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Chapter 4
I had been at Glencrest for about two weeks and I started to feel like I was fitting in. I had found atleast one person in each class to talk to and I was starting to understand how to find my way around the campus. I ate lunch with Aurora and Brooke and sometimes other people would join the group. They were pretty cool. Sometimes Zenan even stopped by our table to say hi. Brooke always got really awkward around him, but he didn’t seem to mind. It was actually pretty cute.
In chemistry class one day, Mr. Ferguson assigned us a lab and we had to pick partners. This scared me a bit, because I expected that everyone would already have there partners all picked out.
“Partners?” Zenan asked.
“Um…sure,” I smiled.
That was easy, I thought. The assignment was to create a chemical reaction, make a diagram demonstrating the movement of the atoms, and write a two-page essay explaining the procedure. It sounded extremely unreasonable, but when Zenan started to divide up the jobs it sounded more realistic. I had lucked up and found a pretty smart partner, every slacker’s dream.
After chemistry, the day seemed to go by pretty fast. It was seventh period before I knew it. Gabriel strolled in late once again. Today he was wearing a red plaid button-down with jeans. No matter what he wore, he always looked pretty great. His curls always bounced and tossed in the air and his skin and eyes always looked perfect. It was like he got better looking everyday. He could have been a model for a clothing company if he wanted to. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was already. We didn’t really talk except for when he needed me to explain something to him or something. Some days I would intentionally lose my pencil so I could ask him to borrow one and have an excuse to talk to him.
That day after class, Mrs. Cooper asked him to stay for a while. I was the last one to gather my stuff as usual and I overheard some of their conversation.
“Gabriel, you’re failing my class. Do I have to talk to Coach Randolph about this?”
“Please don’t, Mrs. C. I’ll get my grade up,” promised Gabriel.
“The grading period is almost up, Mr. Covarrubias.”
“I can’t fail. Playoffs are next weekend!”
“Well I suggest you get it together. You have to make at least an 80 on my test to pass the course.”
“I’ll do it! I promise!”
“I surely hope so. I’d hate for the team to be without their star quarterback.”
Gabriel gave a half-hearted smile and walked out of the classroom. I hesitated for a little while, but then started after Gabriel.
“Umm…hey! Gabriel!” I called out.
“Yeah?”
“I couldn’t help but overhear what you were talking to Mrs. Cooper about. Maybe I can help..”
“How? Are you gonna take the test for me? Because I’m not gonna pass it.”
“No, but I can tutor you.”
“Tutor me? I can’t pay you or anything, dude.”
“I wouldn’t charge you. Just think of it as a friend helping a friend.”
I didn’t really consider us friends, but I figured if I was offering to help him out and all then he wouldn’t mind.
“Umm…okay. Do you really think you can help me?” Gabriel asked.
“I’m sure! That 80 will be no sweat.”
“Cool, man! Your name’s Oakley, right?”
“Well that’s my last name. I go by Clay.”
“Hmm…I’ll stick with Oakley.”
“Well that’s cool too, I guess.”
Gabriel put his number in my cell.
“I get outta football at 6:00. Text me or whatever and we can work on this math crap.”
“Alrighty then!” I exclaimed.
Alrighty then? What the fuck was that? I thought to myself and beat myself up for a few seconds. Dumbass, I thought.
“Well, I’ll see you around,” said Gabriel.
“Definitely,” I replied.
I watched Gabriel as he walked away. He walked with a quiet confidence. I got into Mom’s car and couldn’t wait to get home. I wanted 6:00 to arrive already. I called Lauren and explained to here that I finally got a guys number, even if it was just for tutoring. She was still proud of me regardless. While on the phone with her, I noticed the clock hit 6:00. I felt butterflies in my stomach. I decided to wait a little while before texting Gabriel. I didn’t want to seem like a creeper.
At about 6:17, I texted Gabriel.
Me: WATZ UP? YOU STILL UP FOR TUTORING?
Gabriel: OAKLEY???
Me: YEP
Gabriel: WHERE DID U WANNA MEET UP???
Me: WELL WHERE DO U LIVE?
Gabriel: MOLLY DR. I CAN GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS.
Me: NO WAY! THAT’S WHERE I LIVE! 🙂
Gabriel: COOL! I’M IN THE HOUSE WITH THE WHITE MUSTANG IN FRONT
Me: I LIVE NEXT DOOR IN THE HOUSE WITH THE SHITTY BROWN BRICK.
Gabriel: HA COOL! WELL I’LL BE HOME IN LIKE 5 MINS
Me: OK SEE YOU THEN
I was pretty excited now. But as exciting as it was, it was also kinda weird. I had been obsessing over him all this time without ever knowing that he was sleeping right next door. Of course he wasn’t home in five minutes, but after about fifteen, I saw his car pull up. Then my phone rang. He was calling.
Me: Hello..?
Gabriel: My place or yours?
Me: Umm…doesn’t matter..
Gabriel: Okay, well you come over here. I’ll wait for you. Bring your smarts.
Me: Hahaha okay. I’m on my way.
After hanging up, I grabbed my calculus book and headed downstairs and towards the front door.
“Where are you going?” Asked Amanda.
“None of your business, rodent.”
“Don’t talk to your sister like that,” said Mom, “Where exactly are you going?”
“Next door to study with my friend,” I replied.
“You have a friend that lives next door?” Mom asked.
“Apparently,” I replied.
“Well have fun, sweetie”
“Have fun studying? Probably not, but I’ll try.”
I walked out of the front door and saw Gabriel waiting on his front porch. I walked towards him and my heart began to beat faster. I didn’t understand why. I had been around cute guys before, but for some reason Gabriel intimidated me. I barely knew him, but it made me nervous to talk to him. He was nice enough, so what was it? When I reached is lawn he smiled.
“Thanks for coming to help me,” he said.
I assured him that it was no problem. We walked into his house. It was similar to mine in the inside, except his fireplace was bigger and there was more stuff in the rooms. There was a huge picture of him in his football jersey above the mantel. I never thought he could look more attractive, but there it was. He made that jersey look ten times better. My eyes darted from wall to wall, looking at pictures and plaques with his name on them.
“You hungry or thirsty or something?” Gabriel asked.
“No, thanks. I live right next door remember?” I chuckled.
“Okay. Well where are we gonna do this?”
“Umm…where do you usually do homework?”
“I don’t.” He laughed.
“Well do you feel comfortable in your room?” I asked.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
I followed Gabriel up the stairs and into his room. It was filled with posters of professional football players and even more plaques and medals and trophies than were downstairs.
“Are these all yours?” I asked.
“Yep. I’ve played football since I could walk pretty much. My dad played college ball until he fucked up his knee.”
“Oh. Well it looks like you’re pretty good.”
“I have to be. If I didn’t have football I would have nothing.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“But it is. I have no other talents and I’m not even close to smart. My grades are all barely passing. Most teachers just pass me so I can play. Mrs. C is the only one that gives me grief.”
“Well I think she just cares about you, ya know?”
“Not if she’s willing to keep me from playing in the playoffs.”
“She is just trying to motivate you. So, how about we get down to it.”
“I guess…”
He took a seat on his bed and offered me a chair. We opened our books and I started explaining trigonometric identities. He looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. I broke it down as much as I could and showed him a few examples. Then I let him try a couple of problems. At first he got them completely wrong, but it was kind of cute to see him try. I showed him what he did wrong and had him do them again. The second time he got them right.
“I did it!” He yelled out. There was a joy in his voice that I had never heard. It wasn’t the normal could-not-care-less attitude. I felt accomplished. I knew that wasn’t going to be enough for him to past the test though. We went over a little more until he finally said he was done with math for the night. I actually was pretty sick of it too, but I didn’t want to go home quite yet. This must have showed in my face because Gabriel replied almost as if reading my mind.
“You don’t have to leave, Oakley.”
“But we’re done for the night.”
“We can chill,” he replied.
Was I really going to “chill” with Gabriel. The anxiety of being around him had suddenly come back. My heart started to beat fast again. I told myself that it was no big deal and managed to slow down my heart rate.
“What kinda music do you like?” Gabriel asked.
“Umm…a little of everything,” I replied.
He started playing a rap song from his computer.
“Do you like him?” He asked.
“Yeah,” I lied. I didn’t even know who it was. I wasn’t a huge fan of rap and if it wasn’t for school dances, I would probably never listen to it. But it sort of made me feel cool listening to it with Gabriel.
“So what brings you to Portland, Oakley?”
I explained to Gabriel about California, my family, my dad’s job, and how upset I was about moving.
“I miss all of my friends and my old school,” I told him.
“Sometimes a new start can be a good thing,” Gabriel replied.
“Not when it’s in the middle of senior year! My parents don’t even bother to think about my needs.”
I stopped myself before I started to ramble on. I didn’t want to look pathetic in front of Gabriel. I tried to change the subject.
“Is that you?” I asked pointing to a picture of a little kid on his wall.
“Yeah. Wasn’t I adorable?” He laughed.
“Totally,” I replied.
“Is that your mom holding you?”
“Yep. I was her everything.”
“She’s really proud of you, huh? She must come to like all of your games.”
“Umm…no actually. She died in a car accident five years ago.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s all good. I know she’s really proud of me still though, and she would be at every game if she could.”
“I’m sure,” I smiled.
I didn’t know what to say. I never had to deal with losing someone so close to me. Here I was, bitching about how hard and unfair my life was and Gabriel didn’t even have his mother in his life. I felt like crap.
“So, did you have a girlfriend back in California?”
“Um…something like that.”
Telling Gabriel about Tony would also mean telling him that I was gay and I wanted to avoid that. I thought about how shocked Aurora and Brooke were when I told them. I could already see him throwing me out of his house and never talking to me again.
“Well did you, or did you not?”
“Yeah,” I lied, “She was a babe!”
I played along in an attempt to look cool. I figured it was worth telling a couple of little white lies to save my reputation.
“What about you?” I asked.
“I don’t have time for a girlfriend. I just fuck around.”
“Like…have sex?”
“Or a quick blowjob.”
He spoke so nonchalantly, like it was a common occurrence.
“Oh, yeah, my girl back in Cali was great at blowjobs.”
I felt silly attempting to understand where he was coming from. I wondered if he could tell I was lying. I got nervous and looked away from his general direction.
“Do you have your eyes on any girls here?” Gabriel asked.
“Not really,” I replied.
“C’mon man! You gotta like something you see. Don’t tell me you haven’t tapped anything yet.”
“Um…there is this one chick…Aurora. I banged her my first week in Portland. At her house. In her parents’ bed. Twice!”
I didn’t know where the lie came from. The words just flowed from my mouth, uncontrollably.
“Hell yeah bro! I knew it! Was she good?”
“Great! She even swallowed,” I lied again. More word vomit.
“Damn! Lucky bastard!”
“You can’t say anything though.”
“No problem. I’ll keep your dirty little secrets,” he laughed.
Suddenly, I heard a door slam. Gabriel jumped up.
“Shit,” he whispered.
“What is it?” I asked.
“My dad is home. You have to go!”
“What’s the big deal?”
“You just have to go! Now! I’m not supposed to have anyone over. Go through the window.”
“What? No! We are on the second floor!”
“Use the fucking tree, dude! Go!”
I crept out of the window and climbed onto the old tree. I slowly climbed dowm, limb by limp, branch by branch, until my feet touched the ground. I walked into my house and it was quiet. Everyone was asleep. I looked at the clock and it was already one in the morning. I hadn’t even paid attention to the time when I was at Gabriel’s house.
I went up to my room thinking about the events that had just taken place. I felt horrible for saying the things I said about Aurora. I trusted that he wouldn’t say anything, but I still knew what I had said. I don’t know why I said it, but I did. Then my thoughts drifted towards Gabriel, and his expression when his dad came home. Why had he been so alarmed? So many questions ran through my head as Iaid in bed. My thoughts eventually led me to sleep, putting my questions to rest for the night.
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