Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 09:56:28 -0800 (PST)
From: JMH <trandar2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Circle the Noun chp 20
It was show time... Philip and David were at the school flagpole with the
rest of the kids enjoying the last moments before they had to go in for
class. The first kiss went unnoticed but the second and the third did not.
Between the moans and sounds of disgust and a few cheers, the two of them
made out in front of everybody.
"I told you they were queer!" Thomas's voice came across the
schoolyard.
"Your point being?" Philip snickered back. "So are you but
at least we don't sleep with anything with a dick... slut."
"What did you call me?" Thomas, red face stormed over.
"A slut!" Philip shouted back... triggering a laugh from the
crowd.
"Don't ya'll all see... both of them are gay!" Thomas said
desperate to turn the attention back on Robert and Philip.
"Well considering my family... is this a big surprise!"
David laughed before he gave Philip another kiss to emphasize his point.
"Man... but we wrestle together." One of David's teammates
moaned.
"And I always beat you!" David laughed. "Don't worry
Jarred, as you can see you are not my type." David grinned as he wrapped
an arm around Philip and walked him to the front doors of the school.
As soon as they entered they were met by the principle. "That
will be enough gentlemen." He said with a disapproving tone. "You can
make your political statements on your own time... not here."
"Yes Mr. Stern." Both David and Philip said but not before
giving each other a quick peck on the cheek before parting ending their
coming out performance.
************************************************
Nathan of course missed all this. It was decided that it
would be best for him to be out of eyesight during David and Philip's
performance so that Thomas would not be reminded of David's attraction to
him.
Instead Nathan got a first eyewitness account of what
happened from his friends Galen and Melissa.
"So David and that Philip fellow are queer. Is there a
single straight guy in your family?" Galen moaned.
"Well according to Rebecca... Nathan here is very straight."
"Gosh... does anything stay secret?" Nathan moaned.
"Hey... you should be lucky that she told all the
cheerleaders... none of them think you are gay... you're not gay... right?"
"Yes..." Nathan sighed. He was not really lying... he was
bi... not gay.
Last spring during an away baseball game he and Rebecca had
made out on the bus ride back with the soccer equipment make a sort of
curtain. The guys being guys had kept their mouths shut, only giving
Nathan a knowing smile. The girls though... they had talked it up across
the school. Nathan, the cute, innocent, soccer player all the girls liked
and all the parents hoped their daughters would bring home was not so
innocent as everyone assumed. All that blabbing though did give Nathan an
excuse not to date her when she kept calling him. Still, since then the
girls would whisper and gossip about which one of them would get him next.
"So Nathan... how long have you known?" Galen asked.
"Asked what?" Nathan feigned ignorance.
"How long have you known that David was gay?" Galen asked
again.
"Ummm... a few days." Nathan admitted.
"Only a few days... Wow, I'm surprised he could keep
something like this secret from you."
"It is not like David is a flaming queer." Melissa said to
his defense.
"Yeah... he's like the anti Greg."
"What do you mean?" Nathan asked a little perturbed by their
comments.
"Well... you know Greg. He's not the most masculine guy in
school. Not as bad as Thomas mind you but hey I think even Thomas has to
work at being so outrageous." Melissa.
"Its just that Greg is more of your stereotyped gay
teenager... you know thin, shy, artsy, a little too sensitive " Galen said
worried about the anger growing in Nathan's eyes.
"Greg is my brother... so is David." Nathan warned.
"Hey I know Nathan, but is it not weird that they are all
gay."
"Do you think there is something wrong with that?"
"No... but it seems to give proof that homosexuality is
genetic." Melissa giggled. "Your family should become a science study."
"My family is my family regardless if they are all gay or
not." Nathan defended them. And if the two of you have a problem with
that..."
"I don't." Galen said quickly. He really valued his
friendship with Nathan. "I was not sure how you were handling it."
"I'm handling it fine and I recommend that ya'll do the
same."
"Ok... but just answer me one more question..." Melissa
asked.
"What is it?" Nathan moaned afraid of what kind of question
it is.
"Which one is the wife?" She managed to say before
bursting into laughter.
"That's it..." Nathan said as he picked up his backpack and
left."
"Hey..." Galen ran after Nathan.
"Yes Galen..." Nathan sighed as he turned to face him.
"Sorry about all that... we thought you would see it funny."
"Well I don't." Nathan said seriously.
"I know... I should have know better... Is everything ok? I
know you are close to your brothers."
Nathan thought about it for a second before deciding he would
tell Galen what had been going on. "Well a lot of things have happened.
My dad and Andrew broke up. Andrew took Greg with him so he no longer
lives at home any more."
"Dang... I was wondering where he went off. He is usually
hanging around you or Emily."
"Well he and Emily had a little falling out. Greg is going
to finish up at a private school."
"Really, I hope he can handle it."
"Greg is stronger then you think Galen." Nathan said not for
the first time.
"I know, I know, but you have to admit that he carries
himself like a weak breeze would knock him over."
"He just needs some self confidence."
"Well you tried to help him with that."
"Yeah..." Nathan sighed. He worried how Greg was handling
his first day at his new school.
"Nathan... I know you like acting all happy and stuff even
when you are sad but I want us to be... well more truthful to each other.
So if you ever want to talk about things I would hope you would talk with
me. Hey... you know how bad my folk's divorce was. I'm sure Andrew and
your dad are not as bad as they were."
"I hope it does not get that bad." Nathan agreed.
Galen's parents did not have a divorce so much as a two front
war. While they were hacking at each other's emotions they tried to get
their kids to see things their way. It was all too much for Galen so he
had turned to the one adult he still had respect for... Josh Harper, his
baseball coach. Working out a plan, Galen had practically moved into
Nathan's house for three months until the divorce was finalized and his
father moved out of the state. Galen would tell his folks that he was just
studying or going to a sleepover but in truth he had moved himself into the
guest bedroom. Doing so save his sanity and made him a good friend of
Nathan's.
"I'm sure it won't... your dad is a very sensible person."
"He was raised on a farm... they don't make them more
sensible anywhere else." Nathan laughed at Galen's description of his
father.
"So long as you know I'm ready to return the favor."
"No need to... just lay off David."
"Hey... I like him... he's not my type though."
"Well what is your type?" Nathan asked.
"Well let see, has to be over six feet tall, brown hair, blue
eyes, athletic, good sense of humor..." Galen began to list off. "Has to
get along with all my friends, must be very caring... someone who I can
lean on. Am I forgetting anything?"
"Yes." Nathan laughed.
"Oh yeah... must be female." Galen said in an off-handed
tone.
"Yep... I thought you forgot that... someone would almost
think you were gay."
"Not in this lifetime." Galen laughed. "But I have to admit
that your family has a lot more style then mine."
"Well that's all because of uncle Robert... he doesn't trust
Josh to help out with the school clothes shopping. He doesn't even let
Josh pick out his own clothes most of the time. I wonder what my dad is
going to do with his flannel pajamas."
"Why... Robert never sees them."
"Oh he does now."
"You mean your uncle is now sleeping with your Dad."
"Ewww... that makes it sound so ... so incestuous." Nathan
complained.
"Well you do call him your uncle."
"I need to get in the habit of calling him dad."
"So Robert and your real dad are going to get hitch?" Galen
asked.
"Looks like it."
"Weird... my soccer coach and my baseball coach are getting
married."
"Hahahahaha... should we invite the whole gang to the
ceremony?"
"That would be cool. Too bad we are all too big for our
uniforms. We could wear our school uniforms though. Most of the guys
still play, either in high school or in clubs.
"You can but I can't... this is my dad we are talking about
so I think I would need to dress up."
"Ok... but you will ask him if we can all go to his wedding?"
"Yes, I'll ask him."
"Good... this might be my only chance to see what a gay
wedding is like."
"I don't know how different it will be from a normal
wedding." Nathan replied.
"Well it would be like an all guys wedding... none of
formality that women seems to always want."
"Who knows, my dad might like that sort of stuff."
"What... all that lace and flowers?"
"Well..." Nathan said uncertainly. His dad was not big on
ornaments and gilding.
"I didn't think so... all the weddings I've been to the
brides and mother's have been in charge, it would be good to see something
different and hopefully more relaxed."
"Yeah... it would be interesting to see who takes charge of
the ceremony. If I had to bet money I would have to say Robert." Nathan
laughed.
"Man... then I have to be there."
"Just so you can make fun of it?"
"No... Robert is cool. I'm sure it is going to be one hell
of a party."
"Yep... he would want to make sure that it is a big
celebration." Nathan agreed just as the bell rang the start of first
period.
"Well I'm off to chemistry." Nathan said as he gave Galen a
pat goodbye.
"See ya then... it's going to be an interesting day." Galen
said as he headed for his trig class.
*****************************************************
Greg's dad escorted his son to the administrative offices of
the school an hour before classes were supposed to start. As soon as they
arrived a sectary led them to a conference room where three people waited
for them.
"Good to finally meet you Mr. Windship." The man who had
been sitting at the head of the table said as he got up and shook Greg's
hand.
"Thank you." Greg said but didn't really feel.
"Thank you...?" The man asked as he held on to Greg's hand.
"Sir..." Andrew whispered to his son when Greg didn't reply
immediately.
"Thank you sir." Greg said, finally getting the hint. "It
was going to be one of THOSE schools;" Greg thought to himself.
"Have a seat young man so we can talk about your future."
The man, satisfied with Greg's second attempt, said as he let go of Greg's
hand.
Greg took a seat next to his father, opposite where the three
men were sitting. The man who shook his hand also returned to his chair,
in the middle of the two other men, the one on the right looking to be in
his mind twenties while the other looked to be in his forties.
"I am Dr. Larson." The man in the middles said one he had
sat himself down. "I am the headmaster of this school. To my left is
Mr. Bremen, he will be your tutor. He is new here so give him an easy
time. To my right is Dr. Randall. He is the school consoler. As you are
new here you will have to see him once a week for the next six weeks so we
can monitor how you are settling in."
At this point Dr. Larson stopped to see if Greg had any
questions. Greg though just nodded his head that he understood.
Containing Dr. Larson began to explain the role of
Mr. Bremen. It turned out the school had a very low student to teacher
ratio of one to three, which allowed each student to spend two one-hour
secessions a day with their tutor working to develop the their reading and
writing skills. Greg knew that such a school must be costing his dad a
fortune. He just hoped that his father would not remind him of that fact.
Dr. Larson looked with favor on Greg's relative clean record
at school, only getting detention twice for being late to class too many
times. He did notice the lack of sports on Greg's school records as well,
something that Dr. Larson informed Greg would change while he was here.
"I don't care if you never hit the ball, make a basket, or
win a race, every student here has to participate." Dr. Larson said with
some enthuses.
Dr. Larson then went over the rest of his
schedule... chemistry, Brit. lit., computer science, Algebra II, and world
history. This left one class unlisted. "Well, I think that is all we need
you for Mr. Windship." Dr. Larson said to Greg's dad.
"Ok... I better get to the office then." Andrew said as he
took Dr. Larson's offered hand before leaving. "Take care Greg."
"Bye dad." Greg said more as a sigh. So far he was not
happy with the choices his dad was making for him.
Once his father was gone, Mr. Bremer spoke up. "Well your
father did not notice that we did not list your entire schedule. We wanted
to talk to you alone about that."
"Ok..." Greg said nervous about what they would want to hide
from his father.
"Your dad told us to make you elective course public
speaking. He says that you tend to be shy and from what I have seen so far
he might be right." Dr. Randall said.
"But..." Dr. Larson broke in. "We also noticed all the art
classes and camps you have been to. It would be a shame for you to give
something up when you seem to clearly enjoy it."
"But won't my dad be mad?" Greg said nervously.
"Our school is not just to educate you the way your folks
want, it is also to prepare you for the real world. That means teaching
you how to stand up for yourself. So if you tell us you would prefer to
take art over public speaking then I see no problem in changing your
schedule." Dr. Larson finished.
"..." Greg remained silent.
"Well...?" Mr. Bremer asked hoping to get a response.
"..."
"Then I guess you will be taking..." Dr. Larson began to
say.
"Art...sir. I'll take the art class." Greg finally spoke
up.
"Good for you young man!" Dr. Larson smiled. "Now that is
out of the way I'll leave you in the care of Dr. Randall."
Finished, Dr. Larson got up and left the room, but not before
giving Greg a pat on the back. Mr. Bremen stood up next, told Greg he
would see him in about two hours and walked out himself, leaving Greg with
the school shrink.
"Now that they are all gone we can talk." The middle aged
man said as he took a seat next to Greg.
"What are we going to talk about?" Greg asked nervously.
"About you mostly... how you see yourself... what your
family is like, who are your friends... what do you see yourself doing in
the future."
"Ok..."
"So tell me." The man grinned.
"Where should I start?"
"Well, tell me about your family."
"Well my dad just broke up with my other
dad... Josh... forcing me to move out and come here."
"And you are not happy about that?"
"No... I'm mad about it. Everything was fine until my dad
messed things up."
"Well if you ask me, things were not that great if your dad
decided to do all these changes or, do you think your dad is trying to make
your life miserable?"
"No... he was just unhappy." Greg admitted.
"Is that what you think?" Dr. Randall asked, not as a
challenge but to make sure that is what Greg believed.
"Yeah... I guess I do."
"Still, you have every right to feel a little un-rooted by
all this."
"Yeah..."
"So... your father told me that you are gay... do you have a
problem with this?"
"No... do you."
"No, it's just that most kids have problems dealing with
their sexuality."
"Well I never did. My dads always made sure that I would be
accepted regardless."
"Good. Tell me about your friends."
"I don't have any."
"You don't?" Dr. Randall said in mock surprise.
"Well there is Nathan... but he is more like my brother then
a friend."
"And who is Nathan?"
"My other dad's son."
"Ok... is he gay too?"
"I'm not sure if I can tell you that."
"Why not?"
"Well you might tell someone else."
"Don't worry, unless you are thinking or know about someone
breaking the law or hurting themselves then you have nothing to worry
about."
"Ok... Nathan is not gay." Greg finally said.
"So are most kids... why do you want me to keep it secret?"
"He is not gay... he thinks he is bi." Greg clarified.
"I see... and that is hard for you to accept."
"Well I wish he was one or the other. If he was gay it would
be really cool cause then he and I could talk about how hot we find some
guy. If he is straight that would be cool as well cause then I could be an
uncle someday."
"Then what is the problem of him being bi?"
"Cause I don't know how to relate to him. I know what to
expect from straight kids and I know how gay kids are like as I'm one
myself. I just don't know what to do with someone who is both."
"I think you should talk to Nathan like you have always have.
It is not like he has changed overnight."
"He has for me though. I mean I've seen Nathan kissing girls
but know I am seeing him kissing guys as well."
"So you just found out that Nathan is bi?" Dr. Randall
asked.
"Yes."
"Well then I think it might take some time but you need to
talk with him about these feelings. I'm not Nathan so I can't tell you
what is going through his head. You need to ask him about that."
"I'll do that then." Greg said, finally smiling.
Dr. Randall returned the smile before he took out a folder.
"Good... now we can get to the good stuff." He said as he handed Greg a
packet of papers.
"What is this?" Greg asked looking thought the hundreds of
multiply choice questions.
"An aptitude test. It will give as a "fuzzy" look at what
you are good at and what things you are interested in."
"Ok... " Greg replied nervously.
"Don't worry, as I said it gives us a fuzzy look into your
mind. What we talk about together and what you do in class means a lot
more."
"Alright." Greg understood but didn't feel any better.
"I'll be going now. Take your time. When you are done give
the test to the lady at the front desk. Mr. Bremer should be waiting for
you by then to take you to your first tutorial."
"Thank you sir." Greg remembered to say.
"Good to meet you Greg." Mr. Randall replied before leaving.
*************************************************************
Well we just reached the halfway point... the rest of the story can be
found here
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adultwritingworkshop/