Last time in Boy Window...We are back
in Amber's POV and her mom comes home makes some awkward comments
about her and Liam's sexual tension and tells them that their dad
moved back to town. Instead of calling the cops, or getting a
restraining order, Jake beats up furniture and Amber cries because
she lost her happily ever after. The chapter changes back to Liam's
POV for the last 5 pages where Liam suggests kidnapping Amber as a
solution to their problems.
Chapter 17
“~Amber~”
I'm numb to the pain of this
stupidity. Let's hope it holds.
“Silently, I tried to
convince myself that this boy Johnny probably wouldn't even want to
talk to me”
Amber, you are Amber, so he
will probably try to fondle you in the middle of geometry or
something.
Fast-forward to school Kate
is in love with the new guy (gee, I wonder who that is).
“It had to be him, my
new stepbrother.”
That was surprisingly smart
of you Amber. I half expect you to guess Pope Francis.
“'I don't know his name
yet. Hottie McTottie suits him though.'”
Are you 5?
“Jake threw his arm
around her shoulder. 'You know, I'm not used to you not wanting me,
Kate. I'm not sure I like this new behaviour'”
I hate you all.
Amber tells Kate that Johnny
is her step-brother. Kate takes this as an advantage over the other
girls. Amber says she can't/won't help her.
“'Seriously, the
hottest guy is your boyfriend, the second hottest guy is your brother
and a very close third is your damn stepbrother?'”
Well, when you put it like
that it sounds contrived.
Jessica walks up. Amber says
“pay up”. Jessica says “as if. You didn't have sex.” (I'm
abbreviating. You're welcome.) Jake walks away cause he “don't
wanna know”. And Liam says “I don't kiss and tell” but after
Amber insists, he confirms “yes, we did bone.” Jessica and Liam
argue because Jessica is entitled to his dick because of stereotypes
and it all amounts to
I just saved you two pages
on boring as shit “conflict” but I will share this gem
“'You're not supposed
to be with some brown haired, grey eyed, little freak!'”
Jessica is shit at insults. First she just calls Amber "emo" and now she is just listing her physical traits. Is it because Jessica is none too bright, or is it because Moseley doesn't want anyone insulting Amber?
They go to class. Naturally,
Johnny is in Amber's class. I would have been more surprised if he
wasn't. The way he is described, he reminds me of Gerard Way circa
2004 but with less eye make-up and charisma.
...I may or may
not still love MCR
The teacher assigns Jessica
to show Johnny around. Part of me thought it would be Amber, but it's
not like it matters. Johnny says hi to Amber by name.
“How did he know my
name?”
He's your step-brother, I'm
sure your creeper dad has a photo of you. Or, hell, social media.
Technology is not really talked about, which is odd in and of itself,
but if this is at a time when the Wii exists, then social media is a
thing. He probably Facebook stalked you.
“...everyone was asking
if Liam and I were an item, and how long we'd been together. Blah,
blah, blah – it was the same thing over and over and I was already
bored of it.”
Welcome to my life.
Amber tells Liam about
Johnny. They shit talk Jessica. At lunch, Johnny asks to sit with
them but retracts the question when he started hearing crickets. Kate
feels cock-blocked. Amber calls him back. They chat.
“'Stephen showed me a
photo of you. I haven't seen one of your brother though, so I have no
idea who he is'”
See? Creepy, but not because
of Johnny and it makes sense. Was that so hard Moseley?
Amber introduces Jake and
Johnny. Jake is his usual charming self.
“'Hey, how's it going?'
Jake growled. His face was hard and not at all friendly.”
Amber did you expect any
less from him?
More chatting and a little
flirting from Kate. Johnny answers the “where did you go before”
question with
“'I actually went to an
all-boys school in Mersey'”
Okay, I have no idea where
that is. Google powers go!
...Mersey is a river in the
western part of the UK and apparently there is a Boston in the
eastern part. I know a lot of this was assumptions on my part,
because I am an American and I naturally assumed that the Boston she
was referring to was the one in Massachusetts, but I still should not
be just figuring out the setting on page 193.
Also, this changes the
felony kidnapping charge and other assumptions I made about legal
action DBD could take. If anyone knows enough about British law to
comment, please do, because I would like to know how this changes
things.
Anyway...
Kate flirts some more with
Johnny and Jake is grumpy.
“Jake was totally
crushing on Kate!”
I sure somebody somewhere
cares, but I don't.
Johnny hands his class
schedule to Amber.
“...he had every single
afternoon class with me.”
Amber is unnerved which
makes sense.
“...what if he went
home and my father asked about me?”
This is a valid concern but
you could just say “hey, could you not talk to my dad about me”
you don't have to say it is because he raped your for 8 years, you
could just say that you don't have a good relationship.
Jessica walks up.
Amber: “I saw that
shirt worn exactly like that on the hooker on the corner last night.”
Jessica: “You hang out
on street corners?”
Amber: “When I'm
meeting with your mom I do”
Guys, I think Amber just cam out to us. I know this is supposed to be a
“your mom” joke but what Amber is really saying is that she pays
for female hookers. Or is Amber saying she is a hooker? Cause Johns and Janes don't hang out on the street corners to meet hookers, they usually drive up. Or is Amber saying that she is Jessica's mother's pimp? Cause that is totally what we need in our leading lady. The ability to frighten and abuse sex workers. Why is this more complicated than it needs to be?
Jessica walks off (defeated,
I guess) and more chatting ensues. Johnny is trying to be nice and
get to know them since he is stuck there. There is even more
chatting, so much so actually, that we go from lunch to after school
in one sentence.
Johnny shows a family
picture he has in his wallet. Amber wonders if DBD beats them.
“The physical abuse was
severe – Jake had gotten the brunt of it – but it was the sexual
abuse that left mental scars that I knew I still wasn't over.”
Physical abuse also leaves
mental scars, just so you know. And I would like to see evidence of
the scars from your sexual abuse beyond the subsequent line
“Memories of those
Sundays flashed through my mind...”
Because, as I said in the
last chapter, we really don't know what happened. Don't just say “bad
things happened” show me what bad things or at least bits of the
bad things and how they effect you. You know, basic story telling.
Liam and Jake finish
practice. Both Amber and Liam are missing each other because it has
been nearly 8 hours since they were alone together. Cause that's
healthy.
They all check out Johnny's
car, a BMW Z4. That is a 40k car if DBD bought it new, and he gave it
to a teenager.
Liam talks about owning one
when he becomes a pro hockey player. How big is hockey in the UK? You
hear about football all the time but not really hockey.
Anyway...
The chapter ends with Amber
happy at the prospect of cuddling. Woo. Going forward, I really hope
that Johnny doesn't become a romantic rival for Liam, cause he seems
overly attached to Amber already.
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