JamesSavik

Mr. Campbell had Phillip ushered into his office and asked him, “So Phillip, how are you going to answer what qualifies you to be a counselor?” Phillip replied, “Absolutely nothing. I don’t even pretend to have all the answers but, unlike some of the boys, I’m not afraid to ask. I have a huge advantage over the guys with degrees and training. I’m not much older than the kids and don’t intimidate them like an adult might. I know the easy answers. When I get a tough one, I can talk to the st

He was mean after all.

You will find out tomorrow.

As Phillip was looking at his phone, he saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye on the SmartCam display. Looking closer, he saw Sammy Lewis, one of next year’s seventh graders who had twice followed Phillip to the can for a peep, furtively making his way to the lonely restroom that seemed a lot more popular than Phillip had thought. He was looking around like he was trying to see if anyone was following, slipped into the restroom and, made sure the door closed quietly. Almos

After going over a list of emailed requests for services and parceling them out between himself and his helpers, he logged Mikie and Randy’s hours for the morning and tasks completed. He looked at the time and knew a person he needed to speak to was probably free enough to talk, so he picked up his phone and dialed. Marty Oswald was a gruff, retired police detective who worked as a private investigator and security consultant for the firm. Phillip wasn’t quite sure how he would react to hi

They were shocked enough

They installed it in the old supervisor's office, but the poor old guy had no clue how to use it. Phillip figured it out pretty quick.

Phillip found Andy Larkin waiting for him in his office. Andy embraced Phillip enthusiastically and said in a rush, “You were right about Bryan. We stayed up late talking and, he never really wanted to stab me after all. We were both so different at breakfast my parents asked what the heck happened. I told them that Bryan said you were good to talk to and, you helped me get some things sorted out. They want you to come over for supper soon.” Phillip hugged Andy back and said, “That’s

As Phillip fooled around with the computer, he found a program running in the background called SecureCam. He clicked on it and a display of the two cameras came up. He clicked the help about button and a short Using SecureCam video started. In about ten minutes he learned how to control the program which had been state of the art several years ago. It was full of buzzwords like IEE802.11g and end-to-end encryption. As he watched the video, he saw something interesting: the program saved 72

Like it or not, drug and alcohol abuse is out there and, kids have to deal with it. ~15-25% of Middle School aged kids have tried marijuana and/or alcohol. Depending on the community, it can run much higher or lower. The opportunity to at least try alcohol and marijuana is almost a universal experience by high school in the United States. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/substance-use/index.htm GLBT youth are particularly at risk as they are often the target of bullying and other stressors. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/gay-teens-least-twice-likely-use-illegal-drugs-study-suggests-n898671 I tried to give Phillip a reasonable attitude about it. His reservations about weed were well taken and, good reasons to leave it alone. As the story progresses you'll find out why Phillip does not smoke grass and always stops after one drink. I'm glorifying nor advocating it. It is simply there. It is part of the whole raft of issues adolescents have to deal with that make us uncomfortable and, speaking as an author, provide opportunities for drama. FYI- I'm a recovering addict myself and have been clean 18 years.

The next morning, Phillip, Mikie and Randy got up a little early and were much better rested with an extra hour or two of sleep. During their showers and preparations for the day, Mikie and Randy wheedled for gossip about Andy’s visit. As curious as they were, all Phillip would say is that Mikie would have lost his bet. After a stop by McDonald's for breakfast, they arrived at the Y an hour early. As Phillip had the keys, he opened up, entered and locked up behind him. Mr. Campbell was alr

In the long days of summer, it wasn’t dark yet. Phillip decided to see just where Andy was headed. Phillip put on some Speedos, jumped in his pool and got wet. Then he went and opened the garage and waited. It wasn’t long before Andy came riding up on a mountain bike. He pulled his bike into the garage and Phillip pushed the button to make the door close. He really did look a lot like his younger brother. Phillip said, “Hi Andy. Care to take a dip?” Andy said, “I didn’t really we

They returned to the Y about a quarter to four. Jeffry went searching for pals and Phillip reported to Mr. Campbell’s office. He told his boss in detail what had happened with Rodney Jefferson. After his report, Mr. Campbell rolled back in his chair and said, “Do you realize what you’ve done?” Phillip said, “I just got him talking to a nurse and with the consent of his mom, took him to the hospital. I would have done it for any of the kids.” Mr. Campbell said, “I know. That’s what make

When he got to the car Jeffry said, “Thank goodness that didn’t take long. I’m feeling a little self-conscious sitting here in nothing but Speedo.” Phillip started the car and said, “It looks pretty yummy to me.” Jeffry giggled, “Stop that. You’ll give me a boner. Could you take me by the apartment, so I can put on some real shorts?” Phillip said, “Sure thing.” It took about ten minutes and directions to get there. People weren’t home from work so Phillip was able to get

Phillip saw Jeffry Cummings arrive at the second floor with a slightly younger boy named Rodney in tow. He opened the door and beckoned the pair into his office. They both looked troubled. Jeffry said, “So this is where you’ve been. We’ve been looking for you.” “I just got assigned to my new office at lunch. What’s up. You two don’t look too happy.” Rodney said, “Jeffry is my cousin. He said I should talk to you but, it’s really embarrassing... its guy stuff I just can’t talk t

Motion on the monitor caught Phillip's eye and he looked to see two boys exit the South stairwell heading for his restroom: one was a smallish sixth or seventh grader, but the other was a sophomore or maybe a junior. The younger boy did not appear to be distressed. Phillip watched as they walked. The younger boy’s name was Tanner Hudson. Tanner was a cute little blond boy with longish straight hair that always seemed to be smiling and, was one of Phillip’s favorite kids in the whole buildi

Phillip isn't perfect. Later you'll find out why he's such a tomcat. A nice, charming tomcat but still... That's part of his character arc.

After lunch Phillip went by the main office and asked Frank Cassidy, the guy who handled the computers, to set up an email account. Cassidy gave him the address pwright, and a card with instructions to set up his email and a temporary password. He went up and used his keys to open up the old maintenance office and found it to be neat and roomy with a desk, comfortable chair, a couch and a plan of the whole complex on the wall. Just adjacent to the office was a small shop with tools and, it

The next morning Phillip made breakfast and took the boys with him to the Y. Wednesday got underway. That day, the staff took those who were interested on a field trip to city hall, the city library and a small art gallery. All the members of the Gentleman’s Club save Phillip elected to go. There were still a bunch of kids around, but they weren’t as thick as usual. For a while that morning the place was pretty quiet and Phillip was able to get a lot of work done. He did have a little excit

Bryan Larkin was surprised and delighted to hear from his pals on the swimming team and be invited to get wet and spend the night. He got a boner just talking to Owen Jamison on the phone- yum! The idea of skinny dipping with some of those guys was appealing enough for him to blow off watching stupid reruns in his room. Besides- any time away from his asshat of a big brother was a win. He packed his backpack for an overnight, kissed his Mom and told her he had a ride to the Y the next morning.

Phillip quickly learned the ebbs and flows of activities at the Y and, when there were marked lulls in activity throughout the day. Ten and two o’clock were the big lulls, and they were a time he could get a lot done without hordes of kids running around. Tuesday a little after two, he went to one of the storage closets up on the second floor of the pool annex to put up some gym mats. He barged into seven boys between twelve and fourteen buck naked sucking, licking and jerking each other o

You ain't seen nothing yet. 😜

Phillip quickly earned a sterling reputation with the boys as cool and trustworthy. They talked to him about boy stuff they would never tell an adult. Trustworthy doesn’t mean the same thing to kids as it does to adults. He wasn’t one of the kids but was a lot closer than any of the adults. He got questions ranging from why does my little sister bug me all the time to if I jerk off every day does that make me a sex maniac and everything in between. These weren’t really difficult questions b

Friday afternoon about three, things were slow and Phillip was busy with his Friday checklist. There was a list of tasks that had to be accomplished every day and the Friday list was a pain because it prepared the building for the weekends which were always busy. Philip wasn’t on weekends thankfully, but would often show up anyway just to swim and have a little fun hanging out when he wasn’t working. He stopped by the quiet 2nd floor restroom he often used to take a leak in peace. Phillip w

Mikie and His Big Honking Boner Funny thing about boys that age— wearing those tiny Speedo swim suits, an inconvenient boner could be a serious social faux pas. The boys varied so much in development that a boner could be anything from literally no big deal to a full on hard on that might escape the suit. It was on one of those occasions he met his first close friend in town. Thursday during practice Phillip was working the pool area, he noticed Mikie Hendrix, one of the older kids at