Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2012 16:54:49 -0500
From: Jayson Vascardi <jaycolin25@gmail.com>
Subject: Tale of Three 3

A Tale of Three
By J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Legal Disclaimer: This story is fictional, as are the characters featured
herein, which are solely the product of the author's imagination. Any
resemblance to actual persons, either living or dead, is entirely
coincidental. If you are under the age of eighteen, offended by male/male
material, or if such material cannot be legally viewed where you live, then
you should be leaving now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.

Character Profiles: http://jayson.worldofslash.com/a-tale-of-three/profiles/index.htm
Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/storiesbyjayson
Writing Journal: http://jaycolin.livejournal.com

This story is ©2004-2010, 2011 by J.C. Vascardi. This story is the sole
property of its author and may not be copied, in whole or in part, posted
on any other website, or included in any form of book or media, without the
explicit written permission of the author.

-o-0-o-

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated in loving memory of Eric Draven,
1977-2004. He will be dearly missed, and I extend my deepest and most
heartfelt condolences to his friends and family.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Three, Part One
Erik's Perspective
Tuesday, January 4, 2005

-o-0-o-

When the alarm clock went off I reached over and shut it off and then
blinked a few times before waking up to find myself in Nick's bedroom. At
first I didn't know why I was in his room, but, after a moment, I
remembered the thunder storm last night. Knowing how terrified Nick is of
thunder, I quickly came down to his room when I heard it.

It was then that I became aware of my nephew laying there with his head on
my chest, cuddling up next to me. I suppose to the casual observer, the two
of us lying their cuddling in our underwear in Nick's twin-size bed would
make them think that we were a couple. The sheets and blankets of the bed
being as rumpled and twisted as they were, would probably only serve to
strengthen the hypothesis, as they would probably see that and assume that
Nick and I had enjoyed a night of passionate sex.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Never once have Nick
and I felt any desire whatsoever to have sex with one another. I know some
people like that sort of thing, but I could never see Nick in a sexual
way. One possible reason for that is that I was only ten years old when my
older brother and his wife had Nick, so growing up, I've always thought of
Nick as more of a younger brother than my nephew. While incest may appeal
to some people, it didn't appeal to me then, and it doesn't appeal to me
now.

After a few moments, I looked at the alarm clock and realized that a
half-an-hour had already passed since I turned off the alarm. Knowing that
I had to get Nick off to school that morning, I quickly disentangled myself
from him and then woke him up. Despite his obvious dreading of the end of
the school day when he'd have his first tutoring session with Jake Bradley,
he seemed okay this morning. No apparent ill effects from the thunderstorm
last night, except for the rumpled sheets, which were the result of him
being plagued with nightmares during the night.

"Well, Nick, I'm going to go get dressed," I said, "and get started on
breakfast. Aaron and his mom will be over for breakfast in about
half-an-hour, so get in the shower and start getting dressed."

"Okay," replied Nick, simply, as he sat up in bed, stretched, and then got
up and headed across the hall to the bathroom.

Aaron Zachary Forrester is Nick's best friend and my ex-step-son. I was
married to Aaron's mother, Karen, for a brief time after her husband Lance,
Aaron's father, passed away, but the marriage didn't last because it was
more or less a marriage of convenience. Karen didn't want to raise Aaron
alone and I figured I could use help raising Nick, so we got married and
moved from Chapel Hill to Wilmington. Of course, it quickly became apparent
that Karen and I didn't love one another and after awhile, we realized our
marriage was only doing more harm than good, so we divorced. She bought the
house next door, since she didn't want to break up Aaron and Nick, who've
been friends since pre-school.

About half-an-hour later, Nick came into the kitchen, just as there was a
knock on the back door. Seeing that I was busy at the stove, Nick walked
over to the door and opened it, letting Aaron and Karen into the
house. Aaron set his backpack on a chair by the door, before going over to
the kitchen table with Nick, as Karen came over to me and asked if there
was anything she could do to help with breakfast. I quickly put her to work
cutting up some fresh fruit, while I finished up the bacon, eggs, and
waffles.

"So, how about we play some video games after school?" asked Aaron.

"I'd love to," replied Nick, "But, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I have tutoring tonight."

"Tutoring?"

"Yes, Aaron," I answered, "Mr. Bradley, the geography teacher, will be
driving you two here this afternoon, because he's going to be tutoring Nick
here for an hour every day after school from now until the end of the
year."

"Ah, okay," Aaron said after a moment. "Well, there's plenty of time after
your tutoring session for some fun."

"Yeah," Nick said, somewhat absent-mindedly.

"Nick is something wrong?" Karen asked, as she helped me carry all of the
breakfast food to the table.

"Wrong?" Nick asked, suddenly defensive, "What could be wrong?"

"Oh, Nick, just tell them," I replied, "You can trust Aaron and Karen."

"Tell us what, Nick?" asked Aaron, looking genuinely curious.

"All right fine," Nick replied, "I suppose you've both been wondering why I
failed Mr. Bradley's class last year, seeing as how it's so easy. The truth
is, I failed his class on purpose last year because I have a crush on him,
okay?"

"Nick and I have already talked," I said. "And he knows it wasn't the
smartest thing to do."

"Okay, I see the problem now," said Karen. "You're dreading your tutoring
session, because you're going to be spending an extra hour a day with
Mr. Bradley now every day after school."

"Well, it's one thing to lust after your teacher in a classroom full of
other students, but one on one it's just, it's just..."

"More intense?"

"Exactly," Nick replied, nodding at Aaron with a nervous grin on his face.

"Well, if it makes you feel better," said Aaron, "I'll sit with you and
Mr. Bradley during the tutoring. I don't have him as a teacher anymore, but
I can do my homework while he tutors you and give you a little moral
support all at the same time. Maybe then you won't be so nervous."

"That'd be great, Aaron," Nick said, suddenly a little more animated then
he had been.

"Well, its fine with me," Karen said. "Though you will have to clear it
with Mr. Bradley first, of course."

"Oh I think it'll be okay," Aaron said. "Mr. Bradley is such a nice guy. I
must say you have very good taste in men, Nick."

"Thanks Aaron," Nick said. "Just don't get any ideas, because Mr. Bradley
is mine."

"Now Nick," I admonished, "please remember to actually do some studying and
not spend all of your tutoring time fantasizing about your tutor."

"I know uncle," Nick said. "I intend to study, because I do want to
graduate with the rest of my class."

"Yeah, Nick," Aaron said. "You have to, graduation just wouldn't be the
same without you, bro."

"Ok, well, let's eat breakfast before it gets cold," I said, looking at my
watch, "We have to leave in like twenty minutes to get you two to school."

-o-0-o-

Chapter Three, Part Two
Ryan's Perspective
Tuesday, January 4, 2005

-o-0-o-

I have to admit that after having lived and worked in Milan, Italy for the
last six years, it felt strange to wake up in my old bedroom at my parent's
house in Wilmington, North Carolina. Of course, it wasn't my parent's house
anymore at that point, it was my brother Jake's and his partner Chris'
house, but it felt very strange nonetheless. It also felt very strange to
be unemployed after six years of working in a job that I loved.

I hadn't really gotten much sleep though, because it was obvious that Jake
and Chris were not used to having the other bedrooms in the house
occupied. The master suite may be across the hall, but I could still hear
every moan and groan that they were making during their love making
sessions at nine o'clock the previous night, again at midnight, and then
yet again at three o'clock that morning. I've always thought of my youngest
brother Kyle as the horny devil of the family, but after what I heard that
night, I couldn't help but think that Kyle may have lost that title to Jake
while I was in Europe.

I don't know where Jake and Chris got the energy to do it that many times
in one night, especially considering that both Jake and Chris had to go to
work that day. I was assuming that they'd both want a full night's sleep,
but I guess I was wrong. Now, don't me wrong, I'm not complaining about
hearing my brother and Chris making love three times over the course of the
night, because to be perfectly honest, I was turned on by listening to it.
Honestly, it had been like listening to a porn movie.  True, it was gay
porn and I'm straight, but there was just something about listening to Jake
and Chris going at it that got me very hot and bothered.

Of course, it was probably that I hadn't had sex for the last three years
prior to coming back to the States because I was just so incredibly busy
with my job that I didn't have any time to date. And I wasn't then and I
never will be the kind of person to go to a bar and pickup a stranger for a
one-night stand. To me sex is something special which should only take
place between two individuals in love with one another. I know that some
people find that idea to be totally stupid, but I'm also not the type who
cares what other people think. I've always believed that everyone is
entitled to their own opinion, but that they shouldn't go around trying to
change everyone else's opinion to match their own. To be blunt, if a person
doesn't like me or my opinion on something, they can go screw themselves
for all I care, because I'm not about to change myself or my beliefs to
please another.

After finishing with my morning routine in the bathroom and getting
dressed, I headed downstairs to the kitchen where I found Jake and Chris
having breakfast, and I just couldn't resist embarrassing them.

"Hey bro," I said with a smile, before asking, "When did you take Kyle's
title?"

"Kyle's title?" Jake asked, looking very confused, as I poured myself a cup
of coffee and sat down at the table.

"Yeah, you know, Kyle's title, the horny Bradley," I replied with a grin.

Chris practically choked on his coffee, before blushing about ten shades of
red and asking, "You mean you heard us?"

"Oh yeah," I replied, a huge grin on my face. "I heard you all right. 'Oh
Jake, baby, yes, yes!' and 'Oh, oh, Chris, you're so tight!'. All three
times over the course of the night, might I add? I honestly don't know
where you guys get your stamina."

After a long and somewhat uncomfortable silence, Jake coughed and then
said, "Um, I'm sorry you had to hear that."

"Oh, that's okay," I said, with a smile. "To be honest, I kind of enjoyed
it. It was like listening to a porno."

"You enjoyed it?" asked Jake, sounding a bit shocked.

"Yeah, strangely, I did," I answered. "And, Jake, Chris, really, if you
guys do that all the time, Kyle most certainly has lost his title. I mean I
heard him with Matt and Jordan a couple times before going to Europe, and
even he wasn't that vocal."

At this point, Chris' color deepened by roughly another thirty shades of
red and Jake started blushing as well, something which I've not often seen
to be honest. Unless something changed while I was in Italy, it's always
been my experience that it takes a whole hell of a lot to make Jake blush,
so when he does, you know he's very embarrassed. Of course that's exactly
what I was hoping for. I am after all the eldest Bradley brother, so I see
it as my duty to torment my younger brothers from time to time.

"But, anyway, guys, I whole-heartedly thank you," I said. "I haven't gotten
off that many times in one night in years."

Chris and Jake's heads, which had been looking down towards their laps,
suddenly shot up to look at me, with their eyes looking like they were
about ready to pop out of the heads.

"Oh don't look so shocked," I said, doing everything in my power to
embarrass them as much as possible. "I haven't had sex in years, so, the
occasional hand job is the best I've gotten in awhile. But, damn, last
night were certainly some of the best orgasms I've had in recent memory."

"Oh god, I can't believe I'm having this conversation," Jake said after a
moment, so embarrassed that his voice was wavering a bit.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," I said, with a grin. "I shouldn't make fun,
because I know you guys are in love and it's perfectly okay to show that to
one another, but could you try to keep it down next time?"

"Why?" asked Chris, suddenly, "I thought you enjoyed it. If we keep it down
next time how will you get off?"

I laughed and then replied, "Oh, Chris, I wasn't serious about that. I
didn't jack off while listening to you guys, I only said that to embarrass
you, and judging by how red you both are, it worked."

At that point, Jake threw a dish towel at me, before we all just laughed
and got on with eating breakfast. After breakfast, Jake headed for work,
and I started helping Chris clean up the breakfast dishes.

"So, what's on your agenda today, Ry?"

"Well, I suppose I should get started looking through the employment ads,"
I answered.

"You did consulting work for a commercial real estate agency, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I might be able to get you a job at work," Chris said. "We deal
mostly in residential properties, though there has been some talk of
possibly expanding into the commercial market. You might be able to provide
some valuable insights into that."

"Wow, I don't know what to say," I said, as I hugged Chris. "Thanks."

"No problem," Chris said, as he returned my hug. "I'll run it by my
superiors today and let you know what they think."

Once the dishes were all loaded into the dishwasher, Chris said his
goodbyes and headed off to work, at which point I headed into the living
room and started looking through the employment section. I know Chris was
going to try to get me a job, but I figured it'd still be a good idea to go
through the paper and circle a few possibilities just in case the job at
Chris' office didn't work out.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Three, Part Three
Aaron's Perspective
Tuesday, January 4, 2005

-o-0-o-

As usual, the first day back to school dragged on and on, and I couldn't
help but think that it was never going to end. Of course, it's always been
my experience that most days at school are like that. When you're in
school, the hours seem to drag on forever, but when you get home, the time
seems to literally fly by and then before you know it, it's time to go back
to school again. But, that particular day, being the first day back after
the two-week-long winter break, was even worse because after not being in
school for the last several days, it was hard to get used to the routine
again.

In homeroom that morning, we received new class schedules, and while most
of the classes were the same as last semester, I couldn't help but notice
that I now had a study hall scheduled for the last hour of the day, with
none other than my best friend Nick's crush, Jake Bradley. I had already
known that I'd be getting study hall, because the first semester I had
taken an English class called Mythology and Folklore, but it was only a one
semester class. While there was a second semester class called Contemporary
Literature available with the same teacher, I had decided not to take it,
as I only needed one semester of English to catch up with the English
requirements and had already met all of my elective requirements.

So I said I'd just take a study hall, which I thought would be nice for the
last period of the day to just relax a bit and be able to get some of my
homework done, and thus have more free time once I got home. Of course I
had never thought in a million years that I'd get assigned to a study hall
with Jake Bradley. Nick and I are in different homerooms, but we do have
lunch together, so when lunchtime came we compared our new schedules and I
found out that Nick had also been assigned to the study hall last period
with Mr. Bradley. While he didn't say it, I could tell that Nick was at
that point dreading the arrival of the eighth and final period of the day,
as it meant spending another hour in the company of Mr. Bradley.

By the time I arrived at my locker, which was right next to Nick's, that
afternoon, Nick was already there and quite frankly, I couldn't help but
worry about him because he looked like hell. I had already known that he
was dreading study hall and the tutoring session to follow, but I didn't
know that he was dreading it so much that he was having a physical reaction
to it. If someone had told me how he looked, I would have thought they were
exaggerating, and even seeing him with my own eyes I could barely believe
it. He honestly looked like he had been sick and hadn't slept in days.

Having lived with Nick for the year and a half that his uncle was married
to my mom, I had seen him sick before, but this wasn't really the
same. When I say he looked sick, it wasn't like he had a cold or the flu,
this was sick like he only looked when remembering some things from his
past which would make just about anybody sick. Knowing the look on his face
from experience, I quickly stowed my books in my locker, before closing
both my locker and Nick's and then leading him to the nearest men's
room. Almost as soon as we got into the room, he dashed for the nearest
available stall and proceeded to vomit his guts out.

Hating to see Nick in pain, I did what any truly good friend would do in
that situation, and knelt down beside him and gently rubbed his back, as he
continued to vomit. I suppose some people would really be getting worried
right about now, and honestly, a part of me wanted to worry, but I knew
that this is something that Nick did from time to time when he got very
nervous or scared or when he was reliving some not so pleasant memories of
his past in his mind. I know Nick perhaps better than anyone, as we have
been friends since pre-school, and then when my mom married his uncle, we
shared a bedroom and a bathroom, so we've seen each other at every stage of
undress, at some of our best moments and some of our worst moments.

I suppose some would wonder why we didn't ever start dating, because we are
so close to one another and we are both bisexual, but to be honest, while I
do love Nick, and I know he loves me, we both came to the realization quite
awhile ago that a romantic relationship would never work between us because
we love each other like brothers. Nick and I are the brother that the other
never had, so dating one another, would just not be something that we could
do, but one thing is for certain, and that's that whenever Nick needs me, I
will always be there for him, no matter what, and I know that he will be
there for me in return.

I hadn't even heard the sound of someone leaving the bathroom, because I
was so concerned about Nick, but I soon realized that someone in the next
stall had finished up and then seeing what has happening, must have left
the bathroom and got the first male teacher they could find, because I soon
heard a very familiar voice asking, "Is he alright?"

Nick cringed at the sound of the voice and soon let another volley of puke
into the toilet, as I turned my head back to see none other than Nick's
geography teacher, Mr. Jake Bradley, standing there, concern and worry
written all over his face. Knowing that I couldn't betray Nick's confidence
and tell Jake the truth about what had caused Nick to start throwing up, I
quickly thought up a cover story, and nodded to Mr. Bradley, before
replying, "I'm sure he'll be fine, Mr. Bradley. His lunch must not have
agreed with him, so he may need to miss his tutoring tonight and rest."

Nodding, Mr. Bradley said, "Okay, that's fine. Nick's health has to come
first. I'll go and excuse you both from study hall. Is there someone home
that I can call to come pick you two up? Nick's uncle perhaps?"

"He's at work," I replied. "But, my mom is home, you can call her. The
attendance office should have the number on record."

"Okay, Aaron," Jake said. "I'll go and call your mom to pick you two up. I
hope Nick feels better soon."

"I hope so too," I said, with the best smile that I could muster, as
Mr. Bradley left the bathroom.

After Mr. Bradley left, I turned my attention back to Nick, continuing to
gently rub his back and humming softly in his ear, to try and calm him
down. After a few more minutes, Nick finally stopped throwing up and slowly
and shakily got to his feet as I flushed the toilet. He wrapped his arm
around my shoulder and I slowly led him over to the sinks, at which point I
took some paper towels from the dispenser and gently wiped his mouth before
helping him to splash some cold water on his face. When I was satisfied
that Nick wasn't going to get sick again, I led him out of the bathroom,
not worrying about the fact that he was clinging to me with his head
resting on my shoulder because passing time was over, so nobody else could
have seen us and gotten the wrong idea. Although to be honest, even if
someone had seen us like that, I wouldn't have cared what they thought,
because at that moment, the only thing on my mind was making sure that Nick
was okay.

After stopping at our lockers to grab our coats and backpacks, I led him to
the attendance office, where the secretary led us into the small conference
room in one corner of the room and told us we could have a seat there,
while waiting for my mom to arrive to pick us up. It didn't take more then
maybe twenty minutes for my mom to arrive, at which point we helped Nick
get his coat on, and we then led him out to the car. I didn't have to
explain to my mom what had happened, because she had obviously seen Nick
like this before as well, and she already instinctively knew what the
problem was. The ride back to the house was silent, and upon arriving at
our house, my mom grabbed Nick's and my backpacks and carried them, while I
helped Nick into his uncle's house and upstairs to his bedroom.

Once in his room, I helped him undress down to his boxers and helped him
into bed, before I also undressed down to my underwear, and crawled into
bed with him. I simply wrapped my arms around him for comfort, slowly
rubbing a hand through his hair and humming softly. It wasn't long before
we both fell asleep and I could only hope that my presence there would
prevent Nick's subconscious from plaguing him with the nightmarish memories
of his past.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Three, Part Four
Jake's Perspective
Tuesday, January 4, 2005

-o-0-o-

As I left the bathroom, I started to head for the attendance office to tell
the secretary to check Nick and Aaron out of school and to call Aaron's mom
to come pick them up, when it occurred to me that there's no way she would
do that. I knew from experience last year that Agatha Truman is a stickler
for the rules, and one of the school rules is that no student can be
checked out early after 1:45 in the afternoon without a doctor's excuse or
permission from one of the administrators. It's a somewhat stupid rule, but
I suppose when it was made, it was figured that by the time 1:45 in the
afternoon rolled around, any student who got sick could hold out until 2:45
when school let out for the day, even if they had to lay down on one of the
cots in the nurse's office. Of course, one could only do that if the school
nurse was there and like most high schools, we did not have a nurse in the
building on a daily basis, and today happened to be one of the days that
the nurse was at a different school.

So instead of heading directly to the attendance office, I stopped off at
the main office and asked the secretary there if I could have a word with
the school principal, Dr. Miranda Webber. The secretary smiled and told me
that I could go right in, so I went over to the door leading to the
principal's office, knocked, and then entered to see her sitting behind her
desk, working on some paperwork of some kind. I had no doubt in my mind
that I'd be able to get Dr. Webber's clearance to allow Nick and Aaron to
be checked out of school early, simply because I had a special connection
with her that none of the other teachers at the school could claim: the
simple fact that I'm her nephew. Miranda was my mother's older sister, who
had reverted back to using her maiden name after she divorced her husband
some twenty years earlier. Most of the teachers didn't know about my
relationship with the principal, as it might have brought up questions or
concerns that I was getting special treatment or something.

Once I closed the door and took a seat in front of her desk, my aunt
smiled, and said, "Hello, Jake, what can I do for you?"

"I would like you to clear two students for an early release from school,"
I replied, "I know it's after 1:45 now and that Mrs. Truman won't do it
without a doctor's excuse or clearance from you."

"May I inquire which students and the reason?"

"Nickolas Jensen and Aaron Forrester," I answered. "I was informed by
another student that someone was throwing up in the men's bathroom, so I
went in to check and found Nickolas hunched over the toilet basically
vomiting his guts out. Aaron was kneeling next to him rubbing his back and
I know from having them both in my class last year that they're both really
good friends, so I doubt that Aaron would be able to concentrate on
anything else for the day, knowing that Nick is ill, not that either of
them really needs to concentrate, considering that they're both in my study
hall this period."

"Okay, I assume there is someone who can be called to pick them up?"

"Well, I had previously made arrangements with Nick's uncle to drive them
both home myself today because I'm going to be tutoring Nick after school
at his house for the rest of the year."

"Ah yes, I remember his uncle," my Aunt Miranda said. "Erik Jensen isn't
it? He's the one who was calling me every day for a month until I finally
gave him your home phone number. I take it was to setup the after-school
tutoring?"

"Yes, it was," I replied. "Nick failed my class last year and he just
barely passed first semester this year, so I'm going to be tutoring
him. Today was supposed to be our first session, but since Nick isn't
feeling well, I've cancelled it."

"Okay, so I assume I should tell Mrs. Truman to call Nick's uncle?" my aunt
asked as she picked up her phone to call the attendance office.

"No, Aaron said that Nick's uncle is at work and that I should instead call
his mother."

"Nick's mother or Aaron's mother?"

"Aaron's mother," I answered. "I know it's a bit out of the ordinary to
call another student's mother to come pick someone up, but if I remember
correctly, I think I once heard in passing that Nick's uncle and Aaron's
mother were married at one point, so I think it should be okay."

"All right then," said my aunt, as she started dialing the extension for
the attendance office. "I'll call Mrs. Truman, have her call Aaron's mother
and tell her that Nick and Aaron will be on their way to attendance to
wait. You should probably get to your classroom now, Jake, because class
has been in session now for the last ten minutes."

"Okay, thanks, Aunt Miranda," I said, with a smile, before standing up and
leaving the office.

After leaving the main office, I quickly headed for my classroom knowing
that I'd probably have to quiet the students down, who had probably taken
my absence as a chance to misbehave, especially being the last hour of the
day. As I neared the door of the classroom, I could tell that I was right,
but you'd be surprised how quickly things changed the second I walked
in. The students went from obviously loud and misbehaving, to sitting
quietly at their desks studying. I couldn't help but grin inwardly as I
walked over to my desk to sit down and take the roll call.

Before I knew it, the end of the day bell was ringing, so I finally said,
"Class dismissed," at which point all the students in study hall quickly
got up and filed out of the classroom. I know that in some schools,
students don't wait for teachers to dismiss them when the bells at the end
of a period rings, and there probably were some classrooms in the school
where they didn't, but despite my rather short stint teaching, almost the
entire school already knew that I would not allow any student to leave with
the bell. I made for sure and certain that every student who's ever entered
my classroom knows that they're not allowed to leave just because the bell
rang and that they can only leave after I've dismissed the class. When I
first started teaching, I would even get up from my desk and stand in front
of the door to block it, though after awhile, the students got the hint and
started to do as I expected.

I do of course from time to time get a student who is new to the school who
doesn't know about my rules and packs up all of their school supplies five
minutes before the bell so that they're ready to get up and leave when it
rings. When I see that I always go over to their desk and unpack their
supplies for them, before putting my face right in theirs, a look on my
face stating that I mean business and they better not argue, and said,
"Class is not over until I say it's over, so never pack up before the bell
thinking you're allowed to leave when it rings. Do this again, and you'll
be in detention so fast you won't even have time to say your own name."

On the rare occasion, a student or two has then proceeded to ask me what
they'd be doing in detention, at which point I smiled at them and replied,
"You'll be writing, 'The bell means nothing. Class isn't over until
Mr. Bradley says it is.' You'll be writing that a hundred times, with the
number increasing by another hundred times every time you end up in
detention." Needless to say, very few students who've ended up in detention
with me for this reason, have ever had a repeat visit. I suppose some
people would accuse me of being too strict over a trivial matter, but while
they are entitled to that opinion, I'm not required to agree.

Once the classroom was empty, I quickly did my usual sweep through the
classroom making sure that nobody left anything behind, before I went back
to my desk to pack my briefcase. I had of course intended to drive Nick and
Aaron home that evening, but due to Nick's illness, I could go home
early. Not that I was complaining, because while I certainly didn't mind
tutoring Nick, I wasn't about to be mad about getting to go home early and
spend time with Chris. As I walked out of the classroom that evening, I
remembered wondering how Chris would react when I arrived home earlier than
expected. I remember that I grinned inwardly as the thought that perhaps
Chris and I would go upstairs and make wild, passionate love to one another
crossed my mind. Of course, that sadly didn't happen. A pity, really.

I drove home in silence, thinking about nothing in particular, before
pulling my car into the garage. As I was getting out of the car, I heard a
loud clanging noise coming from the direction of the garbage cans, as if
something heavy had just fallen against them. Quickly locking my car and
closing the garage door, I ran over to the cans to see what had happened,
shocked by the sight before my eyes. There on the ground, laying
unconscious amongst the tipped over cans and garbage was a young man in his
early twenties with black hair, wearing an orange shirt and blue
jeans. Recognizing him, I quickly kneeled down and scooped him up in my
arms and carried him into the house.

Chris was in the kitchen with Ryan when I arrived and while I'm sure they
were surprised to see me home early, they didn't say anything, probably
because of the fact that I was carrying the young man in my arms. Upon
seeing me, Ryan quickly stood up and came over to me, as he said, "Oh my
god, Sean?!"

-o-0-o-

To be continued.