Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. All characters are eighteen years of age, especially the non-human one. Enjoy.
Because the lunch hour was split into 'A' and 'B' sections, Jim Goldberg and Will Durante had to wait a half hour to take their usual seats on the bleachers. They brought their lunches with them, of course, but it wasn't the sorry cafeteria fare that aroused their appetites.
Their eyes could roam unfettered in the gym, free to alight with the dainty precision of butterflies on tight asses, and thick bulges that loose gym shorts couldn't quite conceal.
"Shit, what I wouldn't give for a piece of
that
," Will said, under his breath.
Will's eyes followed Taj Johnson, the blonde captain of the football team, as he zigzagged across the court. Their lunch period happily coincided with a gym class attended by many of the most athletic seniors.
"He's okay, I guess," Jim said.
Taj was better than okay, and they both knew it, because Will only had eyes for the sort of men who would never give him the time of day. Of course, Jim indulged in idle fantasies of his own, but he recognized them for what they were- just fantasies and nothing more.
Jim would never get it on with any of the guys on the varsity football team, not the linemen, not the center guards, neither the tight end, nor the wide receiver, and definitely not Taj, the first string quarterback.
And that was okay by him. Truth be told, he had something of a crush on Will. His friend had a lean swimmer's body, and an adorable baby face that made him look a little younger than his eighteen years. The sad fact was that Jim did not stand a chance with Will; maybe he wasn't overweight, or pimply, but his body was far from the sculpted ideal of his friend's wet dreams.
What they had instead of a romance was an iron-clad bond formed in the crucible of their middle school years. The bullying had been horrendous, and the primary reason they'd had to repeat eighth grade. Hell, it was impossible to excel in academics with a chorus of kids chanting "faggot" everywhere you went.
Now, in their final year of high school, everyone pretty much understood they were young gay men entitled to the same basic rights and dignity accorded to their heterosexual peers. It was 2013 after all... everything was just peachy, as long as they kept that gay shit to themselves.
"He's so fucking beautiful," Will said, with a dreamy sigh.
Jim was resigned to graduating at eighteen, a virgin, and with no real distinction aside from being the youngest person to ever win the Loebner Prize. He had that, at least. Of course, when asked to clarify just what the Loebner Prize was, he would stammer, and look away, as if confessing to having once sucked dick for money, before finally admitting it was for having created the most "human-like chatbot." This answer was usually met with a simple "Oh," (as in "Oh, is that all?", but that particular triumph had netted him the not-bad sum of three thousand dollars U.S).
He followed Will's gaze back to the court, where Taj made another effortless shot into the basket.
Alas, these two were so thoroughly wrapped up were in their erotic reveries, they didn't notice the doors at the end of the gym opening...
"What are you two jerkoffs doing?"
They turned to see the waddling bulk of Crazy Rick Hanover headed in their direction. There was an unsettling expression of amusement on his face, and his wide smile brought the pockmarks on his cheeks into relief. Under the sickly glow of the florescent lights, his face looked like it was made of green cheese.
"Oh, fantastic," Will said, tonelessly.
"Rick, there's some guys in here who play on the varsity team. Shouldn't you maintain a minimum distance of five hundred feet away from them?"
Rick had been to the Principal's office earlier that year, and given a three-day suspension for following two linemen around school, and making lewd and lascivious gestures at them. It was engaging in this kind of nonsense that earned him the nickname Crazy Rick.
"Oh, you mean Taj? I didn't even notice guys like him. Not since I got a boyfriend."
Jim and Will stared at Rick like he'd just arrived from one of those parallel universes posited by string theory, one where every day was opposite day.
"A
boyfriend
?" Jim asked, a little incredulous.
Cam guys don't count, you know, no matter how many times you pay them to jerk off for you
, Will nearly said aloud.
"Did I stutter?" Rick said.
Crazy Rick took out his iphone, and pulled up a photo of his bf for their perusal.
Jim's mouth almost dropped.
"I met him on craigslist-isn't he the cutest?"
The picture was of a rather unimpressive looking college freshman with bad skin, and too-large eyes set in a small, round face. His posture was bad, and his brightly colored clothes gave him a passing resemblance to a lawn gnome.
But he still looked a tad out of Rick's league.
"Has he seen
your
pic, Rick?" Jim asked, his voice suddenly rich with venomous spite.
"That's the best part. He found my ad. He's what you might call- chubby chaser."
Crazy Rick was clearly enjoying being able to lord this over them. His smug expression was sickening to behold.
"So he's into quantity, not quality," Will blurted out.
There was a brief look of shock in Rick's eyes, but it passed quickly. He broke into a big shit-eating grin.
"My, my, look who's turned green with envy. Well, it's a shame that nobody can stand either of you two losers except each other."
Rick rolled his eyes, with a sharp huff, as if he couldn't believe he had deigned to acknowledge these two bottom feeders to begin with.
"Just get out of here, man, before Taj sees you," Jim snapped.
Jim and Will's moods darkened. You could see it in their faces. Their day-possibly even the remainder of their high school career- was ruined.
Rick sniffed, oblivious, every inch the regal Princess now.
"
Toodles
," he said, and left without sparing them another look.
After a long silence, Jim exhaled. But before anything further could be said, the bell rung, and it was time for the next class.
Great
, Jim thought,
now we get to deal with Mr. Costa.
They settled in just before the tardy bell, but never the less drew an admonition from Mr. Costa to try to manage their time wisely instead of lollygagging out in the halls.
Greg Costa was always dispensing valuable advice like that. As the school's wrestling coach, he felt it his duty to help mold the clay that was the hearts and minds of young men (and women) into the productive citizens of tomorrow. He felt he best accomplished this through brow-beating, public shaming, and the occasional cornpone platitude.
Still, Costa was a handsome guy. Will liked his rough, bearded look, and often admired his ass on the sly. Their social studies teacher was one of those men who looked at fitness as more than a way of life, looked at it as a religion, in fact.
If only that troublesome personality of his could be fixed
, Will thought. Costa sometimes read books by Rush Limbaugh and Anne Coulter when the class was busy with an exam, and both of the boys could pretty well guess his opinion of homosexuals.
"Okay, class, if you remember, I assigned the critical thinking questions for Chapter 13 last week-"
"Shit," Jim said under his breath.
He had forgotten his Chapter 13 homework assignment.
"Not to worry," Will said, his voice a low whisper, "I remembered for you."
Will reached into his binder and pulled out Jim's question set.
"Will you two lovebirds pay attention?"
Costa was sneering in their direction.
Scattered laughter rippled through the classroom. Their classmates' eyes converged on them, and their collective gaze pierced them like daggers.
It was the proverbial cherry on top of the shit cake their day had turned into.