This chapter has been an interesting combination of fun and hard work.
The hard work part is simply that when I wrote the original first draft of these chapters, this chapter really only served one plot purpose, and so the word count was just under 1,900.
Much too Brief.
So, heading back in for what was almost a version 1.5 of the text, I got to have a load of fun adding in a lot more plot, move a plot point up by a day, and mess around with my favourite characters, sprinkling a little humour along the way.
I'm also, partially due to feedback but also due to awareness of cliches and conventions, have not only added in a lot more of the parents, but am also making sure the Mum is not the all-knowing Mum and Dad is not the clueless-one of yore.
The next pass through the text will be the heavy lifting in terms of smoothing all those new elements out, after which there'll be the usual language, spelling, and grammar pass to make sure everything sounds right.
All things being equal, this chapter should upload on schedule on Sunday.
And that 1,900 words? Now clocking 15,000.
CH