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CHAPTER 2
The car ride to Portland was painfully long. What made it even worse is the fact that I couldn’t stop thinking about Tony and how I had ended things between us. I didn’t want it to be that way, he just didn’t show any consideration for my feelings. On top of that, my life was changing drastically. The closer we got to Portland the more things started to look entirely different than San Francisco and I really started to realize how different things were going to be.
“We’re here,” I heard Dad say as I opened my eyes and watched us pull into the driveway of our new home while rain lightly hit our car. The house was big, but not as pretty as our house in San Francisco. The brick was an almost tacky shade of brown but there was a nice three-car garage, and parked in front was dad’s Chevy truck that he had brought up earlier. There wasn’t much greenery except for a huge tree on the side of the house.
“We’ll unload tomorrow morning,” said Dad.
We all got out of the car and started towards the front door. There was a cute little swing on the porch. Amanda thought it would be a good idea to swing.
“Don’t sit there sweetie! We have to sterilize it first.” Mom was being her normal overly-cautious self.
“Home sweet home,” said Dad as he opened the front door and led us in.
We entered into the living room. There was a big fireplace and hardwood floors. There wasn’t much else except for our couch, coffe table, and TV that the movers had brought there earlier. I went up the stairs to my new empty room. It wasn’t as big as my old room but I had my own bathroom which was a definite plus.
“Where am I going to sleep?” I yelled downstairs.
“There is an extra air matress down here, just for tonight,” said Dad.
“Great,” I said to myself, “That sounds comfy.”
I wasn’t thrilled about the air mattress but after such a long day I couldn’t wait to get to sleep. I laid down on my air mattress and dozed off to sleep almost immediately.
I expected the next morning to feel like a new day but I still felt just as crappy as the day before. Mom and Dad had already started unloading the truck. I deflated my air mattress and tossed it into my closet. After brushing my teeth I headed downstairs.
“Go help your Dad,” said Mom as she hauled in a mattress.
“I need nourishment first,” I replied.
“We’ll go get breakfast as soon as we’re done here. It shouldn’t be much longer.” Mom assured me.
I went out to the truck and helped Dad bring in my dresser and then some boxes. Mom and Amanda stayed inside and unpacked boxes while Dad and I got the rest of our things. It felt good to finally get everything into the house even if I didn’t really want to be there.
After we were done, we hoped into the car and went to go get breakfast like Mom had promised. We had McDonald’s, nothing big but still greatly appreciated being as hungry as I was.
“Take a look at your new high school,” said my Mom as we passed this big school on our way to McDonald’s. The sign in front read Glencrest Senior High School. It didn’t look that great. Definitely not as good as my school in San Francisco.
When we got home all I could do was think about school. I dreaded the next day because the weekend would be over and I would have to go to that school. To take my mind off of it I just finished unpacking my boxes and got my new room in order. I spent hours getting everything the way that I wanted it, but after I was done it actually started to feel like my room again.
“Time for school, Clay,” said Mom as she tapped my shoulder.
“What?” I asked in confusion.
“Time to get up and get ready for school. We have to register you.”
I must had fallen asleep after doing my room. I hadn’t even gotten clothes ready or anything. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom to hop in the shower. I think I might have set a record for the fastest shower ever. After showering, I went to my closet and picked out a really nice outfit for my first day at Glencrest. I grabbed my backpack and ran downstairs to the car.
On my way to school I felt myself starting to get nervous. I didn’t really expect to get nervous, but then again it was a new school with kids that I had never met before. But if it was anything like my old school, it wouldn’t be too hard to make friends.
We arrived at the school and as we walked through the front door I could feel my heart beating through my chest. “Calm down, Clay,” I told myself. The main office was big and crowded. Mom and I walked in and signed in on a clipboard. As we waited, kids ran in and out with passes and doctor’s notes. I wondered if maybe one of the many kids coming into the office would eventually be in a class with me.
One of the secretaries called my name and Mom and I went up to the desk. She directed us to go into the counselors’ office to enroll and have them make up my class schedule.
The counselors’ office was less crowded than the main office, but there were still a few people in front of us. I sat and listened to my iPod while we waited. A girl came up to me and said something but I couldn’t hear her because my iPod was in.
“Huh?” I said, taking my iPod out.
“I said Mrs. Higgins can see you now,” said the girl as she smiled and pointed to the office of who I assumed was my counselor.
“Thanks,” I replied, smiling.
Mom got up and went in with me to see Mrs. Higgins.
“Hello, I’m Mrs. Higgins. And you are?”
“I’m Clay,” I replied.
“Nice to meet you, Clay. Let’s get you enrolled,” she said with a smile.
She reviewed my records from Cali and asked Mom some questions. After about only 15 minutes it was time to choose my schedule. Mrs. Higgins filled in a few classes based on what classes I had already taken at my old school. The rest was up to me.
“Get Ms. Riley’s art class.” The statement came from a voice behind us. It was the girl that had talked to me earlier.
“Go find something to do,” said Mrs. Higgins, shooing the girl away.
“I did kind of want art,” I said.
“Okay well that can be arranged,” replied Mrs. Higgins.
“Third period,” the girl peeked in again.
“I guess I’ll be taking it third period,” I laughed. I thought I should probably be staying far away from this girl seeing as how she had been pretty creepy since I met her, but I decided to give her a chance.
“Okay. Ms. Riley’s third period art class it is then,” agreed Mrs. Higgins.
I picked a couple more classes and then it was time for me to get to my first class. Mrs. Higgins told the creepy girl to show me to my first class and my mom went back home, leaving me to my doom at this unfamiliar school.
“So you’re from California?” asked the girl.
“Yep. San Francisco to be exact.”
“That’s exciting! So, your name’s Clay?”
“Yep. And you are?”
“I’m Aurora. Nice to meet you,” she shook my hand.
“So, Aurora, are you always this outgoing?”
“Pretty much. My motto is a stranger is just a friend that you haven’t met yet.”
Aurora seemed pretty cool, despite the creepiness. She was kind of quirky with short brown hair and big brown eyes. She wore a purple cardigan over a white flower print graphic tee with a gray knit cap. I was so busy observing her, I didn’t even notice that we finally made it to my class.
“So I guess I’ll see you later?” asked Aurora.
“Sure,” I replied as I started to open the door to my class.
My first class was chemistry, probably my least favorite subject. As I walked in, all the kids gave me the “who’s the new kid?” stare. I walked up to the teacher’s desk and showed him my schedule.
“Alrighty, well nice to have you in class,” said the teacher as he stood up and shook my hand. According to my schedule his name was Mr. Ferguson. “Class, this is Clayton Oakley. Make him feel welcome.”
“Actually I just go by Clay,” I said.
“In my class you go by the name I see on paper,” replied Mr. Ferguson.
I didn’t know what to say. No one had ever told me that before. I just walked away and found an empty seat. The rest of the class was doing work in the book so I just sat there quietly, not that I had anyone to talk to. Well, not until this guy tapped me on the shoulder. He was pretty gorgeous. He had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
“You’re new?” asked the boy.
“Um yeah.” I replied nervously.
“Cool! I was new here once. Don’t worry about Mr. Ferguson. He’s just traditional and feels that we should go by the name on our birth certificates. I’m Zenan by the way.”
“Hi Zenan,” I smiled.
“If you need help finding your way around here or something just let me know. It’s good to have a friend here.”
“Thanks.”
Zenan and I talked for the rest of the period. He was a pretty cool guy. I found out that he has just moved to Portland from Washington only three months before. He looked at my schedule and it turned out that we had another class together, fifth period English.
When the bell rang I wondered how I would get to my next class, but Zenan offered to show me. He made me feel a lot better about the rest of my day. My next class was fairly simple. It was health, and there really wasn’t much to it. I just listened to the teacher talk about nutrition for about 50 minutes. No one really talked to me in that class but I was fine with that. I was nervous enough just being there.
When it was time to go to art, Aurora immediately popped into my head. I didn’t really know what to expect with her. What if she embarrased me in front of the whole class? I didn’t want to ruin my reputation before I even had one.
I walked into the classroom and, unlike my first couple of classes, no one even paid attention to me. I could have walked in wearing nothing but socks and the kids probably wouldn’t even have noticed. Aurora was sitting with another girl on the other side of the classroom. I decided to sit closer to the door so I didn’t have to walk across the room and just in case I needed a quick escape. But before I could sit down, Aurora called my name and waved me over. I smiled and walked over to where Aurora and her friend were sitting. Aurora introduced her friend as Brooke.
“So Aurora told me that you’re new here,” said Brooke, smiling. “How do you like it so far?”
“It’s okay. Everyone seems to be pretty nice,” I replied.
Small talk dominated our conversation. We talked about California, school, music, and anything else that they could come up with in the 50 minutes we were in that class.
“You should have lunch with us,” offered Booke.
“OMG yes!” Aurora added.
I accepted their offer and we agreed to meet by the soda machines. I had a lunch group! Now the only issue would be finding the soda machines.
After managing to stay invisible in my history class, it was time for lunch. I bolted out of the door, but it wasn’t fast enough to look like one of those weird kids that power-walked, or sometimes even ran through the halls to get around school. I refused to gain such a reputation.
When I reached the cafeteria, I felt overwhelmed by the massive amount of students that packed the area. There was not a familiar face as far as I could see. I made my way through the crowds of students until I finally found the soda machines. Aurora and Brooke weren’t there. Had they stood me up? As my hopes started to fade, I heard a familiar voice.
“Clay!” Brooke yelled coming towards me.
“Where’s Aurora?” I asked.
“She should be here soon. Her class is kinda far,” replied Brooke.
As we waited, I spotted Zenan standing in the courtyard with some guys. I debated whether or not I should go over and talk to him. I didn’t want to interrupt him with his friends. What if he hadn’t really planned on talking to me outside of chemistry class? As I pondered the thought for a while, I noticed Brooke also looking in Zenan’s direction. I wondered if she knew him.
“What are we staring at?” Aurora asked, breaking our stares.
“I didn’t even see you come up,” said Brooke.
“Obviously, since you were completely hypnotized by Zenan,” Aurora smiled.
“I was not!” Brooke exclaimed.
“You so were! You were practically drooling,” replied Aurora.
I laughed as they went back and forth.
“Ssshhh…here he comes,” said Brooke. She smiled as Zenan walked towards us.
“Hey Clay, How’s it going?” He asked.
“It’s going good. Good to see you again,” I replied.
“Well that tends to happen when you go to the same school,” joked Zenan.
We all laughed, but Brooke’s laugh trumped all of ours. She made an extra effort to show Zenan how funny she thought he was. Brooke nudged me as I talked to Zenan. I assumed she wanted me to introduce her.
“This is my friend Brooke,” I said to Zenan as I gestured in her direction.
“And I’m Aurora,” interjected Aurora.
“I’ve seen you around, but nice to officially meet you both,” Zenan said, smiling.
It surprised me that they went to school together but had never met before.
“Do you want to eat lunch with us?” Aurora asked.
“Thanks, but I’m gonna hang with my friends over there. I’ll see you guys around though.”
Zenan waved and went back to his friends. As he walked away, Brooke continued staring and smiling.
“He’s gone,” said Aurora, “You can stop smiling now.”
“He’s so hot!” Brooke exclaimed.
“Yeah, he’s pretty gorgeous,” I agreed.
Aurora and Brooke became silent.
“Umm…what?” Brooke sounded confused.
“I’m just agreeing with you,” I replied.
“Can you do that?” Aurora asked.
“I thought I could. I hope I wasn’t wrong…”
Neither of them said anything. I stood in silence also as I contemplated the outcome of this situation. Me being gay was never a big issue back home. What if gay people were like shunned and persecuted here? Had I just totally done what I was most afraid of and killed my reputation?
“So…you play on THAT side of the fence?” Brooke asked.
I laughed. “I guess you could say that.”
“Well that’s cool,” Aurora smiled, “I’ve always wanted a best gay!”
“A best gay?” I asked.
“Yes! My mom says that every girl needs one”
“Well I’m happy to fill the position,” I laughed, “But why did you seem so shocked. Is it like a bad thing?”
“We just don’t come across a bunch of gay people around here,” answered Brooke, “And the ones that are usually keep it to themselves. But it’s really not a big deal.”
We headed into the cafeteria to get some lunch and talked more about the whole gay thing. They seemed pretty fascinated with my life. I kind of liked being able to explain things to them. It was like teaching someone about a whole different culture. It also gave me a chance to vent about Tony and all of his bullshit. They found the idea of two guys being together pretty exciting.
We barely ate our food and talked until the time came to go to our next class. We traded cell numbers and headed to our seperate destinations. I was eager to see what the rest of the day had in store for me.
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