Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2004 05:29:17 EST
From: Madasonaysha@aol.com
Subject: "AROUND MY WAY" chapter 6   Gay/ High School  Gay/ Interracial

DISCLAIMER: This is a love story between two teens, one Black and one
Latino.  If that bothers you then don't read.  Although the towns and
Cities mentioned are real, the story is a complete work of fiction
(mostly......) This work is solely the work of the author and I hold the
copyright.
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Comment, Criticsism, or Questions go to Madasonaysha@aol.com Authors Note
at bottom
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"AROUND MY WAY"

CHAPTER 6: ART CLASS AND SMOKE


I met Amanda at her house so we could catch the bus to school.  It was a
Wednesday, my first day and I was a little nervous.  I just got my hair
cut and Aunt Mickey bought me some new clothes, but I still felt like I
would be out of place.  Amanda looked great in her jeans and green
t-shirt.  I wore a white t-shirt with jeans and white Nikes.  Everyone in
my neighborhood, for some reason, owned a pair so I got a pair.  As I
walked through the halls, I saw that the school was pretty much all black
and Latino.  This was unusal for me to see becuase I had gotten use to
going to school with mostly white kids. It seemed like the black kids
stayed together and the Latino kids stayed together.  I wished Amanda had
homeroom with me, but my last name is Richardson and hers is Peterson.  I
could see that she was popular by all the people that swarmed around
her.  We could only take a couple of steps before somebody would stop her
to talk.  She would introduce me, but after the sixth person, I
couldn't remember anymore names


I walked into my first period class and took a seat in the front. As I
sat and waited for class to get started, someone tapped me on my shoulder
and said "What's up?"  I turned around to see Loco,
Joey's friend.  I was just happy to see someone I knew.  I smiled and
spoke to him.

"Hey Loco, I didn't know you went here?"

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be a senior, but I missed too many days last
year.  What you been up to?"

"Nothing much, still trying to recover from the parade last Sunday."

"I feel you. Shit, my feet are still killing me, but it was worth it to
see all those fine ass Chicas."  I smiled at him and turned around as our
homeroom teacher walked in.  She was a thin dark-skinned black woman with
a pleasant demeanor who introduced herself as Ms. Newman.  She gave out
our schedules and we were allowed to talk until the bell rang.  I was a
little disappointed that Loco moved across the room to talk to a couple
of other guys.  He saw me looking and waved me over.  He introduced me to
the three guys as "C". That nickname would never grow on me.  Two of the
guys were white and introduced themselves as Greg and Danny.  The third
was a brown skin black boy named Rodney, but he said to call him by his
nick name Peanut.  He was the nicest out of all and we quickly got into
our own conversation.  He was cute and looked familiar, but I didn't
know where I knew him from.  He was a little taller than me and wore his
hair closely cropped on top and faded on the sides in a Brooklyn Fade. We
talked about our summers and I was surprised that he said he spent his
surfing in California.  For one, I didn't think anyone from Newark
would go to California, let alone go there to surf.  I knew it was wrong
to underestimate anyone's interests.  I mean, I didn't know any
other black person who loved "The Smiths" as much as I do.

Peanut and I were in the same history class.  Our history teacher was a
mean little man who spoke rudely.  It was easy to see that he hated his
job and took it out on his students.  He assigned us a ten-page report on
Greek Mythology due at the end of the month.  He said we were to work in
pairs, but not giving us much directions as to how he wanted it done.  A
ball of nervousness formed in my stomach as I wondered who I was gonna
work with when much to my relief, Peanut asked me to work with him.  We
exchanged numbers and made plans to get together on Friday to work on
it.  He was loud and funny and reminded me a lot of Andy.  I hadn't
had a real conversation with him or Wesley in months.  The last time I
saw them was our talk in South Jersey, and that was more than six months
ago.  I wasn't sure if I was ready to see them again, but I missed
them to much not to try.  I would have to talk them soon.

Classes went by pretty fast and a few people recognized me as
Amanda's friend.  I hadn't seen her all day.  My college prep
classes didn't begin until after lunch, so I wouldn't know if we
shared any until then.  I knew Joey went to school at East Side, but I
didn't see him either.  It was a huge school so I hoped I could at
least catch a glimpse of him. I hadn't seen or spoken to him since
the afternoon I left his house.  Even though I still was a little hurt
from what happened, I couldn't help wanting to see him.  It was after
fourth period when I ran into Loco again.  He asked me to come with him
in the bathroom for a smoke.  I knew that I shouldn't, but I guess a
small part of me wanted Joey's friends to like me.  I had art that
period and figured I could blame the fact that I was new for being late.
I listened to Loco talk about this girl or that girl or about which girls
would suck your dick and which ones wouldn't.  Sex seemed to be the
only thing on this guys mind.  I thought that he must have had ADHD (
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder ).  He couldn't stay on any
one subject for more than a couple of seconds before jumping to the
next.

I went into the stall to use the bathroom.  Loco made fun of me, asking
if I was hiding a little dick.  I just felt more comfortable with the
privacy.  I heard two people come in and the lock of the bathroom door
click.  Two voices spoke in a language that sounded like Spanish but
different.  A third voice in English said for them to talk in English not
Portuguese.  The third voice sounded a little like...No it
couldn't be him, could it?  Loco spoke just as I was leaving the
stall.

"A,Tearz, guess who in my homeroom?"

"Who?  And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Joey, STEVE!"
Joey and the other two laughed as Loco pouted.  He  quickly got over the
pouting thing and became excited again.

"A'ght, Nigga. Relax!.  "C's" in my homeroom.  Remember him from
the parade.  You said was mad cool and shit." I stood there looking at
them.  They still didn't even notice me.  So, he talked about me.  I
found this very interesting.  I saw Joey's ears redden slightly
matching his red t-shirt.  He wasn't wearing his bandana around his
wrist today and neither was Loco.  But they all had red sweat band cuffs
on which I assumed probably had something to do with their gang.  Joey
spoke quickly and I could tell that he didn't want to talk about me.
So did the other guys.

"Yeah whatever. What lunch you two got?"

"Damn, kid.  You okay?  What?  You don't like him now?  Because after
the parade you kept talking about him and shit going on and on about how
cool you thought he was.  I thought you would want to know."  Loco and
the other guy exchanged a suspicious look that Joey didn't notice.

"No, I don't even know him.  So what lunc..-."   He stopped talking
as his eyes met mine.   What the hell did he mean he hardly knew me.  I
spent the whole night at his house.  I told him things that only a few
people knew and here this fool was telling his friends that he didn't
even know me.  I should tell him that he knew me when he was tonguing me,
but that would be stupid on my part.  I was not about out myself.
Instead, I did what I always do when something is bothering me.  I
swallowed it down and put on a smile.

"Hey Joey, what's going on?" He returned the smile, but I could tell
it was forced.  I could feel his discomfort.  I was pissed at him and I
think he knew it.  The third guy was short and fat and said that his name
was Kenny.  I stood around as Loco and Kenny talked.  Joey remained
mostly silent.  Then, Loco pulled out some weed from his pocket.  I had
never smoked it before or been around anyone while they did, but I was
curious to see how it would affect me.  I didn't want to smoke in the
middle of a school day.  Joey looked pissed when he spoke.

"Damn, Loco.  Why the fuck you bring your shit to school.  You know what
would happen if we got caught with this shit.  Put it away."

"Damn, Nigga.  You acting like a little girl.  Calm the fuck down.  You
knew what we were going to do. If you ain't wanna get high then you
shouldn't of come."

"Whatever.  I'll talk to you later." He turned to leave and I told
Loco and Kenny that I had to get to class and followed him out.  The
hallway was deserted.  It was just me and Joey.  I looked at him and he
smiled down at me and started talking.

"So...how you like school so far?"

"It's a lot nicer than I thought it would be.  Do you know where the
Art301 class is?"

"Yeah I have that too.  Let's go."  We walked down a maze of
corridors before we got there.  The room was a huge peach painted room,
cluttered with various clay models and paintings.  It smelled of dust and
acrylics, but not in an unpleasant way.  The art teacher was a large
white man who was balding.  His name was Mr. Balding.  I thought the name
suited him.  He was still kind of a cute in an older, white man way with
dimples and dark brown eyes.  He was friendly and a little effeminate.
Maybe that's what made me take an immediate liking to him. I am not
an artist by any means, but I can paint a little.  Joey sat on one side
of the room.  I sat on the other.  I felt someone was watching me.  I
knew it could only be Joey and sure enough, it was him., He quickly
averted his eyes.  This little game that he was playing was beginning to
wear thin, but it still made a silent thrill run through me.  Part of me
wanted to believe that maybe just maybe he liked me like I liked him.  I
knew I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I couldn't help it.  Even
if he didn't like me, but was just gay, it would have still been
enough for me.  The comfort of knowing that I wasn't the only one out
there would have been enough to keep me sane.  Sometimes it felt so
lonely.

I had lunch with Amanda and was surprised to see Peanut sitting with her.
They were talking and laughing like old friends.  They both greeted me
with a smile and looked at each other asking how the other knew me?

"Peanut you know Chris?"

"Yeah, C's in my homeroom.  How do you know him?

"He lives around the corner from me.  We met this summer."  They were
talking about me like I wasn't even there.  That's one pet peeve
that I have, when people talk about me when I am standing right there.  I
wondered how they knew each other, but everyone seemed to know Amanda so
it wasn't a big deal.  I sat down next to Peanut and addressed
Amanda.

"What classes do you have?  We exchanged schedules and found that we had
the same classes for the remainder of the day.  Some of her friends came
and sat down with us.  One girl was giving me the eye and it was obvious
to everyone that she liked me.  She was a pretty dark skin girl.  Petite
with a bright white smile and a short hair cut that looked feminine on
her.  She told me that her name was Kayla.  To bad I wasn't into
girls because she was cute.  After lunch, Amanda and I walked to our next
class., Advanced English.  Our teacher was a nice Asian woman.  Her name
was Mrs. Li.  She was a young teacher who, I later found out, still held
her passion for teaching.  This day was turning out better than I
expected.

After I got home and settled, I began thinking about Andy and Wesley.  I
wondered how they were.  The phone conversations that we had been having
seemed to be stretched.  Our once easy flowing friendship had become
slightly forced and that wasn't my fault. I had to start mending the
fences that I broke.  I called up Andy first because he was the one I use
to be close's to.  After two rings he answered.

"Hey, Chris.  Boy what's up?" He answered aware that it was me before
I said anything.  The wonders of caller I.D. are endless

"Hey, Andy.  How you doing?"

"I've been good.  We haven't talked in like two months are you
doing good? He asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I've been a lot better actually."  I was beating around the
bush.  So was he.  I bit the bullet and just said what I needed to. "Look
I'll get to the point.  I miss you and Wesley.  I know that it's
my fault that we aren't close anymore and I'm sorry about that,
man.  Can we get things back to the way they were?" There was no
hesitation in his voice.

"Yeah! You are my boy and it's been killing me to know that you were
hurting and didn't want my help or Wesley's.  I don't wanna make
you feel bad about anything because I guess I kinda  understand, but I am
glad that you're coming back."

"You know something...So am I." We talked a while longer before I hung
up.  I knew I had to call Wes and get things straight with him, too.   We
hung up and I called Wes.  Our conversation went just about the same
way.  We made plans to get together the next weekend.


After hanging up with Wesley, I decided to go ahead and call Peanut.  We
had lots of work to do.  I dialed his number and a gruff male voice
picked up.

"Hello."

"Hey, can I speak to Peanut?"

"Who's this?" The voice was rude and filled with attitude.  I thought
maybe he had a brother he didn't tell me about.

"Uh, this is Chris, a friend of his from school."  The voice was silent
for a moment.  Then I heard that familiar laugh that made my body go
cold.  Oh God this could not be him!  Please don't let it be him.

"What's up, Bitch?  Why you run from me the other night?"   It was
him.  I thought Peanut looked familiar.  He was Nates' younger
brother.  They looked almost exactly alike except where Nate's face
had a sneer permanently on it Peanut's wore a friendly approachable
one.  My voice cracked as I spoke.

"Hey Nate...Is Peanut home?"

"How you know my brotha?"  He asked.  I could almost see the sneer on his
face through the phone.

"We're in homeroom together.  Is he home?" I asked timidly.

"Nigga, you better stop rushing me off the phone.  He at work.  But you
ain't answer my question.  Why you run from me and Jay?"

"I had to meet my friend.  Listen, I have to go.  Can you just tell him I
called?"

"You ain't going nowhere till you answer my question.  Me and Jay was
just trying to welcome you to the neighborhood and you ran off like a
little bitch.  I knew you were a bitch."  I didn't have anything to
say.  Something about him caused this reaction in me where I couldn't
think right.  In my head I wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up and
leave me alone, but I didn't.  I am a naturally reserved person, but
I know how to defend myself.  People just assume because of my light skin
and the fact I am a little on the short side that I can't stand up
for myself.  I'm not confrontational in the least, but I know how to
stand up for myself when necessary.  But with Nate I was unable to do
that and I think he sensed it.  He knew it and took advantage of it.

"I told you I had to meet a friend, but I gotta go.  I'll see you
around."

"Yeah Nigga.  I'll see you around and don't worry I'll get to
give you a proper welcome soon." He laughed and hung up.  I stood there
with the phone in my hand unable to hang it up.  The busy signal came on
and it wasn't until I heard the operator come on that I hung it up.
What was it about him that did this to me?  He was just an ordinary guy.
There was nothing powerful about him.  Who was I kidding. He was at least
six foot four and two hundred pounds of muscle.  If he didn't scare
me so much, I might have been attracted to him.  What does he want with
me? Why does he bother me so much? I was afraid to ask that question oul
loud. I was afraid that I already knew the answer....

                                              To be continued
Copyright 2004


AUTHORS NOTE : Hello to everyone and thank you for your patience with my
posting.
Please send any comments, criticism, or questions to Madasonaysha@aol.com
or Madisonaysha@yahoo.com but use the AOL account first.  I love email
and will always responde. Thank you all for the kind words of
encouragement, they keep me motivated. A special overdue thank you goes
out to James Mcmannis author of "Aboriginal Farmboy"(Adult
youth/Interracial 11/25/04)  for his extremely touching words.  I am
starting a notification list and if you would like to be on it, drop me a
line, even if you have previously sent me something. I am going to start
putting these little messages at the end of the story because as so many
of you tell me, you skip them at the top : )  This chapter marks
the truimph return of KhaymanRice, editor extrodinar.  As you all
should know by now he has a very good story posted at Nifty,"Whats
Happening To Me"( High School last updated 10-23-04) he can be reached at
KhaymanRice@aol.com  See you guys in chapter 7 to be posted in 10-14
days.