Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 16:28:28 -0800 (PST) From: ED Subject: chapter 3 Beyond Brothers II The next morning after picking Sammy up Kyle drove to school and told Sammy about the call from James, and his conversation with Justin the night before. "Tannon said he is going to send me an email with all the information on their 'gay-straight club'," said Sammy. "Good and I am going to talk with James just as soon as he gets to school and then see if we can find Greg and talk with him," said Kyle. Three vehicles arrived at school at the same time, Kyle and Sammy, James and Karen, and Ben and Justin. Sammy and Karen went off to the ladies-room, while Kyle informed James about Greg. The two of them headed to the gym workout room where Greg was normally lifting weights every morning. Kyle and James found Greg in the weight-room with some others from the football team. Walking up to Greg, Kyle said "hey Greg looking good there. James and I were wondering if we could have a chat with you outside?" "Can it wait or is it important?" "It can wait but yes it is quite important, so as soon possible we would like to talk with you." "In that case, let's go outside where we can be alone." When they got outside Kyle said, "two of our friends told us about what happened in the locker-room yesterday. James and I and our girlfriends are going to try to start a (gay-straight alliance club) at school to see if we can help to improve students understanding of the differences and similarities between gay and straight students. Our friends have no idea why you got so upset at Biff, but were wondering if you would be interesting in coming to a meeting Saturday night with a bunch of students and parents to discuss how to get a club started." Greg squeezed his eyes shut, then nodded and said, "you can count on me and my parents. I can probably can get a bunch of my buddies and their girlfriends to come too. I want you to tell Justin and Ben that they have nothing to fear from me and my friends, In fact we will do all we can to protect them if they decide to come out." Kyle and James did a double take before answering Greg. Finally James spoke, "who else knows about Justin and Ben?" "As far as I know no one but on Saturday night I will tell all of you how I know, and before I bring any of my friends I will make sure that there will be no problems. Justin and Ben are both great guys and deserve to be able to have the freedom to be a coupe just like Heather and I are," said Greg. "Wow, you have no idea how happy we are to hear that and I know Justin and Ben will be too," grinned Kyle. The warning bell for home-room rang, and Greg ran to shower, while Kyle and James walked to their lockers and onto home-room. The walked in and saw Justin and Ben sitting in the back with Sammy and Karen. After sitting next to their girlfriends Kyle was just getting ready to tell everyone about his and James' conversation with Greg when the teacher started to call roll. Kyle just gave everyone a big thumbs up sign. Sammy, Karen, Justin, and Ben were chomping at the bit to hear what Kyle and James had to say, but there just wasn't time until third period which they all had free. As they exited home-room to go their different classes all Kyle would say is, "it is so good you are going to faint, but I want to have the time, to tell all of you together." Justin and Ben were on pins and needles until third period. They whispered back and forth in first period English, trying to figure what Kyle meant, before the teacher shushed them. Karen and Sammy had cooking class together, and were able to chat easier, but they were just in the dark as Justin and Ben were. Finally third period came and all six of the friends met at the benches on the far side of the quad like they always did. "Ok, spill the beans or else," said Sammy as she gave Kyle a sweet look she knew he couldn't refuse. "All right, here it is," Kyle said as he repeated the whole conversation he and James had with Greg. When he finished Justin and Ben sat there with a look of uncertainty on their faces. "Do you think he was telling you the truth," asked Justin? "Definitely, he said he will tell us on Saturday night how he knew, but wanted to let both of you know that he and his friends will totally support you and any other gays,"said James. The six friend talked about all this meant and speculated about how Greg had been so certain that Justin and Ben were a couple. Tony and Ricky joined them a few minutes after they were seated and were updated on everything that had happened since yesterday. "Wow, this is such great news, our families are in total support of what ever we decide to do about coming out. Both Tony and I have decided to come out at the first meeting of the club," said Ricky. When it got to gym class Justin and Ben were dressing when Greg came over and said, "I am Greg, and I and some of my buddies will be glad to come to the meeting at your house on Saturday night. I hope we can become friends it is real important to me to get to know both of you. I'm straight as can be, but I really want to be your friend. By the way I think the two of you are a perfect couple. I only wish Logan could have known someone like you." The coach blew the whistle for the start of class. They were doing a section on soccer, for the past few weeks, and were kept running the whole class. In the showers Ben and Justin moved to the back and took showers a few spigots apart like always so as not to give anyone the idea that they were more than best friends. But, then Greg and his friends came into the shower-room he walked up to Justin and said to him loud enough for all to hear, "hey Blake do mind moving over next to Ben so my buds and I can use these showers," as he gave Justin a big wink? "Sure no problem," said Justin. He could hardly believe what Greg had just done. Justin moved to the shower next to Ben, with a shrug of his shoulders. Greg's friends moved to the showers around the pair and picked up a conversation with both boys. Everytime one of them would say something to Ben and Justin they always gave them a wink, or the ok sign or a thumbs up sign. Justin and Ben were scared and confused by the time they left the shower. They dressed in a hurry, but just as they exited the locker-room Greg and his friends surrounded them. "We just want you to know we have your backs ,and will be there on Saturday night. Then all five of them gave Justin and Ben high fives. "What just happened," asked an astonished Justin? "Well I guess we are out to a few more new friends," said an equally astonished Ben. Both boys headed for their separate forth period classes. When the bell rang for the start of lunch all eight of the friends met at the parking lot and headed for Eddie's deli. Eddie made the best soups and sandwiches with his home made breads. Quite a few students went there for lunch, but today was a quiet one with only a few other students mixed with the adult lunch crowd. After getting their orders the friends moved out to the deck and sat at their usual table. After everyone was seated and started to eat, Ben casually said, "oh yea, we are out to Greg and five of his friends now." Ricky blew soda out of his nose coughing and gaging at the same time. Tony turned white, and Kyle's mouth hung open enough for a whole swarm of bees to fly in. Jim, Sammy and Karen were dumbstruck also. Justin laughed at all his friends, and then gave them a full explanation of all that had happened. After recovering Ricky said, "well I guess after Saturday night we will be out to more people too. Do you think they will be our friends too, and watch our backs?" "I would say yes for sure. Greg said something strange as we were getting dressed for gym. He mentioned that he wished that someone named Logan could have known someone like us." When Biff walked into the shower room he heard Greg ask Justin to move, and then Greg and his friends carried on a conversation with them. Guys never talked in the shower like that, Biff knew there was something going on, and he was sure it had to do with those punks Justin and Ben. Biff was sure they were both queer, but had never had any proof. But, when he walked out of the locker room Greg and his friends were giving Justin and Ben high fives. I will have to tell dad about what I saw today he thought; it looks like I may have found a way to start God's vengeance by stoning some queers real soon. When he got home he fixed some grits and gravy for supper along with a tube of store bought biscuits. His dad, and brothers got home, and all four of them sat down to eat and drink beer. Biff waited until they were all eating then told what he had seen at school today. "So are you sure them two is queers,"asked Biff's dad? "After what Greg and his friends said yesterday and how they were like protecting that Justin and Ben it just has to be. Oh, yea I found out that those two live together too. Now if that ain't queer I don' t know what is," answered Biff proudly. "You have any idea where they lives boy,"asked Bubba, Biff's dad? "No, but I can follow them home from school tomorrow if you wants," answered Biff. "Na, you best leave that to Hank, thems might see ya truck. You know what they drive to school boy," slurred Bubba already on his sixth beer since sitting down to supper. "Yes, sir they drives this old souped up 42 Ford pickup all dodadid, up a real sissy thing. You can't miss it Hank," slurred Biff, now on his sixth beer. The rest of the week flew by with little happening other than the regular dullness of school. Saturday was going to be a beautiful day bright, and sunny in the mid seventies. Jon and Betty decided to have the meeting in the back yard; because they weren't sure how many people to expect. Greg ,and his friends noticed that there was a second what appeared to be male couple in Justin's and Ben's group of friends. Greg discussed this with his friends and they decided to keep an eye out for Ricky and Tony, just to make sure no one messed with them, even if they weren't gay. The meeting was scheduled to start at six pm on Saturday, and by five all eight friends had arrived with their parents, all of them bringing as many lawn chairs they had. Jon had gone to the store, and gotten ten cases of soda and six bags of ice to fill the coolers. By the time six arrived, Greg and his parents as well as Heather arrived. Just after that Greg's friends Fred, Dean, Henry, and Steven arrived, They had decided to not bring their girlfriends tonight. Kyle came with his parents, and Sammy was there with her's. James came with his parents, and Karen, but her parents had a previous commitment. They told Karen to say that they would help any way they could. Justin and Ben could hardly believe their eyes, there were twenty-seven people in the back yard. Jon took pizza orders, and then called for delivery. All the other dad's insisted on helping to pay, so the bill was split up. Jon put it on his credit card, and the other fathers gave him cash for their part. Hank had waited outside the school parking lot on Thursday, and followed Justin and Ben home. He now knew that they were gay for sure. At a red light he had seen them give each a quick kiss. When he told dad and his brothers, they had got all fired up, and wanted to go and get them queers. But Bubba told them they had best wait until Saturday night. They would park down the street, and watch to see if the parents were home. If they wasn't then if would be easier to grab the boys. But, if not they would just wear masks, and tie up the parents before takeing them queers to their date with hell. At six Saturday afternoon Bubba, and his three sons climbed into their old blue Ford Econline Van. Hank drove them to where the two queers lived. The street was packed with vehicles, so that they had to park almost a half block away. "Whach yea think going on Pa." asked Hank. "Don't knows but, I'm aim to find outs for sure. It might be one of those orgies them queers always having. Who knows may be the dad is queer too, and the mom is a lesbo. We'll wait until dark and then sneak around back and come in from the field and see what thems be up too," answered Bubba. The pizza's arrived and everyone sat down to eat. Once they were all finished the grownups marveled at how much their teen children could eat. "Folks I am so happy that all of you came here tonight to support the idea of a 'gay-straight alliance club.' Before we get started I want to ask if there is anyone here who has the slightest hesitation about what we are about to try and do. If there is please leave now with no hard feelings. If not then I want your solemn vow that what is said or revealed here tonight doesn't go beyond those of us here." Jon waited until each person had agreed before he continued. "Now I have been asked by four people if they could have the floor for a few minutes. So Ben I guess you and the boys are on." Ben stood up and took Justin's hand, Ricky and Tony stood up and held hands. Ben spoke for all four of them. "This is my boyfriend Justin, and over there are Ricky and Tony who are also boyfriends. Now I know that some of you may have been thinking that this club as just a good idea, but for the four of us it is very important; because of Principle's Williams announcement last week. Before his announcement we hadn't even considered going to the prom. But after a lot of thought, and talking with our parents we have decided to try, and change that so we can be like any other couples." "One of the things that helped us make this decision are these words taken from our country's Declaration Of Independence Here are those words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" Ben continued, "these are the truths that our country was founded on, and no where does it say that these truths are only for people who are heterosexuals. So if that is the case, then we have the founding Father's own words to back up our claim for the pursuit of Happiness. For us that means we have the God given right to be like everyone else, gay or straight. And if our happiness is to go to our prom with whom we choose than it is our Right to do so." The entire group of people gathered there stood and clapped. There were many moist eyes among the clappers. "Our friends think that a club is the best way to start. If we can't even get faculty advisors, then we know there is no hope of getting the school board to reverse its decision to ban gay couples from the prom. The four of us also know that we are going to be outed to the whole school; because of this. As scared as we are about that, we know that it has to be done. I want to thank Greg and his friends for showing us their support and promise of watching our backs. As some of you may know Biff Wankel has made some threats against gays and he has some support in school. After the meeting closes, the four of us will be willing to answer questions you may have. (Note to my readers it appears that I have changed the last names of my characters more than once. So here is a list of each one and the name I will use from now on.[ ] denote parents names Justin, Jeff, [Phillip, and Penny] Blake Ben, [Jon, and Betty] Goshen Kyle, [Don and Peggy] Abbot [Bubba], Biff, Hank, Daryl, and Jimboy Wankel Sammy, [Bill, and Carol] Phelps Jim, [Ron, and Sherry] Gorman Karen, [David, and Monica] Riley Greg, Logan, [Rodger, and Mary] Shepard Fred Dufrane Steven Sears Dean Emilo Henry Marchester Ricky, [Jeff and Amanda] Oakly Brenden Foster Jamie, [Bill and Marie] Chambers Tony, [Joe, and Sarah] Giconni Heather Wilson There I hope I have most of the main characters now listed. Thank you dear readers for my lack of coordination but now with a list we can all keep everybody straight, oh no I mean {gay} lol Now Greg's father would like to say something before we go any farther. Rodger Shepard stood up, and started to speak. "Three years ago my wife, Mary and I had a wonderful family we had two sons, Logan who was sixteen, and Greg who was fourteen at that time. Logan told us he was gay, and I went ballistic. Mary and I are both very conservative Christians, and when I couldn't get Logan to go to a retreat for fixing. I threw him out, and told him never to come back. (Rodger broke down in tears and had to be comforted by his wife until he was able to start again). Greg was furious with us, and spent the next week pounding our ever argument against Logan into dust. By the end of the week we wanted our boy back home. We contacted all his friends, and anyone who might know where he went. But, no one knew where he had gone. Then a week later our life changed forever. It was a Friday evening, and we were watching the news after supper, a knock came at the door. Greg answered it, and a Georgia State Police officer asked to come in. He told us that Logan's body had been found in Florida. Logan had been killed with a baseball bat and the words "death to all fags" carved into his chest. Our bigotry and hatred killed our son, not the person who yielded the bat. My wife and I are still in therapy, and Greg went for almost two years. We can't bring Logan back, but we intend to do all we can to make sure no other boy ever has to ever go through what Logan did." All twenty-seven sat in silence most were crying. It was several minutes before Jon was able to get up and start the meeting. I guess I don't need to say anything more about why this is so important. The Shepard's words said it all. Sammy Phelps, Kyle's girlfriend has contacted her cousin in Vermont who is gay, and has a gay-straight club at his highschool. He is sending a email on Monday with all the information. Included in that email will be information from the faculty advisors on what they do, and how they monitor and hold the meetings. Just then Bill Phelps, Sammy's father stood up and said, "most of you know I own 'Billy's Gym' I have over twenty teachers from the highschool who work out at my gym. I am going to make up a questionnaire that will try and find out who may be willing to be a faculty advisor. I will put a special coding on each one so I can tell who each one is from without them knowing. I will ask everyone who comes into the gym next week to take a minute to fill one out so the teacher won't feel singled out. What I need is some help to make up the questionnaire so that it doesn't seem to be looking for their attitudes on gays. If there is anyone that has some ideas on how to do this, I can sure use the help." Don Abbot, Kyle's dad spoke up, "I am a trained counselor at the base, and I have a lot of questionnaires that we can pull from, that can determine most anything. If you can meet me at my house tomorrow, we can go to my office, and make up one that will work just fine I'm sure." That arranged, they talked about minor things, and then set another meeting for two weeks from Saturday. The next meeting will be at the Shepard's house. The wives got together in the kitchen and planned what to bring and eat. Jon invited the other fathers into his den for a beer. All of the teens got together on the deck. Justin and Ben went up to Greg and both of them gave Greg a huge hug, and told him how sorry they were about his brother Logan. Before the night was over every other teen did the same. Greg and his friends promised to keep a special watch out for Biff and his cronies. Bubba, and his sons drove the van down the road and turned into the meadow that backed up to the Abbots home. As the meadow was over grown with brush and weeds so it was easy for them to sneak up the back and with the hedge at the back of the Abbots lot. Just as they got close enough to hear what was being said, Ben stood up and made his announcement. Once they had heard the four faggots admit that they were queer, Bubba motioned them all back to the van. "Well boys I guess we got our first four queers to deal with. You keep you ears and eyes open Biff and see if you can find a time when they might be alone just the four of them so we cans grabs um." Bubba pulled into a 7-11 and went in and got four 40 ouncers Buds and then drove home. Well that is it for this chapter 3. Will Bill find two faculty advisors? What are Bubba and his boys going to do? Will Justin, Ben, Ricky and Tony come out on their own to the school or wait to be outed? Stay tuned for next chapter. On a personal note the reference to the words spoken in 'The Deceleration of Independence' are all I believe gays need to prove that they must be given equality in every area of their lives. Including marriage.