Letters

Letter 20

December 1st, 2004

Dear Dad,

            It’s a Monday and someone put up mistletoes at the end of every hallway at school today. Daxus was sick, so it was just Richard and I. Richard suggested that we stay a few feet away, or a meter away from each other, because all the other kids are yelling at random kids to kiss each other when they caught them under a mistletoe, whether it be the same or opposite gender.

            Richard and I were talking about how Christmas just took over when it hit December 1st. We were so busy talking that someone caught us under a mistletoe. The same guy that called my shirt gay was there. He stepped up to Richard and said to him, “Hey Richard, why don’t you give Rico an Australian kiss?” I don’t know how he knew my name, or that I’m Australian. Richard just grabbed my arm and very angrily walked outside. We sat down on a bench while Richard was trying to calm down.

            He then talked about how much he wanted to punch that guy in the face, but can’t. He doesn’t want to get in trouble with his parents. When the bell rang, we walked to our classes. At the end of the day, Richard came to me and he said that random kids he didn’t know, were singing “Rico and Richard sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G” Honestly, I didn’t care at all, but Richard seemed to be embarrassed about all of this.

            I asked him if he wanted to come over today, but some kid interrupted us and said “Ooh, what’re the homos doing now?” and laughed. Richard started yelling at them, and this time he was swearing at them. He got all grotesque when he said, “I want to stab your eyes with a fork and stir it around like soup”

            Then some kid laughed and said, “Who eats soup with a fork?”

            Richard then held his hands out and tried to choke the air. He was grinding his teeth and was growling at them. I pushed him away and we walked away from the school until we couldn’t see them anymore. I asked Richard again if he wanted to come over. He said no. He explained that he just felt a bit weird now and didn’t want me touching him.

            Uncle Alex picked me up and left Richard behind. I told Uncle Alex what had happened today and he suggested homeschooling. I said no. I didn’t want to leave Richard and Daxus there all by themselves.

            When we got home, I got onto an online chat, hoping that maybe Daxus was on, and he was. I told him what had happened today and he didn’t really take it well. Apparently, Daxus likes me, in a non-friendly way. He thought I felt weird about it. In all honesty, I don’t feel weird at all. I told him that I can at least try to make it work, even though I don’t like him the same way. Daxus then explained that he started liking me when I talked to him, then became friends with him. Then he sort of admitted that he liked me when Richard asked him who his crush was. I remember, he said that it started with R and ended with R. Rico Walker, that’s me.

            Daxus didn’t want Richard to know, so I promised him that I would never tell him, or the school.

Your son,

Rico