This was a brilliant treat for a Wednesday evening! I started out expecting fluff (Bob as a teacher!)but you made it work seriously, and even made me hurt with the angst in the middle. All the characters were drawn so realistically. Bob, of course, hiding his hurt (I love when Mikey thinks of Bob hiding behind his hoodie) but getting over his pain and, in the end, siezing life. I love the way you show this by Ray commmenting about him smiling all the time! Mikey seemed a fully-fledged character, quiet but with hidden depths, and I loved Frank and Jamia. Yay for Gerard and his painting, and of course Ray, for being brave and crazy and organised enough to open his own school!

Favourite bits have to be the mask making, the conversation where Mikey and Bob get things straight in the coffee shop, and the 'If you're happy and you know it' performance. I was grinning away imagining the wonderful cacophany! And Mikey clapping his hands was brilliantly, typically symbolic.

This is definitely going on my list of favourite stories, it's one of the best I've read in ages.