Day and Night - 1. Day and Night

 

The message sent, Luke quickly put away his phone after making sure once more that a teacher wasn’t in sight. With a sigh of relief, he closed his locker and with everything in tow, made his way to the main entrance.

 

Autumn had finally set in, the trees were now mostly bare and most of the leaves had finally dispersed, with some colorful patches still seen here and there. With the afternoon sun shining so brightly, Luke hoped it might be a warm day. But after stepping outside the school’s main doors, a cold breeze blew past him. Luke wisely zipped up his sweater and after adjusting his backpack, placed his hands in his pockets.

 

That taken care of, Luke headed to the bike rack and, with obvious reluctance, took out his hands to unlock his bike’s chain. The bike had clearly seen many years of use; the red paint no longer gleamed in the sunlight. But with meticulous care from its attentive owner, there was no need to consider buying a new one.

 

After leaving the school’s parking lot, Luke headed down the street until the familiar sign of Crockett Street came ever closer. He made a right turn onto Crockett and continued on to his best friend’s house. Another breeze rushed through Luke’s brown hair as he neared Adam’s home.

 

Finally, Luke arrived at the two-story house. Leaving the bike by the garage, he went up the steps to the porch and entered his second home.

 

Making his way to the sitting room, he found Mrs. Wilson reading her Bible.

 

“Hey Martha!” She looked up with a smile.

 

Adam’s mother insisted he stop calling her Mrs. Wilson, and with much reluctance, Luke complied. By now, he was comfortable with it. How could he not be? She was always so nice, a smile never far from her lips, and warmth always in her green eyes.

 

She got up from the armchair and gave Luke a warm hug. “How are you sweetie?”

 

“I’m fine, I’m just here to help Adam with his homework.”

 

A coy smile playing on her lips, she asked, “Is it math?”

 

Snickering, he said, “Oh yeah, although rescuing him from that C won’t be easy.” He couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

 

Martha laughed, “Okay, go rescue my son,” she gave him a peck on the cheek, “and good luck sweetie; you’ll need it.”

 

Luke went upstairs to Adam’s bedroom. When he opened his door, Luke was greeted by the sight of Adam pacing back and forth. His usually neat blond hair was mussed up from running his fingers through it. His broad chest moved with each short breath he took. His green eyes were strained, and held so much worry.

 

“I’m finally here!”

 

Adam looked over to Luke, relief now in his eyes. He ran towards his best friend and embraced him.

 

“Oh thank God! Luke, I’m so screwed!”

 

“Adam, Mr. Howard’s test isn’t for three days, relax.”

 

With a pat on Adam’s back, Luke walked further into the room and noticed the mess strewn all over the desk. Luke sat on the bed beside it, and looked over the mess. The calculus textbook was closest to him, it was opened to Chapter 3: Introduction to Differentiation. Next was the assignment, The Difference Quotient: Practice. Beyond that were notes haphazardly all over the desk.

 

Looking up from the desk, Luke raised an eyebrow at Adam, “So how can I help you?”

 

“There’s the comedian,” Adam said as he let out a chuckle.

 

“What do you expect? Besides, I’m here to save your ass.” Luke couldn’t help but end it by sticking his tongue out.

 

With a smirk, Adam asked, “What are you, five?”

 

He sat down at the desk chair and turned to face Luke. “Seriously dude, I don’t understand this crap,” he said as he gestured to the mess.

 

Luke’s brown eyes became serious and focused. “Okay, tell me what you're having trouble with and we can go from there.”

 

“With all of it.”

 

“Oh boy,” Luke unzipped his backpack and got out his own notes, “do you want me to start with the basics?”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Hm… okay, let’s start with you telling me what the slope represents.”

 

“Uhm… rise over run?”

 

“Yeah Adam, but I was looking for something more specific,” with a smile, Luke continued, “Slopes are rates of change. Back in Algebra, we could find slopes easily enough with linear functions, but not power functions since they were curved, and—“

 

“Hate to butt in dude, but you’re droning on,” Adam immediately cracked up.

 

Luke’s frown slipped as he burst out laughing. “Do you want my help or not?” He added a raised eyebrow for good measure.

 

In a pompous voice, Adam said, “Please continue, my good man!”

 

Luke was tempted to respond with an eye roll, but settled with, “Your wish is my command, Master.”

 

A huge grin came over Adam’s face. “What was that? I didn’t hear, can you repeat it?”

 

“Oh hush! As I was saying earlier, now that we are in Calculus, we have to consider average and instantaneous rates of change in order to understand derivatives, so…”

 

And Luke fired off into his long winded explanation of slopes, limits, derivatives, and a bunch of delta x’s thrown into the mix. Of course, he made sure his friend was following. If he wasn’t, he’d clarify. Luke led Adam through the first few problems of the worksheet so he could understand and master the steps in solving each problem.

 

Thirty minutes in, Adam felt confident enough to try some of the problems on his own. This left Luke to go to Adam’s bookcase. Where his weakness was math, literature was his strength. His bookcase had everything from Homer, to Dickens, to Rowling. Finally, Luke settled on The Hobbit and went to lie on the bed as he read, only stopping now and then to check on Adam.

 

Consequently, the room was quiet as each did their own thing, until Adam broke the silence.

 

“Hey Luke, let’s take a break. Besides, it’s almost dinnertime!”

 

That certainly got Luke’s attention. He loved food, especially Martha’s. Of course that isn’t to say his own mom was a terrible cook. He knew he was one lucky teenager to have a feast fit for a teen, whether it was at his own home, or here at Adam’s. As they went downstairs, the smell of one particular food reached them.

 

With huge grins they yelled, “Pizza!” and high fived each other.

 

Homemade pizza! To the guys, this was heaven. When everyone was seated, Adam’s father asked Martha to say grace. All bowed their heads as she thanked the Lord for their meal.

 

After everyone said “Amen” they dug into the pepperoni pizza.

 

Martha turned to her husband and asked, “How was work, sweetie?”

 

“It went well, darling,” he smiled fondly at his wife, “I went over this Sunday’s sermon, a church member came by for counseling, and lastly I had a meeting with the deacons on missionary work.”

 

Ben Wilson was the Pastor of First Baptist and a leading member of the community. As a result, he was well known and loved by everyone.

 

He turned to Adam and Luke, “So boys, how’s school going?”

 

Adam gulped before plunging in, “Well… you see Dad… I’m still struggling with Calculus.”

 

At the disappointed look on his father’s face, Adam rushed on, “But Dad, I’m more than okay in my other classes, especially English Lit.”

 

“Son, we just want you to be as successful as your older brother and sister. They—“

 

He was cut off by Martha, “Oh sweetie, don’t worry. Adam has Luke to tutor him. Right, honey?”

 

Luke put down the slice of pizza he was about to eat after she called on him.

 

“Yeah,” he smiled at the Pastor, “today, I went over the lesson with Adam and he is starting to understand it.”

 

“Oh Luke, you are a godsend! I don’t know where my son would be without you.”

 

Luke cheekily replied, “Probably being a bane in someone else’s existence.”

 

Laughs erupted from the parents as Adam said, “Hey, I’m not that bad.”

 

“Of course not, dear,” his mother said, as she tried to stifle her laughter.

 

Adam looked up to the ceiling and mumbled, “Why me?”

 

“We mean well.” Luke plastered on an innocent look. Alas, the Wilson family snorted since they had become very familiar with Luke’s mischievous ways.

 

Ben turned to Luke. “I’ve grilled my own son, now what about you? How is school?”

 

The Wilsons finished up the last of their pizza as Luke said with a wink, “My straight “A” streak continues.”

 

“Lucky you,” Adam joked.

 

With a giggle, Martha said, “All right boys, if you’re done, you can go back upstairs.”

 

As soon as they finished, they ran upstairs and when they entered the bedroom, Adam fell back onto the bed, letting out a sigh.

 

After a moment of silence he said, “They expect too much from me. It’s like they can’t see I’m not Charlie or Samantha.”

 

Brushing his long hair from his eyes, Luke finally responded after thinking on it, “Adam, they just want you to do well academically. You know how parents can be, wanting the best from us.”

 

Adam got up and went to get A Tale of Two Cities from the bookcase. “Luke, they demand I excel in all my classes.”

 

Looking down at the book, he continued, “How can I when the only class I am good at, and enjoy, is English?”

 

Adam set aside the book, and a pensive silence descended on the pair, until Luke decided to cheer his friend up. “Hey, at least graduation is only seven months away.”

 

Adam’s frown morphed into a smile, “Yeah, so close and yet so far away.”

 

“You know what, hand me your iPod and let’s forget about your worries for now.”

 

Adam gave him the iPod and Luke went to plug it in to the docking station. He returned to bed to lay down beside Adam.

 

Soon enough, the sounds of Alt-J, Chevelle, Panic at the Disco, and more washed over the guys, taking away all their worries and troubles. All that was left were two very calm boys. Time lost all meaning, when all of a sudden What Makes You Beautiful blasted through the room. The serene atmosphere was ripped to shreds as they jumped from the bed. Adam made a dash towards his iPod, and thankfully turned it off.

 

“Adam, what the hell was that?”

 

“Must‘ve been Abby.” Adam shook his head.

 

With a huff, Luke said, “Your girlfriend is great and all, but I will never understand her obsession with One Direction.”

 

“Well, she might be growing out of it,” and with a thumbs up, Adam continued, “just cross your fingers.”

 

“Well One Direction ruined the moment, we might as well get back to studying,” Luke said as he got his notes from the desk.

 

Pouting, Adam asked, “Do we have to?”

 

An eyebrow raised, Luke said, “Don’t even try, I’ve long since become immune to your pouts.”

 

“But… but…” and a tear, a tear for crying out loud, dripped down his cheek!

 

Dammit! Luke thought. “Oh fine… We’ll just go over the problems you did for the next half hour. Sound good?”

 

Adam’s triumphant smile fell. “Really? We’re still going to study?” With a shake of his head he said, “You drive a hard bargain.”

 

“What can I say, it’s the inner businessman in me.” Luke ended that with a wink.

 

“A businessman? And here I thought you’d end up as a lonely old math teacher with only numbers and equations to keep you company.”

 

“What are you saying?” Mock indignation was dripping from Luke’s tone.

 

Mirth in his eyes, Adam said, “That you’ll be a loser!”

 

“Says the guy with a C,” and Luke smiled evilly, “or an F if you don’t do well on Friday.”

 

“Okay, okay, we’ll study… for a bit.”

 

More teasing ensued, but they quickly got back to work. Luke checked his friend’s work, marking up things he did wrong and then explaining each problem. Slowly but surely, Adam became more confident. Getting a good grade on the exam no longer felt impossible.

 

Finally, it was time for Luke to head home. As Luke was gathering his things, Adam stopped his friend.

 

“Hey Luke, uhm… Abby has a friend. Do you want to double date on Saturday?”

 

Luke froze in place. His eyes widened, his heart beat picked up, and his hands shook ever so slightly.

 

Not meeting Adam’s eyes, Luke said, “Sorry Adam, but I’ll be busy with my history report.”

 

“Oh come on, can’t you just do that later? Or how about this, we set it up for next weekend?”

 

Heaving a sigh, Luke finally met Adam’s eyes. “Look, I’m not looking to date, much less a relationship. Okay?”

 

Laughing, Adam said, “Sometimes, I think you might be gay.”

 

The silence was deafening. Luke didn’t joke back and he avoided his longtime friend’s eyes. Adam couldn’t understand his best friend’s behavior, this was completely unlike him. Whenever they bantered, Luke was always quick with his witty remarks. Then Adam’s eyes widened.

 

“You’re not… right?”

 

Adam was met with guilty eyes. The silence intensified. Adam looked at his friend of six years as if he was a stranger. He shook his head in denial, unable to really process the thoughts running through his head. Adam began pacing the room and avoided eye contact with Luke. He couldn’t bear to look at his friend.

 

“Adam, I—“

 

“No!” Luke had never seen Adam so angry. “You can’t be… you just can’t.”

 

Resolved, Luke said, “I’m gay.”

 

Adam cringed. “Stop.”

 

Luke neared his best friend, “Adam, please—“

 

“Stay away from me!” Those words were like knives to Luke.

 

Adam continued, “I… I don’t think I can do this…”

 

Panicked, Luke asked, “What are you saying?”

 

With determination, Adam stated simply, “I’m ending this friendship.”

 

Everything stopped for Luke. For the second time, he was frozen in place. His mind was the opposite, moving from here to there and back in a matter of a few seconds. In that time, Luke relived the memories he had with Adam. From the first day of Junior High, when Adam was assigned as his seating partner, to the first time they slept over at each other’s house. Cheering Adam on in his first game on the basketball team, and so many more flashed before his eyes in those few seconds.

 

It was Adam turning his back on him that galvanized Luke to do something. He spoke.

 

“Adam Richard Wilson, you listen here! We have been friends for years. Since the beginning we have always been night and day to each other, especially in how we think. I remember that argument we had on evolution and creationism. It never came close to destroying our friendship. Or how about the time when I told you I was a bleeding heart liberal? That didn’t destroy our friendship. What about most recently, when I told you I was no longer Christian? Even when you thought I was an atheist, our friendship didn’t end. And here you are, willing to end a friendship that has weathered so much already.” Tears were streaming down Luke’s face by the time he finished.

 

He turned to leave. At the door, he looked back at Adam, still facing away, and said, “I refuse to throw away six years, and Adam, you know how stubborn I can be when I set my mind on something.”

 

Luke left the room, and headed downstairs. As he neared the entrance to the sitting room, he wiped away his tears. When he was presentable, he entered the room to say goodnight to Martha and Ben. Hugs and kisses shared all around, Luke then made his way to the front door. When he opened it, the light from the hall spilled before him, illuminating a large swath of the front yard.

 

He took a moment to stand there. He knew things would be different, for good or bad he did not know. Finally, he took a step forward and closed the door behind him. Immediately the darkness beyond the light rushed in. Moonlight, starlight, and streetlights were enough to guide Luke to his bike and on his way home.

 

Fortunately, it was only two blocks away. In only a matter of minutes, he arrived at his single story home and went inside.

 

Luke welcomed the light and warmth as he entered. He was immediately greeted by his mom, and after a quick kiss on the cheek, he went on to his own room.

 

He went through his nightly routine; changing into his pajamas and brushing his teeth. All taken care of, he turned off the lights in his room and got in bed. Just before the clutches of sleep claimed him, Luke made a spur-of-the-moment decision.

 

He got out his phone, and sent a quick message: Adam, study tomorrow. Else, I’ll kick your ass. A small smile on his face, Luke put aside his phone and drifted off to sleep.

 

The light from the phone turned off a minute later.

 

Thirty minutes later, the phone lit up once again, the screen reading: one new message.