Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 10:19:48 -0400
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Door Number Three    Chapter 12

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone are purely
coincidental. The story is intended for a mature audience. It may contain
profanity and references to gay sex. If this offends you, please leave and
find something more suitable to read. The author maintains all rights to
the story. Do not copy or use without written permission. Write
ronyx@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
author. Visit my personal website at www.themustardjar.com for more
stories.


Door Number Three        Chapter 12


When I went down to the kitchen, everyone was sitting at the table eating
breakfast. My mother grabbed my arm and had me sit down. "Have some
breakfast, Zac," she sang cheerfully.

Josh looked up and started giggling. "Where'd you get the black...?" He
stopped when Billy reached under the table and smacked him on his leg. He
started to say something else, but stopped when my father shook his head
and gave him a stare that only a parent possesses. He shyly dropped his
head and took another bite of bacon.

I was surprised to see my older brother, Jimmy, sitting at the table next
to Billy. He looked up and nodded at me when I sat down. I think it was the
first time since he left home to live with his girlfriend that he had
stopped by so early in the morning.

"Just coffee and a bagel," I hollered out as she disappeared through the
kitchen door.

I looked over at Jimmy. He had gained a few pounds and his beard was
thicker than the last time I saw him. He had always been muscular, but now
his body was showing the first signs of flabbiness. He was an auto mechanic
at a local Ford dealership, so he was dressed in a blue shirt with brown
overalls. Dad and Mom were disappointed that he didn't go to college, but
instead attended a community college.

Jimmy and I had been close until he left. He shared with me a lot of the
problems he faced in high school. He enjoyed playing on the football team,
and I think that's the reason he didn't drop out. He hated class work. In
fact, he paid me to do his homework assignments at night. That was one of
the reasons I didn't have a problem with my classes because I was familiar
with much of the work we did since I'd done it for him a couple of years
earlier.

Dad and Mom pressured him to go to college. I heard them arguing a lot in
the family room about it. They believed that education was the key to a
successful life. He, though, thought if he did something he enjoyed, like
repairing cars, then it didn't matter how much money he made. When he left,
he told me the main reason he was moving in with Tamara was because she
understood him and didn't try to get him to do something he didn't feel
like doing.

We'd talked a few times since he left and he did appear happy with his
life. He was an apprentice, so he didn't make a lot of money, but it was
enough to provide him and Tamara with a two bedroom apartment and a car he
bought with his employee's discount. They had decided to not have children
for a few years until he was making a higher salary.

My mother was able to get Tamara a job at the grocery store working in the
deli department. For a while she tried to get Tamara to talk Jimmy into
attending college; but when she realized that Tamara strongly supported
Jimmy's decision, she gave up. Since then, Jimmy and Tamara have been
showing up at our house more frequently.

I moaned when Mom came out of the kitchen and placed a plate before me. It
was piled with three fried eggs, six pieces of bacon and four slices of
toast. I looked down at the food and exclaimed, "I can't eat this. I'm in
training right now."

"You need your strength." She clicked her tongue several times as she
placed a large glass of orange juice in front of me. My father leaned back
in his chair and laughed when I turned up my nose.

Jimmy reached for my plate, but Billy grabbed it first. "Hey!" Jimmy
shouted. "I was going to eat that."

"Too bad," Billy grinned. "First come, first served" When Jimmy reached for
the plate again, Billy leaned down and licked the bacon.

"Jesus!" hissed Jimmy. "That's disgusting."

My father continued to laugh. "If I remember right," he said looking over
at Jimmy, "you once spit on an ice cream cone so Marilou wouldn't eat it."

"Yeah," protested Jimmy, "but it was strawberry ice cream."

My mother came out of the kitchen with another plate and sat it down in
front of Jimmy. "There's plenty more," she exclaimed. "I'll go get you
more, Zac."

"No!" I shouted. She turned and frowned. "I appreciate it, but how about
just my usual cup of coffee and a bagel?" She shook her head and entered
the kitchen. A minute later she reappeared with my coffee and bagel. She
then sat down and we began to eat.

It felt like old times with Jimmy at the table. It would have been complete
if Marilou were with us. I looked around the table and realized how blessed
I was to have a big, happy family. I was also lucky to have supportive
parents and siblings who loved me.

"How's track going?" Jimmy asked as he looked across the table and smiled.

"Not sure," I informed him. "I ran into a little trouble at school." He
looked over at Dad and then back towards me.

"Yeah," he replied. "I heard about it. You going to be okay?"

I felt tears rush to my eyes. I was overwhelmed with emotion. It was
obvious Dad had told him about me being gay and the incident at
school. When he said, "You going to be okay," it was as if he was asking me
how I felt after a fall. He didn't seem upset or disappointed. He seemed
just like Jimmy, the older brother I'd always loved and admired.

After eating breakfast, Billy, Josh and Brenda left to go to school. Billy
complained because he wasn't riding with me. He tried to talk Mom into
taking him, but she threw his book bag onto the porch when he started
whining. He turned and flipped me off when he left; but not before making
sure Mom or Dad didn't see him.

Jimmy followed me to my room as I prepared to get dressed for my meeting
with Principal Jarvis. I decided I should wear something other than my
usual athletic shorts and tee shirt. He plopped down on Billy's bed and lay
back as I rummaged through my closet.

"So, is what Dad told me true?" he asked as he sat up and rested on his
elbow. I came out of the closet and looked down at him.

"Depends on what he said," I replied.

"You know," he said nervously. "That thing about you being gay." He scooted
over and made way for me to sit down beside him.

"I guess," I sighed.

"You guess?" He got up and sat beside me.

I stared into his face. There was no use denying it since Dad had already
told him. "Yeah, I'm sure." I started to get up, but he held my arm.

"It's cool with me," he assured me. "Tamara's older brother is gay. Hell,
he practically lives at our place now. His boyfriend is a good cook." He
laughed as he patted his rounded stomach. "How do you think I got this?"

"Well, I'm glad you're all right with it," I said sarcastically as I got up
and walked back to the closet. I turned back toward him. "Everyone is all
right with it. You, Mom, Dad, Billy" I could feel the emotion building up
inside me. "If it's so all right then, dammit, why do I feel so fucking
bad?" I entered the closet and started idly rummaging through my clothes as
tears appeared in my eyes.

Jimmy walked to the door. "You okay, Zac?" I turned and replied tearfully.

"Yeah, Jimmy." I wiped tears from my eyes. "Everything's just fine. I've
lost my girl friend and my best friend. The entire school knows I'm
gay. I'm going to get suspended in a few hours. I may get kicked off the
track team and could lose my scholarship. The guy I thought I liked is so
far into the closet that he'll never come out." I walked out of the closet
with a handful of clothes.

"Yeah, Jimmy," I replied sarcastically. "That just about sums it up. I'm
feeling fucking A-okay with my life." I tossed the clothes on the
bed. Jimmy walked over and held up an ugly striped shirt my grandmother had
given me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Needless to say, I had
never worn it.

"You could wear this?" Jimmy said with a grin as he held the shirt up.

I tried not to laugh, but my mouth started to curl at the ends. "You could
wear it," I smiled. He pulled off his work shirt and put it on. When he
modeled it for me, I started laughing.

"Come here," he said as he opened his arms to me. I walked over and
embraced him. "It's going to be okay, Zac." Tears started to fall again as
I nodded into his shoulder. I pulled away, wiped the tears from my eyes and
began laughing.

"You really should wear that shirt," I chuckled.

"All right, I will." He said. "It will be fun to see Old Lady Jarvis's face
when I walk into her office wearing this." He held out the shirt and
examined it.

"You're going with me today?" I had figured after talking to Dad, he had
stopped by to have breakfast and let me know he was okay with me being gay.

"Sure," he smiled. "When Dad told me you got in a fight with Kenny and had
a suspension hearing, I told him I wanted to go along."

"Why?"

"I've always hated that asshole," he said angrily. "I don't know why you
and him were friends."

"I've been asking myself that for the past week," I replied.

"Anyway," he said, "You know how I've always intimidated the shit out of
him?" I nodded. Kenny was always afraid of Jimmy, even when we were
little. I think that's one of the reasons Kenny and I never fought in the
past. He was afraid Jimmy would find out if we did and would come after
him.

"If I show up today," he continued, "then he'll know I know you're gay." I
jumped when he hit his right fist harshly into his left hand. "He'll also
know that if he fucks with you again, then he's going to have to come
through me first. I'd love to fuck his face up like he did yours." I
instinctively reached up and felt the side of my face. It seemed swollen
but it wasn't as painful as the day before.

"Then you'll go to jail," I reminded my brother. He hit his fist into his
hand again.

"It will be worth it," he said. "Just let me know if he gives you any more
trouble." I nodded my head, but I knew I'd never tell him if Kenny did
approach me. Jimmy loved a good fight and I knew it would probably result
in him going to jail for assault.

We started to leave when Jimmy pulled me back inside the room and shut the
door. I gave him a puzzled look. "Can I ask you something?"

"If it's about having sex with a guy..." I started to say before he stopped
me.

"No, no," he assured me. "Nothing like that." He looked over at Billy's bed
before turning back to me.

"Do you think Billy's gay, too?" My eyes widened and my face reddened.

"Why do you ask that?" I managed to stammer out.

"So he is?" Jimmy asked as he stared me directly into my face.

"I didn't say that." I insisted.

"No," Jimmy replied as he threw his arm around my shoulder. "But you didn't
say he wasn't." He squeezed my shoulder. "Besides, I kind of figured it out
anyway. He and that Lonnie kid always seem too touchy-feely with each
other."

I looked worriedly at him. "You won't say anything to Mom and Dad? He isn't
out yet."

I gave him a puzzled look when he started laughing. "I don't think he has
too. If I've picked it up and I'm as dumb as a rock when it comes to these
things, then I'm sure they have by now. You have to tell them to be more
careful."

"I have," I assured him.

"Good." He wrapped his arm around me and squeezed my shoulder. "Now let's
go see if I can make Kenny shit his pants." He laughed as we exited the
room.


Since my suspension hearing was at nine, the halls were empty when Dad,
Jimmy and I arrived. Mom was going to take the morning off from work, but I
convinced her that there was really nothing she could do. "Call me as soon
as you get out," she said as she headed for the door in her blue uniform.

Because I had been involved in a fight with Kenny, his hearing was to be
held the same time as mine. I think she wanted to hear both our sides
before meting out her punishment. I already knew what mine would be- ten
days. The initiator of the fight automatically received a ten day
suspension. Kenny would probably walk away from the meeting with no
suspension. He'll merely claim he was defending himself. I'm sure by now
Coach Brunswick had already talked to Mrs. Jarvis. He couldn't have his
star pitcher miss any games because he was on suspension.

Kenny and his Mr. Fletcher had already arrived when we walked into the
office. Kenny looked up and scowled at me until Jimmy stepped up beside
me. He quickly turned his head.

My father and Mr. Fletcher sat down and talked quietly while we
waited. Most of their conversation involved a golf game on Saturday
afternoon. Jimmy and I sat across the waiting area and watched the
secretary as she made phone calls to parents about their child's absence
from school. That was one of the main reasons I never played hooky. What
Mrs. Jarvis was about to do to me would be mild compared to what Dad would
have done if he had received a phone call. Jimmy tried skipping school
during his sophomore year. After a verbal lashing, he was grounded for a
month. As a result, he lost a girlfriend he'd been dating at the time.

The phone rang and the secretary picked it up, nodded and then walked over
toward us. "Mrs. Jarvis will see you now." We stood and walked into her
office. I felt like a man walking the plank on a ship. I would have turned
around and fled, but Jimmy had his hand firmly planted on my back.

Two chairs were placed in front of her desk. She indicated that Kenny and I
were to sit there. He scooted his seat about three feet away from mine
before sitting. My father and Mr. Fletcher sat to my right while my brother
sat on a small table to my left. From where he was sitting, he was about
two feet away from Kenny. I wanted to laugh when I saw him intentionally
swing his foot and hit the side of Kenny's chair, causing him to jump
slightly.

Mrs. Jarvis walked over and shook my father and Mr. Fletcher's hands. She
was a rather large woman. She got along well with the students and could be
seen at most extracurricular events. She even attends the chess team
events! She was dressed in a floral pattern dress which made her look like
she was in a garden.

She already knew my father because she had spoken with him many times at my
meets. In fact, she had sat beside my mother and father and cheered me on
at the state finals last year.

When she sat down, she looked at me and sighed. I dropped my head because I
knew she was disappointed in me. She had been an ardent fan and I'm sure
she didn't feel comfortable doing what she knew she must. I looked back up
when she started leafing through some papers on her desk. She stopped and
looked at us.

"Gentlemen," she said in a stern voice. "Fighting in the locker room
yesterday afternoon."

Kenny blurted out, "I didn't do nothing, Mrs. Jarvis!" He looked at me
angrily. "I was just defending myself."

"We'll get to that in a moment, Kenny," she replied abruptly. "I have a
pretty good idea what occurred. I've spent the morning interviewing some of
the students who were present."

"Then you know I didn't do nothing," Kenny insisted

I wanted to laugh when Mr. Fletcher told Kenny, "Shut up!" Mrs. Jarvis
looked down, shuffled the papers in front of her and attempted to stifle a
grin. She then lifted her head and stared at me.

"One of the hardest things a principal has to do is punish a student for an
offense when you know they don't deserve it." She looked sadly at me. "But
rules can't be broken just because I happen to like and admire the student
who has broken them." Kenny looked over at me and glared. He jumped when
Jimmy kicked the leg on his seat.

She read a couple of papers before continuing. She looked over at me. "One
thing is clear and substantiated by everyone who witnessed the exchange,"
she said, "You threw the first punch."

"Yeah," interrupted Kenny, "He did. I told you I didn't do nothing."

She gave Kenny a glaring look. "That's not quite true, Kenny. Someone can
instigate a fight without hitting someone."

"What!" Kenny stood and shouted. "I didn't do nothing!"

"Shut up and sit down!" I looked over as Kenny's father stood before
him. "This woman has a job to do. Stop interrupting her." Kenny dropped
back into his chair.

"I was going to deal with Zac first," Mrs. Jarvis said, "but since you seem
so sure you didn't do anything, let's deal with that now." She shuffled
angrily through the papers before pulling out one and scanning it. She
looked up at Kenny and scowled.

"Did you refer to Zac as a ..." she looked down at the paper before looking
up, "fag and homo?"

"Well..." stammered Kenny.

She looked down at the paper again. "And did you invite him to suck your
dick?" Her eyes narrowed as she looked disgustingly at him.

"No..." he said nervously. "I didn't say those things. Honest." She held up
four sheets of paper.

"So these students are all lying about what they heard?"

"Yeah," he responded excitedly as he looked over at me. "They're probably
all track jocks who are telling lies on me to keep him from getting in
trouble."

She shook her head and held up two of the papers. "These are signed
statements from your teammates. Are you calling them liars too?"

He stood and pointed down at me. Jimmy jumped from the table. "They're
probably homos like him." I had to step in front of Jimmy to prevent him
from reaching for Kenny.

"You'd better sit your ass down," shouted Kenny's father as he pushed him
back into his chair. "If you say one more word, I'm going to put a knot in
your head right here in front of everyone."

Mrs. Jarvis leaned across her desk and stared angrily into Kenny's
face. "And did you refer to one of the students here at Northview as a
nigger?" I watched as Kenny slunk down in his seat and looked away from her
angry gaze.

She slapped her hand down forcefully on her desk. Everyone in the room
jumped. "Well?" She shouted. "Did you?"

Kenny looked down at his hands as he mumbled softly, "Yes, Ma'am."

"Jesus," Mr. Fletcher hissed. "Wait until I get you home." My father gently
patted his leg as he tried to calm him. I think if we hadn't been present,
he would have been throwing Kenny all over the room. I'd seen him angry
many times, but I don't think I'd ever seen his as upset as he was
now. Kenny looked down at his hands, pushing back the cuticles on his left
hand.

Mrs. Jarvis leaned back in her chair and sighed. She looked over at me and
said, "Zac, do you have anything you'd like to say?" I quickly glanced over
at Kenny before responding.

"No, Ma'am," I replied.

"Okay, then." She leaned forward toward me. "This is the part of being a
principal I find uncomfortable." She looked me directly in my eyes. "You
know that I have to suspend you for fighting?" I nodded my head and looked
down.

She sat back and reread some of the statements others had made. The room
was deadly silent for a minute. I almost broke out in laughter when Jimmy's
stomach began to growl. He quickly grabbed it and muttered an apology.

When she finished, she laid the papers down and looked at me
directly. "Normally engaging in a fight on school grounds would warrant a
ten day suspension." I looked at her and nodded my head. "But, however, I
think that the circumstances here allow me to be lenient since the fight
seems to have been provoked by Kenny." Kenny's head shot up and he stared
at her in disbelief.

"I didn't..." He started to object before his father told him rather
forcefully to once again, "Shut up!"

Mrs. Jarvis looked at him and smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Fletcher. I know
someone in my position should never tell a young person to shut up, but in
this case I'm tempted to do so." Kenny's father smiled and nodded his head.

"You have my permission," he laughed. She then turned her attention back to
me.

"Zac," she continued. "I'm going to suspend you for three days." I let out
a small gasp I'd been holding inside. I could tell Kenny wanted to protest,
but he bit his lip after a stern look from his father.

I was relieved it was for only three days. I had figured I'd be suspended
for the entire ten days. If I had, then my spot on the track team would be
greatly jeopardized. But then I thought, what spot? After Kenny had outed
me to my team mates, I was quite sure they'd never welcome me back on the
team.

Mrs. Jarvis leaned forward and sternly looked at Kenny. "Kenneth Fletcher."
Kenny held his head up and looked at her. I heard a gulping sound come from
his throat. She glared at him as she spoke. "I will never condone a student
using the derogatory and gutter language you displayed in the locker room."
Kenny dropped his head.

"I`m going to assign you to four weeks of Saturday detention."

"What?" I looked over as Kenny began to tremble from anger. "You can't do
that to me! Baseball season is starting and I'll miss the first three
games." Tears started to flow down his cheeks. "We won't win the state
title this year." I watched as he sat back down in his seat and broke down
in tears.

Tears formed in my eyes as I watched the dreams of my former best friend
shatter. We'd waited years for this moment, and now it was being deprived
from him because of me. I know he was to blame for his actions, but I still
felt guilty because I was the one to end his hopes for a state
championship. As his shoulders quaked from crying, I wanted to reach over
and hold him. Maybe he didn't value our friendship anymore, but I just
couldn't throw away a twelve year bond we had formed.

I looked tearfully at Mrs. Jarvis. "Do you have to give him Saturday
detentions?" She looked at me as her expression softened seeing the tears
in my eyes. "Can't you find an alternative?" Kenny raised his head and
looked over at me. I could tell by the expression on his face he couldn't
believe I was trying to help him after what he'd done to me.

Mrs. Jarvis sat back in her seat and studied us. She'd look at Kenny and
then back at me.  She got up and walked over to a file cabinet. After
rummaging through it for a minute, she pulled out a brochure and sat back
down. She then pushed it across her desk toward Kenny. He reluctantly took
it and opened it.

"I have a friend who is the director of the YWCA downtown. She conducts a
Diversity and Cultural Sensitivity Training seminar each Wednesday
night. I've taken the program and it is excellent." She looked at Kenny as
he scanned the brochure. "I will give you the option of taking this seminar
or Saturday detention." She looked over at me and smiled. I nodded my head
in appreciation.

Kenny held up the brochure. "But it says it's a two month class." He
dropped his head when she glared angrily at him. He fidgeted in his chair
as he thought of his options. I was relieved when he finally looked up and
muttered, "all right."

"Very good choice, Kenny," she said. She looked over at my father and
Mr. Fletcher. "Unless you have an objection, then I guess our business here
is completed." Our fathers looked at each other and shook their heads.

She stood and walked around and shook their hands. She then approached
me. "Today is Tuesday. I'll see you back in school on Friday." She held out
her hand for me to shake. She then walked over to my brother.

"James," she said as she extended her hand. He hesitantly shook it. "It's
good to see you again. How is the job at the auto shop working out?"

"Fine," he replied as he gave me a puzzled look. Mrs. Jarvis chuckled.

"My husband brings his truck in for service," she said. "He always asks for
you to work on it."

"Jarvis?" Jimmy said thoughtfully. Then he looked like a light had just
gone off in his head. "Claude Jarvis? He's your husband?"

"Yes," she smiled as she patted Jimmy on his arm. "Keep up the good work."
She started to walk away, but turned and grinned at my brother. "Nice
shirt."

Kenny and his father left the office first. As we trailed behind them, we
could hear his father admonishing him. From some of the things we heard, it
sounded like Kenny may be grounded until he was thirty. He seemed mostly
upset because he had not been truthful in telling his father details of the
fight, particularly some of the language he had used.

As we headed to the car, my father threw his arm around my shoulder. "I'm
proud of you, Son," he said. "It took a real man to do what you did,
standing up for Kenny."

"Yeah," said Jimmy as he shoved me with his hip. "He's a piece of shit, but
that was nice what you did. If it had been me, I would have been asking
Jarvis to give him more detention days."

"It's kind of ironic," I replied thoughtfully. "He ruins my life, but I try
to save his."

My father squeezed my shoulder. "It's called friendship, Zac. You showed
today what that really is. You didn't turn your back on someone who you
shared so much of your life with."

"Yeah," I said sadly. "Kenny was a good friend." I looked over at Jimmy and
laughed. "Even if he was an asshole."

So I only got a three day suspension. In a way I was relieved that I didn't
have to go back to school and confront people. It would also give me time
to adjust to the fact that I'd probably no longer be running track. My
dream for a state title was shattered. That was over when Kenny outed me to
my teammates.

I still couldn't quite understand why I'd fought for Kenny. He had turned
his back on me and did everything he could to make my life miserable. But
when I saw him crying in Mrs. Jarvis's office, I could feel what he was
experiencing. In the twelve years I'd known him, Kenny had never cried. Not
once. And even though my hopes had been dashed, I realized that I could
still save his.

I didn't regret it. Like my father had said, I felt proud of what I had
done. I couldn't just discard our friendship like it had never
existed. Kenny would never be my friend again, but at least I still
cherished the bond we had formed. It wasn't that easy to let go.

* * * * * * *

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