Date: Thu, 8 May 2003 12:45:40 EDT
From: Tulsadriller7@aol.com
Subject: Tales from the Ranch, Chapter 43/?

Disclaimer:  The following story is a work of fiction.  If you
are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man
relations, please exit this page.

TALES FROM THE RANCH
Copyrightc 2003 by Tulsa Driller 7.  All rights reserved.

This is a story of men who have two common interests.  You will
see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is
also the story of young men who love other men and their coming
of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding.  It is a
story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues
but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's
world.

This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any
specific person or persons.  Any similarity to actual persons or
events is entirely coincidental.  This work is copyrightedc by
the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the
specific written permission of the author.  It is assigned to the
Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but
it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the
written permission of the author.

PLEASE:  In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist.  My characters
have unprotected sex.  I hope you use proper precautions because
I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this
story.

Tales from the Ranch
Chapter 43:  Joey's first day
     Joey was excited about starting school at Davy Crockett High
School.  He thought he might have trouble going to sleep but the
next thing he knew, his alarm was ringing.  Pulling on his
briefs, he started his morning routine.  Let Mitsy out, go to the
bathroom to pee and brush his teeth.  Let Mitsy in and retrieve
the newspaper.  Then, go to the kitchen to feed Mitsy and turn on
the coffeepot.  Next, he shaved, showered and dressed for the
day.  He decided on chinos, a long-sleeved rugby shirt and his
athletic shoes.  He had noticed some of the boys in choir wearing
the same sort of thing the previous week.  Today he could scope
out what the others were wearing and decide if it suited him.
     By the time he was ready to go to the kitchen, Dale and
Craig were already there, having their first cup of coffee.
Craig had cut some slices from the second loaf of their homemade
bread.  The toaster was out and he had put the butter dish next
to it.  Doris had brought them several jars of her various
preserves and they were sitting out, also.
     "I hope you make some more of this bread, 'Mother'," Dale
said.
     Joey giggled.  He thought it was funny to refer to Craig as
his mother.
     "It seems to me that I saw your hands in the dough, too,"
Craig said.  I'm expecting great things of you in the kitchen now
that you have been so well trained."
     "I think it's neat that grandma showed us how to bake bread
and cinnamon rolls.  These are better than what you can buy at
the grocery store," Joey said.
     "You are right there.  We have a bakery here in town that
has really excellent breads, donuts, rolls and pastries, but if
we have the time, it's fun to do it ourselves," Craig said.
     It was almost time for Dale to be leaving for the ranch.
     "Do you want a ride to school, bud?" he asked Joey.
     "That'd be neat," Joey replied.
     "Well, let me get a couple of things I need to take with me.
How is the milk and egg supply?" Dale asked.
     "Bring a gallon of milk and a dozen eggs home.  We could use
another quart of cream, if it's available," Craig said.
     "I'll do it.  He kissed Craig goodbye.
     Joey kissed Craig on the cheek.  "G'bye, Mom," he said,
giggling.
     "Young man, you are pushing your luck here," Craig laughed.
     All knew it was in good fun.
     Dale drove Joey to the high school and let him out at the
curb so he didn't have to drive into the circle drive that led to
the front door.
     "Have a good day, bud," Dale said, squeezing Joey's shoulder
with his right hand.
     "Thanks, Dad.  I'll see you guys later."  Joey got out of
the Blazer and swung his backpack over his shoulder.
     His first class was English I, but he was supposed to report
to the Admission Office to pick up the admission slips to allow
him to attend classes.  Betty Armstrong remembered Joey and
greeted him, making him feel at home.
     "Here are the slips you need to get into each class today,
and here is a school map.  I've circled the classrooms for each
instructor and subject.  If you have any problems, come see me
and I'll help you.  Good luck."
     His schedule said English I was his first class and the map
showed it to be on the second floor, south of the main stairway.
He walked in the door just as the second bell rang.  Mrs. Hunt
was the instructor.  Joey stood inside the door, not sure if he
should take a seat, or not.
     "Are you Joey Sullivan?" she asked.
     "Yes ma'am," he replied, scoring a lot of points with her
for being polite.  "Here's my admission slip for this class."
     "Class, may I have your attention please.  We have a new
student this morning.  He's transferring from Remington School in
Houston and has just moved to Williamsport.  Please make him feel
welcome."
     She glanced at the room.  "Joey, there is an empty desk on
the second row, please sit there."
     "Thank you," he said, racking up a few more points.  Mrs.
Hunt was thinking that Joey seemed a little more polite than most
of the kids in her class, but maybe he was nervous.  She had his
transcript the school had provided and was pleased to note that
he was an honor student at his old school.  'If this kid can be
an honors student in Houston, he should really excel here,' she
thought.
     "What textbook did you use in Houston?" she asked as he sat
down.
     "This one," he said.
     "How far did you study at your old school?" she asked.
     Joey flipped some pages.  "I handed in assignments last week
through Chapter 15," told her.
     "This should be easy for you then.  We're starting Chapter
14 this week," Mrs. Hunt said.  She was very pleased.
     Mrs. Hunt was a good teacher and was able to lead the
students in a lively discussion.  Joey knew the answers to every
question she fielded, but she only called on him once.  As the
bell rang, everyone picked up their books and papers.
     "Hey, Joey," he heard.  It was Hal Shaw who sang in the
choir at St. James.
     "Hi Hal, good to see ya, man," he said clasping his hand.
     "You too, Dude.  What's your next class?"
     "Algebra I with Shanklin," Joey said, consulting his
schedule.
     "Cool," Hal said.  "I'm in that class, too.  Come on, I'll
show you how to get there."
     "Thanks, Hal."
     "Don't mention it.  I hear you're an Honors Student?" he
asked.
     "Yeah," Joey said, a little hesitant.
     "That's great.  I am, too.  In fact most of the kids in
choir are; at least the ones in high school.  Paul doesn't want
any sluffers in his choir."
     "Great.  Is Shanklin a good teacher?" Joey asked, not
knowing if it was a man or woman.
     "Yeah, Mark Shanklin teaches mainly A/P Math classes.  This
is the only class he teaches that isn't.  He's good and you'll
know your stuff when you finish this class."
     "I usually do pretty well in math, so I hope I can keep up
with the rest of you," Joey said.
     "He makes it fun to learn things.  It's not a lecture class
like some of the others put on," Hal told him.
     By this time they were at the door and Hal took Joey to Mark
Shanklin's desk.
     "Mr. Shanklin, this is Joey Sullivan.  He's new to
Williamsport and has been an Honors Student in Houston. at."
     "Remington Middle School," Joey finished.
     Mark stood up.  "Welcome to Williamsport, Joey.  I'm pleased
you are in my class.  What book have you been using in Houston?"
     "The same as you're using here," Joey replied.
     "Good, how far along are you?"
     Joey pulled his book out of his backpack and flipped it
open.  "Last week I handed in Chapters 11 and 12."
     "Well, we seem to be moving at the same pace.  We're
starting chapter 12 today.  Do you mind taking a test of the
previous chapters tomorrow, so I can see if you need special help
with anything to catch up?"
     "No, I'll be glad to."
     "Atta boy, just review those chapters and I'll give you a
test tomorrow which has a few problems from each chapter we've
covered."
     The other students were taking their places.
     "We don't have assigned seats in this class, but you are
welcome to sit in front because nobody else does," Mark told him.
     "Come on, Joey, you can sit next to me."  Hal took a seat at
a desk on the front row.
     Indeed, Mark Shanklin made Algebra seem like a game.  Joey
was impressed.  He was presenting problems, but managed to lead a
lively classroom participation in working them on the board.
Joey immediately liked him.
     Joey noticed Mr. Shanklin looking at him a lot.  After class
he stopped him.  "Joey, do you know Dale Richards?"
     "Yes, he's my half-brother.  My father died and Dale is now
my legal guardian."
     "Well, you sure look just like he did when he was in my
class.  Tell him hello for me.  He was a good student in all of
my math classes."
     Joey was very proud.  "I'll do that, and I hope I can do as
well as he did."
     "I'm sure you will.  If you have any problems in my class,
please let me know and I'll be glad to give you any extra help
needed," he told Joey.
     "Thanks.  Now I need to find my next class.  It's Freshman
Science with Wilton."
     Hal was standing next to Joey.  "I'm in that class, too,
come on."
     "See you tomorrow, Mr. Shanklin."
     "Okay, Joey.  Study hard," he said.
     As they started down the hall, Hal told him, "Bruce Wilton
is a good teacher.  He seems tough, but if you are having trouble
and he sees that you are really trying, he bends over backwards
to see that you learn it."
     "That's good.  It seemed that most of the teachers we had in
Houston could care less, like they were discouraged, or
something," Joey said.
     "You won't find that here in Williamsport.  The school board
doesn't tolerate mediocre teachers."
     When they arrived in Bruce Wilton's classroom, Hal again
introduced Joey, who gave him his admission slip for the class.
     "Remington Middle School?" he questioned.  "Why are you in
this school?"
     "Upper Middle School in Houston was the 7th through the 9th
grades," Joey said.
     "Oh.  Okay.  I thought you were trying to pull a fast one on
me and finish school early."
     Joey could tell he was teasing him and liked him
immediately.
     "Did you use this Science book?" he questioned.
     "No, I don't remember, but it had a picture of a laboratory
inside the front cover."
     "Oh, yeah.  We used that until this year and replaced it
with this one.  How far were you in the old book?"
     Joey told him what they had been working on.
     "Well, the books are similar.  I suggest that during the
week you read up to where we are now.  If you have any questions,
I'll be glad to help you with them.  I don't want you feeling
like you are behind the rest of the students."
     "Thanks, Mr. Wilton.  I appreciate that.
     Bruce thought Joey was a real stud for only being a
freshman.  It was seldom that he had any student that appeared to
have hair on their chest.  Woof!!
     The rest of the students were gathering.  Hal told Joey that
there was no assigned seating, so again they sat on the front
row.
     After the class was over, Hal wanted to know Joey's schedule
for the rest of the day.
     "As soon as I go to my locker, it's lunch, Texas History,
Mixed Chorus, Computer Lab and Gym," Joey told him.
     "Computer Lab is the only other class I have with you then.
Come on, let's go to our lockers, then I'll show you where the
cafeteria is.  They actually have pretty good food there," Hal
said.
     "Good.  I'm hungry and I'm supposed to meet another new
friend in the cafeteria, too."
     "Who is that?" Hal questioned.
     "Bret Jenkins, Junior," Joey said.
     "I think he's a junior.  Where do you know him from?" Hal
questioned.
     Joey had to think fast because he didn't want to tell Hal
that he'd met him at the Dignity/Integrity meeting, and then
remembered he had been at church the previous day.
     "He was at church yesterday morning.  He sat with Mr.
Williamson and Mr. Bryant that teach at Stephen Austin Middle
School."
     "Oh yeah, he used to play in Little League Baseball, but he
wasn't any good.  He's taking a few A/P Courses this year.  He's
pretty smart.  But his family goes to the weird church where the
minister got caught with a little boy.  Victory Temple, I think."
     Joey kept quiet.
     They arrived in the cafeteria and got in line.  Joey was
looking around and saw Bret waving at him from a table about
halfway across the room.  He waved back.
     "Do you want to sit with Bret and me at lunch?" Joey asked.
     "That'd be cool.  Most of the guys I hang with have a
different schedule and eat lunch at a different time.  So, yeah,
I'd like to meet him."
     "Great," Joey replied.
     By this time they were in the actual food line.  Joey was
impressed with the cafeteria as there were several areas where
you could get different kinds of food.  There was a salad bar, a
burger and hotdog bar, a pizza bar and then the regular food line
where they had fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes and
other vegetables.  There was also a dessert bar with ice cream
bars and soft-serve ice cream.  Joey was hungry and loaded up
with two big juicy cheeseburgers, a salad and a bottle of Coke.
He was surprised when he got to the cash register that the ticket
was only $5.85.  They didn't have as good of a selection at his
old school and it usually cost him six to seven dollars to eat
there.
     Hal was in another cashier's line, but Joey only had to wait
for a few seconds for him to catch up.  They made their way to
Bret's table and there were three other boys that Hal didn't
know, either.
     "I'm Bret Jenkins. Junior," he told Hal, reaching out to
shake his hand.  The other boys were introduced as Barry, Bryce
and Daniel.
     "I understand that you're from Megatropolis," Barry said.
     "Yeah, I just escaped," Joey told him.
     "Did your family just move here?" Bryce asked.
     "No, my father died a week ago.  The only close relative I
have is my half-brother and he agreed to become my guardian and
let me live with him," Joey told them.
     "We're sorry to hear that," Barry said, the others agreeing.
     "Bret told us that you sing in the choir at St. James?"
Daniel asked.
     "Actually, both of us do," he said, indicating Hal.
     "They have an awesome choir there.  That Paul fellow is a
super director," Daniel said.
     "He is good and boy, can he get a lot of music out of that
organ, too," Joey said.
     "Yeah, I bet he can," Bryce said, sneering.  "I hear he's as
queer as a 3-dollar bill."
     Joey's senses went to a full-level red alert.  He kept
quiet.
     "I don't know about that," Hal told them.  "I've never heard
of him trying anything weird with the boys in the choir, and
there are about 25 men and boys that sing in that choir.  I'm
sure if he was 'funny' that someone would know about it."
     Hal knew that Paul was gay, too, but didn't think that was
anyone's business.
     "Well, our minister, I guess he's our ex-minister now, was
always getting up and preaching against stuff that went on over
at that church.  He said they were too liberal and ignored things
the Bible tells us," Bryce said.
     "Have you ever been there to church?" Bret asked.
     "Well, no. of course not.  Why do you ask?" Bryce wanted to
know.
     "Well, I have.  Twice.  It's a beautiful place and the music
and ritual are just wonderful, so don't knock it until you've
been there and experienced it."
     "But, you can't go to church there, your Dad's treasurer of
our church," Bryce said.
     Bret didn't want to get into this conversation.
     "He said I could go visit, and I did.  And I might go back
again.  It's a lot more interesting than listening to old lady
Richardson drone on and on about stuff she can't even answer
questions about," Bret said.
     "I have to agree with you there," Bryce said, giving Bret a
high-five.
     Everyone laughed.
     The other boys wanted to know more about Joey, what sports
he played and about things he was interested in.  When he told
them he was in Boy Scouts, Barry immediately invited him to join
his Cougar patrol.
     When he told them that his brother, Dale, worked for the Bar-
W Ranch as the general manager, they were all impressed.  Joey
wanted to tell them about Craig and what a neat guy he was, but
decided he'd better wait until he knew them better.  He thought
Bryce could be trouble.
     "What's your schedule for the rest of the day?" Barry asked
Joey.
     "Texas History, Mixed Chorus, Computer Lab and Gym in the
last period," Joey answered.
     "I'm in your history class and gym class," Bryce said.
     Bret was in Mixed Chorus and Daniel and Barry were in the
same Computer Lab, along with Hal.
     They stood up to take their trays back to the counter, and
then went to their lockers.  "See you in Computer Lab later," Hal
told him, getting his books for his next class.
     Joey easily found Jerry Sprague's Texas History classroom.
There were maps hanging on every available space on the walls.
Joey was early and as he walked through the door, Mr. Sprague
introduced himself.  "I heard that I was getting a new Honors
Student today, you must be Joey."
     "Yes sir," Joey told him, digging in his backpack for his
enrollment slip.
     As Mr. Sprague took the slip, he said, "Hey, you sing in the
choir at St. James' don't you?"
     "Yes," Joey answered proudly.
     "I sang in that choir until last year.  My schedule got too
complicated and I had to drop something.  I think I made a bad
choice and may dump something else and go back because I sure
miss it.  You sure sounded great both last Sunday and yesterday."
     "Thanks," Joey said.  He was proud to have been noticed.
     About that time the other students started arriving.
     "We don't have assigned seats in this class, so you can sit
anywhere except the back row," he told Joey, with a grin on his
face.
     Joey decided that he liked Jerry Sprague, so chose a seat on
the second row.  Bryce came in and sat at the desk on his right.
     When the bell rang, Mr. Sprague introduced Joey to the
others in the class then launched into the lesson.  He was a good
instructor and Joey noticed as much participation from the others
in the room as in his earlier classes today.
     Jerry Sprague assigned the class a new chapter to read and
told them to use the remaining time to get started.  He walked to
Joey's desk.
     "Have you taken Texas History before?" he asked.
     "We took it last year in Houston," Joey answered.
     "Did you use this textbook?" he asked.
     "No, it was a blue one that had the outline of the state on
the cover and the flag on the back."
     "Oh, that's the Ballinger text.  We used that he until a
couple of years ago.  It's a good text, but is almost 15 years
old, so didn't have anything that's happened here in the last 20
years.  We thought it needed to be updated."
     Joey smiled at him.  " Isn't history supposed to be about
old things?"
     Jerry Sprague laughed.  "Yeah, but every once in a while
they find new things to write about."  He gave the top of Joey's
left shoulder a squeeze.  "I don't think there's much in this
book that you shouldn't already know until we get to the middle
of next semester.  You might read the previous chapters as you
have time, just for a review."
     "Okay.  I like history so it should be easy," Joey said.
     "Good for you.  Glad to have you in my class."
     The bell rang to signal the end of the period.  As Joey
stood up, the girl sitting behind him said, "Don't you sing in
the choir at St. James?"
     "Yes, I do."
     "Are you in Mixed Chorus next hour?"
     "I'm signed up for it.  Guess I'll have to see if they let
me in," he smiled.
     "I'm in chorus.  Would you like to walk with me?"
     "Sure, I'm not real familiar with the building yet.  That
would be great."
     Pam Thomas was a very pretty girl.  She was about 5'5",
blond hair and was nicely dressed, better than many of the
students, although Joey noticed the students here seemed to take
pride in their appearance and didn't wear baggy clothes that
looked as if they had come from the Thrift Store.
     "I heard that you moved here from Houston," she said as they
went into the hall.
     "Yeah, my father died a week ago, so I'm here with my
brother.  Do you know Dale Richards?" he asked.
     "Is he the good looking guy that looks like an older version
of you?" she asked.
     "Yeah, it's weird, we never met until two weeks ago and now
it seems like we are best buds.  He's a neat guy and we really
like each other."
     "You are lucky.  That doesn't happen very often," Pam said.
     "Yeah, I had a friend who was in the Children's Social
Services with a foster family.  The department gave them money
for clothes and things he needed, but they never spent a dime of
it on him.  I don't think he would have been able to eat at the
cafeteria except that he had meal tickets they couldn't use
anywhere else.  They treated him pretty badly.  We really felt
sorry for him, but there wasn't anything we could do.  They
didn't have enough qualified homes to put people like him."
     "That's awful.  You really are lucky, then."
     "I sure am," Joey told her.
     They entered the rehearsal room and Pam took him to Mrs.
Morrison, who was the director.  She glanced at him, like she was
trying to decide if she should speak to him or not.  As Joey
handed her his admission slip, Pam introduced him.
     "Mrs. Morrison, this is Joey Sullivan.  He's just moved here
from Houston and he's already sung solos in the choir at St.
James.  He has a wonderful voice."
     "Well, if Paul has you singing solos already, you must be
really good.  What's your range?"  She was acting more
interested.
     "Paul says I'm a 'high baritone'.
     "Good, we need help in that area.  Do you read music well?"
she asked.
     "I don't always know what the note names are, but I can
usually hear the interval and sing the right note," he told her.
     "Well, we work on learning the notes and how to read
different clefs and we do quite a bit of sight-singing to help
everyone know how to read music.  Come over to the piano, I want
to check your range, then we'll find a seat for you."
     She sat down at the piano, giving Joey a tenor "D", then
taking him up by half steps to an "F" above middle "C".  She was
amazed at the resonance of his voice.
     "How old are you, Joey?"
     "Fourteen," he answered.
     Anne Morrison was surprised.  Joey looked more like he
should be a senior.  Obviously he'd had an early puberty.  There
were several freshman boys in the choir who still sang soprano.
     "Okay, Joey.  That was great.  Let me move a couple of
people and get you a seat in the choir."
     Joey stood there while Mrs. Morrison moved some people
around, one going to the back row and two scooting over a chair.
He ended up sitting next to Bret Jenkins, Jr.
     "Glad to have you sitting next to me because I'm a follower
and have to have someone sitting next to me who knows how to
lead," Bret said.
     "I'll do my best, but I don't give any guarantees," Joey
told him.
     Mrs. Morrison handed Joey a folder.  "There are some vocal
exercises and the music we're working on for our Christmas
concert.  If you have a way to work on these at home, you are
welcome to take the folder with you.  All the music is numbered
so it's checked out to you," she told him.
     "Thanks," Joey replied.
     A young fellow sat down on the piano bench.  Joey was pretty
sure he sang in the choir at St. James, too, but didn't know his
name.
     Anne Morrison took the choir through their warm-up
exercises, then started them on a lively arrangement of "The
Twelve Days of Christmas".  They spent the rest of the hour
working on "What Child is This?" and "The Night Before Christmas"
which was one of Joey's favorites.
     There were about 50 young people in the concert choir and
they sounded good to Joey, however, he had to consider that he'd
been in a junior chorus and this one was made up of 14 to
eighteen year old boys and girls.
     * * * * *
     When chorus was over, Joey walked to the Computer Lab by
himself.  Hal had pointed out the colored stripes on the floor
that helped to find the various areas of the building as
classrooms were grouped together by department.
     He immediately ran into Danny and Barry in the hall
     "Hey, guy, you found the place okay," Barry said.
     "Yeah, Hal told me about the stripes on the floor and I have
a map so it's pretty easy to get around here," Joey said.
     Hal joined them about that time and they all went in the
classroom.
     "How was chorus?" he asked.
     "They are working on music for the Christmas concert.  She
tested me and put me in the seat next to Bret," Joey said.
     "Good.  Maybe we can get him in the choir if he keeps coming
to St. James," Hal said.
     They walked up to Kent Korte's desk.
     "Mr. Korte, we have a new student in our class that just
moved here from Houston," Hal said, starting to introduce them.
     "Yes, I received a notice that you would be here," he said
while remaining seated.
     Kent Korte reminded Joey of a person who thought he ran the
world and everyone else was just standing around observing him
while he did it.
     "Have you had this class in Houston?" he asked.
     "No, we didn't have any computers in middle school," Joey
answered.
     "Well, you will have quite a bit of work to do to catch up.
We work with the IBM DOS AT386 computers here and will be
learning all of the functions, utility programs and some simple
programming.  We also use WordStar, which is a word processing
program and Lotus, a spreadsheet program.  We just received these
machines a year ago and they are already obsolete as far as speed
and size of hard disks.  There's a new generation of PC's about
to appear and maybe they will be able to break the standard 512k
and 640k memory usage of these machines."
     This was all new to Joey so he couldn't agree or disagree.
     "I'm available after school if you need some help beyond
what the others in this class can give you.  Just make an
appointment and have your questions written out ahead of time,"
he told Joey.
     Joey and Hal were both thinking, "What a jerk."
     Kent Korte had set up his own "Bulletin Board" at his home
and you could call that number to ask questions, download utility
files and programs and share information with other users.  The
computers at the school either had 300 baud or 1200-baud modems,
which were a marvel to those using the system.  Rumor was that a
couple of companies would soon release a 2400-baud internal
modem.
     Joey sat in the class and listened.  It was like the teacher
and about half the students were speaking in a foreign language.
The other half of the students seemed to be just sitting there.
Joey was not very happy as he'd always gotten good grades and he
was determined this was not going to be the first class that
brought him down.
     As they were leaving the class, Joey talked Daniel, Barry
and Hal.
     "Hey, I've got gym class next and I think Bryce is the only
one of you fellows that are in the class.  I need to talk to you
about this computer stuff.  Do you guys have computers at home?"
     "I do," said Daniel.  "Some of the others come over and we
play games from time to time, but I understand most of what they
are talking about.  I'm able to keep up, but just barely.  We are
allowed some extra time on the school's computers, but it's hard
to find anyone who can really help you outside the classroom."
     "Hey, I've got to get to gym.  What are you guys doing after
school?"
     Daniel didn't have anything planned.  Barry was on the
basketball team, so had practice and Hal had a piano lesson.
     "Can you meet me by my locker after last period?" Joey asked
Daniel.
     "Yeah, sure, we can hang out for a while if you want."
     "Cool."  See you after gym.
     * * * * *
     Joey had always loved Phys. Ed, especially if the instructor
was good and challenged the boys without being overbearing about
it.  That didn't happen in Williamsport.  Coach Paul Dennison was
a hard-ass who would have been better off staying in the Marines
as a drill sergeant.  There wasn't any doubt about him
challenging the boys, he just would have gotten better results by
actually leading the boys instead of drilling it into them.
     Bryce filled Joey in while they were putting on their
jockstraps, shorts, t-shirts and gym shoes.  "We have to be
careful not to get Coach Dennison upset because he gets all bent
out of shape.  You get punished and the whole class pays for it,
too.  Just do as he tells you and try to blend in with the
backfield."
     After Joey got dressed, he put his clothes in the basket the
boy in the cage had given him, then he and Bryce went back to
have him put it on the shelf.  Joey had his admission slip in
hand to give the coach.  The boy in the cage was Tyler Phillips.
"Hi Ty," said Bryce.  Guess you've already met our new man,
Joey," haven't you?"
     "Sure, welcome to Hell 101, Joey."  Then he lowered his
voice.  "I don't know what's going on today, but Coach is really
pissed about something, so watch out."
     Bryce laughed.  "When isn't he, man?  He's got serious head
problems."
     "Come on Joey, let's get to the gym so we aren't the last on
the floor," Bryce said.
     "What about my admission slip?" Joey asked.
     "Just stick it in your pocket and give it to him later.
He's not in his office, anyway."
     They went to the gym floor.  There was no sign of the coach
and the boys had grouped themselves into four teams and were
playing with a basketball in front of the four backboards.  Bryce
introduced Joey to three other boys who were practicing, and then
Joey joined in the game.  They hadn't been playing two minutes
when a shrill whistle blew and a voice that sounded as if it came
from a loudspeaker roared above the noise.  It was Coach Paul
Dennison.
     "Alright, you low-life, get into two lines and count off."
     Quickly the boys stepped into two rows and started counting,
" 1 - 2 - 3, etc., repeated by the second row.  They came out
even, fourteen in each row.  There were only supposed to be 27
boys in the class.
     Another whistle blow.  "That's not right, there are only
supposed to be 27 of you here.  Who's the wise ass that can't
count?" he all but screamed.
     Joey knew he was the culprit.
     "Excuse me, sir, I'm new to the class."  He pulled his
admission slip out of the waistband of his shorts and started
toward the coach.
     Another whistle blow.  Joey wondered if the whistle was part
of him.  "Get back in line," he yelled.  "Did I tell you to
move?"
     Joey quickly took his place in line again.  "No sir," he
said.
     "Speak up, I can't hear you!" coach screamed.
     "NO, SIR!! Joey said in his best military voice.
     "That's better," coach yelled.  By this time he was standing
in front of Joey and grabbed the paper out of his hand.
     He read the paper.  "Joey Sullivan?" he questioned.
     "Yes," Joey answered.
     "YES, WHAT?  I CAN'T HEAR YOU AGAIN!!"
     "YES, SIR!!"
     That's better.  So that you remember that the next time,
take 10 laps around the floor."
     Joey couldn't believe it.  Two asshole teachers in a row
after getting the day off to such a good start.
     Joey stood there for a second and was just ready to start
running when he heard, "Well, what are you waiting for, roller
skates?"
     He started to the edge of the floor then turned to his left.
He hadn't taken 3 strides when the whistle blew again.
     "NOT THAT WAY!!!  CLOCKWISE!!!  Get going!!!"
     One of the other boys snickered and was soon on his way
around the perimeter of the floor, too.
     "Okay, the coach announced.  We're playing half-court
basketball, shirts and skins.  This line is the skins, indicated
the line closest to him.  The boys shed their shirts and started
their game.  Coach was watching for possible players for the
Freshman-Sophomore Varsity team.
     Although Joey had never run track, he could have as he had
the speed and endurance.  He quickly figured that 10 laps was a
little over a half mile so he was thru running in about five
minutes and had passed the other boy twice.  He really wasn't
even winded when he was through.
     "Skins!!" the coach yelled at Joey as he completed his run.
Joey complied and stripped his wet t-shirt off.
     "What the fuck??!!" the coach yelled.  Joey didn't realize
the coach was speaking to him, so was standing on the sidelines
with some of the other boys who weren't in the game at the time.
     Coach was right in front of Joey in a minute.  "Your
admission slip shows that you are a freshman, how old are you?"
     "Fourteen, sir," Joey said.
     "What's with this fuckin' forest of hair all over your
body?" he asked in disbelief.
     "It just started growing last summer," Joey told him.
     "Geez, I don't fuckin' believe it," coach said.
     Joey thought that Paul Dennison had a poor attitude and
treated the students badly as well as using language that wasn't
appropriate to a classroom, regardless of which class it was.  He
was glad when the class was over and they could go to the locker
room.
     He and Bryce were among the first back in the room and
stripped out of their shorts, shoes, socks and jockstraps.  They
headed to the shower and turned the water on.  Bryce was next to
Joey and admiring his body, hairy legs and chest.  He hoped that
someday he would be like that.  It looked so manly.  And that
cock.  He couldn't believe it.
     Bryce was trying not to stare, but Joey caught him looking
and wondered what his interest was, if it was because of his body
hair, or if there were other interests.  However, he had really
put Paul Rathborne down at noon about being "queerer than a 3-
dollar bill" and Joey didn't like that remark.
     He soaped himself, rinsed off, and then grabbed a towel on
the way out of the shower.  He did notice several other boys
looking at him with admiring glances.  Only a very few of the
boys had any hair above their navels and then it only reached two
or three inches above.  All the boys he'd seen had pubic hair, at
least.
     Joey and Bryce made their way to the cage and got their
baskets with street clothes, wasting no time getting dressed and
out of the gym.
     "I'm going to meet Daniel at our lockers and we're going to
hang out for a little bit.  I want to see his computer.
     "Danny has a nice system.  He has to share it with his older
brother, but that's cool.  They get along together okay," Bryce
said.
     Man, I can't believe that I drew great teachers until the
last two this afternoon and they are real losers," Joey said.
     "You mean Coach Dennison and Kent Korte?" Bryce asked.
     "None other and in person, too," Joey said.  "I had some
teachers in Houston that acted like they didn't care, but you
could at least get them to answer questions.  I have the feeling
that Korte doesn't care if you learn about computers, or not.
     "Yeah, he spends all his time messing with that computer
bulletin board he's running to be bothered with people like us.
He kind of lives in his own world," Bryce said.
     By this time they were at the lockers.  Joey was putting
books in his backpack and making sure he had the notebook with
his assignments in it.  Daniel walked up, opening a locker about
6 away from Joey.
     "Well, how did you get along with Dennison?" Daniel queried.
     "Well, I'm still here, but I think he took a bite out of my
ass," Joey laughed.
     "That's all you lost?  You were lucky, he replied.
     "He made Joey run 10 laps, all because he got out of line to
give him his admission slip.  Then Joey ended up on the 'skins
team' for half-court basketball and coach gave him a bad time
because he has more hair on his chest than the rest of the boys
in the class put together."
     "No shit?" Daniel asked.  He was interested in that last
statement.
     "Yeah, he looks like 'fuzzy bear'," Bryce teased.
     Joey didn't know if he should be embarrassed, but was proud
of his new crop, so gave them his 1000-watt smile.
     "If you want to see my computer system, come on over.  I
have to share it with my older brother, but he's a football
practice and won't be home until after 6 o'clock," Daniel said.
     "I need to be home by 4:30," Bryce said, "so I'd better skip
this evening."
     "Later, then, Dude," Daniel said.
     "Catch you tomorrow," Joey told him.
     "'Right, guys.  Later," Bryce said as he left.
     "What about you, can you come over for a little bit?"
     "Yeah, I have to be home at 5:45, we're going to move the
big-screen TV that came from my house in Houston.  We had to put
it in storage the other night; along with a lot of other stuff
there isn't room for right away.  Then my Dads said we could look
for an entertainment center cabinet for my stereo stuff that goes
in my room."
     As soon as Joey said "Dads" he knew he had slipped up.
     "What do you mean, 'Dads'?" Daniel asked.  "I though you
said your Dad died.
     "My father died.  My half-brother, Dale, is 10 years older
than me and I'd never met him until two weeks ago today.  He's a
super person and my father asked if he would consent to become my
guardian.  Otherwise, I could have ended up in the Foster home
system and that's not very good."
     Daniel agreed.
     "You still didn't answer my question about 'Dads'," Daniel
asked.
     "This is kind of hard to explain and may not make much sense
to you.  Dale's best friend and he share a condo.  His name is
Craig and he's super nice to me, too.  I decided to call them my
two "Dads" because they really have taken the place of my
father."
     "Cool, it's kind of like having two big brothers, isn't it?"
Daniel replied.
     Joey was relieved.  He guessed that Daniel hadn't picked up
on the fact that they were gay.
     "Yeah, it is.  I'd like to see your computer.  I might ask
if I can get one, that is if you'd show me how to use it?"
     "You have to understand that I don't know everything,"
Daniel said.  "But, I know a fair amount.  I just don't
understand about writing some of the programs in Basic like Mr.
Korte is trying to teach us to do."
     "Craig is an architect and they have an awesome computer at
their office.  The plotter can draw blueprints on paper that's 3
feet square.  I don't know if he knows anything about writing
programs though.  I think he just puts in all the information and
the computer draws the plans," Joey said.
     "Wow, I'd like to see that," Daniel told him.  Maybe you can
take me to his office sometime?"
     "Probably could."
     "Well, dude, times a'wastin'.  Let's go to my place and I'll
show you my computer."
     "How far is it?  I live in the Carriage House, up the street
a few blocks.  I can call Dale and he can pick me up at your
house on his way home."
     "Works for me," Daniel said.  "I live about 5 blocks from
there.  Two blocks on north and three blocks east."
     * * * * *
     Daniel and Joey walked the mile to Daniel's home.  They had
a chance to get acquainted while walking.  Daniel's family
belonged to the First Presbyterian Church, but Daniel was
familiar with St. James because their choir had shared in a St.
Andrew's Day service last year at St. James.
     Joey had all kinds of questions about the other boys he had
met that day and Daniel filled him in on the details.
     "Bret and I've been friends since about the 6th grade.  He
used to be really happy and then all of a sudden he clamed up and
would hardly talk to anybody, kind of like he was lost.  It got
so bad that he almost failed 7th grade, then he started studying
like crazy.  Now, he's taking A/P classes.  I've noticed this
past week that he seems happier than he's ever been and has been
willing to go places with some of the rest of us.  His family is
all wrapped up in that weird church where Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones is
the preacher.  Except now he's in jail because he molested a
bunch of little boys that were about 10 years old."
     Joey didn't want to tip his hand that he knew anything about
what was going on.  He'd have to wait until he knew these boys a
little better before expressing any opinions about anything.
     Then Daniel told him about Bryce.  "He's 16 and has two
younger brothers.  His father is in the Air Force.  He's on
assignment in Germany, but his mother didn't want to live there,
so they came back to Williamsport because her family all lives
here.  That family goes to church at Victory Temple, too, but I
don't think they go as often as Bret's family do.  He's a neat
guy, but somewhat of a smart ass.  He likes to make fun of
people, but not in a teasing way, and doesn't realize that he
offends them."
     "I sensed that when we were eating lunch," Joey told him.
     "Yeah, he doesn't always think things through before he
opens his mouth."
     "What about Barry?" Joey asked.
     "Barry's 15 and is the jock of our group.  He plays
basketball on the Freshman-Sophomore Varsity team and a little
bit of soccer, but not on the high school team.  He's in Boy
Scouts.  I guess you knew that, from what he said at noon and
inviting you to join his patrol.  He's the Patrol leader and I
think he's just gotten his Star rank.
     "His father is manager of the Farm Supply Store and his
mother is a nursing supervisor at the hospital.  He has a younger
sister; I think maybe she's in the 8th grade this year.
     "What about you?" Joey asked.
     "Well, I'm a sophomore this year and my parents both work.
My Dad is the branch manager for Southern Savings and Loan.
Their main office is in Waco.  My mother is a paralegal for
Augustus Phyfe Douglas the third.  Isn't that quite a name?"
Daniel said.
     "Is there a fourth?" Joey laughed.
     "Yeah, and a fifth, too.  He's a junior this year and wants
to be an attorney like his father and grandfather.  He'll
probably make it, too, he's pretty smart.
     "If I had a name like that, I'd get it changed," Joey
laughed.
     "He's a good guy, in spite of the name," Daniel said.
     "Anyway, I have an older brother who's a senior and on the
basketball team.  He'd like to go to SMU and study genetics, then
do research work in a lab.  Now, tell me about you," Daniel said.
     "Well, you know that Dale Richards is my half brother,
except he didn't know I existed until two weeks ago.  My father
and Dale's mother weren't married and Dad had only seen Dale once
before and that was when he was 13.  My parents were married, but
my mom left us when I was four years old, so I don't remember
very much about her.  I don't even know where she is and Dad was
never able to find any trace of her family.
     "I've been in Boy Scouts and guess I'll probably join here.
I played Junior Baseball in Houston.  I like school and until
today, I've always made good grades.  I'm not too sure about Mr.
Korte and Coach Dennison, though.  I have a feeling that both are
hard people to deal with," Joey said.
     "Mr. Korte is really pretty easy to get along with.  He's
not failed anyone, but not very many make A's in his classes.  If
he sees that you are trying, he'll give you extra help, but will
leave you alone if you don't ask for it.
     "As far as Coach Dennison, he doesn't have any business
being a teacher.  He treats the kids with disdain and thinks
severe discipline is the only answer.  He has a violent temper
and gets so worked up at a ball game, screaming and yelling at
the guys, that a lot of times he still doesn't have any voice on
Monday."
     "He must have been a drill sergeant in the Army, the way he
runs the gym class."
     "Actually he was a Marine.  Rumor has it that he was court-
martialed because he ran a platoon through a course that had been
closed for maintenance.  One of the recruits was badly injured
and Coach Dennison was bounced out of the Marines.  It serves him
right, but makes it awfully tough on those in his class."
     "Did you take Phys Ed when you were a freshman?" Joey asked.
     "Yeah, it's a required class.  You can get out of it by
going out for football, basketball, soccer, baseball, swimming or
track.  Those sports or Phys Ed count toward your credits for
graduation," Daniel said.
     "Guess I'm stuck with staying in gym class then," Joey said.
"I just think there is too much emphasis placed on winning a game
and not the sportsmanship you are supposed to learn by being on
the team."
     "I hear you there.  The coaches here are really bad about
winning all their games."
     By this time they were at Daniel's home.  It was a nice,
large house in a good neighborhood.  The yard was full of shade
trees with a well-kept lawn and lots of flowerbeds.
     "Come on in," Daniel said, holding the door open for Joey.
The inside was nicely furnished.
     "Do you want a soda or something?" Daniel asked.
     "Sure, a Coke or cola would be good."
     "Got it.  I'm going to get out some snacks for us, too."
     "Can I call Dale and tell him to pick me up here when he
comes home?" Joey asked.
     "Sure.  The phones on the wall next to the refrigerator,"
Daniel told him.
     Joey checked the address with Daniel before punching the
number of Dale's cell phone.
     "Dale Richards," his voice said after the second ring.
     "Hi Dad.  I'm over at Daniel Pearson's house.  It's at 4003
Maple.  Can you pick me up here on your way home?"
     "Sure.  I'll be there about 5:45 unless something comes up,
so be watching for me."
     "Ok, thanks.  See ya then," Joey said, hanging up the phone.
     "He'll be here about 5:45," Joey told Daniel.
     Daniel thought he heard Joey call Dale, 'Dad', then
remembered what he'd said earlier.  He was curious about that and
the fact there was another man involved.  He'd have to see what
he could find out about that.
     He finished putting crackers and cheese on a plate, then
handed Joey two glasses to fill with ice cubes, telling him to
get a bottle of Coke out of the refrigerator.  He led the way
downstairs to the large room he shared with his brother, Scott.
Daniel's side of the room was neat and everything seemed to be in
its place.  The other side looked 'well-used' as the bed hadn't
been made, there were dirty clothes on the floor and two drawers
of the chest hadn't been closed.  A couple of Playboy magazines
were beside the bed, as well as a pair of white socks.  Joey
wondered if Scott used his socks for the same purpose he did.
     "Sorry for the mess.  As you can see, my brother isn't a
very neat person and I refuse to pick up after him unless Mom and
Dad get on me about it.  I think he's old enough to pick up after
himself."
     Joey agreed.
     "If you need to use the bathroom, it's right through that
door," Daniel told him.  "Make yourself comfortable while I hit
the head."
     As he disappeared through the door, Joey went to investigate
Scott's socks as soon as Daniel shut the door.  He was right.
There was a crusty load in one sock and the other had probably
been used to wipe up the remainder.  Joey grinned and wondered if
Daniel and his brother jacked-off together.
     Joey laid the sock back on the floor and went to the table
where the computer was set up.  It was a Compaq 386, he saw.  He
didn't know anything about computers but was anxious to learn as
his apprehension about Kent Korte's class loomed in his mind.
     He heard the toilet flush as Daniel came back in the room,
buttoning his Levis.  Daniel pulled his shirt off and Joey
thought he was going to put on something else, maybe a t-shirt,
but he didn't.  Daniel was about 5'8" and probably weighed about
155.  He wasn't quite as big as Craig, but he had dark brown hair
and had a fair amount of hair around his navel and on up his
abdomen about 4 inches.  There was a ring of hair around each
nipple.
     "It's warm in here.  You can take your shirt off, if you
want.  Those long sleeves look hot."  He was hoping Joey would
because of the remark Bryce had made about Joey having so much
hair on his chest that he looked like "Fuzzy Bear".
     "I'm okay," Joey said, wondering what Daniel had in mind.
"How long have you had this computer?" he asked Daniel.
     "We got it for Christmas last year.  It's a better computer
than what is in the Computer Lab at school.  Scott and I both use
it for some of our written assignments.  All the teachers will
allow you to type anything that has to be written.  They've
decided that it's easier than trying to decipher everybody's
handwriting," he laughed.
     "That's cool," Joey said.  "Can you show me some things?"
     "Sure, Daniel said, turning it on.
     He showed Joey a Lotus spreadsheet he'd done for an
accounting class, then printed several of his English Literature
assignments with a program called WordStar.  He showed him how
the spellcheck feature worked and how you could insert, cut and
paste, correct and delete text without having to retype it.  Joey
was impressed with the speed of the Epson printer and the fact
that the print head printed going both directions.  Daniel pulled
up a program called PrintShop and showed him how he could make
greeting cards and signs.
     "How much does a system like this cost?" he asked.
     Daniel thought for a minute.  I think this was about $2,000
and that included the color monitor, printer and modem so we can
access Mr. Korte's stupid bulletin board.  He expects everybody
in his class to access it at least once a day.  He can tell who
has connected to it."
     "Can you show me how you do that?" Joey asked.
     "Sure."  He closed the Print Shop program and selected
'Bulletin Board' from the menu.  Joey could hear the computer
beep the digits as it dialed the number.  There was some hissing
noise, and then the opening screen came up.  Daniel showed him
some of the areas where one could download utility programs and
other files, then transferred one to his computer.  Joey was
impressed with what he was seeing.
     "Around $2,000?" Joey asked.
     "Yeah, you might be able to do better than that at one of
the computer centers in Austin.  Some of the software was free,
but some of the others we had to buy.  Here's a neat program
called "SideKick" that has an editor you can use to write
programs.  It also has a calendar that goes from 1901 to 2099, a
simple calculator and an ASCII Table so you can look up the
binary or hex numbers for each symbol," he said proudly.
     "You've lost me there, but this is really neat.  I'll have
to talk to my Dad's and see if they'll spring for a computer.
I'm sure Craig can help me some and if you can, too, maybe I'll
be able to pass Korte's class with no problem."
     "Here are the games I have," and Daniel showed him a brief
glance at PacMan and Donkey Kong.
     Daniel was just ready to ask him about his two Dads when
Joey looked at his watch.  "It's almost 5:45.  I'd better get
upstairs and be looking for Dale.  We're supposed to move the big
screen TV and then see about an entertainment center cabinet for
my stereo stuff tonight, too."
     "They have some really nice ones at Electronic Home.  That's
where this computer table came from," Daniel said.  He picked up
his shirt and put it on as they were going up the stairs.
     Dale had just driven the Bar-W pickup onto the driveway.
"Come on and meet Dale," Joey said, picking up his backpack.
     Daniel followed him out the door.
     "This is my friend, Daniel Pearson.  This is Dale Richards,
my brother and my new Dad," Joey said.
     Dale got out of the pickup to shake hands with Daniel, who
was all eyes.  He couldn't believe how much alike Dale and Joey
looked.  Dale was taller and heavier and had a mustache, but you
could definitely tell he was an older brother.
     "Pleased to meet you, Daniel.  I'm glad that Joey was able
to make a new friend his first day here."
     "Hi Dale, it's nice to meet you, too.  I'm glad to have Joey
for a friend and I met some other guys I didn't know because of
him, too.
     "That's great.  Sorry we have to hurry off, but we've got
several things to be accomplished this evening."
     "That's okay, Dale.  See ya tomorrow, Joey.  Thanks for
coming over."
     "Thank you Daniel. and thanks for showing me your computer,"
Joey said.
     * * * * *
     As they were driving down the street, Dale said, "Sounds
like you've already met some nice kids."
     "Yeah, I did.  And I have good teachers, except for two.
One of them might be okay, but the other is definitely a jerk.
Do you know Coach Dennison?"
     "Definitely a Jerk," Dale said, "and that probably should be
'Mister Jerk'," he laughed.  "Did you draw him for Phys Ed?"
     "Yeah."  Joey told him about having to count off, giving him
his admission slip, then having to run laps because he got out of
line without permission.  He also told him about taking his shirt
off and the coach questioning his age, then getting bent out of
shape because he had hair on his chest.
     "He's just jealous because only real men can grow hair,"
Dale said.
     "Did you have him for gym when you were in school?"
     "No, I think he's only been here two or three years and most
people think that's five years longer than he should have been
allowed to teach."
     "Daniel said he was a Marine drill instructor and got court-
martialed because he took his platoon through an area that was
closed for maintenance and one of the men was badly hurt," Joey
said.
     "I've heard that story, too, but that's still no excuse for
his behavior.  If he continues to give you a bad time, let me
know and I'll look into it.  I'm not promising anything can be
done, but we can keep a watch on him," Dale told him.
     Joey told him about the Computer Lab class and Kent Korte.
     "I've always made good grades, but I have the feeling that
this guy doesn't really care if he teaches you anything or not.
Daniel says he has this bulletin board that he runs on his
computer at his house.  He expects all his students to access it
everyday and he can tell who has been connected to it.  You can
do it in class, but a few of the kids have computers of their
own," Joey told Dale.
     "Do we need to buy you a computer?" Dale asked.
     "I don't know, I mean it's a lot of money to buy one.
Daniel thought his cost about $2,000.  Some of the software he
has was free but he and his brother had to buy some of the
programs."
     "You've lost me there, but we can certainly afford to get a
computer if you need one.  Craig can help you with some things,
but I'm totally in the dark when it comes to computers.  I know
Marty has one because he gives me some printouts from time to
time about the income and expenses for each area of the ranch
that are different than what the accountant provides to us."
     "Craig has one at his office.  He showed me how it can draw
blueprints on these really big sheets of paper," Joey said.
     "Yeah, I've seen it, but I don't think they do much else
with it except to make drawings.  The woman who is their
secretary and bookkeeper has a computer at her desk and I think
she uses it to keep their financial statements and write letters,
bids and contracts for them," Dale said.
     "It would be neat to have one, but I don't know all that
much about them.  Dad bought that old IBM computer from his
company and he found out it couldn't do very much."
     "Yes, but wasn't it several years old, the first generation
of IBM personal computers?" Dale asked.
     "It was, but Mr. Korte said the computers in the lab were
new last year and were already obsolete."
     "This is the fastest growing industry in the world right
now.  They claim that just one of today's personal computers are
more powerful than all of the computers together that sent the
men to the moon just twenty years ago," Dale said.
     "I've heard that, too," Joey told him.
     By this time they were at the condo and Craig was out in the
yard with Mitsy.
     "Hi Dad!" Joey greeted Craig.  Mitsy came running to him.
He knelt down to scratch her ears and got a big wet kiss from
her.  Then she lay down and rolled on her back, her way of
telling people she wanted her chest and stomach rubbed.
     Craig laughed, along with Dale.  "Hi Joey.  I can tell that
she missed you today."
     Joey was giving his attention to Mitsy.  "She's always like
this when I get home from school."
     "She's a great dog," Craig said.  "She certainly has adapted
to living in an apartment with no problem."
     Dale agreed.
     "How was the first day at the new school?" Craig asked.
     "Really good until the last two classes." Joey answered.
     "He drew 'Major Storm trooper' for his Phys Ed class," Dale
broke in.
     "Dennison?" Craig questioned.
     "Who else fits that description?" Dale asked.
     Joey told Craig about his experience beginning with getting
out of line, having to run laps, then having his age questioned
when he took his t-shirt off.
     "There's no excuse for that behavior, these kids are in high
school, not boot camp."  Craig was not pleased with the report
he'd been given.
     "I told him we'd monitor the situation.  I've heard others
complain, too, and that's why Eddie is running the summer Little
League program for the school system.  Dennison was verbally
abusing the little boys.  Those kids playing ball get enough
grief from their own parents for missing plays and hits.  They
don't need it from the coaches, too," Dale told them.
     "Just don't argue with him," Craig said.  "If you do that,
he'll just make it harder on you, but we can work the problem in
other ways - that is if we have to."
     "Thanks Dads.  Don't worry about me causing him any trouble,
but I'll let you know about any problems that I - or any other
kids - have with him."
     "Well, I'm ready to go pick up the TV if you guys are.
Joey, you take Mitsy upstairs and lock the place up," Craig said.
     As Joey and Mitsy went upstairs, Craig said, "Dale, I got a
four-wheel cart at the rental place.  It's in the back of my
car."
     Joey arrived back at the parking lot as they were putting
the cart in the back of the pickup.
     * * * * *
     It didn't take them long to go to the storage, load the TV
onto the pickup and go back to the condo.  The three of them got
it on the cart with no problem and onto the elevator to go to the
5th floor in no time at all.  They had decided the previous
evening where it should sit and put it in place.
     Craig picked up the sheet of paper with the measurements of
Joey's various stereo equipment modules as they went out the
door.  The first stop was Best Buy.  Joey found a unit he liked
and Dale and Craig measured the shelves, which had adequate
space.
     "I wonder if they have this one in black?" Joey questioned.
     Dale checked the information on the display model.  "It says
that it only comes in the dark oak, like this one, or white."
     "I'm with Joey, black would be better," Craig said.
     "Let's go to Electronic Home," Dale said.  "It's only a few
blocks over there."
     "That's where Daniel and his brother got their computer
table," Joey told them.
     "Are we getting a computer, too?" Craig asked.
     As they were riding to the other store, Joey filled Craig in
on his Computer Lab class and how Daniel and his brother, Scott,
used the computer.
     "He said we might do better on price by going to one of the
discount stores in Austin," Joey said.
     "We might, but I think we can expect better service by
buying it right here in Williamsport and it's worth it to buy
from a computer store rather than a discount house.  The few
times we've had problems with the computer at the office, they've
always sent someone to fix it right away."
     "That makes sense," Dale said.
     "Well, I'm afraid if we were to go to Austin, then we have
to take it back to Austin to get it fixed, or ship it somewhere,"
Craig told them.
     "We don't have to decide that tonight," Joey said.  He was
excited about the prospect of getting a computer, but he wanted
to do some research and get exactly the right one.
     The three walked into Electronic Home and were immediately
greeted by a clerk.  Dale and Craig let Joey tell him what he was
looking for and the salesman led them to the display area.  The
store had a much better selection, although most prices were a
little higher.  They found the same unit for the same price as
the first store and they had it in black.
     "Is this okay?" Joey asked.
     "Sure, bud," Dale said, squeezing him on the arm.
     "We'll take this one," Joey told the clerk, whose nametag
said his name was Dennis.
     Craig spoke up.  "We're not prepared to buy one tonight, but
I think we'd like to look at computers, to get an idea of what's
available and prices."
     "Over this way.  Is this for your home?" Dennis asked.
     "Yes," the three of them answered almost together.  Dennis
wondered about that.  One of the men and the boy looked like
brothers and the other guy didn't look like them at all.  He
thought that was interesting.
     "What tasks are you going to use the computer for?" he
questioned as they arrived in the computer area.
     "Mainly for Joey for school," Dale said, "although we may
find some other usage for it as all three of us learn how to use
it."
     Joey spoke up.  "I'm in Mr. Korte's Computer Lab class in
school and he expects us to learn to write some simple programs
and also access the bulletin board he runs from his home
computer."
     "Oh, yes, I know about that.  He thinks everyone should have
a computer right away, although I think in ten years time, most
of us will."
     Craig was looking at the computers on the shelving.  "I
don't see any IBM equipment here."
     "No, they won't allow stores like us to sell their
equipment, yet.  It's a mistake on their part as they are losing
sales to other companies like Compaq, Hewitt-Packard and Packard-
Bell, among others.  Dell and Gateway sell strictly by mail order
and Apple has their own stores.  We carry Compaq, Hewitt-Packard
and also assemble our own, so we can custom-build for your needs
and configure and test each unit before you take it home.  We
offer some training classes in the more popular software, such as
Lotus, WordStar and WordPerfect and some others will be added
soon as we find more instructors.
     "What's all this I hear about an 'Internet'?" Dale asked.
     "That's the 'World Wide Web' and it's starting to pick up a
lot of interest and users from all over the world.  There is some
great information available and a lot of questionable stuff, too.
Some of the bulletin boards in the area are now accessible via
the internet," Dennis told them.
     "How does that work?" Craig asked.
     "You have to have a modem, which is an interface for your
computer to transfer data over the telephone lines, to another
computer.  You can simply logon to a website to read information
they have available.  It's great for a lot of research projects
for those in school.  You can upload and download files
containing data from the source to your computer."
     "Doesn't that cause a pretty high phone bill, for long
distance calls?" Dale wanted to know.
     "No, your access could be with one of two local companies
that are called Internet Service Providers.  They charge a flat
fee rate for different access packages.  As little as $5 a month
for a few hours to about $20 for unlimited usage, so you're only
paying for access time.
     With that Dennis showed them how to access a website
maintained by the Dallas Tourism Bureau, then look up a listing
of motels and hotels, along with their price ranges.  There were
a number of tourist attractions listed, Fair Park having a large
amount of pictures and information.
     Dale and Craig were impressed and Joey was amazed because he
didn't know this existed, either.
     "You mean that if we had a computer, we could look stuff
like this up at home?" Dale asked.
     "Yes, and you can search for information and find listings
of possible websites that might have the information.  This is
just getting started really well and in another five years they
estimate that about half of the homes will have personal
computers and 80% of those will have Internet access.
     "What kind of money are we talking about?" Craig asked.
     "We can build you a 'Super 386' with a color monitor, both a
5.25" and 3.5" floppy disk drive, an 80-meg hard drive, the usual
printer, serial and game ports, an internal modem, 640k memory
and Windows installed for $1,750.  You can have a choice of
several Epson dot matrix printers for between two and three
hundred dollars each, depending on speed and narrow or wide
carriage tractor feed.  This month we are giving away both Lotus
and WordStar software and a choice of two games."
     "So, basically, we're talking around $2,100 or so?" Dale
asked.
     "Yeah, it could be a little less, or a little more, but I
don't think it would be over a $100 either direction."
     We need to ask more questions and see if we can narrow down
our requirements," Craig said.  "Joey definitely needs a computer
and I think all three of us could benefit from having one."
     Dale agreed.
     Joey was looking around the area and spotted a computer
table like Daniel and his brother had.  They had it in black,
also, and it was priced at $159.  He caught Dale's eye and
motioned him to come look at it.  "This is like the table Daniel
and Scott have for their computer," he said.
     "Looks good to me.  Seems like everything would be out of
the way and give you plenty of workspace, too."  He pulled out
the tray where the keyboard would be placed.  "They've thought of
everything haven't they?"
     Craig walked over, followed by Dennis.  "Hey Dad, this is
like the table Daniel and his bother have for their computer."
     Dennis was really confused now.  One of the men was called
Dale and his look-alike was Joey, and yet Joey called the blond
guy, 'Dad'.  That didn't make any sense to him.
     "This is nice.  It could take the place of the desk that's
going in your room, if you want," Dale told them.
     "Yeah, I don't think he would want both in there, it might
get crowded pretty quickly with the entertainment center in
there, too," Craig agreed.
     Dale looked at Dennis.  "Thanks for explaining computers to
us.  We need to do a little research and talk to others about
what they think we should buy.  Do you have a card?" he asked.
     "Yes," Dennis said, pulling out his case and giving each of
them a card.  "I'm here from 2:30 to 9 each afternoon and night
and I'll be glad to answer your questions and give you a quote on
building a system for you."
     "Thanks.  I'm sure we'll be talking to you soon."
     "Glad to help.  Your entertainment center should be in a box
at the front of the store, close to the cash register.  I'll look
forward to helping you again," Dennis told them.
     * * * * *
     It didn't take them long to drive home, unload the
entertainment center box and carry it to their condo.  Joey took
Mitsy outside while Dale and Craig took the box to Joey's room.
     "Shall we get this put together and set up this evening?"
Craig asked.
     "Yeah, lets do, then we can see how much room there is for
his computer," Dale said.
     "You're really enjoying being a parent aren't, you?" Craig
asked, giving Dale a light kiss on the lips.
     "No more so than being married to you.  It just seems that
I've gone from a life where I kinda wandered from one thing to
another without any purpose.  Then you rescued me and make me
part of your world, then we added Joey to it."
     Craig laughed.  "I don't know about the 'rescue' part of it,
but I could say the same about you.  You've completed my life and
now Joey is here.  I'm the one who should be counting my lucky
stars."
     They didn't realize that Joey and Mitsy had come in as they
shared a deep kiss.
     "Come on, Mitsy, looks like they're gonna use my room for
the night.  We'll have to sleep in the living room again," Joey
said, then started laughing.
     Dale and Craig pulled apart, not knowing if they should be
embarrassed, or what.
     "Just telling your mother how much I love him," Dale said,
regaining his composure.
     "You keep doing that and you're not going to be able to
stand close to each other," Joey laughed, pointing at their
obvious hardons.
     Craig was the one who turned red this time.
     "Look, it doesn't bother me a bit if you guys want to make
out.  It's kind of like having your very own porn movie, except
you guys never get past the kissing part," Joey told them, his
eyes sparkling.
     "Well, guess you are going to have to catch that on VHS,
because if you remember we told you that you might see us kissing
each other from time to time, but anything beyond that is in the
privacy of our own bedroom.  Sorry to disappoint you," Dale said.
     All three laughed, but Joey was thinking about seeing them
do more than kiss.  Porn movies followed a written script.  He'd
like to know what 'making love' was all about.
     "Come on, let's get this cabinet put together and see where
it's going to fit in the room," Dale told them, opening the box
and pulling out the instruction sheet.
     * * * * *
     (to be continued)
     AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Thanks for the great feedback on the
previous chapters.  I appreciate all the emails that you've taken
the time to write and I know I've missed replying to a few of
them, but it's not intentional that I don't reply.  And, thanks
for the suggestions of plots and character development.  Some of
you have hit my plans squarely on the head and others have given
me some great ideas.
     If you would like to be on the list for notification of
future chapters, or just want to drop me a note, you may do so
at: TulsaDriller7@aol.com.  Thanks again.