hDate: Wed, 27 Jun 2001 14:22:58 -0400 From: berthusa@netscape.net Subject: Rediscovering Friendship Part 1 ----- This story will probably be pretty slow to develop. It's a mixture of reality and what was fantasy on my part. It'll eventually include sex between consenting adult males. If that's offensive, or if it is not legal for you to read it, please don't. Also, I've never written anything before, and it takes a surprising amount of time to do this. Please be patient with me. ----- Monday morning. Is there anything worse for a teenager than a Monday morning? The alarm clock buzzing like a bandsaw at 6:00 is enough to scare the life out of ya. After hitting the snooze bar a couple of times, I decide I'd better get moving. Roll out of bed, hop into the shower, dress and run for the coffee. A couple of cups and I begin to resemble a human being again. "You're going to be late if you don't get a move on." Thanks, mom. "I know, I know. I'm leaving now." "Have a good day." Each and every morning, it's the last thing she says as I head out the door. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to school. Not so bad when the weather is nice, but in a Minnesota winter, it can seem like forever. It's cold this morning; something like 20 below zero. A brisk wind makes it feel even colder. When I finally get to school, it's actually a bit of a relief. I never thought I'd have that feeling, especially after winter vacation. My high school was one of those old giants, built around the turn of the last century. Highly polished hardwood floors in the classrooms and marbled hallways. One of the side entryways was the spot where all the smokers hung out. It was usually my first stop of the day, the "Freak door". When the first bell of the rang, it was off to homeroom. My homeroom teacher was Mr. Brown. An art teacher who wasn't too far from retirement, he'd ride in on his Harley in nicer weather.When I walked in, I noticed that the seat next to mine was empty. Kind of odd, since Kris was usually settled in by the time I walked in. After taking attendance, Mr. Brown would tell us what we should be working on, but today was a little bit different. "You might have noticed an empty chair this morning. I have to tell you that Kris suffered a heart attack right after classes let out for the break. He's out of the hospital now and holding his own, but he probably won't be in class for the rest of the year." What the hell? High school seniors don't have heart attacks! Old people do. Since Kris and I were friends again, I was a bit stunned. Two weeks away from school, and I have to find out like everyone else that he almost died. The hour dragged on and on. Finally the bell rang. Five minutes to get to the next class. "Dan, can you hold up for a minute?" "Sure, Mr. Brown. What's up?" "Well, you've heard that Kris is going to be out of school for some time. He's said that he'd like to keep up with his school work because he'd like to graduate with everyone else. Since you live nearby, I was wondering if you'd be willing to take assignments to him and bring back what he's finished." "Sure, no problem. When would you like to start?" "Well, I've got to talk with his other teachers, so how about tomorrow on your way home?" "You got it." It'd started snowing again by the time school was done for the day. I didn't mind too much, though, since I thought I could use the few minutes walking home to think things over. Kris and I had rekindled a friendship that had started back in kindergarten. I thought we were getting to be pretty close friends, but I have to hear from a teacher along with everybody else about his heart attack. Did that mean that I wasn't the friend I thought I was? I decided that since Kris' house was on the way home that I'd stop in and check on him. Kris' mom answered the door when I rang the bell. "Hello, Dan. It's so nice to see you. I think Kris will think so, too." "How is Kris? I'm sorry I haven't been by sooner, but I just found out today." "He's doing better, but he's still pretty weak. He sleeps quite a bit, but I guess that's a good thing or he'd be bored silly." "Is he awake now? Can I go up and see him?" "Of course. I'll go up with you, just to make sure everything's ok." A gentle knock on a door and "Kris you have a visitor. Do you feel up to seeing anyone?" "Yeah, mom, come on in." When I entered I was relieved to see Kris looking as well as he did. To my 17 year old mind, people who had heart attacks didn't look like this... Like this was an 18 year old guy who looked like he'd just woken up. "Hey, Dan. How ya doin'?" "I should ask you that question. What the hell happened?" Kris mom said she had to get started on dinner, and left us alone. "Well, I've known for a long time that this could happen. I've had a heart condition since I was born. At first, they didn't even know if I'd live long enough to see my first birthday. The doctors always told me this could happen, so it wasn't a huge shock when it finally did." "Why didn't you tell me? I would have liked to have done something to help you." "Which is exactly why I didn't tell you. I don't want to put anybody out." "Kris, you've had a heart attack. It's not like you're going to be a huge burden to anyone." "Well, I haven't been yet, and I don't plan on starting." "Well, you might want to think about what that means. Mr. Brown asked me to bring your schoolwork to you and take it back when you're done." "Cool. You don't mind, do you? I'd really like to be able to graduate with everyone in June." "I don't mind at all. You might get sick of seeing me every day, though." "I don't think that'll happen."