Freddy’s day began relatively decently. Many of his friends came up to him and started chatting him up in the hall. They asked him how he was feeling and if he needed help catching up with his homework. As he was smiling and chatting up his peers, Freddy noticed Michael standing at the other end of the hall.
Their lockers were on opposite ends, which disappointed Freddy. He would have preferred if their lockers were closer together, but the school couldn’t arrange it that way this year. Deciding to make his presence known, Freddy grabbed his books and bag, excused himself from his friends and headed over to see Michael.
At the other end of the hall, Michael was busy chatting up Diya by his locker.
“Why won’t you tell me about what happened yesterday?” Diya asked Michael.
“Because” he replied “it’s top secret. If I told you, you could be in great danger.”
“Come on, Michael, knock it off. Tell me what happened.”
“I can’t. Besides, Freddy’s home today and I’d rather wait to ask him before I say anything more.”
“Really? Because that looks like him right over there.”
Diya pointed and Michael followed her finger to discover Freddy walking down the hall.
“Freddy!” Michael yelled in surprise.
Freddy walked towards Michael to give him a kiss on the lips.
“I’ll leave you two alone” Diya said as the two boys turned to her. “See you at lunch?”
“Maybe” Michael replied. “Unless Freddy needs me.”
“Suit yourself” Diya responded as she walked to her first period class.
Diya knew something was up. She knew Michael was lying to her, but he seemed to express a genuine surprise when Freddy came towards him in the hall. Clearly, Freddy wasn’t supposed to be in school today and she suspected it had something to do with what happened yesterday. She hoped to get the two of them alone later to try to pry them for more information. If they were in danger, as Michael had suggested, then she thought she could be of assistance.
Back in the hall, Michael confronted Freddy.
“Freddy!” Michael said a bit too loud. “What are you doing here?”
“Shh!” Freddy responded, looking around as eyes began to watch over them.
Freddy took Michael to an emptier part of the hall before he began to talk.
“My parents forced me to go to school today.”
“They what!”
Freddy had to sush Michael again.
“Quiet, Michael. We don’t need the whole school listening in on this.”
“Sorry” Michael responded in a quieter voice. “Volume control. Anyways, what? What do you mean? Don’t they know it’s a bad idea for you to be here today?”
“I tried telling them that, Michael, but they wanted to know where I was yesterday.”
“And what did you tell them?”
Michael was nervous that Freddy may have spilled the beans on his whereabouts.
“I said I couldn’t tell them” Freddy replied.
Michael sighed a breath of relief.
“They told me that if I didn’t tell them where I was yesterday” Freddy continued “that I had to go to school today.”
“Didn’t you tell them it was dangerous?”
“I did and they didn’t care.”
“Ugh.”
Michael became incredibly nervous and leaned in closer to Freddy.
“Can you keep your impulses under control today?” Michael asked quietly.
“I’ll try my best” Freddy replied.
“Do more than try, Freddy. This is the worst place for you to dog out. Speaking of which.”
Michael opened his knapsack and pulled out the ring.
“It’s a good thing I took the ring with me yesterday after all. If you had kept it, you would have forgotten it at home and left it unattended. At least now, we know where it is.”
Michael put the ring back in his knapsack, unaware of a pair of eyes that were watching them from a distance.
“We need a plan in case you change again, Freddy. You know my schedule, right?”
“Yeah”
“Good. So if you change again while in school, go to whichever homeroom I’m in, bark once and then hide in the 3rd floor linen closet until I come to get you. Got it?”
“Ok, Michael.”
“Good.”
Michael gave Freddy another kiss on the lips before the first period school bell rang.
“Good luck today” Michael said before he departed.
“Thanks” Freddy replied.
Freddy watched Michael leave for his first class. Freddy lingered in the hall briefly before he whispered.
“I love you.”
Getting his stuff, Freddy made his way through to his first period class. When he arrived and got to his seat, he noticed an extra chair amongst the ones the students sat in.
“That’s odd” Freddy thought to himself. “That’s one more chair than usual.”
Before Freddy could put two and two together, the students sat down and were given an introduction by their teacher.
“Students” the teacher began. “I’d like to introduce you to a new student. She’s come all the way from Russia. Her name is….”
“Sofya” she interjected. “Sofya Roshkovich.”
The students watched her walk inside the classroom from the open door. They nodded with the different sexes giving off different reactions to her. The boys began to ogle as she approached her seat, while the girls looked on at her with disgust. Before she sat down, Sofya spoke up.
“Can I just say something really quick?” Sofya asked the teacher.
“Quickly” the teacher responded.
Sofya stood before the class to talk.
“I know I’m new here and I know I’m not from your country, but I want to get to know you all better, so I’m inviting you all over to my place at different times this week. Girls…”
Sofya pointed to all of the different girls in the class.
“…can come over tonight for some pillow talk.”
The girls hesitated, but something about her voice seemed to put them at ease. The initial jealousy they felt made way for a sense of sympathy or…likability. As if she was just one of the girls and not a threat to them at all.”
“And the boys…” Sofya continued.
The boys looked up at her in lust and interest.
“…can come over on Saturday. Friday I have…”
Sofya stared at Freddy before turning back to the class.
“…other plans.”
The boys nodded before Sofya attempted to take her seat next to Freddy.
“I’d rather you didn’t do that” Freddy said quietly to her.
“I got this” Freddy and Sofya heard a boy call out to them.
Freddy’s friend Duane moved one seat over to sit in the empty seat next to him.
“You can sit next to me, Sofya” Duane said to her as he patted the seat he originally occupied.
With a frown on her face, Sofya sat down as the class begun. All throughout class, Freddy had a hard time concentrating because Sofya kept staring at him. It was if something in his brain was commanding him to look at her. He used all of his strength to ignore her, at the cost of not getting any of the lesson.
When the bell rang, Freddy got up to head to his next class. Sofya attempted to follow him, but he managed to give her the slip. The rest of the morning was relatively uneventful as Freddy found it easier to concentrate on the classes he had. It didn’t hurt that each one was more interesting than the next, culminating with art class before the bell rang for lunch.
As Freddy lined up with the other students to get lunch in the cafeteria, he spotted Michael a few people behind him.
“Hey Michael!” Freddy called to him. “Up here!”
“No cutting” a nerdy girl with glasses responded to him.
Freddy gave her an disapproving look before he walked a few places back to stand with Michael in line.
“How did you manage this morning?” Michael asked Freddy.
“Fine, actually” Freddy responded. “Except for this morning. Sofya was in my first period class.”
“Oh God. Did she try anything?”
“Sort of. I could almost feel her in my head commanding me to look at her. I resisted with all of my life, but I didn’t actually get to hear or write down any notes from the lesson today.”
“Don’t worry about that. My friend Rajesh is in that class so I’ll ask him to give me the notes later. He’ll know who it’s for, so don’t worry about him getting suspicious.”
“Thanks Michael.”
Freddy and Michael got their meals before heading to the tables in the dining hall. They were about to find a table together when they heard a loud group calling out to Freddy.
“Freddy come over here!” the voices said.
Freddy walked over to see his track and field team sitting at the table, with Michael hesitantly following behind. Upon approaching the table, the head captain spoke up.
“Hey Fred” the boy said.
Michael always hated this boy. He was such a jerk, but he was so hot. He may have even been hotter than Freddy, but his personality took away any pleasure Michael may have had in looking at him. Even if Michael felt an attraction towards him, he would have never cheated on Freddy with the track and field captain. Ever.
“That” Michael thought to himself “is the difference between Freddy and I.”
“Hey Daniel” Freddy responded.
Unlike Michael, Freddy didn’t realize or comprehend how much of a jerk Daniel was. Daniel was nice to Freddy because they were fellow athletes. If Freddy wasn’t on his team or any other sports team, Daniel wouldn’t give him the time of day.
“Why don’t you sit with us today?” Daniel asked as he patted a spot next to him on the bench. “You missed practice this week and we should really catch you up to speed on what’s going on.”
“I’m sorry” Freddy replied “but I already promised Michael that I was going to sit with him for lunch.”
“Oh come on. Michael, I’m sure you won’t mind, right buddy?”
Michael showed a visible sneer.
“I’m not your buddy” Michael thought to himself.
Freddy may not have noticed the passive aggressiveness of Daniel’s actions, but it was not lost on Michael.
“Actually” Michael replied. “I do. Freddy’s behind on his homework and I figured we’d spend lunch together catching him up to speed on what he missed.”
“Oh come on, you nerd. School isn’t everything, you know. He has all afternoon to spend with you to talk about this stuff. Why don’t you be a good boy and scurry off so we can talk to Fred. He’s not your possession, after all.”
“That’s enough!” Freddy snapped in response.
The whole cafeteria fell silent as it seemed the eyes of the school were on them.
“Woah Fred” Daniel replied with a crooked smile on his face and his hands held up. “I didn’t mean to upset you, man. It’s just, you know, when are you ever going to get yourself unattached from the hip? If Michael was a girl, we’d all be complaining that she was an overly attached bitch who didn’t let her guy live a little. Why isn’t it different if it’s two guys?”
Michael’s eyes averted to the ground as Daniel’s words stung in his head.
“He’s right” Michael thought to himself as he got his stuff together to leave.
“I’m going to meet up with Diya and the others” Michael said to Freddy as a tear fell down face. “I’ll catch you later.”
“Wait Michael” Freddy called to him before Michael ran off in the cafeteria.
Snickers filled the hall as Freddy turned angrily to Daniel.
“You’re a real piece of shit, Daniel, you know that?”
“What did I say?”
“You made him cry.”
“He’s far too sensitive. And you have to admit, Fred, he’s far too attached at the hip.”
“No he’s not, Daniel.”
Daniel could hear a sharpness in Freddy’s voice. It almost sounded like…a growl.
“He’s a smart, caring and loving man who I love very much” Freddy responded. “You don’t have the right to talk to him that way, Daniel. I don’t spend a lot of time with him because he forces me to. I spend time with him because I want to. Because I love him. Something I’m sure your last girlfriend wished she could have heard come out of your lips.”
The whole cafeteria gasped as a silence fell over the room. Daniel had a mortified look on his face as Freddy angrily stared at him.
“Fred” Duane, his fellow teammate, said to him calmly. “Maybe you should calm down now.”
“I’m going to go now” Freddy replied as he motioned to leave. “I’ll see you at practice on Monday.”
As Freddy turned to head off, Daniel had to let more dig in.
“I guess it’s true, Fred. You really are Michael’s little pet.”
Hearing this, Freddy slammed his tray down on the table and grabbed Daniel by the neck, almost choking him. A hush and excitement fell throughout the cafeteria at the anticipation of a fight.
“What did you say?” Freddy asked through a sound that almost sounded like growling.
“Uh uh uh” Daniel responded nervously as he had trouble breathing.
“Let him go Fred!” Duane yelled as he got up to try to separate them. “It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it, man.”
“You’re right, Duane” Fred replied as he put Daniel down and picked up his tray. “He’s not worth it.”
Freddy stormed off as the eyes of the room followed him. Daniel put his head down on the table as Duane tried to get him to calm down.
Freddy had a hard time getting through the crowd as the whispers began to spread and he heard his name on the lips of everyone in school. He heard them all too clearly. He wondered if it was because he was beginning to dog out again, but he knew that only happened when he got turned on. He wasn’t turned on right now. Far from it.
Finally, Freddy managed to spot Michael sitting at a table with Diya and his other nerdy friends. Freddy walked over and stood for a moment before Michael turned up to see him. Michael tried to hide wiping a tear from his eye, but Freddy managed to see it.
“Mind if I sit with you?” Freddy asked.
Michael sniffled before Diya interrupted.
“I don’t think that would be such a good idea right now, Freddy. Michael’s very upset.”
“It’s fine Diya” Michael said as he motioned a spot next to him at the table. “Sit.”
Freddy sat next to him and put his tray down before throwing his arm around Michael’s shoulder.
“Uh” the voice of a boy said before Freddy looked up to see Michael’s other friends.
“We’ll be getting going now” a boy named Rajesh said as he got up to leave. “I left Michael the notes from the first period class for you.”
“Thanks” Freddy replied.
“Yeah” a boy named Park added. “We’re finished anyway. We’re going to hit the computer lab. See you tomorrow, Michael.”
The rest of the students got up before Freddy was left with Michael and Diya.
Freddy gave an “Ahem” in Diya’s direction.
“I’m not leaving” Diya responded. “Michael’s in a very fragile state right now and I don’t trust you to be alone with him.”
Freddy tried to reason with her, but she was not having it. Eventually, he sighed before he spoke up.
“Don’t listen to what Daniel had to say, Michael. He’s just jealous that we have such a great relationship together.”
“He’s right, Freddy” Michael responded. “I am too attached to the hip. I’m too controlling.”
“No, you’re not. He’s just saying that.”
“Freddy can we talk about something else?” Diya interrupted. “This isn’t a good time to talk about this. You have all afternoon.”
“Right, sorry. Anyways, I’ve been hearing rumors around the school that the fire alarm went crazy yesterday and the whole school got flooded. How did they manage to get the damage from all that patched up in one night?”
“I have no idea” Diya responded.
“It’s so weird. It just happened around the time that Michael…”
Michael gave Freddy a glare, but Freddy didn’t stop talking.
“…came to see me yesterday. I was thinking that maybe you had something to do with it.”
Another hush fell through the room as all eyes turned to the table with the three of them sitting at it. Michael slapped his forehead before Diya began to show rage in her face. Freddy knew this wasn’t going to be good.
“What kind of fucking stupid thing is that to say, Freddy!” Diya yelled at the top of her lungs as she stood up for everyone to see. “God, you’re so stupid! What, because I’m an Indian girl, I’m automatically responsible for hacking into the computers and messing with the alarm system? God, Freddy, you really are stupid, you know that!?”
A raucous laughter fell over the cafeteria as the staff tried to restore calm. Freddy had a look of shock on his face before he got up to leave.
“Freddy wait” Michael meekly called after him with his hand up.
“Hand down!” Diya responded as swatted his hand down.
Michael could only look on in sadness as the crowd of mean teenagers pointed and laughed as Freddy ran off in a huff.
“Diya” Michael snapped at her. “What the fuck was wrong with you?”
Diya sat back down, pulled into Michael’s ear and whispered to him.
“Do you know what could have happened if someone found out about what happened yesterday? I could get in a lot of trouble. I could get suspended. I could get thrown out of school. I could…”
“Diya Ramesh!” a voice called from behind her. “To the principal’s office! This afternoon at 3!”
Diya turned around to see the principal stare at her as the bell rang to signal the end of lunch. Diya began to cry as she sunk her hands into her hands. Michael briefly tried to comfort her before she pushed him away.
“Go Michael” Diya said coldly. “I’ll get my way out of this.”
Michael, hoping he could do more for her, was rebuffed as he took his tray and exited out of the cafeteria. He felt really bad for her right now. She put herself out on the line and she only caused the commotion she did to try to save herself from getting in trouble. It seems, in anger, she made a mistake and now she was going to take the knife for trying to help him save Freddy.
As he thought of this, anger rose through him. Michael needed to confront Freddy about this this afternoon. There were a lot of raw feelings that had to be discussed. It was important that they aired everything out as soon as possible.
That afternoon….