Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2016 15:40:08 -0400
From: ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: Other Sinful Things    Chapter 13

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 stories are copyrighted, and the
author maintains exclusive rights to the story. Do not copy or use without
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Ronyx is a prolific Nifty author. I have previously posted the stories:
Birds Don't Sing Before a Storm, A Delicate Situation, Reggie's Journal,
It's Not Easy Being a Tree, Door Number Three and Closing the Barn Door to
name just a few.



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Other Sinful Things      Chapter 13

by Ronyx



I peeked out the window and watched my mother and Sheriff Tackett argue on
the porch. Finally, she stormed away, got in her van and pulled off. Seconds
later, there was a knock on the door. Mrs. Grayson answered it.

The sheriff stepped in, looked around until he saw me. He then approached.
"Jacob," he insisted, "I need to talk to you." He looked over at Mrs. Oliver
and added, "You too, Mrs. Oliver."

We went into the kitchen and sat at the table. Sheriff Tackett asked me if I
had run away, or if I had been sent by my parents to Mrs. Oliver's home.

"They kicked him out of his own house," angrily replied Mrs. Oliver. "Pastor
Long has said some dreadful things to him." She reached over and put her
hand on my arm.

The sheriff looked at me and asked me if it was true. I told him how my
father and I had been arguing about Tiffany, and that I had told him I hated
him. I related how my mother had placed my clothing in some luggage and
brought me to Mrs. Oliver's house without even telling me where or why I was
going.

Sheriff took out his notepad and scanned it. He then looked at me and asked
again, "Are you sure you didn't run away and come here like your mother has
stated?"

"No, Sir," I adamantly replied. "They kicked me out of my own house." Mrs.
Oliver squeezed my arm tightly.

"I have a problem here," he said as he read back over his notes. "It appears
your mother has filled out a false police report." He clicked his tongue and
added, "This is a serious crime."

I laughed when Mrs. Oliver excitedly said, "Throw her in jail!"

"Now, now, Mrs. Oliver," he said. "If I do that, then I have to lock you up
for striking the pastor with your cane."

Mrs. Oliver protested, "I didn't strike that old fool. I was merely getting
up from my seat and my cane slipped and hit him." I giggled when I noticed
that she had put her hand behind her back and crossed her fingers.

He closed his notepad and stood. "I guess I'll go back to the office to
straighten this all out." He looked at me and asked, "Are you sure, Jacob,
that you are staying here under your own will? No one is forcing you to
stay?"

I leaned over and put my arm around Mrs. Oliver. "No, Sir," I replied. "I'm
staying here voluntarily- that is as long as Mrs. Oliver will let me."

She smiled at me and responded, "I may even adopt the boy."

Sheriff Tackett laughed and said, "He's just a little too old for that. The
way I see it, he's old enough to make his own decisions. The city attorney
may have to clear all this up before it is over." He extended his hand for
me to shake. After hugging Mrs. Oliver, he left.

When we returned to the living room, everyone was curious what had happened.
Like Mrs. Oliver, most of them agreed that my mother should be locked up
behind bars.

I was afraid to go to school the next morning. I didn't know what to expect.
First, there was the meeting that my father had arranged with the school
board. I knew when I saw Tiffany enter the girls' restroom that trouble
would happen. It didn't take my father long to attack her for her actions.

I was also worried because on Saturday, Colton, Jerome, Tiffany and I had
agreed that we would attend the meeting, if we were allowed. Since none of
us had ever attended a board meeting before, we didn't know if only adults
could attend. If I was admitted, it would be the first time that I would
encounter my father since he kicked me out of his house. I was really afraid
that he might make a scene, much like my mother had the day before when she
tried to make me leave with her.

I was still confused about that. By her actions, I could tell that she
really didn't want me to return home. She gave me no indication that she
missed me. She was merely trying to get revenge upon Mrs. Oliver for walking
out of my father's church and taking a large number of members with her.

She probably wasn't even going to take me home. She probably had arranged
for me to stay with another member of the congregation. I doubt that my
father had changed his mind about me. They might have even plotted to have
me taken somewhere for gay conversion therapy. I had done some research
about it a year ago when I heard them discussing it in my father's study. A
mother in the church was worried that her daughter was a lesbian, and she
had discussed it with my father. Though they never said anything about it, I
was always afraid that one day, if they discovered I was gay, they would
load me up in my mother's van to have me reprogrammed. Now, after what Mrs.
Oliver had done, they might consider it my best option for salvation.

Another thing that worried me was Darryl Standifer. After what happened
after school on Friday, I was certain he would try to seek revenge on
Tiffany or any one of us. We had humiliated him in front of his friends. A
guy like Darryl doesn't just forget about something like that.

Jerome met me at my locker. He seemed nervous. "Have you seen Tiffany?" he
asked. "I waited for her to get off the bus, but she wasn't on it." I
informed him that sometimes her mother brings her to school. Since I no
longer rode the bus, I wasn't sure.

He waited while I got my books out of my locker. When I did, my notebook
that I wrote my letters to God fell out. He picked it, looked at the first
page and handed it back to me. He asked, "What's this?"

I took it from his hand and replied, "Nothing." I then placed it on the top
shelf of my locker.

"Looked like a diary," he said. He giggled, looked around and asked, "You
keeping a diary on you and Colton?"

I started to get upset, but he had such an impish grin on his face. "Are you
keeping one on Tiffany?" I asked. His face started to redden. Before he
could answer, I grabbed his arm and told him we had to get to the cafeteria.

Cathy was sitting alone when we entered. Jerome went to get something to
eat. However, I had eaten breakfast with Mrs. Oliver, so I went over to the
table and sat down beside her.

She smiled and said, "You look happy today. Did you have a nice weekend?" I
didn't feel any different than any other morning, but I suppose I did appear
more cheerful since I was no longer living at home.

I grinned and said, "No, just my normal sunny self." I laughed when she
rolled her eyes.

Just then, Jerome sat down across from us. He opened his doughnut from the
plastic and frowned when he took a bite. "Yuck," he said. "My dog eats
better than this."

Cathy responded by saying, "You would think that after 150 years of public
school, they would learn to feed us decent food." She picked up her half
eaten doughnut and tossed it on her tray.

"Then we would be healthy," laughed Jerome. "That would violate the FDA
guidelines." Cathy nodded her head in agreement.

Jerome looked over at me and asked, "Did you give the meeting tonight
anymore thought? What are we going to do?"

I shook my head and responded, "I don't know yet. We'll have to see what
Colton thinks."

Cathy looked over and asked, "What are you talking about? What meeting?" She
remembered when I asked her if she had received the letter to parents that
had been distributed.

She asked excitedly, "Are you guys going to the meeting?"

"We will if they'll let us in," I informed her.

She asked, "Why wouldn't they?" Jerome replied that we thought the meeting
might only be for parents and not students.

Cathy remarked, "The letter said it was an open meeting. They can't just
keep us out."

I asked, "Us?"

"Hell, yeah," she replied angrily. "I'll be there with you guys. If they try
to pull anything about us not being allowed to attend the meeting, then
they're messing with the wrong person."

I laughed and asked, "Where did all this come from? You haven't said a word
to anyone in ten years, and now you want to take on the school board?"

She responded angrily, "I've never had a reason to say anything before. But
this is just plain wrong. If Tiffany wants to use the girls' restroom, then
I say let her use it." I lifted my hand, and we high fived.

Just then Colton entered the cafeteria. Jerome lightly kicked me under the
table and started to giggle. "Hey, Guys," remarked Colton as he sat next to
me. Again, Jerome kicked me. I was beginning to regret that I had confessed
that I liked Colton to him.

As if on cue, Tiffany came walking toward us. I kicked Jerome and smiled
broadly. He blushed when she sat down next to him. We waved at her when she
said hello to everyone.

Cathy began to tell everyone how excited she was to be attending the meeting
with us. "We have to have a plan," she said thoughtfully. She looked over at
me and added, "Your father will definitely have a plan."

"Yeah," I replied. "And I know exactly what it will be." I glanced at
Tiffany. I had witnessed my father's wrath many times over the years. Only
until recently had I been the target.

Jerome looked at her and asked, "What kind of plan?"

"I don't know," she said. "Let me think about it, and we'll talk more at
lunch." I gave her a skeptical look. I know she meant well, but she had
never gone up against my father.

When the bell rang, Colton walked with me to class. He seemed reluctant to
attend the meeting. "I don't know about this," he confessed. "I'm already in
trouble at home because of my fight last week with Darryl. If I go to the
meeting tonight and get into any more trouble, I'll never hear the end of
it."

I asked sarcastically, "What could possibly go wrong?" He looked worriedly
at me and shook his head.

We met up again for lunch. Jerome sat beside Tiffany, and Colton sat beside
me. Cathy seemed out of place, but she didn't seem affected by it. I guess
she had been on the outside for so long, she was enjoying her newfound
friendships.

Colton asked her, "Did you come up with a plan for tonight?"

She shook her head and replied, "Not really. I've never been to a board
meeting, so I don't know what to expect." We all shook our heads when she
asked if we had ever attended.

Jerome offered, "I watched one on television with my parents last year. It
had something to do with graduation requirements, and my Mom wanted to see
what I would need to graduate. You can't just talk. You have to fill out a
card or something, and then they call you to a microphone to speak."

Cathy replied, "We can do that."

"We?" responded Colton. "You have a mouse in your pocket? I can't get up and
talk in front of people."

She asked, "Why?"

"My Dad will kill me," he replied.

"Why?" she asked, as she looked over at Tiffany. "Because you're standing up
for someone's rights?"

I suddenly felt guilty. I was just getting ready to tell Cathy that I
couldn't do it either. I looked over at Tiffany and I understood what she
was going through. It must be horrible to be afraid to use the bathroom
during day. If she used the boys' restroom, she could face ridicule and
possible harm. If she used the girls' restroom, she could be suspended under
the current rules.

We laughed when Jerome puffed out his chest and announced proudly, "Well,
I'm going to speak. They can't do this to Tiffany." It surprised us when he
reached down, grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

She smiled and insisted that he didn't have to speak. In fact, she pleaded
with all of us not to get involved. "You have to think about the
repercussions. Everyone in school will hate you, just like they do me." She
reached up and wiped some tears away from her eyes.

"I really appreciate what you're doing," she said, "but I don't want to see
any of you get hurt." She looked over at me and added, "Bobby, you're
already in enough trouble with your father."

I quickly interrupted. "I don't care," I insisted. "He has no right to get
involved in this. He's just going to make matters worse with all his hate."
I knew I had to take a stand, whether I wanted to or not. I looked at the
others and said, "I'm in."

Colton frowned and said, "I guess me too."

Cathy put her hand face down on the table. Jerome covered her hand, and then
I did. Colton worriedly looked at me and placed his hand over mine. We all
looked at Tiffany for her reaction. Would she be willing to join us? She
looked at us, sighed and then placed her hand over Colton's.

Cathy asked, "What time does the meeting start?"

"Seven," I informed her. Before the bell rang, we agreed that we would meet
outside the Administration Building at 6:45. Cathy said she would have her
mother bring her. The rest of us said we would meet at Mrs. Oliver's house
at 6:00. I was pretty sure that after what happened the day before, she
would readily agree to take us.

After school, Tiffany and Jerome walked home with me. Colton said he had to
go home and rake leaves. I looked down at his hand and asked him how he was
going to do that with a brace around his wrist.

"It won't be easy," he replied. "But I have to be on Dad's good side if I'm
going to ask him if I can attend the board meeting."

As we walked down the sidewalk, Jerome kept looking behind us. I think he
was expecting Darryl to jump out from behind a bush any second. When I joked
about it, he said he was still worried.

"We've known Darryl since the first grade," he stated. "He's not going to
let Colton hit him like that without trying to get even. And if he can't get
him," he said worriedly, "then he'll get one of us."

When we got to the house, I went to my room to put away my book bag. Tiffany
said she would get us a soda out of the refrigerator. I stopped suddenly
when I returned. Jerome had Tiffany pushed up against the counter kissing
her.

"Ahem," I said as I cleared my throat. Jerome jumped away. His face was
flushed, and it grew redder as I stared at him. Tiffany pushed her hair back
and announced she had to go to the restroom. I couldn't help but notice the
bulge in the front of her outfit.

I giggled as Jerome stood red-faced in front of me. "I guess you got your
answer?"

"Shut up, Bobby," he replied as he sat down. It was obvious that he was
embarrassed from me catching him kissing Tiffany.

I laughed and sat down beside him. "It's so cute," I kidded him. "Young love
is so sweet."

"You would know," he said sharply. "Tiffany told me she caught you and
Colton kissing the other day when she walked in on you."

It was now my turn to blush. "I wasn't kissing Colton," I insisted. When
Jerome raised an eyebrow, I laughed and said, "He was kissing me."

Just then Tiffany returned to the kitchen. She sat down, but she refused to
make eye contact with me. I reached out and lightly touched her hand. "It's
okay," I said. I got up from my seat and insisted that Tiffany sit beside
Jerome. When she did, he reached out and gripped her hand.

I smiled and said, "I'm really happy for you two."

"I don't know," replied Tiffany as she smiled warmly at Jerome. "This is all
so new to me."

Jerome giggled and said, "It's not like I have any experience. I'm not
exactly a ladies' man."

It surprised me when Tiffany leaned over and kissed him quickly. "I like you
just the way you are."

They released their hands when Mrs. Oliver entered through the back door.
She smiled when she saw the three of us together. She walked over to the
refrigerator and took out an apple pie. "I just baked this," she announced
as she started cutting slices and placing them on plates.

"Ummm," I mumbled as the pie melted in my mouth. "This is good."

When we finished, she placed the dirty plates in the sink, and then she
returned and sat across from us. She asked, "Do you have plans to attend the
meeting tonight?"

"Yes, Ma'am," I replied as I looked at Tiffany and Jerome. "We're supposed
to meet Colton and Cathy there at 6:45."

Tiffany asked, "Can you take us, Nana?"

"Of course," she responded angrily as she looked at me. "I can't wait to
hear what your father has to say."

* * * * * * * *

To say that all hell broke out later that evening would be an
understatement. Before the meeting even got underway, utter chaos erupted.
Sheriff Tackett and three of his deputies ended up arresting three people-
my father, Mrs. Oliver and Tiffany's mother!

Let me explain what happened.

When Mrs. Oliver, Tiffany, Jerome and I pulled up in the parking lot, we
immediately saw Colton and Cathy standing in front of the building holding
up signs. Cathy had one that said, 'All students have rights!' She had taken
a magic marker and crudely wrote the words on a piece of cardboard. Colton's
sign read, 'Freedom from tyranny.' I really didn't understand what it meant
since we were dealing with the school board and not the government.

When Tiffany, Jerome and I approached, she handed us a sign. Mine read,
'Students demand our rights.' Tiffany's sign read, 'Treat all students with
respect.' Jerome's sign stated, 'The school board sucks.' I laughed because
I figured that must have been Colton's contribution.

Mrs. Oliver and several of her friends joined us, but they didn't have
signs. Mr. and Mrs. Grayson and Mrs. Davenport stood beside us. Soon several
more former members of my father's congregation arrived. I was surprised
when Tiffany's mother approached.

Tiffany proudly introduced us to her mother. She seemed like a really nice
person, much like her mother, Mrs. Oliver. She seemed especially interested
in Jerome. I guess her mother had told her about him.

We were standing around talking as we waited to go inside. Mrs. Oliver
pointed out several board members as they arrived and hurried inside. Each
time one would approach, we would hold up our signs and chant, "Students
have rights!"

We became even more animated when a local television camera crew approached
and began filming us. I was afraid someone would try to interview me, but no
one did. They merely filmed us for a minute, and then they went inside the
building.

My heart stopped when I saw my mother's van pull into the parking lot. My
father was driving, and she was sitting in the passenger's seat. They
appeared to be looking our way and talking. I was sure they had spotted me,
and they were confused why I would be outside the building holding up a
sign.

When they got out of the van, my father seemed to hesitate a moment before
approaching the building. At first, it appeared that he was going to ignore
me and enter inside.

When he got about ten feet away, he stopped. He pointed his finger at me and
shouted, "You have sinned, and God will cast you into eternal damnation!"

I had never seen him so angry, not even when he was whipping me with a
sycamore branch when I was younger.

Suddenly, Mrs. Oliver shouted out, "Shut up, you old fool! If anyone is
going to hell, it is you!" She walked right up to his face, pointed her
finger at him and shouted, "Jesus don't like ugly. Everything that comes out
of your mouth is vile and ugly."

My father tried to lay his hands on her head to exorcise the devil out of
Mrs. Oliver. "Dear God," he prayed, "Cast out the demons from this wretched
woman!"

By now, people were pouring out of the building to watch the confrontation.
I noticed that the camera crew had turned on the camera and were filming the
incident.

Mrs. Oliver stepped away from my father. "Don't you touch me!" she shouted.

My father then noticed Tiffany standing beside me. He pointed at her and
shouted, "There is the scourge of Northdale! The devil has filled him with
wickedness and filth."

Mrs. Martin stepped before my father. She screamed, "How dare you! That is
my daughter you're talking about!"

My father pointed at her and shouted, "That is a vile and sinful creature
who belongs in Hell!"

Then all hell broke loose.

Mrs. Oliver hit my father with her cane. He pushed her back, and she fell to
the ground. Mrs. Martin slapped my father on the side of his face, and he
struck her back. As all this occurred, he continued to call out for God to
rid our community of the sin and evil that surrounded it. My mother tried to
pull him away, but he refused to budge.

Finally, Sheriff Tackett and three of his deputies were able to break up the
fight. I watched as Sheriff Tackett pulled my father to his cruiser,
handcuffed him and placed him in the back of the cruiser.

After interviewing several witnesses, he had Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Martin sit
in the back of another cruiser. Minutes later, both cruisers sped away.

***********



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