Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 10:00:15 EST
From: Scribeman76@aol.com
Subject: "The Way The World Works"/Chapter 2/The Way The World Works-2

Disclaimer: The following is a story about coming of age and self-
discovery.  You must be 18 to read it.  It contains explicit depictions of
sex between teenage boys.  However if any of this offends you, then please
don't read it.

"The Way The World Works"

Chapter 2: My Lucky Day

As I followed Zach toward the exit of the subway station, I finally got a
look at how tall he was.  Compared to me he was a giant.  He was about 6'4"
and now looked to be about 215 pounds.  Despite his size, Zach did not
appear awkward or plodding.  Instead he moved with all of the grace and
sureness of the star quarterback that he was.  If he was going to be my
senior guide, I would have to careful not to be caught staring at him all
the time.

We went through the turnstiles and headed for the escalator.  Once we were
on it he turned to me and said, "So who do you have for you classes this
semester?"

"I have Mr. Miller for European History, Mrs. Allen for Biology, Mr."

"Oooh, you got Mrs. Allen.  Boy did you get lucky!" he said.

"Really, why?" I asked.

"Well you could have ended up with Mr. Calhoun.  He just teaches for fun
really.  His full time job is as a medical examiner.  He likes to take his
classes on trips to observe autopsies.  However, several guys get sick
almost every time.  It's kind funny if you're not squeamish."

I frowned at him and asked, "Are you serious?  Or is this just a senior
joke on a freshman?"

"No I'm totally serious.  I went on one of those trips three years ago.  I
lucked out of it with AP Bio though last year.  He wasn't teaching that
semester.  He got a research grant and took some time off.  He's back this
year.  That's why I was telling you that you were lucky."

"Did you get sick Zack?"

"Me?  No.  But my friend Ethan did.  It was so funny because he was
bragging that it wasn't going to bother him and then he was the first one
to loose it."  He said laughing a little.  "You'll like him.  He's a great
guy, he's just a little inclined to telling tall tales."

All the while we were talking, I wasn't really paying attention to where we
were going.  I was just kind of following Zach like a lost puppy.  So I was
surprised when I looked up and saw that we had arrived at the gate to
Ellsworth Academy.  It was kind of cool the way the whole campus was gated
off and the fences were covered in ivy or overshadowed by trees.
Especially considering that it was in the middle of the city.

Before we went any further, Zach stopped us and said, "You know, Danny,
I've been asking most of the questions or going on about classes or
teachers, but you haven't asked much.  Is there anything you'd like to know
before we go into the place?"

I thought for a second and then said, "Well there was one thing.  I'm kind
of nervous about the mandatory sports requirement.  I didn't know about it
when my mom enrolled me. I mean I do play a couple of sports fairly well,
golf and tennis, but do you think I'll be able to pull my weight on these
either of those teams?"

Zach's expression became thoughtful and then he said, "Sure Danny, you look
like you're in pretty good shape.  Have you been playing either of those
sports for long?"

"I've been playing tennis since I was six.  I'm pretty good at it.  I play
some tournaments during the summers.  I've been playing golf since I was
nine.  I'm not the greatest driver, but I'm consistent."

"That sounds good.  Part of my job as your senior guide will be to direct
you to the coaches of the teams you want to join.  They're all a pretty
good staff of guys.  I actually like them more than I do the teaching
faculty.  They're more down to earth."

Hearing Zach say that made me feel better.  Some of the earlier nervousness
about my athletic prowess had started to surface again when I saw how big
and strong he was.

Just then a middle aged woman came out to the front door and pulled the
rope hanging from a large bell over the entrance.

Zach nodded in the lady's direction and said, "That's Mrs. O'Reilly.  She's
the headmaster's assistant.  She's letting all the guys who are still
outside know that they have five minutes before class begins.  Do you know
how to get to your first class?"

"Yeah, I've been studying my schedule and the map of the school so I
wouldn't miss anything or be late.  I think I'll be ok.  My first class is
history in room 123."

"Ok," he said.  "My first class is in the physics lab so I have to go the
science building.  I'll see you outside the guidance office at lunch.  Have
a great morning Danny.  It was nice meeting you."

"Thanks Zach, it was nice to meet you too.  I really enjoyed our talk.
I'll see you at lunch.  Bye."

"Bye." He said and then headed off in the direction of the smaller science
building on the east side of campus.  I watched him run off looking so
powerful and confident and instantly felt a stirring in my crotch.  I shook
myself out of my moment of horniness.  Being around Zach was certainly
going to test the limits of my self-control.

I checked out my map again then headed to my first class.  The morning went
by pretty smoothly.  I liked my teachers for the most part although they
did pile on the homework, and this was just the first day.  The good thing
was the classes were smaller than I was used to at my old school, so they
appeared to give more individual attention to each of us.  Another thing I
noticed was that the other guys in my class appeared to be just about as
nervous or more so as I had been this morning.  I found myself wondering if
any of them had met their senior guides yet.  Meeting Zach had really
relaxed me and quieted any nerves I had felt earlier.

By the end of fourth period, guys were starting to talk to each other more
and seemed a little more comfortable with their surroundings. All of our
morning classes had been shortened by five minutes each to give the
headmaster, Mr.  Lewis a chance to have a short assembly with the student
body.  I had met him during orientation along with the guidance counselor,
Mrs. Johnson. Mr. Lewis welcomed all the old students back and said he was
glad to have the new freshman class as an addition to Ellsworth's proud
tradition.  He was a nice man, maybe a little bit stuffy, but nice.  I had
trouble paying attention to everything he had to say because I was scanning
the auditorium looking for Zach.  I located him in the top corner on the
right side with the other seniors.  He noticed me looking at him and gave
me a little thumbs up and a smile. I felt strangely happy and warm inside
when he did that.

The rest of the assembly went by in a flash and I have no idea what was
said.  All I could think about was Zach.  I'd never experienced anything
like this before.  It was fun and weird and exciting all at the same time.

After the assembly, everyone headed for lunch.  I saw Zach waiting for me
as I exited the auditorium, so I walked over to him.  He was standing with
a group of guys, all of them much bigger than me.  When I reached him, he
stopped his conversation and said, "Hey Danny.  Guys this is Danny
Billings.  I'm gonna be his senior guide."

All the guys turned and look and me and in unison said, "Hey Danny."

Zach then continued, "Danny, these are some of my teammates from the
football team.  This is Troy, Sam, Eric and Ethan."  Each of the guys
nodded as they were pointed out.  I smiled inwardly as Ethan was
introduced.  He did look like the type of guy who bragged a lot.

Then Zach said, "Well guys, Danny and I have to head over to the guidance
office to get me assigned as his guide.  I'll catch up with you guys
later."

After that we headed off to Mrs. Johnson so we could get signed up.  She
told me I saved her a big headache by meeting Zach and getting his removed
from the general assignment pool.  She said, "You're really lucky
Danny. Most years freshman are beating down my door to get the star
athletes assigned to them as guides.  I was really afraid of the stampede
this year since Zachary here is so nice along with being such a good
athlete. But you've solved my problem for me Danny. Thank you."

We both blushed at her comments.

"Now," she said, "go get some lunch and have a good afternoon.  I'm up to
my ears in paperwork already.  Thanks again Danny."

"You're welcome Mrs. Johnson.  Glad I could help."  We smiled at each other
as I left her office.

Zach turned to me and said, "Want to go eat outside, it's a really nice
day?"

"Sure." I said.

I followed him into the cafeteria and we got in line to get our food.  One
of the things I noticed was that the quality of the food here was much
better than at my old school.  I saw Zach and I were both piling our trays
with lots of fruit and vegetables. He did too and said, "Looks like we have
the same taste in food."

I explained to him how I had been working out over the summer as we headed
outside to the tables outside the cafeteria.  We sat down and he continued
to ask me about my workout routine.  We spent about ten minutes talking
about exercising and he gave me some tips on how to build up my strength
and tone my body.

The whole time I noticed that we were both looking directly into each
other's eyes.  It was such a comfortable feeling.  I felt like I belonged
right there with him.

We spent the rest of lunch getting to know each other.  He wasn't
originally from Washington.  His dad was senator from North Carolina.  He
had lived here for eleven years and in fact his dad was in the middle of
his campaign for re-election in November.  (When I asked why he either
didn't drive or have a chauffeur like other politicians' kids in the city,
he said his dad wanted him to learn self-sufficiency) I found out that he
had followed his older brother, Liam, to Ellsworth.  He lived only a ten
blocks away from me.  His mom worked as a law professor at Georgetown
University.  So he was pretty much on his own a lot because they were both
so busy.  He said he liked it that way. He loved his parents, but he
enjoyed the sense of independence that taking care of himself gave him.

I also told Zach more about myself.  I told him about how my dad had been a
assistant U.S. attorney who was killed four years ago by a drunk driver one
night when he was coming home late from the office. He looked sad when I
told him about that. I also told him about how great my mom was and that
she was teacher.  I told him about my awesome little brother Luke.  I told
him about my grandfather passing away and about my grandma, Ruth, who lived
with us.  I noticed Zach shaking his head and asked him what was wrong.

He said, "Nothing Danny.  I was just thinking how strong you'd have to be
to go through all of that and how happy you seem despite all the pain
you've endured."

I was flattered that he thought of me as strong.  I didn't really know what
to say to respond.  So instead all I said was "Thank you, Zach."

We finished our lunches in silence and then threw our garbage in the trash
can.  Before we headed inside for afternoon classes, Zach stopped me and
said, "Would you like to hang out after school lets out?  Coach always
gives us the first day of school off from practice since we already
finished summer training and I'd like to continue our conversation.  You're
cool to talk to. A lot more mature than most freshman."

"Of course!" I said, excited that he wanted to spend more time with me.
This day was getting better and better.

"Great, can't wait." He said.  "I'll meet you out front after last period."

"Awesome."  I said

After that we split up again and headed to our classes.  It was harder to
concentrate during the afternoon knowing that I would be spending time with
Zach after school let out.  I managed to pay close enough attention to take
some decent notes and get the homework assignments.  I completed a large
chunk of my homework during study hall.  Before I knew it, the last bell of
the day was ringing and school was done for the day.

I packed the books that I needed and headed for the front door of the
school.  I spotted Zach near the gate talking to Ethan.  I noticed Ethan
looking me over as I headed to them. I figured he was just wondering why
Zach had picked a little guy like me instead of a football player. Anyway,
by the time I reached them, they finished up their conversation.

Ethan turned to me and said, "Hey Danny.  It was cool meeting you earlier.
You're lucky to have this guy here as your guide.  You'll have a great time
with him.  See you around."

"Thanks Ethan," I said, "it was nice meeting you too.  See you later."

He smiled at me and gave Zach a pat on the shoulder then headed off to the
parking lot.

Zach turned to me and said, "Well Danny, how was your first day?"

"It was really good.  It went by kind of fast, but I think I'm gonna like
it here."

"Awesome.  I was hoping things would go well for you.  So why don't we head
on out."

"Ok.  What do you want to do?"

"I figured we could go to my house and hang out there since it's on the way
to your house."

"That's fine with me."

"Great well let's go." He said.

We made our way to the subway, talking the whole way.  We continued to
trade stories about our families and Ellsworth.  I found out that each of
the senior guides got to pick one day a week when he could take his
assigned freshman off campus to lunch if he wanted to.  Ellsworth wasn't
far from American University and there were some nice, but affordable
restaurants near it.  I also found out that the mandatory sports
requirement wasn't strictly enforced until junior year.  Most of the
freshman and sophomores were second or third string unless they were
exceptionally good.

The subway ride to the Zach's place was pretty quick.  We kept talking the
whole time.  I couldn't seem to get enough information from Zach.  However,
he seemed to enjoy answering my questions.

Zach's family lived in a nice three story rowhouse about two blocks from
the subway station.  When we got inside, he explained that no one was home.
His dad was at his office on Capitol Hill and his mom had an evening class
and wouldn't be home until nine.  He led me into the den and asked if I
wanted anything to drink or eat.  I asked for some water and he went to go
get it.  While I was waiting for him I noticed the pictures on the walls of
him and another young guy.  He must have been his brother Liam.  They were
both dressed in football uniforms in most of the pictures. There were also
several trophies in the corner on a shelf.

Just then Zach came in and handed me my glass. He sat down beside me on the
couch and took a sip from his glass.

"So do you think that my dad likes that fact that his sons play football?"
he asked.

"I think you could say that." I answered.

He laughed.  "My dad put a football in Liam's hands when he was three and
gave me one when I was two.  He always dreamed of one of us playing in the
Super Bowl."

"Is that something you want to do?" I asked.

He looked at me with a surprised look and finally said, "No one has ever
asked me that before.  But to answer your question, no I don't."  He was
quiet for a few seconds and then said, "I don't think dad really expects
either me or Liam to be pro ball players, but I don't think he'd mind it.
I guess it was a fantasy of his.  I think we're each more likely to follow
him into politics or mom into law."

He then looked at me and said, "So do you have any idea what you want to do
for a living?"

"I think I want to be a writer." I said.

"That's cool.  I don't think I have the patience to be creative in that
way."

"Yeah," I said, "it isn't always an easy process. I think I like it because
it allows me to express my thoughts.  Sometimes it's easier to write than
to talk."

"I can see how that would make sense.  I just don't think I have the talent
for it."

I smiled at his veiled compliment.  He was smiling too.  Time seemed to
stand still for a moment.  I felt so at ease with Zach.  Nothing else
seemed to matter except his smile and the safety I felt with him.

Then, just as I was about to say something, Zach leaned over and kissed me
lightly on the lips.  Any thoughts that were in my head went flying out the
window. I felt like I was floating on a cloud.  His lips were so soft and
moist.

Zach slowly pulled away and I opened my eyes to look at him.  His eyes were
full of yearning and anticipation, yet tinged with the first sign of
vulnerability and doubt that I'd seen in them.

I didn't know what to say.

To Be Continued

I hope all of you like this story.  It is my first.  I'd like to continue
it if I get enough response.  Please send your comments, suggestions or
criticisms to scribeman76@aol.com.  I'd really appreciate any feedback you
have to offer.