difficult to wrap up, I think, because the paperwork actually continues for a few more years as I recall. I do have an ending in mine, though. Don't worry.

Or worry for the characters. If you do then I'm doing my job as an author. (Or mangaka, I like that word as it covers the categories of artist and author.)

Chapter 3, Page 14, Revelation

Sorry about the delay. (So sorry!)

I was at home and completely forgot that it was Wednesday. Ironic, since I was home because it was Wednesday. ^^;

Anyway, the story continues. The first line is mostly Mary's imagination, the second line is more related to the central storyline. I included the first line as a way to indicate the kind of shock involved. Mary was having a very good day before overhearing this conversation.

Chapter 3, Page 3, Red Tape Forms

And so we reach the actual plot of the third chapter. Hey! And we're only 3 pages in! I'm getting good at this. It usually takes weeks for me to introduce the central plot. ^^;

If it sound weird now, keep reading. It gets a lot weirder, and a lot more personal.