Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

Author:Robbie Michaels [Michaels, Robbie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Chapter 14

I WAS awake before Bill was in the morning, but I stayed in bed to be sure he wasn’t left alone to wake up in a strange place. It was a weekday, but I didn’t know what that meant for us today after the events of last evening.

We made our way to the kitchen and had breakfast, where I asked my mom what we should do that day.

“Go to school, of course.”

“What? Like nothing happened?” I asked.

“Yes, exactly. Life goes on. Embrace the familiar, the good, the routine. It will give you strength to deal with the bad stuff, the tough stuff.” She looked at Bill and gave him a hug. “You’re safe now, baby. We’re here for you.” I thought he might be cried out after last night, but he still had a few tears left, which he shed while she held him.

When we were ready she drove us to school. When we got inside Bill looked at me and looked so vulnerable. I wanted to hug him right on the spot. But I knew we were in enemy territory now and such common acts were now strictly forbidden.

Let me clarify one point: I didn’t hate being gay. No, actually I loved being gay. What I hated was the endless series of hoops straight people made us jump through to live in their world and not ruffle their superficial images of what life was supposed to be. If they were halfway decent people, they’d be making the effort to help us live as ourselves in the world rather than having to act a part that made us look like absolutely everybody else.

We looked at each other for a moment longer without speaking or moving. “If you need anything at any time today, you come find me,” I said in my strictest voice. “Agreed?”

He nodded and gave me a hint of a smile.

“Okay. Go dazzle ’em with your brilliance,” I said.

“Bite me,” he gently joked.

“Okay,” I said. “Tell me when and where and I’m there.”

He actually laughed that time, and for the first time in a lot of hours I felt a bit less uptight than I had been. Had either of us known that someone had overheard my response to him, neither of us would have felt very happy.

At lunchtime I was at my usual table reading when Bill arrived. That day there was no question of where he was sitting. He was sitting with me. He was at my table. Well, actually I guessed that for today at least he was at our table. We sat with our backs to the rest of the room, which seemed to send the message that the rest of the world should back off. Much to my surprise, the usual array of jock-followers didn’t try to sit with us. I guess that the intensity of our conversation seemed like something they shouldn’t interrupt. Who knows? I’m just glad that they left us alone.

Later in the afternoon I noticed people looking at me and then quickly looking away when I looked toward them.

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