Lugh

In 2007 it will be April 18. The date fluctuates a little but is always in April (near the end). I've never done anything for it either. My son has, which I find interesting. Lugh

Thanks Ieshwar, I'm glad you are enjoying the stories. I've considered revisiting these characters, but I've not made up my mind yet. It's good to welcome a new fan to the forums. Lugh

heh I've been wondering where the criticism is for a while, too. I'm not sure if people are even READING my stuff here lately cause no one comments at all -- good or bad. I think I wouldn't mind a "this sucks" comment here or there to let me know if I'm connecting with the readers or if I'm out in left field somewhere. Honestly I think I feel the weeds between my toes. Such is life. Lugh

lemme see... duct tape... for hems that come out just before interviews... for fixing hoses in the engine long enough to get to the shop... for miscellaneous things... like fishing up the keys that dropped through the water drain grate... and just because sometimes only duct tape will do.... remember silence is golden; ducttape is silver.

See and this is why guys should have kids! for the first 5 years of DC's life... when i had him with me his diaper/toy bag doubled as my "man bag". now we just share a backpack. and the stuff in it? heh.. well other than meds... first aid kit (including tweezers, scissors, needle, safety pins) current reading material for both of us hand lotion, hand sanitizer, condoms, lube, sunscreen, blistex, carmex, deoderant, razor tea bags, splenda packets my pda, cell phone, his gameboy, portable chargers, extra batteries trail mix and assorted candies multitool (the one with the bit attachments) assorted pens, pencils, paper, notebooks sudoko book(s) duct tape hum yep I think that about covers it, my watch hangs from my beltloop, my cards are in my back pocket, my cash is in my front pocket, and the keys could end up anywhere!

heh... well my muse is an ever-dead brain-sucking zombie! As for being put on the spot... hows about this... you write it. I have faith that you will do it more than justice because it's your baby and the ideas are in your head, you just have to get them out. Take some advice and write no less than 1000 words a day (on the average) and you will end up with at least two of the novels done by the end of the year and possibly a third. Trust me when I say this works. I wrote four in one year, and I know other authors who have written 2-4 novels in a year just by putting away 1kaday. Lugh

Ok it's fantasy. You make the rules. There could be a tradition passed down for generations that each child be named after something in nature with the belief that the properties of said item would give the child those personality traits. (this is for example only) Another thing you can do is use the "themed names" as family or clan names. Since there are faeries involved, the names can come from the faeries when the humans join their war. They have to be 'adopted' and this is one way to show that they belong. Then you can classify the names into "good side" and "bad side" and have the names reflect that: foxglove, liverwort, paradise, dolphin (yes it's a vine), trumpet (another vine), sunflower, honeysuckle, moonflower, pansy, daisy, morningglory.... lots of interesting options. Just some ideas.....

well, I don't know about everyone, but I have a list of people I keep on a disk that my sister is to notify upon my death. Some of them are people here.... I think it's up to the individual how they want it handled. Otherwise you may never know. Lugh

try these rules... I think they are better than most: Simple Writing Rules These aren't bad either. Personally I like to know what the rules are, that way I can break them, how ever it also helps to know what pisses off publishers/editors/agents.... those you don't want to break. Lugh

"Where it's ok to be gay," in my pants. "It's Raining Men"....in my pants. "All American Boy"...in my pants. "Humble Thyself" in my pants. "Do Virgins Taste Better" in my pants? "Drawn to the Fire" in my pants. and in honor of the coming holidays: "Jolly Old Saint Nick"... in my pants. "Rebel Jesus", in my pants. "The Drummer Boy", in my pants. and the sad thing.. I have more!

I'm guessing that orange/red/white is really a bad place to try and see a meteor shower....

Heh. I looked at that site too when I went to write this story. That's halarious! A lot of people don't know about this dark side of human's walk with religion (or anti-religion). It was something that I wanted to deal with in the Halloween story cause I didn't want to do a traditional "trick or treat" type tale. It wasn't a mistake! Honest! It was meant to be taken as the other things were clear to him, but they were taking his "truth" as false -- like some people will argue if the sky is blue or not. Heh. There is a festival held around May Day (May 1st) that has to do with fertility, as others around Midsummer -- not sure which actually has the Green Man running round rutting to fertilize the ground. Sacrifice was playing a part in a pagan festival around the time that Christinaity was spreading. He still believed in the ancient gods. He was dying by the ruling of the ancient gods. His friends were becoming more and more Christian as he grew up. Because of things in his life he never partook of the 'new' god's festivals or celebrations (Mass and the like) so the new god did not know him. The most pious (of the new religion) who were participatin in the pagan festival (Samhien) crossed themselves (like Christians would do in the face of evil). And those who had not 'taken up the cross' warded themselves as a good pagan would do. Thank you. Eh... maybe him being gay has nothing to do with anything else except the irony of the fertility festival, where he is forced to hide his true nature behind a mask while preforming the duties as required of him by his culture/religion. Yes, he died on the bonfire, as the Sacrifice. I'm glad you will never look at them the same way again... That was one of the points. Thank you for all the nice comments. Lugh.

Awww Thank you all. I thought for sure this story would go over everyone's heads, and I guess I'm not too wrong, judging by the lack of comment. Anyway, a little background on the story -- it is set in the time where christianity was just coming to the celts. So yes these are "christian people" but just barely so, I don't think conversion by "convert or die" makes for true believers. Anyway, it was just a piece of drivel in my head. I'm glad it made those of you who braved reading it think. Lugh

WHOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm in I'm in I'm in

Chapter next! It was late afternoon when Bentley showed back up at the Huntingdale home. Alex met him at the door and led him into the kitchen where Tina was cleaning up. Mark was called for, to translate, and Bentley was set at the table. "Where were you last night?" Alex asked, and Mark translated. "I might tell you but there is no way I'm telling him. He does not need to know all my business." Mark looked at Alex and told him that Bentley did not want to say. "Tell him he lives here now and he better get used to the fact." Mark turned to Bentley and said, "Why are you making this difficult? I don't think they want to harm you." "I just have no need for them to know where I was, or what I was doing. Tell them I went to a party after the game with someone from my class." Mark did and Tina looked between them, "What friend?" "This is getting ridiculous." Mark said by way of translation. Bentley looked right at Tina and said, "Randy." "Colt, get in here," Alex roared and Colton skidded into the kitchen a minute later. "Yes sir?" "Do you know a student by the name of Randy?" "Beckman? He plays football." "So it's reasonable to believe that Bentley went to a party with Randy Beckman last night?" "Yeah, we know he did. Last night before he went off with Randy and John Mark asked him if he would be needing a ride home and if he would be all right going off alone with his new friends." "And what do these new friends usually do after a game?" Colton shrugged, "Pizza?" "And after pizza?" "Well it's well known that the team gathers at one of their houses and goofs off. It's nothing serious." Alex looked from his son to Bentley and said to Bentley, "Why didn't you come home last night?" It went through it's usual translation and Bentley shrugged, "Because my ride was passed out on the floor and I couldn't find a phone." Tina laughed and Alex gave her a dirty look. "You couldn't find a phone?" Bentley shook his head. "I think we need to go and get you boys cell phones just for times like this so that can no longer be an excuse." Colton grinned and said, "Yes sir!" "Now what I really want to know, Bentley, is whose car is that you drove home?" "Mine." "Yours?" Bentley nodded, "Purchased this morning." "And how did you go about purchasing a car with out a signature from me?" "I put it on my card," Bentley grinned, "I may have to live here, but I do not have to have your signature for my purchases." "I think that the car is going back." Bentley shook his head. "I need transportation so that I don't have to ride the bus to school." "Then you will have to get a job to pay for the expenses related to the car." "The expenses are covered, and I didn't take a loan so I have no overhead. Why do I need a job?" "To learn the value of money." "Well then, I will take the job I was offered last week, which was why I needed the car in the first place." "And what would that be?" "Tutoring, it seems I am very smart," Bentley smiled, then got up. "I am also very tired and need to get out of these cloths since I have worn them over night." Alex looked at Bentley as if he was not sure what to do with him, then waved his hand in dismissal. Once Bentley was gone, he turned to Mark and Tina. "What do you think of this behavior? Is it typical of him?" "Not of Bentley sir, but I would say it's not all that far from what most teenagers do." Mark replied and Tina nodded. "Our boys are very well behaved, Alex, I don't think that Bentley is behaving badly, I just think that he is getting his feet wet in the world of adolescence." "Very well then, Mark, talk to him please. Try to explain to him we only want what is best for him." "I'm sure he knows that, sir, but I will be sure to pass it on. Also you might consider that Bentley has been making many decisions on his own for at least two years, including most of the running of the household in the past year." "I thought the butler, Thomas, ran the household, or oh what's her name.. Meghean." "Of course they managed the day to day affairs, but Bentley had the final say, including planning meals and seeing to it that the bills were paid." "How do you mean?" "I mean it was a fifteen year old's signature on the electric bill. He knows the basics of household management and can quite reasonably well cook, as Ms. Megean made sure he would not starve if he had to be left to his own devices. You will be pleased to find out that he knows how to run a vacuum and a washer/dryer too." Bentley went up to his room and changed his clothes, choosing something that would help to hide the hickey on his neck, then laid down and went to sleep. Monday, at school, Bentley went into his Marriage and Family class with his proposal for some changes to go over with his partner, then they went up to the teacher and she approved their changes to their lifestyle as they were simple enough changes. Then Bentley asked her if he could use a little of their 'savings' to play the stock market over the following weeks and add those winnings and losses to their final accounting. She said why not and told him to keep careful track of the stocks he 'invested' in. Bentley grinned and nodded, then they went back to their desk to prepare for the rest of the period. In gym, Bentley was dressing out when one of the other boys in the locker room noticed the line of hickeys on his shoulders. "So, Bentley, get lucky did you?" Bentley blushed. "So who was she?" "A gentleman never kisses and tells." "Oh? I bet we can guess if we try really hard. Was it Michelle?" "Who?" "The school slut, Michelle." Bentley shook his head. "Does she even go to this school?" another boy asked. Bentley grinned and looked into his locker. The chant of "Bentley has a secret." rose up among the boys as Bentley dropped his braided hair down the back of his shirt. Once gym started nothing else was said. However at lunch several people whispered among themselves about Bentley and his hickeys. Mandy found him sitting at a table alone in the corner. "Why are you sitting alone, Bentley?" "I don't know, just not much in the mood for company since last bell." "Oh, I heard you have a secret." Bentley blushed, "You know my secret better than I do." "Oh that secret. Well how would you like to dispel some of the rumor mongers?" "How?" Mandy stood up and held out her hand to Bentley who picked up his tray with his other hand. She led him over to the table where she usually sat with several jocks. "Boys this is my friend, Bentley." "Pleased to meet you Bentley," one very tall footballer said in a deep voice. Bentley looked at him and smiled. The jock stuck out his hand for Bentley to shake, "I'm Bart." "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Bart." Bentley sat as Mandy pulled him down and continued to eat his lunch. "So rumor has it you have a secret, Bentley," Bart said with a hint of laughter on his voice. "Yes, that's the rumor." "So, was she good?" "She who?" "She who marked your body with her mouth." "Oh, that she, um well, see I was always taught a gentleman didn't kiss and tell." Mandy laughed, "It's ok, Bentley, I don't mind if they know." Bentley then blushed more crimson than before, unsure of what to say to her. The guys at the table burst out laughing, lead by Bart, who of course knew he was the one who marked Bentley so prettily. "So, Bentley, are you going to be coming to the party this week?" "Um, I guess, I mean if I'm invited." "Of course you are invited," Bart teased him, "you're dating my little sister after all." Bentley looked from Bart to Mandy and back again, this time seeing the family resemblance. "Besides, you're in the top two, so you are automatically a jock, you just haven't found your sport yet is all." Bentley blushed some more and Mandy leaned over and kissed his cheek just as the bell rang. That afternoon Bentley went to the assigned classroom for languages tutoring to report to the young man in charge. "So, what language do you need tutoring in?" "I don't, Senora Mendez requested I come here and help tutor." "She did, eh, well you must be here for Spanish then." "Actually I can tutor German and French as well." "Sure you can." Bentley only smiled. "Just send them to me and you will see." In a matter of minutes Bentley had a group of wannabe Spanish speakers working on their workbooks at one table and a pair of German students at another. He was fielding questions from either language and responding in like. He had informed them that once they started they were not allowed to speak to anyone in the class in any language other than the one they were studying. After an hour and a half, it was time to go and Bentley just smiled at the senior who was in charge. The boy had been helping one student while Bentley had managed six. The following weeks flew by with schoolwork, which was easy and tutoring, which was even easier. Games on Friday nights and the after party where he would try hard not to get drunk, but still managed to do just that a couple times, and each time he would wake up sore in the oddest places and with hickeys along his neck and shoulders. Mandy was still covering for him at school and everyone, including the Huntingdales, thought they were dating. Bentley did not give them a reason not to think it. Soon it was time for homecoming and the dance that would follow the game. He dutifully asked Mandy if she would go with him to the dance, and she responded that she would be happy to if he would come to the Halloween party she was throwing the next night. He agreed. Over the next few weeks he spent time looking for the best costume to wear and finally settled on one that would be perfect if he could pull it off. The night of the homecoming dance he wore a suit, like most the other boys, and Mandy wore a nice dress, as the invites said semi-formal. Afterward they ended up going back to her house where Bart had come home earlier. He had not wanted to stay at the dance for very long. "So you want a drink?" Bart asked as they walked in. "No, thank you, I really just came in to say good night." Mandy smiled and winked at her brother. "Then come on in and say good night properly, can't have people see you kissing me on my door step." Bentley blushed. He knew Mandy was not the cause of his soreness nor his hickeys, yet, he hadn't been able to figure out who it was. Bentley of course came inside and Bart closed the door. "So what have you been doing with my sister?" Bentley blushed, "Nothing, honest." "Um hum, and should I believe you?" "Yes." "You know, Bentley, I can't figure you out. I know you and Mandy aren't really dating, because she tells me so, yet after the Friday night parties you are covered in hickeys, so that means you are seeing someone at least semi regularly. Now who might it be that my dear sister is covering up for?" "I don't know what you're talking about Bart." "Sure you do Bentley, you are bedding with someone on the team, aren't you?" "No." "Well I happen to know there are several boys on the team who would like to bed down with you." "There are?" "Yes, now are you telling me that you are not interested?" Bentley blushed. He was not sure who he was interested in the most, but Mandy was nice, then again so were several of the boys he had come across at the parties in various stages of undress with various partners. "Bentley, the team has come to the agreement that you are included in our little gang. We know you have been bedding down with one of us, but no one will say who. When you are ready to talk you will, or you won't, but you don't have to be afraid to say anything if you want to because, well, we have your back." Bentley nodded. "Thank you, but I'm not really sure what you are talking about." "You know if you want to come out to anyone, it's all right because we are here. No one at school will mess with you so long as we have your back, hell half the football team is heavily bi-sexual." "Half?" "Half." "Which half do you represent, Bart?" This time Bart blushed. "I will admit to at least being interested in boys." "Are you interested in me, Bart?" Bart nodded. "Will you be at this Halloween masque?" "Of course, Mandy might be throwing it, but I'll be there." "Good, if you can find me then you can do as you please with me." "If I can find you?" "Of course, I'll be in costume." Bart nodded, "It's a deal then, if I find you then I can claim you." Bentley nodded, then he kissed Mandy on the cheek and walked out. On the day of the Halloween party Bentley spent a good portion of the day getting ready. He had his costume ready and had been practicing the movements he would need to go along with the outfit. The morning of the party he went to the beauty shop that had been recommended by the costume store and had them braid his hair down tight against his skull so that when it was time to wear the wig there was no chance of his hair being seen. He had the funniest feeling that Bart would try to pick him out by his hair. The wig was of dark brown waist length hair, which was to be worn loose under a veil. The costume was simple enough to get himself into and it only took half an hour to apply the make-up and glitter to his stomach and face. Most of his face would be hidden by a veil. He glued the large ruby into his belly button like the lady had explained and had the rings on his fingers and toes. He even had his nails done so they were lacquered for the party. There was no way that Bart would be able to figure out it was him at the party. Wearing a long black cloak and some little slippers on his feet, he called a cab to take him to the party, a good fifteen minutes late. When he arrived he allowed Bart to assist him in taking off his cloak, then he reached up and patted the quarterback's cheek. The other boy's eyes popped out of his head and Bentley smiled, hoping the duct tape and falsies contraption he rented would work well enough to make Bart think he really was a girl. There were the fair share of vampires, zombies, and oddly enough, pregnant nuns, that one belly dancer stood out a little but not enough to be truly distracting. By the end of the night Bentley was sitting on one of the many chairs in the living room and looking at Bart and Mandy. He had spoken to neither tonight, other than as thanking them for hosting such a wonderful party. There had been no incidents of boys getting out of control with him and honestly he was a bit thankful that the football boys could be trusted around a girl when she was flaunting as much as Bentley appeared to be. Finally, Mandy came over to Bentley, as just about everyone else was gone, and sat down. "Did you have a good time?" Bentley nodded. "So why so down?" Bentley started to answer when Bart came over to his sister. "I don't guess the chicken shit showed up." "Why do you say that, Bart?" "I know I would have known him in any outfit." Bentley looked between them and was glad his veil hid his grin. "I still say he was here, maybe he left early." "He always stays to help out, but I've been outside and his car isn't here either. Some of the other guys said they never saw his car arrive tonight. Bentley tried to laugh but did not want them to know he was laughing at Bart so it came out as a gargled weeping sound. "What's wrong?" Mandy asked. "I don't have a ride home." "Why ever not? Did your date leave you?" Bentley just shrugged. "Well either Bart or I can give you a ride in the morning, if that is what you want. But neither of us are sober enough to drive tonight." Bentley just nodded again. "Where should I sleep then?" "Look around, I'm sure you can find a place that is not too crowded. I'll get you a blanket." Bentley looked up at Mandy, "Can I sleep with you?" She smiled and nodded. "Sure you can." The weeks after the party passed with no consequence and soon it was Thanksgiving. Bentley found out that Alex's family usually gathered with Sarah and her family at Grandpa Huntingdale's house to celebrate the holidays. While Edward's and Cathy's families went to Victoria's home for the holidays. For some reason this really upset Bentley to know that they had been gathering for holidays and did not bother to invite him and his Father into their celebration. Bentley put his foot down and refused to go to the Thanksgiving celebration hosted by Percy. Alex could not force him to go, no matter how much he tried, and when they left that morning to head to Percy's Bentley stayed home, alone with Mark. Not much happened as Bentley was grieving for his father. Mark worried that he would be worse at Christmas time, and made sure to let Alex know that when they came back from Percy's. Bentley spent the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas studying and hanging out with the people he was beginning to bond with when one day Bart came up to him and slammed him into the wall in the boys bathroom. "What was that for?" Bentley demanded. "That's for knocking up my sister." Then Bart proceeded to beat a stunned Bentley senseless. Some other boys found Bentley later in the hour and took him to the nurse's station. "What happened?" Nurse Betty asked him when he regained consiousness. "Someone seems to think I got someone else pregnant," Bentley said although his jaw hurt terribly. "And who would that someone be?" "I don't want to say. He's in error, and this would only compound it." "In error, eh? I would say so." "Do I have to stay here or do I get to go home?" "A parent has to sign you out." "No they don't, read my file," Bentley tried to smile. It was one concession he had wrangled from everyone, that he be able to handle his own affairs at school. He might physically be a minor but he was responsible for himself for quite long enough before coming here. tbc?????

Chapter Next! "You know Mark, I think I would like to purchase a car this weekend, do you thin you can arrange insurance and all for me?" "I think you should talk to Alex about this first." "I don't think I need to ask any thing if I want t spend my own money." "He may not see it that way, Bentley. He thinks he needs to help you with managing your money, I heard him on the phone with some investment companies." "Well he will soon learn that I have full access to my own monies and there is nothing he can do about it and I'll invest it as I see fit. I have already informed Father's financial advisors that the money was to remain invested as it is, unless they feel it should be moved, and I expect them to take no one's word for how I want my money distributed except mine. They should know that I know what I'm doing as I have managed my own accounts for the past four years." "I know that, they know that, and you know that. Alex does not know that. He sees you as a child who needs guidance." "Even if I don't want it?" "Especially if you don't want it." "Well then, I think I shan't ask and just go purchase my own vehicle as I do have enough money in my personal savings to cover the cost of one mid-sized anything I want to buy." "Do it your way Bentley. I know you will anyway." "Thank you, I'm glad I can be predictable if nothing else." Friday came and Bentley was subjected to his first pep rally. It wasn't as bad as he thought it might be, however it was an experience he wasn't sure if he wanted to repeat. That night the three Huntingdale boys did their best to convince Bentley that he should go with them to the football game, because 'everyone' did it. Bentley was not sure if he should go, but Mark finally convinced him that he should, at least once. With a sigh, Bentley agreed and off they went. The game was a home one and it was against a team their school was favored to trounce soundly. The five sat up in the stands, surrounded by other kids from their school for the first quarter, then Colton and Payton wandered off to greet friends and get themselves drinks and things. Soon it was just Bentley, Xander, and Mark sitting there, then Daniel came up, greeted them, and he and Xander took off. Bentley felt very out of place and very unsure of himself as he stood up, told Mark he wanted to go get a drink or something, and asked him if he wanted anything. Mark did not. Bentley walked down the track headed toward the refreshment stand when he saw several boys headed under the bleachers. Curious, he headed under behind them. Anything would be better than the game. He was a short distance away when one of the boys was slammed against a support, "Now you're going to get it faggot since your boyfriend ain't here to protect you!" one of the other boys growled. The boy sobbed. There was the sound of fabric ripping and Bentley could not take it any more. He knew the odds were very much against him, but his sense of responsibility for people would not let him just walk away. "Leave him alone," he said just loud enough to be heard. Two of the nearest boys turned around to see who or what it was speaking to them. Bentley only smiled. "Who are you talking to, pretty boy?" Bentley did not recognize any of them, but that did not stop him from responding. "You." The nearest two were on him before he could blink, but his training took hold and he had them laying flat of their backs before they could think straight. The other two boys who were still holding the boy whom they were trying to attack split and ran, leaving the boy behind. Bentley walked over to him and picked him up off the dirt where he had been thrown. He was weeping. "Shhh. It is going to be just fine, they will not hurt you." The boy did not say anything; he just flung his arms up around Bentley's neck and held him, still sobbing. Finally the words came, "Randy's going to kill me." "Randy?" "On the football team, he's going to kill me for getting caught alone, he told me not to come if there wasn't someone with me." "Who is Randy to you? Your brother?" The boy blushed a deep crimson. "Ummm, no." "Then?" "He's my boyfriend," the boy murmured. Bentley stood as if pole axed. Of course living in southern California he knew of homosexuality, but he had never really dealt with it up and personal. "So the other boys wanted to hurt you because you are the boyfriend of another boy?" The boy nodded. "Do you want to come sit with me for the rest of the game so they cannot hurt you?" "You don't mind being seen with me?" he asked. "Of course not, let's get you straightened up and we will go get something to drink. Mark must be worried about me by now." "Mark," the boy said hesitantly, "your brother?" Bentley smiled mysteriously, "Eh, something like that." The boys had ripped his shirt but he was wearing a light jacket that he just zipped up over it as they exited from under the bleachers. Several kids saw them and some hooted and made other noises, which caused the boy he rescued to blush profusely. "What's the matter?" Bentley asked. "They think that we um... under the bleachers... you know..." Then Bentley blushed. "Will Randy harm you if he hears that particular rumor?" "No, he trusts me, and I can always show him my ripped shirt as an explanation, however he will want to hurt the other boys." "Do you know them?" He nodded. "Well, I can't stop you from retaliation, but I can tell you it's not especially necessary." "Why not?" "Because they think you will, they will fear. Even if they don't know they will fear, they will. That is a better retaliation than actually fighting with them." Bentley grinned. The boy grinned, "I'm John by the way, I don't think we had a chance to exchange pleasantries." "Bentley." "The Huntingdale?" "Yes, I'm one of the Huntingdales." "Wow, you should hear what Randy says about you." "I should?" "He was quite impressed that you held your own against the jocks in gym. You're not a jock are you?" "I'm not really sure what you mean by that." "Do you play sports?" Bentley shrugged, "A little tennis, but never competitively. My father and I never stayed in one place long enough." "Is that all?" Bentley nodded. "He's going to be surprised." They stood in the queue and got their drinks, then headed back up to the stands were Mark waited. Directly following the game, John asked Bentley if he wanted to go over and stand with him until Randy came out of the locker room, then perhaps he could come with them to the after-party. Bentley let Mark he was going and told him if he needed a ride he would call. Mark nodded and drove the other three Huntingdales home after the game. Bentley stood awkwardly with John outside the locker room waiting with a bunch of girls and one or two other boys who seemed to be there with either girls or blushing profusely when they saw Bentley. Bentley was not sure why though. He considered his social skills to be very good but this one night at a football game he was beginning to understand that his peer interaction really did need some serious work. "It's all right if you don't want to go, I mean, Randy and I will understand." "No, I do, it's just... "Bentley hedged, "I've never been to an after-party and I'm not really sure what I should be doing or expecting." John laughed, "You'll see." "That's what I'm afraid of," Bentley muttered as the football players started to trickle out. John saw Randy and called him over. The boy from Bentley's gym class walked over toward them. Bentley offered congratulations before Randy could ask what he was doing here. Then John wrapped his arms around Randy and gave him a hug. Randy looked at John, curious as his lover rarely showed his affection so openly although they were both very much out at school. Then he realized that John was crying. "I do believe he's had a rough evening, Randy." Randy looked at Bentley then at John and pulled John away from the others to speak with him. John stammered out the entire story. Randy called Bentley over and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," he said very softly, "just thank you." Bentley nodded, understanding. "John says he's invited you to the after-party." "So it seems, although I don't know what to expect." "Well, first we go out to eat, then we go to one of our houses and, um, get drunk or laid, or both." Bentley blushed. "Still want to come?" "Well, I can honestly say I've never been drunk." Randy laughed, "Well then there is a first time for everything. You can ride with us, unless you have your own transport." "I can ride with you." Randy grinned from ear to ear and took John's hand as he lead to his pick-up. John sat in the middle of the bench seat as they headed to the nearby Pizza place. Bentley realized it was a common practice for the team to go there after the game as it was mostly empty, but had several pies sitting up, getting ready for the onslaught. He took a chair at the table with Randy and John and was soon joined by several other boys and girls, sometimes singular and sometimes in pairs. The pizza was good. Bentley felt awkward sitting among these peers of his who obviously knew each other well. However, Randy and John wouldn't let him feel that way for long as Randy made sure that everyone knew that Bentley had scored in the top two percent of the physical fitness test, a position usually only held by the members of the school's various teams. In fact that test was so important that the captains of the various teams had best be on it. The others cheered Bentley's efforts. This praise caused Bentley to blush. After the food, Bentley rode with John and Randy to a house that was a mile or so from where the Huntingdale's lived. Inside the house, several students had already arrived and he was handed a cup when he walked in the door. He sipped it and sputtered. "What is this?" he asked Randy. "Beer. Never had it before?" Bentley shook his head. "Then don't drink too much, it will go to your head." He winked and John laughed. "Seriously though, mingle and all, we are here if you get lost or lonely, or if you want to go home." Bentley nodded and watched as Randy and John wandered over to speak to someone else leaving him standing there like a fish out of water. "I know you don't play football, and I'm not so sure you are a groupie, so what are you doing here?" a voice asked him from behind. "Randy invited me," Bentley said softly, looking unabashed at the boy who spoke. The male in front of him stood at least two inches taller than Bentley and was well muscled. "Randy, eh? Then you must be Bentley. Welcome to my home. I'm Mike." "Thank you Mike." "Since it's your first time would you like the fifty cent tour?" Bentley nodded and Mike proceeded to show Bentley around his home, leaving no door unopened. When they were finished, Mike took Bentley's cup and got him a new one, this time of pop. Bentley thanked him and went outside to join the bulk of the other teammates who by now had heard how Bentley had saved John from a sure beating and perhaps something worse. Bentley was not sure what was in the pop, but after about his third cup he was beginning to not care. Bentley was not sure where he was, or what time it was, he only knew he was not alone as there were whisperings going on around him. "I thought Bart was queer." "I know he is, maybe he decided to give a girl a chance?" "I don't think so. It would be very odd if he did." "Hey have you guys seen Bentley? I've got to get home and I promised I would take him, but I've not seen him in a couple hours." "Bentley?" "Yeah, a bit over six foot, well built guy with long blond hair." Randy explained as he moved into the room to see what ever it was that the others were looking at. It appeared at first glance to be Bart, the quarterback, in bed with a girl with long blond hair, only none of the girls who were at the party had hair that long, or that blond. The parts of Bart's playmate showed a hairless, well toned leg and a nice ass and back. "Never mind I think I've found him." Randy said softly and started pulling the others out of the room. "That's Bentley?" one of the girls asked once they were in the hallway outside the guest room. "He's gorgeous." Randy nodded. "That he is, and I'm positive he isn't aware of it." "Why is that?" another asked as they took their discussion downstairs. "You all know Xander Huntingdale?" Nods around the group, Xander was a fairly popular senior. "Well, from what he told me about his great-uncle Bentley, he had been raised by his father who was rather old, in fact he died this summer, causing Bentley to come and live with Xander's family. The only other people in the house were a couple elderly servants. Bentley just doesn't know." "I bet." "So what should we do about it?" "I don't think we should do anything about it, seems that Bart has done his part though." Randy snickered and John punched his arm playfully. Bentley finally woke up the rest of the way as realization seeped in concerning the night before. Something had happened, it must have because he was in bed with a boy. A boy who was moving beside him. Bart woke up. That was it, first he was asleep and now he was awake. He was aware of a body beside him, but he could not for the life of him remember who it might be. He had gotten totally wasted the night before. He looked up and all he could see was a cascade of blond hair. He sighed. He knew he wasn't drunk enough to bed a girl, at least he didn't think there was enough alcohol in the world to get him drunk enough. It appeared at first sight he was wrong. This stranger he had beded was snuggled up against his side, head tucked under Bart's chin. Bentley could tell by his bed companion's breathing that he was now awake, only Bentley wasn't sure if he should move yet or not. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep he would go away. Maybe. So he rolled over and sprawled across the other side of the bed, allowing him time to escape. Bart felt the movement before the other one moved, it was a slight brushing of genitals against his thigh, and that was when he realized he had beded a boy, a very pretty boy. Bart smiled to himself and once he was released he escaped from the bed, gathering up his clothing as he left the room. The hallway was clear so he went to the bathroom to get dressed. A few minutes later he was downstairs with the others who had spent the night, helping to clean up. Randy pulled him aside and asked him if Bentley was up yet and Bart shook his head no. Randy smiled and headed up the stairs without another word. If he knew Bart, then Bentley would need some help getting himself up and dressed this morning. Bentley was sitting on the side of the bed when Randy walked in. Randy smiled when Bentley pulled the sheet across his body. "So, how are you feeling this morning?" "I don't know." "Can you walk?" Bentley nodded, and looked at his clothing in his hand. "Are you all right?" "I don't know. I don't remember what happened last night, but I ache in places I shouldn't ache." "Well, Bentley, how do you feel about boys who love boys?" "Homosexuals?" Randy nodded. "I don't know, I mean, I've never really thought about it. I grew up in southern California so it's not like I'm not aware." "Do you disapprove?" "I came here with you and John. Do you think I would have come if I disapproved?" "No, but I had to ask. It seems you spent the night wiht one of my best friends, and if you were going to be angry about it then I wanted to know." "Spent the night?" Bentley looked at the bed then at Randy, "or do you mean 'had sex with'?" "I wasn't here so I can't say for certian that you had sex, however from the way you are talking this morning I would say it safe to say that perhaps you did. Besides you don't get hickeys from not having some sort of sex." "Hickeys?" Randy pointed out the love bites that were on Bentley's neck and shoulders. "Mark is going to kill me." "Mark?" "It's a long story." "Lover?" Bentley shook his head. "Well then why is he going to kill you?" "It seems that I have gone and lost my virginity and I swear I don't recall it happening at all." Randy laughed and Bentley glared at him. "It's not funny." "No, I guess it's not but I would assume that is how quite a few girls feel after one of these parties." Bentley had to smile at that comment, "Well at least I don't have to worry about if I'm pregnant." "Come on, let's get you cleaned up. Heaven knows I've helped John get himself together in the mornings often enough to know what to do." And together they headed to the bathroom where Randy took care of Bentley. Bentley got a shower and dressed and as soon as he had his hair mostly dry he headed downstairs to face the other students. He wasn't sure if he was angry or not at whomever he had slept with, feeling that the other boy should have known that he was drunk and not done it, but if the other boy had been as drunk as he was, the Bentley thought he could be excused. However he really didn't want this to get around, especially to the Huntingdales. He was having enough problems with his great-nephews and them finding out he had slept with a member of the football team would not go over well, he thought. And he probably would be right. Then again he could be very very wrong. "So here comes sleepy head," one of the boys said as Bentley came down. "Did you want some breakfast?" The mere mention of food caused Bentley's stomach to cinch. No he didn't want any food, at least not right now. A couple people laughed. "Don't feel bad Bentley, most of these guys didn't want food first thing when they woke up either, now grab a bag, I think some fresh air might do you some good." Bentley could only nod and grab a bag as he followed the girl outside. "They call me Mandy, but my name is Miranda, just so you know." "Pleased to meet you Mandy." "So, you are Bentley. You know Colton keeps talking about you." "He does?" "Yes, my best friend is the girlfriend of his best friend and she hears all the gossip at lunch. I'm not sure how much of it to believe." "It's gossip so I would assume that not much of it is perfectly true." "Ah yes this is true, however there are some things that just bear asking. Like Colton says you do not speak English, but German, yet here we are having this conversation and I understand it perfectly well." Bentley blushed. "Alex said he would send Mark away when I learned English, so I don't speak it at their house." "So Mark is special to you?" Bentley shrugged, "He's my friend." "Just a friend?" "What do you mean?" "Bentley we all saw you in bed this morning..." "All of you?" "It won't get talked about after today unless you bring it up, but there is a cost." "A cost?" "Of course, it's simple really, just don't out him at school." "His who?" "You mean you don't know who you were in bed with?" Bentley shook his head. "Well then we just won't mention it. If you don't remember then you can't out him then can you?" "I would think not." She smiled and they spent the next little while quietly picking up the trash in the backyard until John came outside to let Bentley know it was time to go if he wanted a ride home. TBC

Chapter Next! Bentley discovered he had reason to worry the next day in gym where he did have to dress out. It was not so bad at first, everyone was intent on getting dressed, or undressed in a hurry to get out on the exercise floor before the whistle blew. Bentley changed out of his jeans and oxford, he couldn't quite bring himself to wear a tee-shirt to school like his great-nephews, and pulled on the royal blue shorts and the gold shirt that made up the school gym uniform. His athletic socks were the ankle high variety and his trainers a not too expensive brand, in his own mind. Today they would be doing an assessment to determine what all they would need to be working on to build up their muscles. Not sure what to expect Bentley filed out with the others and began stretching with a few of the other boys, who all appeared to be jocks. The whistle blew and they lined up on the floor as they had been instructed the day before. Bentley was in the center of the group, near the front, but not the first one in the column. The coach put them through their paces with simple exercises designed to loosen them up. Exercises that most the boys had been doing since kindergarten, but that Bentley had no idea how to do, beginning with the jumping jacks. He stood there watching the others until he figured out the motion, but by that time, the coach had seen him not participating and moved over to get in his face. Bentley tried to explain that he had never done a jumping jack before in his life but the coach was not hearing it. He yelled. Eventually he stopped, as all the other boys had stopped having finished their number of jacks. Bentley said very softly, "But sir, I am physically fit, I just don't know how to do these exercises." Some of the boys laughed at him, imagine a boy not knowing how to a jumping jack! Bentley just stood there and took it. He knew he was not athletic; it did not bother him. He was fit, that was the important part, and he could remain fit even by not taking physical education. "You need this class to graduate, young man." "Yes Sir, it is the only reason why I am in this class. I will learn. Please teach me." The coach did not know how to respond to Bentley, not knowing if he were being a smart alek or if he really did not know how to do the jumping jacks. Because he was so unsure, he called over one of the jocks and had him take Bentley aside and teach him how to do the simple exercises. When the class finished the warm up, it was time to do the first fitness tests. The coach divided the class into smaller groups and his assistants were there to help administer the various tests. Bentley's group stayed with the coach who had them line up in twos and face off for sit ups. One doing the sitting up and the other doing the counting. Bentley was automatically paired with the jock who had been helping him. "I'll go first so that you can see how it's done." "These I know how to do, but you can still go first if you want." Bentley told him, so he did. The jock, which Bentley would find out later was called Randy, did his required two minutes of sit ups then it was time to switch. Bentley smiled and took the position. He had been doing these since he was a little boy. Following the example set by the jock, Bentley did as many as he possibly could in the time allotted, and when he was finished, the jock just stared at him. He had beaten his number by five, and he had done sixty. When the scores were recorded the coach looked at the jock oddly, but he just shrugged. "Bentley did them sir, I counted." The flex arm hang followed and Bentley managed to hang there for just shy of half a minute before his biceps cramped and he let go. The jocks hung for about the same length of time. Then it was time for push-ups. Again, the jock went first, forty-seven. Then it was Bentley's turn and he pulled off an even fifty. After push-ups, they headed outside for a mile run, four laps around the track. Bentley ran every day, but on a treadmill so this was unusual for him, but run he did and he came in second, to another jock with the one he had been beating regular close on his heels. He had managed a five and a half minute mile. The group headed back in for pull-ups. Bentley was beginning to tire so only managed twenty before quitting. The jock, Randy, did twenty-five. Then they were dismissed to go to the showers. Bentley was not sure if he had scored well on the test, but hoped he had. Once inside the locker room, the jock, Randy, came over to Bentley as he was stripping off his uniform. Bentley looked up and smiled at him. "So how did you do it? You don't look like you are all that?" "I'm not sure what you mean. I just did as requested of me. I'm sure I could have done better if I had known about this test beforehand." "You think you could have done better?" Bentley nodded. "So why is it that you didn't know what a jumping jack was?" "I've never done one before. My training program did not involve them. Simple as that." "What did it involve?" By this time they were moving toward the showers, "Mostly running and swimming, some lifting weights, things like that." Randy shook his head. "I've never heard of a school who ran gym like that." "It wasn't at a school, but at home. My father taught me up until last year when he passed away." "Oh sorry man." Bentley soaped up and washed his body. He would have to remember shampoo for his hair tomorrow as wetting it down would only make it look bad. "I don't believe it, you have at least a six-pack." Bentley smiled, "Yes, don't you?" He looked over at his companion who blushed and turned away so that Bentley could not see his front. "It's rude to look at someone else in the showers." Now Bentley was confused, Randy had looked at him, but it was rude for him to look back? He sighed, not sure if he would ever understand people, rinsed off, and exited the showers with his towel in hand. Later that day Payton had gym and he noticed that there were two Huntingdales listed, him and Bentley, then he looked at Bentley's scores and whistled. He would be tough one to beat. Unfortunately, no one in Payton's class managed to get even close to them. The night before Bentley had called a pizza delivery restaurant to deliver to the school one pie with everything at his lunchtime. He was waiting outside the building when the deliver guy arrived. It was prepaid for with his credit card. Bentley smiled and took possession of the pie and went over to the outdoor courtyard to eat his lunch. He only ordered a medium, unsure if he would make any friends today or if he would be eating it alone. While sitting outside he saw a couple kids from his spanish class and spoke to them in Spanish. They looked at him oddly then came over. "Where did you learn Spanish?" one of them asked. "South and Central America mostly but I spent some time in Spain too. The dialicts are very different in the various countries." "What were you doing in those places?" The guy asked as he sat down. Bentley offered him a piece of pie. "I went with my father as he traveled on his job. I think I've been around the world a couple times since I was two." "Two?" "Yes, before that I lived with my mother. It's a long story." "So why are you here now?" "I was forced to move in with my nephew because my father died this summer." "Your nephew? Would that be Xander Huntingdale?" "No it would be his father, Alex. Xander is my great-nephew." Bentley laughed, "It's a very long story, lets just say I was a late-life baby for my father." "I bet." "It's true." "So because you studied the languages abroad you skipped right over the first four years of Spanish?" "Yes. I think it's fair, don't you?" "You did know that we will be able to go to Spain this year for spring break." Bentley shrugged, "I don't really need to see it again. My father did a couple classes at the University of Madrid, going back would be... anti-climatic for me." "Wow he must have been smart." "He was." Bentley smiled and the bell rang and he had to go to his Spanish class where he sat bored out of his mind while the others attempted to translate the paragraph they were translating to English, he instead translated it to French, because he was bored. Unfortunately, the teacher called upon them to exchange papers to read aloud to correct. The student who got Bentley's paper raised her hand immediately. "Senora Mendez, I can't make out these words." "Is it the handwriting?" "No ma'am, it looks like... French." "French?" The rest of the class snickered. "Who's paper is it?" "Bentley Huntingdale's paper." "Bentley take your paper and read it to the class." "Yes ma'am." Bentley stood up and read straight from the paper in English. Since he had already translated it to French, he knew more or less, what it said. "That's not what it says on the paper, is it?" "Well, technically, the writing on the page is in French, but that is more or less what it means." "Are you telling me you translated the paragraph to English then to French?" "No ma'am, it was a direct translation from Spanish to French." "There are no French dictionaries in this class." "I didn't need one, most of these words are common enough." "Did you use a Spanish dictionary?" "No ma'am." "Bentley, what are you doing in this class?" "I don't know, ma'am, they put me in here." "Would you like to learn a different language?" "There isn't one here that I don't all ready know." "So you are just here for practice." "It seems so. I don't have the resources here to practice like I did at home, except my German." "So you know two other languages as well as you seem to know Spanish?" "Five ma'am, not counting English." "Five?" "Yes ma'am. French, Spanish, German, Arabic, and Japenese. I also know a smattering of Latin, as I had just started learning it before I had to come here." "Interesting Bentley. Come see me after school tomorrow I'll have an assignment for you that should keep you interested and busy." "Yes ma'am, and thank you ma'am." Bentley stood in front of the mirror on his third day of school and looked at his reflection. His pale blond hair hung down to his buttocks, but he kept it clubbed back or braided and tucked into his shirt so that so far no one had discovered its full length. It was not that he was ashamed of his hair, or its length, it was just that most people would never understand why he didn't cut it. Honestly, he didn't truly understand it himself, except that according to his father, his mother had enjoyed the length and texture of his hair and vowed to never have it fully cut. Of course it had been trimmed, all hair needed tended to, but it had not been shortened like so many boys his age. Add to that the fact it was thick and heavy like cotton, he thought it was one of his best features. Bentley had been told his eyes were his best feature though; especially by Mark who loved their gray coloring. He must have gotten from his father's side of the family as his mother had blue eyes. Then again, the way genetics worked it was difficult to determine how he got the gray eyes. Giving in a little to peer pressure, Bentley put on a pull over shirt, with a pair of khaki shorts. He still wore his belt, socks, and shoes, unable to totally let go and dress as according to his age. That morning he walked into his Marriage and Family class to be handed a number by the teacher. It corresponded with a numbered desk, so that is where he went to sit. A bit later, the adjoining desk was filled with a skinny boy who smiled at Bentley. Once everyone was in place the teacher smiled at them all and greeted the class. "Today we will be beginning a project that will account for about fifty percent of your grade. Ladies and gentlemen, meet your 'partner'. As you can see we have some non-traditional pairings as does society." She looked around the room as some of the jocks snickered. Then began walking around the room handing out envelopes. "If each of you would open up your envelopes you will discover your individual jobs in society. You will have to decide between just the two of you which will come up here and get your beginning household information." Bentley looked at his partner and smiled, the other boy blushed. Then he opened his envelope. Inside it said he was a XXX and made thirty-five thousand dollars a year. "Well, what does yours say, since we are in this together?" the other boy asked. Bentley told him and the boy grinned, "This says I'm a lawyer and I make seventy-five thousand a year. That means together we have an income of just over one hundred thousand a year, I think we can live pretty comfortably on that if we are careful." Bentley raised his hand to ask a question, and the teacher called on him. "Exactly what is the point of this exercise?" "Well, we would be going over that shortly, but basically you will be keeping a check book and a list of expenditures, and once a week there will be a 'financial surprise' which could be anything from winning the lotto to a sizeable bill. The couple who is able to keep themselves together over the term will have a surprise." Bentley smiled at his partner, "So who do you think should be the head of household?" "Well, I think that if I'm a lawyer, I will be pulling the most working hours, but you would have more time at home, so if you want you can." Bentley did not follow his logic, but nodded as he went up to get their household finances. When he got back to his chair he opened the envelope and discovered that they had quite a bit of overhead and frowned. "If there is anything you want to change, it is possible. Say you want to sell your house, or rent a new apartment, there will be 'listings' up here, you just put yours up for sale and choose another in your price range. I'll decide when your home sells and for how much. The only thing that will not change is your job/income." "Well how bad is it?" the other boy asked. "There are places on here where we can tighten up and lower our overhead if we try, with permission of course." "Do whatever you think we need to do to get out of this alive, I'll be honest, I have no head for money, so if you do, then by all means do it." Bentley grinned. "Well there are a couple expenses on here that I don't really think we need, so I'll ask if we can change some of our funds around." "Like what?" "College fund. If we are a same-gender couple then unless either you or I are going to be going to college, then we do not really need a fund. What we do need is a retirement fund. There are also some expenditures on here that we can dispense with since it seems we own our own home." "Like what?" "The two-thousand a year in gym fees. We can spend that much one year on equipment and have a home gym. Granted we won't have a sauna, but it says our house has a pool that we can use at least half the year." "Do you want to get together this weekend and go over what we would like to change over the next few weeks?" Bentley smiled. "Sure, just tell me where you live and I'm sure I can come over." "I'm Daniel Riley, by the way, you're the new Huntingdale, aren't you?" Bentley nodded. "Xander speaks of you sometimes, but he doesn't seem to think that you speak much English." "I don't, at home." Bentley grinned and the bell was over. For some reason Bentley was not looking forward to physical education that day. His intuition had been right in that he was in the locker room changing into his gym kit when the jock from the day before showed up at his side. "So do you think you can figure out what a jumping jack is today?" "I'm sure I'll have the hang of it before the week is out." The other boy laughed. "I think you will." Otherwise, physical education went with out a hitch, with his hair tucked up under his shirt until after when he had to shower. He remembered his shampoo today and lathered up his hair. He honestly hoped it would not mess up his hair too badly being washed twice a day. He would have to find a barbershop and ask someone. Nothing special happened until the end of the day when he had to go speak to his Spanish teacher concerning his special project that would hopefully get him out of the class with credit. She surprised him by asking him if he would like to tutor the lower levels in the language, for pay. "I don't really need a job, ma'am." "I'm not implying that you did, I just think that you would be the perfect candidate for the position. Usually we offer the tutoring positions to those students with the aptitude to teach the language. Honestly when I brought your name up to your guidance councilor, she suggested that you go on the list for all three languages." Bentley blushed. "It should be simple enough for a young man who passed the exams in a non-native language." "I guess I really should not have done that, should I had?" "You were fine, Bentley. This will help with the other problem they say you do have." "What problem would that be?" "Socialization." Bentley snorted. "Actually I think the proper term would be peer interaction, my social skills are excellent." "Call it what you want, it is still something they have decided that you need to improve your skills in." "Fine, what all is involved?" "Mostly making yourself available after school for the tutoring session that lasts about an hour. If you don't have a ride, I'm sure one can be arranged for you." "I can arrange one for myself, I think it's time I had my own transportation anyway." "You are one most unusual young man." "Thank you, Senora Mendez." And with that Bentley left the school to where Mark was waiting to pick him up, as he knew he had to stay late and would not be able to ride the bus home. TBC

Chapter 3? Alex was called two days later with the results of the exams that Bentley took, he had scored extremely high on the tests given to him, but there were a few things they wanted to speak to Bentley about before placing him. Alex allowed it, as it was getting near time for school to actually start and he wanted all the placing done before then, if at all possible. He thought school would be difficult enough with Bentley having a limited English vocabulary, in fact it was so limited that the boy had not spoken a single word in his presence, and neither his sons nor his wife had heard the boy speak any English at all. Bentley was calm as he was taken into the room to speak to the guidance councilor, principal, and other school personnel with the German teacher there as an interpreter. "Well, Bentley, you have done rather well on your exams, so well in fact we have a bit of a problem." "Problem? What kind of problem do we have?" "We have only one English as a Second Language teacher and he does not speak German. We need to decide if you will be attending this facility or another in the district that does have a German English as a Second Language teacher. The other problem we are having is that other than your lack of English skills we could find very little wrong with your test scores." "What she is trying to say, Bentley, is do you speak any English at all?" Bentley smiled and nodded when the question was translated. "Will this interview get back to my Nephew?" "Your Nephew?" "Yes ma'am, Percival Alexander Huntingdale, the sixth, is my Nephew, and my custodian until my eighteenth birthday which is just under two years from now." "I'm not sure I understand." "My father was his father's father, which makes me his Uncle, regardless of our ages. We have different mothers." The male in the room laughed. "A mid-life crises of your fathers?" "He preferred to call me 'the son of his dotage'." Bentley grinned. Then the women laughed. "This conversation will go no further so long as it does not need to involve your nephew." Bentley grinned, the spoke in perfect English with a slight Californian accent, "In that case, I have no problem speaking, reading, or writing English, as it was the first language I learned." They all looked at him in disbelief, then the principal laughed again. "So son, why are you going through all this trouble?" "Well, lets just say that I am rather fond of one of my employees and Alex informed me that the moment I had a decent grasp on the English language my employee would be dismissed." "So you are going through this deliberate hoax to keep your employee." "What hoax? He never asked me if I could speak English, he only assumed I could not as I spoke to my employee in German before responding to him in English." Bentley shrugged. "It could have been worse, I could have spoken to him in Latin." "You speak Latin as well?" "Passably well I would assume. There are other languages I know better as I really just started the Latin." "How long have you been learning German?" "I guess I was eleven or so when Mark joined our family, he is only allowed to speak to me in German, it's part of my father's language aquision program." "Was that your first foreign language?" "Heaven's no. Not even my second. My father believed I should be able to speak like a proper European businessman, who generally manage four or five languages." "Was that your father's field?" "No, he was an Anthropologist." There were looks between them. "Well we still have to decide how to place you, do you have any idea how difficult it is to score so highly on the exam you took, especially in the light that you took it in a language that is not your native one?" "I would suggest that we give him the English version of the exam just to get a true reading on him," the guidance councilor spoke softly. "What classes were you taking last?" "I'm not even sure. I had mostly things such as biology in theory. Father and I never really did experiments except to observe things, he said so much could be learned by mere observation, so that is what I did. I did have a math's tutor who taught me up through what I believe would be considered Calculus III." "That is a college level course." "Yes, all my extra tutors were graduate students who actually taught the classes at the university. Father insisted that if I had to be educated by someone other than himself then it should be someone who knew what they were talking about." "What is the most difficult thing you have studied?" "World History." "Why?" "Because my father attacked it from an Anthropologist's point of view and not from an historical one. I learned all the facts that most people know, but he wanted me to know the why's and how's and who's as well. It was very difficult keeping everything orderly in my mind." As it stood, Bentley took the exam in English and passed more than reasonably well, in fact there was little left for the school to actually teach him academically, however when Alex and Tina were called in for their conference with the guidance councilor, there was much to be said about Bentley's social growth. The Huntingdales were concerned for Bentley's stunted ability to manage his place in their family, and while the councilor did not think that Bentley's being home schooled was necessarily bad for him, academically, she was not certain about his social graces. Mark was not consulted for this discussion, and the powers that be decided that Bentley would be taking classes that would enable him to grow more socially, without loosing any of his academic skills. Later Bentley asked what had been decided and he was informed that he would be an upcoming junior along with Colton, who was nearly a full year older. Bentley asked flat out how many classes he would have to take to graduate, and was told sixteen. Two full years of eight classes each. With a sigh, he deflated and went to his room. A single year he would not have minded, but two was unreasonable. Totally unreasonable. Mark tried to talk to Bentley about his education and Bentley decided to inform Mark about how he was treated at the school, like some sort of freak because he was well spoken and because he could pass an academic exam given to him in a language that was not his primary language. "Mark, you know I can do the same in any of five languages, Father saw it was so. Now I'm being punished because they think I have no social skills, when you know that it just isn't so. I do have social skills, I've just not exercised them here." "I know you do, Bentley, Dr. Huntingdale saw to that too, but he is gone, and these two are your custodians as you prefer to call them." "I can't bear to think of them as guardians as if I need guarding." "Oh so you need custodial care?" Bentley gave Mark a dirty look. "Yes I need short term custodial care, don't you need looking after too?" "Bentley, I'm grown. If it weren't for my contract with your estate, which you can not break, I don't know what I would do." "You are my brother, Mark, you would really leave me?" "We were not raised as brothers and you know it. I was purchased to care for your needs." "All my needs?" Bentley smiled sweetly. "You know the extent of the contract I have." Bentley giggled. "I want to go shopping. I brought along my credit cards." "You mean you aren't going to ask for an allowance." "Why should I? I have more money than I could possibly spend in my lifetime." Bentley sat across the table from his great-nephew Xander, smiling at him. They were discussing how their first day of school went and while Bentley did not want to participate in the discussion, he did not want to appear to be rude and not listen in. Xander was a senior this year, and as such, he was allowed to leave campus for lunch. Colton was arguing the rules saying that what is good for Xander, as a senior should be good for say, the honor roll students. Xander was arguing that the honor roll students didn't always have a way to get off campus, but most of the seniors had their own transportation, even though Xander himself did not. Bentley did not have transportation here, but he had something that Xander did not, a driver's license. He had gotten his the day he turned sixteen after completing the required drivers education course at a local driving school. It was a full license not a provisional one, and as he was a resident of California and only going to school here, at least that is how he thought of it, because when he filled out his school papers he put his own residence down as his permanent residence with an explanation that he was under his nephew's guardianship until his eighteenth birthday upon which he would be returning home. The school had to take this at it's face value and allowed him to enroll with the documents provided by Alex. They had signed him up for some interesting classes beginning with Marriage and the Family, which seemed to be populated mostly by pregnant females and a few jock types, followed by gym, which wasn't really all that much of a problem, except that Bentley had never played any organized sports. Because he had his license, he was excused from the driver's education portions of the course, and instead had to take Human Sexuality for nine weeks. He then had fifth year Spanish, because they said he had to have some foreign language credits to graduate, and it looked good on his school transcripts and his last class was world history. It was a class he hated, but he would survive it. He did have the advantage though, as most of the students in the class had only heard of the places they would discuss, he had been to many of them. His hardest time of day had been lunch that first day. He did not see why he should pay nearly two dollars for food that was barely edible, much less not very healthy as most of it was fried. He did not know to whom to complain, but decided that he would have his food delivered if necessary. He might not be able to leave the campus, but by George, he could have something brought to him. Gym proved to be interesting, in that they were told they were required to dress in the school gym uniform, which he had to purchase, then because he had gym in a bell that was not the last one of the day, they had to shower. Normally, this would not be a problem, Bentley figured, as he had used Turkish Baths before, and in Japan, people commonly bathed together, whole families even. What did bother him was that the other boys in his class had not been to the Baths and did not have such a casual view of nudity as he did. Today they did nothing more than learn the rules, but soon, he would have to get naked with forty some odd boys in attendance and for some reason that frightened him. tbc

Chapter 2? Bentley used his key to unlock his father's study, then turned and locked it back. In the center of the room was his father's desk on which sat his father's account books. Bentley walked over and picked them up along with several other items and put them in the safe behind the sidebar. He knew there was no way his siblings could find their father's financial documents in there, nor his, as that is where he had been keeping them for the past months while his father's health deteriorated. There was no way for them to know that their father had been worth over two billion euro when he died, no way at all, nor that Bentley himself, with out the added assets that he gained today, was worth nearly half a billion on his own. It wasn't something that he wanted anyone to know, especially his extended family. Doubly especially now that he was being forced to go live with them. He would miss his care and fancy free life, but such as life, it must go on. Bentley understood this, probably more than most. When he was finished tidying up his father's study, he left the room again, locking it behind him. Then he went down to speak with the housekeeper about keeping it locked. Ms. Meagan was easy to find, and even easier to convince that the room should remain locked, only open for dusting and the like. She agreed that some things were best kept behind closed doors. It was barely four hours later when he stood on his doorstep for the last time, preparing to move on to a new and uncertain future. The chauffer was taking them to the airport, where they would board their flight after checking the two boxes that Bentley insisted he bring with him of his belongings at the cargo terminal. Alex did not know what was in the boxes, and he rightly did not care, anything to make the boy's transition from his grandfather's home to his own easier. Another hour had passed and they were passing through airport security when Bentley posed a question to Alex through Mark. "Where are we going exactly?" "Our home is in a small town about fifty miles south of Washington D.C., a suburb actually, if you can imagine a suburb being an hour's drive out." Bentley nodded and then looked at Alex again, "What about my schooling?" "We can always have your transcripts forwarded, Bentley, school will be starting in September. What grade are you in?" Mark duly translated and Bentley laughed, "I am not in a grade. I've had tutors my whole life." One of the teenagers picked up on this and looked at his Great-Uncle wide eyed, "You mean you've never been to school?" Bentley shook his head, "My father believed in a classical education based on world knowledge. I have been taught the practical applications of many things." "I don't believe grandpa would not allow you to go to school," Alex said finally. "It wasn't that I was not allowed to go to school, it was that school was brought to me, wherever we happened to be at the time." Alex looked puzzled and Mark interjected a few things at this point, including the fact that Bentley had traveled extensively and knew intimately several European and South American countries as well as at least one on the Arabic peninsula. Dr. Huntingdale was rather well revered in his profession and in the past several years since his retirement, he had traveled the world over more than once, taking his minor son, Bentley, with him. The boy was sitting in on college lectures before he had been formally taught his alphabets. Alex just shook his head again as their flight was called. Payton edged up next to Bentley, "So you're not afraid to fly?" Mark translated and Bentley laughed, stating he had more frequent flier miles stock piled than he could possibly ever use. The flight was a quiet one. Mark sat next to Bentley on one side and Xander sat next to him on the other. Mark had flown extensively the past few years as well, as he went everywhere Bentley went, and it would be a new experience for him to let the boy out of his sight for the required hours of school. Maybe if they were near enough a college he would be able to begin his work on his degree instead of having to wait until Bentley no longer needed him, as stipulated in his contract. They talked quietly on their cross-country flight, Mark and Bentley, after Xander fell asleep. "I don't want to go to a public school, or a private one for that matter, Mark." "I know you don't but it's expected of you as a young man of only sixteen years, and it would not be a bad thing to have on your resume for when you go to college." "I wish I could just go to college. Then I could go back home." "Yes, you could, but then you would not be getting the chance to know your family. Give them a try, Bentley, you may find you like them in time." "Don't plan on it," Bentley looked away, over the aisle to where his nephew, Alex, and his wife, Tina, sat. Colton and Payton were one row up on the same side as Bentley, so that if he leaned up he could speak to them if he chose. He did not choose. He did however listen to them as they talked, and learned quite a bit about his great-nephews. "Welcome to our humble abode," Tina said as they arrived to their home. "We really do welcome you Bentley, and you too Mark, although I'm not sure where we will be putting the both of you at the moment. Alex and I discussed several possibilities, though. Come on inside and we will talk." Bentley followed them inside, but preceded Mark who was smiling at his young charge. "You will be fine Bent, just fine." "One can only hope." "You will, honestly. You will see." "I'm not so sure I believe you, Mark." "You will have to. Only because if you don't who else will you be able to believe?" "I don't know and that is what frightens me the most." Mark laughed and followed the Huntingdales into their living room, which was right off the foyer. "I'm afraid I didn't get the chance to ask you, Bentley, but what accommodations were you expecting while living here with us?" Bentley looked at Mark, who translated, then Bentley smiled, "I would like my own room and I am accustomed to my own bath, but seeing the size of your home, I assume that would not be possible." He looked at his great-nephews, "and I really don't want to put anyone else out of their room, so what ever you have available would suffice." Alex guffawed at his answer when Mark repeated it back, "Suffice, eh? Well we don't have an indoor swimming pool, nor do we have some of the things you are used to, young man, like private baths for anyone except Tina and myself, but what we do have is a fairly decent bedroom you can share with Mark here until you learn to speak proper English." "What will happen to Mark when I do speak proper English?" Bentley inquired. "Well, I guess he can go back to California." Bentley looked at Mark and Mark smiled. Mark knew then and there it would be a long time before Bentley spoke any English in this household. To say that the next few weeks until school started passed smoothly would be not just an understatement but a downright lie. Alex decided that Bentley needed to be tested by the school for placement and had informed the public official that the boy did not speak English, but German. So when Bentley showed up for the testing a week later they had a German teacher present to begin administering the exams, in German. The exams were also written in German, which pleased Bentley to no extent. When he finished, Alex took him home and Bentley went up to his room, which he now shared with Mark, and which used to belong to Payton, who was now sharing with Colton. Xander, being the eldest, was the only one afforded his own room. Bentley had thought this unfair and at one point threatened to find his own apartment nearby, but Alex informed him he would not be allowed to do such. Bentley then informed the Huntingdales that when Mark was forced to leave, he was leaving too, and nothing short of taking his passport would stop him. It had not been a fun day for any of the adults involved. TBC

Chapter 1 Bentley read the name on the door of the building: Law Offices of Mackenzie, Nash, and Burton. He did not want to be here, but there was nothing he could do to get out of coming. His father had died barely a week ago and he had been hiding from his family since then. Well, hiding might not be the right word, he had been living in the same house as them for five days, but they did not know he was there. It was not difficult, really, just a matter of keeping certain areas of the house under lock and key and using the servant's stairs. It wasn't as if Bentley was unfamiliar with the stair, as it was actually closer to his room and went down nearly directly to the kitchens, thus much more convenient than the front stairs which was at the other end of the second floor hallway and deposited a person in the foyer. His father's family, he could not quite make himself call them his family yet, had taken over most of the second floor, with the exception of his room and the master suite, which he had requested of the staff to keep under lock and key. His room had a private bath, unlike the other guest rooms which shared a bath between them. He refrained from using the more common areas of the house, taking his meals in the kitchens or in his study where his tutor, John, kept him busy with a Trigonometry and Latin review. His manservant and apparently, adoptive brother, Mark tended to his personal needs and confounded the other Huntingdales by speaking very broken English at best and perfect German at worst. Bentley thought it was funny that the other Huntingdales spoke only English when his father had insisted he learn as many other languages as his head could manage. Of those he learned, he learned them well and practically. His father hired persons who natively spoke the languages he was learning, then instructed them that they were not to speak to Bentley in English for any reason what so ever. It worked. Bentley now had a nearly perfect understanding of English, a better than good grasp of German, French, and Spanish, and a working knowledge of Japanese, Arabic, and Latin. Bentley walked up to the receptionist and informed her he was there for the reading of Dr. Huntingdale's last will and testament. She smiled up at him and directed him to a medium sized room with several rows of chairs. The first five rows were already filled with the other Huntingdales. Bentley had not attempted to arrive early, but instead timed his arrival with the servants and Mark and they drove together. Mark arrived a moment after he did, as he had finished parking the car while Bentley walked inside. An older man stood at the front of the room and smiled as Mark entered, "It seems that everyone is here now, so we can begin." Mark took a seat near Bentley on the back row and smiled, trying to reassure the boy everything would be all right. The will was pretty straight forward at the beginning, the executor then skipped a few pages and went on to the bequeaths. "To my son, Percival and his wife Beatrice, I leave five million dollars, likewise to my daughter Victoria and her husband, Michael. To my four grandchildren and their spouses, I leave three million dollars per couple. To my ten great-grandchildren I leave each fifty million dollars in trust until their twenty-fifth birthdays. To Mark Rice, my adoptive son, I leave two million dollars and the terms of our contract to be paid by the estate. To my loyal household staff I leave one million dollars each. To Bentley, son of my dotage, I leave the rest to include the family home, all holdings, bonds, dividends, and personal property." A pin could be heard to drop at that time in the room, as Bentley sat in the back, tears streaming from his eyes. He had been afraid that he would not be able to keep the house, his home, especially, but now he had the means to keep it for a long time coming. The money involved was nothing to him, his father had been giving him an allowance since he was twelve that accounted to more than a million dollars a year with the stipulation that he had to invest the majority of it, and invest it he had. "There is also a clause in the will that stipulates it cannot be contested or the persons doing the contesting will loose their share of the monies. Now to the most important portion, the custody of Bentley Llewelyn Kismet Huntingdale. Dr. Huntingdale was not specific as to who would gain custody of the young man, but wanted you all to decide among yourselves." Bentley looked around in fear; this was his worst nightmare happening. He would be forced to move from his home for at least two years if Mark did not take him. Bentley nudged his mentor who shook his head. More tears began to flow and Mark put his arm across Bentley's shoulders and whispered to him in German that all would be well, this was how Dr. Huntingdale wanted it, and he would understand soon enough. There was some discussion among the other adults in the room which Bentley was doing his best to ignore when one of them came over to him, "Which of us would you prefer to live with?" Bentley shrugged then managed to answer, "It does not matter, none of you are Father." The man looked at him oddly, and Bentley realized he had not been speaking English. Mark gave him an odd look, then translated. "Does he not speak English?" Mark only shrugged, he wasn't sure how far Bentley wanted to take this little charade, but he was more than willing to go along with it, for now. "Can you translate what I'm saying to him so that I know he understands it?" Mark nodded. "I am going to take you to my home, Bentley, and you will live with my family, my sons. I don't know what my grandfather was thinking, but you are welcome with us." Mark duely translated and Bentley smiled a little and said thank you. "Will you come along with him until we have him settled and speaking properly?" he asked Mark, who nodded. "Then it's decided." With that the man walked back up to the front and spoke to the lawyer while his wife, sister, and cousins were still arguing as to who would take the boy. Alex signed the custody papers, then nodded to his sons who stood up to leave as he collected his wife. Mark stood up when Bentley did and the seven of them left the room, followed quietly by the servants who were now millionaires. It was a while later before the other Huntingdales discovered the object of their arugement had left, and there was no longer a need to argue as the situation had been settled. Bentley rode back to his home with Mark. "Are you going to let them know you speak English anytime soon?" "I don't know if I should. I don't know them Mark. I don't want to leave here. Will I have to go with them?" "I'm afraid so, Bentley." "Why couldn't you have taken custody of me? I could have stayed here and John would have kept up my studies..." "Dr. Huntingdale wanted you to have a normal family environment, if at all possible. He instructed me to not apply for your custody unless there was a serious problem between the others. Besides, the terms of my contract will keep me with you, as your loyal servant, for two more years, and there is nothing they can say or do about it." "Honest?" "I swear, you aren't getting rid of me yet." Mark grinned and Bentley attempted to smile. "Why did he have to die?" "He was an old man, Bentley, he knew it and I think you knew it as well. It was his time, no other reason." "But he didn't see me grown, he wanted to see me grown." "You may be only sixteen, but you are grown in more ways than most boys your age." Mark told him quietly as they neared Bentley's home. "So what are you going to do about the house?" "Convince most the staff they don't need to really leave, so that it will always be ready for me when I return, which will be often. They won't be able to stop me you know." "Well, shy of taking your passport and freezing all your accounts, they can't really make you stay with them either." "I hadn't thought about that. I could disappear for the next two years." "You could, but would you want to? Would your father expect that of you?" "No, he would expect me to do as I was told and to follow his wishes. I guess I will just have to go with my nephew and his wife to their home." He grinned over at Mark, "Do you think I could get them to call me Uncle?" "I think you shouldn't try." Mark said with a laugh, "but I bet I could get the younger crew to call 'me' Uncle." "Why did you never tell me that you were my brother?" "Because, Bentley, your father and I had a business arrangement. I have kept my part of the deal since I was ten years old. I expect you to keep your part of the deal as the holder of Dr. Huntingdale's estate. I won't bore you with the details now, but I'm not going to be out of your life for a very long time, if ever. I love you too much for that." "I love you too Mark, thank you for being there for me." "You're welcome, now let's go inside and get you packed up to go." They walked inside the house and the staff greeted their new young employer. Bentley smiled at them and had them line up like his Father had done so many times "As you all heard I am now the owner of this fine estate. I would like for each of you who live here to consider it your home for as long as you would like. I have to leave for a short while, but I want you all to know that I will return, just as before. I know Father had his ways of doing things, and right now, I do not want those ways to change. Please, all of you, go about your duties and be happy." With that, he accepted their congradulations and headed up the stairs to his room. There was so much to do, and so little time to do it. His great-nephew Percival the seventh met him on the way to his rooms. "Father said for me to help you get ready to leave, we have a plane to catch later tonight and he has managed to get an additional pair of tickets so that we can all travel together." Bentley shrugged; securing a ticket to where ever they were from was the least of his worries. He turned to Mark, "Can you and Thomas see to my packing, I'm sure you will know what I need better than I do. I think I will be going into Father's study for a while. There are some things I need from the safe." Mark nodded, then turned to Percival the seventh, "I will pack Bentley, can you go ask Thomas to assist me?" Xander, as Percival the seventh preferred to be called, only nodded and went in search of the requested servant. TBC

Ok guys I'm going to post this here cause I need some feed back. I like this story but it has some major flaws. If you are an editor, or a reader, or even reading this.... help me find them, suggest plot lines, help me get this story moving again. Thank you, Lugh Bentley Has A Secret Prologue Dr. Percival Alexander Huntingdale, IV, 90, of CITY, departing the living on Thursday at his residence, surrounded by family and friends. Percival was born, the third of four children, to the late Percival Alexander Huntingdale, III and his second wife, Mildred Elizabeth Downey Huntingdale of Phoenix Arizona. He attended Yale, studying Anthropology, and went on to earn his Masters and Doctorate degrees in the same field. At the age of twenty-four he married his college sweetheart, Miriam XXX CCC and began a family who bore him two children, Percival Alexander Huntingdale, V and Victoria Heloise Huntingdale Pritchard who each later married Beatrice Dawn Tatum Huntingdale and Michael Edward Pritchard, respectively. Later in life, after being widowed for some thirty years, Percival married again. Olivia Loiuse Yeats Huntingdale then bore him a single son, Bentley Llewelyn Kismet Huntingdale. A short time later, Olivia also passed on, Percival adopted an older child, Mark Antony Rice. At the time of Percival's passing his younger two boys are unmarried. Along with his children, Dr. Huntingdale is survived by four grandchildren: Percival Alexander Huntingdale, VI (Christina), Sarah Rose Huntingdale Barrington (William), Edward Alexander Pritchard (Jennifer), and Catherine Anne Pritchard Smythe (Charles); and ten great-grandchildren: Percival (VII), Colton, and Payton Huntingdale; Rachael and Kenneth Barrington; Annabel, Gabriel, and Michael Pritchard; Elsbeth and Gwyneth Smythe; and an adopted son: Mark Rice. Percival was a compassionate, giving, thoughtful and intelligent person who will be truly missed by his family, friends, colleagues and students. He donated his time and money to further explorations in science and humanities and was a member of many professional organizations such as the American Anthropological Association, the American Association of University Professors, Mensa, Free Masons, and others. Services will be private. Francis Gay Funeral Home is serving the Huntingdale Family. TBC

Nope, no background needed for the short fictions. I'm glad you liked it.

Virginia has it on the ballot too... lets not forget. Not so sure it will pass, but one never knows...

Kitty, I'm not sure which way I'm going yet, which is why I'm looking for input.. the more input the better. Thanks. Lugh

I'm considering working on a story soon that has dragons, but I need to know of some of the mythology surrounding them before I can begin... here is a short list of what I can think of off the top of my head... can you add to it? eat virgins fly although their size says they shouldn't be able to breath fire / acid / ice / other substance horde their 'treasure' live for 'eons' magical various body parts are used for magical ritual / healing (crossposted in blog / "land of the fey" forum)