Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 21:10:56 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel-book 4  chapter 10

Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts.
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.

Don't read this story if:
**You're not 18 or over,
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
**Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story.  Placing this story on a
website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's
permission is a violation of that copyright.  Legal action will be taken
against violators.

I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this
chapter.

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at
http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge
all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various
sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse.

                 *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Author's note: I just want to mention that a friend of mine is writing a
spin-off story called 'Little Ricky's New Life' in the Young Friends
section.  The character Richard from the group home, who becomes Little
Ricky, was added to the story to provide the background for his spin-off
effort.  I recommend that if you like this story, then you'll want to read
that one too.  If you enjoy his effort, drop him a line and let him know.
It's his first effort and he's nervous about it, but I think he's doing a
terrific job.
                                          As always, many thanks,
								Bill

                 *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

The Castaway Hotel-Book 4-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2000 by billwstories
Chapter 10 - We all take a stand.                 March 2001

Monday I started making my calls, seeing if the school would be amenable to
having Pat return to school.  I began by calling the high school principal,
who was worried about the liability issues involved, so he referred me to
the superintendent.  The superintendent had similar concerns and said he
would have to get the Board of Education's approval before he could allow
Pat to return.  He said he would put it on the agenda to be discussed at
their next meeting, which would be held tomorrow night.  He told me I
probably should attend, to state my case and answer questions, and I told
him I would be there.

Monday night I worked at the dining room table after dinner, trying to make
a list of the possible objections the Board might have to Pat's returning
to school, and then I tried to have an answer to the objection or an
alternative that might be acceptable to both sides.  After about three
hours of playing the devil's advocate and then switching hats to become
Pat's champion, I thought I had come up with every possible reason they
might have to his resuming his role as an active student, and then I
addressed each issue and produced a defense worthy of Clarence Darrow.  I
felt I was as prepared as I could possibly be to face the board.

Tuesday after the students had been dismissed from my school, my secretary
told me I had a call from the high school principal.  I figured he wanted
to discuss tonight's meeting, so I picked the call up as quickly as I
could.

"Josh Currie here."

"Josh, I know you probably still have things to do, but I really need you
to come over here as soon as you can.  I have some things that we need to
discuss and clear up."

"Sure, no problem.  I'll be over in a few minutes.  Will that be okay?"

"Yes, Josh, and thanks.  I'll see you shortly."

I put my things away, said good night to my secretary, paged my younger
boys to meet me at the van, and then drove to the high school.  I told the
boys they could play outside, while I went directly to the principal's
office.  As I entered the waiting area, I waded through a collection of
male students seated there and I let the secretary know I had arrived.  She
greeted me and escorted me immediately into his private office.  That's
when I discovered the first of several surprises.  All my high school boys
were there, waiting for me too.  The next surprise was their appearance, as
their clothes were all messed up, some of their garments were torn, their
hair was disheveled, and there was dried blood on their faces, arms, and
clothing.

"Josh, come on in.  I'm sorry to have to call you over like this, but we've
had a bit of a problem here and it seems to concern your sons."

"Oh!  How so?"

"There was a fight in the parking lot after school, and it appears that
your boys were involved."

"I think I can have guessed that, just from their appearance.  What was it
all about?"

"Although there are conflicting stories about how it started and exactly
what happened, it appears that your boys and another group had some sort of
disagreement.  A fight ensued and security and several teachers went out to
break it up.  Regardless of how it started or who the instigators were, all
the participants will be suspended from school for one week.  The
suspensions will also be acted upon at tonight's Board meeting, to be
approved by them."

"I understand.  I know the school's policy on violence and fighting.  I
will take my boys home and discuss this further, and I will let you know if
they will also face more punishment at home."

"Thank you, Josh.  I only hope the other boys' parents will act as
responsibly."

I signaled the boys to head out to the Suburban, but the principal, a
couple of security guards, and I watched as they passed by the other
students still seated in the waiting area.  Nothing happened, other than a
few glares and some body posturing, and I got them loaded up and ready to
head home.  The other boys began to ask questions about what was wrong and
why the boys looked as they did, but I told them that I wanted to hear
nothing until we got home and then we'd discuss this there.  I followed the
Suburban home, making sure they knew I was right behind them, and I could
tell that their vehicle was as quiet as ours.  When we got home, we went
inside, and I asked the high school boys to meet me in the family room and
told the rest to leave us alone.  I could feel the tension as I entered the
family room, and it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop, even on
the carpet.  I looked at them, partly expecting someone to blurt out a
defense or complain that it wasn't fair that they'd be punished twice, but
no one challenged my authority.  After a pause, I asked the boys who wanted
to explain to me what had happened at school.  After looking back and forth
at each other, Danny took the floor.

"Dad, we were only trying to keep those other guys from beating up on this
other kid.  We didn't start the fight and we didn't intend to fight, but we
had to fight to defend ourselves and this other boy."

"Okay, let's back up here.  Why don't you start at the beginning and tell
me what happened."

"There's this kid at school, he just moved here this year.  He played
soccer with us, so maybe you remember him.  His name was Shannon."

"The left halfback?"

"Yeah, that's him.  Well, earlier today a rumor started that he was gay.  I
guess somehow some guy from his old Boy Scout troop found out he was living
here and told his new scoutmaster that he liked boys.  The rumor was that
the Scouts were going to kick him out and it was the scoutmaster's son who
was the one that started telling everyone.  Well, after school we all
headed out to the Suburban, as we always do, and we noticed something going
on in the parking lot when we got there.  There was a group of guys
surrounding Shannon, pushing him around, calling him names, and asking him
things like if he wanted to suck their dicks.  We decided that we should
stop it, so we went over and told the other guys to knock it off.  It was
the big-mouthed scoutmaster's son who kept things going.

"Next he started calling Brandon and me names, saying things like, 'hey, a
couple more fairies are here to protect their little fag friend."  Danny
began to choke up and couldn't continue, so Dustin picked up the story.

"That's when Frankie stepped forward and got in that kid's face.  He told
him that if he didn't shut his mouth, grow up, and go away, he'd make him
eat his words.  The kid laughed at Frankie and threw a punch at him, but
Frankie blocked it and then decked the kid.  You should have seen it.  It
was awesome.  Frankie buried his fist in that kid's nose, I think he broke
it, and the SOB went flying backwards, and landed on his ass on the
blacktop.  He was covered in blood at that point.  That's when his friends
went after Frankie and the rest of us jumped in to protect him.  So you
see, they started it, one of them threw the first punch and then kept it
going, and we were only trying to get them to leave Shannon alone.  Those
assholes deserved everything they got."

I didn't say anything after the boys had finished telling their story.  I
just sat there and absorbed what I had heard.  After a minute or so, I
began to ask them questions.  "So, what happened to Shannon?  Did he get
hurt?"

"I think he only got a few bruises and some small cuts," Brandon responded.

"I don't remember seeing him when I arrived."

"No, they split us all up," Kevin informed me.  "They put us in the
principal's office, probably because they knew you'd get there first, they
put Shannon in the nurse's office, and you saw the others out by the
secretary."

"Yes, I did notice them.  I just didn't know how they fit into the
situation."

"Well, they deserved all that they got when the Currie boys kicked their
asses," Ricky announced, boastfully.  "We didn't start it, but we sure did
finish it."

"Yeah, Pop, you should have seen us," Nick added.  "We were really awesome.
I thought some of those guys were going to cry, we roughed 'em up so bad."

"Yeah, I was really proud to be a Currie today," Brent announced.  "I bet
those guys won't be bad mouthing any gays again soon."  He started to
laugh.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," I told him.  "This might just make them
even more determined to hate gays even more and get even for what you did
to them.  I'm sure they will feel that you embarrassed them in front of the
whole school and will try to save face."

"You really think so?" Cole asked.  "Why would they think that they could
bully gays, when they got their butts kicked by a bunch of them?  And if
they start something else, we'll just beat the crap out of them again.
That's no problem."  All the boys started to laugh, high five each other,
and carry on in other typically macho ways.

"Oh, they'll play it down with anyone they talk to, and they'll make up
stories or excuses for their getting beat.  They might say that they were
outnumbered or that it was the straight boys did the major damage, while
protecting their gay brothers, so they won't have to admit that they got
beat by the very guys they detest."

"But that's not so," Trey announced.  "I was the only one who didn't fight.
The rest of them were really great.  The gay and the bi boys did just as
much damage as the others."

"I don't doubt that," I responded, "but that's probably not the story
they'll be spreading around town.  I'm sure it will be quite different by
the time you boys hear what's being said."

"Then we'll just have to correct them," Brandon countered.  "I want the
school to know what really happened."

"Well, let's just wait until we see what happens at tonight's meeting,
before we decide what we do or don't want to do.  I also want you boys to
stay together as much as possible.  They may try to single you out to get
even."

"We will, you can count on that," Frankie answered, before asking a
question.  "Can we go with you tonight to the meeting, in case there's a
question about what really happened?

"It might be best if you didn't.  That may just aggravate the situation."

"Dad, I don't mind getting suspended, as I think we were right for doing
what we did," Danny informed me, "but I do think the school board should
know WHY we did what we did."

"You do have a valid point there."

"Yeah," Ricky added, "and I think those guys should get a worse punishment
than we do, because of what they were doing.  They were ganging up on just
one boy.  It won't be fair if we all get suspended for the same amount of
time, and we were just defending Shannon and ourselves."

"I agree, but remember what I've always told you.  Rule number one is that
life's not fair."

"But shouldn't we try to make it fair if we can?" Dustin wanted to know.
"I mean, just because it usually isn't, doesn't mean we shouldn't try to
make it fair."

"And don't you think we should stand up for ourselves?" Frankie asked.
"We'll tell them that we'll accept the suspension for fighting, but they
should know that there are bigger problems than just the fight.  They were
being prejudiced...and I know what I'm talking about, cuz I used to be the
same way."  The other boys looked at Frankie after he said that, knowing it
took some guts to admit that, even if it was just to them, and in one form
or another they let him know that he had more than made up for his past
errors.

"Okay, you've convinced me.  Those who want to go may, as long as you sit
with me and don't speak, unless you are asked a question directly or I give
you permission to say something.  I don't want this to turn into another
brawl."  They agreed to my stipulations and I was only mildly surprised
when they all announced that they wished to go with me.

"Okay, Dad," Ricky continued, "what punishment are you going to give us?  I
can't take the suspense any longer."

"Yeah," Kevin added, "we just need to know."

"From what you boys told me, I think your actions were justified and you
only did what you had to do.  You won't be getting any punishment from me,
other than having to work with Pat's tutor and keep your studies up during
your week's suspension."

The cheers that erupted when I announced that I wouldn't be punishing them
soon turned to groans, when I told them that they would be working with
Pat's tutor.  I believe they actually might have thought for a minute or
two that this would just be like an extra week's vacation.  Silly boys.
After the groaning subsided, we started dinner preparations and they got to
do what homework they had brought home with them.  I would take their
assignments in with me in the morning, on my way to work, and drop them off
for their teachers.

After dinner I had the boys get cleaned up and changed, they were a bit of
a sight after the fight, and then we went to the meeting.  I left Dion and
Graham in charge of the others while we were gone, though I didn't expect
any problems on the home front.  When we got to the meeting room, several
people were already seated, including the scoutmaster and his son, whose
nose was all taped up.  Now I was glad the boys had talked me into letting
them come along.  The other pair did turn and glare at us, but I told the
boys to ignore them and not look in their direction, as I didn't want to
instigate another situation.  They agreed and we sat and talked amongst
ourselves.

It was a pretty boring meeting, as the board members went through all the
normal school business, and then the school board president looked directly
at me.  "The next item on the agenda is a request for a student to return
to classes.  Mr. Currie, I believe this is one of your sons and we do have
some concerns we would like addressed, before we make our decision.  Let me
begin by telling you how sorry we are about your son's accident and the
medical problems he's suffered because of it."

"Thank you, Madam President.  I shall pass your message along to my son,
and thank you."

"You're welcome.  Now, here are some of our concerns.  First, we are
worried about the fact that the high school has two floors and he will have
to negotiate the stairs.  We are also concerned about his passing through
the crowded corridors, seeing he might get knocked down and injured again."

"Well, I do believe we have a solution for this.  Pat has been working with
a tutor who's willing to spend the school day with him, helping him get
from class to class, through lunch, or to the boy's room.  Pat has learned
to do most things by himself, he just needs someone to help him get from
place to place or tell him where things are.  As far as the crowded
hallways, I figured they could avoid them by leaving class a few minutes
early or waiting and arriving to the next class a few minutes late,
whichever would be acceptable to that teacher."

"Well, it sounds as if you've thought that through pretty thoroughly and
have all the bases covered.  What about his normal classroom tasks?  How
will he take notes, do homework, and take tests?"

"I felt we would have to discuss that with each teacher involved.  We were
hoping that most would be willing to let him record his homework on tape
and give him oral exams.  If not, his tutor would read the questions to Pat
and then write down Pat's responses.  During classes, we were going to have
Pat record his notes on cassette, using a microphone and a battery-operated
recorder.  He would also use a different tape for each class, to keep the
information together."

"Again, you seemed to have already anticipated these problems.  Now I
believe our only remaining concern is the issue of school liability.  How
liable would we be if your son should injure himself again, because we
allowed him to return knowing about his condition?"

"I have already talked to my lawyer about this.  He is willing to draw up a
document releasing you from all liability as a result of his blindness, and
you would assume only the same liability you would with any student, mainly
through negligence, neglect, or lack of care."

The board members took a moment to discuss things amongst themselves, then
the board president turned to me again.  "I think we have made our
decision.  We will need you to bring us a release from his doctor, stating
there is no medical reason for his not being allowed to return to school,
and you'd need to bring us the document your lawyer draws up absolving us
from the additional liability, so the school lawyer can study it.  If he
finds it acceptable, then your son will be allowed to return to school.
You can work out the other details with the high school principal and his
teachers."

"Thank you, Madam President, for both my son and me.  He will be thrilled
to hear that he will be able to finish the year out with his brothers and
friends."

The board continued on with other business and we just continued to sit and
listen.  Near the end of the meeting they made a brief mention about the
fight and that they approved the suspension of several students in private
session.  This was all that was officially said about the altercation, but
I could see that the scoutmaster didn't think it was enough.  When the
board president opened the floor for comments, the scoutmaster leapt to his
feet, to be the first to speak, and he immediately began ranting about how
his poor son had been treated, how he had suffered a broken nose and how
they would be incurring hundreds of dollars in medical expenses, which he
thought that the instigators should have to pay for.  He also suggested
that those who started this fight should receive more than a week's
suspension.  He turned and glared at us again, and then smiled in our
direction, like he had just won the war.  I waited for him to sit down,
before I attempted to stand and speak, but someone beat me to it.  Before I
had a chance to get up, someone else rose and addressed the board.

"I agree with that gentleman," this guy said, "but I think he has been
slightly misinformed.  The person that instigated this ruckus was his son."
The scoutmaster, who had been grinning and pleased by this guy's support,
now pivoted in his seat and scowled at the speaker.  "From what my son told
me, it was his son who started harassing my son, setting him up for this
abuse, and it was also his son who threw the first punch.  Unfortunately
for him he didn't make it count and a group of brave young men helped to
protect my son from that bully and his friends."  By now we all knew that
this must be Shannon's father.  "My son is right here, to confirm what I've
said, if you want to hear it firsthand."

The board members were talking amongst themselves again and then one of
them addressed Shannon's father.  "Would you mind telling us what they were
harassing your son about?"

"I will be happy to come forward and tell you privately what it was about,
but I don't think that everyone here has to hear their bigoted comments."
He was motioned forward, but before he got there the scoutmaster's son
shouted out, "His son's a fag!"  Shannon's father stopped in his tracks and
turned toward the boy, just staring at him.  The scoutmaster had elbowed
his son in the ribs, just after he shouted out, knowing that his outburst
wouldn't improve their argument. His son groaned from the painful shot to
his side and slumped against his father.  Shannon's father just turned
forward and began to speak again.  "Well, I think that should be proof
enough that this bully was sexually harassing my son and I think we should
honor his father's wishes and punish the instigator more severely than
anyone else.  It was his son who offered my son a ride home, but it was
only his intention to lure him to the parking lot where his friends were
waiting to do who knows what to him.  If that other group of boys hadn't
come along, I might be visiting my son in the intensive care unit of the
hospital right now.  His act was intentional, premeditated, and
discriminatory.  I don't think you can let this pass without taking a firm
stand against what he attempted to do."  After he finished his statement,
he returned to his seat and put his arm around his son's shoulder.  Now it
was my turn to speak.

"From what I have learned from my sons, their stories support everything
you were just told.  In attempting to keep those boys from taunting and
assaulting his son, my sons were assaulted themselves.  They were only
defending that boy and themselves, though they also know they broke rules
in the process and are willing to take the suspension for fighting, even if
that fight was justified.  I don't think the district can let this slide,
as this incident clearly falls within the guidelines for sexual harassment,
which this board has written firm policies against.  I believe that under
those guidelines, expulsion is called for, at least for the person
organizing the attack."  I sat back down and the board members started
talking amongst themselves.  At that moment the scoutmaster stood back up.

"All my son was doing was informing the boy that he would be barred from
participating in Scouting activities, as a gay lifestyle is completely
contrary to Scouting principles."

"That's a lie!"  Those words came from the back of the room, and definitely
from a female voice.  We all turned in our seats to see who was speaking.
We soon discovered that it was one of the less popular cheerleaders, and
her face was now beet-red.  "They were calling him names and making fun of
him, then they started pushing him around, asking him if he wanted to do
things with them, and that's when the Curries showed up.  They put an end
to what they were trying to do."

"She's right," the girl next to her said, standing up to support her.  "In
fact I heard them planning it in our last period class, so we followed them
out to try to stop them.  When we saw how many boys were ganging up on him,
we were afraid to say anything by ourselves."  She turned and looked at
Shannon and his father.  "I'm sorry.  I probably should have gone to tell
someone else instead, but I really thought at first that we could talk them
into leaving him alone."  The girls sat back down and the board members
started talking quietly as a group again.

Eventually the board president stood up and made an announcement. "We will
decide in closed session what should be done with those who participated in
this incident.  We shall notify everyone involved in writing what
punishments they will receive from this incident."

"Excuse me, Madam President," I interrupted her, "but under the
circumstances, I would also like to strongly urge the board to discuss what
ties we should have with the Boy Scouts in the future.  Seeing their
policies run contrary to your own guidelines about tolerating persons of
various religious, ethnic, or sexual orientation.  I personally believe
that the organization should no longer be allowed to use school facilities,
promote their activities at school, be allowed to wear their uniforms to
school, or in any way participate as a group in any school function.  I
also suggest that we discontinue letting the United Way seek contributions
from school employees or on school grounds, as long as they continue to
support the Boy Scouts financially.  I think all ties to this organization
and their bigoted policies should be eliminated."  I sat down and several
people started to applaud, I think it began with Shannon's father, and soon
my boys joined in and about three-quarters of those in attendance were
clapping in support of my comments.  The scoutmaster now looked like he was
ready to explode, being bright red from the collar up, but he managed to
keep himself under control.

"We won't act on any of those suggestions this evening, but we will take
them under advisement and study them in the light of current school
policies.  If it should come to a vote, it will be at one of our future
meetings."

Shortly thereafter the meeting was adjourned.  Before we got up to leave,
however, Shannon and his father came forward to introduce themselves to my
boys and me.  "Hi, I'm Jake and I just wanted to thank you and your boys
for what you've done for my son.  You sure have raised a fine group of
young men.  Shannon told me a little bit about your family."

"Why, thank you, and I'm glad my boys did the right thing, even if it did
get them suspended for a week.  I remember Shannon from soccer season.  He
was quite good."

"Your boys weren't slouchers either.  Look, there just aren't words to
express our gratitude for what you and your boys did for us.  I don't know
how we'll ever pay you back."

"Well, I can think of one way.  Why don't you and your family join us for
dinner Saturday evening, so we can get to know each other better?  That
would be payment enough for us."

"We'd like that, but we will still owe you.  There are only the two of us,
as I'm divorced from Shannon's mother and she lives in another state."

"That's fine.  Why don't you stop by about 6 or so, then we can get
acquainted before we eat?"

"Sounds great, we'll see you then."

"Do you know where we live?"  Shannon nodded.

"Yeah, I know which house is yours," he said.  "I'll give my dad the
directions.  Thanks, guys.  I really appreciate your standing up for me
like that."

My boys all told him that 'it was nothing', 'they enjoyed it', or 'anytime'
before we parted.  While we had been chatting, I had noticed the
scoutmaster and his son walking along the far wall, heading for the exit as
quickly as they could.  On the way out I saw the two girls who had spoken
in our defense, and I stopped to congratulate them for the courage it took
to do such a thing.  They blushed when I did so.

"We did it because it was the right thing to do and because Shannon and
your sons have always been nice to us, even though we really aren't in the
popular group at school.  They always stopped people from picking on us
too.  If you didn't notice, I've always been a bit heavy.  We just wanted
to make sure they didn't take the blame for what those other jerks did."

The boys all took this opportunity to thank them personally and I moved
away to let them chat together.  I went up to speak with the members of the
board who were still milling around the table at the front of the room.  I
reiterated my stance, giving more detail now, as it was now more private.
I told them that I was going to do everything in my power to lobby against
the Scouts now, at least until they moved into the twenty-first century and
relinquished their antiquated and discriminatory views.  A couple of the
board members even told me they supported my stance, so I felt there was
enough support to keep the ball rolling.  I bid them all good night and
then I took the boys home.  On the way we had quite a conversation.

"Man, Dad," Kevin began, "you and Shannon's dad were awesome.  Did you see
how red the scoutmaster got when you two were talking, especially when you
recommended throwing the Scouts out of the schools.  That was pretty
funny."

"No way," Cole added, "the best part was when the scoutmaster elbowed his
son after his stupid comment.  I think he cracked his rib, to go along with
the busted nose Frankie gave him."  All the boys were laughing and getting
into it now.

"What do you think the board is going to do now?" Dustin asked me.  "Do you
think he'll get expelled, or will he just be suspended like us?"

"There's no way I can speak with absolute certainty about that but, if they
follow school policies, he should definitely get expelled.  Seeing this is
the test case in support of those policies, I don't see how they can let it
slide.  If they do, they'll never be able to enforce it in the future and
those policies will just end up as a bunch of words on a piece of paper."

"I hope they do expel him," Brandon added, "especially after the things he
said about Danny and me.  I would have broken his nose too, if Frankie
hadn't beaten me to it."  He chuckled, then he and Danny high-fived, and
then he high-fived with Frankie too.

By the time we arrived back home, Dion told me that I had received several
phone calls and the messages were by the phone, but he said most of them
just wanted to tell me that they supported my suggestions at tonight's
board meeting.  Then he and the younger boys wanted to know what went on
there.  I let the boys fill them in, while I checked to see if I should
call any of those people back, but I felt that those calls could wait for
another day.  I did make one phone call however, and that was to Pat's
tutor, explaining to him that he would have several additions to his group
and why.  He told me that he had already learned about the fight, from a
friend that knew he worked with one of my boys, and that he expected that
might be the case.  He said he'd be proud to help those who had tried to
help someone else.

When I got off the phone, I told the boys to hit the showers, as they would
still be studying tomorrow and I didn't want the tutor to have to put a
clothespin on his nose to survive.  They all gave me the raspberries over
that comment, letting me know that they didn't think they ever stunk, but
then I reminded them about a few times they had complained about each
other.  They laughed, gave in, and soon they were ready for bed.  The high
schoolers came back in to say good night and thank me once more for
standing up for them and not adding my own punishment.  I told them that
there are times when we have to stand up for our principles and for those
outnumbered or weaker than ourselves.  I felt what they did was a
combination of all of the above and I would always support them when they
did what they thought was right.  I told them that I was proud of them too,
regardless of the fact that the school did have to punish them because of
it.  I explained that the school district was obligated to enforce their
no-fighting policy and I think that they'll be just as obligated to suspend
the ringleader for the same reason.  They all said that if that happened,
it would all be worth it.

The next day, I called the high school and asked the secretary if she would
please ask my boys' teachers to send down their assignments for the week
and to have their books brought from their lockers.  I told her I'd pick
everything up after school this evening.  She agreed to do this for me, and
then she added that she was proud of my boys and was sorry that they had to
get suspended for what they had done.  I told her that I understood how
school policies worked and that I've had to enforce a few that I wished I
didn't have to myself.  I told her the boys wouldn't suffer irreparably
from it and none of us were making too big a deal over it.  We said our
good-byes and then I went about the business of my school.

At lunch I called and spoke to the head of the local United Way, urging him
to reconsider their support of the Boy Scouts.  We talked for several
minutes and he indicated that he doubted that any changes would be made.
That's when I informed him that I was sorry to hear that and that I'd have
to publicly voice my opposition to his organization as a whole, urging
everyone I knew or had contact with not to donate another penny to them
until they dropped the Scouts or the Scouts dropped their policies against
gays.  He said he had hoped it wouldn't come to that, as we had always
worked well together and I had always been very involved in raising
contributions for them, but he said we would each have to do what we
thought best.  There were no harsh words and it didn't change our
relationship, we just had different perspectives and agendas, as far as
this issue was concerned.

After school I stopped by to pick up my sons' things, and I nearly broke my
back carrying everything from the office to the car.  Each boy had a bag
filled with his things (textbooks and assignments mostly), and each bag
weighed a ton.  I took two at a time, but there were ten bags in all, so I
ended up having to make five trips to the van.  Unfortunately all the other
students had left by the tine I arrived, so there was no one there to
recruit to help me.  I swear by the time I loaded the last pair of bags in
my vehicle, my arms were now two inches longer than they were when I
started.  When I got home, I made each of those boys go out and get their
own bag (they were labeled) and bring it into the house.  I felt my job was
done and the problem was now theirs.

That evening I received several more phone calls, this time getting a
chance to chat with each individual who called.  I also called the people
back from the previous evening, thanking for them their support on this
issue.  By the time I had finished my calls, I had a grassroots effort
started to keep the school district from supporting the Boy Scouts (and Cub
Scouts) in any way, and I had another group working to influence the United
Way.  By the end of that week nearly 60% of those contributing to the
United Way through payroll deduction, including nearly everyone who worked
in my building, had gone to the district office and demanded that their
withdrawals be ended.  I don't know for sure how much money that meant to
the United Way, but I knew they would feel the pinch and get the message
that this was serious.  In order not to harm other organizations that we
supported, we were going to compensate them for any lost revenues by
donating to them directly, bypassing the United Way.  We would also inform
them that this was only temporary remedy and these contributions might also
be cut off, depending on the United Way's final stance on this issue.  We
hoped this might also get them to pressure the United Way to act against
the Boy Scouts, to protect their share of the pot.  Only time would tell if
we would be effective at influencing the Scouts' ban on gays, but we did
feel that we had a pretty good start in accomplishing just that.

Saturday evening our guests arrived at almost exactly 6 p.m., and we
introduced them to the boys they hadn't yet met.  The older boys and I took
Jake and Shannon into the living room to chat first, figuring they could
get to know the younger ones better after we finished the more sensitive
topics.  I wasn't sure if Jake and Shannon were ready to bare their souls
in from of everyone, so I sent the younger boys off to play.  We sat down
and exchanged the customary pleasantries before Shannon's father got down
to the nitty gritty.

"I'm really glad that you and your boys are okay with Shannon's being gay.
It's nice to know that there are open-minded people in this world."

"It's not only that," Danny responded, looking at Brandon.  "Some of us are
gay too.  Brandon and I both are and we're boyfriends."

"I'm gay too," Trey added.

"And I'm bi," Dustin chimed in, "but I'm going with a girl right now."

"Hey, I'm gay," Nick interjected, with a twinkle in his eye, and then he
winked at Shannon.  "In case you're interested."  A couple of the other
boys punched him after that comment.

"And I think I'm gay too," Brent said shyly.  I think that was the first
time I had heard him admit that.

"I'm not," Ricky said laughing, "but I do mess around with the others on
occasion."

"And I'm gay too," Kevin told them.  Now they looked at Frankie, who was
the only one who hadn't spoken.

"I'm not," he said meekly, "and gays used to bother me, before I came here
to live.  I know better now.  These guys have taught me that gays are just
normal guys with different tastes.  I don't judge people like that any
more, especially seeing I've got things in my past I don't want them to
judge me on."  I just looked at Frankie, and I think some of the others did
too, realizing how much he had changed and grown since that first day Judge
Shay brought him to our home, asking us to take him in on a trial basis.  I
was still thinking about it when Shannon's father began to speak again.

"We all have things that we'd like to hide in our past," he told Frankie.
"Shannon came to live with me after he started getting harassed at his old
school, after one of the boys he'd been experimenting with told others
about him.  At the time, Shannon wasn't even sure he was gay, but his
mother was suspicious, knowing my background."  We all looked at him, the
confusion obviously written on our faces.  "You see, my wife and I divorced
after she discovered I was actually gay too.  I tried to hide it and
pretend to be straight, but I guess our limited sex life was her first
clue.  I really wanted a son, that's why I did it, and I was thrilled when
Shannon was born.  I thought I pulled it off for the first couple of years,
but then it kept getting harder and harder for me to fake it.  I ended up
messing around with a guy too, that's when my wife found out.

"She had gone out of town to visit her mother, taking Shannon with her.  He
was only 3 or 4 at the time.  Anyway, while she was gone, I invited my
friend over so we could have some fun.  Unfortunately, she and her mother
had a fight and she came home a day early, only to catch this guy and me
running around the house in only our boxers.  I tried to play it down and
make some stupid excuse for our behavior, but she figured it all out for
herself when she realized that only one bed was messed up and unmade.  She
kicked me out a few days later, after seeing a lawyer and starting divorce
proceedings.  We've remained friendly, though not friends, and she did
continue to let me see Shannon.  When he started having problems and she
suspected he was also gay, she asked me if I'd let him come live with me.
That was last summer and we were hoping for a fresh start for him here."

"How did the scoutmaster find out?"

"I guess he found out from Shannon's old scoutmaster, at some kind of
meeting they were both at.  The old scoutmaster found out where this other
guy was from, and he asked him if he knew Shannon.  When he said he did, he
told him all about what happened at the other school.  The scoutmaster
never talked to us, to confirm or deny any of this, but I heard that he was
working on having Shannon kicked out of Scouts.  I didn't say anything to
Shannon, as I didn't want him to get all worried about it, but I'm sorry
now that I didn't.  If I had, he might not have accepted his jerk kid's
offer for a ride and then got caught up in that situation."

"Don't blame yourself," I told him.  "If it hadn't have happened like that,
they might have found a worse way to confront him about it."

"You're probably right, but it did turn out for the best, seeing your boys
were there to come to his rescue.  If it happened some other time, your
sons might not have been around and Shannon could have suffered even
worse."

We continued chatting until dinner was ready, and then we talked some more
while we ate.  We all got along really well and we did have quite a bit in
common.  After dinner, the boys took Shannon to show him around and the two
of us got to sit down and talk alone.  I learned that he worked for UPS,
that he had transferred to their local office after his divorce, it was
about 20 miles away, but he decided to settle here, as he liked the
community better.  I started to fill him in about how the boys came to be
with me, about my life before they arrived, and about the rest of my
family.  Time seemed to fly by quickly and we soon realized that it was
quite late.  He thanked me for the wonderful evening and then he called
Shannon, so they could head home.  We told them that they were welcome to
come back anytime.  The boys also told Shannon that they'd like to get
together on weekends, and they could do other things together.  As they
left, I felt that we would be seeing more him, if not the both of them, in
the future.  After they drove off, I chased the boys upstairs to clean up
and get ready for bed, as we were still going to attend church in the
morning.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at
http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section.
E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com