Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2016 11:20:59 -0500
From: CJ Abello <cjabello1997@gmail.com>
Subject: CJ: Autumn: Chapter 9: The River

CJ: Autumn: Chapter 9: The River

This is a work of fiction set in the real world. Certain living individuals
make appearances in the story; all other characters and the events in which
they all participate are the creation of the author. Any resemblance of the
fictional characters to actual individuals is purely coincidental.


Monday, 16 September 2013

"CJ! Bro, thank you! The weekend was insane. Your dads are the bomb! I hope
they liked me. I wanna hang out at your place like all the time! You're so
frickin' lucky. You don't have to put up with little sisters like I
do. Bro, they try to walk into my room at the worst times. I have to lock
the door whenever I'm in there. They almost caught me naked last week. And
forget about hanging out in boxers around the house, mom would kill me!"

Harley was walking in circles around CJ, jumping up and down to emphasize
his comments, grinning ear to ear, talking a mile a minute as usual. CJ
just grinned at the boy he was becoming so fond of, and kept nodding his
head in acknowledgement. He liked his new friend.

"Glad you had a good time, bud. The dads liked you. They said you were fun
to have around.  They're both on this kick of getting me to have friends my
own age--you're golden." The hyper- active boy slowed down and walked next
to CJ, a look of amazement on his face.

"You serious? They honestly liked me? Oh man, that's awesome! I was scared
I'd talked too much. Like maybe they were used to you and expected the same
from me? I mean, you're like always so quiet!" Harley turned his head to
look at CJ and realized the boy wasn't there. His friend had stopped a few
steps back; Harley, lost in his monologue, hadn't noticed.

"Harley! I ain't quiet, bud. It's just hard to get a chance to say much
around you!" CJ thumped his friend in the arm and started walking
again. "Did ya ask the rents about going out on the boat?"

"Yeah! They said it was fine, but Mom's gonna call Cap anyway. She wants to
make sure the invite isn't something you and I cooked up. Mothers!"

X X X

During lunch, CJ sat with the GSA crew once again, surrounded by the same
group of girls who'd been flirting with him on and off for the past two
weeks. He was polite and smiled, but did nothing to encourage them. They
still stuck around him. He was wearing a black t-shirt with the Batman logo
printed on the front, and one of his "groupies" kept telling him how much
he looked like the Dark Knight himself. Girls!

CJ was tired when he got to school in the morning. The previous night he
had started Fahrenheit 451, the second book on his English class reading
list. He'd planned on a few pages before going to sleep, but was unable to
put the damn thing down once he got into it. He kept thinking, just one
more page, and soon enough he was more than halfway through the story.
Bradbury became one of his favorite authors then and there; he'd be
searching out other works by the legendary author. Lunchtime with his
friends kept him awake, but now the afternoon loomed ahead, and sleepiness
was gaining ground. CJ was distracted, not paying attention to details
around him, as he headed towards his locker to switch out the books in his
bag. He missed seeing the tall, athletic guy walking towards him, and was
caught by surprise when he was bumped hard, and knocked against the wall of
lockers.

"Dude, what the fuck?" CJ had dropped his bag when he'd been shoved; he
looked up at the guy while bending down to retrieve it.

"Why you chasing my girl, fag-boy?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me, fag-boy. I don't like you being so chummy with my girl."

"Geez, what's your problem, man? I don't know you. I have no idea who your
girl is."

"I've heard them talking about you, fag-boy. The new hot guy with the
pretty blue eyes. The sexy boy from Miami. I've seen my girl and her
friends sitting with you and the gay group at lunch every day. I don't like
it, fag boy. So back off."

CJ tried to remain calm but the big guy was starting to piss him off. He
was tired and his mood was rapidly going down. He wasn't going to stand
there and be abused--especially with the crowd already gathering around
them. His training taught him violence was a last resort, to be used only
in self-defense, but his temper told him if this idiot wanted to pick a
fight, he was going to teach him a lesson.

"Listen muscle head, maybe if you had some brains you'd realize we had a
nice group of friendly people at the table. It's a free country, anyone can
sit wherever they want. If you have insecurities 'cause you can't keep your
girl happy, it ain't my problem. Now get the fuck away from me so I can get
to class." Harley was standing with the group of students watching the
confrontation. CJ had put his hand up when his friend tried to move
forward, to stop him from getting involved.

The guy squinted, almost hiding his eyes. His cheeks tinged with red. He
dumped his own book bag on the floor. Then he pulled back his arm,
telegraphing the intention to throw a punch.  Before he could get his
knuckles even close to CJ's face, he lowered his arm, hugged his mid-
section, and slumped to his knees in front of all the students
watching--who were most likely expecting the new guy to be the one on the
floor. CJ had leaned back and thrown a kick with such speed, force, and
precision, it ended the altercation a second after it started. Those who
blinked, missed his move.

"Stop!" shouted someone as they pushed their way through the crowd of
students. Everyone stopped, raised their gaze from the guy on the floor to
the man who had spoken and moved aside, making room for him to approach the
boys involved in the confrontation. "You two, to the Principal's
office. NOW!"

X X X

"CJ, Lance... Would one of you like to explain what happened in the hallway
by the lockers?"

CJ spoke first. "Sorry, Mrs. Edwards. It was my fault. I got angry at him
and lashed out, kinda kicked him in the stomach. I apologize."

"Lance? Anything you'd like to add?"

The principal noticed the athlete was visibly surprised at what the other
boy had said. If he had picked a fight, he'd underestimated CJ physically,
and had also underestimated the kid's sense of right and wrong. Based on
what the teacher who brought them in said had taken place, Lance was going
to lose some status with the jocks. Might be a good thing for him.

"Actually, Principal Edwards, it was my fault. I thought he'd been hitting
on my girl, I bumped him and called him a few names."

"I'm impressed, both of you are willing to accept responsibility, very
noble of you. But I think the person who started the altercation is the one
who needs to be punished. Lance, this isn't the first time your personal
relationships have gotten you in trouble. I won't mention any previous
incidents in front of CJ, but I think you know what I'm talking about."

"Yes, ma'am," said the apparently contrite blonde boy.

"As for you, CJ, you forget I'm well aware of your capability to seriously
hurt someone if you want to. I do not, for one second, believe you just
kinda kicked him in the stomach." Lance looked at the younger boy, his
mouth open in surprise, most likely realizing he may have bitten off more
than he could chew.

"I do not condone violence most of the time, I consider it a measure of
last resort in self- defense, and that seems to have been the case
here. CJ, you're free to go. Lance two hours detention every day this
week. Be happy I don't suspend you as I should."

"But, Miss Edwards, I've got baseball practice after school. The coach will
bench me for the next game if I miss it all those days. I can't do that,
I'm scheduled to pitch."

"Tough, maybe you'll think twice next time before you start a
fight. Especially with someone who could have seriously hurt you. You have
the coach come see me if he has a problem."

X X X

By the time the two students returned to their respective classes, the
entire student population was aware of what had happened--good ole high
school gossip network. The good-looking sophomore from Miami had dropped
the BMOC with one kick to the gut. The king is dead; long live the
king. Walls had a new Alpha boy.  X X X

"What the hell are you doing here, fag-boy?"

"What the fuck, dude? Give it a rest. You keep calling me fag-boy and you
don't even know if I'm gay or not. Is there something going on with you I
should know? Do you have a deep itch you'd secretly want me to scratch?"

"Fuck you, fag-boy."

"Nah, ain't happening. But you're kinda cute, so I'd be happy to do you if
that's what you really, really want."

"Go to hell! I'll give you this, man, you've got guts. Damn, but you pack a
punch. My abs are going to be hurting for a while!"

"Sorry about hitting you so hard."

"Nah, it's cool, I guess I deserved it. I know I can be an ass
sometimes. I'm kinda jealous and I've been known to go a little
overboard. You put me in my place and I gotta respect you for it." He
extended his fist for CJ to bump. "No hard feelings?"

"You got it, man! And to answer your question, I figured I'd keep you
company and do my homework here instead of at the house. I called one of my
dads, told him I was staying a little later, and asked him to pick me up on
his way home from the Pentagon."

"Dads? Pentagon?"

"Yeah I got two dads, they're definitely fag-boys," chuckled CJ. "And one
of those fag-boys is a Captain in the Marine Corps."

"You're fucking kidding me. Goddamn! That's insane! I've got a question for
you."

"Shoot!"

"How did Miss Edwards know of your Kung Fu shit?"

"It ain't Kung Fu, and it's a long story. The principal's husband, Colonel
Edwards, is the marine's boss. I spent some time with both of them over the
summer. She was the one who talked me into coming to Walls."

X X X

"I talked to King today about you adopting CJ, babe." Cesar and Brett were
in their room. CJ had gone to his to finish some homework, so the two men
had decided to watch a little TV in bed.

"Easy or hard?"

"Should be fairly easy. The District of Columbia allows second parent
adoption for residents.  There's usually a six month waiting period after
one parent relinquishes their rights. Lourdes did that in May, so some time
before the end of the year."

"Damn, that would be a great Christmas present!"

"There's one little issue you may have a problem with."

"Really? Is it bad? What is it?"

"CJ's old enough he gets a say. You think he'll want you as a father?"

"Asshole! You scared the crap out of me."

"Ohhh... Come here, Jarhead. I'll give you some lovin' to make it up to
you."


Wednesday, 18 September 2013

"Morning, Harley." CJ had been standing outside the school, saying hello to
other students as they walked in, while waiting for his friend to arrive.

"CJ! Bro, are you ready? Do your dads know you're running in the election
for Student Government today? We didn't talk about it last weekend. You're
so gonna win. Are they taking you out to celebrate tonight? I'm so pumped
to go out sailing this weekend!" The smile faded from Harley's face
momentarily when he realized his friend was staring at him with a big smile
on his face. He hitched his backpack up on his shoulders, clutched his
skateboard to his chest, and stared down at his kicks. "I'm doing it again,
ain't I? Talking too much? I'm sorry."

"Yes you are, but it's okay. There's no need to apologize to me, bud." CJ
chuckled at his friend's unending energy and constant happy
disposition. "And to answer your questions: yes, no, I know, I hope so,
maybe if I do, and I'm glad. I think I got those right."

Elections for the student government open seats would take place during
homeroom; the winners would be announced after lunch period. CJ was
optimistic of his chances.

"Cool! Bro, you're going to win today for sure--everybody knows
you. They've all been talking about how you beat up Lance on Monday, you
got a rep, bro."

"Yeah well, if I win I hope it isn't 'cause I got a lucky kick in on
someone. Hey, about this weekend, I was gonna invite Thiago to come
with. The rents said it was okay and promised to take us out to dinner
Friday at this place all their friends hang out at."

"Dope!"

X X X

"What up, gay table?" Kenton had been coming to sit with them all week so
far. Replies to his greeting had become ruder by the day; the kid grated on
peoples nerves.

"Go sit elsewhere, Kenton." The unflappable Harley was the most honest and
vocal in his dislike for the guy.

"No! Harley, scoot over so Kenton can sit between the two of us." CJ smiled
at the others around the table--who were staring at him in disbelief--and
discretely winked at a couple of the girls whose facial expression spelled
out their disgust with the obnoxious guy.

"Brooo... really? You're gonna let jerkwad sit between us?"

"Yeah, Harley, scoot over. Come on, Kenton, sit here next to me."

"What's going on, pretty boy? Why are you asking me to sit next to you? You
aren't going to kick me in the stomach the same way you did with the jock,
are you?"

"Nah, come sit down. Have lunch with us. Why would I wanna beat you up?"

"'Cause jocks like you always pick on me?" The boy hesitantly approached
the open space, placed his tray on the table, and looking back and forth
between Harley and CJ, sat down with some trepidation. "You guys either
ignore me, or you yell at me. Like bean pole just did."

"Ever wonder why that is, Kenton? Ever wonder why people treat you that
way?"

"I don't know."

"Dude, you got into Walls, you can't be that stupid. Come on, why do you
think people don't like you?"

"Wadda you mean people don't like me? It's not only the jocks? For real?"
Kenton looked around the table, apparently surprised he wasn't as popular
as he thought he was.

"Come on, Kenton. You have to realize many of us don't like having you
around. Why is that?"

"You don't like me either? Is it because I wear glasses? Or because I'm a
little short and skinny?  Are you sure you're not going to hit me?"

"Harley would love for me to beat the crap out of you, but I'm not doing
it. And the reason I don't like you isn't because of your glasses or your
size. I'm shorter than Harley and he's thinner than me; we're still buds."

"Then why don't you like me?"

"Because you're obnoxious, Kenton. You're obnoxious and extremely
annoying." Every single student at the table nodded their head in
agreement. "Most of the girls have told you they don't like the way you
leer at them it, but you keep doing it."

"I don't leer! I look at everybody the same way!"

"Bullshit! You don't look at me with the crooked little half smile on your
face, while licking your lips. You only use that one on the girls. If
someone asks you not to do it, you need to be respectful and not do
it. You're so insecure you have to act up to get attention, but what you're
doing is making everybody dislike you. And why do you insist on calling him
bean pole and me pretty boy?"

"Because you are?"

"Dude, Harley can't help it if his weight hasn't caught up with his
height. And I can't help the way I look." The nodding heads around the
table were now accompanied by smiles. "So here's how it's going to be from
now on: you'll never use your stupid look on the girls again, you'll stop
calling people names and making fun of them. And if you don't, you can't
sit with us ever again."

"That's it?"

"That's it. I hate bullying and will always intervene, but you're asking
for people to bully you by constantly acting up. Relax. Stop trying to be
the center of attention and others will treat you okay. But, if you keep
annoying me, you're going to turn me into one of those bullies I hate. I'll
listen to Harley, and beat the crap out of you. Now shut up and eat your
lunch."

Kenton did as he was told, constantly looking from one person to the other
as he ate. The rest of the group kept smiling, and CJ had to bump fists
with every other guy at the table before he could finish eating.

X X X

When Principal Edwards announced the election results at the start of the
first period after lunch, applause and cheers erupted in CJ's class--he was
declared one of the winners. Harley and Thiago waited for their friend in
between periods and celebrated the victory by jumping all over him, acting
like six-year-olds. Lance shook his hand and congratulated him when they
ran into each other. So did Autumn, Danek, and others in their lunch group.

"Bro, told you everybody was gonna vote for you! Kicking Lance's butt meant
every kid in the school knows who you were!" Harley was more excited about
the win than the actual winner.

"He's right, CJ. You coulda run for president of the school and you woulda
won." Thiago, although more restrained, appeared just as happy as Harley
with the victory by his new friend.

X X X

"Hi, CJ. Congratulations on winning one of the open seats up for grabs in
the election." Jae Thornton, CJ's Social Studies teacher, smiled at his
student when the kid walked into the room.  The teacher had spent a lot of
time in Jamaica while growing up. He learned the game of Rugby there, came
to love it, and eventually played it in college. Now, he hoped to pass his
appreciation for the rough-and-tumble sport to some of his students at
Walls.

"Thanks, Mr. Thornton. Are we gonna have enough guys to start a Rugby
team?" Due to its size and location on the campus of GW, Walls didn't have
any of their own athletic facilities; practices and games were held at the
University's facilities or elsewhere. The interest in athletics at the
school was not very large. "This summer, I watched friends of my dads
practice with a team they belong to. I enjoyed it and I'd love to learn the
game."  The Rugby Club's initial meeting was being held in a classroom and
as CJ spoke to the Coach, a few more guys and a girl had shown up.

"We'll have enough for Sevens and there are a few other small schools in
the area who also want to start teams. We'll get to play a few games."

"Mr. Thornton, another reason I got interested in rugby is I met Ben Cohen
this summer."

"Really? That must have been interesting. Cohen was a great player. He's
going to be here at the school leading a--wait a minute--Principal Edwards
said he volunteered to be here because of his friendship with a student. Is
that you?"

"Yeah, well, kinda. But, please don't make any kind of announcement about
it, okay?"

"Sure, if that's what you want. But I'm not sure why you'd want to hide
your friendship with him."

"I don't want to hide it. I just don't want to make a big deal about
it. It'll be bad enough when he's in town. I'll have to do interviews with
him and help lead the school assembly. But what I wanted to know is if it
was okay for me to ask him to come talk to us?"

"You think he'd do it?"

"Yeah, he's a nice guy. He'll be in DC the whole week, so maybe he can have
breakfast with the club and talk to us?"

"Set it up if you can, CJ. It would be fantastic if you could get him to
spend some time with us.  And thank you!"

"No problem." There were three other guys waiting to speak with
Mr. Thornton, so CJ went to introduce himself to the ones already sitting,
while they waited for the meeting to start. Once it did, it didn't last
long. Mr. Thornton distributed parental authorization forms, medical
clearance forms, and a rules booklet.

"We'll meet again next week," he said at the end. "Bring your authorization
forms back, and make sure you've at least scheduled an appointment with a
doctor for your physical. We'll spend next week going over game rules and
school regulations. We'll hit the pitch the following one."


Friday, 20 September 2013

"CJ?"

"Yeah, Papa, we're up here in my bedroom. But we're naked so you better
take your uniform off before you walk in here."

"Asshole! Don't make me bend you over my knee and spank you while your
friends are visiting."

"Don't threaten me with a good time..."

When the smiling marine walked into the room, he saw three teenagers
sprawled on the king- sized bed. All three jumped up as soon as they saw
the uniformed man at the door; CJ walked over to hug and kiss Brett on the
cheek.

"Hey, bud. Hiya, Harley."

"Hi, Cap. Thanks for letting me come over again this weekend."

"Not a problem, kiddo. We enjoyed having you here."

"Papa, the other guy's Thiago. Thiago, this is my other dad, Captain Brett
Davenport." CJ had already jumped back on his bed as he made the
introductions.

"It's good to meet you, Captain Davenport. Thank you for letting CJ invite
me to stay overnight, and to go out sailing with you tomorrow."

"Papa, Thiago's into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He's hooking me up! Guess I'll
learn a new style..."

"Isn't that what most MMA fighters use?" Brett had joined the teens on the
bed, sitting on the edge of it as he removed his tie. The guys were once
again clustered around the laptop they'd been looking at before he walked
in the room.

"It is, sir. Jiu-Jitsu focuses on submitting opponents without using
punches, kicks, or strikes of any kind. We all know Miami can definitely
throw a good kick." Thiago almost fell off the bed when CJ nudged him hard
after mentioning he knew of some his friend's capabilities.

"Miami? Is that a new nickname for CJ, guys? One of yours, Harley?"

"Nope, no it isn't, Cap. Not sure who started it, but after what happened
Monday, the entire school was talking about him being the new kid from
Miami. Everyone started calling him that."

"Monday? Did something happen on Monday you forgot to tell us about,
My... ah... me...?"

"Ughh, I've got a big mouth..."

"Yes you do, Harley. Sorry, CJ, but you gotta be proud of what you did,
homey. It was epic."  Thiago had scrambled back to his spot on the bed and
kept glancing back and forth between the three other men in the room.

"Epic? I think I know what Cesar and I want to talk about during dinner."

"Fuck! See if I invite you blabbermouths over again!"

"I'm going to change, guys. I'll see you downstairs at nineteen hundred,
we're gonna drive to Rogo's for dinner."

X X X

"Hey, dad? Thiago wants to walk down The Exorcist stairs. Give us a fifteen
minutes head start, then pick us up at the corner of M and Wisconsin, okay?
Let's go, guys."

"Sir, yes, sir!" Cesar's reply was spoken to his son's back, who was
already opening the front door, without waiting for his dad's agreement.

"Don't start with me, dad." CJ looked back over his shoulder to look at his
father. "I'll tell Papa to withhold nookie tonight if you pick on me. I've
got these two doing a good job in that department already."

The guys walked out onto the courtyard by the main entrance, all three
chuckling.  "I can't believe how cool your dads are. They seem to be your
friends even more than your parents," said Thiago.

"Yeah, they were real good to me over the summer, right after I moved from
Miami. We got real tight. The Elite Eight all treated me as if I was a
grown-up instead of a kid."

"The Elite Eight? What's that? I didn't hear anything about it when I was
over last weekend."  Harley had stopped at the top of the stairs and turned
around to ask his question.

"Okay, quick explanation." CJ led his two friends down the famous steps
right next to his house.  "My dads have this group of friends who hang out
together all the time, they used to call themselves the Elite
Eight. They're the ones I spent most of my summer around. Soon after I got
to DC, Chip and Doc broke up, so the group went down to seven. But now
Danno and Trip are kinda hanging around pretty often; I guess it's up to
nine. You'll prolly meet those two tonight. You'll meet Uncles Potus and
Pope tomorrow. They own the PP."

"Bro, you keep throwing all these names around, and I have no frickin' idea
what you're talking about." Harley held tightly to the railing as the boys
flew down the stairs. "You gonna 'splain them to us at some point, right?"

"Yeah, tomorrow while we're laying out in the sun. Oh and speaking of
nicknames, thanks but no thanks for calling me Miami and mentioning Monday,
you fuckers!"

"Hey, it's not like you started the fight. The dumb jock did that. I'm just
sorry I missed it, but Harley gave me a great blow by blow!"

"That's right, bro. And remind me to ride with your dads next time. Those
frickin' steps are scary. So, what's the place you said we were going to
dinner at?"

"That would be Rogo's, it's sort of our hangout. Uncle Danno owns it."

X X X

"Bro, that place was da bomb! No wonder you're always surrounded by cool
people. Your dads have sick friends! How do they know so many of them? And
we got to park inside the owner's house! How insane is living inside a
warehouse full of cars? And I think I jizzed a little when I saw the
sixty-nine Z28. How come--"

"Harley!" CJ and Thiago interrupted their friend simultaneously, looked at
each other in surprise, and started laughing. Moments later, their fast
talking buddy joined in.

"Actually, I'm with you, Harley. The entire night was sick! But I do have a
bone to pick with you, My... ah... me...," teased Thiago.

"Fuck you! And stop calling me that, dork!"

"Fine. Harley and I will both stop calling you My... ah... me..., but you
have to come clean on a few things."

"What?"

"Picked up little bits here and there tonight, which left me wondering. I
wanna hear about your step-father, and how come you moved to DC. About this
biker whose ass you kicked in front of a bunch of people. About meeting Ben
Cohen--and obviously being the student who convinced him to come to
Walls. About whatever it is some idiot Arlington cops did. And about why
you didn't tell us you're gay."

"You're gay?" Harley appeared surprised by the revelation which made CJ and
Thiago start laughing again.

"I didn't think any of it was a big deal. Plus, I knew you'd hear about
most of it sooner or later anyway. But okay, back in May, my step-father
walked in on me while..."

X X X

"What do you think about CJ's most recent fight, Jarhead? And about his
handling of that other kid?" Cesar turned on his side, and backed his butt
up to his husband, until Brett put an arm around him.

"I don't know, nothing I guess. Sounded to me like all he did was defend
himself with the jock and try to reason with the annoying boy, even if
there was a veiled threat involved."

"Figures a marine would see it that way. But that's the second time a fight
happens in just over three months. Shouldn't we be kinda concerned about
it?"

"Look, babe, it's gonna happen again so you may as well be ready for
it. The kid's gay and he's not ever going to hide in a closet. Some
asshole's gonna pick on him and CJ will defend himself.  You have a
wonderful--no, that's wrong--we have a wonderful, smart son. We've already
figured out he has a temper and we've talked to him about it. I'll admit
during the rally he provoked the biker, but he didn't resort to violence
against the priest, he talked his way through that confrontation. And
according to what we heard tonight, he did it again with the obnoxious
kid. The thing with the jock, it sounds to me as if it was all the other
guy. If Martha Edwards had no issues with it, I'm not wasting time worrying
about it."

"There's that, I guess... I know he's a kid, I know he's shown restraint so
far, but I'm still going to worry. I wonder if there are any laws about
people using their martial arts skills in fights..."

"Turn off the light and let's go to sleep. We can ask Tommy tomorrow, when
we're out on the river."

----------

Copyright 2015 CJ Abello
Edited by: Mann Ramblings

I'd enjoy hearing what you think. Please email me at: cjabello1997@gmail.com
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to contribute towards the operations of
Nifty. Please, don't wait, make a donation today. Without this great place,
we'd all miss out on enjoying thousands of great stories.

  Big Man On Campus