Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2016 02:23:13 +0000
From: Chezdon <chezdon1997@gmail.com>
Subject: Innocence Waning Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The walk back to the open wrought iron pedestrian gates bordering Melbourne
Grammar is painful as the new shoes that Mel bought for me rub incessantly
against both of my heels. I have to stop once under the school crest and
motto which is translated from Latin into "Pray and Work" to remove my
shoes and apply band aids that I strategically carry in my backpack for
emergencies. I pray to the flying spaghetti monster in the sky that the
bandages serve a purpose and blood is not shed on to my socks. Austin and I
pass the time reminiscing about everything that transpired at the hospital
earlier and of course the random references to Mister Mackey and the silly
new rule that us boys need to follow. My stomach noticeably growls like a
lion as our peers walk past us eating takeaway from the local McDonalds and
Subway franchises. I consider bribing one of my hungry classmates for a
mere chicken nugget or even a French fry but instead just put up with the
grumbling sounds. My body is demanding nourishment and something besides
Coca Cola and the smell of fresh bread wafting out from the Subway foot
longs and the grease of the Quarter Pounders are certainly alluring and I
nearly throw in the towel and ditch the rest of the day only for some much
needed sustenance elsewhere.

"It's hump day." Austin begins to preen himself using the limited
reflection available on the face of his phone. "I am really looking forward
to Friday night." I then remember that Friday is our much anticipated first
date night and I quietly congratulate myself for sorting out the
particulars of what I hope will be a fun and romantic evening.

"Me too." I smile as I further manipulate a sock. "What the hell is hump
day? I don't think there is time for me to hump you mate unless you want to
head to mine and blow this place off." I wink at Austin. "I was hoping you
would ask. You look really nice today by the way. I like it when your
fringe goes to the right instead of the left."

Austin laughs and sets his bag down on the footpath. He begins to
straighten his tie and tuck in his white shirt. I am glad that he cares so
much about his appearance since I really like looking at him. I almost feel
guilty that I appear to be a dishevelled mess who to a random on the street
looks to have been sweating like a rapist. Jesus Christ didn't care what he
looked like when he was crucified so my appearance as I enter the school
grounds anticipating a punishment after I finally adjust my socks and
return my shoes to my feet after picking up my bag is the least of my
worries. "Hump Day is the middle of the day on Wednesday, meaning it is all
downhill with respect to the rest of the week. I can't believe you haven't
heard that saying before."

"I guess that is true. You are thinking about our five day school week so I
guess even if you consider there are seven days in the week, what you say
is certainly true. Happy hump day!" I raise my arms above my head and begin
clapping them in time like I was at the last 5 Seconds of Summer
concert. "I like my definition better though. Can I at least squeeze your
arse once for luck?" I wink again at Austin as he picks up his bag feeling
satisfied with his appearance and follows me.

"Nope. Later maybe. Certainly not here." Austin declares
matter-of-factly. "Do you think when you get home that Daniel will be
betrothed to Mel?"

"Jesus, Austin. You are on fire with the vocabulary today. However why not
say it in German? You sound cute when you are uttering the guttural
syllables of that language." It is well known that I am ranked the highest
in our class and I wonder sometimes why Austin is not. I rationalise it
that I am much more book smart and uptake information easier, a bit like a
sponge. Austin is able to apply what he learns easier and files it all away
for future reference. "Yeah, I think they will be engaged when I get
home. I am glad that there is some happy news after what just seems to be a
sea of shit washing ashore today."

"They are a good couple. I really hope that we can have as much fun and
communicate as well as they seem to in the days, weeks, months and
hopefully years ahead." Austin catches my gaze for a few seconds and smiles
before looking at his watch. "I should go. I will ring you later after I
stir some shit up at home." I am reminded that he is going to `come out'
when he gets home later at some point which escaped my mind.

"Take care of yourself Austin." I give him a very discrete wave not knowing
what to do as he turns and walks off. My stomach rumbles again which I
consider a foreboding omen as to what I fear Austin will experience when he
has the big talk with his parents later today about not only his sexuality
but my good self.

I glance at my watch whilst taking a deep breath and begin to walk towards
my Economics class. After a prolonged sigh, I come across a few of the boys
that were in my English Literature class earlier and as I approach they
start to whistle and then one of them shouts. "I will stand and piss where
I want!" After a few attempts at chanting in unison, the four boys are then
in-sync and repeat the eight word proclamation as I walk past them as we
fist pump and smack our hands together before I casually walk in to
Economics class, smiling.

The rest of the day behind the iron gate plods along and with the exception
of the students taking notice of me in between the next class who slap my
back and high five me, my stress level decreases as no member of the
administration or respective school staff requests my audience and
seemingly Mister Mackey doesn't make a big deal about my disruption earlier
or the mass exodus of students from his class. I begin to surmise that
Mister Mackey is a reasonable person and suspect that he doesn't agree with
the totalitarian view that boys should be forced to sit and urinate as per
an edict from his comrades in the administrative office. Maybe he isn't the
deadbeat instructor that I thought he was.

The day of learning ends thankfully without any additional fanfare and
whilst leaving the school grounds at the wrought iron gate I spot Malcolm
gesticulating wildly and his droogs chatting amongst themselves. They start
laughing when they see me and enthusiastically wave me over. "Hey
lads. What's shaking?" I drop my bag on the ground and begin to scratch at
the infected pimple that has sprouted on my shoulder under my shirt.

"Hey mate." Malcolm starts the fist-pumping routine with me, and I complete
the action with his gang of three. "Did you get into the shits?" Charlie
looks preoccupied and is looking down the street, most likely he is waiting
for someone to pick him up. I notice the acne on his face and quickly
decide that I would rather have one pimple on my shoulder despite the
annoying pain.

"No mate. I didn't hear shit from anyone in administration today. Let's
hope it stays that way, hey? I told my old man what happened though and he
said he would fight the school if they try to punish me because it is so
bullshit." Malcolm chuckles and starts sorting through his backpack. "He
was mortified at that new shit rule."

Charlie bends down and scratches his knee and then his hairy shin. I notice
some scabs on his limb, most likely suffered from playing sport. His tibia
actually looks like it has been dented, which makes his shin appear strange
and almost cartoon-like. "Hey, I told these blokes earlier, but one of
those new signs in the toilet block has already been vandalised." He stands
up, rolls his eyes and smiles. "I wouldn't know who did it though, so don't
ask."

Malcolm hits Charlie on his shoulder. "It is obvious who did it
dickhead. Not like it matters. Hey, there is Austin." Malcolm extends his
arm over my head and waves at Austin as I turn around and make an inviting
motion towards him with my arm, effectively waving him over to our sewing
circle.

"Hey boys, what's happening?" Austin nonchalantly says as he arrives at my
side. "Someone has already written graffiti on the new stupid sign in the
bathroom that I just used." Everyone besides Austin looks at Charlie and
begins to laugh. Malcolm slaps his shoulder and finds Austin's observation
especially amusing.

"What a laugh. I love it!" Malcolm states with glee. "Hey, there is that
dickhead Jayden." Austin and I both turn around and look back through the
iron school gates and see Jayden stumbling out onto the footpath with his
backpack as fully laden as it possibly can get. "Hey dickhead!" Malcolm
shouts at Jayden. Austin and I both look at each other incredulously. "Hey
dickhead!" Malcolm shouts louder and drops his bag and starts to run
towards Jayden. Charlie follows him after dropping his bag on the ground.

Jayden didn't have a chance to get away even if he tried with the tonnage
in his backpack and simply raises his hands above his head. Malcolm wraps
his arm around Jayden's neck and forcefully escorts him back to our social
circle and for Jayden to keep up, he has to drag his backpack on the
ground. When Charlie catches up to both Jayden and Malcolm, he forcibly
takes Jayden's backpack off of him and then walks back toward us with
purpose. "What the fuck!" Jayden shouts and then once again repeats himself
as loud as he can for good measure. Other students in the area take keen
interest and begin to watch the commotion knowing that something
interesting is about to play out.

By the time Malcolm has escorted Jayden back to our area, he has relented,
no doubt realising that Malcolm and Charlie would drag him over to us by
choice and not by chance if he resisted. "Do you have anything to say to
Chezdon, arsehole? You need to apologise for being a dickhead." Malcolm
takes the black tattered backpack from Charlie and rests it on his
shoulder. The weight of the bag doesn't appear to phase Malcolm at all.

"What the fuck arsehole? What do I need to apologise for? I didn't do shit
to you." Jayden appears both flustered and agitated and doesn't seem
apprehensive at all in getting into Malcolm's personal space. He then turns
around and shoves me hard before turning back to Malcolm. "Are you
Chezdon's bitch now?" Before Malcolm can respond, Jayden turns around and
shoves Austin. "You are all a bunch of cocksuckers!" Jayden exclaims with a
new sense of venom in his voice and tries to yank his backpack away from
Malcolm.

The shouting and swearing attracts the attention of other students in the
area and they begin to rush over. I notice a few taking their phones out
and pointing them in our general direction as I get my bearings after being
shoved. Austin and I quickly look at one another and I can tell that Austin
is concerned. Most likely not for Jayden, but I know he does not want to
have an unplanned chat with the administrators. The look on my face also
indicates that I am fearful this situation is going to get out of control
quickly and Austin picks up on it. "Who gives a shit about him Malcolm?" I
look at Jayden with a disapproving stare before continuing. "Sometimes
mates can quickly turn into arseholes, so who can be bothered with this
one." I steadfastly proclaim, mustering as much confidence as I can with
the hope of diffusing the situation. I seemingly dodged a bullet from the
administration of the school once today and the last thing I want to be
accused of is inciting a riot outside, so my response is in turn measured,
especially for the cameras which I know are now recording. A beautiful
black Audi R8 pulls up near the group of teenagers that are quickly
assembling in numbers on the street and honks its horn, however the son of
the parent who is trying to record us simply waves at his mother, obviously
more interested in filming our escapades instead of leaving the action
behind.

Jayden quickly turns and shoves me again. As I stumble backwards, I drop my
phone so I do not crush it as I tumble over and end up on my back resting
on the concrete footpath. Once I have regained my sense of place, I hop up
and rush back towards Jayden and shove him as hard as I can into Charlie
who nonchalantly shoulder charges Jayden, like he is an opposition rugby
fullback and Jayden collapses on the concrete sidewalk like a bag of
potatoes would if thrown from a truck.

"You pussy! Fuck you mate!" Jayden exclaims whilst laying on the
footpath. Malcolm drops Jayden's bag on his stomach causing Jayden to howl
in pain after getting the wind knocked out of him. Once he is composed and
gets his second win, a barrage of curses and blasphemy follows from
Jayden's mouth, where everyone that he looks at, including the curiously
interested spectators with their phones recording every word that Jayden
now shouts, is abused for one reason or another. Finally after he takes a
deep breath and stands up slowly, he picks up his backpack and for the
benefit of the smartphones and the audience he looks at Austin. "If you
want to play happy families with Chezdon, go right ahead faggot! I hope you
don't mind that he is a big fucking slut who sucked me off and swallowed my
cum last night. Good luck to you. Fucking pussy!" Jayden spits on the
ground and with hate in his eyes stares as me as he at first walks past me
knocking into my shoulder hard enough to make me wince. After a second of
relief thinking that the drama has concluded, Jayden quickly gyrates his
body around and with a murderous impulse and a deranged look on his face
places his hands around my throat. The moment in time then resembles a
photograph as I remain fixated on Jayden's soft lips and with memories of
the previous night rushing back to my head however they are quickly
replaced knowing that he is apoplectic with rage, I thrust my forehead
forward as hard as I can and it meets at first the bridge of my friend's
nose and then his head. There is screaming and swearing coming from all
directions as my world starts to spin.

I briefly rest my hands on my knees to get my bearings and then pick up my
phone. Voices are just white noise. A hand rests on my back gently which as
if magic transports me from my delirium back into reality. I rise up to see
Malcolm as rigid as a statue, much like you would find in a photograph that
a tourist would have taken at the nearby war memorial. My eyes finally find
Austin and I realise that he is the one that is trying to comfort me as I
finally stand erect and wipe what I first think to be sweat off my face and
out of my eyes, but when I see the back of my hand, I realise that the
crimson red colour substance all over it is in fact blood and then realise
that all of the outrage and shrieks are on offer because blood was
shed. Charlie hands Austin a dirty towel that he quickly removes from his
backpack and Austin at first applies pressure to my forehead before taking
Christopher's bottle of water from him. I finally am able to comprehend
English vocabulary and the first words that make sense to me are spoken by
Malcolm. "It isn't his blood, he is okay I think."

Austin shakes me and I am roused back to life as he continues to wipe my
face with the wet towel. The shrill shrieking sounds are muted by the
shouting of the onlookers and the cheering as the mob as I watch Jayden
stumble away and up the street, pushing past students and
onlookers. Someone yells that Jayden's nose is broken as the smartphones
follow him as he slowly staggers up the street swearing at anyone that
comes close to him.

A few of the theatre boys that I recognise from the senior campus at first
try to restrain Jayden to help him, but after being verbally abused,
Malcolm interjects.  "Let him go. He isn't worth it." He raises his voice
and some smartphones move from Jayden to Malcolm and then back to me. "We
are being recorded, it isn't worth it. He isn't worth it. Who cares about
the dickhead?" Malcolm retreats back into our social circle and various
members of the enthused and interested viewing public signal that the
spectacle is over and put away their smartphones. There are noticeable
groans filled with disappointment as Jayden walks away holding his face
with his hand. The driver of the Audi blasts the car horn again and a boy
slowly wanders away from us and is driven away. He looks disappointed that
he has to leave behind the bloodlust.

"Wow, it is all happening today." Austin attempts to lighten the mood. "I
didn't expect that to happen. Moaning Myrtle is buggering off at least
though. At least he will not be dripping blood all over the bathroom floor
at school as I am sure that would mean a new rule." I smile at the
reference to Moaning Myrtle, the ghost that haunts the various bathrooms at
the Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter saga. Austin continues to wipe at
my face and refreshes the blood stained towel with more of the spring water
from the bottle. My earlier thoughts and convictions that my life has only
been complicated needlessly by the splendours of lust and love merge with
the miseries of jealousy, hate and self-loathing where I actually thought
that they would weave into a happy sunlit meadow of beauty and butterflies
come to bear and I realise that I have been deluded. "Chez, if you have a
spare shirt in your bag, you should change."

"If we were in the United States that dickhead would probably come back
with a gun and shoot us all." Charlie reflects and scratches the shoulder
that he used to previously to knock Jayden down with. "God save America."
We all chuckle uncomfortably as I start rummaging through my backpack
before retrieving a wadded up dirty polo shirt that I wore a few weeks ago
that was stuffed into the bottom of my bag.

"Maybe when ISIS comes knocking at your door mate, you can point them in
the direction of dickhead Jayden." Malcolm slaps Charlie on his back. Their
laugh is infectious, which causes the other two boys, Christopher and Wyatt
to also snicker. I unbutton my shirt and pull it off and am at first taken
back by the amount of blood on it and I feel very fortunate that it wasn't
my essential life force that was shed.

Austin watches me put on the filthy polo shirt as random boys whistle at me
from afar and he then looks thoughtfully at Malcolm. "Can I ask you a
question Malcolm?" Austin adjusts his backpack. Malcolm opens his eyes wide
which encourages Austin to continue. "You seem to care more about Jayden
acting like a dickhead compared to Chez or I. What has he done to piss you
off so much mate?" This is a valid question and it should provide insight
as to why Malcolm and his friends all of the sudden have taken such a quick
likening to us over the last hour.

"Fair enough." Malcolm picks up his bag and looks at Austin before staring
at me before he answers in a solemn tone. "My sister is, well um, she was a
lesbian. She was bullied and she killed herself. This is how I ended up
here. My parents thought a private school in the city would be more
suitable after she took her life then then out in the country. When Jayden
outed the two of you, he made an enemy for life here mate. I don't put up
with this bullying shit." The surprised look on Malcolm's three friends
gives a clear indication that they did not know this piece of
trivia. Charlie looks sad. Christopher starts to chew on the inside of his
lip and Wyatt pats Malcolm on the back gently. "It just pisses me off and I
wanted to kick his arse, but as you said Chez, he isn't worth it. Besides
you did enough damage, hey?" Malcolm takes a deep breath before
continuing. "It doesn't look like you are even bothered about what he had
to say in class earlier or even just now. Why is that?" All eyes then find
their way to me as I try to smooth out the wrinkles on my filthy shirt.

Austin then looks at me. A curious expression forms on his face and his
right eyebrow once again disappears behind his fringe. "They are just words
really mate. We keep talking and laughing about ISIS lobbing off heads, and
I should be worried or upset about petty things Jayden says to me? My
father told me that he has skin cancer today and tomorrow I am seeing my
bitch of a mother for the first time in three years. Believe me mate, there
is nothing that Jayden can say that would annoy me as there are more
important and sinister things in life. Frankly it is just a waste of time
and that is my struggle." My mouth feels dry and my frustration level rises
knowing that we are standing around on the footpath telling tales of woe
instead of having fun and developing positive relationships amongst one
another. "It is just frustrating, that is all." I take the water bottle
from Austin and drink what is left in it.

"It doesn't sound like Mein Kampf mate." Austin interjects smiling. "You
see that bloke Hitler had a struggle and wrote about his from his cell, I
don't think yours compares."

"What is up with you and the German references today mate?" I grin and put
my arm around Austin and shake him. For once he doesn't act embarrassed or
feign from a public display of masculine affection. "You do make me laugh
though." I rub my forehead and wonder how long the act of head-butting will
leave my skull in pain. My stomach growls again, reminding me that it
should be listened to in the future as it sounded the alarm earlier that
danger and drama were brewing.

Austin laughs which makes the rest of our group either smile or
chuckle. The remaining onlookers wander off after associating Jayden with
various words that you would not call your parents. "Okay lads, see you
blokes later and thanks for the entertainment. I was looking forward to
watching the UFC this weekend, but now I have no interest. I have to go."
Austin notices me staring at him and after breaking away from my embrace,
he winks at me before turning around and walking towards the train
station. He removes his phone from his back pocket and starts to inspect it
as he walks away.

"I should get going also boys." I look around and find my bag and hoist it
on to my back. "Thanks for helping out with Jayden. I doubt he will have
much to say after that display." I am at a loss for words and this
proclamation seems to make sense. "Malcolm, sorry to hear about your
sister. That really sucks mate."

"We should party soon, Chez. We heard you throw a good one." Christopher
finally says as he stretches his arms behind his back. At first I am
shocked to hear his voice as I thought he was mute. "See you tomorrow
mate."

"Indeed. It would be fun. Soon, I promise mate." I start the fist-pumping
routine with Christopher and follow it on with Wyatt and when I get back to
Malcolm he decides to gives me a hug instead. Whilst being embraced, I slap
Malcolm's back hard a few times. "Thanks mate. You are a good bloke."
Malcolm releases me and smiles.

"Anytime Chez. Later bro." Malcolm walks away and is followed by his rugby
triumvirate. They retreat towards the train station, following the path
that both Jayden and Austin previously took. I pause for a few seconds and
squat down to check one of my heels. I collect my thoughts and rub my
forehead before pulling off a shoe and peeling down a sock where I find a
small dot of blood peeking through a worn band aid. I return my footwear to
where it belongs and walk the opposite direction towards my familiar tram
stop knowing that I no longer have a best friend as of a few minutes ago. I
wipe at my eye again knowing it is watering only because Jayden's blood
irritated it and I feel emotionless as the tram comes to a stop next to me.

**

chezdon1997@gmail.com