I was starting to be proud of Jay for his sudden want to change the way his life was going. While he was in the Pine Boys' School it's almost like he didn't escape or better his addiction because he found a new one, occult. I thought kids went to juvenile centers as a punishment for their actions and possibly to learn from them, but Jay was introduced to occult by a man who was supposed to be a worker at the school. The man, Pete, who had introduced occult to Jay was far less than a friend, and far less of what Jay thought of him. Pete did not help Jay but rather worsened his mind and thoughts. Later on after returning back home Jay found out about Pete having raped a little boy at the school...and to think of what could have happened to Jay. Although when he left the school Jay seemed to have a better outlook on life and him, the teachings he had learned from Pete still lingered in his mind. The occult thoughts stuck around long enough for him to get Dell and Brad into them as well. In addition to the new thoughts implanted in his mind during the months after returning home, he was focused on bettering himself and he looked back and saw how self centered and idiotic he had been before, when he was into Debbie. He started to care about others instead of just himself, and he realized the positives in people that he had neglected to see before. And although he made great progress from where he started I still feel like his outlook changed too fast for someone who was so used to and hooked to his past routines. He changed almost too fast to truly change. He might want to better his life now, but I have a feeling it's only a matter of time until he falls back into either occult or drugs. On a better note though, Debbie has supposedly moved away which might turn the favors into Jay's hand with his mission. Jay has seemed to have found a new girl who might actually be good for him, whatever that entitles. So far in the book, since he's gotten out of the school, he seems to be a better person but it's almost like that feeling people get in life of "it's too good to be true." His change is almost too good to be true and usually when addicts come out of rehab, or juvenile detention in his case, they relapse and fall back into addiction. Poor Jay, I'm trying to cheer him on, even though I can already guess where it's all going to end. I'm hanging onto the pages like he's holding onto each day.
