Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 20:51:12 +0000 From: David Lee <dlee169@hotmail.com> Subject: Tales from Bentonville, Chapter 72 Tales from Bentonville, Chapter 72 By David Lee Warning: This story contains scenes of love and sexual interaction. Much of this involves males with other males. If the reading or possessing of such material as this is illegal in your country, state, province, county, municipality, etc., please leave this site immediately and do not proceed further. If you are under the legal age to read this, please do not do so. It is not my intention to offend anyone or to get you in trouble. The author retains all rights to this original story. Please do not publish without explicit authorization from me. Disclaimer: This story is completely fictional. Most of the places mentioned, and none of the characters exist in real life. Some may possess physical or personality characteristics of people I know or have known. But if you see yourself in this story, your imagination is better than mine! "Tales from Bentonville" is a romantic story centering on the lives of high school kids. Lovers of other ages may appear, but not normally in a cross-generational sense. References to sex with under-age kids may be made for the sake of the story line. However, I feel that child molestation is a crime and should not be glorified or tolerated. This is my fifth attempt at writing fiction. My other stories on Nifty include: "Zeke" (August 29, 2005), "Always and Forever" (March 25, 2004) under High School, "Brad and Alan's Canoe Trip" (April 23, 2004) under Camping, and "Jacob and Jacques" (May 30, 2004) under High School. Some characters from previous stories may have cameo roles in this one. However, you need not read them first. Our only reward for contributing to Nifty is your e-mails. Please write if you like the story. Please include the name of the story in the title of your e-mail. I get a lot of spam! Finally, thanks and hugs to Tim, Tom, and David who edit for me so that there are fewer mistakes! dlee169@hotmail.com Tales from Bentonville, Chapter 72 April was a month filled with many activities. Just as track season was heating up, rehearsals for the spring musical were in full swing. Added to that were spring band concerts, swing choir tryouts for next year and prom. It looked as if school was going to be one long, continuous event until graduation. Alex and Allen encouraged Joel to go out for track with them; actually, Alex sort of pushed him into it. But Joel didn't resist, because it gave them a chance to do fun things together. Dane, Colt, Dave, and Dustin went out too. They even managed to get Brent and Mike involved. The younger boys were pleased to be recruited by the juniors and seniors. It gave them status in school to be hanging with the older crowd. Plus it increased their self-confidence because they could achieve success in running while neither was that good at team sports. Dave was still actively participating in band since he had recovered completely from the beating he had received at the hands of Gavin and his followers. The pain was gone and he was good to go in musical performances or on the track. The only thing different was that he was now seriously studying percussion as well as trumpet. In the relay races, Dave, Dane, Dustin and Colt made an unbeatable combination (at least at Bentonville High). The coach decided to keep them together after trying several groupings of runners. The other guys teased Colt that they were changing his name to "Dolt" so that they could have the "4-D's" as their nickname. They thought this would be appropriate since "time" or "motion" is sometimes called the fourth dimension and they were all about movement that spring. Colton didn't go for it; although he couldn't completely hide his grin while he was trying to act insulted. Allen excelled at the discus and shot-put while his twin did best in the broad jump. Joel thought that it was humorous for his boyfriend to compete in that field since Alex had no interest in "broads" -- especially in "jumping them." Alex, in turn, told Joel that he could use his thumb to give Joel some extra incentive for jumping higher for the hurdles. That seemed to be Joel's top event; the fact that he was lighter in weight for his height helped him outdo his boyfriend when it came to springing high into the air. It was fun to have a sport's area in which he could beat Alex and Allen because they were good at almost anything physical that they attempted. It was also a treat for him to be numbered among the jocks of the school. This was something he had never thought possible before coming to Bentonville. Plus, he loved the fact that he was a part of a group of gay athletes who were proving to the world that their orientation did not make them less capable to compete in sports. -------------------------------- This year's high school musical was exactly that -- "High School Musical." It was the stage version adapted from the Disney movie by the same name. Since the movie was immensely popular with younger kids, there was a good chance of having a sellout crowd for every performance. As theater director for that year, Mrs. Brinks from the language department was coordinating everything with Mr. Drahos from choir, and Mr. Sands, the student teacher in band. An anonymous donor had provided a stipend to hire Todd Martin, a young choreographer from the university, to work with the kids on their dance steps. He made a great addition to staff. The directors had decided to double cast the major roles so that more kids could get a chance to perform. When the kids weren't playing the starring role, they would take part in the chorus. An added benefit of having the extra stars was that the roles were always covered if anyone had an illness or family emergency. So, both Alex and Allen were cast as Troy Bolton the basketball star. Dane and Colton both got to play the part of Ryan Evans. And Carrie and Sara both got to be Gabriella. Someone facetiously suggested casting Paige in the role of Sharpay Evans since that character is a bitchy one. Two reliable senior girls, Toni McVey and Caitlin Danforth, who could actually sing and act were chosen instead. Joel had originally planned to run the lighting, but was talked into playing the main skateboarder dude. He spent all of his spare time teaching Mike and Brent how to properly cue the lighting and sound effects. Cory and Dan were naturals as part of the basketball team in the show. Since they were becoming seasoned veterans on the basketball court, they could provide the more elaborate effects for the championship game that took place in the musical. Plus, they were quick to catch on to the dance steps. Dustin got the role of Jack, the school announcer and Dave was part of the combo that played the music. It seemed as if the whole gang of friends managed to get involved in one way or other. Of course, in a small school, that's often the case. Nearly everyone in an activity is at least an acquaintance. -------------------------------- When it came to tryouts for the new swing choir, Dane and Colt had no problem establishing their spots in the organization. Don Drahos was quite impressed (in the UK, he'd have been gob-smacked) at how they had improved on the steps that he had taught them. They confessed that they had had some professional instruction on the cruise ship. Mr. Drahos urged them to demonstrate the enhanced moves for Todd Martin. After a bit of pleading on his part, the boys agreed to do it and to bring the video of their winning performance for everyone to see. To their delight, Todd was impressed. He said that he was going to incorporate their steps into one of the routines for the musical. Mr. Drahos decided that the new swing choir would do that number for their spring performance and not introduce a lot of new things. "We'll take all of you that are in the musical and we'll include others as we can. It will be almost impossible for you guys to add many more rehearsals around you sports and other activities. But I want to draft the seniors despite the fact that they won't have a lot of chance to show off their stuff before they graduate. You older kids will inspire the younger ones. I want a winning performance this spring because as someone once said: `nothing succeeds like success.'" Todd said that he would be happy to work with the extra kids who were not part of the cast. He was hoping to be asked to come back in the fall and it was likely that he would get his wish when word got out that he was putting in extra hours for the benefit of the kids. -------------------------------- Just when everyone felt their plates were plenty full, Dustin came up with one more thing for some of them to do. One morning in mid April, Dustin talked to the rest of the guys at Greta's house about an exciting contest in "Billboard" magazine. The winner could invite three friends to a concert by the boys' band from England called: "Wild Boys" who were going to perform at Madison Square Garden in the summer. "I know that you guys like their music. Wouldn't it be fun to see them live?" he asked. "Maybe we should talk to Joel and Alex and all of us enter to increase our odds of winning," Colton ventured. "I'd hate to do that because Joel will probably buy us all tickets and fly us there for the concert if we don't win. I don't want to look like we're trying to get him to pay our way." Dustin insisted. "If we could find a way to go, he would probably join us and bring Alex. "But Joel doesn't make us feel second class when he treats us to something." Colton said. "I know, but I just don't want to impose on his hospitality. It might look like we were hoping for him to pick up the tab." Dave chimed in supporting his boyfriend's position. "Okay, the four of us can enter. What do we have to do?" Dane asked. After Dustin reviewed the rules, the other three said that they would get busy with their entries right after school. -------------------------------- It was in early April that DJ Johnson received an interesting call from Lisa Adams, the sister of Barry Wilson. She told him to expect to hear from a committee in Washington DC in charge of awarding medals of valor. Barry was at long last going to be accorded the honor that he deserved. Shortly after his return to Iowa, DJ had filled out paperwork to have Barry considered for a medal for giving his life to save his comrades. However, the request got mislaid on someone's desk for months and then it took a lot of verifying to make certain it was valid. After the fiasco over the death of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, every incident of heroism was more subject to scrutiny than it had been in the past. >From what Ms. Adams had been told, the powers-that-be in Washington would like to have her come as a representative of the family to accept the medal. She had suggested that they invite DJ to accompany her since he was closer to Barry than anyone in his family other than Lisa. (His parents had basically disowned him for being gay.) The committee seemed eager to have DJ come as well. There would also be an interment of some of Barry's ashes in Arlington Cemetery. Lisa assured DJ that he should keep the small vial of ashes that she had given him. "I have some that I can give them," she said. "He felt closer to you than anyone in our family, but me. You were like a brother. Plus, I have mixed Chance's ashes with his and they will both be honored although the government will not know about it. After all, it's been `don't ask; don't tell' and they're not asking, so we're not telling." DJ said that he would consider it an honor to escort her to the ceremony if he could get the time off from his job. When he got off the phone, he and Ellyn discussed the honor that Barry was to receive. They also talked about the possibility of taking some extra days in DC to see some of the historic sights while they were there. "If we could take Greta and the boys with us, we'd have plenty of help with the twins. Lord knows we'll need it now that they are walking," she said. It made them both sad, however to think that their good fortune had come at such a high price. But DJ said that he knew that Barry would want them to go. That evening, the Johnson clan all had dinner at DJ's and he broached the subject. Dane and Colt checked the calendar to see if it would interfere with the "Wild Boys" concert because they had high hopes of going to New York. Finding no conflict, they readily agreed to the plans. "We are not going to be able to hold much of a job again this summer if we do all of that," Colt speculated. "I think that's okay," DJ suggested. "You guys are responsible types and will have plenty of years to work when you get older. In high school, you should have some fun. Besides, there are odd jobs that you can pick up part-time. And, I imagine that you will want to go on the scout canoeing trip. I honestly don't know how you would fit in a job as well." The boys agreed that their summer schedules were becoming full before school had even let out. "I've been approached about being a lifeguard and teaching swimming to elementary kids. Colt can help with wrestling camps for the middle school age." Dane added. "We also have that money in the bank that Joel's grandfather insisted that we all split. I guess we have something put away for college." Colt chimed in. -------------------------------- The following day, DJ approached his supervisor, Craig Adams, about getting the time off to go to Washington in the summer. Craig said that it was not only possible, but that it would be a great PR move for the company. "I'm going to talk to the higher-ups. I'm sure that they will be happy to arrange transportation and pay for accommodations for you and your family. You are a hero in my eyes for caring for your men. You know that every jet that is used in this war has some of our navigational equipment on board. Imagine the points that the company can gain with the Pentagon, and the congress for that matter, if one of our guys is in the spotlight! If I sell it to the CEO in that way, I'm sure it will happen." DJ spent the day with feeling of regret that Barry's heroic death was being used for public relations. However, in his dreams that night, DJ saw Barry and Chase smiling at him. It was as if they were giving their blessing. When he awakened, he did not have any memory of the dream, but his mind was at ease about making a vacation of the time that they would be honoring Barry. -------------------------------- Gavin had been pretending to walk the straight and narrow since being arrested for assaulting Dave. He and Paige had spent some time together getting high and screwing, but he had not done this anywhere where he might get caught. He was finishing his diploma through a dropout prevention program in Cosgrove, so at least he would graduate on schedule. His basketball scholarship to Iowa State had been quietly withdrawn after the university learned about his likely conviction for a hate-crime. Since there had been other incidents in which they had overlooked athletes getting into trouble with the law and then have it all aired in the media, the scholarship committees were considering only students who had spotless records. In mid April, Gavin got careless. He and Paige went to a party in the next county with some friends who had graduated from his old school in Maynard a couple of years before. The young adults in attendance had access to beer and to a load of weed that was much stronger than anything Gavin had experienced. He and Paige got horny enough to do some heavy petting within the sight of other party goers. Eventually, he had her pants off and his tongue right where she liked it best. Several guys stood around massaging the bulges in their jeans as the sounds of Paige's moaning reached a fever pitch. After giving his girlfriend numerous orgasms orally, Gavin pulled out his cock and rammed it into her like a piston until he satisfied his built-up urges. That should have been the end of the show. However, Paige was not ready to quit. Gavin passed out for awhile, and when he came to, he was aware that Paige was getting fucked by someone else. The minute that other guy was done, another took his place. It had turned into an orgy and Paige was the main attraction. While Gavin had never held any illusions that Paige loved him, he was rather pissed that she was getting laid by other guys while he was there to witness it. His foggy mind told him that he needed to leave immediately. He didn't care what happened to her; he needed to be somewhere else. As he was speeding home, he saw the lights of a patrol car behind him. His first instinct was to try to outrun it, but he knew that he was in deep shit already. That realization made him sober up enough to pull over and stop. The deputy from Cedar County had no idea that this kid was to go before a judge the following week for assault. He was inclined to let the boy off with a simple speeding ticket, but had him get out for a sobriety test first. Gavin didn't pass, of course. The only option now was to put him in the county jail overnight. The jail was overcrowded, so Gavin was given a cold steel bunk in a cell with another, older prisoner. The other guy was none too pleased to be awakened and to have to share his Spartan accommodations. However, as he looked at the handsome sullen face, he changed his mind. Gavin was just drifting off to a troubled sleep when he felt a pair of strong arms around him. "Don't make a sound if you don't want to get hurt!" the voice advised him. Gavin was determined to play it cool, but crumbled quickly as he tried. "What do you want?" he whimpered. "Your sweet, virgin ass, boy," the other prisoner replied. Gavin felt his jeans being undone. He knew that he should fight this man off, but he was paralyzed with fear. He could do nothing, but let the man have his way. The big man stuffed a sock in Gavin's mouth and removed the boy's pants and underwear. He forced him to kneel on the floor with his body partially on the bunk. This put Gavin's butt up into the air to give the man easy access to his target. Just as Gavin felt a hard cock pushing against his rectum, there was a flash of light and a lot of noise. The deputy had felt like he should make one last round of the cell block to make sure everyone was behaving. A few seconds later, and Gavin would have been a victim. Gavin spent the rest of the short night sobbing on the floor of the office. He had been so close to being violated in a situation where he felt he was defenseless. It began to dawn on him that he was going down the wrong road. -------------------------------- As predicted, "High School Musical" was a smashing success. The four performances were completely sold out with people wanting to stand in the aisles. The fire marshal put a quick stop to that possibility. It was finally decided that there would be an additional matinee and evening performance on Sunday. This didn't sit too well with some of the older religious people in town, but it was the only way to keep the majority happy. The rules were that if you had already seen the show, you had to wait until all first-timers had been given tickets. Given the fact that both Bentonville and Maynard are small communities, the final two performances were only about three quarters full, but that was still awesome. The extra gate receipts would ensure a strong, well funded program for the following year. -------------------------------- Author's notes: Hey readers, if you want a laugh, check out the site below. http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=823359685 This looks like a real commercial. I love it. I'm feeling much better and hope to be taken off of meds when I see my gastroenterologist on the 4th of June. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers! A big thanks to all who have written despite my infrequent postings. (I hope to do better, but can't promise.) The list includes: Rad, Joe, Tim P (you hot monkey*), Luiz, Jim C, Jacob S, Bill K, Russell, Jim We, Daniel F, Vann, David B, Bob and Walt, Vin, Jim Wi, David R, Phil, Paul W, Brian (backwards), Gary Mc, Tony W, Adrian, and James H. Those are in addition to my faithful editors Tim E, Tom H, and David S. BTW, our governor signed into law the changes in Iowa's civil rights code. Now, orientation is on the same level as race, creed, and/or color for anti-discrimination! Things are getting better. *Congrats to Tim P who has a new boyfriend and who came out to his parents! It took a lot of nerve to do it. I'm proud of you. If anyone else has a milestone that they want mentioned, please let me know. David