Lightning-Dono: Sorry, but I won't reply to the reviews this time either. xx;; I'm too lazy and after marching in a parade which rained through the whole time, I'm too tired. xD But let it be known that I faithfully read each and every one of your reviews and will take in all opinions and consider all contributions! Thank you so much for everyone's support!

And just on a note...when I write this, it doesn't reflect my true feelings. There is no way in the world I could be as cold as Nami.

--

Ninth of Summer

I consulted Gustafa today on what I shall from this day on dub as the "Jack" issue. And his opinion isn't making anything brighter on my part. Gustafa believes that Jack may have a "thing" for me. There was also something that bothered me about the way he uttered it. He chuckled slightly as though he were amused and instantly retracted into a brooding mood. I knew what was going on, but I didn't voice it. He thought that since I was using him as a voice to confirm what Jack's doing instead of asking him about his personal life, I cared more about Jack. I wanted to know more about Jack from his perspective, and I didn't want to come off like that because it simply wasn't true. But I left with a good-bye because I had been too slow on the uptake to figure out what he was reflecting from his behavior. Sometimes I can be just the crappiest friend ever.

Muffy now has some very unbecoming, what I like to call, "worry lines" on her forehead now. For shame, I'm three years older and I don't have them. She needs to get over the fact that Jack is hopping trains right now and stop worrying about her love life every moment of the day. It may sound harsh and I may seem shallow after this point, but this is what I think: love isn't everything. It's a beautiful thing when you can grasp it, but in Muffy's case, it would be so much safer to just let go and grab on later. The man who holds her in his arms doesn't need to be Jack and the only valid girl for him isn't only her. There are plenty of women wandering around the valley that could be his (With the exception of me, since I just won't take it.).

Come to think of it, Jack didn't pull off any lethal stunts today. He did seem to be mocking me from behind the safety of his fence with an energy drink today as I walked by, but that didn't do much but make me wonder how much more immature he could get. He was literally drinking it as though he were an actor in a commercial. Those actors I could understand. When he did it, he looked more or less like an attention-lusting dork with no brain. People simply don't swing cans of energy drinks from their mouths when they take a finishing gulp, releasing a jet of orange liquid messily down their chin all the while, and finish by wiping their mouth on their sleeves dramatically. My best argument for that is that they just don't. When actors do it, they're promoting the desirability of the product to the general public. When Jack does it, I'd kill to stay away from the item. Maybe my disdain towards him is twisting my judgement a tad bit too far, but I'd better be unreasonable and safe rather than be reasonable and in danger of being taken away by Jack. If he tried a little harder, he could be the next Boogie Man.

On a less stress-filled branch of thought, the summer heat is dying down, thank goodness. Except it's only dropped to a lovely 87 degrees Fahrenheit, which isn't much of a difference from the usual 90, but it didn't keep me from going outside. I was getting quite used to having my skin flake and peel afterwards, either way.

Also, things are still stirring between Wally and Chris. Hugh seems really bothered about his position between them, so he always lags quite a ways behind the two when they're walking, more or less because Wally and Chris seem to be avoiding all form of contact. They were such a loving couple – what could have gone wrong between them?

I'll try and find out tomorrow.