Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Jules: Age Seventeen
Connecticut
There was a crowd of kids hanging out in the main hallway after school, and as Jules walked toward them, they all fell silent, turning to look at him.
He was heading to Mr. H’s classroom, where they were holding the official first meeting of the school’s new gay-straight alliance, which Jules had been looking forward to.
He’d been part of a similar group in his former high school, and he’d given Hobbit a heads-up warning.
“It’s not like it’s going to change the culture of the school overnight.
I mean, yeah, there are things we can do to increase awareness, and it’s gonna be great to see which of the straight kids are real allies.
We’ll know, when they show up to this meeting, they’ll be like, you know, Joey and Topher.
Kids we can count on to help if there’s ever a threat. ”
In other words, don’t expect too much.
But on the other hand, he hadn’t expected to have to run a gauntlet to get there.
But unlike the very first days of school, he now knew many of the faces in the crowd.
“Hey, Jimmy,” he said.
Rugby-Shirt Jimmy was wearing a subtle off-white-and-maroon today, and he smiled back at Jules as he slammed his locker closed. “Hey, Jules. They’re trying to figure out where to put us.”
Who’s trying to what...?
“Hey, Jules.” Mindy-Mandy the flautist joined Jules on his other side. “Is it gonna be in the auditorium?”
She was looking at him as if he knew what the hell she was talking about, but he just shook his head. “I... don’t... know.” What?
“Hey, Jules.” Rod and Sadie peeled themselves out of the crowd, too, Rod’s arm possessively around Sadie’s shoulders.
Hobbit had pointed out that ever since The Party—the notorious one—Rod and Sadie had glued themselves together.
Which meant they were both smiling a whole lot more, which was never a bad thing—even if it meant fully accepting that Rod was now an official part of their friend group. Which was still weird but a good weird.
Okay, so this wasn’t a gauntlet, it was a... receiving line...? It extended all the way down and around the door to Mr. Harrison’s classroom.
“Hey, Jules!”
“Hey,” he said back to a girl with red hair that he’d never seen before in his life.
“Hey, Jules!”
“Hey.” That was Brian Lansing, who’d held one of the infamous keggers.
“Hey, Jules!” Hobbit emerged from Mr. Harrison’s room to peer out at the crowd. “Is Belle back yet?”
“I haven’t seen her. What’s going on?”
“How on earth could it take her that long?” Mr. H was standing in his classroom, just behind Hobbit, sounding pretty dang grumpy, but then he saw Jules and smiled broadly. “Hey, kid. You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
A bigger... what?
Harrison stuck his head out the door and raised his voice. “If you’re here for the GSA, please step to the side of the hallway, to leave a path open for Ms. Sanchez who’s gone to the front office in an attempt to procure us a larger space.”
The crowd behind Jules shifted, leaving open only a narrow path because there were so many kids out there.
Still, it opened up enough so he could see Belle—way down at the end of the hall, with Tom beside her, of course.
She used her stage-voice to project loudly to them: “We’ve got the thumbs-up to move this meeting into the auditorium, Mr. H. ”
“Holy shit,” Jules said to Hobbit was who grinning his ass off. He laughed as it finally sank in. “Everyone’s here for the GSA.”
“Come on, gang,” Harrison said. “We need to set up the podium with the microphone, up on the stage. And you know I have to remind you, kid...”
Jules laughed because he did know, so he said it with Mr. H. “Don’t say shit in school.”