Storyville 2
by Julien Gregg
Edited By David
Copyright 2006 Julien Gregg
All rights reserved.
No part of this story may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without written permission from the author. This story is almost all
fiction. Almost all of the characters depicted in this story exist exclusively
in the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or
dead, is, sometimes purely coincidental.
Chapter 11
The Flock
Things happened very fast after that. The police arrived, and Ms. Tull was
arrested. The police asked us a few questions about the way Ms. Tull treated all
of us, but it was more formality than anything. Mitch taught our Literature
class that day, telling us that a permanent teacher would be in the classroom
soon. Of course by the end of fifth hour, the entire school knew that Ms. Tull
had been arrested. Even I wa shocked when she was charged with the bombing. I
just couldn't believe she'd done that. In a way, I still thought that the
culprit was still at large.
After that class, the students were all very excited in the halls. Everyone was
rushing back and forth from one group to another to discuss the arrest of Ms.
Tull and what they thought about it. Surprisingly, everyone paid little, if any
attention to me as I made my way to the computer lab. However, one student
walked right behind me. I made it a point not to turn my head or acknowledge
Leo's presence at all, though. He didn't say anything at all, and having him
walk behind me didn't bother me really. I wasn't afraid of Leo Hartman. I was
just surprised that he was following me after a day of completely ignoring my
existence. That in itself was strange, and I supposed it wasn't all that strange
that he was walking behind me when we shared the last two classes of the day.
Naturally he'd have most likely taken the same route to the computer lab from
Ms. Tull's Literature class as I do.
What was really strange was the he didn't give me one of his usual comments as
we walked into the lab and took our seats at the station we shared. He glanced
at me for a second before getting his notebook and manual arranged as he wanted
them, but he didn't say anything. It was really strange. I decided not to dwell
on it, though. Mr. Branch came in and closed the door to start the class right
then, and I got up to pass back the tests that we'd taken the day before the
locker bombings.
"I'm very impressed with the knowledge that some of you possess," said Mr.
Branch as I handed back the tests. "Mr. Hartman, you seem to grasp everything
really well. Mr. Lockland, you seem to really understand the material that I
asked you not to read through in the manual, but at least you've shown me that
you can memorize what you read."
"Why thank you, Mr. Branch," replied Jim Lockland, making the class snicker.
I noticed that Leo didn't even smile when Mr. Branch complimented him. Something
was starting to gnaw at me about the way Leo was acting, but I tried very hard
not to think about it. When I sat down beside him, he moved his test paper over
slightly to give me room to look over my own test (mine was completely different
from the rest in the class, though). He was being almost cordial, and I didn't
understand that at all.
I was half way to my locker when Leo stopped me. At first I was ready to slug
him again, but the look on his face stopped me. It wasn't malice I saw in his
eyes this time. What I saw in his eyes this time was fear, and I didn't like
that. I never wanted anyone to fear me. Whatever I was, I didn't want to be the
type of person that anyone was afraid of. I sighed and unclenched my fists,
having only discovered that I'd clenched them when I let go.
"Tommy, I just want you to know that I would have never put anything in your
locker that would have hurt you," he said softly. "We don't get along, and I
know that's my fault. I wouldn't hurt anyone, though. I didn't write anything on
your locker, either. That's not what I'm about."
I was stunned. I mean he usually only said something about my life being filled
with sin when he actually spoke directly to me. To hear him say that he wasn't
behind the messages and bombs in the lockers was a bit surprising. I didn't
believe he had been the one to bomb the lockers, but I had harbored a suspicion
that he'd been behind the messages.
"I know you didn't bomb the lockers," I replied. "I won't lie and say that you
weren't the first person I thought of when the messages appeared on my locker,
but I don't believe you did that either."
"I'm more of a verbal person," he said, smiling softly. I noticed that when he
smiled, Leo was actually kind of cute. Then I mentally kicked myself for that
thought. This was Leo Hartman, after all. "I didn't know that Ms. Tull was doing
it, either. I don't think she's the one who put the bombs in the lockers,
though. I don't know who did, but I don't really believe that she'd take things
that far."
"Have you talked to the police about this?" I asked, thinking that if he'd told
them this, the investigation would continue. I didn't think Tull had bombed the
lockers, either.
"I told them exactly what I've just told you," he replied. "Look, I know that
we're not friends, and we probably never really will be. I just want you to know
that I'm not going to say anything bad about you or your friends anymore. The
bombs scared me, Tommy. I realized that whoever did that wanted you dead. You
have to believe me when I say that I never wished any of you hurt."
"Relax, Leo," I sighed. "I believe you. And thank you for talking to me. You're
right, though. We aren't friends. I don't want to consider you an enemy, though.
If we can find a common ground and work from there maybe we can at least be
friendly."
"I'll do my best," he said, offering me his hand as Steve and Noah approached us
from different directions.
"And so will I," I said as I shook his hand. He smiled again, but he let go
quickly as he saw Steve come up to stand beside me. "I'd better get out front."
"Later, Leo," I said, smiling myself.
I watched him walk away, and I did notice that Noah smiled at us for a second
before he turned and followed his older brother down the hall toward the front
of the school. I was still a bit stunned by the conversation, but it gave me a
lot to think about. For one thing, Leo Hartman wasn't the asshole I believed him
to be. That was enough to keep me locked in my own thoughts for months.
"What was that all about?" Steve asked as I turned and headed for our locker.
"Leo wanted to make sure that I understood that he didn't plant anything, or
write anything on our lockers," I replied. "He was worried that we'd think he
wanted us dead. He says he won't say anything negative about us anymore.
Something is up with that guy."
"He's not our problem, Bud," said Steve as we got to our defaced locker and
began to exchange books to take home what we needed for homework.
"No, he isn't," I agreed as I followed my lover back to the computer lab for the
GSA meeting.
Almost an hour later, we were all headed to the parking lot to leave. That was
when I saw the first group of people across the street from the school. They
didn't do anything but stand there and look at us, so I dismissed them as soon
as I saw them. Steve and I got into his car, and we drove out of the lot,
passing the group and headed home.
At work that night, I was swamped. The restaurant was slammed, and we were short
one busboy. That meant more tips for me, but it also meant a lot more work. I
was dragging by the time I punched out and headed home. I wasn't surprised to
see Steve's car already in the driveway. He usually got home before me when we
both worked unless my restaurant was dead.
"Hey, Bud," he said as I came in through the side door. "Long night?"
"You don't know the half of it," I replied, sitting down at the table. "I didn't
even get a chance to eat anything. Mario called in sick, and we had no empty
tables. With two busboys, it was Hell. The waitresses were only half nice to us
to top that off. Then we had to clean up the entire dining room before we left."
He smiled at me and then got up to stand behind me and rub my shoulders. Two
seconds of that and I was ready to do anything he wanted. It was nice to say the
least, and I couldn't get enough of it. It occurred to me then that I hadn't
asked him about his night. We usually made it a point to ask each other about
our time spent at work as soon as we saw each other. This time, I'd just ranted.
"I had an interesting night myself," he said as he continued to knead my
shoulders.
"What happened?" I asked, still enjoying his ministrations.
"Well, apparently there was a big church deal at South Baptist," he said. "Like
the entire congregation came to the restaurant to have coffee and discuss
something. What was strange was that Leo insisted that I stay away from that
section and even gave me part of his tips just so I'd agree to letting him have
the section. It was really strange. He was actually nice about it, but he looked
worried."
"That is strange," I agreed. "But he did say that he wasn't going to go out of
his way to be rude to us anymore."
"Yeah, but he didn't say that he was going to go out of his way to be nice
either," countered Steve. "It was just strange. I liked that he was nice to me,
but it was just strange. Then there was the fact that the church people glared
at me any time I came near them."
"Well, luckily we aren't baptists," I replied, shrugging out from under his
expert touch. He'd have had me falling asleep if I hadn't stopped him. "I need a
shower, and then we can eat something and talk more."
Twenty minutes later, I was showered and dressed. When I got back downstairs,
Steve already had a sandwich waiting for me. I kissed his cheek before sitting
across from him at the table and picking up the sandwich. I loved him more and
more every day for the way he treated me.
"What do you think about Ms. Tull getting fired?" he asked as I took a bite of
the sandwich.
"I'm happy that she's gone," I said after swallowing. "But, Steve, she isn't the
one who put bombs in our lockers."
"I don't think she is, either," replied Steve. "We're still going to have to
look over our shoulders for a while."
"Until they catch the person, or people who did it, I'm going to be leery of the
locker," I admitted.
"I feel the same way," he said softly. "Then there's the dork that threw the
brick through our window."
"That's kind of easy to get over," I replied after a moment of thought. "It
actually could have been other kids that just chose that time to let us know
that we aren't as universally loved as we thought."
"I don't think so, Tommy," he said. "I don't think any of the kids at school
really want to hurt us or anything. Even the ones who do have a problem with our
sexuality just steer clear of us most of the time. They never get in our faces
when they can't stay away from us, either."
"You have a point," I said. "But that doesn't mean that once they thought we
were distracted . . ."
"I hear you," he said, cutting me off. "It just doesn't make me feel any
better."
"Me either," I admitted. "Its just something we're going to have to live with
until everyone is caught and punished."
"Will it stop there?" he asked, looking at me hard. "I mean, we thought it was
over, Tommy. Then all of this. Who's to say that if they actually catch the
people who bombed the lockers and threw bricks through our windows that it will
be the end of it all?"
"We can't live our lives constantly worrying about who is driving down our
street, Steve," I said. "Think about that. Would you ever be able to breath easy
if you were constantly worried about something bad happening every time you were
happy for even ten minutes?"
"It's just going to take me a while to not think about this, Tommy," he said,
and I instantly wanted to take him in my arms and promise that everything would
be fine. It hurt that I couldn't do it and mean it.
As we snuggled close on the couch to watch a little television before bed, I
thought about our situation. I tried not to let it get me upset, but I don't
know how successful I was. Ms. Tull getting fired would make one hour of the day
a bit better, but it didn't solve the main problem. Steve was right. Ms. Tull
didn't bomb our lockers. Even Leo, who's change of attitude still made me a bit
nervous, had said that she wasn't the type to go that far. Then who was that
type of person? Who wanted us dead so badly that they were willing to risk
hurting others? Who did I know that was crazy enough to do that?
Only one name came to mind, and I knew it was impossible. Jason Cox was still in
jail. He couldn't have planted bombs in the lockers at Storyville High while he
was locked up. Yet his name was the only name I could come up with. He'd
actually tried to kill me once already, so I guess it was natural that I would
think of him first when my life was being threatened again. I almost wished it
was Jason. At least then there wouldn't be this nameless person out there,
biding their time until they could strike again. When they did strike again how
many people would be hurt?
I was still thinking about it when we went up to bed. I stood beside Steve in
the bathroom and brushed my teeth. We took turns using the toilet and washing
our hands. Then we walked into the bedroom to strip down to our shorts and crawl
in bed. His arms wrapped around me automatically, but I still thought about the
person or people that wanted us dead. I don't know when I found sleep, but it
must have been waiting patiently.
The next morning, Steve was quiet. I knew that exactly what was still on my mind
was also on his. There were no words that could make it better. We both knew
that we'd stand together against whatever came our way, but that didn't make us
feel any safer. If I had known that coming out would ultimately lead to what was
going on I think I'd have thought about it a lot harder than I had. I think I
would have just stayed in the closet where it was safe.
No running that morning, so we were just finishing with breakfast when Nick and
Jeremy arrived. I think they could both tell that something was bothering both
of us, because we all stayed almost completely silent all the way to school.
When we got to school, words failed all of us anyway. There was some kind of
disturbance at the main entrance, and for a moment I thought parents were
demanding their children again. I even wondered what could have happened to
cause them to do it all over again as we got out of the car and silently headed
toward the large crowd of people.
When we got closer, I got a little scared actually. I heard words like
fornicator, sinner and deviant being shouted by the group of people, and I knew
that this wasn't a crowd of angry parents. This was something else. When I
spotted Reverend Hartman near the front of the crowd, I knew what it was. I was
both shocked and angry. Hearing the police sirens is what made me turn around.
Then I saw squad cars and two news vans heading into the parking lot. I wanted
to hide, but I was rooted to my place. What moved me was the last thing I
expected.
"Tommy, come on," said Leo Hartman, grabbing my arm and tugging me away as
Steve, Jeremy and Nick followed us. "They're only at the front entrance. They
won't see you if we get around the building fast enough. Let's go."
I didn't argue for a bit. I followed him around the building and through the
throng of students who'd come back outside to watch. Once we were inside I
started to think about what was happening a little better, though. For one
thing, why was Leo so worried about us? Why was he trying to help us? Those
thoughts, along with a lot of others, swam through my head as we stood in the
nearly deserted quad.
"Aren't you afraid to be seen with us?" Nick's voice said as I stared at Leo. "I
mean, those are your people, right?"
"First of all," he said, finally looking away from me. "I don't have people.
That's my grandfather's congregation. I tried to call you and warn you about
this last night, Tommy, but your number's been changed."
"Why are you helping us?" I finally asked him. I suppose I could have been a
little more accepting of his help, but he wasn't exactly our friend.
"Because what my grandfather is doing is just as wrong as what Ms. Tull did," he
said simply, looking me in the eye.
"I don't get it, Leo," I said, holding tight to my suspicion of him. "Last week
you were doing everything in your power to stay away from us, and when you did
come across us you had very vile things to say about how we were immoral and
sinners. What changed your mind?"
"I was wrong, all right?" he replied, looking worried. "I had a chance to think
about things, Tommy. I had a real chance to see what my grandfather is really
all about. I didn't like the man I saw, and I don't want to be anything like him
. . ."
"So to rebel against your grandfather, you've decided to help the heathens?"
Steve asked, and I was almost proud of him.
"Its not like that," protested Leo, but his protest was weakly delivered. I
supposed he could see where Steve was coming from. God knew that I could.
"So explain it in words that I can understand," suggested Steve, and I put a
hand on his arm to calm him down.
"Well for one thing, I know that you guys aren't really bad people," he said.
"I've watched you very closely since the beginning of the school year."
"You have, have you?" Steve said through clenched teeth, and I tightened my grip
on his arm.
"Please don't think I'm being rude," sighed Leo. "Working with you is one of the
ways that I got over my stupidity, Steve. You actually help people, and you
don't act like you're better than anyone or try to . . ."
"Try to way, exactly?" Steve asked. His teeth were no longer clenched, but his
tone was still far from friendly. I had the distinct feeling that this was about
to get really ugly if Leo said something Steve didn't like. I wasn't sure that I
even had the power to stop him from doing anything if he chose to.
"Try to make people believe things that you do," Leo said quietly. After a few
minutes of silence and Steve just looking at him blankly, he went on. "I mean, I
was always taught that homosexuals tried to convert people or something."
"It doesn't work that way," Jeremy said, shocking me. "You don't become gay,
Leo. Homosexuals are born that way."
"Look, I've done my research, and I know that argument," replied Leo. "I know
what the research indicates, and I'm not stupid. At least I don't think I am
anymore. I'm sorry for the way I acted. I really am. I know we'll never be
friends, but I don't want to be your enemy, either."
"Are we having a problem here, boys?" Mitch asked as he came up to us.
Leo looked worried for a moment as he looked from me to Steve and back. The fact
was, though, Leo wasn't being a problem. He'd actually tried to help. That was
what I couldn't get my mind around. I understood what he was trying to say, but
I didn't get why he'd gone to the trouble of trying to figure us out at all,
much less trying to be nice to us in any fashion.
"No, Mit . . . Mr. Benson," I stammered. "We're not having a problem at all."
"Well I suggest you boys head to your first class," he said with a slight smile
at my slip. "It might be a good idea for you to stay out of the quad until we
can get things settled outside."
"Yes, Mr. Benson," replied Leo before any of us could say anything.
I walked away from them with my head full of conflicting thoughts. I couldn't
believe that I was thankful to Leo Hartman for keeping me from being spotted by
the congregation and his own grandfather. The fact that his act alone had defied
his grandfather shocked me, but to help me in any way was something I couldn't
even wrap my mind around. I wasn't used to people who hated me for being gay
changing their minds and deciding to broaden their horizons and learn something.
This was new for me.
All through Analysis I thought about Leo Hartman. Even Wendy couldn't get more
than a word out of me. It was crazy for me to be thinking about Leo so much. I
didn't want to think about Leo. I almost wished he'd never said a word to us
that day. Then I wouldn't be stuck in Analysis class with thoughts of him
floating through my already turbulent brain.
I thought about Leo all through Psychology, too. In fact, I paid very little
attention to the lecture. It was a good thing that Psychology was one of the
classes that I practically only had to show up to pass. Mr. Tolston wasn't one
of my favorite teachers, any way. He and Ms. Tull were of the same mind, but
fortunately Mitch had a tight reign on Mr. Tolston. So he was only a minor
irritation in my day. Nick and Jeremy were quiet in that class, too. That wasn't
abnormal, though. In Psychology class we were always quiet. Any reason we gave
Tolston to come down on us was one more than we wanted.
I made it through Study Hall pretty easily. Leo kept to himself as usual, and
Nick and Jeremy kept my mind on the congregation at the entrance for most of the
period. They were still there, and I learned from Nick that the press was all
over the place. Police were there, too, and even the officers stationed inside
the school were outside trying to get Reverend Hartman and his flock to leave.
Thankfully, the security guards were still inside the school.
By the time I met up with Mark on my way to Gym, I was pretty clear headed. I
mentally thanked Jeremy for that. He always had a way of getting me to think
about anything other than what was on my mind while I was with him. That was one
of the reasons that I was so close with him. The fact that his life had been
perhaps harder than mine was another reason. I saw a strength in him that I
hoped I had even the slightest shred of. For him to have endured the abuse that
he'd been subjected to and still come out with far less emotional scars than he
actually had said something about him. Whether he knew it or not, my friend
Jeremy was cool.
Steve and I were relatively relaxed all through Gym. We were both in the weight
room with Mark, and that was something we were serious about. It left no room
for thinking about anything other than the potential danger of the machines we
were using. Respect for the equipment kept people safe, and we were all about
safety. It did occur to me while we were in the weight room that I wasn't being
watched as heavily, though. Perhaps I just had more distractions from it, but I
didn't think that was the case. Vince and Andy were still worried about me, but
now they were also worried about Steve as well. That had shifted most of the
heavy protection off of me.
"What are you thinking about?" Steve asked as we got dressed after our showers.
"You've been quiet all hour."
"Nothing too heavy," I promised with a genuine smile. "Let's get to the
cafeteria. I'm hungry."
"I hear that," he chuckled as we walked out of the locker room together.
Our comfortable mood didn't last long, though. We made it to our locker without
paying any attention to the flyers that had been taped to the walls here and
there. Nothing was printed on our locker that day, and we were both thankful for
that. We exchanged books for our last two classes of the day and headed off
toward the cafeteria when I noticed a flyer for the first time. Ordinarily I
wouldn't have paid much attention. If it wasn't about the GSA then I never
bothered myself with what a flyer said. After all, the GSA was now the only
after school club or event that I took part in. What caught my attention on this
particular flyer was the large golden cross that was the background for the
printed words. Steve saw that I was headed toward one of them and followed me,
and I heard him hiss in a breath as he read the same words I was reading.
The flyers had our names on them, mine, Steve's, Rick's and Mark's. We'd been
singled out, and the author of the flyer called us fornicators and branded us
homosexuals. It was what was written at the bottom of the flyer that pissed me
off more than anything else. It said that in the bible, such people were stoned
publicly for these crimes. It was calling for our public stoning. To say that I
was angry was just an understatement. I saw red, and I wanted to go outside and
have it out with the flock, but especially the good Reverend Hartman. If Mitch
hadn't come along, ripping flyers off the wall as he headed toward us I probably
would have.
"Tommy, Steve, shouldn't you boys be in the cafeteria?" Mitch asked, pretending
to ignore what we were looking at.
"Mitch," I said through clenched teeth as I turned to face him. "First our
lockers, and now flyers all over the school? Who did this?"
"We don't know, Tommy," he replied quickly. "They're all placed in places where
the cameras can't see, and none of them are near any of the offices or
classrooms."
That's when I noticed Leo coming from the other direction. He was pulling the
flyers down just as Mitch had been. When he saw us, he stopped in his tracks and
looked worried again. I sighed. He had every reason to fear me. I'd already used
force against him once, but I wasn't going to do it again. I'd never get angry
with him for taking down flyers that called for my own public stoning. Here
again he was doing something completely out of character for him, and I wondered
why. I didn't dwell on it, though. The fact that at least all of the rest of the
student body of Storyville High had seen the flyers was what was heavy on my
mind.
We didn't say a word to Leo as we walked away from Mitch and headed into the
cafeteria. I half expected the entire cafeteria to get deadly silent when we
walked in, but everyone continued to talk like there was nothing out of the
ordinary going on. I noticed Mark and Rick at our usual table, and then I saw
the football team sitting in every available spot around it. I had flash backs
of our last two years at Storyville High as I watched the football players pass
food back and forth and generally have a good time. We were still friendly with
more than half of the team, but they'd stopped sitting with us after last year.
Now that we were nearly half way through another year and they were back told me
just how serious they'd taken the flyers on the walls.
We made it through lunch, although we were unusually quiet throughout the entire
half hour. My last two classes were completely unmemorable other than the fact
that Mitch was teaching our Literature class until a replacement could be found
for Ms. Tull. Then there was the fact that Leo watched me out of the corner of
his eye the entire time we sat in the computer lab side by side.
The flock shouted at us as we left the school building after the last bell. We'd
even come out a different exit than the main one where they were standing. When
they saw us heading for the parking lot, they moved as a group, following us.
They shouted that we were immoral and indecent. They shouted that we were
fornicators and vile homosexuals who refused to repent our ways. I tried to
ignore them, but as we got to my car I saw that all of my windows were broken
and my tires were flat.
Then there were reporters all around asking me questions that I kept refusing to
answer. I looked at Steve who was looking back at me with fear in his eyes. I
wanted it all to just go away. That's when a different kind of shouting started.
I turned to look and was almost ready to cry with joy when I saw the football
team strutting toward the group of church members, shouting that they weren't
welcome at Storyville High and a number of other things. That was also when it
started to snow.
I'd like to invite all of you to join my yahoo group. Chapters will now appear there before they are posted ANYWHERE. To join, click here. I hope you liked this chapter. Chapter 12 will be along soon. Email is always appreciated.