Father Ostertag approached me after class one Friday afternoon as I was making my way out of class.
"I have a proposition for you," he said.
I felt somewhat nervous. My grades had been rather poor this semester and I was afraid that he was going to suggest summer school or something.
"I can't help but notice the special attributes that you have been exhibiting over the last semester," he said, "and I feel that you may be interested in an exclusive program that we offer to students of your caliber."
My stomach rose. I had just had a talking to from my parents after my last report card about my cavalier approach to my studies. Perhaps this could assuage my parents worries.
"Okay," I said.
"Good," the father said. He reached out and shook my hand.
I smiled shyly as I listened to his instructions concerning where and when the first meeting would be.
"I trust you know Tim," Father Ostertag said on the first day of our new meeting.
"Yes," I said.
I was quite excited. Tim was a senior and he was very cool. He had befriended me in study hall and I loved listening to him when he would talk about philosophy and theology.
"It's good to see you," Tim said as he reached for my hand.
"You too," I said. " I didn't realize that you were a part of this group."
He smiled. He had the coolest bangs. They hung down in front of his face and came down to his smile.
"I think it may be best for Tim to explain things to you," Father Ostertag said as he made his way to an easy chair in the corner of the room.
Tim nodded.
"When I was a freshman," he said, "I joined this very same club."
I nodded in acknowledgment.
"I found it sort of scary at first," he said, "because it at first seemed to go against everything that the church had taught me about sexuality and ethics."
At the mention of sexuality I found my stomach rise once more. But I tried my best not to betray it.
"I am going to ask you out of respect, but I highly doubt you will know what I am talking about."
"Okay," I said.
"have you ever heard of Dumuzi?"
"No." I said.
Dumuzi was in love with a woman named Inanna. She said to him, "Make your milk sweet and thick, my bridegroom; my shepherd, I will drink your fresh milk. Wild bull, Dumuzi, make your milk sweet and thick. I will drink your fresh milk."
I nodded.
"This is a group dedicated to the study of the mystical properties of semen," he continued, "it is believed in some circles that semen helps to pass on certain masculine attributes from the mentor to the acolyte."
I didn't know what to say.
"When I was a freshman I was initiated into this club, as I hope you will be. My mentor, whose identity I cannot disclose, had also gone through the process and was a better man for it. I am a better man for having gone through it," he reached over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder, "during our talks in study hall I have noticed that you are unlike most boys your age. You remind me of myself."
"Really?"
He nodded.
"When Tim achieved his status as a senior and I asked him," Father Ostertag piped in from the corner, "who his ideal acolyte would be he mentioned your name."
I didn't know what to say.
"I am asking you," Tim said, taking his hand in mine, "if you will be my acolyte. I will pass on everything I have learned about philosophy and theology. About what it means to be a man, if you join me you will enter an elite group that will take care of you for the rest of your life."
"That would be wonderful," I said. I felt nervous, as though I should consult my parents first. I voiced this concern aloud.
"That is one thing you mustn't do," Tim said.
I frowned,
"you need to trust me," he said, "this cannot leave this room. You and I, and Father Ostertag, will be the only ones who know about our covenant."
I nodded, though I still felt apprehensive.