New Brother - 12. Chapter 12

Of all the things that could’ve occurred, that was one I hadn’t thought of.

I was ready for my brother to be accused of being gay. I was hoping that most people would not believe it, though I knew it was only a faint hope. But for him to be accepted as gay by his friends – that was something I just never considered as a possibility.

I suppose it’s because his friends are all around his age or younger. They just haven’t had a chance to hear the things that might’ve changed their minds. After all, Randy accepted Adam easily, so I suppose it’s not unreasonable for Randy’s peers to do the same for him.

But why don’t they believe him when he tells them that he’s not gay?

“Did they tell you why they don’t believe you?” I asked, desperate to find an answer for this. If even his friends believe he’s gay, there is no chance that the rest of the school will think otherwise.

“Well, there were a few things,” he admitted sheepishly. “I’d accidentally mentioned that Adam was staying in my room, and they’d heard that we sat together on the bus this morning. Then, of course, there’s the story about how I defended him on the basketball court last Saturday. I also came down heavy on one of my friends when he said something about Adam.”

He blushed and looked away guiltily. “I may have overdone it a bit. They’re all convinced that Adam’s my boyfriend, and that I was defending him as such on Saturday.”

I was ready to throttle him, except that I knew he’s always been too open to hide things. As a consequence, he tends to tell things as they are, and just lives with any fallout that results.

“I warned you about letting Adam stay in your room, didn’t I?” I pointed out, though without any heat. He didn’t need me to be telling him off.

He scowled. “It was still the right thing to do! You didn’t hear Adam crying out in the middle of that first night. I did, and I was glad that I was there. He needed someone to be with him, and he still does now,” he stated forcibly. With a sigh, and much quieter, he added, “He had a nightmare last night, too. I suspect they’ll be going on for some time.”

I hadn’t realised. It should’ve been obvious, but it just never occurred to me that Adam would be having nightmares. He can cope during the day, but at night his defences drop. Just like my situation with Liz is worse at night, so is Adam’s. At least I haven’t been having nightmares.

“You’re right,” I conceded with a sigh. “Now what are we going to do?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not really causing a problem. I just wish they’d believe me.”

“Come on. Let’s join Adam and Scott. Maybe they’ll have some ideas about this,” I suggested.

As we walked slowly towards the others, another thought struck me.

“What about that girl you mentioned when I asked you if you’re gay? Why don’t you tell your friends about her?”

He grimaced. “I’d prefer not to. That’s a private thing; not something to spread around the school.”

“Who was it, anyway?”

“No comment,” he replied cheekily. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Seriously, you might have to,” I stated, worried. “If things get bad, you may need to prove that you’re not gay. That girl may be the only thing that will stop it.”

Randy laughed. “You worry too much, Stick. Things are not going to get bad. I have most of my friends supporting me. I don’t care about what anyone else thinks.”

I was concentrating on my brother so hard that I didn’t even check to see if I was interrupting anything between Adam and Scott. I just walked up to them.

“You said most of your friends,” I half-stated, half-asked.

Randy sighed. “Vera and Doug have been avoiding me. They don’t want to talk. But all the rest have been great!” he finished enthusiastically.

I noticed Scott and Adam looking a little puzzled.

“Giant has been getting lots of support from most of his friends. They all think there’s nothing wrong with him being gay,” I explained, ending with a touch of sarcasm.

“I’ve told them that I’m not gay,” Randy added with a shrug. “They don’t believe me.”

Adam gave a short laugh, while struggling to keep a smile from his face. “Let me guess. You’re supposed to be my boyfriend?”

Randy blushed and gave a quick nod. I saw him flash a guilty look at Scott.

Scott gave a quick glance around to make sure we wouldn’t be overheard, before turning back to Randy.

“Don’t worry about it, Giant. I know you’re not. If anything, it’s going to keep attention off me,” he said in a low voice.

“Hey, wait a minute!” I jumped in quickly. “Randy is not going to pretend to be Adam’s boyfriend to make your life easier!”

“Keep your voice down, David!” Adam demanded in a low, angry voice. He looked around, worried, as did I, but there was no one near us.

“Sorry, but I still don’t want Randy involved,” I repeated in a quieter tone.

I then noticed my brother looking thoughtful.

“Don’t even think it, Randy!” I said, almost jumping down his throat. I could tell he was seriously considering the idea.

“It’s not going to hurt me any more than the rumours going around already,” he pointed out, “and it’ll help out in other ways.”

“But if you do that, then it’ll be impossible to convince anyone that you’re not gay!” I cried.

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “You have a problem with having a gay brother?”

“I’ve already got one; I don’t need two!” I replied frantically. I was beginning to think he was going to do it!

“I think I’m with David on this one,” Adam broke in tentatively. “You may not have been hassled so far today, but you will be, I promise you. You don’t want to go through that if you can avoid it.”

I was surprised but pleased at Adam’s support of my position. As I looked at him, he gave me a small grin before he turned back to Randy.

“So, both your brothers are telling you to not do it. Are you going to be stubborn, or listen to reason?” Adam asked. “You’re a bit big for us to try to beat some sense into you.”

Puzzled, Randy started swivelling his head back and forth as he looked at the two of us in turn. Suddenly his eyes lit up and his mouth stretched into a wide grin.

“The papers have been signed!” he exclaimed joyfully.

“That’s right, little brother,” Adam grinned back, as he leant forward, “so please remember that you’ve just been pushed down the pecking order and start respecting your betters.”

“Oh, I’ve always respected the elderly,” Randy retorted with a grin, “and I’ve always respected Break. He’s the only other decent basketball player on the team!”

With the change of subject, we settled into a furious debate on how exactly the changes were going to affect things. Scott took the job of refereeing the family discussion, though he showed a noticeable bias in Adam’s favour. Neither Randy nor I minded, though. It was better than letting the previous discussion go on. I shuddered mentally at the mere idea of Randy deliberately presenting himself as a target for all the idiots at school.

While we still having our friendly argument, I noticed Gary and Mary approaching, hand-in-hand. They were clearly heading our way.

“G’day, guys! How are things going?” Gary asked. While normally this would be a rhetorical question, we could all tell that this once he meant it seriously.

“Apparently, I’m supposed to be gay,” Randy announced pontifically.

Gary gave him a look of mock disgust. “I think even Adam will agree that no one is supposed to be gay. You are or you aren’t, Giant.”

Glancing over at Adam, he added in an almost anxious tone, “Is that right, Ads?”

Adam grinned back at him. “You don’t have to treat me like I’m about to break, Gazza. And I think you’re right.” He paused, then continued, “Though that will depend on what you mean by ‘supposed to be’. I don’t think anyone is supposed to be anything.”

“So, are you?” Gary asked Randy. It was done in a light tone, as if the answer really didn’t matter.

My brother raised his hand and placed a finger at the side of his head as he theatrically considered the question.

“No, he’s not!” I jumped in, just in case Randy decided to deliberately give the wrong answer.

After a mock scowl at me, he grinned at Gary and Mary. “No, I’m not,” he agreed, “though all my friends seem to think I am. They’ve been telling me all morning that they don’t mind.”

“What did they say when you told them you’re not?” Mary asked.

My brother’s façade broke at that and some of his worries came through. “They don’t believe me,” he stated softly. His confusion was obvious.

Mary and Gary exchanged surprised looks.

“Why the fuck not?” Gary asked angrily.

Randy looked embarrassed. Staring at the ground, he replied hesitantly, “Ummm… they just added up a few things and… er… came up with the wrong answer.”

As he finished, he looked up and caught my eye, sending me a silent appeal to help him out.

With a sigh, I explained. “Giant let it slip that Adam’s sharing his room. They’ve heard how Adam and Giant sat together on the bus this morning and about the fight on Saturday. He also came down heavy on one of his friends who made a comment about Adam. Throw in the rumour going through the school, and they’re all convinced that Adam is Randy’s boyfriend.”

“They don’t have a problem with that! Maria even went as far as saying she thought it was cute. They keep telling me that I don’t have to deny it to them,” Randy hurriedly added, as if to make sure that we wouldn’t think the worst of his friends.

Gary threw his hands up in the air. “I give up! I don’t know what is going on anymore!”

“You and me, both,” I whispered to myself as I stared at the ground. Life was becoming too confusing.

“What about you, Stick? How are you doing?” Mary asked gently.

I looked up in surprise at the question and found myself the centre of attention. I knew what she was talking about, but I hesitated as I tried to work out if I wanted everyone to know my thoughts.

“I’ve been better,” I eventually answered, looking away as I tried to control the tremor I felt run through my body.

Feeling someone grab my upper arm, I turned to find Randy standing by me.

“It’s your turn to talk, David,” he said quietly. “Get it out of your system.”

I was suddenly furious.

“How dare you tell me when it’s time to talk!” I yelled at my brother as I shook his hand off my arm. “You aren’t the one whose life has been gutted. You don’t have to watch the person you love and know that you can’t even go up and talk to her.”

With a sudden thud, my anger fell away. All that was left was a feeling of emptiness.

“You aren’t the one who knows he’s wrecked his chance at being happy,” I finished softly as I looked away to the place where Liz and I used to have our lunches together when we wanted some time alone.

As if on autopilot, I started to walk towards that spot. Behind me, I heard a compassionate voice say, “Let him go.” It might have been Gary, but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t really care. Instead, a flood of memories was welling up and blurring my vision.

As I sank down and sat by the tree where Liz and I had shared so much, I closed my eyes and bowed my head. I didn’t want to cry, so I struggled to keep my tears in check. What was I supposed to do now? With nothing else of importance to occupy it, my mind wandered through bittersweet memories; sweet because they were of happy times; bitter because I knew they were the only ones I’d have.

While there isn’t much that we could do here at school, in public, we had a lot of deep conversations at this place. It was here that we explored our interests in music, animals and life in general. It was here that we made our plans for the Christmas holidays; where we first spoke of my joining her family for New Year’s Eve. It was here that ultimately I fell in love with her.

To control myself, I struggled to hold back my knowledge of recent events and just let the memories spring forth. I wasn’t totally successful, but I could feel a smile on my face that reflected the happy times I was remembering. Despite my efforts, I felt tears fall down my face, reflecting the loss of what might have been.

I heard a distant noise, but I paid no attention to it. The sound of someone calling my name and tugging on my arm brought me out of my daze.

“Stick, it’s time to get to our next class,” Scott was saying insistently. His words slowly penetrated my brain.

After using the back of my arm to wipe away any tears that may have remained, I looked up at Scott’s anxious face. Pushing myself back to my feet, I glanced around to see the schoolyard quickly emptying. None of the others were nearby.

“Come on, Stick,” Scott said, grabbing me by the arm. “Adam’s going to grab a couple of workstations next to each other, but we need to get to the computer room as quick as we can.”

I was vaguely aware that my next class was Computer Studies, but I had lost all inclination to go. If I’d had an ounce of self-will left, I would have skipped the class.

We were halfway there when I suddenly stopped.

“Shit!” I exclaimed as a thought struck me.

“Come on, Stick! We’re going to be late if we don’t get a move on,” Scott said urgently, grabbing my arm again, trying to pull me along by brute force.

Giving in to his tugging, I started moving again.

“I was supposed to meet Ian Ashton at lunchtime,” I said frantically.

“He showed up,” Scott said, “but we explained what was going on and he decided to leave you alone. He said he’ll try to catch up with you later in the week. He wasn’t annoyed. Now, can you pick up the pace a bit, please?”

Scott got me to class just in time.

How I did it, I don’t know, but I managed to bring enough concentration to the class that the teacher didn’t notice me. They were teaching something about the use of forms on web pages, but I didn’t take it in. I knew I’d have to get Scott to explain it to me later. For the moment, I just let myself wallow in despair and depression.

I’d pulled myself together by the end of the lesson. I even think I managed to remember a couple of the things that were being taught!

Scott, Adam and I headed out after the class to go to our lockers to dump the remainder of our books. While we were at Adam’s locker, I happened to spot the guy I’d seen at lunchtime. He was looking at us again, hatred in every line of his face. As soon as he realised I had seen him, he turned and quickly moved away, losing himself in the crowd of students nearby.

Had he been following us? If he had, he now knew where Adam’s locker was. He might even know where Scott’s and my lockers were! I hadn’t thought to look around before, to see if anyone might have been following us. It just hadn’t occurred to me that someone might.

As I contemplated it, a coldness seeped through me. The chance of his just being there at that time was so slim, it wasn’t worth considering. On the other hand, the ramifications of his following us were too broad for me to think about. About the only thing I could conclude was that he was up to no good. I suspected he was a danger, but how much of one remained to be seen.

“Er, guys,” I said quietly, as Adam closed his locker. “You remember that guy from lunchtime?”

“Which one?” Scott asked.

“The one I said I thought could be trouble?”

“Yeah, what about him?” Adam said, almost indifferently.

“I just saw him watching us,” I replied. “He now knows where your locker is, Adam.”

I think that got through to him, as he stiffened and looked around quickly.

“I don’t see him,” he said hesitantly.

“He fled as soon as he realised I’d seen him,” I explained.

Adam looked around again while chewing on his lower lip, but didn’t see the guy.

Scott caught Adam’s eye. “I don’t think you should leave anything of value in your locker, anymore, Ads.”

“I think you’re right,” Adam agreed with a nod

Turning back to his locker, he opened it and started dragging out a number of books. Putting them all in his bag, he closed his locker and hefted the bag to his shoulder.

“I’m going to put on a few muscles if I keep carrying this much, but it’s better than to risk getting it vandalised,” he remarked lightly. There was still a touch of nervousness in his voice, but the determination with which he had started the day was still carrying him through. He wasn’t going to let the threat drag him down.

Adam and Scott headed off to their last class of the day. I started dragging my heels. My last class was one I share with Liz. Normally, we sat and worked together during the class. It had been my “brilliant” idea, when we were discussing which of the electives to take for this year, for both of us to try to pick the same ones. We both agreed to do Media Studies, and now that decision was going to cause me a lot of pain. Our teacher did not like her students to keep moving around, but insisted that we take the same seats each class. I was about to be forced to sit next to my ex-girlfriend.

I thought about skipping the class, but that would just delay the inevitable. Taking a deep breath, I forced my unwilling legs to carry me to the torture that awaited.

I stood in the doorway for a moment. Liz was already in her seat. As she glanced up at me I sensed fear emanating from her.

“Hi, Liz,” I said quietly and emotionlessly as I slid into the chair next to her. I was struggling to hold in what I felt for her, because I knew letting it loose would just cause trouble.

“Hi, Stick,” she responded in the same vein.

By unspoken mutual agreement, we set up an invisible wall between us. If we could fool ourselves successfully, we could pretend that the person on the other side of that divide was a stranger of no consequence.

We struggled through that class.

When I thought she wouldn’t be watching, I would steal glances. Sometimes, I’d flick my gaze in her direction, pretending to be looking at someone beyond her, and see her quickly turn away.

It was civil, with not a single angry or heated word spoken. Indeed, barely a word was said, though the silence between us spoke volumes. From the stares and whispers we endured from our classmates, I knew the tension and agony we were experiencing was shining through.

I thought of trying to say something when there was a break in the lecturing, or when we were looking something up in our textbooks, but I held back. Fiona had made it crystal clear that morning that Liz didn’t want to talk. Even after all this time, I still didn’t have anything more to say than, “I’m sorry.” Struggling to find words to explain that I still loved her, and that all I wanted was for her to be happy, I stewed in my cesspit of despair. Saying nothing and causing no more pain was a better option than trying to say something and ripping another shred from her heart.

I just wished she’d say something to me. If she were to initiate a conversation, I was sure I’d find the words I needed. But I couldn’t find the ones that would allow us to start.

The time dragged on. I would look at the clock and find only a scant handful of minutes had gone by since the last time I looked. Mrs. Okering’s droning voice just enhanced the feeling that the class would go on forever.

When the bell for the end of the period sounded, I froze. Should I move first, to allow Liz to leave at her leisure, or should I stay put and give her the freedom to escape immediately?

When neither one of us moved, I couldn’t stand it anymore. Jumping to my feet, I grabbed my bag and fled from the room. I had to push a couple of guys out of the way, but I didn’t care. I needed to get out of there and away from the source of my pain. I should’ve said something before I left, but I just couldn’t do it. I knew that if I tried, the walls I’d built up would likely crumble.

When I reached my locker I rested my head against the locked door. By forcing myself to take several long, deep breaths, I slowly calmed down. When I felt myself regaining control, I straightened up and opened the lock. Quickly transferring the things I needed for the night's homework, and dumping the rest, I slammed the door shut and headed to Randy’s locker. I knew he’d be waiting for me, as he has since the start of the year, so we could head to the bus together.

With the tangled mess of my emotions stuffed into a back corner of my mind, I forced a smile onto my face as I turned the corner to where my brother’s locker is located.

I noticed Adam was already there, smiling faintly. He was chatting with Randy, but he turned to me as I approached and nodded his head. I sensed that he was pleased with himself, or maybe with the way the day had gone.

“Hi, Stick,” Randy called out as he spotted me.

“Hi, Giant,” I said. “Did things improve this afternoon?”

He shrugged. “As I said at lunchtime, things weren’t particularly bad, so there wasn’t much scope for things to get better. No, the afternoon was pretty much the same as the morning.”

We headed to the section of the car park where the buses would pick us up. There was a noticeable parting of the crowd as we approached. If there had been more space between the car park and the school building, I think we would’ve had even more room to ourselves.

“This is odd,” Randy remarked, expressing his curiosity at the behaviour of the other students. I don’t think it had sunk in that he was part of the reason most people were getting out of our way.

“That’s right. You didn’t see it yesterday,” I said. “Adam likened it to the parting of the Red Sea.”

My brother laughed. He didn’t need to force it; it just came out naturally. He was clearly unconcerned. Whether he noticed the flashes of hostility we attracted, I don’t know. If he did, they didn’t appear to bother him.

As we neared the section where our bus would pick us up, a small squad of younger students intercepted us. Even before Randy’s greeting, I recognised a couple of them as being his friends.

“Hi, guys! What’s up?” Randy asked.

“Hi, Randy,” one of the guys replied. “We’ve got some important questions for Adam.”

“What sort of questions, Stu?” Randy asked, curious, but not overly anxious.

“Oh, just some stuff,” he replied evasively. As he started scanning over us, his eyes fixed on Adam. “Adam?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Adam replied hesitantly. “What do you want?”

As Stu paused and licked his lips nervously, one of the girls poked him in the back. “Get a move on. We don’t have all day,” she whispered loudly.

“Don’t get your knickers in a knot, Maria. We agreed I’d do the asking,” Stu muttered back.

Adam, Randy and I exchanged glances. What was this about?

“Adam,” he started, drawing himself up to his full height, trying to look and sound more mature, “we understand you stayed at a couple of people’s places before you went to Randy’s. Is that right?”

“Yeah, it is,” Adam replied, sounding perplexed at where this was leading.

“We just wanted to know why you didn’t just go to Randy’s place first?”

Adam shrugged. “I went wherever I could find a place to stay. I didn’t know where I would be accepted, so I just tried whoever I could. Randy and David were just number three.”

“I told you,” Maria piped up, looking smugly at the other kids in the group.

“Shut up. I haven’t finished,” Stu responded as he glanced over his shoulder, looking annoyed at the girl behind him.

Turning back to Adam, he continued, “But you knew that Randy was going to let you stay, didn’t you?”

Adam gave him a wry smile. “By that stage, I had no idea about anything. I didn’t know who would be upset or who would reject me. I was almost at the stage that I didn’t think anyone would want me,” he admitted with a touch of despondency.

“See?” Maria interjected again.

Stu looked around at the rest of the younger kids. Most were nodding. One kid, I think his name was Kim, was rocking his head from side to side, as if he was still tossing up on something.

“I’m not convinced, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Kim stated.

“Will you tell me what the hell this is all about?” asked Randy, exasperated.

Stu turned back to him. “Sorry, Randy. We’d like to apologise. We believe you now. You’re not gay.”

Randy rocked back on his heels in surprise. “Why the change of heart?”

“I worked it out this afternoon,” Maria announced proudly. “If Adam was your boyfriend, he would’ve gone straight to your place last week, and not gone to the other places first. He didn’t, so you’re not.”

Randy smiled at her. “Did I ever tell you that I think you’re smart, Maria?”

She grinned back at him. “Not often enough!” she replied.

“Don’t make me sick,” Stu said, sticking his finger into his mouth, as if to force himself to vomit.

“Well, Stu, I think this means we need to come up with another idea,” said one of the other kids I didn’t recognise.

“What do you mean, Kev?” Stu asked, turning back to the rest of the group.

“I don’t think Randy is going to want a dress for his birthday, anymore,” Kev replied with a grin.

Stu twisted his head and looked over his shoulder at my brother with a smirk.

“I don’t know. I still think it’s a good idea. I’ve always thought he’s a big girl, anyway.”

“Why you...” Randy exclaimed, throwing his bag against the nearby wall. Stu took off, laughing, as Randy started chasing him along the side of the car park. It didn’t take long for Randy’s longer legs to catch the smaller boy, though it took a couple of minutes for Randy to have him pinned and begging through his laughter for mercy. The rest of us moved along to keep them in view. I was still aware that Randy was a target as far as the wider school community was concerned, even if his friends had come around.

The two boys were both dishevelled but smiling when they returned.

“Does this mean you’re not going to get Randy a dress anymore?” Adam asked Stu with a grin.

“If I am, I’m not admitting it,” Stu replied, as he ducked the mock punch Randy gave him, “He’s just going to have to wait until his birthday to find out.”

“You do that for my birthday, and you better not invite me to yours. You’ll regret it if you do,” Randy threatened, spoiling it with a wide grin pasted across his face.

Retrieving their bags, Stu and Randy continued to trade threats while the rest of his friends dispersed.

As we settled down to wait for our buses, I saw the guy who had bumped Adam at lunchtime smirking at us from behind a group of students. When he noticed me looking at him, he suddenly turned away and disappeared from view. I stared in the direction he had gone. What, if anything, was he up to?

Our bus arrived soon afterwards. Stu waved goodbye to Randy and the rest of us as he moved off to wait for his bus.

“Watch it!” Randy cried out, as he staggered off balance.

I heard a muttered, “Bloody poofters,” but I didn’t spot who said it. Randy was also looking around, annoyed.

“Ignore them, Giant. Just ignore them,” Adam said in a resigned tone. It was clear that he’d decided that being bumped and hassled was just something to be endured.

“You can ignore them if you want, but I’m not going to put up with it,” Randy stated furiously. Raising his voice, he addressed the surrounding students. “If you have a problem with me, tell me to my face. If you’re such a gutless coward that you have to hide and hit me from behind, then just leave me alone!”

As he stared around angrily, no one accepted his challenge. Many of the students shuffled uneasily, avoiding his gaze. For the moment, at least, it looked like he had them cowed.

“Come on, Adam, Stick. Let’s get going,” he said as he turned back to the bus. It was clear from his tone that he was still in a huff. If anyone said the wrong thing, I wasn’t sure what he’d do. He’s not normally an aggressive person, but he’s also not normally that angry. His black eyes just added to the aura of pending violence that shrouded him.

Stomping his way onto the bus, Randy marched down the aisle and took an empty seat near the centre. Putting his bag on the floor at his feet, he crossed his arms across his chest and stared his defiance at every student who made the mistake of catching his eyes.

I glanced at Adam, disturbed. While my brother is quite capable of looking after himself, I wasn’t comfortable leaving him in the seat by himself. My original plan had been to sit with Adam, but I didn’t know if that was a good idea anymore. But leaving Adam by himself was just as bad!

There was only one solution, and it was one I wasn’t happy with.

“Adam, I think you should sit with Randy. I don’t want anyone else sitting with him while he’s like this,” I said in a resigned voice. It would just fuel the rumours that they were boyfriends, but that couldn’t be helped.

“Why don’t you sit with him?” he asked, as we made our way towards Randy, Adam leading.

“Because that would leave you by yourself,” I replied dryly.

He looked over his shoulder and gave me a startled look, then quickly followed that with a nod of thanks.

As Adam took his place next to my brother, I took the empty seat opposite. I was still worried. Randy’s outburst may have stopped people for the moment, but it may just encourage more harassment in the future.

The bus loaded quickly after that, mostly in an almost freaky silence. The normal banter and chatter were largely absent as Randy’s stormy presence in the middle of the bus dominated the atmosphere. The three hostile students I had detected that morning slunk into seats near the front of the bus, avoiding us. They were careful to refrain from even glancing in our direction. The fact that they were intimidated for the moment didn’t mean much for the future, however. If anything, the shame at being scared off may have increased their hostility. I remained worried about those three.

“For the record, I don’t have a problem with you, except maybe as a basketball player. You really should start to play for a decent team,” Rick stated with a hint of laughter in his voice, as he passed my brother. “Good luck, with everything,” he added as he leant over to give Randy a high-five.

Randy’s face fell back into its more natural grin, as he responded, “Thanks, Rick. You should join a decent team, too.”

I was glad to see Rick’s comments had shaken my brother out of his bad temper. Now that it was gone, everyone around him seemed less tense.

“Don’t worry; if I need to, I’ll tell you to your face, too,” Harrison remarked, as he passed. He didn’t stop, but just kept moving towards the back of the bus. I twisted around to watch him go. As he sat down, he saw me looking and gave me a nod. No smile, but I gave him one back, anyway. Turning back around, I wondered if my chat from the morning had caused that, or if he was just naturally that sort of person. Regardless, I appreciated the extra bit of support. Effectively from a complete stranger, it must have made an impression on Randy and those around us.

The noise level slowly picked up, as everyone started to relax. Shamelessly, I tried to eavesdrop on the nearby conversations; it was my brother’s safety that was at risk, after all. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear anything of interest. Randy’s name was mentioned a couple of times, as was Adam’s, but I couldn’t catch the context. All I could go with was the tone of voice, which was either neutral or curious, not hostile.

I got off the bus with a sigh of relief when we reached our stop. I hadn’t realised how tense I’d been until we were standing alone by the side of the road. Feeling a lot lighter, I turned to the other two.

“Time to get home, guys. I’m looking forward to a nice, long, cool drink,” I remarked as we started to walk down the dirt track that leads to our house.

“If we were older, I’d say it was time for a stiff drink,” Adam replied, his relief obvious.

Randy and I exchanged grins. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Randy asked me.

“I think so,” I answered. “Who’s going to sweet-talk Mum into opening a bottle of wine for dinner?”

“You do it,” he said. “It sounds better coming from a sixteen-year-old than a fourteen-year-old.”

“Will she do that?” Adam asked in disbelief.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Mum and Dad like a bottle of wine every so often, and they don’t mind us having a glass with dinner. The only rule is that we have to finish our homework first. They never let us drink too much, but I think we can talk them into opening a second bottle tonight. It’s been an eventful day for all of us.”

“That’s an understatement,” I heard Randy mutter to himself.

We walked in silence for a couple of minutes, before the conversation started up again, but this time on the subject of the game coming up on Saturday. The last game before the finals started, it didn’t really matter whether we won or lost. The result would have no influence on our team’s final position in the competition. We expected to win easily, as the team we were playing was quite low on the ladder. The last time we played them, we won by more than thirty points.

We arrived home and found Mum in the kitchen, reading the newspaper. As we walked in, she looked up.

“How did it go today?” she asked to no one in particular.

Randy and I looked at each other. He indicated with a tilt of his head that he wanted me to answer. I guessed that the issue of his friends was something he wanted left until later.

“Eventful, but generally pretty good,” I answered my mum. “We’re going to get started on our homework straight away. We were thinking that a glass of wine with dinner tonight might be a good idea,” I finished on a hopeful note.

Mum laughed. “Under the circumstances, I think a glass of wine is probably reasonable. Your dad and I will want a full account of the day, though.”

“Not a problem!” I responded with a smile. “We’ll just get our schoolwork out of the way first. Oh, and Scott said he and Chris will be around after dinner.”

She frowned slightly. “We must have those two boys around for dinner. If they’re going to come around regularly, we should arrange something with their parents,” she remarked, as if to herself.

I dumped my bag by the table and was heading over to the fridge to get a drink, when she stopped me.

“Are you going to study when Scott gets here?” she asked.

I glanced over to where Adam and Randy were dropping their bags. Adam looked up at me, as if to check to see what I was intending to say.

“I might need some help with Computer Studies, but I don’t think it’ll take much time or effort,” I answered, a little nervous as I realised that she might change her mind on the glass of wine. My parents are generally pretty strict on the subject of mixing alcohol and study.

She looked intently at me for a moment. “Okay, but that means only one glass of wine with dinner.”

I was surprised at that. I knew better, though, than to open my mouth and take the risk that she might cancel the alcohol completely.

“Randy, Adam, what would you like to drink?” I asked, as I stood by the open fridge door.

“Anything cold and wet,” Randy responded, as he sat at the table.

“Orange juice, please,” Adam replied as he sat next to my brother.

Making life easy for myself, I made three glasses of O.J.

After putting their glasses in front of them, I remained standing as I drank my juice. It hadn’t been a bad day. I knew I needed to sort myself out over Liz, but I kept pushing that issue to the back of my mind. If I spent time thinking about it, like I had at lunchtime, I would be useless for a long time afterwards.

“Adam, can you give me a hand with my maths?” I asked as I put my empty glass into the kitchen sink.

“Sure, David,” he responded absently. Looking over at him, I noticed a faint smile and a distracted look. I was pretty sure he was thinking about seeing Scott in a few hours’ time.

“What the fuck!” Randy sudden swore.

He was looking inside his school bag. Placing it on top of the table, he reached inside and, using a thumb and forefinger only, gingerly drew out a cylindrical container. It was one of the paint containers we use at school during art classes.

As Adam and I joined him, we all peered inside his bag.

Everything was covered in bright, fluorescent-pink paint.