Rocco made a conclusion after several days. Psychology class was not nearly as interesting as Rocco had hoped. So far, the only thing the teacher had discussed was the history of psychology—all lecture, no class exercise as in Civics. Had it not been for Mike sitting in front of him, Rocco would have spent the entire class doodling in his notebook—his mind elsewhere. All class his mind was elsewhere. He kept reliving the Civics class exercise with Mike. He went over in his head how fun it was to talk with Mike. He had not expected to enjoy the company of a sophomore in the first hour of his senior year. He looked forward to the rest of the semester sitting behind Mike.

The civics teacher had not assigned seats, but Rocco was going to sit behind Mike the entire semester. The same was also the case with psychology. Rocco would have 2 hours of admiring the full head of strawberry blonde hair in front of him. He wondered if it was lighter because of summer and if it would get darker later in the year. He had never really had a thing for redheads until that first day of senior year. After today, he was smitten with the gingers. Of course, he wondered if the carpet matched the drapes. He had never seen a redheaded man—or woman for that matter—naked.

The thought sent a rush of blood throughout his body. Part of him wanted to lean forward and ask Mike about it. Naturally, he would not do that. He grimaced a little because this line of thought was starting to get a little gross and creepy. He tried to think of something else but could not come up with anything.

Rocco still had the blank paper Mike gave him from the Civics class exercise a few days ago so he thought he would write down what he and Mike talked about during one of the more tedious psychology classes. He started with Mike’s name and place of birth. He then wrote a paragraph about how Mike was born and raised in Miners Creek and about how they found their love of Saturday Night Live as something they had in common. He turned to a blank page in his notebook and wrote his name, place of birth, the places he lived as a child of sailor until he and his mom settled down here. He then essentially wrote the same thing about Saturday Night Live in his bio. He was going to give this to Mike after class.

As he wrote the last paragraph, the dismissal bell rang. Students started to put things in bags. He got up about the same time as Mike. Mike turned around to face Rocco.

“This class is soooo boring,” Mike said.

“Yeah, I know. I was so bored that I wrote this for you,” Rocco handed Mike his bio. Mike hesitated before taking the paper. He looked down at the sheet.

“Ah man, it’s the assignment we didn’t write out from Civics a few days ago,” Mike smiled and looked up at Rocco.

“I thought you may not remember everything we talked about,” Rocco was a little embarrassed and looked down at his feet.

Mike extended his hand and put it on Rocco’s shoulders. “This is so awesome. Thank you so much.”

Rocco looked up and their eyes met. They both smiled.

“Yeah, well…” Rocco trailed off.

The psychology teacher broke up the brief encounter. “You boys better get to class.”

The two snapped out of their trance and started towards the door.

“Eck, I’ve got Algebra with Mrs. Tect,” Mike replied.

“Well, we are going in the same direction,” Rocco said. “Shall we?”

“Lead the way, Wayne,” Mike smiled. Rocco snickered at this.

“You can call me Wayne anytime you want,” Rocco retorted.

The two walked down the stairs in silence neither of them knowing what to say. Finally, at the bottom of the stairs, Mike broke the silence.

“Hey, thanks for making my first few days of high school not so uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out, but it’s been kinda awesome,” Mike said. The light caught his blue eyes.

Rocco looked into Mike’s blue eyes. “I am glad I was able to make you feel comfortable. This place isn’t so bad.”

As they rounded the stairwell into the first-floor hall, Mike stopped.

“Hey, listen, I have to go to the bathroom. Why don’t you go on?” Mike said nervously.

“You sure? There’s a bathroom on the other end of the hall too,” Rocco replied.

“Yeah, after two hours, I’ve really got to go,” Mike said without hesitation.

“Okay. Well, Garth, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Rocco laughed and turned to go down the hall leaving Mike in front of the bathroom.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Mike said and darted into the bathroom.

As Rocco walked down the hall, a warm feeling grew over him. He had spent the last few days daydreaming about this guy he just met, and it felt wonderful. It dawned on him this is how he felt whenever he felt a crush coming on—those first moments of a crush when your breathing is shallow and your stomach gets the flutters. Oh man, he was already starting the year out liking a new guy, and it felt spectacular. It felt as if he were floating on air.

Before he entered the next classroom, which was just across the hall from Mike’s class, he heard himself say “Mike Barber.”

Mike at Ten o’clock

Over the past few days, Mike thought about Rocco’s brown eyes. He thought about Rocco’s earthy chocolatey scent. As he thought about Rocco, he rested his chin in his palm in such a stereotypical way that he quickly sat up straight. Even though he was daydreaming, he could at least look like he was paying attention. It killed him that this dreamy guy was sitting behind him, and he couldn’t catch a glimpse of him. He was lost thinking about that jet black hair. He thought about how, even though Rocco was clean shaven, his muzzle was a shade of blue indicating he had thick black facial hair underneath his skin. Rocco had to be a hairy guy. He wondered just how hairy. He wondered what Rocco looked like under those grungy clothes. It was difficult to make out anything about his body in those baggy clothes. He wondered if Rocco had a little belly or if he was muscular. In either of those cases, Rocco had to be hairy.

Stolen novel; please report.

He jolted to attention when the dismissal bell rang. This entire hour flew by. He got nothing out of the class. The entire hour he fantasized about Rocco and his potential hair body. He gathered his composure and got out of his chair. He turned around to face Rocco.

“This class is soooo boring,” Mike said.

“Yeah, I know. I was so bored that I wrote this for you,” Rocco handed him a sheet of paper. Mike’s heart skipped a beat. What did he write him? Surely, not a love note! Mike hesitated before taking the paper. He looked down at the sheet. Rocco had written out his biography from the Civics class assignment a few days ago. Mike’s heart melted. Rocco had gone through the trouble of writing out the assignment that he had completely forgotten to write because he was lost in the conversation. He smiled and looked up at Rocco.

“I thought you may not remember everything we talked about,” Rocco said. Mike wanted to tell him that he remembered every word—every nuance of the conversation. He remembered every detail of his face during this exercise. He saw that Rocco looked down at his feet—a little embarrassed.

Mike extended his hand and put it on Rocco’s shoulders. “This is so awesome. Thank you so much.” This guy was gold.

Rocco looked up and their eyes met. They both smiled.

“Yeah, well…” Rocco trailed off.

The psychology teacher broke up the brief encounter. “You boys better get to class.” Mike found out Rocco was going in the same direction. Mike got butterflies at the thought of spending a few more minutes with him.

“Lead the way, Wayne,” Mike smiled. Rocco snickered at this. God, this guy was adorable.

“You can call me Wayne anytime you want,” Rocco retorted. Mike laughed. He wanted to kiss his full lips right there in the hallway. Mike was too embarrassed to say anything as they walked down the stairs to the first floor. Finally at the bottom of the stairs, he broke the silence.

“Hey, thanks for making my first few days of high school not so uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out, but it’s been kinda awesome.” Mike said as he stared into Rocco’s deep eyes.

Rocco looked over at Mike, “I am glad I was able to make you feel comfortable. This place isn’t so bad.”

As they rounded the stairwell into the first-floor hall, Mike spotted the gathering of the popular kids in the distance at The Haven. Oh shit. Here he was lusting after this guy. What would it do to his reputation if they saw him all googly-eyed over a guy? He didn’t have a reputation at this point. He had to find a way to escape before encountering the group which would likely include his brother.

In a hurried and nervous manner, he blurted out, “Hey listen, I have to go to the bathroom. Why don’t you go on?”

“You sure? There’s a bathroom on the other end of the hall too,” Rocco replied. Mike mentally grasped for any kind of an excuse.

“Yeah, after two hours, I’ve really got to go,” Mike said without hesitation.

“Okay. Well, Garth, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Rocco laughed and turned to go down the hall leaving Mike in front of the bathroom. Whew! Crisis averted.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Mike said and darted into the bathroom. He slipped into a stall and locked the door. Mike caught his breath. He felt that everyone would be able to tell that he was dreaming about Rocco in a way he wasn’t supposed to. He still had the assignment in his hand that Rocco had so thoughtfully filled out. He unzipped his backpack and slid the assignment into his Civics folder.

Even though he enjoyed every moment of Rocco’s presence, the feelings he had been experiencing lately were completely new and confusing. Where did these feeling come from? He had never felt this way about another guy before. Had he always been gay and not realized it until now?

He needed to get himself together and get through the rest of the day. Maybe being with some of his friends would take his mind off Rocco. He knew a few people who were taking Algebra. He exhaled and made his way out of the bathroom.

As he passed the popular group, he saw his brother who waved him over. Mike really did not want to talk to him right now. He already felt guilty about how he felt towards Rocco. Somehow, he felt his brother would immediately figure out what was going on with him even though Joe was clueless about everything most of the time. Mike mouthed “I’m late” and continued to walk past the group. Joe waved his hand in dismissal and went back to the group. Mike felt a bit of relief as he made his way down the hall. Still, in the back of his mind, he couldn’t wait to see Rocco again.

Algebra class lived up to Mike’s expectation that it was one of the most boring classes he would attend—even worse than psychology. Despite the agonizing lecture, the bell rang before he knew it. Mike packed up his bag and got up to make it to his next class. He was sitting next to one of his friends, Matt, from junior high who got up almost in tandem with Mike. Matt was another one of his nondescript friends he had known since elementary school. Matt had sun bleached blond hair and blue eyes and an average build. Puberty had taken a toll on his complexion. His face was riddled with acne. He smelled of Clearasil and Old Spice.

“Hey, did you hear about the party next weekend at Tiffany’s?” Matt asked Mike.

“No, I didn’t,” Mike replied. Tiffany was in the same class as Joe and Rocco. She was one of the more popular girls in school. She always seemed to have blowout parties every other month. They were always outside so her house would not get trashed. She would always invite the popular kids, but other groups of kids would end up making an appearance.

“Yeah, I hear she got a band,” Matt said.

“Really? A live band? A famous band?” Mike was a little surprised. Usually, these parties just had four or five big speakers in the backyard and a stereo system on the patio.

“Nah, just some high school kids that started their own band,” Matt replied.

“Like kids that go here?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, some of those weird stoner kids,” Matt replied. “I think that’s one of them.”

Matt pointed to a kid coming out of one of the classrooms. He was pointing to Rocco. Mike’s heart stopped when he saw Rocco. He jumped behind Matt instinctively to avoid being detected. He didn’t want anyone to know about his secret fantasies about Rocco. He couldn’t be found out right now.

“Him???” Mike exclaimed. “Rocco?”

Matt looked back at Mike, “You know him?”

“Yeah, he sits behind me in my first two classes,” Mike tried to downplay his recent affections.

“You better watch out for that type?” Matt said.

“What do you mean?” Mike felt a little relief when Rocco zipped by without seeing them although he wanted to desperately run over to Rocco and say hello.

Matt had one of those squeaky-clean reputations, so anything left of the norm was immediately dangerous. “They smoke a lot of grass and get high.” Matt’s eyes grew to twice their size as he said this.

Mike laughed at this comment. “Grass? Did you learn that phrase from your grandpa?”

“You know,” Matt started to whisper, “Marijuana.”

“Yeah, I know what it is,” Mike said flatly. “Grass is such an old man term.”

“Well, whatever you call it. Those kids are likely to slip you some of it,” Matt’s anxiety was both charming and hilarious.

“I think it would be hard to slip me some grass since you have to smoke it. And since I don’t smoke, it won’t be an issue,” Mike said as he rolled his eyes.

“Well, you never know. There could be sneaky ways,” Matt whispered.

“Besides, that stuff is not free. Who would just give it out to random kids?” Mike asked.

“I’m just warning you,” Matt said.

“Okay, then,” Mike rolled his eyes again. “So, he’s in a band?”

“Yeah, I think so. I think they play that heavy metal grunge music. I’m sure they suck,” Matt said.

Mike’s head began to spin. Rocco smoked dope and played in a band. Wow! He squealed inside at how dangerous this guy seemed. This made him even more irresistible—a real bad boy. A big smirk spread across his face. Maybe Mike could start to like some of those things that Rocco liked. Mike liked the thought of shaking up his perfect, white picket fence upbringing.