The Exchange Students - 1. Chapter 1

I just received an email from my school notifying me that I've been chosen as a school ambassador this year. My first assignment is to welcome four exchange students from Norway. Friday is the first day of the new term, and I'll meet them at the main entrance at 8:30. I'm really looking forward to it. I just hope they speak English!

My life has been pretty great so far, almost perfect. I was born in sunny San Mateo, California, and my family has lived on Aragon Boulevard since I was two years old. It's a nice house in a good neighborhood. I have an older sister, four years older than me, and a younger brother, five years younger. Despite the age gaps, we get along pretty well. We often engage in family activities together and always have a good time. My elementary school was two blocks from our house, and I used to walk or ride my bike there almost every day. I have great memories of spending time with my classmates, engaging in school activities, video game sleepovers, and just being carefree kids.

Last year, everything changed when I started high school in the bustling city. Despite being a "peninsula boy," I've had many adventures with my family and school friends in San Francisco. I've visited nearly all the incredible museums and immersed myself in the city's cool cultural scene.

My high school is amazing, and the students are generally bright. I had to take a test to prove I was smart enough to attend. I usually ride with my dad, who works downtown three to four days a week at a 'boutique' law firm. He seems to like the work, but I find it hard to stay awake when he talks about it. On my dad's 'home office' days, I either catch a ride with one of the other kids from school or take Caltrain, BART, or SamTrans as a last resort. It's not so bad, and I do most of my homework during the trips. Surprisingly, my parents allow me to commute on my own. They've promised me a car next summer when I turn sixteen if I get good grades. That's not a problem since I'm pretty good at school.

My best friends are Brad and Emma. Brad lives in the West Portal neighborhood of San Francisco. His house is close to our school, and sometimes, I stay at his place. He's a straight, really straight boy. He's so straight he doesn't care at all that I'm gay and kids me all the time about finding someone to bust my "butt-cherry." He's funny as hell in an irreverent sort of way. He cleans it up around parents and teachers.

Emma lives in Cole Valley, an interesting neighborhood bordering Haight-Ashbury and close to Golden Gate Park.

Cole Valley offers lots of cool places to explore, such as small shops, restaurants, and coffee hangouts. There's Mount Sutro Forest, with its mist-shrouded trails and towering eucalyptus trees, and an annual neighborhood street fair in the summer is pretty fun. It is an upscale neighborhood, but not too bad.

On the other hand, there is Haight-Ashbury. My grandparents grew up in the Bay Area and told me stories about when they were young and experienced the 'summer of love' in the Haight in the late 1960s. Grandad implied that it was a wild time, but my grandma tries to change the subject when he starts talking about it. It's hard for me to believe they were flower children, but then again, I guess I can see it. There are all kinds of groovy shops and brightly painted buildings, hearkening back to those days.

Golden Gate Park is huge, with museums, hiking trails, and even a buffalo paddock. Once, in the Fall, we had a picnic on Hippie Hill and enjoyed a free concert by the San Francisco Opera playing music from the upcoming opera season. Although I'm not really into opera, it was a nice sunny day, and those performers can sing.

As I said, my life is almost perfect - almost. OK, I'll explain the "almost." Put simply, I need to get laid. I think I'm mature enough and horny enough to explore sex… horny enough anyway. I've got tons of buddies (straight buddies), and many girls have expressed interest, but that's not what I'm looking for.

I had one experience early this summer. I wanted to go to one of the gay bars, but I look my age, and I'm pretty sure I'd get thrown out. I found a site on the internet that listed 'pick up' places in the Bay Area. There were a couple within easy bicycling distance of my home in San Mateo, but I was scared of running into someone I knew or, even worse, who knew my parents. I can't imagine seeing one of my old teachers or, one of the priests from my church. I wouldn't be surprised to see Father Gallant hanging out, looking for some action. He never hit on any of us, and I don't think he was into kids, but I definitely got gay vibes from him. He was, actually, a pretty nice guy. Anyway. I decided to 'cruise' a wooded area in the southwestern part of Golden Gate Park.

I told my mom and dad I was sleeping over at Brad's so we could get up early for wrestling practice. I guess I haven't mentioned that I'm on the wrestling team.

I took BART, then the N-Judah Muni Metro line to the park. I decided to pretend I was on a run, and I guess I sort of was. If anything went wrong, I wanted to be wearing my running shoes. I wore compression running shorts and a technical running shirt that fit tight to my body. Yes, I was trying to look sexy, but without screaming trashy. I'm pretty confident in my appearance, but still, this was frightening. I've heard stories about innocent kids disappearing, found later buried in the basement or walls of a serial pedophile's house. I'm not a kid anymore and in really good shape. I think, if I'm careful, I can take care of myself.

I jogged up Martin Luther King Jr. Drive past Murphy's Windmill to the area on the website map. I was extremely nervous. There didn't seem to be many people around. A few other runners, walkers, and people whizzed by on bikes, but that was it. I considered giving up and heading to Brad's house, but I knew I was acting cowardly. I headed into the trees and up a winding trail. I could feel my heart beating faster than usual, and it wasn't because of my short jog. I saw a guy standing beside a tree. He was probably in his early 50s, wearing faded jeans and a tight dark t-shirt. He was built with a massive chest and bulging biceps, a short dark-brown beard with just a touch of gray - he was hot! As I was working up the courage to walk toward him, another guy, equally handsome in his 40s, approached him, and they walked off into a denser part of the woods. I considered following them and watching some of the action, but I'm not that much of a perv. OK, maybe I am that much of a perv, but this was my first time, and I didn't know the rules.

I walked on, just wandering from path to path. I saw some people, but they all ignored me. I was probably too young for most of them. I had to take a piss, so I stepped off the trail and started to pee. I heard a branch snap. Looking up, I saw a guy staring at me, more at my dick than anything else. I stood frozen, cock in hand, not knowing what to do. He was a little older than me, but not by much, maybe in college.

He walked up to me and knelt, avoiding my pee puddle, and put my cock in his mouth. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't last long. He stood up, gave me a quick nod, and walked off. That was it. I was far from satisfied. Yeah, I got off, but I wanted to do some other stuff. I didn't even see his dick. To this day, besides the internet, I've never seen a man's hard cock.

I'm so ready for something more. I'm not sure anonymous sex is right for me.

It's the first day of my second year of high school. There are geeky-looking new kids wandering around with petrified expressions on their faces. It's hard to believe that was me last year.

I wonder where the Norwegian kids are? I'm not sure I would recognize them even if they were standing in front of me unless they were speaking Norwegian, of course. Wait a minute. Who are those guys?

Fifty feet away, standing to the side of the main entrance to the high school, are four of the most beautiful teens I've ever seen, including in the movies and fashion blogs. I can feel my heart beating a little faster. I'm not the only one who noticed them. Half of the kids in the atrium were drooling, including me. 'No time like the present to introduce myself,' I thought. 'The school ambassador is on the job!'

I anxiously approached them. "Hi, are you the new students from Norway?"

The closest boy said, "Yes, we are."

There was just a hint of an accent. I don't think I needed to worry about their English.

"Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Matt, and I'm one of the school ambassadors." God! I sound like Ms. Manners. I need to relax and act a little cooler in front of these guys.

"It's nice to meet you, Matt. I am Frank." Frank was slightly taller than the other boys, over six feet tall, and, while still lean, more muscular. He was probably the oldest of the four Norwegians. If I had to guess, I'd say sixteen or seventeen years old. Turning to his right, Frank said, "This is Oscar."

Oscar looked me in the eyes and smiled, "Hello, Matt. Are you going to show us around?"

I melted and thought,' I can't believe how cute Oscar is! He's so sexy in a wholesome sort of way.' I was lost in his gaze and could feel a stirring below that I needed to control before it became embarrassingly apparent to Oscar and everyone else. I mentally shook my head to clear my thoughts and said.

"Yes, I'm here to be your guide, and I hope to make you comfortable at the school. If there's anything you need, let me know,"

Oscar peered into my eyes a few seconds longer and introduced Jakob.

Jakob was probably the youngest, thirteen or fourteen years old. He had a twinkle in his eyes that caused me to smile despite my nervousness.

"I guess you are stuck with us. I suspect you hoped for some sexy Scandinavian girls with big tits. Better luck next time," he said with a friendly smirk.

Little did Jakob know. I was thrilled with my first assignment.

"I'll do the best I can with the material I've got," I said, laughing.

"This is Carson," said Jakob. "He is the quiet, serious one of us, but we let him hang around with us anyway." He lightly elbowed Carson with a mischievous laugh. "He tries to keep the rest of us out of trouble."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Carson politely said. "With the possible exception of Jakob, you should not have any problems with us." He glanced at Jakob while giving him a playful, disapproving look.

Emma approached us as they finished the introductions and said, "Hi, Matt. Are these the new students?"

I could see her devouring Frank with her eyes. She was almost as eager to get laid as I am, maybe more.

I quickly introduced everyone and asked, "Emma, would you like to join us on a tour of the school?"

I didn't have to ask. She'd already positioned herself next to Frank. I should probably warn him about what he's getting into. Let's just say Emma's a really good person, but she's assertive as hell, knows what she wants, and isn't afraid to go after it. I could learn something from her.

I think the city built our high school sometime in the early 20th century, in the 1920s. I should probably look it up, particularly if I'm going to give more of these tours. The outside has a Spanish revival look, but not exactly. It's more of a California version of Spanish revival. A cool church-like tower on one side of the building resembles something from the old movie Vertigo. I think the heroine was supposed to fall out of the tower but didn't. I'm not sure. I watched it with my grandparents when I was little.

Emma and I showed them the regular stuff: the admin office, cafeteria, gym (I showed them the boy's locker room. Some guys were showering, but we have private shower stalls at the school, worse luck for me), auditorium, athletic fields and some of the classrooms.

The first-period warning buzzer went off. We all agreed to meet in the cafeteria after morning classes.

Emma had first period with Carson and escorted him and Frank to their classrooms. I escorted Oscar and Jakob. I didn't have first-period with either of them, but Oscar and I had second-period science together. I dropped Jakob off first, then Oscar. It's unusual for me, but a shyness came over me when I was alone with him. At his classroom door, he paused, looked me in the eyes, and said. "I will see you in the next period. Save me a seat."

My stomach was a flutter. 'God, he was sexy!'

I couldn't wait to see Oscar again. The first period seemed to last forever. Every minute was torture, but finally, the first period was over. The school has three floors of classrooms. I had to descend two floors and walk to the other end of the hallway to my second-period classroom. Since it was the first day of the term, many newbies were lost wandering around the halls. My duty as school ambassador was to help as many of them as possible.

As a result, I arrived at my class just as the buzzer rang.

I entered the room and chose one of the two seats available. I found myself seated toward the back of the room.

Oscar was sitting up front next to Donnell Simmons. Donnell was a good looking guy and as only a tenth grader already on the college radars for the basketball programs at Cal and Arizona State. Oscar and Donnell were chatting it up. Oscar didn't even check to see if I was there.

Don Larkin was the teacher. He was also the soccer coach. Everyone liked Don. He was relatively young and related well to us. His instruction style was casual, preferring conversations with us rather than lecturing. He told us on the first day to read a chapter from the text before each class and that we'd discuss it in class. He said, "You are all honor students, and it will be more fun for all of us to just talk about the material in class. There will be tests!" he said with a friendly chuckle.

I scanned the table of contents of the text. After the introduction, the first section was about the history of the discovery and development of DNA technology. Sounds interesting.

My second-period class was world history with Carson. My final morning class was an introduction to Chinese class, and then I'd see Oscar again at lunch!

After Chinese, I did my school ambassador duty, helping lost students find their next room assignments. When I got to the cafeteria, the Norwegians were already eating their lunch at a table. Emma was sitting next to Frank and Donnell with Oscar.

I was feeling … alright, I'll admit it - Jealous of Donnell. He and Oscar were chatting away, oblivious to everything happening around them. They might have just as well been 'making out.'

I sullenly grabbed a burrito and sat next to Emma at the end of the table.

Oscar's face lit up when he saw me, and he said. "Where have you been? I tried catching you after the second period, but you were too fast. I've been looking for you ever since."

That made me feel better. From that moment on, Oscar turned his attention to me and practically ignored Donnell. I don't know Donnell very well, but I could swear he looked pissed.

After a few minutes, Jakob declared, "Matt, you and Oscar should get a room."

I looked up, embarrassed. Everyone at the table stared at me. I blushed and thought, 'Have I been found out!'

Then, as if on cue, everyone laughed loudly. I recovered quickly and joined the laughter.

For the rest of the lunch period, the Norwegians shared impressions of their first morning of classes. Emma, Donnell, and I tried to answer any questions they had.

I had no classes with the Norwegians the rest of the day, so we said our goodbyes and promised to check in after the weekend. I hoped we would. At least I knew I'd see Oscar during second-period science.

Brad, his girlfriend Amy, Emma, and I decided to catch the 7:00 show of the latest Deadpool movie at the Metreon IMAX theater a block off Market Street that evening. We had fun teasing Brad and Amy for making out during a lull in the action. You don't see Brad blushing very often.

After the show, we ate some Mexican at Chipotle and headed to the Metro station to pick up the N-Judah and return to Emma's house.

This part of San Francisco is a little sketchy, so we were alert to our surroundings. Nevertheless, we were approached and surrounded by six guys when we descended the steps into the station. Two of them were brandishing knives.

Flashing his knife, one of them gruffly said. "Give us your money, credit cards, and phones."

We were in shock and hesitated. One of the guys with the knives shouted. "Give us your stuff now, or we'll cut you."

We gave him what he asked for and just hoped he'd go away.

One of them thumped Brad hard on the chest, causing him to stagger backward, and they walked off into the station. We knew we needed to leave the station but were in shock.

As we stood there, we heard shouting, followed by a gunshot. The six guys that robbed us came running toward us. We cowered out of the way as they passed. One of them had a bloody face, and another was limping badly. A third was holding his arm awkwardly. His wrist was flopping around unnaturally. The other three didn't look good either, with various scrapes and abrasions. They clambered up the steps and disappeared into the busy city night.

We stood there stunned, not knowing what we should do. Outside were the guys with knives that mugged us, and in the station was something maybe worse with a gun.

I saw several shapes emerging from the shadows. I could feel my stomach constrict in fear. To my relief, it was Carson, Frank, Oscar, and Jakob. What were the Norwegians doing here? They quickly approached us.

"Did they hurt you?" Oscar asked calmly but with genuine concern.

"I … I … I don't think so," stuttered Brad.

"Where did you guys come from?" I asked.

"We were on the platform waiting for the tram," said Frank. "Here are your phones, cards, and cash."

"I heard a gunshot," said Emma, "do one of you have a gun?"

"No," said Jakob, "and neither do they anymore," he grinned.

"We removed and disposed of all their weapons," said Carson.

Brad, Amy, Emma, and I stared at the Norwegians in amazement.

"How did you do that?" asked Brad.

"We have some self-defense training," said Frank.

After an awkward pause, Carson added. "That type of training is common in Norway."

I wasn't sure about that. 'That's some training,' I thought. 'The guys that robbed us looked tough. John Wick would have trouble disarming them.’

Who are these guys?