Blake's Saga
Book 5 –
Chapter 7 – Part 2
The Gift
Blake still
has not read the note from earlier today, but now he is even more curious about
the shy secret admirer. He's yet to see
the guy hiding behind notes and a gift.
Wondering who the secret admirer is, the young man grabs his friends at
lunch.
"Guys, I
need your help. Can you guys keep your
eyes out for my secret admirer? He seems to be dropping off notes at my locker,
but I've never seen him at my locker. I
was wondering if you guys would keep your eyes out for me?"
Wanting to
know who the guy is, his friend agrees to see if they can catch him dropping
stuff at their friend's locker. Blake's
friends are right there with him. They
want to know the kid's identity, so they'll do what he asks.
***
Across the
cafeteria, Jamal is watching Blake wanting to go over and see him. His shyness is restraining him. He is usually quiet and reserved, so walking
up to Blake would be so out of character.
Jamal is wondering what everyone is talking about at the table with
Blake. He wishes that he was there with
them. He wonders if they can see him
watching them. Worried that they might come
over to complain about him watching them, he gazes down at his empty tray and
walks it up to put it up to be emptied and set up to be washed. When he sits back down, he decides to write a
bit in his journal.
"I really
need to get over my shyness."
This is all
he writes, and then he closes the journal. Opening his sketchbook, he works on
a drawing that he's doing for a contest.
***
As he works
on the drawing, his mind returns to Blake.
He wonders if Blake knows that he is alive. Blake does know he is alive; however, he's
never talked to him because Jamal always seems so standoffish. Jamal hopes that
his crush doesn't think he's a snob.
It's a thought that often crosses his mind. He's not a snob and expects people to know
that about him. Many people don't know
that about him, and a few of them do think he's a bit of a snob. It's all good because they realize he is an
okay guy once they get to know him.
***
Blake knows
the guy, and it would surprise Jamal that he even knows his name. The problem is Blake doesn't know that Jamal
is his secret admirer. He also might be
surprised to learn that if Jamal approached Blake and asked him out, Blake
would agree to date him. Again, it all
comes down to Jamal being shy. Jamal needs to just get the nerve to walk up to
him. He wants Blake to notice him the
way that he wants him to.
***
When Trace
and Colin arrive home, Trace asks to see the backpack, knowing there is a note
in the folder from the teacher. There
had been a message sent out via a text to both dads about something that had
happened at school. Colin is worried
that his dads will treat him bad like he was used to before coming to live with
them.
"Colin, what
is this note about Buddy?"
Trace asks
his son. Who just stares at his dad with
sad little puppy eyes.
"I hit a kid
because he called my brother a name."
Trace tries
so hard to hide his smile. He can't help
but feel some pride; at the same time, he can't have his son hitting people. There is a bigger problem, though, right
now. Colin's fear is the problem. He can't have his son worrying about being
hit whenever something bad happens at school.
He decides to sit down with him and calm those nerves.
"Colin, come
here, buddy. I want to talk with you."
Despite the
calm voice, the little boy is apprehensive about coming to his dad. He doesn't know if he trusts that Trace won't
spank him for this. He does indeed trust
his dads, but sometimes his past boils over into his life.
"Okay, Dad."
Colin comes
near his dad, and Trace reaches down and picks him up. He can feel the fear in his son.
"Look,
Buddy, are you scared of me right now?"
Colin nods
his head.
"Colin,
Daddy and I are never going to hit you.
We will ground you and give you time-outs, but we will never hit you. You know that, right?"
The little
boy looks at him and nods yes, yet there is some doubt in his mind. Trace's and Ian's little boy has been through
some crappy stuff, but with some work, he'll know that he is loved. Trace knows
he needs to address the school problem but also wants to pat his son on the
back for sticking up for his older brother.
Maybe, he can delay the talk a little until his husband comes home. When he looks at his son, he realizes he
can't put it off.
"Colin, I
need you to listen to me. You know what
you did to the kid at school today was wrong, right?
The boy looks
at Trace and frowns.
"He said
Blake was a bad word, and I hit him. He wouldn't shut up."
Colin told
his dad. The older guy understands what
his son is saying.
"You can't
hit people just because you are mad at them.
Next time, you need to either tell your teacher or another teacher."
Colin isn't about to disobey Trace. He
can be a little intimidating, at least where kids are concerned. Fifteen minutes later, Ian and Blake walk
into the house.
"You can go
play, Buddy."
Colin gets
down and heads off to his room to play.
Trace pulls Blake to the side while his husband walks upstairs to the
office.
"Got to tell
you something, Blake; your brother stood up for you today. He hit a kid who was bad-mouthing you."
Blake is
smiling at the thought of his little brother hitting a kid because the kid was
being mean.
"Are you
serious, Dad?"
His dad
hands his son the letter from the teacher.
Reading over the letter, Blake can't help but smile. He hands his dad
back the letter.
"I guess you
were being serious."
He tells his
dad. Trace grins at his son.
"I was being
totally serious."
Ian comes
upon them, looking at his husband and son.
"So why were
you being serious?"
Ian asks his
husband.
"Your
youngest hit a kid for making fun of his older brother."
Ian pats
Blake on the back. Blake goes upstairs to find his little
brother. He finds his little brother
inside the room.
"Hey Colin,
I just wanted to say thanks for standing up for me at school today."
Blake smiles
at his brother. Colin gets up and hugs
his older brother.
"You're
welcome!
Colin is
happy to have his brother in his life.
"Blake, do
you want to color with me?"
Blake smiles
at his brother, then disappears for a second and grabs one of his coloring
books and colored pencils. He reappears
in Colin's room with his stuff, and the brothers sit down to color together.
***
After
coloring for a while, Blake needs to seek his uncle's advice. He calls his Uncle Michael. Uncle Michael picks up his phone.
"Hey Blake,
what's up?"
Blake isn't
sure how to talk this over with his uncle.
He doesn't want Uncle Michael to embarrass him or be rude, which has
never happened before. Whoever this
person is doesn't deserve to be poked fun at by
someone else.
"I have a
secret admirer. He's been leaving me
notes at my locker and even left me a gift.
Trace and Ian have been a little weird about the whole deal. They're worried that this secret admirer
might be a scheme to
hurt me."
Michael kept
quiet while Blake was talking. He never
interrupted his nephew, but now that Blake is done talking, he can throw in his
two cents.
"First, judging
you or your admirer is not my place. I
think your dads need to trust you a bit more. Is there something else you need
to tell me, though?"
Blake isn't
sure what else to tell him, and then he remembers something.
"Well, in
his first note, he reveals quite a bit about the family; just little tidbits,
to be honest, but it was enough to get my dads' attention."
Michael
understands why that would draw his brother's and brother-in-law's attention.
"That is a
bit strange, don't you think, Blake?"
Blake gets
it. He really does.
"I do,
yeah. He shouldn't have put our life
into the note."
Michael
changes the subject a bit.
"Is it a
little exciting to have a secret admirer?"
Blake is
quick to respond to his uncle's question.
"I don't
know about exciting, but I am super curious to know who my admirer is. I mean,
there are a TON of kids at my school.
It could be anyone. Today, I
asked my friends to keep their eyes open for anyone by my locker. I want to know who he is."
Anyone would
be curious if they had an admirer.
Michael wonders if Blake doesn't already have some idea of who it might
be, but he's keeping it to himself.
"Blake, I
hope all the best, dude, but I need to run."
Blake ends
the call and goes off to figure things out on his own. After a while, he decides to call his aunt.
***
Blake calls
his aunt to see if she has heard or seen anything. He's not counting on her knowing anything,
but it's worth a chance. Sadly, Ashley
knows nothing. She didn't even know
about the admirer, but she agreed to keep her eyes out. Blake is hoping that someone knows something
about the guy behind his gift. Maybe,
he'll come clean soon, and Blake won't need his aunt or friends to keep their
ears and eyes open.
***
At dinner,
Blake looks at his dads and thinks about the admirer.
`Are my dad's right?'
Could it be
that Trace and Ian are right about the kid?
Blake is beginning to think that they might be correct. They might be right, but he doesn't want to
hear the truth right now. Blake just
wants them to be wrong. He doesn't want
any of their doubts and suspicions to come to be. His secret admirer being a bad guy would be
heartbreaking. Still, what will his dads
do if the guy ends up being a baddie?
All they can really do is stand by his side.
***
On the
weekend, Blake gets a visit from Rick.
He stops by to see Blake. The
guys spend most of their time playing video games. When they get tired of playing games, Rick
asks if Blake has heard anything about the secret admirer.
"I have
heard nothing."
Rick feels terrible
for his buddy. He pats his friend on the
back. It would be cool to see another guy join their little band of friends. It's easy to join the group and a whole lot
harder to leave the group.
"I would
love to find out who this guy is, and he better like video games."
It might be
a few days before Jamal will appear in their little friend group, maybe anyway.
***
Blake goes
to bed worrying about what Ben might think of his secret admirer. He wraps himself up in his blanket and rests
his head. When deep sleep comes over
him, he sits on the bed. While he is
sitting on the bed, the door to his room opens up, and in comes Ben. Blake is in disbelief. Ben walks up to the foot of the bed. He looks at his friend and smiles.
"Blake, get
your head out of your butt. Quit
worrying about what I think, what your dads think, or what anyone else
thinks. This admirer is a great guy. I
would date him. By the way, you were
right. I was being a big ass."
Blake
questions the comment that Ben just made.
He would date this guy.
"You would
date him? Do you know this guy?"
Ben turns to
leave the room. Blake can hear him
softly humming. Before he leaves the
room, Ben turns to the bed.
"Blake, not
only do I know your admirer, but you, too, know him. Don't push him out of your life. Sometimes things may be rough, but I believe
he is one of your soulmates."
Blake
notices that once dark hallway is filled with an intense white light as Ben
leaves the room.
"LOVE HIM!"
Ben shouts
out as he completely disappears. Blake
wakes up, looks around, and then goes back to bed. He feels like Ben is right; he needs to quit
worrying about who Jamal is and what everyone thinks of the admirer.