The Protest!

[Karice]

Part 1

(I decided to write this story. Dave is going to soon have a protest for gay rights, but in later part of the story......alesmile: This will be a little long lead into the protest......alesmile: )



Jack Wilson came out of the closet in our school, Marshall Johnson Academy, a prestigious school in Jacksonville, Florida. It’s an all boys' school. Lots of students jeered and threw items at him. They called him queer and threw items at him.



At lunch, no one wanted to sit by him. When he sat down, the whole table cleared. He started eating lunch. He had a dejected look on his face. I felt sorry for him. I picked up my lunch plate and sat next to him. I started eating lunch with him. A lot of “Johnies” gasped in shock. But Jack looked at me gratefully. He was gratefully. He was grateful to have someone eat lunch with him.



“Thanks, Dave,” Jack said happily.



“No problem,” I said. We continued eating lunch. Paul Sanderson came by.



‘Dave, are you GAY?” He asked in surprise.



“No, I’m asexual. I don’t like men or women,” I scoffed.



“Oh,” Paul said.

I lied. I’m not asexual. I’m gay too, but I wasn’t ready to come out yet. I was proud of Jack for coming out though. It took a lot of courage to do that in this school. This school shuns gay people. There are approximately 580 Johnies who are gay, and are “in the closet.” This school is one big “closet,” if you know what I mean.



We finished eating, and we were walking back towards our classes, when more students threw items at jack. “Queer!” They hissed at him again. Jack held his head down low. It was really easy to see how much the taunting affecting him.

“Leave Jack alone,” I said, “sticking up for him. “He’s done nothing wrong.”



“This must be his dream come true. A school filled with boys,” Louis Alexander said with an evil smile.



To what I said, Peter Norris said, “He did nothing wrong but come to this school looking for a man orgy.” He sneered.



Jack said, ‘Leave me alone,” in a really harassed voice. I knew that voice. I had used that voice many times myself. I use that voice whenever George and Rob harass me. George and Rob always pick on me and beat me up. They are huge guys.



They laughed cruelly at him and dropped all his books and kicked them far away. Jack looked bothered. It was like looking into a mirror. Louis and Peter were like George and rob. And Jack was like me.



“Let’s go get your books,” I told Jack softly. Jack nodded sadly.



We walked over to jack’s books. “If you pick up Jack’s books, we will start a rumor that you’re gay,” Louis told me, smiling an evil smile.



I picked up Jack’s books anyway. I softly handed them to him. I looked at him thoroughly. “You didn’t deserve any of that,” I told him. “It’s not your fault.”



“But, if I didn’t come out, none of this would have happened,” Jack said.



“It’s not your fault that there are narrow-minded people on this campus. You should be proud of who you are. You shouldn’t have to confirm to what society thinks is “normal.”



Jack said, ‘I know, I ought to be proud of myself, but it’s hard to in a world that makes fun of gay people and don’t accept them."



“Look,” I said firmly, people are afraid of what they don’t understand. If you show them that you are just like them, they won’t be afraid anymore.”



Jack smiled a little bit. He looked better.



I walked him to class. “Thanks,” he said, looking at me gratefully.




“You’re welcome,” I said, happily.



I walked to my own class. During classes, I thought of Jack. I myself should have had that courage. I was a cowardly wimp. You’re a hypocrite, a nasty voice screamed in my head. You bitch! It continued to haunt me. You just told Jack that he should be proud of himself, and you yourself are hiding in the closet. Why don’t you yourself come out? You’re afraid."




I was driving myself crazy. I tried to fight the feeling of guilt and shame I felt inside, but it was hard to. I tried my best to suppress those negative thoughts. I managed to do my assignments through the rest of the day.



I went to my dorm. I watched Sabrina the Teenage Witch. In the episode I was watching, Sabrina said to a full mortal, “You have no idea how it feels to carry around a deep, dark, secret around with you. I mentally answered, ‘Yes, I do.” Her secret was that she was a witch; mine was that I was gay. We were both afraid of showing our true identities.



I finished the episode, and did my homework and then showered, ate, and got ready for bed. I slept for 8 hours. When I awoke, I got ready for school. During school, I saw Jack once again being harassed.



Tommy and Paul were throwing dirt in his face and spitting on him. Jack looked helpless.



“Stop!” I yelled to his defense.



“Oh, look, it’s Dave. His boyfriend coming to rescue his lover,” Tommy said, unmercifully.



I guess Louis and Peter had spread the rumor pretty fast.



“I am not gay. I’m asexual. I don’t like boys or girls,” I lied again.



“If you’re not gay, leave him alone. Let us “play” with him. Only gays help other gay people out,” Tommy said. Paul nodded.



I had a tough decision to decide. If I helped Jack, I would be considered gay. But, if I didn’t, Tommy and Paul wouldn’t think I was gay, but Jack would be betrayed.

I knew what I had to do. I had to do the right thing again.



I said," Leave Jack alone.” I pulled Jack away from them.



“Gay bitch!” Tommy hissed at me.



“FA....!” Paul said to me.



I had just stepped myself into something big. I was getting alienated too.



I walked Jack to his class again.”Thanks, Dave,” he said again.



I smiled at him.

 

[Karice]

Part 2

Suddenly, he looked a little sheepish.


“What’s wrong?” I asked.


“Do you feel like I’m a burden to you?” Jack asked. “Do you feel resentful always coming to my rescue?”


I smiled and looked at him deeply. “I see so much of myself in you.” I told him softly.


“Is that a good thing?” He asked me.


“Yes, “ I replied.


Jack smiled at me and sat in his desk.


I went to my own class and did assignments.


I’m Dave Winston, a brown haired, brown eyed lean 6ft boy. I am 15 years old. I’ve been gay since I was 10 years old. I’ve attended Marshall Johnson Academy For Boys since I was 14. I have a boyfriend, Max Cartwright, who is 17. He has blond hair and blue eyes and is a lean 6ft 2 inches guy. We’ve hidden our secret because of the gay shunning. We’ve been dating for over a year. I was once a cocaine addict earlier this year for a little over a month, until Dean Riley caught me snorting and sent me to drug rehab. I beat the addiction in 2 weeks, which was a record.


Back to the present. I finsished my assignments, and I went to lunch.


I begun to eat pizza, corn, and begun drinking chocolate milk.


Rodney Kelly came up to me and smiled at me. I smiled back. Rodney’s one of my closest friends. Rodney and I began to eat our lunch together.


Jack came up to us and asked if he could eat lunch with us.


I was beginning to get a little annoyed with Jack. I mentally rolled my eyes. He was acting like a tag along.


“Sure,” I said aloud. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I saw Rodney REALLY roll his eyes when Jack wasn’t looking. Rodney was annoyed too.


Jack sat and begun to eat lunch with us. He began chatting about being new to the school and how “liberating” it felt to “come out.”


Rodney made a grimace face when Jack was looking at me. Then Jack looked at him and Rodney quickly smiled a pained smile. Rodney wasn’t a very good actor.


“Look, if I was interrupting something, I’ll just leave,” jack said, sounding hurt.


‘No, you’re not interrupting anything,” I said, trying to make him feel better. “Rodney just has a stomachache,” I lied.


“Yes, it’s true,” I have a stomachache, “ Rodney confirmed unconvincingly. “I’m going to get some antacid,” Rodney said, wincing. What a terrible actor.


After Rodney left, Jack turned to me. “Are you and Rodney a couple and I interrupted your quality time?” Jack asked me, looking imploringly.


I coughed in surprise. “We’re not a couple. We’re just friends,” I answered. “Remember, I’m asexual. I don’t like boys or girls,” I lied again.


“But, I remember you telling me that I reminded you of yourself,” Jack pointed out. Wouldn’t that mean that you’re gay too?”


Jack had a good point. And a good memory. “I didn’t mean that you reminded me of EVERYTHING about myself,” I said.


“So, you’re not gay?’ Jack asked.


“No, I’m not gay,” I said, lying through my teeth.


“Oh,” Jack said. Then his face changed a little. “Rodney didn’t want to be around me,” Jack said perceptively. “He gave me a really bad vibe when I came to the table.”


Jack was smart. I didn’t say anything.


“So you agree. Rodney didn’t want me around,” Jack said sadly.


“I didn’t say anything,” I said aloud.


“Yes. Neutrality is a good weapon,” Jack said, looking at the ground.

Rodney came back. “Oh, Jack, you’re STILL here,” he said with emphasis,. “My stomachache is back,” he said, clutching his stomach.



He dashed out the door.




“For a guy who has a guy who has a ‘stomachache,” he sure runs fast, “Jack said knowingly.




I had no excuse this time. “Rodney just has a hard time around new people,” I said.




“Oh,” Jack said, looking at the ground. He finished eating his food.




“I guess I’ll leave now,” he said dejectedly. “It’s obviuous that Rodney doesn’t want to be around gay people.” He held his head down low.




“That’s not it!” I thought. “Rodney’s gay himself! It’s you who butt into people’s time!” I finished thinking. But I clamped my mouth.




I again didn’t want to hurt Jack’s feelings. I finished my lunch too.





Again, we walked to our classes. Separately. I did some assignments and went to my dorm.




I did my homework, and Rodney knocked on my dorm.





“That Jack guy is annoying,” he said when I opened my dorm door.





“Come on in, “I said. He did.




“I know he’s a little annoying,” I agreed.




“Did you see how he just tagged along with us? What a third wheel.” Rodney scoffed.




“Rodney, he’s a new guy. He’s probably just nervous. Remember a then 14 year old boy who followed me around like a lost puppy?” I asked him teasingly.




Rodney blushed. “I remember him. He tagged along with you on field trips, begged to eat lunch with you, and even wanted to sleepover with you!” Rodney laughed, self depreciatively.





“And I let him and don’t regret it. And now, we’re close friends!” I said, giving him a big smile.




“Maybe we can all get along with Jack,” I soon suggested.





“Yeah, maybe we could,” Rodney said slowly.




“Rodney, how’s your “stomachache?” I asked him teasingly.




Rodney blushed. “He didn’t fall for that,” did he?”




“Rodney, people with stomachaches don’t go running out of doors,” I told him dryly.




Rodney said, ‘He’s not mad at me, is he?’




“No, he’s not mad at you. He’s sad,” I answered.





“Sad?” Rodney repeated, confused.





“He thinks you didn’t want to be around him because he’s gay.”




“I’m gay too,” Rodney said.





‘I know.” I said.





“After a while, I said, ‘Maybe we should go talk to him,” I suggested.




“Did you tell him that you’re gay too?” Rodney asked me.





“No. I told him I was asexual,” I answered him.





‘Why did you tell him that?” Rodney asked, looking bewildered.




“I told him that because I didn’t want to look like a hypocrite. I told him that he should be proud of himself the way he is. If I tell him that I’m gay, he’ll call me a hypocrite,” I answered Rodney.





“Why did you say that you were an asexual in the first place?” Rodney asked.





“I said that because I didn’t want to be shunned,” I answered.




“You should be proud of yourself the way you are,” Rodney told me mockingly.




“Why don’t YOU come out of the closet then?” I retorted back to Rodney.




Rodney blushed. “I don’t want to be shunned either,” he admitted.




After chatting a while, Rodney left. I ate and went to sleep.




After an uneventful day at school, I went to my dorm. I was just about to enter when Jack came up to me, crying. He looked horrible. I could see fear in his eyes.





“Dave, Dave, it’s horrible!” He sobbed uncontrollably. He was gasping for air and panting. He was shaking too.





“What happened, Jack? “ I asked. I was concerned for him. He said, “Look.” He led me to his dorm and I gasped. Someone had ramshacked his dorm. His bed was completely messed up and his books were thrown all over the room. His lamp was broken and his clothes lied everywhere. His dressers were pulled out, and there was garbage on top of his T.V and computer. It was also on the floor. It looked like he had been robbed. Or as if a tornado had blown through his room.




But that wasn’t the worst part of it. If all of this weren’t bad enough, on Jack’s wall, right behind his bed, someone had written, “Go home gay bitch! This school is just for straight boys!”





I saw fresh tears well up in Jack’s eyes.

 

[Karice]

Part 3

“Oh, Dave,” he moaned. “What did I do to deserve this?” He looked defeated


“Nothing.” I said. I myself was offended by what had happened to Jack.




“Who did this?’ He asked me, with innocent, wide eyes, like a child.




“I don’t know,” I answered. Internally, I thought, “This has George and Rob written all over it. But, I can’t just go accuse them of doing this. They’ll tear my ass up for that. Besides, they are more the “beat up” not the “taunt” type.





He lied down on his bed. “No, you can’t sleep here,” I told him firmly. “It’s dangerous for you to stay here after what happened. You’re sleeping with me tonight.”





He looked reluctant. “Are you sure,” Dave?” I saw the doubt in his eyes.





“Yes, I’m sure,” I answered.





He packed some things and we went into my dorm. He settled in and I gave him food from my mini-fridge.




He and I both ate, and he talked about what had happened. He said that he felt like trash when he saw his dorm.




“Maybe I shouldn’t have come out of the closet. This wouldn’t have happened if I had stayed in the closet,” he moaned dejectedly.




“No, I already told you, you did nothing wrong.” I told him. He still looked unconvinced.




I tried to alleviate his concerns by saying that it wasn’t his fault that people were narrow-minded, but he still looked concerned.





“Jack, don’t worry about what people think of you. Just worry about what you think of yourself.” I told him firmly.




“Then why don’t YOU come out of the closet?” The cruel inner voice mocked me.




I tried to ignore it. It was hard too. I suggested that Jack had had enough. I decided to suggest a protest.




“We should protest!” I told him excitedly. “Look at all this crap you’re being put through just because you’re gay.”




“I don’t know,” Jack said reluctantly.





“Look, you want to be treated as equal to the “Straights” don’t you?’ “I asked.




“Yes, “Jack said surely.




“So do I,” I answered. “So let’s protest!” I added.




“Okay,” Jack said reluctantly.




We slept. The next day was a Wednesday, so we got ready for school. During lunch, I gathered Rodney, Max, Jack, and 7 more “gay” boys. Rodney decided to be nice to Jack, and vice versa. I decided that we should protest gay shunning and protest for gay rights.




10 people agreed. Max didn’t agree and said, “I’m out.” I gave him a BITCHY stare. How could Max not stand up for gay rights?





“Max, you’re gay, and you don’t want your rights?” I glared at him.




Max said, “I care more about my life than “gay rights.” He scoffed.





“I can’t believe you.” I gave him another F.U face.




Max said, “I am sorry, but I am not protesting.” He left. I couldn’t believe my boyfriend was leaving me out in the cold.




I turned to the other 9 people who eagerly agreed to protest our rights.




We marched to Dean Riley’s office and announced that we wanted a protest.





“Dean Riley, we want to protest gay shunning and stand up for gay rights,” I said.




The other 9 nodded.




Dean Riley looked at us and said, ‘You know this school shuns gays.”




“That’s the point,” Jack said. I just thought of something. Jack could have been really hurt if he had been in his dorm during the attack! I could make it a matter of national security!





“I’d like to make something that happened a matter of school security,” I said quietly.





“What?” Dean Riley asked, very alert. No dean ever wanted to hear the words, “school security.”




“Jack’s dorm was messed up yesterday just because of his sexuality. If he had been in his dorm, he could have easily been the one to be messed up,” I said.





“But, he’s fine,” Dean Riley said, looking at Jack dismissively. “No matter of school security.





“What a bitch!” I thought.





“What would be a matter of security? If I had been knocked into a coma?” Jack said, shrieking emotionally.





“Yes,” Dean Riley said coolly.




Jack’s mouth had a hard look on it. “Next time, “I WILL be in a coma,” he said hotly.





“Then, that will be a matter of security,” Dean Riley said dismissively.




Rodney said, “Dean Riley, you’re a cold, heartless man.”





Dean Riley said, “Please get out of my office.”




“No!” We all cried in unison. All 10 of us stood in a line, holding hands, blocking the doorway.




Dean Riley pressed a button, and Hank, a burly security guard showed up. He looked scary.





“Get out of the office,” Hank told us.





“We’re not leaving! This is a protest!” I screamed loudly.





Hank took out his nightstick!





“What are you going to do? Beat us?’’ Rodney asked with sneer. “That’s battery.”





Hank knew he couldn’t beat us. He called 911 and told them that trespassers had shown up.





“We are not moving,” I said firmly. In a few minutes, Jacksonville police showed up. Dean Riley said that we were trespassers.





“What a BITCH!” I screamed emotionally! “You BITCH!” I continued screaming, like a lunatic to him.





“They are 10 trespassers,” Dean Riley repeated.





“If we’re trespassers, why are we wearing Johnson uniforms?”” I asked the cops shrilly.




The cops agreed that I had a point.





“They stole them" Dean Riley said.




Steve said, “You LIAR!”




Dean Riley looked scared. “Get them away from me,” he said scared. “They are violators on school grounds.”





The cops put all of us into handcuffs and begun to escort us off of Johnson Estate.





As we were walking off of Johnson Estate, we passed Max. Max’s eyes held bewilderment.





“What’s going on?” Max asked.





A cop said, “These 10 boys were trespassing.”





Max stayed silent.




“Come on, Max! You know we’re not trespassers! You know we’re not trespassers!” I screamed emotionally. I couldn’t believe he was staying mute.





Finally, Max said, “These 10 are NOT trespassers. They’re students here.”





Enraged, the cop turned to Dean Riley. “Is this true?” He asked him.





“Yes, it’s true. I lied when I said that they were trespassers because they were protesting and wouldn’t leave my office.





“And what were they protesting?” The cop asked.





“They were protesting for gay rights,” Dean Riley answered, reluctantly.




And you wanted to get them arrested for trespassing because of that?” The cop asked, incredulous. “I’m gay myself,” the cop said. “I would fight for gay rights too.”





He and the other cops unlocked all of our handcuffs, and we smirked at Dean Riley.





Dean Riley looked ashamed of himself.




We went to our classes. After classes, I went to my hall. Jack said, “That was awesome! I loved standing up to Dean Riley!” His eyes had an excitement in them and he looked flushed with happiness.





“I did too,” I said.




Jack left, and I saw Max coming out of his dorm.





“Max, you were actually going to let us go to jail?” I asked him hotly.





“I told you, I didn’t think it was a good idea to protest,” he said calmly.




“You would have let us go to jail?” I screamed at him emotionally.





“I told them you weren’t trespassers,” he told me calmly again, but with a bit of an edge.




"After I screamed at you!” I screamed. Man, my throat was getting sore. I swallowed some spit.




Max said, “I love you. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”




“The only one hurting me is YOU,” I said with emphasis.




I saw the hurt, taken aback expression on Max’s face. He quickly turned away from me. He was trying to hide his emotion from me.

“I just care about you,” Max said, his voice low.





“Max, I know you do, but this is something I really care about,” I told him softly.




Max took a reluctant breath. “Okay, I can see how much you like this protest,” he said softly.





“I do,” I replied.




Max said, “I don’t like it, but that’s your business, not mine,” he said softly.





“Thank you Max,” I said. I reached up and stroked his face and then hugged him. Max apologized and we went to our own dorms.




The next day. We were at lunch, when I gathered the 9 boys.




“Let’s make another protest,” I said with a gleam in my eye.




Steve, Todd, Jack, Randall, Rudy, Randy, Rodney, and Sam all agreed.




We made our plans.




At 3.00 P.M. we attack!” I shouted, sounding like a dictator. Then calmer, I said, “We should do it.”
We went to our own classes.


At 3.00 P.M., shortly after school, we went to an empty classroom and did a sit in. We locked the doors from the inside.


“Come on, you can’t stay in the school, after school,” Dean Riley said, knocking on the doors.




“No!” We shouted from the inside. “We will not be moved!” We cried in protest.





Chancellor Murray said, “You’re violating school property. Get out of the room.” He said quietly.





Dean Riley took some running steps back(we heard them), and then he threw his body into the door trying to get it to open. His groan of pain made it clear that it did not work.


We giggled happily amongst ourselves. We were winning.



We heard Chancellor Murray mumble something to Dean Riley. Dean Riley agreed.


I had a feeling I knew what it was. A key. We had locked the door, but they could open it up.



I told the other 9 my feeling, and they agreed.



We all pushed the big armoire against the door. Sure enough, a few minutes later, we heard a noise at the doorknob, and it begun to twist. Dean Riley and Chancellor Murray couldn’t open up the door, so they just yelled unprofessional expletives.


They left. We thought we were safe, but Mark pointed out that they could easily crawl in through the glass window. We all realized mark was right. This classroom had a window without bars on it. Riley and Murray could easily crawl through it.


I ran to the window and locked it. A few seconds later, we saw Riley and Murray’s faces at the window. Mark was smart. They yelled at us to open the window. We refused to, and they gave us angry scowls.



We turned our backs on them and after a few minutes they left . Or maybe not. We weren’t sure if they had left.




We stayed in that room and did our homework and chatted. At about 4.30, Randall complained that he needed to go to the bathroom.

“Hold it in,” I hissed. “You’ll ruin everything!”



I saw the tortured pain in his eyes. He begun to do that unmistakable “dance”. The pee dance.




“Please Dave, I’m a bout to explode,” he said. He really did look like he was in pain.




“Okay,” I told him reluctantly. “Go to the bathroom, but don’t get caught,” I told him shortly. “The secret password to let you back in is two knocks.”




We pushed the dresser out of the way and Randall ran out of the door, looking for sweet relief. We pushed it back.



After that, Steve said, “Whoa, harsh Dave,” he looked at me with a bothered frown.



“I told every one of you to make sure you used the bathroom before we did this,” I hissed at Steve.



Steve said, ‘Someone needs a chill pill.” He scowled.


I glared at him. After about three more minutes. We heard a double knock. “That’s Randall,” I said.


“It’s me,” Randall said.


We pushed the dresser and let him in. We put the dresser back.



Randall looked a lot better. He looked relieved.



We chatted some more, and then it was 5:30. We were sure that Riley and Murray were long gone. We all left and I said, “That was great.”


They agreed.



I went back to my hall. Dean Riley and Max were talking about something amicably. Dean Riley had a paper in his hands, and Max eagerly signed it. Dean Riley left with the paper. I came up to Max to confront him. Max looked at me with guilt, shock, and shame.




“What did you sign?” I asked him. “I …uh…I…uh….”Max begun to stammer uncontrollably. He looked tortured. I knew that look. He gave that look only when he’d done something he knew that other people wouldn’t like.



“What did you sign?” I asked him, harder.



Max took off running! He ran to the main Johnson building! I followed him.



I followed him to Building 6. He was still running, looking like a trapped mouse. I came up to him. He looked scared. Scared of me.



“What the F did you sign?” I asked him, even more hard now. Wow, I can ask the same question, just different tones.



“I signed a field trip form,” Max said lying.



I knew when Max was lying. Sweat poured down his skin, and he looked tense.



“You F….ing liar!” I screamed at him. “You did not sign a field trip form!”



Max tried to run again, but I pushed him to the ground.




“Tell me what the F that paper was!” I yelled at him, menacingly. “It was not a F….ing field trip form!”




Max pushed me off of him, and I landed on the ground hard.



Max begun to leave, but I regained my posture and tackled him to the ground.



“You’re not leaving until you tell me what you just signed,” I told him, looking like a maniac.



Max said, “It’s none of your business.” He tried to wrestle himself free of me, but I held him even tighter.



“You F…..ing sign something behind my back and you tell me it’s none of by business?” I said enraged.



“Yes, now let me F…..ing go,” Max told me hotly.



“No!” I screamed emotionally. “Not until you tell me what your name is on right now.”



“My birth certificate,” Max told me nastily. I held him even tighter. “I will cut off your circulation if you don’t tell me the truth,” I told him raspily.



Max opened up his mouth and gave me a nice healthy bite on my arm.



“Ow!” I yelled in protest and pain, and I let go of Max. Max ran off like a track star runner.


I couldn’t believe that Max BIT me. I was almost certain that our relationship was over. We had just had a very physical fight and Max was keeping secrets from me.


I sadly walked to my dorm and nursed my arm. After nursing my arm, I went to the dining hall for dinner. I ate mashed potatoes, rice, chicken, and salad. I drank grape soda and some water.



After eating and drinking, I was walking back to my dorm when I saw Max talking to George and Rob. Why was my boyfriend talking to my sworn enemies?



I saw Max pull out 2 $10.00 bills and hand one to each of them. George and Rob smiled at Max and nodded their heads. Max smiled at them and George and Rob left.



I saw and heard Max whistling happily to himself as he walked back to his dorm.


I had a sinking feeling that Max had just paid those two bitches a bribe. Max was acting shady.



I ran into Max. Max ran into his dorm and locked the door.



“Max, you’re a CREEP!” I yelled at him through the doorway.


Max turned on his radio to full blast to ignore me. I disgusted, walked back to my own dorm.



Max was acting like a creep all of a sudden. First, he opted out of my protest, then almost let me get arrested, then he signed his name on something he doesn’t want me to know, he BIT me(okay, maybe I did deserve that one a little because I told him that I would cut off his circulation), and now he’s paying money to George and Rob.

 

[Karice]

Part 4

I felt so lost and dejected. My boyfriend was turning against me, and was in cohorts with my enemies.



I sadly went to sleep. When I woke up, it was a Saturday. I at5e breakfast and bathed.



I watched some T.V, and then went out.



I decided to go by Phi Beta Alpha Fraternity house out of the blue. I walked up to it. I saw Max giving money to one of the PBA “rushies.”. He eagerly accepted the money.




“Max!” I screamed at him.




Max looked at me with a wide-eyed deer caught in headlights look.




He started to run again, but I caught up with him. We were hidden from sight, and I again confronted him.





“Max, why the F are you giving money to people? Why?” I asked him. Max backed away from me, but I stepped right in front of him.




I got in his face. “Max, you are acting like a shady creep,” I said to him.




Just then, Alex Sanders came by. A pledgie.




“Okay, Max,” I’ll do it. You got a deal,” he said with a smile on his face.




“Shut up, Alex!” Max hissed angrily.




Alex looked confused.




What would Alex do? Why was Max so angry? Alex left.




I turned to Max with a quizzical, distrusting, expression. “You tell me what’s going on right now, or you can kiss this relationship good-bye,” I told him. I gave him an ultimatum.




Max looked torn. “I love you. I am doing this to protect you,” he said.




“What are you doing?" I asked him.




“I don’t want you to know,” Max confessed softly. That didn’t sound good. “If you’re keeping secrets from me, maybe we shouldn’t be together,” I suggested softly.




“Is that the way to speak to the guy you gave your virginity too?” Max asked with a slight smirk.




I blushed, remembering that Max and I had sex a few months ago.




“It’s not, but you gotta tell me what’s going on,” I said in a softer voice.




Max said, “Just like you told me you were a cocaine addict?” He asked with a sneer.




I blushed again. “I did eventually tell you,” I told him in my defense.




“After I coerced it out of you,” Max said. “You lied to me. You told me that you went to a vacation,” he continued.




I blushed even more. “I don’t want to talk about the cocaine addiction,” I said.




Max begun to leave. “No, you’re not leaving until you tell me what’s going on,” I said sternly again. “Tell me now,” I demanded.




“Now? Over your dead body,” Max said. “I told you, I don’t want you to know,” he continued.




I had to let it go. Max wasn’t budging. I went back to my dorm.




I saw Jack at his dorm. “Hey, Jack,” I said.




“Hey, he said, smiling. “I want to do another protest,” jack said.




“When?” I asked.




“Right now,” Jack said.




“Now?” I repeated. I really did not want to protest now.




“Yes, please?” Jack begged me.




“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly. I gathered the other 8, and we walked around Alexander Hall shouting, “Equal rights for gays! Equal freedom for gays!”




We even marched to the PBA, where a meeting was taking place. We shouted, ‘Gays are human beings with emotions! Gays are people too!”




George said, “You can’t come to a private meeting protesting.




Rob said, “Please leave our premises,” in a controlled voice.




“No!” We all shouted. “You can’t shut our mouths!” Rodney said.




George said, “Okay, if you guys don’t leave now, all of the pledges will be automatically disqualified, and we will find all new pledges.”




“No!” The pledgies all shouted in unison. “I need to become a brother!” Someone else shouted, looking troubled. “Get out!” The pledgies all screamed at us.




George and Rob gave us smirks and told us that the crowd had spoken. We left, chanting, “Gays are united! One for all and all for one!”




After the mini protest, we all went to our own dorms.




Sunday passed with no event, except I slept and ate 95% of the day.

When Monday arrived, Steve reminded me that we had a talent show coming up tomorrow. He told me that we could do another protest in the form of a song. I chose, ‘Rhythm nation” by Janet Jackson. Steve agreed, and I told the other 8.




We spent that afternoon practicing for the talent show tomorrow. We watched Janet’s Rhythm Nation video a countless number of times, and we worked our butts off with the choreography of the ground breaking black and white video to a protest song. The group agreed that I should be “Janet,” and the rest would say, “We are part of the rhythm nation.”




The next day, I did assignments, and after school, we practiced again for the talent show’/protest.




At 7 pm, we walked to the auditorium, and we watched 7 good acts.




Finally, it was our turn. All 10 of us got up on the stage, and begun performing. We all wore the same tan Johnson uniform, to make up for the “military garb” of the actual video. We even wore them the same way.




“With music by our side, to break the color lines, let’s work together to improve our way of life. Join forces in protest to sexual injustice. (I changed the word “social” to “sexual” to fit into the protest), a generation full of courage come forth with me. People of the world today, are we looking for a better way of life? Sing it, we are part of the rhythm Nation. I sang the song with a lot of feeling, especially, “Things are getting worse, it’s time to make them better, it’s time to give a DAMN, let’s work together.” We tried our best to emulate the military body gestures of the video, such as when Janet touches her shoulders in it. The hardest part was when we tried to emulate the synch dancing where everyone dances the same way. We pulled it off however. We choreographed our butts off on that stage, in front of 780 Johnies and 30 members of the faculty and staff. I even did Janet’s ad libs, such as, “Say it for the children, say it for the mothers, say it for the fathers, say it for the babies, say it for us all.”





At the end of the video, we added a part from The Knowledge, another song from the Rhythm Nation album. We changed a few words though. I sang….”Prejudice?”(All of us said, “No!”) “Homophobia?” “No!” “Discrimination?” “No!” “Gay-bashing?” “No!” We said the “Nos” with a LOT of force. We really meant those “Nos!” At the end, we all sang, WE ARE PART OF THE RHYTHM NATION!” Then we did the random choreography at the end of Rhythm Nation video (the part after the final “Rhythm Nation” line). We had fun, but we were serious at the same time.




We all smiled when we were finished. To our surprise, there was loud applause.




We watched the other 3 acts, and they were all really good. When the winner results came, Josh Walker opened an envelope and announced that we had won! We were so excited! We all hugged each other.





We were named, “The Protestors” and received first place trophy and a cash prize of $100.00. We each got $10.00.





I looked at Max, and he gave me a warm smile and a wave. I melted inside.




After we went to our dorm, I went to sleep exhausted. I woke up the next day, on Wednesday. We did our assignments. At lunch, we were still being congratulated on our performance.





George said, “They are still a bunch of gay fa.....s. Even though they are good performers.”



Rob said, “The gays are taking over.” He looked bothered.





“Rob, we aren’t trying to take over anything. We want to walk side by side with you. Not in the back of you, not in front of you,” I defended us.





“So, Dave, you’re gay, too, huh?” Rob asked with a smirky smile.




“No, I’m neutral, remember,” I lied again.




“Suuuuuuuuure,” Rob said, rolling his eyes.





I was surprised that neither Rob nor George had hit me in days. I was happy. Maybe being in the group somehow protected me.




We finished our lunch. It was a pretty boring rest of the day. I did my regular routine.





On Thursday, after I ate lunch, I walked to our swimming pool. I saw someone thrashing as if they were drowning. When I looked closer, I saw that it was George! “George can’t swim,” I thought nastily to myself. It looked as if he had accidentally fallen in. “Leave him there,” I thought nastily to myself. “He always beats me up and treats me unmercifully. If he drowns, I’ll be free of him.” I began to walk away. “Murderer! Bitch!” My good conscience screamed at me. “You can’t just leave him there to die!” It continued to scream at me. I didn’t want to, but I reluctantly got in and swam to George, and held him close to me and pulled him out of the pool.





I gave him CPR (Eew. The thought of having to put my mouth on this creep’s mouth made me shudder involuntarily ). George was still unconscious so I called ambulance, and the paramedics continued to do CPR on him. He was soon wheeled into the ambulance.





A paramedic said that it was a good thing that I saved his life. I felt a little proud. The ambulance rode off. I went back to my classes.





After school, Rob looked frantic. “Where’s George?” He asked me. He looked wild.




“I uh……” I started. “You did something to him, didn’t you?” Rob said accusingly.




“No, I didn’t, I swear,” I told him. “Why are your clothes wet/” he asked me suspiciously.



“Um, um,” I started again. “You EFFING DROWNED him, didn’t you? You know he can’t swim?” Rob accused me explosively.




He pushed me to the ground. “I know we always beat on you but that gives you no right to drown him!” Rob said emotionally. He punched my face hard. “Please, leave me alone,” I said weakly and scared.




“No!” he screamed again.




“I didn’t drown him!” I said, trying to block my face. Rob removed my arms and kept pummeling my face. I screamed in pain.





“Why are your clothes effing wet then if you didn’t drown him?” Rob screamed suspiciously.




“They’re wet because I jumped into the pool to get him. George was drowning, and I got in the pool and got him out and gave him CPR.”




Rob looked as if I had a point and got off of me.




“Where is George now?” Rob asked, emotionally.




“At the hospital,” I answered shakily.




Rob left.




I was still shaking. They do this to me on a regular basis. They use me as a punching bag. I’ve always been nice to them.

 

[Karice]

Part 5


I did my regular routine again. I woke up the next day and got ready for school. At lunch, I saw Rodney. Rodney and I chatted with each other amicably. Rodney told me he was pumped up about our protests. I told him I liked them too.




Rodney and I ate lunch.



Rob went up to the front of the dining hall. He announced that there would be a “special” pledge meeting at the PBA fraternity house.



The pledgies were excited and chatted amongst themselves happily.



I had a feeling that this “special” meeting was not going to be good news for us, The Protestors.



After school, I put on sunglasses and a hat and walked over to the PBA.



I quietly snuck in. There were 20 pledgies eagerly waiting for the “special” meeting. Rob came in front of the pledgies crowd.



“Fellow Brothers in Training, Brother George is in the hospital. He almost drowned in a pool because he can’t swim. So for now, I will have to work solo. The second thing; we have to stop the protestors. Anyone who does not try to stop the protestors will be forever banned from all rushing activities.



No! I thought.



Some pledgies shifted uncomfortably. Those who shifted uncomfortably were gays themselves. I could see the torture in their eyes.



“What’s the matter?” Rob asked them with a sneer. “Are you gay too?”


“No!” They all replied with scared emotion.



“Good!” Rob said. “We have to keep those gays in the closet. They’ll take over everything! Did you hear the thunderous applause when they did the Rhythm Nation performance? They even won the award,” he added with contempt.



Another pledgie said,” What’s wrong with gays? They’re doing nothing wrong to us.”



Rob gave him a nasty sneer. “What’s wrong with gays?” he repeated bitingly. They like boys. So I have to wonder if they wanna F me. I had to effing change in front of one of those queers in the locker room. I even had to shower with him. I could see the lust in his eyes when we were showering. I got so uncomfortable and tense that I just wanted to go home and take another LONG shower when I got home. I did.” Rob shuddered.



“You’re probably just overreacting,” the pledgie said. “He was probably just spacing out.”



Rob laughed mirthlessly. “Yeah right. But anyway, if you let the protestors win, you will be banned from the PBA. And remember, colleges LOVE fraternities. And PBA is the best out of all of the fraternities,” he said smugly.



The pledgies agreed reluctantly. “Great, meeting adjourned,” Rob said, finally.



“Wait!” I said. Rob looked at me. “How do we destroy the protestors?”



“You throw stuff at them, turn on the fire hose on them, spit at them, curse them out, etc.” He looked at me hard. “Say, you look new. I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?” He asked.



“Andy Ston ,” I said. My middle name is Alexander, and I said, “Andy” as a hidden nickname for the Ander part of Alexander. Nobody would get that Andy is from Ander of Alexander because people only know Alex as the nickname for Alexander. I got Ston from Winston.



“You seem to be a go-getter guy,” rob said, impressed.



I nodded. Rob put my (nicknamed) name down. “Meeting adjourned,” he said again.



I left. I told the other 9 what to expect. I slept. The next day was Saturday again.



I did my homework, ate, bathed, dressed, and watched T.V. Then I went to sleep again.



It was around 2 P.M when I awoke. I opened my dorm door and went outside again.



Max was walking around, and when he saw me, he gave me a fearful look again. He had a paper in his hands. He ran with the paper. I caught up with him and snatched the paper out of his hands.



The paper was a photocopy of names. The title of the paper said, “Anti-Gay Protest Petition.” And on the very top was Max Cartwright. Then there were 49 other names.



I was furious with him. “Max, I HATE you!” I screamed at him emotionally.



“I did it to protect you,” Max said softly.



‘You’re a effing bitch!” I cried. I slapped Max in his face. “Don’t effing talk to me,” I screamed emotionally. Max looked heart-broken. I ran to my dorm and cried on my bed.



Max signed an anti-gay protest petition. What was worse, his name was the first name on it.



I turned on VH1 classic, and they were showing Heart’s video of Heartless. When they sang, “Come on, he’s heartless!” I totally sang, “Max is heartless!” The lyrics, “He never realizes the way love dies when you crucify its soul,” “He thinks it’s so cool to be cold,’” made me think that Max HAD crucified our love with that petition, and he was being so cold. This video came on at such an ironic and coincidental time.



After heartless, I put the channel on MTV and I watched Kelis, “Caught Out There.” The main line was, “I hate you so much right now…grr.” She is throwing items around a room in anger. I sang that line from the song with a LOT of emotion. That was the way I felt about Max right now.



I went to sleep. When I woke up, it was Sunday. I ate breakfast, showered, and got ready for the day.



I went outside, and I saw Max. Max looked at me, and I gasped. Max’s eyes were lifeless. They had no soul in them. He looked like a zombie. I was worried.



“Max, are you okay?” I asked him.



Max answered, “I’m fine,” in a robotic, emotionless monotone.



He sounded brainwashed.



Max what’s wrong?” I asked him desperately. “Talk to me,” I begged him.



Max answered me, “You told me you hated me,” he replied in the same robotic voice. “You robbed my soul,” he continued, lifeless. I was creeped out by the emptiness I saw and heard.



I didn’t mean it,” I told him (I was very mad at him, but I didn’t hate him).



“Yes, you did,” Max said flatly. “I didn’t mean it,” I told him, desperately again.



“Tell me you love me,” Max said in a hollow voice.



“I love you,” I said, unconvincingly. I only meant it half-heartedly. I was still mad at him.



Max gave me an empty smile. “You don’t mean that with all of your heart,” he said flatly.


“I do love you,” I said, with a bit more conviction. He smiled wanly. “Thanks,” he said, a little less flatly.



Max still looked empty. He was still scaring me. “Max, snap out of it!” I told him, desperate. “You’re scaring me!” I cried, emotionally and scared.



Max said, “I’m going to leave now.” He sounded so hollow.



He left. I felt sad for him. He looked and sounded so lifeless. He really did look and sound as if someone had robbed his soul.



I thought about following him, but decided not to. He really didn’t seem like he was in a talking mood.



I went to Student Life Outside, and I saw Jack. “Hey, Jack,” I said.



“Hey, Dave,” he said. He looked at me thoroughly.



“Are you gay?” He asked me again. “We’re not gonna treat you any different if you are. Just tell me, are you?”



“No, I answered. “Jack, why do you ask?” I asked him nervously.



“Because you seem very interested in helping us gays be equal with the straights. Many non-gay people wouldn’t be that interested.” Jack answered me softly, with narrowed eyes.



“I just want equal opportunity for everyone. Gays shouldn’t have to hide in the closet. The only difference between gays and straights is that we like men,” I answered.



“You said, “We,” Jack pointed out perceptively. Uh-oh., I thought in my mind.



“I meant to say, “you,” as in you guys,” I corrected myself, lying.

Jack’s eyes narrowed. How did you get “we” and “you” mixed up?” He asked, sounding suspicious.


“I wasn’t thinking,” I replied.


“You know, you don’t have to hide in the closet,” Jack told me softly. “You can come out, he added, softly.


“I already came out of the closet,” I told him. “As an asexual,” I continued.


“No,” I meant as a gay,” Jack told me softly, looking intense.


I giggled nervously. “I’m not gay,” I lied, nervously.


“Are you lying?” Jack asked me.


“No,” I told him.


“You don’t have to hide it from me. You can come out with me. I’m not going to judge you. It can be between us,” Jack told me pleadingly.


This is the time to come out as a gay. To be yourself, and inner voice told me.

I took a deep breath. “Yes, Jack, I’m gay,” I told him softly.


Jack asked, “Was that so hard?” He smiled at me. “There’s nothing wrong with being gay,” he told me, still smiling. “Someone told me that not too long ago,” he said, winking at me.


“Please don’t tell anyone,” I begged him. I don’t want to be shunned,” I continued.


“I told you, none of us are going to treat you differently. You’re still Dave, our friend. It’s just that now you’re Dave, our gay friend. Not Dave, our asexual friend,” Jack told me with a smile.

Gay Dave. Somehow, that didn’t sound as bad as I thought it could. It felt good to get that off my chest.


Jack said, “I KNEW there was a reason you were so dedicated to this gay rights protest!” He said, and then winked.


I smiled at him.


We said our good-byes, and I went back to my dorm, I relaxed the rest of the day.

On Sunday, I bathed, dressed, and ate. Then I went to Max’s dorm. I knocked. There was no answer. I assumed that he was sleeping.


I shrugged it off and went back to my dorm. I watched some T.V and went to sleep for a few hours.


I was awakened when Dean Riley knocked on my dorm door. “Max Cartwright’s gone missing!” he said when I opened up the door. He looked panicked.


“No, no no!” I thought to myself. Where had Max gone? I worried in my mind. I vividly and painfully remembered the emptiness in his face and voice. I was hoping I hadn’t driven him away.


“We need to do a search for him” Dean Riley said. He soon told every dorm parent and dorm student in our hall, Alexander Hall about Max’s disappearance.


“Max is usually so responsible. How could he do that?” Sam, our dorm parent murmured.


I said, “Oh no,” with pain and grief. It was tearing me apart, what had happened to Max.


They looked at me curiously. “I just want Max to be safe,” I said.


Dean Riley said that we needed to look everywhere on Johnson property for Max.


“It’s 2.00 in the afternoon! I have better things to do than to go look for Max! ”Barry grumbled angrily. “Screw Max!” He said, angrily.


I gave him a pissed off look. “Fine! If you go missing, I’ll say, “I have better things to do then go look for you! Screw Barry!” “You’re a jerk!” I cried angrily.


He gave me a pissed off look too. “Why don’t you go back to your gay ass protest?” he retorted, pissed off at me.


“Suck my di….!” I told him angrily.


“You’d probably like that, wouldn’t you?” He retorted with a sneer.


“You’re a bitch!” I screamed at him.


“Fa…!” he screamed at me angrily.


Jack spoke up. “Look, it’s early in the afternoon. We’re all upset. Dave, Barry, you’re not making it any better. Why don’t we look for Max later in the day?” Jack had some guts, after all to speak up.


Dean Riley said, “No, let’s look for Max right now.”


We had to do it. Dean Riley was the boss, after all.


We looked in every hall, every dorm, Student Life outside, Student Life Inside, and we checked the dining hall, the kitchen, every bathroom, every classroom, the computer courtyard, the library, the swimming pool, the sports area, the exercise gym, the music hall, and the arts section. We checked the study hall too.


We were exhausted. We had checked almost every square inch of Johnson Academy. We had not, however, checked the Phi Beta Alpha Fraternity House.


We walked over there. We knocked on the door. Rob opened up the door. He looked flabbergasted to see all of us and asked what was going on.


Dean Riley said, “Max Cartwright has gone missing. We have to search the PBA for him.”


Rob said, “Leave him missing. If he’s missing, he wanted to be missing. I’m not letting you guys search the PBA for him.” He scowled.


“Bitch!” I screamed at him.


Rob glared at me.


Dean Riley said, “Fine. If you don’t let us search the PBSA, I will close the PBA.”


Rob’s eyes held fear in them. “What? No! George and I love the PBA. We don’t want it closed!”


The pledgies cried, “No! We want to join, Dean Riley!” They looked worried.


Dean Riley said, “It’s up to Rob.” He looked at Rob.


Rob reluctantly said, “Okay.”


We all searched the PBA house. Max wasn’t there. We all went back to our dorms and went to sleep.

 

[Karice]

Part 6


When I awoke, it was Monday again. I called Max’s cell phone. There was no answer. I desperately cried, “Max, please come home. I’m sorry and I love you. Please answer.” After the phone call, I burst into tears. I hoped Max was all right. I hoped he was safe and I wanted him next to me.



I got ready for school. I really didn’t want to go to classes today. But I had to. I went through the motions of school, in inner torture because of Max’s disappearance. I was melancholy all day.



After school, I went to Student Life Outside.



“Max, Max, Max, where are you?” I quietly cried. I looked around to see if I was alone. I was.



My soul felt hollow without Max. I felt empty and lifeless. I felt the way Max had acted.



“I hate you.” That was one of the last things I said to Max. Followed by a lackluster, “I love you.” I smiled emptily.



Tears flowed down my cheeks again. I cried for two minutes. After that, I wiped my tears. I couldn’t cry every time I thought about Max. That would look suspicious.



I rinsed my face in the bathroom of Student Life Inside, and then I went back to the dorms. I saw Jack there. “Hey, you wanna protest tomorrow? “He asked me softly.



“No.” I said.



Jack looked surprised. “Why not?” He asked.



“I just don’t have the energy for it,” I replied, drained.



“But, protesting is very important to all 10 of us. It will help take your mind off of Max. I know about you and him,” Jack said softly.



I looked at him in surprise. “How did you know?” I asked him.



“Just the way you acted when you found out that Max was missing, “Jack answered. “You were in real emotional torture. “He smiled at me sympathetically. “He’ll come back,” he said, rubbing my back, soothingly.



I thanked Jack. He welcomed me.


I went into my dorm and called max again. “Max, I love you, come home,” I said on the phone again. I hung up. I was very worried. I went on my computer to look up information on Max Cartwright.



I only got, ‘Max Cartwright, 17 Senior at Marshall Johnson Academy.”



“Thanks,” I told the computer sarcastically. The computer offered me no help.



Dean Riley called Jacksonville police. They came over and Dean riley talked to them.



The police asked us if we noticed any differences in Max before he disappeared.



I felt a guilty pang. I didn’t want to answer. But, my instincts told me to.



“I did,” I said softly. I noticed that he looked like a zombie,” I confessed.



“And you didn’t tell anyone?” The cop asked me, a little accusingly.



“I…I…”, I started, and blushed. “He’s a teenager. Many of we teenagers look like that once in a while.” I answered. I laughed nervously.


The cop suggested that we search Max’s dorm for any clues. We walked over to max’s dorm.



Dean Riley opened it up with his key. We had already searched Max’s room, but the cop and Dean Riley suggested we search again, to be safe. Max’s room looked okay, except that there was a white envelope on the dresser. With my name on it.




I dashed over to it, and put it in my pocket. I didn’t want anyone to see the envelope.



Dean Riley coughed loudly. “We saw what you did,” he told me softly. “What’s in the envelope?” He asked me firmly.




“What envelope?” I asked, sweating.



“The one in your pocket,” Dean Riley said softly.



I tried to play dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I answered, unconvincingly.



Dean Riley’s eyes narrowed. “Open it up or I’ll suspend you for obstructing evidence,” He said sternly.



I had to give in. I reluctantly and painfully pulled the envelope out.



“Now, open it,” Dean Riley ordered softly.




I opened up the envelope. Inside was a letter that Max had given me. ‘The letter had read, “Dave, I love you. We just need some time apart. Right now, we are poison to each other. I went behind your back and signed the petition and I bribed people with money to put their names on the petition. I’m your poison now. And, you told me that you hated me and slapped me. You are poison to me too now too. Don’t come looking for me. I will come back when I am ready. I will come back to you when we stop being poison to each other. “



I took the letter and ran with it to me dorm! Dean Riley and everyone else followed me. I had the door locked, and quickly looked for another paper to show to them. I found a song that Max had hand-written to me called, “Waterfalls.” By TLC. I put Max’s letter under my mattress, and went out with the Waterfalls paper.



Dean Riley said, “Why did Max handwrite you this song?” He looked confused and suspicious.. I answered, “Max wanted me to read this song, because he thought I might be in trouble with the gay protest. So, he wrote it to me because he wanted me to go easy on this gay protest.” The truth was, this song was a cover up for the letter.



Dean Riley suspiciously said, “Why did he leave it in his room instead of give it to you hand to hand?”



“He forgot it,” I answered. Max is forgetful sometimes, I answered him.



Dean Riley still looked suspicious, but decided to let it go.



The cop aloofly asked a few more questions, and we answered them.


The cop didn’t seem very interested in finding Max.



I got emotional. I got on my knees, and said, “You gotta find Max, officer. Max is a child! He doesn’t know how to take care of himself!” I began to cry a little. “You gotta file a missing report ion him! He’s only 17!” I said, with raw emotion.



The cop and everyone else looked at me in surprise.



“Are you and he some sort of couple?” The cop asked.



“No, I’m asexual,” I lied again. I saw Jack quietly laugh. He knew I wasn’t asexual.



“Max is just my friend,” I said, quietly.



The cop asked to see the recent picture of Max. I knew where to find the most recent picture of Max. He had a picture taken just two months ago. It was one of my most favorites of Max. Max looked so happy and he had a sparkling smile, and his eyes sparkled too. He was full of life in this picture, not at all like his lifeless face I had seen just a little while ago. I got the picture out. I had another copy of that picture. I went into my drawer and got pout the picture and handed it to the cop. “This is the most recent picture I have of Max," I said.



Everyone looked at me curiously. “Why do you have a picture of Max in your drawer?” Steve asked me, curiously. Jack smiled a secret smile. He knew about Max and me………………



“Max was just handing out this picture to different people,” I lied.



“I never got a picture,” Steve said. “Neither did I, Tommy said. “Neither did I, ‘Mark said. A lot more people said, “Neither did I,” I blushed……



“So, it seems that you are the only person who has this picture is you, “Peter said. “Max must have thought you were very special to only give you this picture…. Under his breath, he said, “Those FAs..."



“Hey! I heard that!” I announced indignantly. “Max and I are not a couple! We barely even know each other!” I lied again…………


"I thought he was your friend, “Dean Riley said, suspiciously. “Now you two barely know each other.” He narrowed his eyes.



I stammered a little. “I am friends with a lot of people that I barely know.” I laughed uncomfortably…………



No one looked convinced……………. I looked at the picture in the cop’s hand. “Look, the important thing is that you have the most recent picture of Max, and you can start looking for him, “I said, a little sternly.


The cop agreed and said that he would keep in touch with us. We waved goodbye to him. He did too.



After he left, Dean Riley said, “You know, it’s kind of late, “Everybody, go eat or go to your dorms.”



I wasn’t really hungry. I went to my dorm and called Max again. Still no answer. “Max, you gotta come home. You have no idea what you are doing to my heart! I miss you, Max. Call me if you still love me. I love you. bye……..” I said, and then sadly hung up the phone. I sadly fell asleep a few minutes later.

I woke up the next morning and got ready for school again.



I was still very melancholy throughout school. At lunch, Jack suggested we do the protest, right there in the dining hall.



He looked at me pleadingly. “Dave, we love this protest a lot. We need to fight for our rights.”



I reluctantly agreed. “Okay,” I agreed. We ate our lunches, and chatted. We stood in the front of the dining hall. Everyone looked at us.



“We guys are just like you straight people,” I said. “We don’t want to be shunned just for who we like.”



Randall said, “We should be free to like who we like, without being penalized.”



Randy said, “This school says, “No discrimination,” yet we are being discriminated against.”



Steve said, ‘If you ask me, that’s hypocritical.”



Jack said, “The other day, my dorm was attacked, just because of my sexuality, and the attacker was never found and put to justice.”



Todd said, “Being gay isn’t a sin. Being hateful and judgmental is, however.”



Rudy said,”If everyone in the world were straight, this world would be one freaky one-dimensional world.”



Mark said, “Can’t we all just get along? If we all did, this world would be a much happier place.”



Rodney said, “We’re doing nothing wrong by loving other men. We have nothing to be ashamed of.”



Sam said, “I’m gay, and proud of it.”



“Fa….!” Someone screamed at us. They threw tomato sauce at us. It landed on Mark’s shirt and messed it up.



More people threw food at us. Somebody threw chocolate pudding at me and it made my clothes dirty.



Sam got some spaghetti thrown in his hair.



Rodney got mashed potatoes in his face.



A lot more food was thrown at us, and soon, we each had a full meal on us. We tried to slink away, but Rob forcefully pushed my face into his tray of food.



“How do you like that, you queer?” He asked me snidely. He roughly pulled my head up, by my hair.



“Please, Rob, I’m begging you. I’ve never hurt you. Leave me alone,” I said, weakly and pleadingly.



He laughed cruelly and said,”You’re an “asexual.” Leave these queers by themselves. If you’re not gay, don’t help them. If you stay in this protest, I will beat on you three times as hard.” He pushed me roughly.


Oh how I wish it had been Rob who had been in that pool. George didn’t beat on me as hard as Rob did. George was cruel, but Rob was just unbearable. Rob was the stronger and more aggressive of them. If it had been Rob drowning, I think I would have left him there. Let him drown. I smiled evilly in my mind as I pictured Rob drowning, gasping for air, thrashing, and then his body going down for the final time, and then floating back up, lifelessly.



I soon felt guilt for what I had just thought of. But, I couldn’t control the way I felt inside. Rob was my unnecessary tormentor.



“Why are you so afraid of gay people?” I asked him. “What did we…they….ever do to you? We’re…they’re….just trying to live our…. their lives.”



Rob laughed cruelly. “What kind of sick boys like to be rammed in the back by other boys?” He sneered.



“That’s not all we… they are…..” I said.



Rob said, “Just come out of the closet, you little queer,” he said, sneering. You’re not really an asexual. It’s so obvious.”



“Yes, I am,” I said, sweating.



Dean Riley came in. He looked around in shock. “What happened here?” He asked. He looked at all of the mess.



Rob said, “These 10 starred the food fight,” he said, pointing to us.”



“What?” I asked in shock and outrage. “We’re COVERED in food,” I exclaimed. “Everyone else is CLEAN!”



Dean Riley pursed his lips. “Dave, and the other 9, go home early and take a bath. You guys are filthy.” He said.



“Whoever started this mess will be suspended for three days,” Dean Riley said, firmly. The other people looked around hesitantly. No one wanted to admit to being the fight starter.



Dean Riley said, “If someone doesn’t confess, everyone, including these 10 will be suspended. I looked into Tommy’s eyes. I saw nervousness in them. He and I both knew he had started the fight.



I couldn’t let everyone get suspended for what Tommy had done. But I didn’t want to rat him out, for some reason.



I made a choice. “I started the food fight,” I told Dean Riley. I saw Tommy look at me in surprise. I wanted to see if he’d let me take the fall.



Jack said, “Dave, sit down! You’re gonna get your ass in trouble!” he screamed.



“I started the fight because I wanted to stand up for gay rights. If I hadn’t thought up this protest, this fight wouldn’t have started,” I said.



Dean Riley said, “Are you prepared to be suspended for three days for that confession?”



I took a deep breath. “Yes, sir, I am,” I affirmed softly.



Dean Riley said, “Fine, Dave. Go take a bath, but from now on, you are suspended. Unless someone else wants to confess to starting the food fight, before you leave.”



I said okay, and begun to walk towards the door. I looked deeply into Tommy’s eyes. I wanted to see if he’d confess.



I put my hand on the door.



“Wait! Tommy yelled. Everyone looked at Tommy in surprise. “Dave didn’t start the food fight. I did. I threw the food at them first. Then, other people followed.” Other people nodded their affirmations that Tommy was telling the truth.



Dean Riley said, “Dave, come back. “ I did. Dean Riley said, ‘Tommy, you’re going to be suspended for three days for the fight.”



Tommy nodded sadly, and then walked out the door, with his head down.


We went to our dorms and I took a bath. After I put on some new clothes, I lied down on my bed. Dean Riley had said nothing about returning to school for the day, so I decided to relax. I sadly thought about Max. My soul felt empty and hollow. This was clichéd, but he completed me. I sadly went to sleep.



When I awoke, it was 6:00. I ate some dinner, and then went to Student Life (Outside). I sat on the bench and thought about the protest. I wanted us gays to have rights, but I was still bummed about Max, And, Rob had threatened to beat me three times as hard if I stayed in the protest. And, I had almost gotten suspended for it. The protest just wasn’t as appealing to me anymore. But, it was way appealing to the other 9. Especially Jack. I remembered Jack’s pleading face when I told him I didn’t want to be in the protest anymore. If it weren’t for him, I would have stopped protesting.



After a few minutes, I decided to go back to the dorm to put on my “Andy” disguise. This time, I put on blue contacts and a blonde wig just in case Rob asked me to remove my hat and sunglasses.



I walked to the PBA Fraternity House, were a meeting was taking place. There were 20 pledgies there, talking amicably.



Rob said, “We’re going to have a special party on Thursday. It is mandatory that everyone show up.”



The pledgies were excited.



“What’s the theme?” A pledgie asked.



“The theme is “beat up the protestors and stop them.” Rob said. The gay pledgies looked around nervously again. They really were tortured.



“Why do we have to stop them?” Reggie, a straight pledgie asked. “They’re just trying to be equal with us. They’re not doing anything wrong.”



Rob laughed cruelly. “We don’t want gay people in this school.”



“I would be okay with gays,” Shawn, a gay pledgie said. “They’re just like us,” he continued.



“At this party, I want you to recruit those 10 protestors to this party, and when they come, beat the hell out of them. If you don’t, you will be excommunicated from the PBA,” Rob said, ignoring Shawn and Reggie.



The pledgies were nervous.



“Rob, why are you so intent on getting rid of these protestors?” Harry asked. “Got something to hide?” He asked, with a sneer.



“Are you implying that I’m gay?” Rob asked with a nasty sneer. “If I were gay, I wouldn’t be suggesting this.”



“Maybe if you were trying to hide your true identity, you would,” Harry pointed out.



Rob gave him a scowl. “I am not gay. I just don’t want them around.”



The pledgies looked reluctant. Chris spoke up. “You’re not a good president,” he said softly and reluctantly. “George is a much better president than you are.”



Rob sneered. “Oh George. George is a real good president. He’s not with you right now,” he said, dryly.



“That’s only because he almost drowned and is in the hospital,” Chris shot back.



I began to walk out. “Where are you going, Andy?” He asked. “I want you to stay in this meeting.”



“Uh, no thanks,” I said, uncomfortably. I didn’t want to be in this meeting anymore.



Rob said, “Take off your sunglasses and hat,” he said, softly.



“Uh, no thank you,” I said.



“I said, “Take them off,” Rob said sternly.



I reluctantly took them off. “Can I leave now?” I begged him.



“You’re not leaving until the meeting is over, ANDY,” he said with emphasis.



I was really tired of this meeting. I wanted to go home.



“I’m really tired,” I said.



“You just got here. You haven’t been here for a long time, ANDY,” he said my name with emphasis again. He gave me the evil smile he gave so many times.




“I…I….I….,” I started. I stood very close to the door.



I was so uncomfortable, I ran out the door! I ran a few feet, and when I turned around, I saw Rob right in front of me.



He punched me in the stomach! I looked at him in surprise. The same way Nancy Thompson looks at Freddy Krueger in surprise when he claws her in the stomach in Nightmare on Elm Street 3.



“Do you think I don’t know who you are?” He asked me with a sneer. “Dave,” he added nastily.



A few seconds later, he said, “The meeting’s not over yet. I told you not to leave. If you insist on crashing a meeting, you might as well stay until it’s over. So go back to the meeting.”



I reluctantly went back to the meeting. Rob stood in front of the crowd. “Look who I convinced to come back,” he said, pointing at me. I squirmed uncomfortably.



“ANDY, why don’t you come to the front and introduce yourself?” Rob asked me, evilly.



“Please, Rob,” I begged him.



“Introduce yourself,” he said, more firmly.



I reluctantly stood in the front. Rob sat down where I had been. “Hi, I’m Andy Ston,” I said. I’m a 15-year old Sophomore.



“What’s your full name?” He asked. “Tell the group your full name,” he said, taunting me.



“Leave me alone, Rob,” I begged him.



“You got something to hide? Alexander?” He asked with a sneer.



“No,” I said, sweating. I felt so tortured.



Tim said, “Alexander? I guess Andy is a nickname for Alexander.”



“Yes, it is,” Rob said, with a sneer. “Here’s another thing. There is no student named Andy Ston at Marshall Johnson Academy. There is, however, a student named Dave Alexander Winston.” He said, and got up, stood next to me, and took off my blonde wig. “And here he is!” Rob said.



The pledgies gasped in shock.



“Dave?!” They asked/exclaimed in disbelief.



“Yes, it’s me,” I confessed.



“Why did you pull that stunt?” Brandon asked.



“Yeah, why would you pull that?” Shawn asked me.



“Yeah, tell us why,” Rob said with a sneer.



“I did it because I wanted to warn the other 9 protestors about anything that the PBA was planning to do to us,” I confessed.



Willie said, “That was dishonest, Dave,” disapprovingly.



“Yes, it was,” Rob said. “Does anyone think that Dave is a dishonest liar?”



The pledgies reluctantly nodded their heads.



“Do we want a person like this in the PBA?” Rob asked.



The pledgies reluctantly shook their heads no.



Rob said to me, “After this meeting, you will be excommunicated from the PBA. But, you will sit through this meeting.”



To the pledgies, he said, “In lieu of what happened, nix the “Get the protestors” idea. We will just have a regular party on Thursday. Since we have an inside spy, we can’t do the original party anymore.”



The meeting was over at 7.20. After the meeting, Rob told me that he would tell everyone about my cocaine addiction, if I didn’t drop out of the protest.



“Rob, all you do is torture me. I’ve always been nice to you. Leave me alone to live my life,” I told him.



He sneered at me. “I doubt that the school would allow a cokehead to run a protest,” he said, nastily.



“That was a long time ago. I’m clean now, I said. “I’m not on the drug anymore. I’m no longer an addict,” I defended myself.



“How would those 9 people like that you stole from some of them to support your habit?” He asked, nastily. “That’s what I’ll tell them,” he told me, evilly.



“I already gave them their money back,” I said.



Rob said, “No one’s gonna trust you again, after that stunt you pulled with the Andy thing. I’m warning you, if you don’t drop out, people will know about the addiction. I’ll give you two days to drop out,” Rob said, nastily.



“Okay,” I reluctantly agreed.



Rob said, “Go home, Dave. "I went home. I went to sleep.

 

[Karice]

Part 7

When I awoke, it was Wednesday. I got ready for school. In classes, I did some assignments. At lunch, I went to the other 9 protestors, and asked, "What do you think if I do a cease and desist?"



"What's that?" Rudy asked.



"A cease and desist means that I stop protesting permanently." I answered.



"You wanna drop out of the protest?" Jack asked. "Is this about the Max thing?" he asked.



"It's more than that," I said, looking at the table, sadly.



"What's the reason you wanna drop out?" Mark asked me.



"I just do," I said, vaguely.



"No, something is wrong, Dave. You're hiding something from us," Randy said softly.



I said, "I don't want to talk about it. I just need to drop out."



"You "need" to drop out? That sounds suspicious to me," Todd said. "Are you being blackmailed? Are you in some sort of trouble?" he asked me with concern.



"No," I lied. "I just don't want to protest anymore."



"You're lying, Dave," Jack said. "Something's telling me that you're hiding the truth."



Sam said, "We're your friends. You can tell us what kind of trouble you're in."



I took a deep breath. "Okay, I did something bad a few months ago, and now I'm being blackmailed for it," I confessed sadly.



"What did you do?" Steve asked me.



"I got hooked on cocaine," I said, sorrowfully. "I even stole money to support my habit. Remember the "vacation" I took a while ago?" Everyone, (except for Jack, who wasn't a student yet at the time), nodded.



"I was really in drug rehab," I confessed.



Rodney said, "You lied to me. I was and still am one of your closest friends." he looked hurt.



"Did you steal money from any of us?" Todd asked.



I gave a long pause. Then I looked Todd in the eyes.



"Yes", I confessed.



"No, Dave, no!" Rudy exclaimed sadly. "Which one of us did you steal from?"



"I stole from you, Todd, Sam, and Randy," I said softly.



"Dave, we can't trust you anymore," Steve said.



"Look guys, it was a one-time mistake,” I said. “When you’re hooked on cocaine, cocaine becomes a need in your body and you’re powerless to the addiction. Snorting becomes a top priority in your life.



“How about never starting?” Sam asked, snidely with a nasty snort.



“I didn’t mean to become hooked. I thought just a little would be fine and fun,” I said.



“Dave, that was just heinous. You royally screwed up,” Mark said.



“I’m sorry,” I said. A few uncomfortable moments passed, and I said, “Since I am dropping out of the protest, I give the protest to Steve. It’s yours. I bow out.”




Steve said, “Dave just because you screwed up doesn’t mean that we want you out of the group. You’re still our friend.”



“No, keep it Steve. I don’t want to be in the protest anymore.” I said.



Steve reluctantly accepted. “Bye, Dave,” he said, smiling sadly.



“Is there anything else you’re not telling us?” Mark asked me.



“Nothing. I’m still an asexual,” I said, lying.



“The lies stop now!” Jack said emotionally. “Remember your “friend” Max?” He said.



I blushed. “That was supposed to between you and me!” I screamed at him emotionally.



Rodney knew I was gay already. But the other 7 hadn’t. They looked at me in surprise.



“Yes, it’s true. I’m gay. Why do you think I was so interested in protesting?” I replied/asked.



“Dave, you seriously need help. Your lies are astounding.” Randall said, solemnly and concerned.



I said, “Do you guys still want me as a friend?” The group pursed their lips together. After a short while, Randall said, “Yes, we still want you as a friend. Everyone makes mistakes. No one is perfect.”



“Please don’t leave the protest,” Jack begged me. “We all love you. If you leave the protest, you’ll make us feel the way that Max had made you feel when he left you.



I had never spoken the words, “I love you” to anybody in the group and vice versa. “I love you guys too,” I said. They all nodded.



Sam asked “Who’s blackmailing you?”



“Nobody,” I answered, lying again.



Jack said, “Dave I already told you, the lies stop!” Wow, Jack had really come out of his shell.



“Okay, it’s Rob,” I said. “He’s blackmailing me to drop out of the protest.” Everyone looked upset.



“We’re family. We’re brothers. We’re not going to let him blackmail you,” Jack said firmly. “We’re gonna protect you,” Jack said. Everyone else agreed.



I thanked them for saying that, but told them I was still reluctant. I told them that Rob had threatened to beat me too if I didn’t drop out too.



One minute later, Rob showed up.



“We’re not going to let you hurt Dave, “Jack said. All of the 9 people stood in front of me.



Rob laughed cruelly. "If I wanted to hurt Dave, I could easily do it,” he said, cruelly.



“You’d have to get through all of us to get to him,” Jack said, standing up to Rob. Rob looked at Jack with some sort of reckon. Jack went from being a wuss to a strong person.



The other 8 nodded. Rob left.


“You know, you should learn to stand up for yourself, stand up to Rob,” Todd said. “I see the fear that you have for him. You were ready to drop out because he blackmailed you and threatened to beat you up.”



Everyone looked at me in concern.



I looked down at my tray. “I am scared to,” I admitted.



“We know you are,” Todd started,” But you gotta defend yourself. You shouldn’t let Rob push you around like that.”



“I don’t want to drop out of the protest,” I admitted.



“Then don’t,” Jack said. “We need you in this protest. We don’t want you to leave.”



I turned to Steve. “Can I have my protest back?” I asked j\him with a slight smile.



“Sure,” Steve told me, with a smile too.



“I’m not going anywhere,” I told them.



Everyone smiled.



After lunch, I did more assignments, and then I went back to the dorms. I saw and heard Rob talking on his cell phone. “Hey, Dave is going to drop out of the protest. He’s doing it because I blackmailed him and threatened to beat him up if he didn’t. I want him out of the protest, because he is the strength of that group. If he drops out, that group falls apart. He’s the glue of that group. With him out of the group, that group will self-destruct. “ He sounded smug. “I’ll talk to you later. Bye Spencer.” He hung up his phone.



I quietly walked away. I went to Student Life Inside again. I sat there for 10 minutes.



Then, I walked back to my dorm. I did some homework and watched T.V. Jack knocked on my door. I opened the door.




“Hi, Jack,” I said.



He looked apprehensive.



“What’s wrong?” I asked him.



Jack said, “You know, I think Rob is up to something,” Jack said. “I just found out that Johnson rules state that a protest must have the same amount of protestors at all times, or they can be disqualified. If we have 10 members, we must have 10 members all the time. If you had dropped out, we could have been disqualified. Thanks for not dropping out, Dave,” he said.



“That’s why he threatened to beat me even harder and blackmail me,” I said, a little angered.



‘Yes,” Jack said.



“That Rob would stop at nothing to hurt me,” I said, upset. “I don’t know why he’s out to get me. I’ve been nice to him.”



“Maybe that’s why. You’ve been “nice” to him. Maybe if you weren’t “nice” to him, he’d stop treating you badly. You need to stand up to him,” Jack said. “Kick his ass!”



“I’m scared to,” I admitted again.



“So, you’re just gonna cower in fear of him every time he’s around?” Jack asked me hotly.



Jack made a lot of sense. I was tired of living in fear of Rob. I was tired of the beatings, the taunting, and the threats.



“You make a good point,” I said.



“I know I do,” Jack said.

Jack said,” Come to my dorm. I’ve got something to give you.”



I followed him to his dorm. His dorm was fixed and cleaned since the day after it was trashed.



“Close your eyes.” Jack said. I did. “”Hold out your hands.” He said. I did. A few seconds later, he dropped things that felt like DVD’s into my hands. “I want you to watch these. Give them back to me tomorrow. Now open your eyes.” I opened them up.



When I saw what Jack had given me, I understood. He gave me Enough, with Jennifer Lopez, The Next Karate Kid, with Hilary Swank, What’s Love Got To Do With It?, with Angela Basset, and, Nightmare On Elm Street 4, with Lisa Wilcox.



“There is a theme going on with these movies,” Jack told me.



I told him I got the theme. These movies were about kicking ass!



I thanked him. I went to my dorm and watched Enough. Enough was about a woman who was being abused by her husband and she trained in self-defense classes, and at the end, she stood up to him, and kicked his ass! Then, she pushes him off a stair balcony, and he dies. The thing is, she was originally a sweet woman who’d done nothing to deserve his beatings. That sounded really familiar. One line that stuck with me was, ‘Self-defense is not murder.”



Then, I watched The Next Karate Kid. In this movie, a teenage girl learns karate and beats up a guy who is taunting her. She says to her sensei, “I’ve gotta do this for myself, or I’m not gonna respect myself.” (Right before she beats up the guy)



I then watched, “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” In this movie, Angela Basset plays Tina Turner, who is being abused by her husband, Ike Turner, played by Laurence Fishburne, and gets fed up and does Buddha to center herself, and then fights him back and divorces him.



Then, I watched, Nightmare on Elm Street 4. Alice’s friends and close brother is killed by Freddy Krueger. She gets their powers, and uses her brother’s martial arts to do some karate on Freddy, kicks his ass, and kills him. This movie and Enough spoke the most to me, maybe NOES even more, because I think of Rob as Freddy Krueger



To me, Rob is like Freddy Krueger, and George is like Jason Voorhees. Freddy is plain evil and Jason is only scary. Freddy kills people in their dreams, so there is basically no way to run away from him, besides staying awake, but sooner or later, you will fall asleep. Jason is scary, but you can run away from him, because he kills people only in the real world. Plus, he walks real slowly. Freddy can manipulate your mind, even in “good” dreams. I’d much rather deal with George, the “Jason,” than Rob “The Freddy.”



I finished watching the movies. It was around 11 something when I finished watching the movies. I microwaved a frozen pizza and ate it. I took a late bath. I was about to go to sleep, when I saw my cell phone ringing. When I saw the name calling, I saw it was Max!



I happily picked up the phone.



“Hi, Max,” I said.



“Hi, Dave,” he said, with the warm, lively, tender, voice I had heard so many times.



“Where are you now?” I asked him. “I missed you so much.” I was overcome with relief.



“I’m in Florida,” he said.



“Are you coming back?” I asked.



“Yeah, I got your messages,” he told me warmly. “I’m going to come back.”



“When?” I asked.



“Soon. What’s going on with you?” Max asked.



“Well, Rob is now threatening to blackmail me and beat me three times as hard as usual if I don’t drop out of the protest.”



I told you that protest would bring you trouble,” Max said, a little scolding.



‘Max, I love this protest! It’s something very near to me,” I said. “And it caused a ruckus in our relationship,” I added melancholy.



“I was just trying to protect you by signing the petition,” Max said.



“I know,” I told Max.



Max breathed heavily into the phone. He seemed to be thinking really hard.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked him.



“The protest.” Max said. “What is Rob trying to blackmail you with?” he asked.



“The cocaine addiction,” I replied.



Max whistled. “That’s a big thing to blackmail you with.”



“I know,” I said.



“You know,” Max started,” You should stand up to Rob. You’re always afraid of him. Don’t let him push you around.” That sounded very familiar to me. The other 9 had said basically the same thing.



“I don’t know how to,” I said.



Max said, “Listen. I’ll make you a deal. If you stand up to Rob, I’ll come back on Friday. If you don’t, I’ll come back…..eventually.”



Max trapped me in a corner with an ultimatum. “Okay, I’ll stand up to him,” I said.



“Good. You promise?” Max asked me.



“Yes, I do,” I promised him.



Max said, “Hey maybe we’ll be saying those words to each other in the near future.” He sounded happy.



I blushed. Max had implied that we might be getting married in the future.



“Yeah, maybe we will,” I agreed.



Max asked, “No more secrets between us?”



I agreed. “No more secrets.”



I soon said, ‘I love you.” He said, “I love you to. See you soon,” Max said. We chatted for a few more minutes, and then we hung up the phone. I was happy that Max was coming back. I got ready for bed, and then I went to sleep.

 

[Karice]

Part 8

When I awoke, it was time for school again. I got ready for school.



Today was Thursday. The day I was supposed to drop out of the protest. I was nervous. I began to sweat a little. In between classes, I saw rob. I looked at him nervously. “Dave, today is Thursday, he said with an evil stare. “You have until 11:59 tonight to drop out.”



I laughed uncomfortably. “Okay, Rob.” I said, reluctantly.



He left. At lunch, I sat with my group again. “Today is Thursday,” I said. “Today, I’m supposed to drop out of the protest.”



“But, you’re not, right Dave?” Jack asked me. “You promised to stay here!”Jack said, pleadingly.



“I will. But I’m scared,” I said.



“You watched the movies, didn’t you?” Jack asked.



I said, “Yes, but I’m scared of him.”



Jack said, ‘You’re a wimp,” with a disgusted look on his face.



“I’m a wimp? Who had to save your ass every time you got teased?” I asked him hotly. “You were spineless,” I hissed.



“Bitch!” Jack screamed at me.



“Yeah, I’m a bitch! I let you sleep in my bed and I fed you cookies after your dorm was attacked!” I hissed again. I was angry with Jack.



Rodney said, “Dave, Jack stop fighting! We’re supposed to be a united group!”



I glared at him! “Rodney, shut up! Stay out of this!” I hissed at Rodney.



“Oh, says the guy who stole money to feed his cocaine addiction!” Rodney spit at me. “You’re dishonest, Dave.”



“Yeah, I’m dishonest!” I hissed. “Ooh, Jack, I’m in pain. I have to take care of my non-existent stomachache just to get away from you!”I said, bitingly.



Rodney glared at me. “Shut up, Dave! At least I don’t attempt to drop out of a dedicated protest just because I’m too much of a sissy to stand up for myself!” He yelled, pissed.



That was it! I went up to Rodney and punched him in the face! He got angry and punched me in my mouth! One thing led to another, and we were on the floor, giving each other blows. Rodney kicked me in my stomach, and I punched him in his temple.



“Stop!” Jack said.



Todd picked me up and held me back. Steve picked up Rodney and held him back. Rodney and I tried lunging at each other, but Todd and Steve were incredibly strong, and tightened their grip on us!



Todd told me, “Don’t fight Rodney. Rodney is your friend. You don’t want your friendship to end like this. Take a deep breath. Let the negative feelings you are feeling go away with that breath. I took a deep breath, and let it out, but I still felt violent.



“I want to rip off Rodney’s head!” I screamed emotionally.



Rodney had taken a deep breath too. “Try it, and I’ll kick your ass straight to hell.” He told me angrily.



“That’s it! Neutral corners!” Todd said. Todd dragged me to one corner of the dining hall and looked at me. “Listen,” he started,” I know you’re feeling frustrated about what Rob is doing to you. You just have built up emotion in you. You’re fed up with it, so you looked for an outlet to deal with it. But, Rodney is your friend. You shouldn’t use HIM to let your frustrations out. Go punch a pillow. Go scream at the top of your lungs. Go punch an actual punch bag. Todd looked at me with caring eyes.



“Do you understand me?” He asked. I nodded.



“Let’s go apologize to Rodney,” Todd told me softly. I walked reluctantly towards Rodney.



Rodney had spoken to Steve too. Rodney and I stared at each other with shy, reluctant eyes. We bashfully stared at each other.



Steve asked, “Is there something you want to apologize for, Rodney?”



Rodney looked at me, even more shyly. “I’m sorry, Dave,” he said.



“You have anything you want to say to Rodney?” Todd asked me.



“I’m sorry, Rodney. I accept your apology,” I said.



“Now, hug and make up,” Todd said.



I walked a few more steps towards Rodney and gave him a forgiving hug. Rodney hugged back.



“Is the fight over?” Steve asked.



“Yes,” we both said, still hugging. We were both smiling.



‘Good,” Steve and Todd said.



We sat back down.



Jack said, ‘I’m sorry too,” he told me. “I shouldn’t have taunted you.”



I looked at Jack. “You know, it really hurt me when you called me a bitch.”



Jack looked at me shyly. “I was just upset,” he confessed. “You’re not a bitch, I’m sorry,” he apologized.



‘And you’re not spineless,” I told jack. You’re a very strong person. In fact, I think you’re a very strong person. You stood up to rob when I would have just faltered."



Jack said,” Hey, I learned from the best,” winking at me. “You stood up to my tormentors and ate lunch with me, when you knew that it would be frowned upon. And, I haven’t forgotten that you let me sleepover with you on that night.” He smiled at me. “Thanks, Dave.” He added.



“You’re welcome,” I said.

 

[Karice]

Part 9

"Hey, you guys wanna protest tomorrow?" Jack asked. "Dave was supposed to drop out today, so it would be good for Rob to see him still protesting."



We all agreed.



We finished lunch, and did our assignments, and then we went home.



I did some homework and ate a snack. Then I cleaned my dorm. While I was cleaning, I found a gift that Max had given me for my 15th birthday.



It was a teddy bear. I hugged the teddy bear close to me. Max was coming home to me tomorrow. Max was coming home tomorrow. I was happy. I felt incredibly content when I held the teddy bear in my arms.



I finished cleaning the dorm. After I was done, I watched some T.V. I watched Twins Get fired episode of Sister Sister. In this episode, Tia becomes an assistant manager, at a fast food restaurant, and then Tamera accidentally gets her fired because she left the freezer door open and ruined a lot of food. Tia took full responsibility for tamera's accident.



After that episode, I realized that I had not given Jack his DVDs back. I got them ready, and put them in my hands and walked to Jack's dorm. I knocked on Jack's dorm. I knocked on Jack's door. Jack opened the door. He let me come in. Jack looked apprehensive again.



"Jack, what's wrong?" I asked him.



"Nothing," He lied. He looked stiff and cold. "Here's your DVDs," I said. I handed them to him. He took them and put them on his dresser.



"Thanks," he said, woodenly. I knew something was bothering him.




"Jack talk to me," I begged him.



"There's nothing to talk about," he said, robotically.



I put my arm around him to comfort him, and he flinched.



"Please, Dave, leave me alone," he said. He looked troubled and scared.



'What happened to you, Jack?" I asked.



"I don't want to talk about it," Jack said.



"What's "it?" I asked.



"Nothing," he said.



"Come on, talk about it. I'm not going to judge you, whatever it is," I said.



"I didn't want it to happen," he said, wobbily.



"What didn't you mean to happen?" I asked.



"Dave, it was horrible," Jack said, kind of avoiding the question.



"What was horrible?" I asked him.



“He came into the locker room and forced himself into me. I screamed “NO!”, but he laughed and wouldn’t stop. He kept thrusting into me, and I ended up bleeding,” Jack said, shaking and shakingly.



“You were raped?” I asked, with concern.



“Yes,” Jack said, and then burst into tears. “I think I might have deserved it because I’m gay.”



“Just because you are gay, doesn’t mean that you deserve to be raped.” I told him firmly.



“Dave, I feel horrible.” Jack said. He looked so lost and confused.



“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I told him. “Come here,” I said wrapping my arms around him. “I love you Jack. I’m here for you,” I told him, comfortingly.



Jack hugged me back. “I didn’t ask for it to happen,” he said. “It’s not my fault,” he said, obviously trying to convince himself.



“It’s not your fault,” I confirmed him. “Who did it?” I asked.



“I don’t remember,” Jack said, looking at the ground.



“Come on, don’t play that game with me!” I yelled urgently.



“Okay, it was Johnny Woods,” Jack said.



“Johnny Woods is gay?” I asked, shocked. “I always thought he was straight.”



Jack said, “I don’t think he’s gay. I think he did it to humiliate me.”



“You were a virgin before getting raped, right?” I asked him.



“Yes, Jack said, sorrowfully. “I always thought I would lose my virginity to someone I cared about and was in love with. My virginity was stolen, not given. "He looked grieved.



“I think we should get you checked. We should get you checked for AIDS and other STD’s,” I said. “You never know what you could have caught."



Jack burst into uncontrollable tears. “I don’t want STDs,” He sobbed.



“It’s a big possibility,” I said. “You need to get yourself checked.”



Jack said, “I don’t want to know if I have STD’s.” He said this reluctantly.



“You don’t want to know if you have an STD.” I asked him, incredulous. “How about when you meet that special guy, the love of your life, and you and he have sex with each other, and you unknowingly give him an STD?” I asked him, solemnly.



“Okay, I’ll go get myself tested,” Jack said, reluctantly.



“You’ll have to go tomorrow to our school clinic. It’s free if you go there.” I told him.



Jack said, “Will you come with me?” He looked so innocent, just like a child. He reminded me of how he looked after his dorm attack.



“Sure, I will,” I said.



“Okay,” Jack said, looking slightly grateful.



Do you still want to protest?” I asked.



“You know, I’m not sure if I want to protest anymore,”Jack said softly. ‘It’s caused a lot of problems for me. Look at what happened to my dorm a while ago.”



“That happened BEFORE the protest, remember? In fact, I suggested that we do the protest after that happened,” I said.



“Yeah, Jack said, but it turned you into a liar and got me raped.”



“I was already a liar before the protest,” I admitted lightly. “When I was a cocaine addict and Dean Riley saw some cocaine, I lied and said that it wasn’t mine and that I didn’t know whose cocaine it was. He believed me. Then, a few days later, he caught me snorting it, and I lied and said that it was baby powder.”



Jack giggled a little. “You said that you were snorting baby powder? Who would fall for that?” he asked.



“You’re right, he didn’t fall for it, and sent me to drug rehab. At drug rehab, I lied again. I said that I wasn’t a drug addict and didn’t know why I was there.”



I continued. “After rehab, I lied to this school and said that I was on a vacation in the Caribbean. I lied to Max too about the “vacation.”



“Most recently, I lied about being an asexual. I told people I didn’t like boys or girls, knowing full well that I am gay. I lied when I said that Max and I were “Just friends.” I’m a compulsive liar. Randall was right. I do seriously need help. Just like you do. You and I both need help,” I told Jack.



“I don’t want to be made fun of,” Jack said. “I don’t want to go public with what happened.”



I said, “You need to come forth. You need to see that Johnny gets what he deserves,” I told him seriously.



Jack agreed that I had a point. I looked at Jack’s green eyes and red hair, and thought of all the crap he’d been put through.



“You wanna tell the other 8?” I asked him. He looked at me with conflict in his eyes. “I’m not sure. They’ll probably look at me with less respect if I tell them. Maybe they’ll think I’m nasty,” Jack said, with reluctance and doubt. He looked at his bedspread.



“Hey, they still accepted me, after I confessed that I was a liar and a thief. I’m sure they will still accept you,” I said, reassuringly.



Jack said, “I’m not ready to talk to them yet.”



“It’s okay, take your time,” I said.



Jack said, “You’re a real good friend.” He looked at me gratefully again. Just like he did when I sat next to him at lunch that day.




“You’re a good friend, too,” I said. I smiled at him.



“You wanna sleep here?” Jack asked shyly. I knew he wanted me to protect him.



“Okay,” I agreed. “Just let me get my stuff. I’ll be back in a minute,” I said.



“Okay,” Jack said.



I rushed over and got a few stuff and then went to Jack’s dorm. I took a shower in his bedroom and he and I watched some T.V. together.



“Dave, do you think it’s wrong to be gay?” he asked me.



I paused. “Lots of people think so, but it’s who we are. We can’t help it. I don’t think it’s wrong,” I answered.



“When did you first find out that you were gay?” Jack asked me.



“I figured out I was gay at 10 years old. I romantically liked my classmate, named Jimmy. Jimmy was nice, sweet, and hot. I fantasized about being jimmy’s boyfriend. Jimmy got a girlfriend named Sarah, and I was jealous of Sarah. I wanted Jimmy to be mine. They graduated elementary school, still dating.



“Then, in middle school, I had a huge crush on a guy named Peter. One day, he and I went to an ice cream shop and we were just hanging out and pigging out on ice cream. I thought he was gay too and I felt a connection between us. He leaned into me, so I went forward and kissed him on the mouth. He looked disgusted and punched my lights out!! He turned out to be straight! Oops! I had kissed a straight guy!” I laughed, self-depreciatively.



Jack giggled a little. “That’s a big oops! So what happened after that?” he asked me.



“He told a lot of people in our school what had happened, and there was a rumor that I was gay. The rumor was true, but I denied it. I lied and said that I had kissed him because I had nothing better to do. They believed me, but Peter, my now ex-crush, never wanted to be alone with me again.”



Jack laughed.



“So, Jack, do you romantically like anyone in our group?” I asked him mischievously.



Jack looked very shy and looked at his bedspread again. "I think Todd is cute," He said shyly. "And very nice."



"You have a crush on Todd?" I asked him.



"Yes," Jack said shyly.

 

[Karice]

Part 10

“You want me to hook you guys up?” I asked him, knowingly.



“I don’t wanna ruin our friendship,” Jack said, reluctantly. “If we were to date, and then break up, I doubt we could go back to just being friends.”



“I’m sure you could,” I said reassuringly.



“I don’t know,” Jack said, uncertainly.



“You want me to tell him that “someone” in the group likes him romantically?” I asked him.



“Okay,” Jack said. “Just don’t say my name.”



“Okay,” I agreed.



I got serious again. “About the rape, you should probably have Johnny expelled,” I said.



“I’m scared to.” Jack said.



“Do you want him to do this to some other poor sucker?” I asked. Jack looked at me sharply. “No offense,” I said.



We chatted like good old friends late into the night, and then went to sleep.



When we awoke, it was Friday. I went back to my dorm and got ready for school.



At lunch, we protested again. This was a big protest, I wasn’t even supposed to be in this protest. Jack looked at Johnny nervously. Johnny gave him a lewd sneer.



We began talking about how gays were no different than straights. We talked about how we should be given respect and rights. I added, “We don’t like EVERY guy we see.” We protested a little bit longer, and I saw Rob look at me with an, “I told you to drop out of the protest,” look. He got up and begun to chase me! I ran out the door.



Rob chased me to the main hallway. He chased me up the stairs, all the way to the third floor roof! I was on the edge! If I took two more steps forward, I would be fall of the roof to the hard ground, dead or seriously injured.



I was overcome with emotion. I turned around and fell to my knees. “Please Rob, leave me alone.” I begged. “You’re gonna make me fall. “ I was begging him for mercy.



Rob gave me an evil smile and said, ‘I told you to leave the protest and you didn’t. Now, I’m going to make good on my threat.” I got off of the ground.



Rob lunged at me like a maniac, and I moved out of the way, and Rob went over the edge! “Nooo!” He screamed in surprise and terror as he fell.



I looked down and saw that he had landed on the grass, not ground. He lied on his back, in pain.



I took the elevator down and rushed to him. “Are you alive or dead?” I asked him stupidly.



“Alive.” He said sarcastically. I wanted to leave him there. Leave him there to suffer. But, I couldn’t. I have a weakness. I can’t bear to leave people in trouble. I have to help even rotten people out. Even Rob and George. That is why I couldn’t leave George drowning in the swimming pool.



“Help me, Dave,” Rob said. “Don’t leave me here.” I wanted to run. But, he looked so troubled. He kind of looked paralyzed.



“You could have killed me!” I exclaimed. "You tried to force me off of a damned roof!” I screamed at him.



“You’re a bitch!” Rob yelled at me!



“You’re a maniac!” I screamed at Rob.



Rob groaned. He looked like he couldn’t even move. I called an ambulance for him. The ambulance came in a few minutes and paramedics put Rob in a stretcher.



“Bye, Rob,” I said, giving him the same evil smile he had given me so many times. I think he gave me a FU face.



I went back to classes. I did some assignments, and between classes, I asked the clinic staff if they would stay open after school to check Jack. They agreed. I spoke to Jack on his cell phone. He agreed to come.



After school, Jack and I went to the clinic. I held Jack’s hand as he filled out some paperwork. “What if I caught an STD?” Jack asked me nervously.



“If you caught an STD, they can treat it for you if caught early.” I told Jack.



“What if it’s AIDS?” Jack asked me, sorrowfully.



“You will not have AIDS, Jack,” I told him. "You will have HIV, and they will give you medicine to treat it. It will not turn into AIDS until years later, and the AIDS is treatable too,” I continued.



Jack gulped and gave the paperwork in. In a few minutes, a doctor drew his blood and Jack looked scared. I held his hand again. It was over in a while.



After drawing Jack’s blood, the doctor said that he would have Jack’s results on Monday.


Jack looked nervous, but said, “Okay.”



We left the clinic a little later.



We went to our dorms.



At the dorms, Jack saw Johnny. I saw fear in Jack’s eyes.



“Leave Jack alone,” I said. “I know what you did to him. You raped him. You stole his self-esteem.”



“You bitch!” Johnny screamed at me. “You’d better not tell anyone what I did!” he hissed at me.



“Oh, I’ll tell everyone that you are a gay rapist!” I exclaimed. Johnny growled angrily and begun to strangle me! “I’m not gay!” Johnny exclaimed emotionally.



Jack took Johnny’s hands off of me. He then said, “Johnny, I might have AIDS because of you!” He looked livid! “You stole my virginity! I was saving my virginity for someone special, and you effing stole it from me! Now you’re strangling one of the only people to be by my side at all times!” Jack looked even angrier! He pushed Johnny, and Johnny fell backwards to the floor! His head cracked on the ground. There was already blood seeping out.



Jack looked scared, and begun to run away! I followed him. “You can’t leave him there!” I exclaimed.



“I don’t want to get into trouble,” Jack said, looking scared. “I think I might have killed him,” nervously.



Jack ran again. I firmly grabbed him.



“You’re not going anywhere Jack. We’re gonna go call ambulance for Johnny,” I said, firmly.



Jack reluctantly went back to Johnny and called ambulance. I took some napkins to stop Jonny’s bleeding and pressed them against his head. The ambulance came in a few minutes.



“You’re a jinx,” the paramedic said to me, when he saw Johnny. He put Johnny in a stretcher. “First it was the boy who almost drowned in the pool, then the boy in the grass, and now this.” He pointed to Johnny. He tsk-tsked.



He drove off with the ambulance.



Jack said, “I think I’ll go to my dorm now. “



He looked troubled. "Goodbye, Dave. You're a good friend." he said.



I got a weird feeling. Something told me to go follow Jack.



I quietly snuck into his dorm. I saw Jack take some rope and begin to put it on his neck. "This way would be so much better," he said, in a depressed tone.



"Jack, what are you doing?" I asked him, shocked. Jack looked at me in surprise. "Dave!" he exclaimed. I walked up to him and untied the rope.



"Jack, you seriously need help. You are obviously a very disturbed person." I wrapped my arms around him again. "Come on, I'm taking you to my dorm. I'm not letting you out of my sight," I told him soothingly. I took him to my dorm.



Jack looked full of grief. "Dave, I just want peace. You don't know how much torture is inside of me. I'd do anything to get rid of the inner torture," Jack said, sorrowfully.



"You poor baby," I told him grieved. "Go to sleep," I told him. I gently touched his face.



Jack soon fell asleep.


I called Dean Riley on the phone. “Dean Riley, you gotta come quickly. Jack tried to kill himself!” I yelled, urgently. “I need to get him checked into a psych ward. "


Dean Riley asked, “And you saw it with your own eyes?” he asked.


“Yes,” I replied. “I saw him throw rope on his neck and talk about being tortured.”



“Dean Riley asked, “Did anything traumatic happen to him recently?”


“Well, he was raped,” I told Dean Riley.


Dean Riley said, “I’ll be right over there.”


In a few minutes, Dean Riley came knocking on my door. I opened the door.


Dean Riley looked at Jack worried. “Is he okay?” he asked.


“No,” I said. “He’s really tortured.”


“Let him sleep,” Dean Riley said. “But, watch him like a hawk. Tomorrow we’ll help him out.” I agreed.


I spent a sleepless, restless, night watching Jack. He looked so at peace, when he was sleeping. He looked as if he had no more torture.


On Saturday, after the sleepless night, I felt horrible and sleepy. I woke Jack up and Jack got ready for the day. I did too.


“You wanna talk about what happened yesterday?” I asked him softly.


Jack looked at the ground. “You ever have so much pressures that you just want it to stop? You ever have an inner burden that was so heavy, you could barely walk? I do,” Jack said. “I just want the burden to be lifted.”



“Jack, I don’t want you to die,” I told him. “You seriously need help. I’m taking you to a mental hospital.”


Jack smiled ruefully. “The hospital is not going to stop the voices in my head, telling me that I’m a bad person.” I’d do anything to shut them up,” Jack sad, sadly.



“Wait, you have schizophrenia?” I asked him.



“Yes,” Jack said. “The rape and pushing Johnny and the gay-bashing at this school is just making it worse,” Jack said, looking at me with tortured eyes. “The voices just won’t leave me alone,” he cried emotionally.



“Are you hearing them now?” I asked him.



“Yes,” Jack said. “They’re telling me that I deserved the rape. They’re telling me that I am a bitch for what I did to Johnny. The only time I don’t hear the voices is when I’m sleeping,” Jack said.


No wonder Jack had looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. “Jack, you need help. I’m not going to sit down here with you, knowing you’re suicidal,” I told him firmly.


“But, I don’t WANT to die,” Jack said, emotionally. “I just want to be free from the voices.”


I felt sorry for him. He was so tortured. “Jack, I’m here for you,” I said again.


“Jack, I know something that will set you free from those voices, in a safe way,” I told him.


“You do?” He asked me. He looked at me, so trusting.

 

[Karice]

Part 11! The Final Part!

“Lie down on the bed and close your eyes,” I told him. He did. I took some rope and tied his hands and feet together.




“Dave, what’s going on?” He asked me in confusion.




“I’m going to help you,” I told him. “I’ll be right back,” I promised him. I took some money and went downstairs. I went to Mr. X, my ex-drug dealer.




“Hi, Mr. X,” I told him shyly. Mr. X looked shady. I couldn’t believe I was back with him.




“Hey, my former loyal customer,” he said with a smile. “It’s been a while since you bought cocaine from me. So what brings you here?”




“I need to buy Rohyphenol,” I told him.




“So, you trying to get lucky with some girl?” He asked me, mischievously.




“No,” I told him.




“Hey, what you want to do with roofies is your business, not mine,” he said, winking. He went into a building and came back with roofies. I paid him and thanked him.




I went to a vending machine and bought a can of Sunkist. Jack told me that was his favorite soda. I opened the can of soda, and put the roofies in them. I then went to my dorm and gave Jack the roofiekist.




“Drink this, Jack, “I told him. “It’s your favorite,” I told him.


“What did you put in this drink?” Jack asked me suspiciously.


“You trust me, don’t you?” I asked him.


“Yes, I do,” Jack said.


“I would never put something in a drink that would harm you,” I told him lovingly. “Drink it. This Sunkist will make you feel a lot better,” I said.


“Okay,” he reluctantly said. I put the can to his mouth and he drank it.


Soon, Jack begun to look disoriented. “What did you do to me?” Jack asked weakly, before drifting into a deep sleep. He was zonked out. I quickly untied the ropes and called Dean Riley.



I told Dean Riley that Jack had taken sleeping pills to die. Dean Riley panicked and had Jack rushed to the ER at Jacksonville Hospital. I had jumped in the car with Dean Riley too. Dean Riley took him into the ER room, and filled in paperwork. I held Jack’s hands as we waited to be seen.


Dean Riley talked to me. “You know, you’re a good friend to care this much about Jack.


I smiled self-consciously. Soon, Jack’s name was called. He was still knocked out. He awoke in the hospital room.


“Dave, Sunkist,” he said, and then drifted back to sleep. He was checked and he had his stomach pumped. We were told that he had to stay overnight. Dean Riley and I left in a little while.



On Sunday, we visited Jack at the hospital again. Jack was happy to see us, and released.


To me, Dean Riley said, “This was an obvious suicide attempt. I am taking him to Jacksonville Mental Health Hospital, right now. Poor Jack. He seems to be such a nice kid.” Dean Riley truly did look sad.


Dean Riley drove us to JMHH, and there was more paperwork to fill out. I held Jack’s hand as we waited for the doctor. Soon, a doctor came to admit Jack. The doctor and Dean Riley chatted. Jack and I chatted by ourselves. “Thanks for saving my life and giving me a safe option to the torture,” Jack said, smiling at me.


“You’re welcome,” I told him. “You’re gonna get the help you need,” I told him.


“I love you, Dave", he told me, and then gave me a big hug. I hugged him back. “I’ll visit often,” I promised him.


“Okay,” Jack agreed.


The doctor chatted with Jack and me next. Soon, Dean Riley and the doctor chatted again, and Dean Riley gave the doctor money to take care of Jack. They chatted a little more, and then Dean Riley and I went back to Marshall Johnson.


“That was a good thing you did for Jack,” Dean Riley said.


“Thanks,” I said. I went to my dorm. Max had not come back. I called him. He told me he would come on Monday. We chatted, and then I went to sleep. When I awoke, I ate and gathered the other 8.


I told them what had happened to Jack. Not about the rape though.


“Poor Jack,” Rodney said. “I didn’t know he was so tortured,” Rodney lamented.


Todd said, “Do we have to be disqualified now since there are only 9 of us?”


“No, I said. “Jack didn’t drop out of the protest. Just because he is in the psych ward, doesn’t mean that he isn’t still an active member. He is. He is just a silent and unseen member.”


We should go visit him,” Sam said.


“Uh, there’s something I should tell you about Jack,” I said, uncomfortably and hesitantly.


“What?” Sam asked.


“He was raped by Johnny Woods,” I answered. Everyone gasped in shock.


“I’ll kill Johnny!” Sam said angrily. “No one messes with our baby!” He looked and sounded vehement.


“Johnny is in the hospital, with a cracked skull,” I answered him wryly.


“Lucky for him,” Sam said angrily.


“So, how did he end up with a cracked skull?” Rudy asked.


“He pushed Johnny, and Johnny fell,” I answered.


“Jack sure became a fighter,” Randy said.


“Yeah.” I said. “You wanna go visit Jack?” I asked.


“Sure,” everyone answered.



We all got special permission to visit Jack on Monday.



We went to sleep. On Monday, at lunch, Dean Riley escorted someone into the dining hall.


It was Max! Dean Riley looked at Max, unamused. Max looked sheepish.


“Hi, Max!” I said, happily. We ran to each other and hugged for a while.


A lot of people looked surprised. “We just missed each other!” I said.


Max had some suitcases in his hand. I helped him with them, and Max sat at our table. We all chatted, and Max looked around in confusion.



“Where’s Jack?” Max asked.


“Jack is in a mental facility. He tried to off himself because he got raped and had schizophrenia,” I told Max.


Max said, “Wow. Poor Jack. I hope he feels better.” Max looked sincere. “ So did you drop out of the protest?” Max asked me.


“No,” I said.


“So you stood up to Rob?” Max asked me.


“Yes. Now he’s in the hospital,” I said.


Max looked at me in surprise. “Dave, I didn’t know you were a fighter.”


“I….I…” I started. “Rob fell of a roof. I didn’t touch him,” I said, blushing.
“He had chased me to the roof, and then lunged at me, so I moved out of the way, and the rest is history. “Hey, you wanna take Jack’s place?” I asked Max. “The rules say nothing about substitutions.”


The other 8 agreed.


“Sure,” Max said.


“You wanna come with us to see Jack?” I asked him.


“Sure,” Max said again.


At 5.00 after school, we went by bus to see Jack at the hospital.


Jack looked extremely happy to see us.


“Hey Max. Welcome back,” he said to Max.


Max smiled and chatted with Jack. In fact, all of us did.


I asked Jack if he still heard the voices in his head. He told me that he was given pills to suppress the voices, and it was working. Jack looked at me sheepishly. “Thanks for saving my life, Dave. I think I’ve found the peace I was so desperately seeking.” He smiled at me. “I’m finally happy,” Jack said, looking serene.


I gave him a hug.


“You know, even though you’re in the crazy house, we still love you,” Todd said.


Jack gave him a sarcastic smile. “Thanks, Todd.”



Steve asked, “When do you think you’ll come back home?”


“Soon,” Jack said



We were there for another hour, and then we went back.


At Johnson, I did some homework, and Max came over.


“Hey, you missed me?” Max asked. “Yes,” I answered. We kissed for a long time.


“Where were you Max?” I asked him.


“I was with my family,” Max said. “I was with them all this time. The thing is, I didn’t get permission to leave the school. I just did. We needed to be separated from each other for a while. When I heard your messages, I knew we had to be together again, so I flew on a plane and got back here. ” He smiled at me.


“Oh,” I said, believing him.


The next day, Dean Riley said that the PBA would have to shut down because there was no president available. Both of the presidents were in the hospital. The pledgies were upset. I asked Dean Riley if I could fill in, and he reluctantly said, “Yes.” I became the temporary president, and had the pledgies do community service at the school, such as tutoring other students in math and Reading. The pledgies loved me.


George recovered, and took his place again as co-president. The pledgies were glad to take George back. George saved me for saving his life. Rob recovered a few days later, but ended up on crutches. He was too disabled to beat me up. I felt compassion for him, however I felt a little glad that he couldn’t hit me anymore.


Johnny recovered too, but got put in jail for raping Jack. Jack’s STD test came back with no STDS. Jack was elated when I told him the good news. The “straight” and other gay students found out about Jack’s rape, schizophrenia and attempted suicide, and visited Jack in the hospital. They brought him brownies and cakes.


Jack was happy.


The school united over Jack, and we gays won our rights, and the right to be treated equal with the straight people, and the right not to be shunned.

Max was given a week detention for leaving the school without permission, and soon, Jack was released and back in Johnson, and we had a big celebration party for him. We 10, now 11 all remained close friends. Jack’s actions was what had really won us the protest.


Jack called me his role model and told me that he looked up to me. I felt warm. Jack was just like my little brother. Look at what I had JUST wrote. One day, at Parents Day, my parents told me that I had a younger brother named Jack, and they had him adopted to the Wilson family, because they couldn’t afford to take care of him. They could only afford to take care of me and my older brother Ryan. So they had a closed adoption. He matched THIS Jack’s age. No wonder Jack and I had gotten along so well. Jack met his/our family, and our parents were delighted to see their estranged son. The Wilsons had come too, and they met my/our family, the Winstons.


The parent Wilsons and Winstons all caught up. All four were surprised to be meeting each other again.



All four of them had Jack transferred when they found out about the rape and attempted suicide.



We all kept in touch however, and Jack was transferred to Maxwell Andrews Academy.



A special P.S. Thank you guys for reading my story! :wub: