When Ethan woke the next morning, he felt different. It wasn't just his first kiss and first blow-job, but something else entirely. Then he remembered how is cock grew and he threw back his blankets and pulled down the front of his underwear. Alas, it was just as normal as always. Maybe it only grows bigger when you really want it to, thought Ethan. A wistful smile crept across his face. His encounter with the nurse, Becky, was fresh in his mind. Just thinking about it caused his cock to swell. It took eighteen years for his first sexual encounter of any kind, and Ethan prayed silently that it wouldn't take that long for his second.
He rolled out of bed and got ready for school. As he headed for the door, he stuck his head into his mother's room just to reassure himself that she was home safely from her night shift at the hospital. She was wrapped in her blankets, deep in dreamland. Ethan wished her happy dreams and grabbed a bagel from the bag in the kitchen and a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator before he let himself out the front door and began his sixteen block walk to school.
When he arrived at school, Ethan could feel eyes following him. From each clique of students gathered around the outdoor commons, he knew they were watching him and talking about him. In his head, Ethan wished they would just leave him alone. He wished they would stop being so selfish and focus on making the world a better place, instead of holding up their classmates to their imaginary standards. When he looked up, Ethan couldn't find anyone paying him any attention at all.
"Hello Ethan," a quiet familiar voice called from behind him. He turned to face her with a smile. "It's great to see you in school. There was a rumor that you were jumped and nearly beaten to death. And yesterday three gang members were arrested right over there and taken away. The whole school was talking about it. Everyone says it's because they tried to kill you. It doesn't look like they tried very hard, I don't even see any bruises."
Alexa Wilson had been in the same grade as Ethan since kindergarten. She was his oldest acquaintance, his best friend, though Ethan was a loner and Alexa kept to herself as well. Like Ethan, she only had one parent, her father, who kept strict watch over her. Alexa was an honor roll student like Ethan. She was a talented musician, which Ethan was not. But as far as Ethan knew, she'd never been on a date either, so that was another thing they had in common.
"Well Lexa, you can see the stories were greatly exaggerated. I got beat up a little but I am ok now."
Alexa looked visibly relieved. Ethan had no idea how much Alexa liked him. Since the fourth grade she had a crush on Ethan, but she knew her father wouldn't approve. She never said anything to Ethan, and even now, when she thought she had lost him to violence, she couldn't work up the nerve to tell him the truth. Alexa had resigned herself to being dateless until college. Maybe later if her father had his way. He was loving, but he was very restrictive.
"You know Lex, that beating may have finally knocked some sense into me. You are the only girl I have ever liked, even when we were little, and I have never asked you out. I am going to change that. Would you go out with me? On a date?"
His words jolted her. She never thought Ethan would ever make the first move. She smiled but said nothing, trying to put her thoughts into some semblance of logic. Ethan had no idea where the courage to ask her out had come from. Maybe it came from the confidence that grew when Becky told him he was a great kisser. Maybe it stemmed from his near-death experience that jolted him out of his rut. In any case, he had asked the question he'd never had the courage to ask.
"Oh Ethan, I'd love to go on a date with you. But my father would never allow it. He won't let me date anyone. Ever!" she said with an apologetic sigh.
"Not even if I ask him nicely?" joked Ethan, acting more confident than he felt, trying to put Alexa at ease. "Do you think he'd give me a chance to ask?"
"I don't know Ethan. He can be very intimidating. Let me think about it."
Ethan wished he could find a way to make Alexa happy and to make her father understand he would protect his daughter.
"The offer stands until you tell me yes or no. I am not going to give up. Anyway, I have to go and see my teachers and get my assignments so I can start catching up on my homework," he said as he started toward the entrance to the building. "Let's sit together at lunch, OK?"
"Yeah, ok, sure," Alexa stammered. She'd sat at the same table as Ethan before, hundreds of times, but never had they sat together as part of a plan. "I'll see you then." But Ethan was gone. Alexa couldn't help but wonder what had come over Ethan. He seemed so much more mature than before.
Ethan's classes passed like molasses dripping in winter. Nothing his teachers said held his interest like Alexa. He accumulated a mountain to assignments to catch up on and his mind was only on her. She was the female equivalent of Ethan, smaller than most of the girls in the senior class. While she was attractive, she wasn't one of the pretty or popular girls. Because of her bookish ways, and her over-protective father, she wasn't considered to be dateable when she was considered at all. But when she smiled, everything changed. When Alexa smiled, her face glowed a light from her soul. She didn't know how much it buoyed Ethan's heart when she smiled at him. When she smiled, she was more than pretty, she was the most beautiful thing on earth or in the heavens. Ethan thought of her smile and couldn't help but smile himself.
"Ethan Rome!" rebuked Mr. Miller, his Calculus teacher, breaking his reverie. "Since you find differential equations so amusing, why don't you explain to the class what they are and how they are different from each other."
Ethan found his daydream shattered and his real life a study in panic. He desperately wished he could explain the four types of differential equations in such a way that everyone would understand them and Mr. Miller would be happy and leave him be.
"The four types of basic differential equations are separable, homogenous, linear and exact. While their names give you an idea of their differences, I find it easy to classify equations when I look at them this way..." Ethan started as he rose from his seat and approached the board. He continued to speak for fifteen minutes and when he was done he looked down at the floor.
"That seems so much easier to understand Mr. Miller, is he right?" asked Caroline Mack from one of the front row desks.
"Yes Miss Mack, Ethan is absolutely correct," he replied. "I hope you all took good notes. Ethan has given us all new insights in how to approach classifying differential equations."
He turned to face Ethan. "He also has a gift for mathematics and would make an excellent math instructor if he so desired."
Ethan blushed at the praise. He rushed to return to his seat and to fade from the spotlight. The class continued and Ethan tried to pay attention, but his mind was locked onto thoughts of Alexa. The bell finally rang and Ethan hurried for the door. On his way to the dining hall, Ethan felt a shove from the side. He turned to figure out who was accosting him and found it was a freshman student. The freshman hadn't meant to run into Ethan, but he had no choice. Four of the school's biggest bullies were teasing him. All four were senior lettermen on the football team and Ethan was sure it would take all four of their IQs to reach a measurable number.
"Hey look, it's the Timex nerd, Ethan Rome!" called one of the pimple-faced meatheads. "He takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'!"
They all laughed. Ethan silently wished he could make those meatheads spend their time sticking up for little guys like this freshman instead of picking on people because they were bigger and stronger. Ethan grabbed the abused freshman and stepped between him and the bullies. He stood his ground when the four lineman approached to continue their torment of the frightened young teen.
"You guys are better than this," Ethan admonished quietly, his voice so low that only the bullies could hear. "Don't you remember back in third grade when the sixth graders picked on you? I know you hated it. I know it made you cry. Now you guys could rule the school and make sure none of the little guys get picked on anymore and you are doing the picking! It just seems like a waste of time to me. Wouldn't you rather be heroes?"
The words washed over the four bigger seniors like icy water. They stopped their forward progress and gave his words some real thought. Then they looked at each other and Ethan could see the shame forming in their eyes. Shame for becoming the kind of bullies they used to loathe.
