Two weeks had gone by and William nearly forgot about the ‘Gay Straight Alliance’ meeting until it was time to go again. He hadn’t seen any of the members since then and he was glad. He didn’t even have to go back if he didn’t want to. It could have been a fluke, some misunderstanding lost and forgotten. If anyone asked he could have said he walked into the wring room and wanting to be PC about it he stuck around and played nice but it wasn’t really his thing. That’s all it could have been but it wasn’t the truth. He didn’t know what the truth was. But was it wrong to ask?
The best of the days was when he got involved in the classes, in the assignments or playing basketball during gym class and he forgot about the end of the day. But it was like riding an uncontrollable wave because suddenly it would be back, the thought would be back and he kept debating about what to do.
In his last class he stuffed his book in his bag and thought for a moment to come up with some other plan, someplace else he had to be, some excuse to not be where he wanted to be. He pulled his phone from his pocket and texted Brad who was usually up for a game of basketball if he wanted to play or just hang out but Brad turned him down on the spot. “No can do,” he responded.
William pulled his book-bag over his shoulder and made his way down the hall his feet leading him back to Mrs. Gallagher’s classroom. He entered and made his way to the back of the room where Mrs. Gallagher and Shane had already arranged the desks with enough for William to have joined.
“We’re glad you made it back,” Mrs. Gallagher said. It was a pretty lame thing to say but somehow her tone or her affectation was convincing and not sentimental.
“Thanks,” William said before taking a seat.
Soon after Brittany showed. She was distressed about her Algebra test grade. She immediately began to talk about it. William was bored in an instant but Mrs. Gallagher humored her. Shane smirked at William and they both laughed silently about how little they could pay attention to Brittany but about how she could keep talking. They’re not friends, William thought. So who started the group?
Shane and William began to mock Brittany sharing some secret, public joke when William noticed out of the corner of his eye two new people entering the room. At first he thought it was the two Heathers but when he looked more closely he found it was one of the Heathers and she was holding hands with a boy. William recognized him immediately and his stomach sunk. He didn’t know his name but he knew he was a freshman on the basketball team. Everyone looked to the new guest.
“This is my boyfriend Rodney,” Heather One said. “We’ve been dating since the seventh grade.”
William sat back and crossed his arms. He was sure his face was bright red with embarrassment. Not only was he on the basketball team but he was confirmed, provably straight, dragged here by his girlfriend. If he could have run he would have. Man up, he thought, it doesn’t mean anything.
“Join us we were just about to begin,” Mrs. Gallagher said.
Rodney sat at the desk next to Heather One and continued to hold her hand.
“So it looks like Heather Two isn’t coming,” Mrs. Gallagher said. “Maybe we should start.”
“So does this mean I can go back to just Heather,” Heather one asked.
“Sure,” Mrs. Gallagher said.
“Now does anyone have anything to say?”
They looked at each other. William decided he definitely wasn’t going to say anything. If he opened his mouth he didn’t know what would come out and if it happened to be sound he wasn’t sure what the quality would be.
“Maybe some introductions?” Mrs. Gallagher asked. She gestured around the room then said, “I’ll go first.” She quickly introduced herself and he role.
“I’m Shane.”
“I’m Heather.”
“I’m Rodney.”
William looked around and then squeezed his toes into fists before saying, “I’m William.”
“Now does anyone have anything to share?”
“Yeah,” Shane said. “There’s this guy in my gym class. He’s one of the few seniors in there and he’s kind of started this campaign against me. Mostly he just picks on me for being short and skinny but today he was making fun of my pale butt. I guess he saw it while I was changing and it was kind of weird. I mean guys kid each other but this guy has a hard-on for me or something.”
They had been with him until he said ‘hard-on’ and then everyone cringed in their own way. William was sure that anywhere else there would have been a million jokes about how Shane secretly wanted the guy. He was surprised when Rodney began to speak until he heard all that he had to say.
“It’s true that guys just kid around. I mean it doesn’t have to mean anything. In the locker room after a game lots of things happen and lots of jokes are made. But like, it doesn’t mean anyone is gay. It’s not like I assume anyone here is gay or that anyone is gay just because they look or act a certain way.”
“So it doesn’t mean anything?”
“No, I mean it doesn’t have to. It’s like all these revisionist historians saying people are gay for some reason or another.”
“Dude, that is the lamest thing you could have said. Revisionist historians? Where do you get your news from FOX?”
Shane and Rodney stared at each other. Shane was ready to go head to head with him but it was a fight William was sure he wouldn’t win. William inhaled deeply readying himself to say something when Mrs. Gallagher spoke up.
“Guys this isn’t the place to argue or debate. I think what Shane is trying to say is that he feels intimidated by this older boy and it’s not necessarily about being gay or straight but that it isn’t a one time incident. You said this has happened several times. Have you thought about going to the teacher?”
“No way,” Shane said.
“Yeah,” Rodney agreed. “It’s between guys. You need to just tell him to back off.”
“Is that possible?” Mrs. Gallagher asked.
“Maybe but he’s like a senior and he’s much bigger I think he’d kick my ass.”
“Shane,” Mrs. Gallagher said.
“What, I’m just saying. He would.”
“Anyone else have thoughts about how he can deal with this?”
“Kick him in the nuts,” Heather said.
Everyone laughed. And in that fit of laughter William’s phone buzzed to let him know he received a text message. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible he pulled the phone from his pocket and flipped it open.
A message from Brad: “Dude where you at?”
Maybe he wanted to hang out after all?
He looked around to the rest of the group but only Shane was staring back at him and he suddenly felt embarrassed for being rude. He was about to close his phone when he saw a second message that said: “chics at my house bring da beer.” William smiled because he knew that Brad didn’t really mean beer but he was curious about who he was hanging out with. He wanted to answer back but as everyone else started talking again he closed his phone and put it back in his pocket. He received three more messages before they stopped.
At the end of the meeting Heather left with Rodney still holding hands and Brittany was quick to follow them.
“Two years and they are still attached at the hip,” Shane said.
William laughed. He wanted to stick around and he sensed that Shane wanted to say something so he decided to go slow.
Mrs. Gallagher dragged her desk back to one of the aisles then asked the boys to help put the other desks back to which they obliged. Shane followed William to the classroom door and they were about to enter the hallway when he said, “I will never understand straight people.” William let out a little laugh and looked back to Shane who smirked back. So there it was a confession.
“You’re a dangerous one,” William said.
“Yeah, well maybe I’m just not safe.”
And they fell into conversation easily all the way to the parking lot when William suddenly realized at fourteen Shane couldn’t possibly own a car and was just following him to keep talking. William made his way around the car tot he driver’s side door, opened it but stood with the door against his backside as they continued to talk over the top of the car.
“Do you live around here?” William finally asked interrupting the flow of the conversation.
“Yeah, it’s not far. It’s a little walk.”
William was about to say goodbye but decided on a whim to say the opposite and invited to drive Shane home.
“It would be silly,” Shane said.
“Come on,” William said. “It’ll be fine.”
William unlocked the car doors and made quick work of clearing the passenger seat and footwell of trash and dirty clothes that he threw into the backseat. Shane pulled open the door, sat, and buckled up.
But it was difficult to start a conversation again and Shane only spoke to give directions which William followed. A path or turns and winding roads through suburbia until Shane pointed out his house and William pulled up into the driveway.
“It’s actually not that far when I walk because I take shortcuts,” Shane said.
“It’s not a problem,” William replied.
“So this is it,” Shane said.
“Yep,” William replied.
William looked up to the house. It was a large, planned model with an electric garage door, two stories, but looked very different from the houses around it so he knew it was a recent addition. Everything else was at least fifty years old. They were different shapes and styles but this house looked like something out of a magazine.
“Nice house,” William said. “It’s better than mine.”
“Thanks,” Shane said. “It even has a pool in the backyard. A small above ground one but it’s a pool you know.”
“Definitely,” William said.
“Hey sometime you want to go swimming...”
“You just want to see me in my trunks,” William said.
“More like your Speedo,” Shane said.
“My banana hammock? No one gets to see that except once when I tried out for the swim team in the seventh grade.” They both laughed. “Of course they said it was supposed to help us swim but I was afraid the thing would slip off the whole time.”
“Not that it leaves much to the imagination,” Shane said.
“Exactly, I mean what’s the deal with those things anyway? You’re in seventh grade, the height of puberty poppin’ wood three times a day just because your body wants to and they make you wear that little thing.”
They laughed.
“When I was little and my parents could only afford a plastic pool for the front yard they wanted me to swim in my underwear but I was so embarrassed. I was more embarrassed then they were,” Shane said. “But now, when I get the chance I swim naked.” They laughed more. “I just keep a towel by the pool in case someone comes home unexpectedly but it’s a lot of fun.”
“I’ve never done that,” William said.
“Skinny dipping is the best. And of course there is that R.E.M. song Nightswimming that just says it all.”
“I never heard that song,” William said.
“You have to,” Shane said. “Have you heard any of R.E.M.?”
William shook his head.
“Are you on Facebook? Friend me and I’ll send you my messenger details that way I can send you MP3’s.”
“Really?” William asked.
“Definitely,” Shane said.
“Yeah okay,” William replied.
They were still grinning at each other sharing in that common joke of how foolish they were acting with each other. Laughing too much at what the other person said.
“Well I have to get going,” Shane said.
“Yeah me too,” William replied. “But I will send you a friend request tonight when I get home.”
Shane began to exit the car and William’s pocket began to vibrate. He pulled out his phone and flipped it open to see seven text messages from Brad. He waved to Shane who quickly made his way into his house and closed the door before he put his phone away and shifted into reverse.
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