Turbulence - 2. Chapter 2

Daniel Surfacing
Sunday, June 6th

Daniel pretty much kept to himself over the weekend. He hung out in his room and avoided his friends and mother. He even avoided chatting with his friends online. But by Sunday evening, he was ready to face the world. Bored with re-runs and free from the obligation of entertaining his mother, Daniel spent some quality time examining himself in the mirror. There was the usual survey of body parts, checking whether anything was growing too fast or not enough, and basically deciding whether he was buff enough for grade nine. He was younger than most of his classmates, and the disparity of physically maturation amongst his peers really bothered him. His cock appeared small and virtually hairless--and that didn't help.

Shit, I look like a baby.

Daniel stroked around the ridge, and then squeezed the shaft with a few practiced moves. He felt the intoxicating tingle, as his cock responded dutifully to his touch. Much better. His cock swelled upward, thrusting into a ridged curve that twitched and tantalized as he pondered it's unique properties.

Daniel tried to block the janitor's room from his conscious thoughts. Walking home in the rain on Friday, he was consumed with hurt and anger over the violation imparted by the guy in the black t-shirt. In truth, it all happened so fast, he was having trouble convincing himself that Denver had even touched him. At first, he thought blackshirt was there to protect him. But ultimately, the older teen made him feel worse than if the boy he had named the Pimple had just hit him with the meter stick. He locked onto his own eyes in the mirror; Denver had betrayed him.

Was it legal for someone to do that? Where were the teachers anyway? It all seemed so creepy.

Daniel's daydreams about being a freshie were sharply divided between fears of a domineering asshole senior (the 'master/servant' scenario), and the big brother who would welcome him into the cool world of high school. Daniel was mostly an optimist. People generally liked him, and he was always perplexed when he met someone who didn't. For a young man with plenty of friends, he usually went home feeling lonely. Being an only child, he envied Arlo and his sister. Even if she dismissed her little brother and his friends, she would occasionally cover their backs with Arlo's parents, or even put up with the boys hovering at the edge of her gatherings, caging drinks from the older guys. Daniel suddenly realized he was hoping for a big brother type, more than anything else.

Daniel once again found himself inadvertently stroking his meat--only this time he was reliving the art room experience, as well as the janitor's room. He came out of his drift, frowned at his hairless body, then stepped into the shower. Water feels good. These days he showered morning and night. He liked to stay clean, but it was really all about jacking off. He adjusted his angle so that the side jets hit him just right. When he met Arlo in grade six and brought him home for the first time, Arlo twigged at the possibilities of the high tech walk-in shower. Later, during a sleep over, they compared cocks and laughed about the force of the water tickling their balls. They'd gotten tight over the last few years, but the notion of going all the way on a shower head together never materialized. By himself though, his cock was a magic wand--endlessly entertaining, ceaselessly demanding. Simon Marks had joked in gym that he could barely piss without jacking off. Daniel knew how he felt.

He had his routine down. Get wet, keep the cock in play with a jet while he shampooed and reviewed the chicks in his class. He got along with most of them, but he never made a play on anyone. He usually hung out with whoever Mandy Cole was with. The girls couldn't wear anything too revealing at school (Mrs. Godfrey bitched about it), but some chicks couldn't hide their assets if they tried. Daniel pictured Mandy in her stone-washed jeans. Small waist. . . nice butt. . . Daniel had caught up to her in height too. Her boyfriend Greg wasn't in the picture for some reason. She stood in front of Daniel, while he sat on the kitchen counter; maybe they were just sharing cokes or something after school, before starting on some health project. Grab her by the belt and draw her close for a kiss – that's it! Now slide your hands over her hips and caress her tight ass, and draw her pussy closer. . . ahhhh contact! Daniel slid his soapy hands down his thighs and around to his ass, pushing his cock into the stinging jet.

Denver. Daniel snapped back to the grade eleven, as the water streamed down his back and rippled over the fingers lightly touching his ass. Would the older boy tell his friends about how he humiliated the little freshie? 'Yeah that little blond kid cried like a pussy. He wasn't tough enough to take an order and hit his friend.' Surely, blackshirt and the Pimple would be planning their next assualt. Daniel wondered how hard it was to hide in a high school.

Mandy's tight ass--like his erection--were long gone. Daniel turned to wash the soap off his butt and scrubbed his crack, letting his fingers slip along the buried pucker of his anus. He ran his hands automatically along the backs of his thighs and up to the firm muscle at the small of his back, checking for soap. Spank! He gave himself a hard slap on his right butt cheek to remind himself of the sting. Then he shrugged; a guy can't really spank himself. Denver sure knew how to lay one on. A guy couldn't spank himself, but he sure could spank his monkey. Daniel put more soap on his cock and coaxed it back to work. A minute later, when he came, he watched the white spunk stream out and hit the black granite; a slender trail perched itself across his clenched fist. The shakes subsided and his muscles relaxed after the high. The sound of the water suddenly seemed lonely as Daniel licked cum from his hand. The salty cream coated his tongue as he kicked at the puddle, pushing the spent remains toward the drain. When he finished drying himself, he paused to squeeze one last drop of clear fluid out of the tip, massaging the drop into his glans. Then he wrapped the towel around his waist and padded back to his bedroom.

The apartment had been home as long as he could remember. The Art Deco exterior modestly lifted an extra ten stories out of the surrounding neighborhood to command a view of the river and the sweep of suburbia beyond. The building had declined from early elegance to the brink of demolition, before being cherished by a generation of YUPPIES in the eighties. The view from the eighth floor balcony was less desirable than some. The Murrells had to content themselves with the downtown core jostling for sunlight, and a vista of the City to the west that included the University on its hill, and somewhat farther away, the red and white spire that marked the location of Riverview High School. It was a balcony for sunsets and the only back yard Daniel could remember. The space had seemed big to mother and son after his grandfather died. Daniel stood for a minute and watched the TV. It was too early to turn in so he decided it was time to face the world again. He snapped on his laptop--his friends were waiting in the wings for him to surface.

Daniel Surfing
(Sunday evening)

George was curious. The man with the yellow hat warned him not to visit the Freshie Auction site, but then again, the man with the yellow hat had also told him never to visit porn sites either. But Daniel was the type of person who wanted to know where he was going, and what he was expected to do when he got there. He didn't understand why so many less than hot women made it onto the porn sites. But if he had thought it through, Daniel would have realized that all the hot chicks didn't need to flash their pussies and tits for anonymous men. Kiddy porn gave Daniel a meter stick (fifteen centimeters?) to measure himself against. Only a fag would want to go head to head with another guy, but Daniel was amazed by what he saw the men doing in the pictures. Daniel typed in the school web address Simon had scrounged off his brother. His mom had told him it would just worry him to think about next year, but Daniel wondered how it all worked. As the site opened, Daniel glanced at his old stuffed Curious George next to the monitor. The guys teased him every time they saw it; his mom and the girls who came over thought it was cute. His grandpa had called him Curious George a lot. Daniel still missed his grandpa.

The site didn't impress him. To get on he had to log on as a senior. That meant a password. An adult might think this was security, but user names were obvious and too many students thought passwords were a joke. Daniel logged on as some stoner who had probably never met a teacher. Daniel tapped in the guy's complex password: 123456.

Some nerdy high school student must have spent his solitary weekend finishing the setup. It looked like you could either browse through the database of eighth graders, select by categories, or enter a name. Daniel remembered filling out the on-line survey carefully the week before. He had treated it like a test and he had agonized over his answers trying to be honest. Daniel entered his name and stared at yet another bad picture. He didn't have his shirt on, and that made it seem worse. The starting bid was $5.00. The bidding had started at 9:00 a.m. And there was still 4 days and 19 hours left. There had been six bids and he was up to $35.00. Mr. Petri had told the class that the whole thing was supposed to be a spirit fundraiser. Half the money went to things like the food bank. Daniel had no idea how much money people were expected to spend, or why anyone would want to bid for him anyway. He checked out Arlo and Greg. Nobody was bidding on Arlo, and Greg was worth $15.10 at this point. There was no way to figure out who was doing the bidding. There was a rumor circulating around school that last year a grade eight had bought himself, and avoided all the misery of his ninth grade year. Daniel assumed a grade eleven had somehow helped him pull it off. On the other hand, Arlo's sister made it sound like hanging out with the older high school students was cool.

It probably depends on whether you get someone like The Pimple or Denver, or someone who's actually cool. . . what Denver did. . . that was not cool at all. . .

Daniel spread his homework out in front of the screen and opened up a chat. That pretty much took care of the next hour. His mom came home from a meeting and pit-stopped in his room to see what he was up to. Things looked good, so she disappeared into her room to make mysterious noises in her bathroom. Girl stuff. Girls, he knew, seemed to vanish into bathrooms for hours.

He rotated his time between studying for his next final exam, and burning his friends.

Boner-69 says:
shit man you'r up to 30

Spank the monkey says:
no way

Butterfly says:
Skater boys going to be whipped by a big girl.

Boner-69 says:
its the Brown eyes. And he looks like a pussy.

JISM-83 says:
Whip me Mandy

Butterfly says:
Fuck you Simon

JISM-83 says:
the fag is going to have your ass gay boy

Spank the monkey says:
like i care

JISM-83 says:
brother said so

Spank the monkey says:
fyahole nobody knows

JISM-83 says:
get ready you know you want it.

Butterfly says:
It's not funny Simon

Spank the monkey says:
gtg

Daniel logged off and stared at the screen. What had Simon heard? He started to realize that the festivities starting Friday might be more difficult than he imagined. BUTTERFLY requested a private chat. . . Daniel ignored her and tried to do some studying for the next morning's test. BUTTERFLY requested a private chat. . . He really liked Mandy. If she hadn't been a girl, he would've considered her his best friend. He liked hanging out with her and Greg--ultimately, he accepted the request.

Spank the monkey says:
what?

Butterfly says:
you mad? Chris came back to class pissed off. Why were you late?

Spank the monkey says:
nothing happened its cool

Butterfly says:
one of the girls made us take our tops off.

Butterfly says:
You there?

Spank the monkey says:
this guy made us hit Chris with a ruler.

Butterfly says:
You hit Chris?

Spank the monkey says:
no

Spank the monkey says:
this whole thing sucks

Butterfly says:
my mother says she'll beat the crap out of anyone who bothers me.

Butterfly says:
my brother told me to look ugly for my picture so I borrowed Alice 's glasses.

Butterfly says:
Amber posed for the picture the slut

Butterfly says:
Helen says Amber plans to sleep with her senior.

Butterfly says:
Do you think she means a boy or girl?

Butterfly says:
Simon just said a guy hit you when you wouldn't hit Chris.

Butterfly says:
Daniel? You there? What are you doing? Looking at porno?

Spank the monkey says:
jesus mandy

Spank the monkey says:
well at least were out of elementary school on friday

Butterfly says:
Yes, but I'm used to beating you on the exams. We probably won't even see each other next year. They will put us in different groups. You'll be on some team and I'll be on the yearbook.

Spank the monkey says:
Greg will try out for the teams we can go to the same parties and hang out at lunch still.

Butterfly says:
Greg said he wants to see other girls next year.

Butterfly says:
what do you think about that

Spank the monkey says:
he's a fool

Butterfly says:
thanks. I hope you get a cool senior.

They chatted for a few more minutes, then called it quits. Daniel anxiously checked the auction site once more, but there was no change. Greg dumped Mandy! He checked Mandy's name--it took him a second to realize it was her, because she had definitely toned down her appearance. Mandy was a smart girl, a volunteer, and a joiner. He looked at her list of interests. She was definitely smarter than him. Everything she had included sent the same strong message, I'm an ugly fundamentalist Christian nerd and my mom is a cop. Funny thing was--her mom really was a cop! This is why Greg was probably ready to move on; Mandy's mom acted like she'd shoot his bag off if he tried for first base. This is how Hagar the Horrible scared away most of Mandy's boy friends. What Daniel didn't realize, was that there was an “approved list”--and he was on it.

Daniel's mom popped in to tell him to go to sleep because she had to get up early. They got along all right, probably because she was seldom around. He opened a folder she didn't know about, and thought about Mandy for a bit. When he found his hands down his pants, he decided it was time for another shower. Mandy could join him.

The Broken Circle
(Tuesday, June 8th)

Daniel bit into his sandwich and paused as he noticed Mandy looking across the room at Greg.

Helen kept chattering about the morning's English Exam, oblivious to her distracted audience. “That was sooo unfair to expect us to read a poem and answer questions about it. I mean, how are you supposed to study for that?”

Alice peered back at her through her thick lenses. “What did you think it was about?”

“Who cares? It's over so forget it. We have science tomorrow, worry about that.”

Alice spooned more pudding into her mouth. Mandy turned back to the table and caught Daniel staring at her over his sandwich. He tried to smile sympathetically at her and he was rewarded by a quick smile before she dropped her eyes to the table between them. She fingered the slender bracelet a moment as she listened to Alice and Helen gossip. Daniel choked on the hard lump of ham; she was still wearing Greg's Christmas present. She glanced at him again and he realized he was still staring at her. He turned to listen to Helen. It discouraged him to think she still wanted Greg. Greg was sitting near the door with Chris and a few other guys in their grade. He realized that someone had spoken to him and he tried to focus on the conversation.

“What?” He tried to take a bite. Amber Klein had joined them.

“Will you let me see your notes after lunch Daniel?” Her smile mesmerized him for an instant and he had to hurry through his bite and swallow before he could reply. He remembered what Mandy had said about Amber's plans with her senior.

“Sure, I guess.” Daniel was generous with his notes and his time in class. Amber was also a babe. She had the best tits in the eighth grade and at that moment Daniel was entertaining himself with the view of two soft, sensual mounds pressed together through the break in her bunny hug.

Arlo nudged Daniel to get his attention. Arlo had asked him for his notes earlier. “We could all work together.”

“That sounds good” added Mandy.

Daniel shifted his thoughts back to her. He liked his close circle of friends, who ate lunch together and hung out after school. They were his family. This had been their table since the winter day in grade six, when Mandy dragged Helen and Barb over to sit with Daniel, Chris and Arlo. The group had changed little over the years--Barb moved away and Alice and Greg had joined them. There was always room at the table for others, but Daniel could always count on Arlo and Mandy. He felt a shadow across the table and scanned the faces around him, before unconsciously settling on Mandy. Mr. Petri had shattered his assumptions that things would continue the way they were. The teacher made it sound like they would no longer be together in the ninth grade 'learning communities'. Daniel had read the information on the web site and poured over the letters sent to his mother. There was no way to know where they were going to place him. Riverview High was huge! Arlo and Daniel had walked around the sprawling campus of interconnected buildings and playing fields that took up two city blocks. Everyone was familiar with the pool because they had been there for swim period. Each year, the sixth grade classes attended a high school musical. And one time after school, Greg and Daniel had shyly sat in the stands and dreamed of the day when they could join the high school boys on the football field. It was a big place and Daniel was worried they wouldn't be able to find each other.

“I'll see you in class.”

Daniel nodded absently to Mandy and watched her cross the busy cafeteria with the rest of the girls. As they approached the door where Greg sat with Chris, Helen and Alice seemed to draw in protectively around Mandy. Greg ignored her and turned his back, as if to listen to something the boys were saying. It didn't look like they would be getting back together soon. Daniel felt relief and a little guilt. He knew Mandy was sad about losing Greg. He watched her as she turned through the door and caught a flash of polished silver as Mandy paused with her hand on the door to look back at him. He smiled.

Daniel pulled his trash together and dumped it as he followed Amber and Arlo out. Greg gave him a lazy wave from across the room. He sketched a wave back as he moved closer. They had been friends since grade seven and it always felt right to have him part of the group. The last couple of days seemed strange to Daniel. It was confusing, having to choose between friends. Greg made it easy for him by simply leaving the group. Greg was outgoing and popular like Daniel--there always seemed to be someone to hang with around the school. Together, they had made a powerful team.

Daniel watched as Chris got his revenge on Simon Marks. The big kid slipped a foot between the boy's legs and everyone laughed, as the scruffy shrimp slammed into the floor with the remains of his hot lunch. Simon was stunned for an instant, popped to his feet and then turned back on Chris. The supervisor intervened before the boys could get into it. Simon didn't actually see who tripped him, but it was pretty easy to make the determination. He was not the sort to complain to the authorities. He gave Chris the finger behind the woman's back and turned to scan the floor for whatever he had dropped. Arlo and Amber ignored him and continued toward the door, unaware that Daniel had stopped. When they reached the door, they realized they had lost their companion, and paused to look back.

Daniel noticed Simon's CD player under a chair and bent to pick it up. It was battered and had some ketchup smeared like blood along the back. He offered it to Simon.

“I don't need your fucking help, Murrell” the angry boy snapped at him before pushing past him toward the door.

Daniel felt a burst of annoyance at the little jerk. Arlo gave Simon a small shove as he passed. Daniel picked up the tray and dropped it on the table next to Greg and Chris.

“Fucking asshole” Chris growled.

Daniel gave a snort of agreement, but as he turned to join Arlo, he wished that Chris had just left the kid alone. Like the rest of them, Simon was just trying to get by.

Mirror Image
(Tuesday, June 8th)

He turned his back to the other boys, conscious of their ever watchful eyes. It was a lonely moment for him, always a time to be extra cautious. Suspicion surrounded him ever since he let it slip that he liked boys. You think someone is your friend and then they turn on you. People on the web sites talked about how they always knew they were gay. It hadn't been like that for him--he struggled alone, constantly questioning himself. Acceptance came slowly, and when he finally came to terms, he told Anthony. But after that, nobody would hang out with him. He shifted to see if the others had left the shower. Troy and Abdul chatted with each other along the opposite wall. He turned back to the shower head and let the water sprinkle weakly over his face. It felt like tears, but he was long past the tears. The television shows and web sites had conned him into thinking he should have pride in himself. Sure there will be problems, but there will always be people who accept you and support you. . . The boys voices suddenly faded away and he knew he was alone.

This is how it would be now. . . nobody watching his back. . . nobody to share his feelings with. . .

He turned the water off and silently slipped into the change room. His classmates had stopped writing faggot on his locker, but he knew they still muttered it behind his back.

“You're running late, Laine.”

He glanced at his PE teacher and went back to dressing; he was in no hurry to get to class. The gym and the track were the only places he held the other boys' respect. He was so tired of the elementary school attitudes.

Two more days and I'm outta here!

Riverview High was a big place. . . he would find a new friend.

Denver Bids
(Thursday, June 10th)

Denver tapped the keyboard as he looked at the latest challenge: $75.00. This kid is not that special--who else wants him this badly? Across the room he could hear Mark splashing around in the tub. By Thursday, Denver was beginning to feel annoyed and increasingly angry. He suspected that someone was intentionally undermining his bid. He pushed the price on Murrell up to $85.00 and then checked the other three grade eights on his list. They were all possibilities, but his episode with young Murrell had left him with a strong compulsion. He even went so far as to ditch school on Wednesday afternoon, just to catch a glimpse of the boy on his way home.

He sat in front of the school feeling like some chicken hawk waiting for the bell to ring. He watched as the boy stood talking to one of the other boys from the art room incident. He should have left it at that, but he was driven to know more about this Daniel kid. The eighth grader jumped on a bus and Denver cursed himself as he did a u-turn and followed the bus across town. When Daniel reappeared from the bus, Denver watched with curiosity as the boy walked slowly down the street, eventually perching on a window ledge. Denver parked and sat watching the boy. They both remained there for half an hour or more. Daniel must have been waiting for someone, but whoever it was never came to meet him. Finally, Daniel returned to the bus stop.

Denver let him go.

Denver browsed through some of the listings to see if his obsession was that unusual. Did it reassure him to discover that many young girls and a few other boys were bid up to a comparable amount? Or did it worry him that so much money was being dropped in the interests of dark adolescent passions. One girl was actually up to $100 at this point. He had to admit she was stunning in an underage sort of way. Denver was resigned to picking up at least half of the bill. His dad was not going to turn over much more than $50 for a school fundraiser, tax receipt notwithstanding. Denver closed his lap-top when he heard Mark open the bathroom door.

Mark paused in the doorway as Denver turned in his chair. Denver smiled at his lover appreciatively--his slender form a tribute to his strict regiment of exercise and jogging. Denver was not enthusiastic about the times Mark forced him along. Mark ran everyday and practiced some kind of Mark-Yoga that his friends called “Markya”. Denver would do laps back and forth in the pool and Mark would meditate on the edge.

Mark's uncut cock swayed as he moved over to the table to pour a glass of freezer chilled vodka; he tossed the vodka back and gave Denver a long look. Denver slouched in silence as Mark came up to him and stood over him, crotch centered at lip level. Mark refrained from glancing at the closed lap top. Denver knew his lover well enough to realize that his interest in having a freshie was an object of grave concern. He was also honest enough to admit that Mark had justification for that stress. He glanced into his lover's eyes, and knew what was expected.

Denver sat up and ran his hands along the freshly shaven legs and chest. Mark had kept the soft down of pubic hair above his groin, but his heavy scrotum was smooth and soft as Denver cradled it in his palm. Mark's cock lifted with anticipation. Denver breathed in the musk and light scent of soap. He kissed his lover's rippled abdomen and pulled him down onto the carpet to make love. After they had satisfied each other they kissed and talked about the year to come.

Later, as Mark slept, Denver raised his bid to $90 and thought of the lonely boy sitting on a window ledge, staring out into the street.