Out of the Closet
by Victor Thomas
Chapter 14
Chris
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I groaned, hitting the brakes.
Of course, the old bat, or whoever was driving in front of me, was crawling along, so I had to follow, riding her ass. They clearly granted driver's licenses far too easily.
On the other hand, I was in no hurry to get home, not after what had happened after football practice. I knew what my parents, especially my mother, would say. I'm dead already.
Finally, I reached the street I lived on and took my foot off the gas pedal to let the car inch forward closer to the house. Before today, there hadn't been a day that went by when I wasn't happy to get home after school, unless, of course, I was hanging out with my friends. Right now, there was nowhere else I would rather not be. I would have hopped on a bus with nothing but the clothes on my back if the opportunity had presented itself.
I signaled left and waited for the car that was approaching from the opposite direction. Then I drove over the cracked sidewalk and parked on our small front yard. My old football lay on the overgrown grass by the garage wall. Moving as slow as I could manage, I tiptoed to the garage door and peered through the little dusty window.
"Shit," I hissed as I saw both mom and dad's cars parked inside.
Maybe they'll understand, I tried to convince myself, but I knew it was a ridiculous thought. Angry at my own stupidity, I slammed my fist against the garage door. Without that goddamn queer, I wouldn't be in this situation. I wasn't sure how I was going to explain it to my parents.
Just as I was devising a plan to sneak in the back door and dash to my room unnoticed, I heard the loud barks of my dog coming from inside. Soon, the door opened and the little brown dog came running out, overjoyed to see me.
"Hey, Luna," I greeted her, trying to sound normal. "It's not like I was gone forever."
Mom stood at the door looking concerned.
"We've almost got supper ready. Where have you been?"
"Nowhere," I muttered, but the door shut before she could hear me.
With a sigh, I turned and stared blankly at Luna as she sniffed around and did her business. Too soon, it was time to go back inside.
Luna's paws rustled against the green and brown linoleum floor as she paced to her water bowl in the corner of the kitchen. Above it, on the wall were pictures of me and my sister on our first birthdays. I didn't remember Emma, even though I was two years older. My little sister had died five weeks after the picture was taken. The doctor's said she was too old to die of sudden infant death syndrome, but it hadn't brought her back.
Mom and dad never tried for a new baby, and now their only child was standing at the kitchen door pondering whether I should tell them that my football dream was crushed. Weren't they all assholes off the field? So why was it fair that only I was punished? Fair or not, Coach Barrett had made it crystal clear I wasn't welcome anymore.
The smell of grilled chicken and pasta sauce filled the air, but my stomach failed to be tempted. I didn't offer to help, instead trying to disappear into my room.
"Where are you going?" mom asked.
Her face was severe, and she was holding a knife in her hand. Not to stab me, hopefully, but because she was cutting up lettuce.
"To my room," I said, stopping half hidden in the hallway.
'We're almost finished. Can you set the table?"
"I don't feel good, mom."
"Your coach called."
I took a step back, but she gestured for me to sit at the table. The chair squeaked when I collapsed into it and stared down at my hands. My mouth went dry as her eyes tried to burn a hole in me. So, they knew already.
"It wasn't my fault," I said, glancing at her.
"You aren't on the team anymore, are you?" she said, raising her voice. "Or was the coach lying to me?"
"I screwed up," I said in a defensive voice.
"So, there goes your scholarship," she snorted. "How the hell do you think we can pay for college. You know we don't have much goddamn money."
"Fuck! I said I screwed up, okay," I shouted, standing up.
"Sit down and tell us what happened," dad said slowly, but with a tone that left little option other than to obey.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before I began explaining everything that had happened ever since Bryan had stolen my towel in the locker room. Dad, still dressed in his oil covered work pants, leaned against the kitchen cabinet and picked chicken pieces from the frying pan.
"You should've kept your fucking mouth shut," he said, after I had finished.
"Mark!" mom said, giving him a meaningful look.
"What? At least the boy doesn't have to share a locker room with some faggot who can hardly play."
"That's not the point," she snapped.
Dad just shrugged. He took a cigarette from his pocket and walked to the back door.
"College is for nerds anyway. He can come to the shop and help me fix cars. I can talk to Johnny."
"And become a loser like you?" she shouted back, before turning to look at me. ""You will talk to the coach first thing tomorrow morning. Understood?"
The cheap pasta sauce was boiling to heavily and began splashing on the stove, which had been white at one time. Mom cursed and lowered the heat. She cursed even worse when the hot sauce burned her hand. I waited until she had found a lid to cover the pot.
"Mom, I don't think talking to the coach will help," I said.
"Don't you get it?" she said, emphasizing each word. "We don't have the money to pay for college; you need a scholarship."
"I know all this!" I yelled, finally reaching my limit. "You think I haven't thought about all this? I want that scholarship more than anyone."
"And you couldn't keep your mouth shut? You really had to call that boy…"
"I don't need this right now," I said, cutting her off. "Look, I'm sorry. I'll fix this, okay?"
Heat flushed through my body as I rushed to the front door. I had no idea how or even if I could fix it. I just had to go somewhere. Anywhere.
"Where are you going?" she called behind me.
"To Kenny's," I said, slamming the door.
The answer came out naturally. I had said it so many times. It was only when I was driving down the road that I remembered that Kenny was on a date with Hannah.
Of all the times, why right now? I needed my best friend, someone who always had a solution to everything. A definite perk of being friends with a genius.
Without a clear plan, I sped down the highway. If I knew where Javier lived, I probably would have made a visit there and beaten up the asshole. Not the wisest move, but why on earth did the drama queen have to come out right now? He could have done it after football season was over, or next year after we had graduated and I was studying in some college, with Kenny as my roommate.
I'm screwed.
I drove several miles out of town, but I still hadn't figured out any solution to fix things and get back on the team. Like my mind, the sun was down by now, so I couldn't go to the park. Since I was already heading east, the mall sounded like the only option. Besides, my stomach was growling after skipping dinner.
I should have eaten something, I thought, but I imagined myself sitting at the table while my parents humiliated me. My stomach stopped growling.
Forty-five minutes later, I turned into the parking lot and immediately spotted a free space near the door. That was enough to lift my mood a little higher. Hoping I wouldn't see anyone I knew; I walked inside and scanned the area. The coast was clear. The food court was a few minute's walk away, just enough time to get my brain into problem solving mode.
What would Kenny do, I asked myself, walking past the glass doors and bright store signs. I turned toward the food court and saw an ATM on my right. A small grin appeared on my face for the first time after leaving home.
I can borrow money for college I rationalized, but my excitement vanished slowly when I realized that my stupidity would cost me tens of thousands of dollars.
Full of hope, I knew I would come up with a better idea. I navigated my way into the food court, which has a Route 66 theme. I scanned the area, which was full of people. Suddenly, I froze; my eyes locked onto the smoothie place just to the left.
Kenny. He was the last person I expected to see. Someone was sitting with him, but I couldn't tell who it was. After taking a step back, I saw the side of Javier's face.
What the fuck!
My body tensed, and my eyes were cold when I glanced at Kenny and Javier sitting at the table. They weren't talking, and for some reason, Kenny looked like he was about to jump out of his skin. I couldn't understand why he had lied to me about his date with Hannah. And why was he sitting there with the person who had caused me so much trouble?
Authors deserve your feedback. It's the only payment they get. If you go to the top of the page you will find the author's name. Click that and you can email the author easily.* Please take a few moments, if you liked the story, to say so.
[For those who use webmail, or whose regular email client opens when they want to use webmail instead: Please right click the author's name. A menu will open in which you can copy the email address (it goes directly to your clipboard without having the courtesy of mentioning that to you) to paste into your webmail system (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo etc). Each browser is subtly different, each Webmail system is different, or we'd give fuller instructions here. We trust you to know how to use your own system. Note: If the email address pastes or arrives with %40 in the middle, replace that weird set of characters with an @ sign.]
* Some browsers may require a right click instead
