Bad Machinery by John Allison for August 14, 2023

Sarah doesn’t appreciate her little brother like the two that don’t have one.

You should’ve told them it was for Linton instead, because not only is that not really a lie, it might have gotten them to turn their attention onto Linton instead for putting Jack up to this against his will.

Which probably wouldn’t have ended will either, but at least Jack would’ve more likely walked away from it all with some vindication.

“Cigarettes are a terrible vice. "

I’m glad somebody finally said it.

Everyone loves Jack. I agreed with them. He’s so cute when he tries to deny his obvious crus for a girl he barely saw.

All for a fem fatal …

He’s soo cuute.

Jig jig. Muss. Ruffle. At that age, trying to impress a girl is fraught with awkward angst and strange stirrings, and yet, here, without trying he has stirred their attention, an attention difficult to bear. Adolescence is an odd gauntlet to navigate for the innocent boy.

“At its bitter core, even victory is sour” is a very Buddhist kind of saying.