ally douglas? > Recent Status Updates

“or agin seein' a speckled nigger. “

Oh!

interesting writing style

"If I'd been only ten minutes earlier," thought Reggie, "I might have heartened him up to pull through another day."

Aww reggie

"My dear friend, do not let us begin that discussion again. I have a wife and children and you have a husband, so we both of us have much to fear from other people's opinion."

The plot thickens

"Very well," he said abruptly, "if our son guesses anything, if he has any suspicions, he will have you, he will have us both in his power. You have got on without seeing him for the last forty years. What is the matter with you to-day?"

Ah yes, the fine line between fear and anger

"What sort of traveller?" the watchman cries angrily, trying to disguise his terror by shouting.

I’ve been revitalized

Sick reading this. Poor Jean

i love christmas

I feel like ive read this?

That's enough for the night, I think

“Abby’s doing,” Andrew guessed. “If Neil told me to stop smoking, I’d kick him out. I would’ve thought you had more spine.”

His head understood why it was better this way–she had dreams, and he had dreams, and they would spend most of their lives apart because of the paths they needed to walk even if they were each other’s one & only–but it took his heart a couple years to catch on.

Andrew spent so much time trying to figure out Neil that he didn’t–perhaps on purpose?–waste a second figuring out why he was so, so angry. Maybe he should’ve. It might’ve helped soften the blow when he stormed into the hotel and saw Neil again.

David liked Neil. The kid was a bit ragged around the edges and ice all the way through, but he was all right. But David had loved Kayleigh, and he wouldn't risk losing her only son. Kevin was all David had left of her.

Oh.

Andrew flashed a toothy grin and leaned back. "Oh, Coach. How unexpected. You might be growing on me."

Today required a change of plans, because Andrew Minyard was sitting at his table with an ashtray and a familiar bottle of scotch...David wasn't sure what to react to first, the break-in or the blatant theft of his liquor. Either one required more caffeine than was presently in his system. He settled for scowling at Andrew on his way to the cabinets.

David meant what he told Andrew: the Foxes needed a solid defense line or they were finished. David's initial four-year contract was almost up and the Foxes were another rocky season away from being downgraded to Class II. The only way to save his job and the Foxes' ranking was to turn the team around. He needed a backbone to build his team around.

Their junior year Andrew was the second-ranked goalkeeper in South Carolina and Aaron was a top-ten backliner. This year Andrew was first, with better statistics than either of David's current 'keepers. Andrew's percentages would likely drop when he had to face NCAA-ranked players, but David wasn't going to pass that talent up.

"Losers aren't people with weak statistics. Losers are people who won't try, who look at insurmountable odds and give up prematurely. My Foxes aren't losers. We put it all out there day after day because we believe there's got to be something better than this. It's not about getting there quickly; it's about sticking with this no matter how long the fight."

They complemented each other well on the court. Nicky wasn't a student, but he was the twins' legal guardian, so the principal and counselor had met him several times. Felder said Nicky came to almost every game, too, and he'd vouched for the easy relationship between the cousins.

Oh, poor, poor, David

"Yes, I have recruiting standards, but your doppelganger here completely misunderstands them." Andrew gave an expansive gesture, inviting him to explain himself, but David wasn't waiting for his permission. "I look for people who've been given up on—people who've given up on themselves. The Foxhole Court is a place to regroup, to catch your breath and find your feet again. It's a second chance."

It wasn't modesty; it was apathy. Andrew took no pride or satisfaction at being first-ranked goalie in the southeast. Coach Felder had said it, but David didn't believe it until he had seen Andrew play. Andrew defended his goal like it was a minor inconvenience.

He'd just never before seen Andrew lie to himself.

...Oh?

They were twins, whether they wanted to be or not, whether they could stand each other or not, and it was as much a blessing as a curse. A childhood apart meant nothing, and Andrew's drugs were inconsequential in the end. Aaron still saw himself on every inch of Andrew's skin and in the tiny gestures and tics they shared. He always knew when Andrew was lying.

"First off, that phone tag thing got old about ten months ago," Nicky said. "Second, why should I tell Andrew something he already knows? Andrew makes up outrageous lies because they amuse him, not because he thinks he's fooling anyone. I think. I might be wrong. I don't understand all the fine print of that woo-hoo."

They meant nothing. But for one small moment, Aaron was impressed. He wondered if Andrew felt it too, but he crushed that thought as quickly as it formed. It didn't matter. It wouldn't matter.

"—is a Minyard," Aaron said, "and Minyards don't get higher than rock bottom. Now leave us alone."

I NEED AN AARON POV