ARCADIA ACADEMY FOR BOYS Chapter Two "Breakfast With Ethan" I woke the next morning to the sound of birds chirping. I was so hungover I wasn't sure if the birds were real or just in my mind. Groaning, I glanced at the window, the bright yellow light hitting my eyes like wooden beams. I squeezed my eyes shut and dragged the pillow over my head. I'd begun to drift back toward sleep when I heard the sound of boy's voices. "See? He's hungover." "They always get bombed the first night." "Shut up! He'll hear you!" "No chance. He's in la-la land." My dreams have always been vivid, particularly when they involve young boys, and I assumed that I was overhearing a conversation among kids walking down the sidewalk, past my apartment back in Kansas at the University. But these voices were eerily familiar. A deep, sonorous bell began to chime. A church bell. Definitely not my alarm clock. "First bell. Should we wake him?" "Naw. Grown ups are cranky when they're hungover." "Ronald took him to Mr. Harrison's. Didn't you, Ronald?" "Yep." "Was Jeremy there? His nose is so up in the air ever since he started living with Mr. Harrison." Ronald? Jeremy? Harrison? I knew those names! Struggling toward consciousness, I rolled again, my body heavy and tangled in the sheets. I heard a frantic shuffling of feet, a thump, and my bedroom door slam loudly, shaking the walls. I sat bolt-upright, the pillow falling away. A young boy was on his hands and knees beside my bed, staring up at me fearfully, mouth open and eyes wide below brown bangs. He wore a red sweater over a pink shirt, the rumpled collar showing at his neck. Cream-colored short pants with cuffed hems and white knee socks framed the boy's narrow thighs. Brown hiking boots completed his outfit. "H-h-hello, sir!" the boy stammered, frozen in place. Disoriented, I gazed about a room I did not recognize. The room was huge, decorated with fine, expensive furniture. A red leather chair as heavy and solid as a throne in one corner caught my eye, then an enourmous colonial-style desk in the opposite corner. The room was as bright as if the sun itself was bursting through the large bay window, potted plants flouroshing on the sill and spilling their wide leaves. I never kept plants. There was no bay window or leather chair in my apartment. I gazed down at myself laying on a brass, king-sized bed beneath a blue comforter stitched with gold thread. "Who are you?" I asked the kneeling kid. The boy was trembling slightly. "It's me. Ethan." Sense of place crashed upon me. I was a teacher at a private school, and my students had been spying on me. Cute. "I'm sorry, sir," Ethan said, sitting back on his heels, cream shorts wedging in his crotch. He was radiant against the dark wooden floor, awash in a yellow rectangle of light, dustmotes dancing around him in the beam. Sunshine rippled along his glossy thighs and glazing them to a rich caramel. "They pushed me." "Of course they did. Never be first in a line when you're spying on someone." I threw my pillow at the boy who caught it deftly, an 'uh oh!' expression on his face. "Do you have any asprin?" "I can get some from the nurse. Us kids can't keep asprin. Something about asprin is supposed to be bad." "Children run the risk of Reye's Syndrome," I yawned, motioning for my pillow. Ethan tossed it at me, and because I was hungover and my reflexes were slow, the pillow hit me square in the face. I pulled the pillow down and regarded the lad soberly. "Oh, wow, geez I can't believe I did that," Ethan gulped, voice breaking with anxiety. He sprang to his feet and snapped to attention, puffing out his bony chest, fine hands smacking against the sides of his thighs. Ethan was a real boy, as Harrison had said, spunky and full of mischief. I took in his rigid, beanpole figure, my heart blooming with love even as my head pounded. If such pranks were typical of life at Arcadia I knew I was never going to leave. "Second bell," Ethan gulped as the clock tower tolled. 8:00 a.m. "You'll miss breakfast." "Where's your uniform?" I snapped, experimenting with my new role as a disciplinarian. Ethan flinched, long legs tensing as his fingers curled under the hems of his shorts and he yanked them up, the way he'd done in the cafeteria. "It's Sunday, sir! Boys don't have to wear uniforms today, sir!" the lad barked, instantly formal and obedient. I fought not to smile. Ethan was a chameleon, a complex character of mood and manner. Oh, what a bad little boy! "Oh. Well, run along and bring me my breakfast. Lots of coffee. And bring breakfast for yourself." "Sir?" I yawned and stretched, the bed covers falling down around my waist, exposing my torso, developed pecs and lats bulging. Then I threw a stern look at the fearful boy standing like a toy soldier. "Scoot!" I bellowed. Ethan jumped so hard his feet left the foor. He bowed fast and hard like a spring, hands smacking against his thighs, then raced for the door, opening it in such a hurry that it banged his knees with a hollow KNOCK! "Ow!" Ethan yelped, trying to walk, close the door, and rub his knees at the same time. How cute! "Don't forget the asprin!" I yelled after him. Ethan sat in bed on my left, a single silver tray across both our laps. The top of his head reached my shoulder, his booted feet at my knees. We were hip to hip, thighs touching, but he was on top of the covers and I was under them. Even so, I could feel the warmth of his bare leg though the cloth, suggesting the greater physical contact we would someday share. Neither of us spoke, the boy afraid, and I once more intimidated by his proximity. "Am I in trouble?" Ethan asked finally, breaking a long silence. "Shhh," I whispered, placing the index finger of my right hand to his thin, pretty lips. "I'll ask the questions here." Eyes doe-wide, Ethan nodded submissively, innocent to the subtle, vicarious kiss I was giving him. Nodding in reply, I let my finger slip down the boy's lips to his shin as he removed the tray cover and carefully set it on the floor. I watched the boy eat, enjoying his little movements. He took up a fork in his left hand and used the prongs to pop the yolks of his eggs. The yellow fluid flowed and I grew an erection. The shiny, glistening egg whites were symbolic of Ethan's equally white, glistening pre-pubescent genitals, the thick yellow yolks flowing over the plate symbolic for the sperm he could not yet produce. There was sunlight everywhere. Ethan glanced sideways at me as he cut a small portion of egg, the yolks dripping. I made a stern face. The boy started and bent over his plate, bringing the fork to his small mouth quickly. Chewing. Cheeks working. Thin lips moist. Anxious and uncertain, quick hands flitting, he reminded me of a humming bird. He ate like a bird, which explained why he was so chicken-thin. "I won't tolerate bad boys in my dorm," I said. "I'll be good, sir," Ethan chirped earnestly, picking up a wedge of wheat toast slathered with grape jam. Outside, birds chirped and flitted among the trees, singing their mating songs. It was all very clumsy and romantic, that first morning with Ethan. Gazing upon him, I could not help but marvel at the sweet boy's innocence and at the fact that he did not know that the man sitting beside him had fallen hopelessly head-over-heels in love with him. "Good boys spy on their teachers and barge into their rooms?" I sipped my coffee. "No, sir," Ethan whispered, biting into his toast with a crunch. I watched him take up a glass of orange juice. "You're new. That's all." "You've never seen a man before?" I replied, trapping him with rhetoric. The boy bowed his head, lower lip pouting. He blinked rapidly. "I was just playing," he said, voice quavering, ready to cry. Tenderness overwhelmed me. I had no desire to break the lad's spirit. I reached over and straightened his pink shirt collar. "Shhh! I'm only upset because I'm hungover. That's my fault, not yours. I know boys have to play." "I won't do it again," Ethan promised, already regaining his composure. He watched me fuss with his collar. "Eat. You're so skinny," I said softly, patting his flat tummy. The boy watched my hand until I took it away, then brought another forkful of egg to his mouth. We finished breakfast in silence, the click of utensils and our chewing the only sounds. "You cleared your plate. Do you want seconds, skinny?" I asked. Ethan turned to me, a shy grin curling his lips. A tingle washed though my body. The boy gave a little twitch of his hips, leg bumping mine, staring into my eyes. It was devastating: I melted as the boy projected a powerful vibe of playful approval. "You're teasing." "You're right." We studied each other, bonding as new teacher and student. Then the grinning boy wriggled like a worm, sliding down under the breakfast tray until he emerged at my feet. He climbed out of bed, picked up the tray and carred it to the dresser. I drank in the sight of his goregous, slender thighs and thought of Harrison's suggestion to put Ethan in a white baby-doll dress. "You could do this for a living. Oh, that's right, you already do," I joked. The boy giggled and hunched his shoulders, turning. Impish little nymph. "Can I get you anything else?" "The asprin?" "Oh! Right here!" Ethan called brightly, holding up the pointer finger of his right hand as his left dug into his pants pocket. His pants were so short it seemed there was no room to hold anythihg. But little boy's pockets are deep, and Ethan produced a bottle of asprin, trotting around the bed to my right, knees bumping the mattress. "Good boy!" I cried happily, wrapping my hands around his bony hips. "Wow! You must really be hungover!" Ethan smiled, surprised by my affection. "Oh, sweetheat! You'll never know!" I gushed, twisting the boys hips to make him dance. I felt a moment of regret for my outburst, remembering Harrison's observation that Ethan needed a masculine figure in his life. "Well, maybe when I grow up," the boy laughed. I stared at Ethan's cream shorts and the neatly cuffed hems, then let my hands drop to his firm thighs. His tanned flesh was immaculate and moist. "Don't rush to grow up," I said. "Enjoy these days. Let us adults look after you. Plenty of time to have to fend for yourself. You just be a good little boy" Ethan blushed. I knew then that what he needed and ached for was praise and affection. A man who appreciated his mischief and spry personality. Clearly, the other teachers had dismissed him as a trouble maker, but in truth the boy's behavior was a cry for attention. A round-a-bout effort to make contact. "Here." Ethan held out the asprin. "Thank you, sweetheart." I gave his thighs a squeeze. Ethan drew in a quick breath, extended arm quivering. Yes. Ethan ached for affection. At that moment I dedicated my life to fulfilling his needs, and our joining would be a healing. I took the bottle, tossed the covers aside, and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. I wore only my white cotton briefs. The boy started as he gazed upon my body. Then I dashed into the bathoom, not wanting him to see my erection. I doubted that Ethan would be receptive to my desires just then, and I doubted -- correctly, as it turned out -- that he would understand what an erection was. Harrison had said that Ethan wasn't gay and that seemed clear. The boy only yearned for a man's love, something very different from being gay. Nor was I gay. The attraction between men and boys goes far beyond such limited, physical concerns. "Can I go now?" "Yes. Thank you for a lovely breakfast." I peered around the bathroom door and saw Ethan standing by the dresser, holding the tray. The little boy smiled and ambled out, moving self-consciously, feeling my eyes on him the whole time. When he was gone I closed the bathroom door, ripped away my underwear and stepped into the shower. I was on fire, more aroused than ever before in my life. With shaking hands I lathered up my cock and masturbated furiously, almost falling over as I came, shooting jets of hot cream over the curtain.