
THE MEASURE OF MAN

An Epic by Gil Gamesh

Chapter Sixty

As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the measure of man.


CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Arial Stuart, 16; Kerry Stuart, 12 ¾; Kenjiro Daniels, 15; Nicole Whittaker, 15

TELLING THE STORY
Kerry Stuart

<><><>

(KERRY)

Kenjiro and I were eating lunch in the school cafeteria on Tuesday when a pack of jocks walked by. One of them, Aaron Davis, said it again.

“Hey, little pussy, how ya doin’? Did you hurt your sweet little hand hitting Jerome?”

I didn’t say anything as usual. I just smiled at him and then turned back and started talking to Kenjiro again.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“Nothing, just another stupid jock, thinks he’s something.”

“Why did he call you a little pussy?”

“Shit, he calls me worse than that sometimes. He says I’m nothing but a smart-ass little girl, sucking up to all the teachers.”

“Fuck him! Are you going to let him get away with it?”

“I don’t care, Ken-chan. I think I’m already more of a man than he’ll ever be. He’s not worth worrying about.”

Kenjiro started eating again. The mystery meat was supposed to be meatloaf but it sure as hell wasn’t like Mom’s. I watched him and I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He was thinking about something and I knew it was about Aaron Davis and his stupid remark. When he started smiling, I looked for the light bulb over his head.

“I’ve got it,” he said.

“Got what, meatloaf diarrhea?”

“Yeah, diarrhea of the brain. You’re going to challenge him to a duel.”

“Like hell, I am,” I said. “He’ll kill me.”

Kenjiro just shook his head yes. I shook my head no. He shook his head yes. I shook my head no and gave him the finger. He leaned over closer to me, pushed my hand down, and smiled.

“Look, I’ve got an idea for something that’ll really shut him up. Let me check out something and I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”

“I’m not getting in any more trouble with jocks, Ken-chan. We’ve just got one more week of classes and then three days of finals. Nobody blamed me for hitting Jerome but I’m staying out of trouble for the next couple of weeks.”

“You won’t get in trouble. Trust me. Wait’ll you hear my plan. You’re gonna love it.”

<><><>

I didn’t see him the next day at school until I went to the Chew and Choke for lunch. He was waiting in the hall outside the cafeteria. We went through the line and then grabbed one of the small tables against the wall that held just two people.

“You really are going to love it,” he said. “One of the jocks owed me for helping him with his computer. I called him and found out what I needed to know. You’re gonna challenge Mr. Aaron Asshole Davis to a duel. I’m going to be your second and Davis can get him one. We’re going to get Grizzly to be the referee. We’ll let Grizzly in on it. He’ll love it too.”

I sat and looked at him and ate my gooey slice of Friday pizza. I couldn’t believe he’d get me into something where I’d get hurt or get in trouble. Would he? Maybe he would. What the fuck? Who knows?

“I’ll kill you if you get me in trouble again,” I said.

“Shit, Kerry, we’re friends. I’m not gonna get you in trouble.”

“Yeah, sure you won’t. What’s your plan?”

He told me. I loved it. We talked about how to set it up. Over the next few days, two demented geniuses put together the plan and set up everything. I challenged Aaron the following Monday. We held the duel in one of the boys’ bathrooms Tuesday. I loved every minute of it. I won the duel.

<><><>

On Friday, the last day of classes, I had honors trigonometry with Mr. O’Reilly, the one the students call Mr. O’Really, just before lunch. We had gotten along so well fall semester in honors analytical geometry, I made sure I got his trig class in the spring. When the class was over, he pulled me aside as I started to leave and asked me if I’d go to his office so we could talk. I didn’t suspect anything bad; I thought he wanted to talk to me about what I had done in his course.

Mr. O’Reilly was one of the math teachers I’d been working with about math courses to take. I’d made an A in his honors geometry class fall semester and I had another A going in honors trig. I wanted to take all of the math the school offered and we couldn’t see where to fit them all in. He’d agreed to help me do two of the easy ones on my own and all I had to do was take the same tests everybody else took

When we walked into his cubicle, Mrs. Redford, my English teacher, was sitting in one chair and the school principal, Mrs. Frazier, was sitting in another. After the jock trouble fall semester, she talked to me lots and she always smiled and nodded or waved when she saw me. There were two empty chairs - one opposite Mrs. Frazier and one behind the desk. I stopped dead in my tracks.

“Come in and sit down, Kerry,” Mrs. Frazier said. “I got you a turkey club sandwich and a pint of milk for lunch. Will that be OK?”

Mr. O’Reilly sat down in the chair behind the desk and started taking food out a big brown bag. That left one chair. I was trapped. I knew I’d been set up. But something smelled good and I was hungry. I took a deep breath and sat down. 

“How’re you doing with statistics, Kerry?” he asked.

“I’m doing fine, Sir. My half-brother Stuart’s letting me help him with some research he’s doing for the University. He’s teaching me what to do with different statistical tools and we’re figuring out what we need to do with some data he’s analyzing.”

“You’re studying statistics, Kerry?” Mrs. Frazier said. “I didn’t think we offered statistics. That’s a college course, isn’t it?”

“The school doesn’t, Ma’am. Mr. O’Really’s helping me learn some of it on my own. He loaned me a couple of books and he’s helping me when I get stuck on something.”

“O’Really?” Mrs. Frazier asked.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Nobody said anything for a minute, just sitting there smiling, and I finally realized what I’d done. I looked at Mr. O’Reilly and he just shook his head and smiled.

“O’Reilly, Kerry,” he said. “My name’s O’Reilly.”

“I know. I’m sorry, sir,” I said. I wished I could crawl under the chair. I’d never called him O’Really to his face and I guess I’d said it because that’s what so many students called him. He was a nice guy and he’d gone out of his way to help me. I hoped I hadn’t blown it.   

“I hope you don’t mind having lunch with me and Sarah and Andy,” Mrs. Frazier said. “I wanted to talk to you and I didn’t want you to have to come to my office. I thought it might be best if we just kept this confidential.”

“Am I in trouble?” I asked.

“No, no, you’re not in trouble,” she answered. “Sarah says she and you are good friends. She says you’ll tell me the truth about something. Will you?”

I looked at Mrs. Redford. She was taking the sandwiches from Mr. O’Reilly and putting them on plastic plates. I could smell bacon and something like a fruit cobbler.

“What?”

“We’ve heard rumors about you being in some sort of duel last Tuesday. There are different versions depending on who’s telling it. We need to clear it up before school is over. We thought you might help us understand what happened.”

“Shi..jeeze,” I said. I let my breath out and slumped down in the chair a little. Not in trouble? It sure as hell sounded like trouble to me. I hated to do it but I had to kill Kenjiro.

“Would you like to have your sandwich before we talk, Kerry?” Mrs. Frazier asked. “I’m hungry and I’ll bet you are too. My boys always were when they were your age.”

“Am I in trouble?” I asked again.

Mrs. Frazier smiled at me and shook her head. “Kerry, I told you you’re not in trouble. I just like to know what’s going on in my school. When I can, I like to stop trouble before it starts.”

Mrs. Redford was holding out a paper plate with a sandwich toward me. I reached over and took it. The wrapper around the sandwich said Mama Dora. I knew it would be good. Anything from there always was. 

“Do I smell some kind of fruit cobbler?” I asked. I wanted time to think.

Mr. O’Reilly reached in the bag, brought out four big covered bowls, and put them on the desk. I knew I’d smelled it.

“We've got two peach, one blackberry, and one apple,” he said. “Which do you want, Mrs. Frazier?”

“They’re all good,” she said. “Let Kerry choose first.”

“Can I…May I have the blackberry?” I asked. Mrs. Redford pushed it toward me on the desk. Mr. O’Reilly reached in the bag again and held out a pint container of milk for me.

We sat and ate without talking for a while. I finished my sandwich and cobbler and milk. Mrs. Frazier ate about half her peach cobbler and then looked at me.

“Kerry, I can’t eat any more. If you don’t mind eating after me, would you like to finish my peach cobbler?”

I knew I was being set up. They were being too nice to me. I decided I’d better cooperate. Mrs. Frazier waited until I’d finished her cobbler.

“Now, Kerry, perhaps you can tell me all about this duel I keep hearing about. I’ve heard three or four different versions.”

I tried to think how to tell her and keep it clean at the same time. I decided I couldn’t. I looked at Mrs. Redford. I’d talked with her once about something and she hadn’t fussed at me about keeping it clean. She saw me looking at her and she smiled at me and nodded.

“You can tell me, Kerry,” Mrs. Frazier said. “I’ve raised two boys. There’s not much I haven’t heard. Just tell it like you’d tell one of your friends.”

“You won’t get mad at me if it’s kind of dirty, will you?”

“I don’t think it can be any worse than what I hear in the hall every day, can it?”

“Well, it started when Aaron Davis kept calling me a little pussy.”

I looked at the three of them. They didn’t seem shocked or offended.

“Well, go on,” Mrs. Frazier said.

“He called me that Thursday of last week when I was eating with Ken-chan; that’s Kenjiro Daniels. We came up with a way to make him shut up.”

“Why do you call him Ken-chan?” Mrs. Frazier asked.

“In Japan they change the name like that when they’re talking to friends. The chan part means he’s my friend.”

“I didn’t know that,” she said. “What did you do?”

This was the part I didn’t want to talk about but I didn’t see any way out of it.

“Well, you know guys are kind of sensitive about how big their…you know... their…

Mrs. Frazier interrupted me.

“You can say penis, Kerry. You can say dick if you want to. My boys said it.”

I decided to go for it. “Well, guys’re sensitive about how big their dick is. If you want to put a guy down, you accuse him of having a little dick. You can even say he doesn’t even have one and that’s what Aaron was doing when he called me a pussy.”

“From what I’ve heard, you showed him up,” Mr. O’Reilly said. “Is that right?”

“Yes, Sir. Kenjiro knows mine’s kind of big, at least, kind of big for my age. He said it was probably bigger than Aaron’s and I ought to dare him to, you know, see whose was bigger. We came up with the idea of a duel.”

“I heard you even had seconds and a referee; is that right?” Mrs. Frazier asked.

“Yes, Ma’am. Kenjiro was my second and some guy I didn’t know was Aaron’s. We got Grizzly to be the referee because nobody messes with him.”

“What was Grizzly doing with the yardstick?” Mrs. Redford asked.

I looked at her and it looked like she was trying to keep from laughing.

“I told him to bring a ruler. He said he couldn’t find one except for the yardstick.”

“Somebody told me Aaron thought you’d challenged him to some sort of real duel,” Mrs. Frazier said. “I heard you challenged him to a duel in front of his friends last Monday and said, since you were smaller, you’d get to choose the weapons and he’d have to meet you in the boys’ bathroom or else he was chicken and he’d have to apologize.”

That was pretty close. I’d actually told Aaron he’d be chicken shit if he didn’t meet me.

“Yes, Ma’am. That’s about right.”

“Well, what happened in the bathroom, Kerry?”

“Nothing, Ma’am. Grizzly got us back to back and said we had to take three steps and then turn around. Aaron asked me what we were going to use for weapons and Grizzly told him we were going to use our dicks. He said when we turned around we had to drop our pants and he’d check to see who had the biggest one.”

“And did Aaron do it?”

“Yes, Ma’am. He did it. He didn’t want to but he did it. He conceded and said Grizzly didn’t have to use the yardstick. After we pulled our pants back up, he apologized for what he’d been saying and even shook my hand.”

“I heard you even had witnesses lined up,” Mrs. Redford said.

“Yes, Ma’am. We made sure we had some guys we knew we could trust. Grizzly let four of them in the bathroom with us.”

“Kerry, there’s something I don’t understand,” Mrs. Frazier said. “What if you’d lost the duel? What would Aaron have done then?”

I didn’t see any need to tell them how Kenjiro had said we could make sure Aaron’s dick was smaller. He told me a guy’s dick always got smaller when he was anxious about something. He said it was part of the fight or flight response and staying in that state for a long time induced anxiety. So we decided on the duel and then made it worse by not telling Aaron what the weapons would be. He had to come to the boys’ bathroom not knowing what he was facing.

I really didn’t think I needed to tell them I’d cheated a little. Kenjiro told me the duel might be close and we decided I’d get to the bathroom a little ahead of Aaron and get ready. I pretended I had to piss and I went in one of the toilet stalls and stroked my dick until it was almost hard. I knew it’d hold its size for a while unless I jacked off and it was probably close to five inches when I pulled my briefs down. I thought Aaron was going to chicken out when he saw my dick but he pulled his shorts down too. I had him beat by an inch or so.

 “I knew I wasn’t going to lose, Mrs. Frazier. Kenjiro knew a jock who owed him a favor. He called him and told him what we were thinking of doing and asked him how big Aaron’s…you know, his dick was. Then he made him promise not to tell anybody ahead of time. He was one of the witnesses.”

Mrs. Frazier and Mrs. Redford were both smiling so big I knew they were getting a kick out of it. Mr. O’Reilly was trying to act like it wasn’t funny to him. I tried to act serious but finally I couldn’t help but smile too.

Mrs. Frazier shook her head. “Kerry, what am I going to do with you? Am I going to have to put up with stuff like this for three more years?”

“No, Ma’am. Just two,” I said.

She looked puzzled. “Why just two?” she asked.

“Well, I’d like to graduate in about three years so I can start to college when I’m fifteen. Can I do it?”

Mrs. Redford smiled at me and shook her head too. “You probably can, Kerry; you probably can,” she said.

“Kerry, if you do that, your parents will have three kids in college at once,” Mr. O’Reilly said. “That’s a big financial drain. Why don’t you slow down and stay with us for four years?”

“Mom and Dad are already helping us plan. They’ve already got college investments for us. Mom’s the financial wizard. We think we’ll be OK. We’re all going to the university here and keep living at home. Kavan’s going to keep working part time at Manchester Landscaping. Arial’s going to be working with Brad on a research grant his Dad’s got. By the time I graduate from high school, maybe I can find something to help out.”

“Well, if anybody can do it, I guess you can,” Mrs. Redford said.  

“My half-brother, Stuart, he’s already got a Ph.D. in chemistry. He wants me to start planning on scholarships, especially in the sciences. He thinks I could get one at his alma mater if I go there for a Ph.D.”

“Kerry, you do remember I’m an English teacher,” Mrs. Frazier said. 

I knew she was. I didn’t understand why she reminded me. Then it dawned on me. I used my hand to erase an imaginary blackboard and then wrote on it.

“My half-brother, Stuart, has a Ph.D. in chemistry. How many times do you want me to write it?” I asked. 

She just grinned and shook her head again.

“Have you already chosen your major in college, Kerry?” Mr. O’Reilly asked. From the look on his face, I couldn’t decide whether he was being incredulous or sarcastic.

“No, Sir, just something in the sciences. I don’t want to major in English.”  I looked at Mrs. Frazier when I said it and she shook her head again. 

Mrs. Frazier wasn’t quite through. “I think we need to get this committee meeting back on track. Kerry, from the way you describe it, nobody touched anybody else’s penis. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Ma’am. We made sure that couldn’t happen when we planned it. If Grizzly had used the yardstick, we had to hold our own penis.”

“And neither of you had an erection or engaged in any sort of sexual activity?” Mr. O’Reilly asked.

“No, Sir!” I said. “Mine was hanging down. I don’t think Aaron had a har…I mean, an erection. I didn’t touch mine and Aaron didn’t touch his while I was watching.”

“Did you just have guys for witnesses?” Mrs. Redford asked. “From the way some of the girls talk, it sounds like they were witnesses for the duel.”

“No, Ma’am,” I said. “It was just us guys.” 

Mrs. Frazier looked at Mrs. Redford and then at Mr. O’Reilly. They all still looked like they were about to bust out laughing.

“Mrs. Redford, Mr. O’Reilly, you’re both on the student disciplinary committee. Can you think of anything in the student conduct handbook that says boys can’t expose themselves, that is, pull their pants down, as long as they’re in the boys’ bathroom?”

“No, Ma’am,” Mrs. Redford said. “I believe that’s where they’re supposed to do it, isn’t it?”

“I believe that sort of behavior is entirely proper in the circumstances, Mrs. Frazier,” Mr. O’Reilly said, looking straight at me. “I think we can conclude that there are no reasons to charge Kerry with any violation of the student conduct code.”

I put my hands on the arms of the chair and started to stand up. I didn’t even know anything like that was being considered.

“May I go now?” I asked. I looked at Mrs. Frazier when I said it. 

“Not yet, Kerry,” Mrs. Frazier said. “I’ve got something else I want to talk to you about.”

I slumped back down and looked at them. “Jeeze, what now?” I said, and they all three started laughing.

“Andy, would you mind if I used your office for a few more minutes to talk to Kerry,” Mrs. Frazier said. “I think the committee’s adjourned unless one of you has some more questions for Kerry.”

“Oh, I don’t really have any thing else to ask him,” Mr. O’Reilly said, looking straight at me and smiling. “You’re welcome to use my cubbyhole as long as you need it.”

“I don’t either, really,” Mrs. Redford said. 

They both left and I heard them whispering and laughing as they went out. Mr. O’Reilly patted me on the shoulder as he walked past and Mrs. Redford mussed up my hair.

“Did you really just have a meeting of the student disciplinary committee?” I asked Mrs. Frazier. “Are you mad at me for what I did?”

“Yes, Kerry, we had a meeting,” she said, smiling at me. “There are five members of the committee. We had a quorum with three. We just wanted to make sure there’d be no trouble because of your duel. And I’m not mad at you.”
 
“I’ll try not to cause any more problems, Ma’am,” I said. “At least not for the rest of the school year.”

“Kerry, you’re not causing problems,” she said. “When I go home tonight, I’ll have a huge smile on my face when I tell my husband about this. He’ll get as big a kick out of it as I have. And you’d better not tell anybody I said that.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“I’ve got a couple of other things I want to ask you about,” she said. “There’s a modeling and advertising agency the school has worked with for quite a few years. They’ve got a client that wants about a half dozen young kids to work for them as models. There’ll be a year-long contract and lots of work. Do you think you’d be interested? It might turn into a good way to earn something for college.”

“I don’t know, Ma’am. I don’t know enough about it to give you an answer.”

“I don’t expect you to say yes or no right now. I’ll give you their brochure describing what the models will be doing. You can think about it and talk to your parents. If you’re interested, I’ll put you on the list. When I’ve got about twenty names, I’ll call a meeting with Mr. DeMaria. He’s in charge of the account.”

“I thought you said they want a half-dozen kids.”

“Yes, that’s right. They’ll work with everybody on the list for a while and then select the ones they want. I can put you on the list but it will be up to Mr. DeMaria as to who’s picked.”

“He’s not gay, is he?” I asked. I knew that was stupid as soon as I said it.

“I don’t think so, Kerry. If he is, he’s got Mrs. DeMaria fooled. She’s a friend of mine and I don’t think she’s easy to fool. Why do you ask?”

“I guess I thought lots of models were gay. Some of those TV programs make it look like they’re all gay.”

“That’s not the real world, Kerry. My youngest son, Dan, is working as a model. He got his start when he was in high school here. He’s in college now studying architecture and modeling for a big New York agency. He’s cutting quite a swath through the female ranks. Every time he comes home, he’s got a new conquest.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am. I should have kept my mouth shut. I told you I don’t know that much about modeling.”

“Kerry, Dan’s earning enough modeling to make your head swim. He makes more than I do and he’s working part time. You should see the sports car he drives.”

“Well, that part sounds interesting. I’d love to have some good wheels.”

“OK. Come by the office and ask my secretary for the brochure. Talk to your parents and see what they think. I’ll talk to them too before you go on the list. I’m going to talk to Arial and Brad too and see if they’d be interested. Don’t tell Arial, OK?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Why do you think we’d make good models?”

“You’re all tall and thin and quite photogenic. Arial’s one of the most beautiful young girls I’ve ever seen. You’re not too bad yourself for a boy. Your smile and your eyes are your best features. Brad’s got a great body and face for modeling.”

“He doesn’t think he’s good looking. He says he’s skinny and his face is kind of mixed up. He’s told me he doesn’t know why Arial wants him for a boyfriend when she could have anybody she wants.”

“Kerry, he’s a very good-looking young man. He’s thin but he’s got an athletic-looking body. His face isn’t beautiful like yours but it’s warm and intelligent looking. He’s a lot like my son, Dan.” 

“You said the school’s worked with the agency for years. Why does the school do it?”

“The DeMarias have sort of adopted us. The school will be used as a background in most of the photos. We give them logistical help. In return, Mrs. DeMaria teaches a one-semester course for us every year. They also give us a lot of freebies in things like advertising and printing and hire a lot of our students to do the dirty work.”

“What’s dirty work? I don’t want to do anything like that.”

“Not that kind of dirty, Kerry. I don’t know what the agency calls it. It’s just part-time work for our kids. It’s doing things like carrying equipment, setting up, helping with anything that’s needed, cleaning up when they’re through. They make quite a mess.”

“What would I be doing?”

“Modeling clothes. The account is with a big department store chain. In any one photo shoot, you might have to change clothes a couple of dozen times.”

“What kind of clothes? Good stuff? Mom doesn’t like it when I ask for some of the designer-label stuff.”

“Well, that’s exactly what it is, Kerry. It won’t be ads for generic jeans and underwear. It’ll be for the high-price labels so many kids think they’ve got to have to fit in.”

“I’d have to model underwear?”

“Yes, Kerry, but that’s only a small part of what you’d be modeling. You don’t mind being seen in your underwear, do you? The guys and girls have different changing rooms but you’ll be in your underwear a lot around other guys.”

“No, Ma’am. I don’t think that would be a problem. I might have a problem if I had to change with the girls.”

“Like the one you had in Mrs. Redford’s class?” she asked, with a big grin.

“Da…I mean… Did she tell you about that?”

“Yes, Kerry. She told me. It’s nothing bad. She loves to have you in her class. She’s very fond of you. She says you’re probably the best student she’s ever had.”

“I don’t know. I don’t mean to do anything bad, Mrs. Frazier. Some of the girls love to tease me, see if they can make me get, you know, aroused. I wish they’d just leave me alone. I can’t help it.”

“I know, Kerry. Remember, I’ve got two sons. They used to tell me about all their problems. Dan got teased just like they’re teasing you. It just means they like you. They’re attracted to you, you know.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, Kerry, I know so. I know a great deal about what goes on in my school. Most of the girls are your admirers. I imagine you’ll start cutting a swath through your fans sooner or later.”

“Damn, I hope so.”

“Watch your language, Kerry. I’ve got something else I want to talk to you about. Do you have any interest in drama, things like acting, singing, dancing?”

“Yeah, some, I guess. I’m meeting with the group that’s going to do the school musical. I may be in it if I they decide I can do OK with singing and dancing. It’s fun so far.”

“The musical’s going to be based on a movie,” she said. “Do you know which one?”

I didn’t want to tell her that nobody would let me in on that until they decided I was good enough to be in the cast for the production. I hoped she would tell me if I acted dumb.  

“No, Ma’am, just something about the Fifties.”

“The students put on some sort of production every year, Kerry, usually in March or April. For next year, they’re tackling their most ambitious project yet. They’re writing a musical version of the Porky’s movie. Do you know that one?”

“Yes, Ma’am. That’s a classic teen-age raunch movie. I guess all kids know it. Like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Risky Business.”

“Well, they’re talking about writing their own version, clean enough so the school can approve it. It’ll use a lot of the old Fifties songs and the kids will lip-sync some of those and sing some. They’ll write some original ones and they’ll sing all of those. They’ll be dancing like they did in the Fifties, whatever that was. They’re talking about involving as many students as possible, maybe even using the choral group and the different instrumental groups and the school band. It’s going to be a huge production if we can pull it off.”

“I was wondering why they were starting with it now. I guess it takes a lot of work, doesn’t it?”

“Kerry, it takes a year to mount their usual production. In this case, we’ll have to get copyright permission for the movie and the songs. The songs are no problem; the movie is but I think we’ll be OK there too.”

“I don’t know what I can do in something like that. I can dance some and I’m having fun trying to learn. I’m even trying to sing.”

“Kerry, I’ve seen you in the cafeteria with Nicole Whittaker. She’s one of the main ones working on getting it organized. They all want you in it. She says she’ll teach you how to dance.”

I didn’t know anybody had talked to Mrs. Frazier about me being in the musical. She made it sound like they wanted me for something specific.

“Who’s they? You mean, they asked you about me being in it?”

“Yes, Kerry. They asked for my help. They want you to play Peewee.”

Oh, shit, that was one of the central characters. My heart started beating faster.

“Damn, I can’t do that, Mrs. Frazier.”

“Kerry, I told you to watch your language. I hear worse everyday but I’m supposed to tell you not to do it.”

“I’m sorry. It just slipped out.”

“Kerry, do you know why he was called Peewee in the movie?”

“Yes, Ma’am. He got that nickname because of the size of his…you know.”

“Yes, Kerry. I know. And everybody will know you’re not really a peewee, especially after your duel. Maybe you don’t exactly fit the part but, if you can keep your pants up, you can do it. The students will love it if you play the role. Think about it.”

I was too confused to know what to do. It sounded like somebody had been pulling strings to get me in the musical to do Peewee. I had been thinking they just wanted me to do some little role.

“I don’t know, Mrs. Frazier. I’ve got too much to think about. I don’t know whether I could do it or not.”

“Kerry, there will be a bunch of the faculty in it. They’ve asked me to be in it too. I may take one of the lead female roles.”

“Who? What do you mean? They want you to play…Mrs. Whatshername?”

“Mrs. Ballbreaker.”

“No, Ma’am, Mrs. Ballbricker.”

“Kerry, you didn’t have to say Mrs. Whatshername.”

 “Well, you just told me to watch my language.”

“They’re writing something they call Ballbricker’s soliloquy for the scene where she meets with the other coaches and the principal in his office. They want me to recite it, maybe even sing it.”

“Yeah, that’s a great scene.”

“Do you know any of the old Fifties songs? I don’t know what you kids are listening to today.”

“No, Ma’am. Dad likes classical stuff. Arial likes stuff she calls Salsa so she can dance to it. She makes me dance with her sometimes.” 

“Yackity yack, don't talk back.”

I didn’t know what I’d said this time. I hadn’t cussed and I was trying to be polite to her.

“Yes, Ma’am, I’m sorry.”

“No, Kerry. That’s a song from the Fifties by the Coasters. There’s a line which goes ‘yackity yack, don't talk back.’ Have you ever heard it?”

“I don’t guess so.”

“Why is everybody always picking on me?”

Shit, I couldn’t keep up with her. That was one of the songs I'd heard at Nicole's house. Yeah, it seemed like everybody was picking on me. What was anybody doing to her? I didn’t know what to say.

“That’s a line from another Coasters’ song, Charlie Brown,” she said. “It’s one they want you to lip-sync.”

Was she calling me Charlie Brown? I'm not like the kid in Peanuts, am I? I was even more confused.

“Sheez, maybe I can do that. Whatever.”

“Have you got internet access at home?”

She stood up so I did too. I hoped we were about through talking.

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ve got my own computer.”

“Look those songs up tonight. See if you can download them. Just imagine how the audience will respond when you lip-sync the line about picking on me. The audience will love it.”

“Oh, boy, I should have never let Mr. O’Reilly talk me into coming in here today.”

“Why, Kerry?”

“I get bushwhacked by the disciplinary committee and I’m supposed to go out modeling clothes and singing and dancing. I’ve got too much to think about.”

She put her arm around me and pulled my head down to her and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Kerry, if you’ll do Peewee, I’ll do Mrs. Ballbricker. It’ll be fun. I’d love to do it. How about it?”

I didn’t know what to say. I just took a deep breath and then nodded. I couldn’t even remember what class I was supposed to go to and I knew I was probably late.

During my afternoon classes, I tried to pay attention, especially when my teachers talked about what would be on the final exams, but all I could think about was what had happened during the day. I tried to sort it all out and think about what I wanted to do, not what somebody else wanted me to do. When I thought about what they wanted and the way they’d kept it from me, I started to get pissed, royally pissed, and I was ready to tell them to go fuck themselves, or maybe just tell them to shove it. One minute I’d be ready to quit the production before I ever really got in it. The next I’d think about how much fun it was trying to do a dance routine with Nicole and the way I felt when the guys and gals said I was doing great. Maybe I could do the dancing but the singing, boy, that’s something else. Maybe the best thing would be just to be quiet about what I’d learned and see what happened. But, damn, I was pissed at Nicole and the others, yanking my chain like that, pretending they were just trying to see if I could dance well enough to be in the production, not one fucking hint they wanted me to play Peewee. Damn, she could at least have been honest with me.

When school let out, Arial was waiting for me at our bus stop and we got on the bus and sat together. She wanted to talk as usual but I didn’t for a change. I kept thinking about the meeting with the disciplinary committee, a little about the modeling possibility, and a lot about the school musical. I guess Arial wondered where I was because she put her hand on my leg and pinched me.

I looked over at her. She was looking straight ahead and acting like it wasn’t her who pinched me. I glanced down and caught a flash of light blue in her shirt. She had on a little shirt that buttoned down the front and it was unbuttoned some at the top. I saw the smooth curve of her breast and the light blue of her brassiere. It made me think of what happened the night Kavan and I had gone for a walk with Dad.

<><><>

When we came back from walking with Dad, Kavan disappeared to tell Kathryn what she should do about going to New York. Dad started talking to Mom in a low voice like he didn’t want me to hear. I didn’t see Arial so I assumed she was in her room reading. I went in my room and started to do something on my computer but I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do. I decided to do my brush and flush and then read a while. Nights were still a little cool so I put on some boxer shorts and a t-shirt and some white socks to keep my feet warm. I got a book and sat down in my computer chair but I didn’t want to read either. I just sat there and thought about things.

After a while, I heard Arial showering and doing her brush and flush. The bathroom door opened and then she tapped a couple of times on my door. When she came in, she was ready for bed too. She had on white socks, white panties, and a white t-shirt. She never wore anything underneath that at night and I could see her nipples poking the shirt. I sat up straight in my chair and held out my hand to her.

“What do you want, little boy?” she whispered.

“A hug, that’s all, just a hug,” I whispered back.

She let me pull her up between my legs and I wrapped my arms around her with my hands on her back and pulled her closer. I turned my face sideways and nestled my head between her breasts. She put her hands behind my head and held me. I shut my eyes and breathed in the clean girl smell of her. I decided that this was what I wanted. I could feel her chest rising and falling and my breathing settled into sync with hers.

“Mom and Dad were doing this in the kitchen tonight after dinner,” I said.

“What?”

“Just this. Mom was holding Dad’s head to her breasts and they both had their eyes closed. Kavan was standing there watching them. I walked in with my mouth running and they broke it off. I wish I hadn’t disturbed them.”

“It is nice, isn’t it?”

It was nice. I didn’t want to let her go. I didn’t want to do anything with her except be close. I just wanted to be held against her breasts.

“Is something bothering you, Kerry?”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t know. I’ve just been thinking about things and trying to decide what to do. Sometimes I don’t know what the right thing to do is.”

“Are you talking about sex? Maybe with Nicole.”

“It’s not just about sex, Arial. It’s about love and wanting to be loved and not wanting to hurt her and wanting to make her happy. It’s just all mixed up. I just want to do what’s right.”

“Kerry, maybe you are doing what’s right,” she said. “You’re thinking about somebody else. You’re not trying to push her into doing something with you. If you were like most guys your age you’d probably just want to get your dick in her pussy and never think about the rest of her. Did you do something else with her? I mean, besides kissing her.” 

“I guess so. A little. When we had the pool party, I came in the house with her to use the bathroom.”

“I saw you leave together. You were holding her hand going up the stairs. Did you use it together?”

“No, I didn’t mean that. I let her go first and then I used it. When I came out, she was standing here in my room looking around. I’m glad it was kind of dark so she didn’t see the mess. I kissed her and put my hand on her breast. I was kind of afraid she’d slap me but she didn’t.”

“What did she do?” she asked.

“She just smiled at me and moved my hand off. Then she pulled her top up, took both my hands, and put them on her breasts. Maybe you think you’ve got little breasts but hers aren’t as big as yours.”

“Is that all you did?”

“Yeah, she let me hold her breasts for just a few seconds and then she put her top back in place and we came back to the pool.”

“Did you get a hard-on?”

“Yeah, we were standing up against each other and I know she could feel it. It was as hard as it could get in that damn Speedo. I thought I would rip out.”

“Is that why you dived in the pool as soon as you came back to the party, to get cooled off?”

 “Yeah.”

“Kerry, she wants the same thing you do. Just let her take the lead. It’s like a dance. You can let her lead sometimes, can’t you?’

<><><>

Arial pinched me again and I realized the bus was almost full and Nicole was getting on. She usually tried to sit up front because she got off first. I’d asked her about it and she had said she didn’t like to have to run the gauntlet. When she saw me she smiled and winked at me and then sat with a girl who had saved her a seat.  

I sat there looking at the back of her head, thinking about how much I liked dancing with her, touching her, smelling her, even when she got sweaty, and then how it felt when she kissed me. Just thinking about what she did with her tongue made my dick take notice. I’d felt like a damn fool when I put three of the rubbers Dad gave me in my backpack. No way was I really going to get to use them with her. When the bus turned onto her street, I made up my mind what I wanted to do. 

When Nicole started toward the door, I told Arial I’d be home later and followed Nicole out the door of the bus. A bunch of kids got off and she didn’t even notice me. She’d already started walking toward her house by the time I saw her. I ran after her and called her name. She turned toward me and waited.

“Kerry, what are you doing here? We’re not practicing anymore until after finals are over.”

“I know,” I said. “I want to talk to you.”

“Well, nobody’s at home at my house. I’m not supposed to invite any guys in when I’m there by myself.”

“I need to talk to you,” I said. “It won’t take long. We can do it on the front porch.”

“Oh, I guess it’ll be OK. Mom knows you. You aren’t going to try anything; are you?”

“I told you, I just want to talk to you. You haven’t been honest with me about me being in Porky’s.”

She stopped, looked at me for a minute, then took my hand and started walking again. She didn’t say anything so I didn’t say anything else. I didn’t want to let her know I was mad at her. Maybe I wasn’t really mad but I didn’t like the way the group had kept everything from me.

When we went in the house, she said she wanted to change clothes and use the bathroom. She said I could use the bathroom the guys used when we were practicing and I could wait for her in the kitchen. I didn’t really need to go bad but I decided I’d do it anyway. I dropped my backpack on the floor in the entry hall and went to shake the dew off my lily.

Afterwards, I sat down at the bar in the kitchen and waited for her. She came back in a few minutes, barefooted, in a knit shirt and shorts. I could tell she didn’t have a bra on but I’d already seen her like that when we were practicing. She had small breasts, even smaller than Arial’s, and her nipples were just little bumps under the shirt. I could tell she’d washed her face and all her make up was gone. She was just as beautiful without it, maybe even more beautiful. 

She got a soft drink, a couple of glasses with ice, and we sat and drank and looked at each other.

“Why do you think I haven’t been honest with you, Kerry?” she asked. Who told you we were going to do a musical version of Porky's?”

“I’m not going to tell you who told me,” I said. “All of you want me to play Peewee, don’t you? Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Kerry, we haven’t been dishonest with you. We do want you to play Peewee. One of the girls said you’d be perfect for the role even if you weren’t short like the movie Peewee. We just didn’t know whether you could sing or dance. We wanted to see if you could before we told you.”

I just looked at her, trying to think like the others would think when somebody said I’d be perfect for the role. Maybe it would make sense to check me out carefully if I was being considered to play Peewee.

“Kerry, the role of Peewee is the most important one in our musical,” she said. “If we don’t have somebody good for that, the whole thing might flop. Can’t you see that?”

“Yeah, I guess so. But why weren’t you all straight with me? Maybe I can’t sing and dance good enough. Shit, I’m not going to cry if I don’t get to play Peewee.” 

“Kerry, the group decides how they want to handle things. It’s not just me. They didn’t want to hurt you by saying they wanted you for Peewee and then telling you sorry you’re not good enough. The group has to make the decision, not me.”

“Well, have they decided yet? Am I good enough? When’s somebody going to tell me?”

“No, we haven’t decided yet. So far, you’re perfect. I’ve never danced with anybody like you. Lots of guys are like, well, like they’ve got their feet in buckets of concrete. You’re like...I don’t know…like somebody who was born dancing. When I dance with you, it’s like I know exactly how you’re going to move and I’m connected to you. I love that feeling, dancing with you.”

“Yeah, me too. I guess I feel the same way, like I’m connected to you. It’s funny. I just look in your eyes and I can see whether I’m doing something right. You sort of smile with your eyes.”

“When you did that dance routine with me after Bob and I showed you how just once, the group couldn’t believe what you did. Bob said you changed some of it and made it better than he’d done it. Then when you danced my part with Bob, they were blown away. They thought it was incredible. You’ve got a great natural ability for dance, Kerry.”

“So you think they might want me? What if I can’t sing?”

“That’s not as important. You don’t need to be a great singer too. Peewee is supposed to be just a high school kid, not an opera star. But there is one way you’re don’t exactly fit the role.”

“What’s that?”

“You know why he’s called Peewee in the movie, don’t you?”

“Yeah, ‘cause he’s got a little dick. What’s that got to do with it? Nobody’s going to see mine.”

“I heard about your duel with Aaron Davis last Tuesday,” Nicole said. “The whole school’s heard about it.”

“Yeah, that’s the way Kenjiro and I planned it. That’s why we got witnesses we knew couldn’t keep it to themselves.”

“You are so bad, Kerry. Poor Aaron is getting teased to death.”

“Well, maybe he shouldn’t have called me a little pussy,” I said.

“What if you’d lost the duel?” she asked.

“I was pretty sure I wouldn’t. The whole thing was rigged.”

She sat and looked at me for a minute. I guess she was trying to figure out how I could rig something like that.

“You’ve got to tell me how. I’m dying to know what you did.”

I told her everything: how we found out how big Aaron’s dick was, how we made him anxious, how I primed my dick ahead of time, how Grizzly was in on all of it, and how we got the blabbermouth witnesses. She was grinning as wide as Mrs. Redford by the time I got through.

She reached out her left hand across the table toward me and I laced my fingers through hers. Hers were long and slim, about like mine, except I didn’t have red polish on mine. We both sat looking at our hands and then we made a church together, a lop-sided one because my fingers were longer, and let our thumbs play with each other.

“Kerry, please don’t be mad at me,” she said. “I like you. Maybe I like you too much. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

“I’m not mad, Nicole. I’m not mad at anybody, I guess. I like the idea of being in the musical, dancing, especially with you. I just don’t know whether I want to be Peewee. What if I’m not good enough?”

“Then we’ll tell you, Kerry. So far, everybody wants you. I do. I think you’ve got the part if you want it. Just wait and let the group decide.”

I held out my left hand toward her, palm open, and she put her right hand in it. I closed my fingers around her hand. It felt light and small and soft inside my hand. I looked up into her eyes and felt connected to her again.

“If I play Peewee, do I get to dance with you?” I whispered.

She smiled at me, with her eyes as well as her mouth. 

“Yes. Before the musical is over, I’m your girlfriend. We even get each other’s cherry. That’s not exactly the way it was in the movie but we’re going to change it.”

“Well, I guess that rules me out then,” I said, grinning at her. “Somebody’s already got mine.”

Her face changed and she looked at me like she couldn’t believe it.

“You’re kidding me!”

I shook my head.

“You’ve already done it with a girl?”

“Yeah, but don’t ask me anything else. I won’t talk about it.”  

She smiled and then slipped into a giggle.

“I guess I can’t play your girl then, ‘cause somebody’s already got mine too.”

“You’re kidding me!”

She laughed, pulled her hand out of mine, and pushed mine down on the table. She put her hand on top of mine and sat looking at it.

“It’s funny,” she said, almost whispering. “You’re just a little taller than me and maybe weigh a little more but your hand’s so much bigger than mine.”

“I’m going to be a big guy some day.”

“But you’re not even a teenager yet.”

“I’ll be thirteen in three months, Nicole. I’m not exactly a little kid.”

She grinned. “Yeah, well, the whole school knows that.”

I held my hands up, fingers spread wide, and she put hers, palm to palm, against mine. Her fingers weren’t as long as mine. She laced her fingers through mine again and we sat opposite each other, both our hands palm to palm, fingers laced together.

“I won’t fall in love with you, Nicole,” I whispered. “But don’t ask me not to like you.”

“I won’t, Kerry. I like you too.”

“I like touching you, even if it’s just hands.”

“Me too.”

“What happens when Peewee and the girl get each other’s cherries?” I asked. “How does it happen in the musical?”

Her eyes almost closed; her face looked sort of dreamy.

“They’re at a dance. The stage is full of couples dancing, just slow dancing. Everybody’s close together, some still moving, some standing still, just swaying. Peewee and his girl are in the center of the stage and at first all the lights are on. The lights dim and then a spotlight finds Peewee and his girl. The other lights gradually go out and all the other couples slowly leave the stage. Peewee and his girl slow down and then stop, just holding each other. At the very end, they kiss and the spotlight goes out.”

“Well, when do they do it?”

“That’s it, Kerry. You’re supposed to know they’re going to do it when all the lights go out. That’s what we’ve got to make the audience believe.”
 
“Damn, that’s not very sexy. Is that the way it was in the Fifties?”

“I don’t know, Kerry. Mrs. Frazier made us promise we’d keep it clean enough so we wouldn’t cause any problems. She said she was risking a lot letting us do Porky's. She said we had to keep in mind what all the parents and the school board and people like preachers would think. She says it’ll be more romantic if we’re not too explicit.”

“Just so we don’t let them know what we’re really like, huh, so they can go on believing we don’t ever think about sex, don’t know anything about sex, ...and don’t need to know anything about sex.”

“I guess so.”

“Are you going to let me rehearse that scene with you?”

“We’re trying to pick out a song now. It’s got to be a romantic Fifties song. I’ve listened to a bunch of songs and picked out a few that I think would be good. One of the guys is doing the same thing. The whole group will listen to the ones we choose and then pick out one.”

“Nicole, I want to do it.”

“Now?”

“No, I don’t mean now. I mean I want to play Peewee. What did you think I meant?”

“What do girls usually think when a guy says he wants to do it?”

“Oh, shit, that wasn’t what I meant.”

“Would you like to try the slow dancing scene with me?”

“Yeah! Can we try it when we rehearse next week?”

“I mean now.”

“Huh? How can we?”

“Well, the others aren’t here but we can imagine them. I’ve got the CDs down in the basement where we practice. That’s where Mom makes me listen. She says she likes the music but doowop gets old after a while.”

“What’s doowop?”

“That’s what they called some of the music from the Fifties.

“What’s your favorite song?”

She stood up so I did too.
 
“It’s called A Kiss from Your Lips by a group called the Flamingos. Want to hear it?”

“Yeah! Let’s go.”


TO BE CONTINUED:
