Whenever I looked into his face, I still saw that of a little boy no older than nine or ten. Perhaps it was those things which bothered Andy the most, though. He often complained about not being as tall as the other boys. Instead of making Andy suffer through his puberty like I had to do, Prince and I promised to get him a cake.
This realization of my little boy growing up made me feel old. Not the same feeling I had before, of despair and disgust. I was embracing my age. I felt wiser. Perhaps that was why I had changed my makeup and hair. Instead of looking like I was holding onto the little bit of youth I had, I simply looked like-well, a mom. Ironically, though, my new appearance actually made me look younger than before.
I eventually got out of my trance and went downstairs to prepare myself a sandwich. Sandy was busy putting a bowl away in the dishwasher. She had been complaining of growing pains as well. She had to wear a bra, and I felt bad for her because she had to wait another year before Prince and I could give her cake. Buzz was shorter than Sandy and only got the occasional voice crack.
"Oh, crap," Sandy said with a groan. Prince snapped his laptop shut and stood up. I glanced down at the water covered floor.
"I'll leave you two to deal with this," I snickered, quickly grabbing some ingredients to make my breakfast.
"You're the handy one, Cind!" Prince protested as I hummed to myself, preparing my meal.
"Exactly. Time for you to learn some skills, Prince," I said.
He glared at me. "Sandy, can you grab a mop? I suppose that I can repair the dishwasher. Next time, don't put all of your body weight on the dishwasher door, hon," he said stiffly.
"Sorry, dad, I just needed to reach the inside," Sandy said, giving Prince big puppy dog eyes. She had him wrapped around her little finger.
"It's alright, you made a mistake. Just don't do it next time," he said in a kinder voice.
I stood by the window facing the outdoors, munching happily on my sandwich. I hadn't done much to get my career on the road. That day, though, I would start. I would sing for tips, like all famous artists start out. It wasn't much, and probably wasn't something fit for a queen, but I didn't really care. I would make my voice known, one way or another. If not me, then perhaps my children, and if not them, then my grandchildren. One of us would become a star by working hard, even if it took ten generations of Casmins to do it.
"Hey bud," I said, traveling into the dining room where I found Andy eating a bowl of Rice Krispies. "Almost done?" I sat next to while I waited for him to finish up.
"Naw," he said, and took another big gulp of cereal.
"Something bothering you?"
He glanced over at me and took another bite of cereal. I waited patiently for him to swallow. "I... I know you asked me to never bring it up again until I was old enough to understand, mom, but I think I'm old enough."
"Come again?" I had no idea what he was talking about.
"About me being gay," he said with a sigh.
"Are you gay, then?"
He put down his spoon. "I'm pretty sure I am. No, I'm positive that I am. I have feelings towards guys I see, especially one boy in my class."
"What's his name?" I said excitedly, momentarily forgetting about what was bothering him.
Andy burned bright red. "It doesn't matter... It's just... You understand, right? And you accept me being gay?"
"Right."
"I just need dad to understand. I want to talk to him about it, today. Do you think he'll flip?"
"No. But you do need to tell him that you're gay. Don't leave it to me."
"Okay. Well, thanks mom."
"I haven't done anything that a mom wouldn't do! Now, pass me your bowl, I need to wash it in the sink because Sandy broke the dishwasher."
I quickly washed the dishes, then returned to the kitchen to dry them. I found Sandy sweeping away at the water mess, to no avail.
"Oh, Sandy sweetie, as long as the dishwasher's still broken, you're going to keep getting water," I explained, gently taking the Swiffer away.
"Mom, I'm so sorry," she said sadly, her lip quivering.
"Sandy darling, you don't need to get upset over something silly like this! Why don't you go tend your baking stand? How about this-if you make any money, daddy and I will take today's profits and that will cover the dishwasher incident. Sound good?"
Sandy chuckled. "I am twelve you know, mom. You don't need to talk to me like I'm eight!"
I bit my lip to refrain from telling her that she still looked like she was eight. "Sorry. Hurry up and make some money!"
Sandy gave me a thumbs up and left the room. Kids. So unpredictable.
I gathered the remaining dirty dishes from the kitchen and took them into the bathroom to scrub them. The kitchen sink should've been for that use, except for the fact that it was soaking a few dishes already.
Surprisingly, I didn't find all of the scrubbing and washing as dreadful as I had anticipated. I had assumed that after all of my childhood years of washing dishes that I would detest the chore, but I actually found it calming and relaxing. Of course, it wasn't something I wanted to get into a regular habit of doing.
"What are you looking at, Sandy?" I called to her, finding her seated in the living room.
"I'm reading the paper to check for price drops or increases in ingredients such as chocolate, sugar, and vanilla," she explained.
She was such a little smarty. "If you're looking for me, I'll be getting ready for the day," I said. I felt a little guilty that my children were ready before me. Except for Buzz. I hadn't seen him yet.
I scrubbed quickly, not wanting to waste much time. I wasn't exactly thrilled about the whole singing for tips idea, but it couldn't be any less embarrassing than the sing-a-grams. One lesson I wanted to teach my kids was that if they wanted to be big in life, they had to earn it the hard way. I wasn't about to get singing gigs just because I was the king's wife. Speaking of which, Prince and I had agreed to not refer to our children as princes and princesses. The age of ruling was coming to an end, and being royal was just a title. There was no escape from the rules unless one wanted to be disowned or not receive any sort of money. I didn't mind. I came from a life of cleaning and rule-abiding ways; I was used to such a lifestyle. It would be rather ungrateful to try and leave the family name because of a squabble or annoyances.
I got out of the tub and changed into my normal clothes, and packed my sing-a-gram outfit for later. Then I tip-toed into Buzz's room and shook him awake. "Buzz? Buzz, sweetie, wake up."
"What? Mom, it's the weekend..." he grumbled, rolling over. I pulled the sheets off of him.
"Too bad!"
"Crud! Mom, no, it's cold, give me my covers back," he mumbled, trying to pull them back. I put them on the bed underneath him, the one that Andy slept in. I recalled how when they were younger, Andy was supposed to get the top bunk. But he didn't. Oops. He had never mentioned it again and it had completely slipped my mind for several years.
"It's nearly eleven, you slug. I'm going to hate trying to wake you up once you become a teenager," I said with a sigh, leaving Buzz to wake up. As I left the room, I passed by some posters on the wall. I had helped the kids redecorate their rooms throughout the years, purchasing new things that they liked at their birthdays. We had only recently put everything up. Buzz had insisted on the posters-a blonde bombshell in a tight green dress with long legs ending in red heels and a poster of a striking dirty blonde lady. It was obvious that Buzz was straight, and he had a type.
"Dad, can I talk to you?"
I briefly glanced into the family room. Prince was seated on the white bench, Andy was facing him. I knew what the conversation was about.
"Sure."
I turned my attention to the dishwasher which my husband had failed to repair. I could innocently eavesdrop since the kitchen was attached to the small family room.
I pried off the bottom part of the dishwasher and took out my handy dandy wrench, eager to find the problem. "First of all, I'm going to ask you if you can just sit and not talk, dad."
"You sound serious!" Prince said with a chuckle.
"I am serious," Andy said, and Prince fell silent. "It's about my sexual orientation. Don't say a word! But, I'm gay."
"I'll leave you two to deal with this," I snickered, quickly grabbing some ingredients to make my breakfast.
"You're the handy one, Cind!" Prince protested as I hummed to myself, preparing my meal.
"Exactly. Time for you to learn some skills, Prince," I said.
He glared at me. "Sandy, can you grab a mop? I suppose that I can repair the dishwasher. Next time, don't put all of your body weight on the dishwasher door, hon," he said stiffly.
"Sorry, dad, I just needed to reach the inside," Sandy said, giving Prince big puppy dog eyes. She had him wrapped around her little finger.
"It's alright, you made a mistake. Just don't do it next time," he said in a kinder voice.
I stood by the window facing the outdoors, munching happily on my sandwich. I hadn't done much to get my career on the road. That day, though, I would start. I would sing for tips, like all famous artists start out. It wasn't much, and probably wasn't something fit for a queen, but I didn't really care. I would make my voice known, one way or another. If not me, then perhaps my children, and if not them, then my grandchildren. One of us would become a star by working hard, even if it took ten generations of Casmins to do it.
"Hey bud," I said, traveling into the dining room where I found Andy eating a bowl of Rice Krispies. "Almost done?" I sat next to while I waited for him to finish up.
"Naw," he said, and took another big gulp of cereal.
"Something bothering you?"
He glanced over at me and took another bite of cereal. I waited patiently for him to swallow. "I... I know you asked me to never bring it up again until I was old enough to understand, mom, but I think I'm old enough."
"Come again?" I had no idea what he was talking about.
"About me being gay," he said with a sigh.
"Are you gay, then?"
He put down his spoon. "I'm pretty sure I am. No, I'm positive that I am. I have feelings towards guys I see, especially one boy in my class."
"What's his name?" I said excitedly, momentarily forgetting about what was bothering him.
Andy burned bright red. "It doesn't matter... It's just... You understand, right? And you accept me being gay?"
"Right."
"I just need dad to understand. I want to talk to him about it, today. Do you think he'll flip?"
"No. But you do need to tell him that you're gay. Don't leave it to me."
"Okay. Well, thanks mom."
"I haven't done anything that a mom wouldn't do! Now, pass me your bowl, I need to wash it in the sink because Sandy broke the dishwasher."
I quickly washed the dishes, then returned to the kitchen to dry them. I found Sandy sweeping away at the water mess, to no avail.
"Oh, Sandy sweetie, as long as the dishwasher's still broken, you're going to keep getting water," I explained, gently taking the Swiffer away.
"Mom, I'm so sorry," she said sadly, her lip quivering.
"Sandy darling, you don't need to get upset over something silly like this! Why don't you go tend your baking stand? How about this-if you make any money, daddy and I will take today's profits and that will cover the dishwasher incident. Sound good?"
Sandy chuckled. "I am twelve you know, mom. You don't need to talk to me like I'm eight!"
I bit my lip to refrain from telling her that she still looked like she was eight. "Sorry. Hurry up and make some money!"
Sandy gave me a thumbs up and left the room. Kids. So unpredictable.
I gathered the remaining dirty dishes from the kitchen and took them into the bathroom to scrub them. The kitchen sink should've been for that use, except for the fact that it was soaking a few dishes already.
Surprisingly, I didn't find all of the scrubbing and washing as dreadful as I had anticipated. I had assumed that after all of my childhood years of washing dishes that I would detest the chore, but I actually found it calming and relaxing. Of course, it wasn't something I wanted to get into a regular habit of doing.
"What are you looking at, Sandy?" I called to her, finding her seated in the living room.
"I'm reading the paper to check for price drops or increases in ingredients such as chocolate, sugar, and vanilla," she explained.
She was such a little smarty. "If you're looking for me, I'll be getting ready for the day," I said. I felt a little guilty that my children were ready before me. Except for Buzz. I hadn't seen him yet.
I scrubbed quickly, not wanting to waste much time. I wasn't exactly thrilled about the whole singing for tips idea, but it couldn't be any less embarrassing than the sing-a-grams. One lesson I wanted to teach my kids was that if they wanted to be big in life, they had to earn it the hard way. I wasn't about to get singing gigs just because I was the king's wife. Speaking of which, Prince and I had agreed to not refer to our children as princes and princesses. The age of ruling was coming to an end, and being royal was just a title. There was no escape from the rules unless one wanted to be disowned or not receive any sort of money. I didn't mind. I came from a life of cleaning and rule-abiding ways; I was used to such a lifestyle. It would be rather ungrateful to try and leave the family name because of a squabble or annoyances.
I got out of the tub and changed into my normal clothes, and packed my sing-a-gram outfit for later. Then I tip-toed into Buzz's room and shook him awake. "Buzz? Buzz, sweetie, wake up."
"What? Mom, it's the weekend..." he grumbled, rolling over. I pulled the sheets off of him.
"Too bad!"
"Crud! Mom, no, it's cold, give me my covers back," he mumbled, trying to pull them back. I put them on the bed underneath him, the one that Andy slept in. I recalled how when they were younger, Andy was supposed to get the top bunk. But he didn't. Oops. He had never mentioned it again and it had completely slipped my mind for several years.
"It's nearly eleven, you slug. I'm going to hate trying to wake you up once you become a teenager," I said with a sigh, leaving Buzz to wake up. As I left the room, I passed by some posters on the wall. I had helped the kids redecorate their rooms throughout the years, purchasing new things that they liked at their birthdays. We had only recently put everything up. Buzz had insisted on the posters-a blonde bombshell in a tight green dress with long legs ending in red heels and a poster of a striking dirty blonde lady. It was obvious that Buzz was straight, and he had a type.
"Dad, can I talk to you?"
I briefly glanced into the family room. Prince was seated on the white bench, Andy was facing him. I knew what the conversation was about.
"Sure."
I turned my attention to the dishwasher which my husband had failed to repair. I could innocently eavesdrop since the kitchen was attached to the small family room.
I pried off the bottom part of the dishwasher and took out my handy dandy wrench, eager to find the problem. "First of all, I'm going to ask you if you can just sit and not talk, dad."
"You sound serious!" Prince said with a chuckle.
"I am serious," Andy said, and Prince fell silent. "It's about my sexual orientation. Don't say a word! But, I'm gay."
**Andy's POV**
Although my voice was steady and my hands were still, my stomach was filled with butterflies. I had no idea how my dad was going to react. I didn't want to know. I was pretty sure that he was homophobic, regardless of what mom said. But he needed to know because I was gay, and it wasn't a choice or a statement or a call for attention. I liked boys and that was it.
"I know that you and mom are married. You're a male and female and you can have children. And I know that me being gay means that I won't be able to have children with my future husband. But I can still have children. I know that it's uncommon to have a homosexual prince. But it doesn't mean that I'm less than a straight person or that I'm unworthy to bear the name of 'Charming'." I held my breath, willing for dad to not lose his cool.
He smirked. "Why are you smiling?! Say something!" I snapped. Oops. So much for not losing my cool.
"Andy, how could you ever think that I'd think less of you?" dad said, taking me completely by surprise.
"Well, uh, a while back you told me that it wasn't right to be gay..." I muttered, trying to recall his words.
"It's a complicated issue, Andy. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
"Of course."
He eyed me, then looked forward and started what seemed to be a rehearsed speech. "In simple terms, we can only pass on the title to you if you provide children that can bear the title themselves, when the time comes. And your children can only bear the title if they come from a married mother and father. Either the mother or the father has to come from the royal family, obviously. So you can't be the heir, which means Buzz gets it."
Although I was pleased that my dad wasn't upset that I was gay, I couldn't understand the reasoning of the heirship or whatever it was called. Besides, Buzz? Be king? No way. He would not stand for that. However, I didn't want to get into a big debate with my father.
"What if I married a woman, had a child with her, divorced her, and married a man I really loved and brought up a child of my own?" Even as the words were emerging from my mouth, I knew that I was speaking of a possibility I would never even consider. Dad seemed to realize this, as he raised his eyebrow at me.
"I don't think you'd ever do that. Don't worry about it though, Andy. Your mom and I have already inquired about changing the laws around that. Times are changing and people are really starting to accept homosexual people. Maybe one day we can finally change things around here for good."
"Amen to that," I sighed, shaking my head. Dad got up, so I stood up as well.
"And so, Andy, I salute you," dad said, and did. "For being brave enough to be open about this, and for being the first openly gay Charming. Technically Casmin, actually," he considered.
"Thanks dad, for your support. I appreciate it," I said gratefully, and to my surprise, dad swept down and engulfed me with a hug.
"If anyone ever dares bully or tease you, tell me straight away. I'll make sure the little punk knows his place," dad said into my ear.
"Dad, I'm a prince! No one makes fun of me ever!" I laughed. It was true. None of the kids at my school would do that, anyway.
"Good luck, my boy. You may need it," he said, before letting go of me and sitting at his computer. "I've had the biggest brainstorm for my latest book just now, so go empty the garbage or something," he said, completely changing the subject and zoning out. I admired his ways of not worrying and not wondering.
To celebrate my joy of achieving my dad's praise, I ran outside and climbed up my treehouse. I loved it so much. There wasn't much to it, but it was where I could think and plan and search. Maybe I was like Sandy in that aspect. But being in a submarine wasn't realistic to me. Sailing the seas in a pirate ship, perhaps? Ah, yes, that was appealing. I wasn't afraid of heights, and while I wasn't much of a risk-taker like Buzz, I did love a good challenge now and then.
I pulled myself up the last rung and stepped inside. My escape from the hassles of the everyday life, my world of fun and imagination. I kept a journal locked away in my treehouse. Today, I would write all about my conversation with dad.
"Jessie! C'mon up!" I called to her, knowing that she was nearby. Normally I didn't let Jessie come up into my treehouse because I wrote about her in my journal, but I was in such a good mood that I didn't care. I didn't understand how I felt about Jessie. She wasn't like normal girls. Well, that was obvious. She had a body made out of fabric for crying out loud. But her personality was different. She didn't read cheesy romance books or giggle when around boys. She didn't obsess over herself or whine about how she wasn't real or how she didn't go to school. She accepted who she was and she helped me accept who I was. Jessie was the girl I went to with my problems. She was my best friend. I didn't think of her as my sister though. I still got embarrassed when she walked in on me changing. So did she.
Even my own sister was girly-er than Jessie. My sister painted her nails, did her hair, and wore fancy dresses. She experimented with makeup, saying that she wanted to be ready when the time came. Jessie, on the other hand, agreed with me when she said that makeup was a cover up. I couldn't be sure if that was her actual opinion though, since she obviously had no need for makeup. She admitted to me that once I returned her to human form, she would probably wear some makeup to accentuate any natural beauty she had.
"You're beautiful the way you are," I said.
She looked down. "I look like a doll," she said sadly.
"I'm talking about your personality." She had smiled and looked away.
I pushed these thoughts from my mind and concentrated on playing. I held up the telescope to my eye. "Land ho, matey!" I cried, grinning as I searched the waters behind the treehouse.
"Aye aye, captain!" Jessie called, playing along.
Jessie rummaged around in the treehouse before pretending to throw something out the window. "Captain, I've let the anchor down!"
"But lassie, you've let it go right through the ship! Look at that hole in the floor! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" Giggling, I raced over to the slide and slid down. "Every man for himself!"
When I reached the bottom of the slide, I remembered that dad had told me to do empty the trash can. I was in such a great mood that I did, and very willingly.
I held the trash above the can, reveling in the moment. There was something special about the moment, despite the fact that the smell emitting from the plastic black bag was brutal. I hadn't done much in my life. I was only a young kid. Starting high school. I still looked like a fifth grader, but that would change. I let the bag fall into the can. I would go talk to Sandy.
"Hey, Sandy," I said, finally finding her on the third floor, mixing batter in a small bowl.
"Hey, Dee," she replied, concentrating on her task at hand.
I sat on the floor, folding my legs under me, watching her work. "So, Sandy, any boys you like in your class?"
"Dee, I don't want to talk about this with you," she said with a sigh.
"I thought I was your best friend?"
"You are, but-"
"And best friends share everything, right?"
"They do, but-"
"I'm gay."
"WHAT?!"
"You're just going to pop that on me? No warning?" she said, annoyed. She poured her bowl out into a pan and spread it around.
"Is it all that important? I like guys, you like guys, Buzz likes girls. Don't see what the big problem is," I said nonchalantly.
"The problem is that I'm finding out now in the middle of a weird conversation." Sandy rammed the pan into the mini child-safe oven, ticked off. "I'm cool with it and stuff, but you can't just drop that on me."
"Well, I did, and I can't change what I said, okay? I just don't want it to be a big deal."
Sandy sighed. "It's not a big deal. But next time, just tell me, okay?"
"Okay."
"So how long have you known?" Sandy asked, taking a seat opposite me.
"A little while now. I've been confused for a while, though. It's difficult to know 'cause everyone is saying that girls and boys always go together. It's like if you grew up with everyone saying that girls like girls and boys like boys. Then you'd have a hard time figuring out how come you like boys."
"I'm straight, though," she said.
"How do you know?"
"I like-" her face burned red. "Fine, I'll tell you, but don't tell Buzz, okay? It's Buzz's best guy friend in our class. He's kind of cute."
I smirked. "Knew it!"
Sandy quickly changed subjects. "Buzz is a heterosexual though, right?"
"Oh, yeah, for sure. He can't stop talking about girls, girls, girls. Speaking of which, I'd better go talk to him now and tell him."
"Wait!" Sandy protested, stopping me from getting up. A tiny 'ding' went off, and Sandy opened up her little oven. "You have to stay for the muffins. Blueberry."
We sat down at the bar and munched on her blueberry muffins. "How long do you plan on selling baked goods?"
"Only for another year. Once mom and dad get me a proper cake to age up, I'm going to get a real job or something. I like the baking, but I hate setting prices and dealing with people who treat me like a little kid. I'm telling you, I hate looking like a little kid," Sandy complained.
"You think you have it bad? At least you're still in the younger portion of our school! The older portion has tons of kids who are all ready aged up and are all teenagers. Like, they all look like teenagers. Luckily, I don't need to wait that much longer."
I finished up a muffin and then left her to make more muffins while I decided to find Buzz.
"I had Rice Krispies, too!" I said, walking up behind Buzz. He muttered something, obviously still sluggish. I sat next to him, deciding that it was probably best to wait until he was finished eating and had more energy before trying to converse with him. "So, I wanted to talk to you," I said nervously. Buzz always talked to me about girls and sex, so I still wanted to be the older brother that Buzz could look up to.
"I know, it's about the potion! I'm right on it!" Buzz cried, and bolted upstairs before I could object. I just sighed and put his cereal bowl in the sink.
When I caught up with Buzz, he was dressed in his lab coat, clapping his gloved hands giddily. "What's up, Buzz?" I said.
Buzz glanced over at me and grinned mischievously. "Oh, nothing, Andy, I just made a fantastic potion I heard about earlier by complete accident..." He carefully poured the neon green liquid into a smaller beaker with a lid on it.
"What does it do?"
"Oh, none of your concern, my dear brother," Buzz said, pocketing the potion.
Okay then.
"Anyway, I needed to tell you something important..." I said, watching Buzz start to mix chemicals in a new beaker.
"Shoot."
"I know it may come as a surprise to you, especially because I've talked to you about certain subject so often, but... I'm gay." I held my breath.
"Gay?" Buzz said, turning his head towards me. He held a smirk on his face. "Dude, did you seriously think I didn't know that you like guys?"
"Wha-?" I was so confused. He knew? But even I didn't know until a month or so ago!
Buzz started laughing again. "Trust me, Andy, I've seen the way you look at certain guys. It's the same look that guys have when they look at girls."
"Really?" But even mom and Sandy didn't know! And dad! Well, mom and dad were prepared for it because of our earlier conversations, but still...
"Mm-hmm. Uh, but one quick question for you. Are you sure you're gay, man? You've also had a hungry eye for some pretty ladies," Buzz said, continuing to mix chemicals.
"What? Well I like guys, so I'm gay, right?" Yet something dawned on me from a conversation mom and I had had ages ago. "What if you like both genders? Then what?" "Those people are bi-sexual."
"Am I bi, then?" I questioned, puzzled.
"How am I supposed to know? I'm not you, Andy. I'm just telling you that I think you like girls and guys. I'm not trying to confuse you-just the opposite, really."
"And you...?"
"I like dudes, dude. I mean chicks! Oh, wow, no, I promise you, I'm straight," he said, laughing. "I think girls are hot and sexy and beautiful."
"Nice to know you judge based on appearance," I said, rolling my eyes.
Buzz winked. "Hey, I can't help it! Ladies are pretty damn fine if I do say so myself."
"You're pretty horny for a kid," I chuckled.
"Watch it, I'm only a year younger than you," Buzz said. He looked around for a moment, then said, quieter, "I'll be honest with you, Andy. Although it may seem like I'm just obsessed about looks, I really don't care about that. That much, at least. I know it sounds cheesy, but I really only care about their personality. A girl who's a little wild, knows how to have fun, and lives in the heat of the moment."
"Sounds like your type of girl," I said, knowing full well that Buzz was describing himself to a T.
"She is..." Buzz said dreamily.
"Wait, what?"
"Oh well, look, I've discovered yet another potion!" Buzz said, cleverly changing the subject as he pointed to his bright blue potion. "This one is supposed to guarantee success when attempting to repair a plumbing or electrical item, so it's pretty useless to me. I'll give it to dad."
Buzz began tidying up while I kept talking. "So, this girl you're talking about... is that the blond with green eyes that you keep talking about?"
"Maybe," Buzz said nonchalantly, but his bright red cheeks revealed the truth.
"Someone's got a crush!" I taunted, poking him. "What's her name?"
"I'm not telling you," he muttered, "You'd just find out who she is and tease me relentlessly."
"Who, me?" It was true, though. As kind of a person I could be, I was still a kid and I had my moments.
Buzz pulled off his gloves, goggles and lab coat and stuffed it under the table. He turned towards me and let out a sudden exclamation of, "D'oh!" before smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"What was that about?"
"I completely forgot to do some extra work on your imaginary friend transformation potion! I'm sorry, Andy," he said sadly.
"It's okay, I'm already asking quite a bit by asking you to do this," I said, patting his shoulder.
"Okay," he said, still looking crestfallen.
"Cheer up! You can do my homework for me," I suggested.
"Hahahahano. Although I will go do my own," Buzz said, and gave my a quick playful punch on the shoulder before running downstairs.
I headed downstairs, stopping quickly on the middle floor to check my room and make sure that my homework was all done. I couldn't help but stop and look at the difference between Sandy's door and Buzz and mine. Buzz had plastered all sorts of warning signs over the red door, along with his favourite band's emblems. Sandy, on the other hand, had a pink door with white flowers running from the bottom to the doorknob. I glanced around before quickly sneaking into her room.
I chuckled at how girly Sandy's room was. Pink and white were the main colours. Everything was something a little kid would have, besides the boy band poster in the corner. Sandy's favourite band consisted of three darker haired guys, and, off to the side, a blond that Sandy has a secret crush on. She hadn't told anybody about how much she liked this guy, not even me. But I, er, happened to stumble upon some journal entries containing Mrs. Sandy Parker. 'Parker' was the blond guy's last name. Personally, I didn't care for any of the guys. I thought that they were all fake. The majority of bands nowadays only contained artists who craved public attention, rather than singing or playing an instrument because they loved it.
I headed downstairs to the kitchen, emptying the garbage out like dad had asked. It was good, because I felt like I was cleaning myself out from the guilt of snooping through Sandy's private things.
I faltered before the garbage can. A raccoon, with big black eyes and everything, was staring at me. "Sh-shoo!" I cried nervously. I knew that raccoons could be vicious, so I wasn't about to make this one mad. I quietly placed the garbage bag in the can, willing the raccoon to wander away. He did. But the path he took was one right over my foot. I stood, stiff, afraid of what this raccoon was doing. Weren't they supposed to be afraid of humans? And maybe I was crazy, but I could have sworn that as he was running away, the raccoon glanced back at me-and winked.
I heard a door slam and jumped, looking around. It was just mom getting in her car. She waved bye to me, rolling down her window. "Bye, sweetheart! Just going to sing for tips!" she called before driving away. Sing for tips? What? I decided to ask her about it once she got home.
"So after I got changed and fixed my hair, I was preparing to lay out my tip jar and start singing, when guess who I saw!" Mom told me, later.
"Becky?" Mom didn't have many friends, so Becky was really the only possibility.
"How did you know? Well, yes, I saw Becky! She and I haven't been able to talk much since having kids. You know how it is. Oh, no, you don't."
"Just continue with your story," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Then I ran up and hugged her, of course. She was still wearing her hospital lab coat thing, so I asked her what that was all about. Apparently in her spare time, she makes house calls. I don't understand it, personally. She went on about how she was going to marry someone rich and never have to work a day in her life, but here she is, working herself to the bone! I told her she needed to take a break."
"Becky then told me that she loved working with people and that she felt a lot better about herself because of it. She loves helping people who can't afford it. I think she's matured a lot in the last few years. We both have," mom said.
"How so?"
Mom gave me a look. "I gave birth to three beautiful children, went through a quarter life crisis, and you say that I haven't matured? Becky and I talked a lot about how our dreams and goals have changed. My dream is still the same, though. I don't think I'll ever accomplish it."
"I'm working on it, though. I took the amp that I have and set it up, along with a tip jar. Then I grabbed my microphone and started belting out my favourite tunes. The park's proprietor was nearby, and I think that I might've made a good impression on her. Mind you, she did seem a little crazy, wearing a witch's hat and all."
"Unfortunately, the park was deserted, so no one new heard me sing. Becky stuck around for support, and lo and behold, who should I hear coming up behind me?"
"Talan Sagar?" I suggested. I had heard a lot of stories about mom's old crush.
"Uh, no. It was the man who helped me buy all of the ingredients for your potion! Wayne Martin. He was still in his work clothes, too, but because he just got off work and, as he put it, 'Heard a beautiful angel speaking to me.' He's a sweet man."
"Becky gave me some pity money, and that's when I decided to pack up. It was getting pretty dark out and I knew you guys would miss me," she said with a wink. "Wayne, Becky and I chatted some bit. It was really nice just talking to two of my best friends for a while, catching up and just talking. Your aunt is doing well," mom said, referring to dad's half-sister, Jodi, "But I wouldn't know. I've never even met her before. Maybe when she's an adult we can all meet her."
"At that point, though, we all had to run, so we hugged and said our goodbyes. I know, not exactly the most exciting afternoon, but I really feel like I've accomplished something for once," mom said, and I smiled to show my support.
Rewinding back to when mom sped off in the car. I whipped out the cell that mom and dad had given me and I made a few calls, preparing for my party. I didn't have too many friends, so I only ended up inviting two of my friends. My birthday wasn't for another month or so, so I just phoned them to work my party around whatever times they could go. We finally decided that a Friday after school would work the best.
I caught Buzz setting up a trap on the toilet as I walked in to pee. "What's this?" I said suspiciously, hands on my hips.
Buzz smiled. "Don't tell anyone, 'k? 'K. Bye." He left without letting me get a word in. I sighed and peered around the toilet, but I couldn't see anything different. I even opened up the toilet tank's lid and looked inside, but I didn't know the inside of the toilet well enough to see if anything was off. To stay on the safe side, I used another washroom.
It wasn't the first nor last time I caught Buzz pulling a prank, though. His favourite trick was loading the shower up with food colouring. It was weird, though-whenever he used a toilet or sink or shower that he had set up, he never got splashed or dyed hair. Actually, maybe he got dyed hair and washed it out, but as for the sink part... Once, dad caught Buzz in the middle of setting up a sink for a trap, and when he told Buzz to use the sink to wash his hands, the water worked fine! However, when dad turned the taps on the same was Buzz had, he got sprayed! Mom always chuckled and went, "That's my boy," when she learned about these events.
Despite the balls that it took to pull off these pranks countless times, Buzz was still afraid of monsters, and check under the bottom bunk constantly for them.
"I see them!" Buzz cried fearfully.
"Buzz, monsters don't exist," I sighed, yet again.
He shot me a dirty look. "Don't give me that bull, Andy. Vampires, werewolves-they exist! These are just small monsters."
I still didn't know why Buzz had a fear of monsters, so I decided that it was time to convince him that monsters weren't real.
Buzz climbed up the ladder (now in his pajamas) up to the top bunk, which had been promised to me. I had decided not to make a big fuss about it though, because it wasn't such a big deal. "Buzz, can I talk to you?"
"Sure thing, Dee," he said. He didn't normally call me 'Dee'. That was Sandy's thing. She didn't like how much our name's sounded alike, so she called me 'Dee' for short. Buzz didn't give nicknames to anyone because his name was too short for a nickname. We could always call him 'Buzzy', but that seemed lame.
"Listen, Buzz, I don't want you checking under the bed anymore for monsters," I said with a sigh, sitting on my own bed.
"How else am I supposed to know if there're monsters?"
"Buzz, you're twelve. You talk about sex and girls. It's time to face the facts that monsters don't live under your bed. Our bunk bed," I explained.
"What are you saying?"
"You need to be more mature. Have you ever seen a monster?"
"No."
"Then?"
"Have you ever seen Jessie?" he pouted.
"Yes."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah. She's not invisible, Buzz. When you make that potion I'll prove that she's real."
"Okay. Well, I'll stop then. For you, I guess. Goodnight, Andy."
"Night, Buzz."
I wasn't ready for bed, though, so I walked downstairs to fix myself a snack. While I browsed for possible food choices, I caught dad sitting in the dining room, alone, eating a bowl of soup. "Dad, I managed to convince Buzz that monsters aren't real," I announced.
He raised his eyebrows at me. "Yeah? It's about time. He won't even listen to me talk. I told him that girls didn't like boys that were afraid of monsters."
I shrugged. "I dunno, I think he knows that they aren't real, but he wants something to believe in, like..." I trailed off, not wanting to continue my sentence. Dad looked at me. I knew that Buzz looked up at me, and he saw that I talked about Jessie all the time. She was real, though. Monsters weren't.
I ladled some soup into my own bowl, and sat down at the kitchen counter. All of this sorting out emotions stuff made me hungry. Leon was the boy. He had lovely, tanned skin, well manicured pale blond hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and a sly grin that could make my knees shake. He was older than me, but not by too much. I knew that my feelings weren't completely one sided, because we often exchanged cheeky winks and dirty jokes. I remember once, we had an hour long conversation about our names. 'Andy Casmin' wasn't the oddest name, really, but Leon teased me about how my little sister was named 'Sandy'. It was nothing compared to Leon's full name, though-Leon DeLeon. He swore that his parents were setting him up for a life full of bullying when they named him Leon.
"Have you ever been bullied?" I asked him one day at lunch.
He shrugged. "Not really. But there's been plenty of name calling. Of course, because of my-er, flamboyant nature, I have met the bad some side of some boys. 'Fag' is the preferred name, of course," Leon said, looking at his sandwich. "I suppose you know what I'm talking about, though?"
This was before I was positive I was gay. I had never been bullied though, because I was a prince and went to a good school. "No, not really. Doesn't 'fag' just mean cigarette, though?"
Leon's eyes widened and he whistled. "Man, have you ever been sheltered!" He went on to teach me the intended meaning of the word.
I shook my head clear of thoughts of my crush and put my dishes away. I headed upstairs to check up on Sandy. "You're trying it out?" I said in shock as I caught Sandy experimenting with the chemistry table.
She looked over at me guiltily. "I'm not trying to make a potion to turn your imaginary friend real, if that's what you're hoping for. But I do want to try the chemicals and stuff."
I just shook my head. "I hope you know what you're doing, because you're kind of being a hypocrite." After all she had yapped on about when it came to using the chemistry set!
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I can do what I want. Bye, Andy."
She would be such a brat once she became a teenager.
I glanced out the window and noticed a bright, rainbow umbrella. I traveled downstairs to the front yard to investigate. Loud rain thundered down all around me, and I squinted as I tried to locate the person holding the umbrella. "Jessie? Is that you?"
"Hey, Andy. I'm just enjoying the rain," she said cheerily.
"Enjoying the rain?! Jessie, get inside, it's freezing!" I spluttered, wiping the rain off of my head. I crouched down under the umbrella to protect myself from the downpour. Because of this, I was standing uncomfortable close to Jessie, our chests brushing. The umbrella created a sort of sound barrier from the rain, and I could hear her a lot better.
"Andy, I have a question," Jessie said, looking up at the rain, away from my eyes.
"What is it? You're acting kind of funny."
She avoided my stare, twirling the umbrella in her hands. "Do you have a crush on... a boy?"
I tried to make eye contact with Jessie, but she was frantically looking everywhere except me. "Yeah... How do you know?"
"So are you gay, then?" Jessie asked, completely ignoring my question.
"I think so," I said, confused. Why did she care?
"Oh. Okay."
I heard a loud crashing noise and a boom. "Jessie, see you later, got to go," I said to her, and sprinted through the rain back into the house.
"Sandy, what did I tell you?" I said with a sigh. She was covered in an all-too familiar black ash.
"Just shut up," she snarled, pushing me out of the way. I sighed and went to clean up her mess. Sandy had a very high IQ, apparently-I heard my parents talking about it. Over one hundred and sixty, apparently, which meant that Sandy was considered to be a genius. This shocked me, frankly. Sandy is bright and all, but she doesn't seem cleverer than the next person. I made sure never to tell Sandy. I didn't know what my or Buzz's IQ was, but I knew that neither of us had an IQ of near one hundred and sixty. If Buzz ever found out, he could be devastated-he and Sandy were twins, after all. Buzz was fairly competitive, and this was one thing that Buzz couldn't change.
I peeled off my wet clothes and climbed into bed, exhausted. Buzz slept soundlessly above me, occasionally letting out a small grunt or sigh. The sound of the rain was soothing, but sleep did not come easily to me. I couldn't stop thinking about all of the day's events. I was now unsure of my sexual orientation (again), and just when my dad had come to understand it. Jessie was acting odd, and I didn't know how I felt about her. When I aged up, would I know? Would my feelings change? Or would they just get strong?
"I know, it's about the potion! I'm right on it!" Buzz cried, and bolted upstairs before I could object. I just sighed and put his cereal bowl in the sink.
When I caught up with Buzz, he was dressed in his lab coat, clapping his gloved hands giddily. "What's up, Buzz?" I said.
Buzz glanced over at me and grinned mischievously. "Oh, nothing, Andy, I just made a fantastic potion I heard about earlier by complete accident..." He carefully poured the neon green liquid into a smaller beaker with a lid on it.
"What does it do?"
"Oh, none of your concern, my dear brother," Buzz said, pocketing the potion.
Okay then.
"Anyway, I needed to tell you something important..." I said, watching Buzz start to mix chemicals in a new beaker.
"Shoot."
"I know it may come as a surprise to you, especially because I've talked to you about certain subject so often, but... I'm gay." I held my breath.
"Gay?" Buzz said, turning his head towards me. He held a smirk on his face. "Dude, did you seriously think I didn't know that you like guys?"
"Wha-?" I was so confused. He knew? But even I didn't know until a month or so ago!
Buzz started laughing again. "Trust me, Andy, I've seen the way you look at certain guys. It's the same look that guys have when they look at girls."
"Really?" But even mom and Sandy didn't know! And dad! Well, mom and dad were prepared for it because of our earlier conversations, but still...
"Mm-hmm. Uh, but one quick question for you. Are you sure you're gay, man? You've also had a hungry eye for some pretty ladies," Buzz said, continuing to mix chemicals.
"What? Well I like guys, so I'm gay, right?" Yet something dawned on me from a conversation mom and I had had ages ago. "What if you like both genders? Then what?" "Those people are bi-sexual."
"Am I bi, then?" I questioned, puzzled.
"How am I supposed to know? I'm not you, Andy. I'm just telling you that I think you like girls and guys. I'm not trying to confuse you-just the opposite, really."
"And you...?"
"I like dudes, dude. I mean chicks! Oh, wow, no, I promise you, I'm straight," he said, laughing. "I think girls are hot and sexy and beautiful."
"Nice to know you judge based on appearance," I said, rolling my eyes.
Buzz winked. "Hey, I can't help it! Ladies are pretty damn fine if I do say so myself."
"You're pretty horny for a kid," I chuckled.
"Watch it, I'm only a year younger than you," Buzz said. He looked around for a moment, then said, quieter, "I'll be honest with you, Andy. Although it may seem like I'm just obsessed about looks, I really don't care about that. That much, at least. I know it sounds cheesy, but I really only care about their personality. A girl who's a little wild, knows how to have fun, and lives in the heat of the moment."
"Sounds like your type of girl," I said, knowing full well that Buzz was describing himself to a T.
"She is..." Buzz said dreamily.
"Wait, what?"
"Oh well, look, I've discovered yet another potion!" Buzz said, cleverly changing the subject as he pointed to his bright blue potion. "This one is supposed to guarantee success when attempting to repair a plumbing or electrical item, so it's pretty useless to me. I'll give it to dad."
Buzz began tidying up while I kept talking. "So, this girl you're talking about... is that the blond with green eyes that you keep talking about?"
"Maybe," Buzz said nonchalantly, but his bright red cheeks revealed the truth.
"Someone's got a crush!" I taunted, poking him. "What's her name?"
"I'm not telling you," he muttered, "You'd just find out who she is and tease me relentlessly."
"Who, me?" It was true, though. As kind of a person I could be, I was still a kid and I had my moments.
Buzz pulled off his gloves, goggles and lab coat and stuffed it under the table. He turned towards me and let out a sudden exclamation of, "D'oh!" before smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"What was that about?"
"I completely forgot to do some extra work on your imaginary friend transformation potion! I'm sorry, Andy," he said sadly.
"It's okay, I'm already asking quite a bit by asking you to do this," I said, patting his shoulder.
"Okay," he said, still looking crestfallen.
"Cheer up! You can do my homework for me," I suggested.
"Hahahahano. Although I will go do my own," Buzz said, and gave my a quick playful punch on the shoulder before running downstairs.
I headed downstairs, stopping quickly on the middle floor to check my room and make sure that my homework was all done. I couldn't help but stop and look at the difference between Sandy's door and Buzz and mine. Buzz had plastered all sorts of warning signs over the red door, along with his favourite band's emblems. Sandy, on the other hand, had a pink door with white flowers running from the bottom to the doorknob. I glanced around before quickly sneaking into her room.
I chuckled at how girly Sandy's room was. Pink and white were the main colours. Everything was something a little kid would have, besides the boy band poster in the corner. Sandy's favourite band consisted of three darker haired guys, and, off to the side, a blond that Sandy has a secret crush on. She hadn't told anybody about how much she liked this guy, not even me. But I, er, happened to stumble upon some journal entries containing Mrs. Sandy Parker. 'Parker' was the blond guy's last name. Personally, I didn't care for any of the guys. I thought that they were all fake. The majority of bands nowadays only contained artists who craved public attention, rather than singing or playing an instrument because they loved it.
I headed downstairs to the kitchen, emptying the garbage out like dad had asked. It was good, because I felt like I was cleaning myself out from the guilt of snooping through Sandy's private things.
I faltered before the garbage can. A raccoon, with big black eyes and everything, was staring at me. "Sh-shoo!" I cried nervously. I knew that raccoons could be vicious, so I wasn't about to make this one mad. I quietly placed the garbage bag in the can, willing the raccoon to wander away. He did. But the path he took was one right over my foot. I stood, stiff, afraid of what this raccoon was doing. Weren't they supposed to be afraid of humans? And maybe I was crazy, but I could have sworn that as he was running away, the raccoon glanced back at me-and winked.
I heard a door slam and jumped, looking around. It was just mom getting in her car. She waved bye to me, rolling down her window. "Bye, sweetheart! Just going to sing for tips!" she called before driving away. Sing for tips? What? I decided to ask her about it once she got home.
"So after I got changed and fixed my hair, I was preparing to lay out my tip jar and start singing, when guess who I saw!" Mom told me, later.
"Becky?" Mom didn't have many friends, so Becky was really the only possibility.
"How did you know? Well, yes, I saw Becky! She and I haven't been able to talk much since having kids. You know how it is. Oh, no, you don't."
"Just continue with your story," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Then I ran up and hugged her, of course. She was still wearing her hospital lab coat thing, so I asked her what that was all about. Apparently in her spare time, she makes house calls. I don't understand it, personally. She went on about how she was going to marry someone rich and never have to work a day in her life, but here she is, working herself to the bone! I told her she needed to take a break."
"Becky then told me that she loved working with people and that she felt a lot better about herself because of it. She loves helping people who can't afford it. I think she's matured a lot in the last few years. We both have," mom said.
"How so?"
Mom gave me a look. "I gave birth to three beautiful children, went through a quarter life crisis, and you say that I haven't matured? Becky and I talked a lot about how our dreams and goals have changed. My dream is still the same, though. I don't think I'll ever accomplish it."
"I'm working on it, though. I took the amp that I have and set it up, along with a tip jar. Then I grabbed my microphone and started belting out my favourite tunes. The park's proprietor was nearby, and I think that I might've made a good impression on her. Mind you, she did seem a little crazy, wearing a witch's hat and all."
"Unfortunately, the park was deserted, so no one new heard me sing. Becky stuck around for support, and lo and behold, who should I hear coming up behind me?"
"Talan Sagar?" I suggested. I had heard a lot of stories about mom's old crush.
"Uh, no. It was the man who helped me buy all of the ingredients for your potion! Wayne Martin. He was still in his work clothes, too, but because he just got off work and, as he put it, 'Heard a beautiful angel speaking to me.' He's a sweet man."
"Becky gave me some pity money, and that's when I decided to pack up. It was getting pretty dark out and I knew you guys would miss me," she said with a wink. "Wayne, Becky and I chatted some bit. It was really nice just talking to two of my best friends for a while, catching up and just talking. Your aunt is doing well," mom said, referring to dad's half-sister, Jodi, "But I wouldn't know. I've never even met her before. Maybe when she's an adult we can all meet her."
"At that point, though, we all had to run, so we hugged and said our goodbyes. I know, not exactly the most exciting afternoon, but I really feel like I've accomplished something for once," mom said, and I smiled to show my support.
Rewinding back to when mom sped off in the car. I whipped out the cell that mom and dad had given me and I made a few calls, preparing for my party. I didn't have too many friends, so I only ended up inviting two of my friends. My birthday wasn't for another month or so, so I just phoned them to work my party around whatever times they could go. We finally decided that a Friday after school would work the best.
I caught Buzz setting up a trap on the toilet as I walked in to pee. "What's this?" I said suspiciously, hands on my hips.
Buzz smiled. "Don't tell anyone, 'k? 'K. Bye." He left without letting me get a word in. I sighed and peered around the toilet, but I couldn't see anything different. I even opened up the toilet tank's lid and looked inside, but I didn't know the inside of the toilet well enough to see if anything was off. To stay on the safe side, I used another washroom.
It wasn't the first nor last time I caught Buzz pulling a prank, though. His favourite trick was loading the shower up with food colouring. It was weird, though-whenever he used a toilet or sink or shower that he had set up, he never got splashed or dyed hair. Actually, maybe he got dyed hair and washed it out, but as for the sink part... Once, dad caught Buzz in the middle of setting up a sink for a trap, and when he told Buzz to use the sink to wash his hands, the water worked fine! However, when dad turned the taps on the same was Buzz had, he got sprayed! Mom always chuckled and went, "That's my boy," when she learned about these events.
Despite the balls that it took to pull off these pranks countless times, Buzz was still afraid of monsters, and check under the bottom bunk constantly for them.
"I see them!" Buzz cried fearfully.
"Buzz, monsters don't exist," I sighed, yet again.
He shot me a dirty look. "Don't give me that bull, Andy. Vampires, werewolves-they exist! These are just small monsters."
I still didn't know why Buzz had a fear of monsters, so I decided that it was time to convince him that monsters weren't real.
Buzz climbed up the ladder (now in his pajamas) up to the top bunk, which had been promised to me. I had decided not to make a big fuss about it though, because it wasn't such a big deal. "Buzz, can I talk to you?"
"Sure thing, Dee," he said. He didn't normally call me 'Dee'. That was Sandy's thing. She didn't like how much our name's sounded alike, so she called me 'Dee' for short. Buzz didn't give nicknames to anyone because his name was too short for a nickname. We could always call him 'Buzzy', but that seemed lame.
"Listen, Buzz, I don't want you checking under the bed anymore for monsters," I said with a sigh, sitting on my own bed.
"How else am I supposed to know if there're monsters?"
"Buzz, you're twelve. You talk about sex and girls. It's time to face the facts that monsters don't live under your bed. Our bunk bed," I explained.
"What are you saying?"
"You need to be more mature. Have you ever seen a monster?"
"No."
"Then?"
"Have you ever seen Jessie?" he pouted.
"Yes."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah. She's not invisible, Buzz. When you make that potion I'll prove that she's real."
"Okay. Well, I'll stop then. For you, I guess. Goodnight, Andy."
"Night, Buzz."
I wasn't ready for bed, though, so I walked downstairs to fix myself a snack. While I browsed for possible food choices, I caught dad sitting in the dining room, alone, eating a bowl of soup. "Dad, I managed to convince Buzz that monsters aren't real," I announced.
He raised his eyebrows at me. "Yeah? It's about time. He won't even listen to me talk. I told him that girls didn't like boys that were afraid of monsters."
I shrugged. "I dunno, I think he knows that they aren't real, but he wants something to believe in, like..." I trailed off, not wanting to continue my sentence. Dad looked at me. I knew that Buzz looked up at me, and he saw that I talked about Jessie all the time. She was real, though. Monsters weren't.
I ladled some soup into my own bowl, and sat down at the kitchen counter. All of this sorting out emotions stuff made me hungry. Leon was the boy. He had lovely, tanned skin, well manicured pale blond hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and a sly grin that could make my knees shake. He was older than me, but not by too much. I knew that my feelings weren't completely one sided, because we often exchanged cheeky winks and dirty jokes. I remember once, we had an hour long conversation about our names. 'Andy Casmin' wasn't the oddest name, really, but Leon teased me about how my little sister was named 'Sandy'. It was nothing compared to Leon's full name, though-Leon DeLeon. He swore that his parents were setting him up for a life full of bullying when they named him Leon.
"Have you ever been bullied?" I asked him one day at lunch.
He shrugged. "Not really. But there's been plenty of name calling. Of course, because of my-er, flamboyant nature, I have met the bad some side of some boys. 'Fag' is the preferred name, of course," Leon said, looking at his sandwich. "I suppose you know what I'm talking about, though?"
This was before I was positive I was gay. I had never been bullied though, because I was a prince and went to a good school. "No, not really. Doesn't 'fag' just mean cigarette, though?"
Leon's eyes widened and he whistled. "Man, have you ever been sheltered!" He went on to teach me the intended meaning of the word.
I shook my head clear of thoughts of my crush and put my dishes away. I headed upstairs to check up on Sandy. "You're trying it out?" I said in shock as I caught Sandy experimenting with the chemistry table.
She looked over at me guiltily. "I'm not trying to make a potion to turn your imaginary friend real, if that's what you're hoping for. But I do want to try the chemicals and stuff."
I just shook my head. "I hope you know what you're doing, because you're kind of being a hypocrite." After all she had yapped on about when it came to using the chemistry set!
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I can do what I want. Bye, Andy."
She would be such a brat once she became a teenager.
I glanced out the window and noticed a bright, rainbow umbrella. I traveled downstairs to the front yard to investigate. Loud rain thundered down all around me, and I squinted as I tried to locate the person holding the umbrella. "Jessie? Is that you?"
"Hey, Andy. I'm just enjoying the rain," she said cheerily.
"Enjoying the rain?! Jessie, get inside, it's freezing!" I spluttered, wiping the rain off of my head. I crouched down under the umbrella to protect myself from the downpour. Because of this, I was standing uncomfortable close to Jessie, our chests brushing. The umbrella created a sort of sound barrier from the rain, and I could hear her a lot better.
"Andy, I have a question," Jessie said, looking up at the rain, away from my eyes.
"What is it? You're acting kind of funny."
She avoided my stare, twirling the umbrella in her hands. "Do you have a crush on... a boy?"
I tried to make eye contact with Jessie, but she was frantically looking everywhere except me. "Yeah... How do you know?"
"So are you gay, then?" Jessie asked, completely ignoring my question.
"I think so," I said, confused. Why did she care?
"Oh. Okay."
I heard a loud crashing noise and a boom. "Jessie, see you later, got to go," I said to her, and sprinted through the rain back into the house.
"Sandy, what did I tell you?" I said with a sigh. She was covered in an all-too familiar black ash.
"Just shut up," she snarled, pushing me out of the way. I sighed and went to clean up her mess. Sandy had a very high IQ, apparently-I heard my parents talking about it. Over one hundred and sixty, apparently, which meant that Sandy was considered to be a genius. This shocked me, frankly. Sandy is bright and all, but she doesn't seem cleverer than the next person. I made sure never to tell Sandy. I didn't know what my or Buzz's IQ was, but I knew that neither of us had an IQ of near one hundred and sixty. If Buzz ever found out, he could be devastated-he and Sandy were twins, after all. Buzz was fairly competitive, and this was one thing that Buzz couldn't change.
I peeled off my wet clothes and climbed into bed, exhausted. Buzz slept soundlessly above me, occasionally letting out a small grunt or sigh. The sound of the rain was soothing, but sleep did not come easily to me. I couldn't stop thinking about all of the day's events. I was now unsure of my sexual orientation (again), and just when my dad had come to understand it. Jessie was acting odd, and I didn't know how I felt about her. When I aged up, would I know? Would my feelings change? Or would they just get strong?
My thoughts plagued me as I tossed and turned in my bed, unable to rest.
I love the story so far ;)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see Andy as a teenager though xD
Keep going :D