In every school, you have to admit that there are a wide variety of teachers. Some of them are nice. Others probably have mosquitoes constantly stinging their butts, hence their atrocious behavior.
Some of them give you long assignments over the break. Others let you off homework-free. Of course, there are also the in-betweens, the teachers who could be generous and kind, but strict when the time was right.
And then, there was Mr. Miller.
“I beg your pardon?” Mr. Miller broke the silence, his face a mask of pure astonishment.
“Huh?” Nicolas said again, matching Mr. Miller’s look.
Jude ran a hand through his hair. “Damian and I,” he said slowly, as if addressing himself to a bunch of imbeciles, “are dating. That means we are together. A couple.” He winked in my direction. “Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
I don’t think I’ve ever cringed so much, in my entire life.
What in the freakin' hell? How could he do this to me? How could he humiliate me in front of my whole class?
“I-I-I, uhhh,” I stammered. His piercing gaze was the only thing that was keeping me on my seat. I knew that if I defied him, he would do something terrible. What I needed to do now was take several deep breaths and calm down. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Mr. Miller’s shoulders shook. He covered his face with his hands.
So, what made him unique, you may ask? What made him one of a kind?
Well, at first, I thought he was choking on air, but after a few seconds, I realized he was laughing. Mr. Miller, the strict teacher who kicked students out of class for adding sauce during situations, was roaring in a fit of hilarity.
“YES!!!!” he cried, dancing around the room, “In all my years of teaching, I have never felt this way. All my life, I’ve supported boys' love and read stories related to it. Why? Because I am a closeted homosexual! Nobody understood me and I felt like such an outcast because of my strange addiction and my orientation. But you, Mr. Malakai, had the courage to out yourself and your partner in front of the whole class. You deserve all the love in the world. Bless the gays! Bless St. Vanhill’s first, official gay couple!”
What in the flying frick?
I would have been less surprised if Mr. Miller admitted he was an alien from outer space. He began pirouetting and twirling around the room, dramatically singing his soul out. Several kids clapped and cheered, overjoyed by the formerly strict teacher’s behavior.
Mr. Miller turned towards Jude, pointing a finger at him. “Is there anything you want to add before we resume class?” He had a twinkle in his eye I’d never seen before, suddenly appearing ten years younger.
Jude shrugged, but the smile on his face could not fool anyone into thinking he wasn’t blissful. “Hmm, well, I just want to say Damian is too beautiful to share with anyone. Beware to any breathing creature who tries to take him away from me.”
Tony and Nicolas were staring at me. I could tell, but I was too embarrassed to return their look. For all I knew, they were more than disappointed that I hadn’t previously told them about this.
“Excellent choice of words!” Mr. Miller said, before pointing to the girl sitting next to me. “Vanessa! Please be so kind as to give up your seat to Jude. He absolutely needs to be near his beloved!”
Vanessa rapidly grabbed her things. “That goes without saying, Mr. Miller!” She beamed at me and headed to the empty desk at the front.
Jude strolled towards Vanessa’s prior seat, the eyes of dozens of students following him. He sat down and winked at me again. I gritted my teeth.
As I had speculated, his eyes were indeed glowing.
* * *
As the periods progressed, my day in school got crazier and crazier. It was as if Jude had bewitched the entire building. Word got out that I was going out with the “cute, albino boy” and many kids gaped and squealed excitedly around me.
In the middle of my mathematics exam, Mrs. Parks called me into her office. Thinking it had something to do with the after school-clubs, I quickly tried to form an excuse, but she silenced me with her hands.
“Damian, if I’d only known you were struggling to get out of the closet, I would have given you more space,” she said, “Because of my incompetence to help a student in need, I shall grant you a once-in-a lifetime exception. You are allowed to finish the last month of school, without the need to join an extracurricular activity.”
I left without a word. After all, what was there to say to someone who was drowning in Jude's messed-up spells?
The whole time, I was surrounded by a crowd of supporters. Jude and I had turned into celebrities. Even my former volleyball captain came to congratulate me. I was startled because after I'd quit the team, they had struggled to find a replacement, and ended up being disqualified for the championships.
In comparison to the followers, Nicolas and Tony were nowhere to be found. They appeared to be the only ones who were avoiding me like the plague. I was hurt because it was obvious they felt betrayed, and it was gnawing me in the inside. Every time I tried to approach them, a mob of fangirls and fanboys would appear in front of me, pestering me with ridiculous questions.
“Who’s the one wearing the pants in the relationship?”
“How long have you guys been going out?”
“Did you already tell your parents?”
“Do you like yaoi?”
God, almost every damn person was bothering the fudge out of me. None of those so-called worshipers displayed the same amount of attention to me, when they were hit with the news of Daphne’s death. Instead, they’d all left me alone or pretended they didn't know me. Hypocrisy at its finest, I daresay.
I was positive Jude was trying to keep my friends, my only friends, away from me. Without Rhea, I felt lost in the world of witchcraft, but without Nicolas and Tony, I was vulnerable. It didn’t matter how many people came up to me, offering me their friendship and full support. It didn’t matter at all because the only two people I wanted around me were the ones veering away.
When the day was finally over, I managed to catch up to my two friends, at their lockers.
“Tony! Nicolas!” I cried, breathless, “Wait up! We need to talk.”
Tony narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you go and talk to your girlfriend? Or should I say, boyfriend?”
I waved my arms around frantically. “It’s not what you think!”
“You’re going out with that Jude boy. He was the one whom you spent the night with, right? The soi-disant 'friend' of yours I was on the phone with yesterday?”
I was at loss for words. “Y-yes, but –”
“We’ve been best friends for so long, yet you couldn’t trust Tony and I enough with your secret?” Nicolas said, “You had to get your boyfriend to hit us with the news? In front of everyone? I can see why you did it, with you suddenly being famous and all. You don't need us, huh?”
“N-no! B-but -”
“But what?”
“He’s not my real boyfriend! He lied. Everything he said was a lie.”
Tony and Nicolas shared a knowing look. Then they turned back at me.
Tony said, “If he’s not your boyfriend, then who did this to your lips?”
I swallowed back, the sound of people crawling closer towards us. I could feel my heart sinking to my knees. What was there to say?
“There he is! The cute albino’s bottom!” Vanessa cried from afar.
People swarmed around me, carrying me away from Tony and Nicolas. Jude was amongst them, laughing at their jokes and fueling their stupid fantasies.
Then I heard Nicolas’ voice from the crowd, loud and clear. “Damian Kara! If Jude is not your real boyfriend, and if you value our friendship, then answer Tony’s question. Who botched up your lips?”
The crowd got quiet.
“Who snogged you, Damian?” Nicolas repeated.
This was my only chance. There had to be something I could say to win them back. I had to say something...Anything!
“I couldn’t tell you anything because you’d already jumped to conclusions, though the thing is…” I started.
“Is what?” Tony prompted.
“Yeah, what?” Jude said, sneering.
“The truth is, I-I was actually stung by a bee! On the lips! I didn’t want to admit it because it was embarrassing.”
Relief washed over Tony and Nicolas’ faces. However, before they could say anything, Jude pulled down his shirt collar. Several gasps escaped everyone’s mouth, but no one was more appalled than I was.
“So,” Jude said, exposing the mark I'd left on his neck the day before, “I guess it means that very same bee gave me a hickey?”
And it was right there, right then that I knew...
There was no way out of this tangled situation.
Comments (28)
See all