This is my first story on Lit so I look forward to comments and constructive criticism. Caution, this story is a longer read so those of you looking for a quick sex piece should look elsewhere; but if you like a good story, please enjoy.
This is a very touching story about a young man who tries to make the best out of a bad situation. The people he meets along the way through his sexual awakening; and the experiences that define who he will be as a sexual being. Although this is a story about the start of Donovan's journey; I'm hoping it can be the start of yours as well.
Sitting in a desk near the middle of the room is a young man; you wouldn't guess by the look of him that today is his eighteenth birthday. His body hunched as he lazily twirls a pencil between his index and middle finger of his right hand; the sight mimicking the sweeping revolutions baton twirlers and drum players at rock concerts do to garner attention. The tip of his pencil sweeps by his right cheek, just barely grazing his light brown hair, casting shadows of it on his vintage green t-shirt. His arm is resting on his left leg, feeling the cold yet soft material of his weathered and worn blue jeans. He leans forward while in his desk so he can more closely examine a picture in a Sports Illustrated magazine depicting screaming fans at a Cavaliers game, his eyes darting over the page. He catches the pencil between his index and ring fingers and slowly tucks a lock of hair that has fallen into his eyesight back in its place; behind his right ear.
He can hear others around him getting restless, the sounds of bags being unzipped, magazines and books being shuffled shut, and an increase in enticing chatter. He tilts his head slightly up and to the right, while his green eyes follow suit to look at the old worn clock hanging slightly above the doorway. The red minute hand of the clock ticking perfectly, circling past the large black numbers as it counts down the time passing by. It is almost 3:00pm and that means summer is about to officially begin, once he gets out of class that is.
He sits up slowly putting his pencil lengthwise between his lips, biting down ever so slightly until he feels his teeth break through the yellow paint, and the faint flavor of smoky wood fills his mouth. He leans over, reaches underneath his desk chair, and grabs from the basket underneath a red and gray backpack. As he lifts it up, he bites harder into the pencil; the tense strain of concentration is cast across his face; the embarrassment of falling is not an option for him. As he places the backpack on his desk, his hand sweeps up and grabs the pencil from his mouth, he can feel the indentations his teeth made as well as the slick saliva left by his lips and tongue. He pulls the magazine out from under his backpack, rolls it up, and stuffs it inside the partial opening left by a damaged zipper, and the frustrated tug that broke it weeks ago.
The bell rings and like a herd of cattle the students rise quickly from their desks, cascading through the classroom as if their very survival depended on them being one of the first through the door. Very faintly, he can hear the shouting of his name, "Donovan, hey Donovan." The chatter of the students wedged in the doorway trying to escape the prison that has held them so long muffles the voice. It's hard for him to distinguish the originator; it sounds like his friend Jason yet at the same time reminds him of his ex-girlfriend Stephanie.
Finally, as he rises from his desk, with backpack in tow, the herd cleared the doorway and he hears it again; "Donovan, hey Donovan" No mistaking the voice this time, it was Jason for sure, and he knows all Jason is going to want to do is brag about his family's vacation to Paris this summer.
"I'm coming, I'm coming hold up a sec would yah" he yells to keep Jason from calling his name like some clichΓ© scene from a sex movie. Donovan looks down at his worn Doc Martins, the shoelace he forgot to tie as he left his final day of Gym class hitting the floor; bouncing to and from the side of his shoe, striking the metal legs of the chairs next to him. As he passes the final row of desks he raises his head up, the presence of Jason startles him; almost seemingly appearing in front of him, as if to deliberately keep him locked up in this social prison.
"Hey man, my parents are getting me my own room in Paris, can you fucking believe that!?" Jason enthusiastically yelps.
"That's great, but uh, hey what do you need your own room for? Aren't you going to be in the country side of Paris?"
"Yeah so, so what, you don't think the country side is going to have girls? What, just because I'm in the country I'm not going to meet some chick that wants to fuck my brains out?" Jason scorns.
"Yeah man, yeah your right; I was just giving you shit bro, that's pretty cool" Donovan says hesitantly.
He knows Jason is never going to get laid in Paris, he can't even get laid in Ohio and half of the girls in his class think he's God's gift to basketball. The problem is that Jason is a dweeb when it comes to dealing with girls; he attempts to treat them like a basketball, just handle them and expect they do what he wants. Not that Donovan was all that much better when it comes to girls either, he was still a virgin after all; but at least Stephanie let him feel her up after a school dance when her parents were away. Donovan, not wanting to hear another story about how good Paris was going to be says, "Hey, I gotta get my stuff from my locker and get home, Stephanie is s'posed to call me about a party tonight. You gonna come?"
Jason, with a mixed look of sadness and joy says, "Nah man, I got to pack; our flight leaves at like 5am tomorrow".
Donovan knew he was not going to be able to go and better yet, even if he did there was no party to go to anyways since he hadn't talked to Stephanie in weeks. "All right bro, have a good trip and don't forget to tell me about all of the freaky Paris girls you meet" he says with a slight bit of sarcasm. "Oh yeah, you know I'm going to get mine up in Le Paris, Parlez vous francais?" Jason laughs as he heads out the door.
Donovan approaches his locker, puts his backpack down on the floor next to another empty one that rested unused all year. He puts his right hand on the cold plastic dial that has required him to perform the same mundane routine all year so he can have access to a simple, yet small, storage space. With the last spin of the dial landing on 12, and a slight tug of the metal handle, a stark "clank" sound resonates as the door vibrates open. The contents of this locker stared at him five days a week for so many weeks out of the school year. A slight breeze of sweaty cotton hits him in the face as he catches a whiff of the shorts he just removed from his Gym locker earlier in the day. He hastily picks up his backpack and with a quick pull of the zipper opens it up so he can cram the remaining contents in his bag. He bends down on one knee, plunges his hand into this locker, and loads his backpack up with all of its contents. He stands up while zipping his backpack as far as it will go, then grabs the locker door in his right hand; slamming it shut in one swift motion as he proceeds to dart for the exit.
He takes his last step off the stairs that lead out of the school and is hit by a breeze of fresh summer air; suddenly his spirits are lifted, school is finally over; it's the last time he will touch these steps. He walks across the grass and heads to his left, eventually reaching the sidewalk that will lead him home just a few short blocks away. The heat from the sun radiates off the back of his neck, the light casting a shadow of his body in front of him makes him look heavy. He questions his own physique for a second as he studies his shadow. He's not as big as it portrays him to be as his body is more slender with form fitting clothes. He can see the first of two crosswalks he must go over before reaching his house and in the distance; he can hear some wailing sounds. Every step he takes closer to the crosswalk he can hear the sounds getting louder; "It's definitely a cop. I wonder who Jason got into a fight with this time?" he thinks to himself with a slight laugh.