Date: Wed, 4 Jun 2014 22:23:37 -0700 From: Douglas DD DD Subject: The Puget Posse Chapter 7 Greetings and thanks for returning to the Puget Posse. The story is mine, so please don't use it without permission. It also involves sexual situation between minor boys, so please be eighteen to read it. In this chapter, Misha becomes acclimated to being an American and makes his first friend. Please donate to the Nifty Archive. You can contact me at thehakaanen@hotmail.com CHAPTER 7 THE BOYS-MIKHAIL (USA) Mikhail was tucked into his bed, lying on his back in his dark bedroom. He had been in his new home for a week. There was so much that was different for him that he wondered if he would ever learn it all. Almost every day his new parents took him around Seattle, showing him the city and its environs. Even at age nine he could tell that the city was beautiful. There were mountains and bodies of water and big buildings. He loved the Space Needle and Mount Rainier. He hoped he would be able to watch soccer at Century Link Field, which looked gigantic to him. He also learned about Seattle rain. The day he landed was a cloudless day, as were the next two days. The weather was sunny and crisp, very unusual for January. On the third day, gray clouds and rain came, but the weather didn't slow down the tour. He got his first ferry ride, sailing from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and back. The trip gave him an entirely different view of the city. His favorite visit was to the Seattle Center. It was on his second day, so the weather was still sunny. He fell in love with the Pacific Science Center. Lunch at the top of the Space Needle was, up to that point, the best meal he'd ever had. He also met a new person, who met them at the Science Center. Her name was Olga, and she was going to be his tutor. Misha's parents had decided to hold off sending Mikhail to school until he started fifth grade, which would be in a year and a half. Ryan and Lois understood from the beginning that they would need an outside tutor, so they planned to home school him until he was prepared for the fifth grade. Olga came to them highly recommended, not only by the adoption agency, but by the parents of her tutees. Olga was from Omsk, Russia. She came to the United States at fourteen when her parents emigrated. Olga had an Education degree from the University of Washington. She worked as a private tutor for students homebound because of illness and for home schooled students. She also worked with students who needed help outside of the classroom. She took on Mikhail as her major project for the next year and a half. She'd worked with immigrant children as well as adoptees. She knew the issues faced by the adoptees and was adept at educating them in adjusting to their new culture. One of her strengths was teaching her charges how to speak English with a minimal accent. It was something she practiced as well as preached to her underlings. A listener would be hard pressed to detect any accent in her speech. So much of his first week in America was racing through Mikhail's head as he lay in bed. The city of Seattle, the Space Needle, the wonders of the dinosaur exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, the size of Century Link Field, where Seattle Sounders soccer and American football were played, as well as Safeco Field where baseball was played. Mikhail knew nothing of American football and had a passing acquaintance with baseball because of Arkady. Arkady was eleven and was orphaned at ten when his parents were killed in a traffic accident. He had no relatives who wanted to take him in. Baseball was a sport that was slowly growing in Russia and Arkady played on a Little League team before coming to the orphanage. He shared some of his knowledge of the sport with Misha and other boys in the orphanage. Mikhail's largest thoughts, however, centered on his new parents. They had been very nice to him. While he had lost his fear of them by the third day, he was still very shy and reserved around them. He'd been let down too many times by adults, starting with his real parents abandoning him. His new mother and father tucked him in each night, and one of them read to him for awhile. He enjoyed being read to and he enjoyed their attention. But he wondered when it would all end; everything in his life always seemed to change, and the things he liked were often taken away from him. One of the first things he noticed when he was shown his new bedroom was a large stuffed bear on his bed. At first it angered him. After all, he was nine and much too old to have a stuffed animal. At the orphanage he'd had a small stuffed bear that had been donated. He'd named it Pavel and he kept it until he was moved to the B wing. He left it on his bed and never saw it again. This bear was very large. It had bright yellow eyes and a sly smile, along with thick brown fur. He wanted to like it, but he knew he was too old to like it. The first time he was alone with it, he sat it on the floor in a corner of the room, hoping his new parents wouldn't be offended. On his third night he picked up the bear after his new father turned out the light and left the room. He snuggled up to its softness. He missed having company in his bed. He missed having someone like Dmitri or Nikki, who made him feel safe and wanted. He missed boys like Stepan, Vasia, and Josef, who gave him comfort and sex and friendship in bed. He even missed the boys he'd slept with only a couple of times, like Arkady. Mikhail named his new bear Nikki, and hugged it tightly as he fell asleep on the third night in his new home. Ryan and Lois noticed the bear on Mikhail's bed the next day. Giving him the bear had been at the suggestion of Greg, who told them having a stuffed animal would give Mikhail a sense of comfort. "He will be very lonely to start," Greg said. "The bear will give him something to latch onto at night. He will probably toss it into a corner of the room to start, but it won't take long for him to become attached to it." He then went on to remind them that Mikhail would eventually come to their bed looking for comfort and assurance. He told them not to try to hug or cuddle with him. They were to let him into the bed and give him his space—he would let them know when he was ready for cuddling. On Mikhail's seventh night in his new home, Nikki the bear wasn't enough. He needed to know how much his new parents really wanted him. He needed to know if they even liked him, let alone loved him. He needed to feel warm and safe with them. The lonely boy pulled back the covers and made his way into the hall in the dark. He was wearing green pajamas that were decorated with soccer balls. The night light in the hall made the soccer balls seem to light up. Mikhail carried his bear with him to give him reassurance just in case his parents didn't want him in their bed. He walked into the master bedroom. He looked at the sleeping forms of his new parents and saw that Lois had the most open space next to her. He set Nikki on the floor and slowly scooted under the covers next to his new mother. The movement of the covers and of the bed woke Lois. She moved slightly closer to Ryan in order to open more space for her son. Once he settled in, she put her arm around his warm little body, even though she knew he probably would reject her overture. He did exactly that, pushing her arm away. But even though he rejected the hug, the fact that she wanted to show her motherly love for him in a physical way did have an impact on his thinking. He slept with his parents until the alarm went off. He was used to waking to loud noises at the orphanage and was surprised that Ryan and Lois woke up to classical music that started softly and slowly rose in volume. It was such a nice way to be awakened, he was amazed that it worked. He thought only jarring noises could wake somebody up. "Good morning, Mikhail," Lois said. "Did you sleep well?" Mikhail was pleased that there was no reproach for having invaded their bedroom. "Yes, thank you." He rubbed his eyes and rose from the bed, reaching down to pick Nikki off of the floor. As he walked out of the bedroom, he heard Lois say, "We love you, Mikhail," followed by his father saying, "We love you, son." A couple of days later Mikhail had his first meeting with Dr. Barrett, a child psychologist. He had worked with many eastern European adoptees and was highly regarded by the adoption agency. Mikhail was now getting tutoring and help from Dr. Barrett, Olga, and Greg, on top of all of the attention heaped on him by his new parents. Mikhail slept with his parents three to four times a week during his first month in his new home. While he reluctantly allowed them to hug him and touch him during the day, he didn't return their affection, even though he was feeling increasingly comfortable in his new environs. But, at night, he would not allow them to touch him at all. At the orphanage he had slept with his peers or with older boys. Except for his last few months with Nikki, touching in bed meant sexual touching, not loving touching. Nikki was the exception to that, but, even with him, sex was a huge part of their relationship. Mikhail needed the safety of his parents. He needed to be next to one of them, to insure that he would not be left alone. However, he was not yet able to relate to touching in bed as something other than sexual touching. January turned into February and Mikhail was getting some routine into his new life. His residence was becoming less and less something strange and intimidating and more and more his home. Part of the routine was the introduction of new things. His parents continued to take him places, from the Woodland Park Zoo to the snowy mountains of the Cascades. Mikhail loved the excitement of going places with his new parents. He was a bright and curious boy and enjoyed exploring. Wherever they went he was full of questions and comments. Ryan and Lois were delighted at his opening up to them and revealing an outgoing, inquisitive personality. The frightened little boy who had flown to America with them was being buried by Mikhail's real personality. Mikhail was pleased to find some chess partners. Ryan played the game, albeit not at the high level of his nine-year-old son. Greg and Olga also played chess against him, offering more competition. In mid-February, Mikhail made his first new friends. The timing was perfect for him, because he had been feeling incredibly lonely. The feelings of loneliness hit him hard when he received a surprise letter from Nikki. Mikhail had given the Larson's address to Nikki, but he never expected to actually receive any mail. Yet, a letter had miraculously appeared in the Larson mailbox. Nikki told him he was no longer at the orphanage. He was living in the group home. He had his own private room, which he thought of as a luxury. Vasia had moved to the home at the same time as Nikki, and the two of them were becoming very close. "I still miss you very much," Nikki wrote. "I hope you are finding a good friend like Vasia is for me. Vasia and I are very close and we do everything together. He says hello to you." Misha knew exactly what Nikki meant by "everything." Nikki said that he was going to a nice school, eating good food, and wearing expensive clothes. Sometimes he had to pose nude for pictures, and sometimes it meant having sex with another boy in the home, usually Vasia. "The guys taking the pictures told us they think Vasia and me are very sexy together. Our last picture was of us doing sex in the living room. Vlad was there and he gave us all the vodka to drink that we wanted and we both got drunk for the first time. That was fun, but I got really sick the next day. I'm supposed to have sex with a man tomorrow. I hope I do okay." As much as Mikhail liked doing sexual things, he was happy he would never have to do what Nikki was doing—unless the Larsons quit liking him and sent him back to Russia. Mikhail wrote a reply, telling Nikki that he was lonely and didn't have any friends his age. He'd met a couple of boys who were the children of friends of his parents, but none of them became friends. They all lived far away. He gave Nikki his email address, hoping his friend had access to a computer so they could send messages more often. It would be awhile before Nikki wrote again. The weekend after receiving the letter, Lois thought it was time to introduce Mikhail to Ben and Troy. She and Mikhail walked to their house, going half a block south, and then turning west on the cross street. Ben and Troy lived four houses from the corner. Ben was eleven and in sixth grade while Troy was fourteen and in ninth grade. Lois and Ryan held back introducing Mikhail to them, wanting him to get oriented first. They felt this was especially important because the brothers were older than Mikhail. Lois was friendly with Ben and Troy's mother, Mary. Lois gave Mary and the boys some orientation regarding Mikhail, letting them know what to expect, especially in terms of his shyness. However, as had been happening so often, Mikhail surprised them. Ben and Troy both made Mikhail feel welcome, and the nine-year-old, who was naturally outgoing when he was comfortable with someone, shook off what nervousness he felt within minutes of meeting the two brothers. Before he knew it, Mikhail was in Troy's room with Ben, playing on their Wii. The Larsons had stayed away from getting games for Mikhail, waiting to see what games he would enjoy. Wii immediately was a must have, and that was just for starters. "You're really cool, Mikey," Ben said as they played Wii bowling. "You're doing really good at this." "In Russia, I am called Misha by my friends." "Misha," Ben repeated. "I like that name. My friends all call me Ben." "Did you play in sports in Russia?" Troy asked. "I played football," Misha said. "They have football in Russia?" Ben asked. "You call it shocka...um...sockara...," Misha fumbled as he tried to find the right word. "Oh, you mean soccer," Troy said. "I guess everybody but us calls soccer football." "You have a funny accent," Ben said. He saw a flash of hurt cross Misha's face. "No offense. I don't mean bad funny, I mean strange and different funny. I like it." None of the three of them knew that within a year, Misha's accent would become far less noticable, although it would take him longer to learn proper syntax. "Me and Ben both play soccer," Troy said. "And we play baseball and hoops. I played football this fall instead of soccer, though." "What is hoops?" Misha asked. "Basketball," Ben told him. "Oh." "Hey, Ben, how about you take Misha to your room and you guys can play Wii hoops there." Troy found himself liking Misha. But still, he was a little kid, even more so than Ben. Troy thought Misha looked even younger than nine, which was true. While he had a strong body, he was still smaller and more immature looking than most nine-year- olds. "Sure, great," Ben said. Misha and Ben ended up having a blast in his room. It didn't take long for them to work up a sweat as the played Wii hoops. "Do you mind if I take off my shirt?" Ben asked. "You can if you want." Ben pulled off his t-shirt. He was going to tell Misha it was okay if he took his off, too, but that wasn't necessary. Misha was already shirtless by the time Ben had his shirt off. Ben was surprised at what a nice chest Misha had for such a little boy. Misha had played a lot of soccer in the fall, plus he'd had an hour of physical education four days a week at school. It was obvious he was a physically fit boy. While not skinny, Ben's eleven-year-old body had yet to fill out. He had not yet acquired much muscle definition. Misha compared Ben to Vasia and Nikki, two of his friends who were close to Ben's age. They both were stockier than Ben, but Misha found himself liking what he saw and wishing they could take off their pants to cool off even more. Misha's thoughts about Ben weren't really sexual. In a couple of years, under similar circumstances, they would be, but for now his thinking was restricted both by his youth and by the customs of the orphanage. His youth meant that the hormones weren't flowing full tilt through his bloodstream yet. The tradition was that sex was something to be done in bed, in the dark after lights out. Boys weren't supposed to do sexual things with each other during daylight, although it happened. There was a lot of sexual bantering and preening in the shower, as boys tried to make themselves attractive to each other for a sexual tryst, but actual sex was rare. Even those who were bed masters and had bedmates were on the prowl, as were the bedmates. A bedmate needed to have his bed master's permission to sleep with another boy, however. The customs of the orphanage went through Misha's mind, which didn't stop him from finding himself oddly attracted to his new eleven- year-old friend. Ben wasn't thinking sexually, either. He was nowhere near as experienced as the younger boy. He did jerk off, having been taught by Troy when he was eight and Troy was eleven. They had occasional mutual masturbation sessions when they were home alone, but nothing beyond getting each other off once a month or so. Ben was discovering girls and thought about them almost exclusively in his masturbation fantasies, even when he and Troy jerked each other off. But, he also was curious about how his friends looked naked. Misha was getting even warmer as they played. Being naked or in his underwear around other boys was something Misha took for granted. That was another part of the tradition of the orphanage—nudity was okay at any time, even if sex wasn't. It was part of the preening process. So, Misha unbuckled and unbuttoned his prize American jeans. "What are you doing?" Ben asked. "I'm hot," Misha said as he unzipped and pulled his jeans down to his ankles. He was wearing a pair of candy cane boxers. He kicked the pants off and was now clad only in his boxers and socks. Ben was surprised by Misha's actions, but he liked the idea of stripping down to their underwear. They would almost be like basketball players. Within seconds he was standing in just his tighty whiteys. "Don't think we're taking anything more off. This is as cool as we get," Ben said. "Okay," Misha said, somewhat disappointed that they weren't going to end up playing in the nude. Deep down, Ben was disappointed as well. They played for another half-hour, working up a big sweat and a bigger thirst. Just as they agreed to stop playing and get some cold water in the kitchen, there was a knock at the door. Ben panicked, afraid it was his mom or dad and he would be caught half-naked with his new friend. "Who is it?" he asked, a bit too loudly. "Troy." Ben breathed a sigh of relief. "You can come in." The two brothers respected each other's privacy. Troy entered the room and raised his eyebrows when he saw that his brother and Misha were clad only in their underpants and socks. "Well, this is interesting." "We got hot playing hoops," Ben said. "Open a window." "It's cold outside and it would be cold in here." "Isn't that what you wanted?" "It was more fun this way." Misha watched the verbal ping pong game with interest. He'd never experienced the banter between two brothers before. He was trying to figure out whether or not they were mad at each other. He decided that they weren't, but he wasn't completely sure. "Well, it's not like me and my friends haven't run around in our underwear," Troy said. Ben knew they did, because he'd seen his brother and his friends doing just that, and often joined them. "We were just going to get some cold water," Ben said as he headed for the kitchen. "At least put a shirt on," Troy told him, but his little brother ignored him. Misha shrugged, grinned at Troy, and followed Ben. It was Ben's house, he thought, so this must be okay. When the boys ran into the kitchen, Ben's mother was starting dinner. Ben took two glasses out of a cabinet and filled them with ice water from the refrigerator. Misha was still fascinated by refrigerators supplying ice water for drinking. The orphanage didn't have anything like that. Ben's mother finally looked up from her food preparation and saw the two half-naked boys. "What happened to your clothes?" she asked. "We got hot playing Wii," Ben told her. "Next time at least put a shirt on," she told him, echoing Troy. "That's what I told your brother when he got into his running around in his underpants phase." Fighting the underwear battle wasn't important to her, but she felt she did need to put her imprint on the process. "Yes, ma'am, I will next time." "Would you like to stay for dinner, Misha?" she asked. Misha's face lit up. "Yes, please." "I'll call your mother. And boys, for dinner you will be expected to be fully dressed." The boys took their water to what their father called the man cave. Ben turned on the TV looking for soccer. He thought that would be something his new friend might like. He was right about Misha in that regard. The two boys were soon sitting on the couch in their underpants drinking water and watching soccer. Misha now had his first American friend and could feel some of his loneliness draining out of him. The underwear incident was one of many things that helped alleviate some of Misha's fears and shyness. For one thing, he quit wearing pajamas to bed. He didn't like wearing them at the orphanage, but did so only because it was required—at least until the lights went out and beds were being shared with a friend. Misha liked sleeping in the nude, even though he only did it when sleeping with someone, which was almost every night. He decided that now he would do it on his own. He didn't think his parents would mind. He did keep his pajamas within easy access, however. He knew he would need to wear them when he decided to sleep in his parents' bed, which he did when he felt lost. There were nights when he was afraid his parents would leave him and he'd be left alone. Nikki the bear couldn't help him on those nights. Mikhail still wouldn't allow Ryan or Lois to touch him in the bed outside the contact that happened simply because three people were sharing a bed. He tolerated their hugs otherwise. He wanted more and more to hug them back, but the fear that they would leave him kept him from letting himself go when he was around his parents. Dr. Barrett kept assuring him that his parents were not going to leave him. As much as he was starting to trust Dr. Barrett and Greg, he knew they didn't live in his house where things might change in an instant. Ryan and Lois remained patient and tolerant with Mikhail. They saw improvement in him as he became less reserved and more open with them. Dr. Barrett and the counselors from the adoption agency had told them that overcoming his abandonment issues would be a long, slow process for their young son. Interestingly, something that happened in early March showed Ryan and Lois that their son was becoming more trusting. He woke up at his usual time, which was in the neighborhood of eight. He had slept naked in his own bed. Instead of putting on sweats, he pulled on a pair of boxers. As he started out the door, he remembered Ben's mother telling him that wearing underpants around the house was okay as long as he had a shirt on. Mikhail put on the t-shirt he had worn the day before; he would change to a new one after showering. When he walked into the kitchen, Lois gave him a big smile. "Good morning, Mikhail." "Good morning." Lois gave her son a peck on his forehead, which he tolerated. "Sausage and eggs this morning," she told him. "How would you like them cooked?" Mikhail didn't always want them cooked the same way, although over easy was his favorite. "Over easy, please." "My, aren't we informal this morning." "Pardon me?" "You coming down to breakfast in your underwear—that is informal." Usually Mikhail came down to breakfast showered and fully dressed. But when he was running late, he'd wear an old shirt and a pair of sweats. "Is it wrong to do that?" "No, it is not wrong—just different." "May I do it again?" "I don't have a problem with how you are dressed, or not dressed, this morning." Lois saw Mikhail's scanty mode of dress as a statement of trust, which in a sense it was. Mikhail trusted his mother enough to do something out of the ordinary without fear of total rejection. Coming to breakfast in the morning in his underwear and showering after eating soon became his normal mode of dress. "May I have some briefs?" Mikhail asked out of the blue. "White ones, please?" "I think I can get you some. But why are you interested in wearing white briefs?" "Ben wears them." "Oh, I see," Lois said, although she really didn't. Looking back at it a couple of years later, she saw that this might have been her first hint regarding Mikhail's sexual orientation. With a bit of nervousness, Mikhail asked, "Would you mind calling me Misha? It's the name everyone called me in Russia and I asked Ben and Troy to use." "That's a nice name," Lois responded. "Yes, I like that and I'll mention it to your father." "Thanks, Mother. It is like Benjamin being Ben. I was hoping you'd like it." The Larsons were seeing so many changes in Mikhail they could hardly keep track of them. Lois had kept a journal from the day they decided on adopting Mikhail. He seemed to be more comfortable with them as parents. He would now sit next to whomever was on the couch when they watched television. His willingness to be seen half- dressed was indicative of his growing trust. He was doing well in his lessons; he had been a studious boy in the orphanage and it carried over to his new home. Olga took Misha on field trips, sometimes with one or two of her other tutees. One trip that Misha looked forward to was their occasional foray to the chess club at the community center. The members who were there during the day were adults. Many of them were surprised at first when the little nine-year-old beat them. The better players always defeated Misha, but they saw the potential in him and willingly gave him lessons. One grizzled old player gave him some used books on chess. Some of them were too difficult, but others he could understand. As with his lessons, he was an eager student who grasped concepts quickly. He was becoming a favorite at the chess club meetings. He received a special present at the start of April, a bicycle. Misha had never ridden one, but he quickly grasped the concept and was soon out riding with Ryan and Lois. One of his favorite trips was down a long hill to the park that sat on Puget Sound. He had gone there with Olga looking for sea life on the beach, but riding his bike there with his dad was very special. The railroad mainline from Seattle north ran through the park along the water line. He fell in love with the trains, running to a good viewing spot when he heard one coming. Usually he watched from the beach, which was below the railroad embankment. If he had time, he'd dash for the pedestrian bridge that spanned the tracks, connecting the main park with the beach. Misha would watch the long freights, the Amtrak passenger trains, and the Sounder commuter trains. His father purchased him "Jane's Train Recognition Guide" and he soon could identify what kinds of locomotives were pulling and pushing the passing trains. He also went to several Sounders games. Ryan and Lois were once again impressed with their new son. He had a much deeper knowledge of soccer than they had realized. They made it a point to see that he would get enrolled in a fall soccer league. Misha was given the parameters for riding his bicycle on his own. Ben's house was within his limits and he rode there frequently. Ben also visited Misha. The two made it a point to be dressed only in their underpants when they were together in one of their bedrooms. Misha wanted to be naked with his friend, and wondered how he could make it happen. He could tell that Ben looked at nudity differently than the boys at the orphanage. Another experience for Misha was a trip to Southern California. Instead of flying down, the family took Amtrak's "Coast Starlight". Ryan and Lois wanted Mikhail to see the country at ground level, not from 30,000 feet. He was enthralled with the ride. He saw south Puget Sound and looked up at the Narrows Bridges. Ryan pointed out the Nisqually River Delta, the last salt water estuary on the Sound. Misha rode along the mighty Columbia. He counted the tunnels as the "Starlight" climbed Willamette Pass into the Cascades. He learned the wonders of eating in a dining car. He saw the great city of San Francisco come into view. He was fascinated by the sharp horseshoe curve on Cuesta Pass. And for almost three hours, he sat mesmerized in the lounge as the train hugged the shore of the Pacific Ocean. "What are those things down there?" he asked as he strained to look down the cliff to the ocean. Lois looked down and saw what her son was seeing. "Dolphins! Those are dolphins!" Misha squealed with delight when he learned what it was he was seeing. Misha's fascination with trains grew on the trip. Riding them, eating on them, sleeping on them—all of it was great. But seeing dolphins swimming from the window of a train was something he would never forget. In California, he visited the usual places kids love to visit: Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Magic Mountain. But he also saw some of the world's great art at the Getty and Huntington Museums. He fell in love with the Blue Boy at the Huntington. For the first time in his life he went swimming and sunning on an ocean beach. He could not imagine himself being happier. Because he slept in the same hotel room as Ryan and Lois, he didn't feel the urge to sleep in their bed with them. The fact that they were there in the room with him was good enough for him. After returning from the trip, Misha's next big moment arrived. They were enjoying dinner in the dining room when Ryan broke a piece of news to his son. "As you know, Mikhail, we brought you to America so you could be our son." The boy nodded. "We've explained a lot of the process of adoption to you, as has Greg. Well, the time for your adoption is close at hand. The court date is in two weeks." Upon hearing the words, Misha felt a warm glow surge through him. The news made him feel loved and wanted. It gave him a sense of assurance that he would not be sent back to Russia and the orphanage after all. His new parents really did want to keep him. But being assured that he was wanted didn't stop Misha from sometimes fearing that he would be left alone and abandoned. He still made occasional trips to his parents' bedroom to sleep with them. These were becoming less frequent, however. He was feeling safer and more self-assured. Two nights before his adoption day, Misha knew what he had to do. When Ryan came into the boy's bedroom to read to him, he was surprised to see pajama-clad shoulders peeking from the opening in the covers. He knew his son had been sleeping in the nude, or at most in a pair of underpants or just a plain t-shirt. He didn't say anything about the change. He read for his usual fifteen or so minutes, gave his son a goodnight kiss on his forehead and left. Misha had already told Lois goodnight; only one of his parents now came to tuck him in, but that parent made sure to spend extra quality time with the young boy. Misha hugged Nikki for awhile. Nikki reminded him that he'd received an email from the human Nikki that morning. His friend seemed to be doing well. He and Vasia had become the very best of friends, he said, and the men at the home took lots of pictures of them in the nude and having sex together. Nikki seemed to be happy, and Misha was happy for him. The email had Misha wishing he could have sex with a boy. That would probably be Ben since he was the only boy Misha knew. Fifteen minutes after his father left, Mikhail set Nikki the bear aside and headed for his parents' room. Mikhail entered the room and crawled into bed on Lois' side. He always took the side of the bed that appeared to have more room. He could tell that Lois was still awake from the way she stirred. Lois started to place her arm around her son, knowing it would be rejected. Before she could reach him, he turned and faced her, something he had never done before. Without a word, he put his arm around her and snuggled up to her. She could feel his sweet breath on her face and felt overwhelming love for the boy. With his arm around his mother, he felt the same kind of warm glow he'd felt when he was with Nikki. His young mind was certain the feeling was love, but he wasn't ready to express it yet. Lois was ready, however. "I love you, my sweet Misha." The boy felt another surge of warmth and drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, the room was light and the bed was empty. Usually he woke up when his father's alarm went off, or while his parents prepared for the morning. But on this morning he slept right through the noise. He got out of bed and took a morning pee in the bathroom off the master bedroom. He then padded downstairs in his soccer pajamas, his favorite pair. "Good morning, Misha," Lois said as her son entered the kitchen. Ryan was just finishing his breakfast. The boy might not have been ready to say, "I love you," but he was ready to express his feelings in a different way. "Good morning, mom. Good morning, dad." Lois shot a look over at Ryan, whose head shot up from behind the morning newspaper. Their son had never addressed them in such a familiar way, before. Misha felt nervous addressing them in that manner and wasn't sure he liked it. He saw that it made his parents happy and was determined to do it again in the future. "Good morning, Misha," Ryan said as he successfully hid his surprise. Misha walked up to his father and placed his arms around his neck. He let his head rest on his father's shoulder. His mother had received a hug before he fell asleep next to her. Now his father received his own hug. It was to be the first of many. That was how Misha acknowledged for the first time that the Larsons were a family and that he was a part of that family. The next day was his day in court. He was dressed in a suit and tie. He wore his brown hair short, not a buzz cut, short enough that it needed little or no combing, but long enough that an occasional little cowlick would sometimes appear. His mother wasn't satisfied that his hair would stay in place and put hair gel on it to keep it slicked down. The hair of nine-year-old boys was supposed to be unruly no matter how short it was cut. The adoption proceedings were a routine matter. Lois and Ryan's parents, Misha's new grandparents, were there as witnesses. Ben, Troy, and their parents were there as friends of Misha and the family. After Misha officially became the son of Ryan and Lois, Misha reached into a tote bag he had carried with him. He took out a Mariners baseball cap and placed it on his head, wearing a silly grin as he did so. "Now I live all the time in Seattle and I have a family." Ryan and Lois gave him a simultaneous deep and loving hug. Tears of happiness flowed freely as the new family became official. Even the judge found himself holding back tears. The party then went to the Metropolitan Grill for a first class dinner. It was a special day for Misha. The dinner with family and friends made him feel loved and appreciated. His parents made him take his hat off in the restaurant as a matter of etiquette, but he wore it as often as he could in the months following his adoption. As Misha entered his first spring in the Great Pacific Northwest, he continued to enjoy new experiences. His father took him fishing in the mountain lake country when fishing season opened. He went to his first baseball game, which was a Little League game involving Ben. He quickly picked up on the basics of the sport and was excited when Ben scored the winning run. Not long after that his father took him to his first Major League game at Safeco Field. He had a good time watching the Mariners and was disappointed when they lost a one- run game. His father also took him to Seattle Sounders soccer games, which Misha found even more enjoyable than baseball. He often went bicycle riding with his father and mother, and he did a lot of riding on his own within his set parameters. Misha and his father took a train trip to Portland and back on the Amtrak Cascades, and they also did a lot of train watching. Misha started using his father's camera and video recorder to photograph and film passing trains at the park. There always seemed to be trips and fun things happening to go along with the serious hard work that went into his lessons with Olga. Another catalyst for Misha came in May. He was sitting on the couch wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of white briefs. A Sounders soccer game was playing and he was watching it intently, wishing he was on a field playing the game. Ryan and Lois entered the room. Lois sat on the couch next to Misha, while Ryan sat on his recliner. Misha sensed that a serious conversation was about to ensue. "Misha, we need to talk about something," Lois said, confirming his suspicion. Lois sounded very serious and the first thought to go through Misha's head was that, adopted or not, he was being shipped back to Russia. Misha looked from parent to parent—they both could see the fear in his eyes. "Don't worry, it's nothing bad, Misha. It's just something different." Misha didn't mind different. Every time they discussed the topic of something different it usually ended up being something special. Still, Lois's tone was more serious that usual. To Misha that meant that whatever was different was not going to be something good. "What is it?" he asked. "Your father and I are going away..." "NO!" Misha yelped involuntarily. "Let your mom finish, son," Ryan said gently. "I'm sorry." Lois smiled at him and moved on. "...we are going away for three days on a little vacation." "Where are you going? Are you coming back? What are doing with me?" Misha asked rapid fire. "First thing, sweet boy, of course we are coming back, we'll NEVER leave you for good, ever. Your Dad and I are going to Las Vegas for a long weekend. You will be staying with Ben and his family. They have tickets for the Sounders game this weekend and there will be all kinds of fun things for you to do," Lois told Misha as she hugged him tightly against her. Just the thought of spending the night with Ben sounded good to Misha. He hadn't spent the night with another boy since coming to America. Sleeping with another boy sounded much more interesting than sleeping with his parents. Add to that going to see a Sounders game, and Misha was very excited. Ryan and Lois had discussed the trip with Dr. Barrett and with Greg. They both agreed that it would be good for Misha to have them leave him for a few days. "It will help give Mikhail the message that he doesn't own all of your time. He needs to know that you both need your space and your own time. On the other hand, he is still dealing with his abandonment issues and will be for a long time. I suggest you make sure that he has his own cell phone so you can call him on a daily basis while you are gone." Heeding that advice, Ryan presented Misha with his own phone. He and Lois both laid down the rules for its use, telling him that many of those rules would loosen up as he grew older. Ryan and Lois let Ben's parents know about the phone and its rules. They also explained to them that Misha might wander in the night and end up in bed with any one of them to find comfort and safety. Since this would be his first separation from his parents, there was an excellent chance of this happening. When the day came, Ryan and Lois dropped Misha off at Ben's house. There were some tears of separation from Misha, but his parents were strong, telling their son that they loved him and they would be calling him daily. Like parents everywhere, they admonished Misha to behave and obey his hosts. Misha took a sleeping bag and pajamas with him, but he wouldn't need either of them. When bedtime came, he and Ben were already down to nothing but their tighty whiteys. It was Friday, so there was no school the next day for Ben. Misha's parents had picked Memorial Day weekend for their trip to Vegas, which meant no school for Ben and Troy either and no lessons with Olga for Misha. "You can sleep with me in my bed," Ben said. "There's plenty of room." Ben slept in a full sized bed, which would sleep the two small boys cozily. Ben and Troy had been told by their parents about how Misha might need to sleep with somebody, so, in his own way, Ben decided to be proactive. Needless to say, Misha was pleased to receive the invitation. The two washed and brushed, said good night to Ben's parents, and were soon in bed together. Ben's mother, Mary, was pleased to see the two would be sharing Ben's bed and was proud of her son's generosity to his young friend. Ben left the desk lamp on and the two boys talked and giggled. Misha made sure his leg touched the bare leg of his friend and saw to it that their bare shoulders touched. He hadn't enjoyed this kind of feeling since his last night with Nikki. His thin, just under two inch boner was rock hard, pushing against the cotton fabric of his briefs. The feelings being generated gave him little shivers. "How come you're shaking?" Ben asked. "Are you cold?" "I just feel nice," Misha said. "So do I. Some of my friends think I'm dumb for having a little kid as a friend, but they're the ones who are dumb. You might look little but you're a lot more grown up than most of them are." Misha glowed when he heard Ben's praise. Ben decided to take a gamble and go a step further. He and Misha had spent a lot of time together wearing just their underpants, but they'd never seen each other naked. He wanted to see what a Russian boy looked like naked. He knew he was more experienced in sex than Misha was. After all he was older. He jerked off with his brother, Troy and with Troy and some of his friends. He'd also jerked off with two of his own friends quite a few times. Since Misha didn't have an older brother, Ben decided he would show Misha how to jerk off, just like Troy had shown him. "Do you jerk off?" Ben asked warily. "What's that?" Misha asked, confirming what Ben suspected, that Misha was very naïve sexually. "You know, it's jerking off," Ben said, repeating himself as he fumbled for a way to explain the term. He realized what he'd just said must have sounded dumb, so he went on. "It's playing with your dick when you have a boner." "I touch myself sometimes." Misha liked the direction things were moving. "Do you ever, you know, like, cum?" Once again Misha was unfamiliar with the terminology. Olga and Greg had not taught him the sexual words American boys used. "It means having an orgasm. When your dick feels really good and clicks and stuff." "You do that by yourself?" Misha asked. He understood what an orgasm was. "Yeah. Sometimes I do it with friends and even with Troy. Don't you do it?" "No." Misha didn't realize he could have sex by himself. He thought he could only get the good feeling when he was doing it with somebody else. "Do you want to?" Ben knew he was on thin ice asking this question. When he was nine he would never have considered talking about jerking off, let alone doing it. Ben was certain that he knew more about sex when he was nine than what Misha knew. He wondered if they ever talked about sex in the orphanage where Misha lived. As for Misha, the question excited him. He was going to find out how to give himself the good feeling. Maybe he could even do more with Ben—at least give his friend a blow job. "Yes, I want to," Misha said. Ben pulled the covers back and without a word pulled down his briefs. Misha stared at Ben as for the first time he looked upon a cut penis. Ben noticed Misha staring at him as he started stroking his rock hard two-and-a-half-inch boy cock. He misinterpreted Misha's ogling, thinking it was because Misha had never seen another boy's boner before. "What happened to your penis?" Misha asked. "I have a boner. Boys get that when they're all horny and stuff." "I know, I have seen boners before; I get them, too. But somebody took your skin away." Misha pulled down his briefs, proudly displaying his little boner. "See, I have my skin. Everybody I've seen has it." Those words tweaked Ben's interest. His was not the first hard-on that Misha had seen. Maybe Misha knew more than he let on. Ben didn't pursue that thought, instead he answered Misha's question. "It's called being circumcised. It happens to most boys." Ben knew it didn't happen to all boys, since his friend Dustin still had his foreskin. That night in bed, Misha learned that he could induce his own orgasm. He learned about being uncut. Ben learned that Misha knew a lot about sex for a nine-year-old. While Misha didn't confess to giving and receiving blow jobs or to his no longer being a virgin, he did admit to having had a best friend at the orphanage who was a little older than Ben. He told Ben that he and his best friend slept together a lot and did stuff together. All of this chatter went on while the two boys played with their hairless cocklets, getting more and more turned on. The chatter died out as they approached orgasm. Misha wanted to touch Ben's cock and jerk him off, but didn't know how an American boy would react to that. Ben wanted to touch Misha's cock and jerk him off, but didn't know whether or not that was gay. When he jerked off with his friends, they were all careful not to touch each other. The only person he jerked off was Troy, and Troy was the only one who did him. It all ended when Ben had a dry orgasm that shook his body and Misha followed three minutes later with a dry cum of his own. "That felt awesome," Ben said. "Did you like it, too?" Misha's face splitting grin said it all. As far as Misha was concerned, he'd just learned one of the most important lessons of his life. He wouldn't have to wait for months to get the good feeling; he could have it any time he wanted. For his part, Ben learned that Misha was even cooler than be thought. He now had another jerk off buddy. The two boys didn't bother to pull up their briefs when they finished. Instead, they kicked them off. Misha got to sleep naked with a boy for the first time in over five months, and Ben got to sleep naked with a boy for the first time ever. The next day Misha went to Ben's baseball game with Brad, Ben's father. Troy had a game as well, which was where Mary went. Misha was learning more about baseball, and Brad patiently filled him in to what was happening when the action confused him. Ben's team won its game 11-6. When everybody returned home that afternoon, Ben, Troy, Misha, and Brad played catch in the backyard. Misha did both some learning and some teaching. "You throw like a girl," Troy said as he watched Ben and Misha play catch. "I do not. I am not a girl, I am a boy. You can ask Ben." Troy looked over toward his little brother. Ben's reddened face told him everything he needed to know. Troy walked over to Misha. The fourteen-year-old wrapped his arms around the little boy. "I'm going to show you how to be even more of a boy then." Somehow the sexual innuendos went right past Brad. Over the next hour, Misha received lessons on proper throwing form. He was not only highly intelligent, but he was a good little athlete as well. He quickly picked up on proper throwing mechanics. "You have a good arm," Ben said. "You throw harder than some of the pitchers on my team and they are all eleven and twelve." "I had to throw rocks a lot," Misha said. "We always threw the rocks off of our football field...um...soccer field." "You had rocks in your soccer field?" Ben asked incredulously. "Yes, that was why I had to remove them." "That had to tear up the lawn mower." "We didn't have grass, it was all dirt." "That sucks," Ben said. "We play all of our games on grass." "We did, too. We practiced on the dirt field." "We practice on grass, too." Misha returned the favor of the throwing lessons by showing Ben some soccer drills he could do on his own to improve his footwork. Troy wasn't interested in those, since he planned on turning out for football in the fall. That night Misha slept with Ben, again. This time they went right to bed naked and jerked off together for the second and third times. Sunday night was Misha's last night away from his parents. While they called him religiously and texted him often, it was not the same as the feeling he got from knowing they were always close at hand. After he and Ben jerked off yet again, he faked falling asleep. After Ben drifted off, Misha pulled on his underpants and went to the master bedroom. He needed the assurance of an adult, and there was only one place he could get it. Brad heard the boy come in and made room on the king sized bed for him. Misha wordlessly placed himself in the open space, his back to Ben's father, and fell asleep. Brad made no move to comfort him, remembering what Lois had said; the boy simply wanted the assurance that an adult was there for him. He was looking for safety, not hugs. It was a little after six when Misha woke up. He quietly left the bed and returned to Ben's room. Pulling off his briefs he crawled onto the bed next to his friend. He wrapped his right arm around Ben's bare chest and fell back to sleep. Ben never knew Misha had left. When the time for Misha's parents to arrive came close, Misha sat at the front window staring out at the street. He eagerly awaited each text from his mother telling how close they were. Misha almost jumped out of the picture window when his parents arrived from the airport in their SUV. After exchanging pleasantries with Ben's parents, they loaded Misha into the SUV and drove the short distance home. When they entered the house Misha hugged them both. The moment he'd seen his parents arrive he knew instinctively that a new truth had entered his life. It was a truth that he now needed to express. Misha hugged Lois, looked up at her with his bright smile, and said, "I love you, mother." He then hugged Ryan. "I love you, father." This was the second and third time he'd said this to a person. The first person was Nikki. Misha wasn't sure what it meant when he said it to Nikki. In the case of his parents, there was no question. Misha knew he had just expressed an undisputable truth, and he knew he meant every word of it. When his mother and father returned the hugs and expressed their love, Misha glowed with a happiness that almost made him burst with joy. His parents were home, right where they belonged. They had come back to be with him because they loved him. ++++++++++++ Misha's summer was an active one. The family made some overnight road trips. They went to Sounder and Mariner games. Misha and his father took some short train trips on top of doing a lot of train watching. They also did a great deal of bicycle riding. Misha had a couple more sleepovers with Ben. All of them involved masturbation, and Troy joined them once. Misha got a thrill from watching Troy pump out his teen sperm. One of Misha's sleepovers with Ben was at Misha's house. The two boys learned they could make Lois's eyes roll by wearing nothing but briefs around the house. It was one of many things that had them laughing and giggling. Ben turned twelve toward the end of July. Misha was invited to his party, of course, While he felt a little out of place around Ben's older friends, they all treated him with courtesy. There was one incident a couple of weeks after Ben's birthday that foreshadowed the differences between the two boys. After a long, noisy afternoon and evening together they finally got ready for bed, at Lois's insistence. After a tucking in by Ryan and Lois, they stripped off their underpants, intending to sleep naked. Ben pulled back the sheets, and without fanfare the two preteens began their now ritual masturbation session. Misha decided he wanted to try something different. "May I touch yours?" he asked. "You mean touch my boner? Nobody but Troy's ever touched it before." "Your friends don't touch it when you all jerk off?" "Never. That's gay stuff. It's different when it's your brother, though," Ben said, referring to Troy. Not sure what Ben meant, Misha asked again if he could touch it. "I want to know what one without the skin feels like." "I suppose. But just once." Misha's request left the idea in Ben's head that Misha had touched a boy's pecker before, which was, of course, quite true. Misha put his small fingers around Ben's shaft. Ben's body shook from the incredibly good feelings Misha's touch generated. "I have a girl friend," Ben said, defending his maleness. "Her name is Linda." Misha moved his fingers up the shaft of Ben's member, then rubbed his exposed head. Ben shivered again. On the one hand he didn't want his young friend to stop, and on the other hand he knew his other friends never wanted to touch him, and if they did, he would never let them. So why should he allow Misha to masturbate him? His brother, Troy, had touched him a lot, but that was because he was his big brother, educating him about sex. Finally, as much as he wanted Misha to continue, he removed the nine-year-old's hand. Misha reluctantly let go. The two of them masturbated themselves to dry cums. They had some more sleepovers after that, almost all of them involving masturbating, but it would be a while before Misha's hand found itself touching Ben's groin again. Misha made some new friends at the chess club that met at the Boys and Girls club. He was the best player in the club, better than some of the teens who attended. He became known as "The Mad Russian Chess Player." Defeating Misha, or even generating a draw, became a badge of honor at the chess club meetings. Summer moved to fall. Olga drove Misha hard, with a combination of discipline and love, for Olga truly did love the intelligent and friendly little boy. Misha's English was almost to the point where his accent was barely an issue. His vocabulary was excellent, though his syntax remained a bit stilted. He was becoming more and more comfortable with idiomatic English as his speech became less stiff and formal. In August, Misha had joined a soccer team at the Boys and Girls Club. They were the Tornados, consisting of nine and ten-year-old boys. He made even more friends there and quickly showed himself to be one of the best players on the team. Playing games on soft, grass fields was something he expected. What surprised him was being able to practice on a grass field. Nobody had to throw the big pebbles away before practice, which Misha thought was a luxury. Misha turned ten on November fifth, which was a Sunday. He had his first true birthday party the day before. At the orphanage, birthdays were celebrated. The celebrant's dorm mates were required to attend what amounted to an extra dessert during recreation time. Nobody minded attending, even if they didn't like the birthday boy, because the desserts were always purchased from an outside source and tasted much better than the desserts served from the cafeteria kitchen. Misha invited kids his age from his soccer team and the chess club to a pizza party at one of the local pizzerias. Since Misha still wasn't totally conversant with American ways, he enlisted Ben to help him plan the party. Ben not only enjoyed helping, he even found himself having fun with around fifteen nine, ten, and eleven-year-olds. Of course, his being in charge of the games and entertainment helped, since he could show off the fact that he was older than the rest without looking like he was bragging. Ben, Misha, and Misha's parents were all pleased with the turnout. Ben had spent Friday night at Misha's and listened patiently to his young friend's fears that nobody would come to his party. That was not the case at all as fifteen of the twenty he had invited came. One thing that Misha did notice, however, was that none of the kids who were there were really close friends like Ben was. His two best friends ever, Ben and Nikki, were each two or more years older than him. He had become close to Vasia as well, but not to Joseph, the boy who had first introduced Misha to sex. While Dmitri and Stepan had been friends, they hadn't really been best friends in Misha's estimate. His new friends from chess and soccer were really nice; he liked them and they liked him, but they weren't friends he felt close to, friends who sent good feelings coursing through him. It was that feeling of love and closeness he was thinking of, not sexual feelings. After all, he got those kinds of feelings from Dmitri and Stepan, as well as other boys in his dorm room. Misha wanted badly to have a best friend his own age, one who was special to him, one who could be his bedmate at the same time he was his friend's bedmate. As much as he liked Ben, Misha felt that Ben was his bed master. He was the one who set the rules during their jerk off session. He wanted a friend who would do sexual things that they both wanted to do, without worrying who was older and set what the rules were. Even Nikki, as much as Misha loved him, was the master of the bed at the orphanage. Early February brought another new experience. He and his parents flew to Florida where they embarked on a seven day cruise of the Caribbean. Ryan and Lois picked a week when many schools had their mid-winter break. It was a smart move on their part, since there were other children on board the ship, and Misha gained more experience at making friends in hurry. In this case he knew that these friends would be temporary, which brought up some feelings of sadness. He remembered leaving his friends at the orphanage, friends who still hadn't been completely replaced. In the case of the cruise, while he had fun with the boys he met, he never became close to them. As the cruise ended, he learned that separating didn't always have to be hurtful, that sometimes it just happened. Misha literally bubbled over when he told Ben, Olga, Greg, Dr. Barrett, and some of his better soccer friends about his trip. All of them admired his newly acquired tan. On the advice of Greg and Dr. Barrett, Ryan and Lois planned to enroll Misha in school to start what would be his fifth grade year, still using Olga as a part-time tutor. They started seriously researching schools upon their return from the cruise. They finally settled on three schools, one of them being the Puget Academy. Misha took the entry test in April, passing with flying colors. After visiting the schools themselves, they took Misha on a visit to each school. Two of the schools gave him tours conducted by a school counselor. One of the schools gave him a tour conducted by two members of the school's student council. That school was the Puget Academy. The third school was where Misha felt most comfortable. His tour guides were not only knowledgeable, they were very friendly. They introduced him to other students and to many of the faculty members. He got to sit in on a lesson in one of the fifth grade classrooms. While his parents thought the old brick structure might be a negative, reminding Misha of Russia and his years at the orphanage, it actually became a positive for Misha. Instead of reminding him of bad times, it reminded him of the good times. The castle-like structure of the main school building gave him a sense of comfort. The family met with Greg a week after Misha's last tour. "Which school did you like the most?" Greg asked. "The Puget school," was Misha's answer. He had already shared with his parents how much he had enjoyed his tour, but he hadn't come out and said, "This is where I want to go." Ryan and Lois were very impressed with the Academy as well, but had thought the old building might turn Misha off. They were happy to be wrong. It was decided that they would enroll Misha in the Puget Academy, where he would start attending a school for the first time. The night the decision was made he couldn't sleep. He put Nikki in his special shelf and walked to his parents' room. He no longer bothered putting his pajamas on when he decided he needed to sleep with his parents. He wore just a pair of briefs, or sometimes briefs and a t-shirt, and on rare occasions, boxers instead of briefs. That night he was dressed in briefs only. He found a comfortable spot on the bed next to his father. He hugged his father's strong, comforting body. "I love you, father. I love you, mother." Olga was trying to get Misha to loosen up and call them dad and mom, but it was a process. His parents told him how much they loved him, and he rolled over and feel asleep, absolutely sure he was unconditionally loved. Another new experience for Misha that spring was playing baseball. His parents enrolled him in a recreation program run by the park department. It consisted of boys with little or no experience, or were simply not very good. The league was coach pitched. Misha also enjoyed the game as a spectator. Ben and Troy had helped him with throwing fundamentals, and went from there to work in fielding. Ben gave Misha his old glove, which was perfect for him. Two of Misha's soccer teammates were on his team, which gave him a sense of comfort. Most of the boys were not good athletes, but liked playing the game. Unlike many of them, Misha's skills improved, because he not only was a good athlete, but also because he also worked hard at getting better. More than any of them, Misha understood hard work. Outworking everybody else had been a survival skill for him at the orphanage. Ben turned thirteen and Misha was at his party, of course. Ben's friends treated Misha like he was Ben's little brother instead of a ten- year-old pest, which made Misha feel comfortable and liked. The family took a summer road trip to Yellowstone Park, Mt. Rushmore, and Glacier Park. Misha enjoyed them all. He was awestruck by the geysers at Yellowstone, fascinated by the history lessons at Mt. Rushmore, and loved the mountains of Glacier. But the thing he enjoyed the most was watching the BNSF freights and the Amtrak "Empire Builder" negotiating Marias Pass on the border of Glacier Park. Almost without warning, orientation day at the Puget Academy arrived. Lois drove him to the school that morning. Misha had slept with her and Ryan the night before, hugging his father tightly as he fell asleep. To Lois, his behavior indicated how nervous and frightened he was. "Do I really have to go?" Misha asked, his hand resting on the handle of the passenger door. "Can't Olga teach me everything?" "Olga can't teach you how to work with other boys and girls your age. She can't teach you how to get along within a group every day. There is much Olga doesn't know. It's time for you to expand your world. We've talked about this before Mikhail. Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be." When his mother called him Mikhail, Misha knew that meant there was no room for argument. "Yes, mother. I will see you this afternoon." Misha took a deep breath, fought off tears, opened the door and stepped out into the world. He was only two steps from the car, but was already miles away from the security of his mother's presence. Misha was met by one of the eighth grade hosts who took him to the check-in table. After checking in, he was escorted to a table in Mr. Jackson's section. There were three boys already sitting there. Two of them were obviously twins. They were big, solid boys with dark hair and smiling eyes. The other boy was a slim boy, with blond hair and light freckles on his nose. He wore wire-frame glasses. Unlike the twins, he had a glum look on his face. A couple of minutes after him, a boy with short cropped hair and a nervous look sat at the table. He looked skinny and young. There was something about him that caught Misha's eye. He wasn't sure why it was, but he liked the looks of the fifth and last boy to sit at the table. The two of them exchanged looks and shy smiles. Next: The Boys-Mark and Matthew