King's Gambit (LGBTQIA+)

Chapter 17

3:00 P.M, Ravencrown Highschool, Hallway
Monday, February 16, 2020
Third Person POV

The students of Ravencrown were finally getting off for the day. Jake grabbed his backpack out of his locker and went to go leave the school. "Jake!" Alyssa exclaimed running up and hugging him. "Hi Alyssa," Jake said with a warm smile. "Where were you during lunch?" Alyssa asked. "David and I were in the nurse's office," Jake answered, "Jayden fainted and we had to take him there." Alyssa looked confused.

"I thought you two hated each other," Alyssa said, "why would you help him?" Jake looked at the floor. "I did hate him," Jake replied, "but that was before I found something out about him." Alyssa looked intrigued. "What did you find out?" Alyssa asked. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anything else," Jake said. "I promise," Alyssa replied. "Alright,' Jake said, "Earlier today I saw Jayden in Mr. Ragenzaw's room. They were arguing about homosexuality and religion. It ended with Jayden getting hit by Mr. Ragenzaw. What I'm saying is that Jayden isn't choosing to be homophobic towards me."

"You mean he is?"

"Yes, he's being forced to be homophobic."

Alyssa was shocked to her core. "That's terrible," she said in response, "why would anyone want their child to be homophobic?" Jake shrugged his shoulders. "I guess Mr. Ragenzaw just hates queer people that much," Jake said getting out his phone. "I'll see you tomorrow," Jake said stepping out of the building. "Bye," Alyssa said waving. "Bye," Jake replied waving as well. Jake started walking home. Normally he and Alyssa walked home together, but Alyssa had something to do for the History Club.

3:15 P.M, Xuân House

Jake opened the door and took his shoes off. He went to the bathroom to change out of his school uniform. Jake put on some Adidas shorts and a graphic T-shirt. This was Jake's typical outfit for when he was not going to school. Jake left the bathroom and went up to his room. Once he got into his room, Jake opened one of his drawers and pulled out a black and blue notebook. He put the notebook on his desk and got a pencil. Jake flipped to a new page and started writing things down.

"If Jayden is being forced to be mean to me," Jake wrote down, "I wonder how he really feels about me. I mean he was nice to me before he found out I was gay. Maybe there's a part of him who still wants to be my friend." Jake sighed. "Who am I kidding. Even if Jayden wanted to be my friend, Mr. Ragenzaw would never let his son be friends with a gay kid." Jake closed the notebook and put it back in the drawer.

Someone knocked on Jake's door. Jake got up and opened the door to see who it was. It was Mr. Xuân. "Hey," Mr. Xuân said sitting on the bed. "Hi dad," Jake said smiling. "The nurse emailed me saying you helped another student today," Mr. Xuân said. "Yes I did," Jake replied, "he fainted so me and my friend had to take him to the nurse's office." Mr. Xuân got up and patted his son on the shoulder. "I'm very proud of you," Mr. Xuân said smiling. "Thank you," Jake said, "I'm happy to have a dad like you."

"What do you mean by that?" Mr. Xuân asked. Jake looked at the ground. "The student I took to the nurse's office, Jayden," Jake said trying not to cry, "I saw him getting abused by his dad earlier today." Mr. Xuân was shocked. "Isn't Jayden the son of the principal?" Mr. Xuân asked. "Yes, he is" Jake answered, "he forces Jayden to be homophobic towards me and other queer students." Jake started to cry and Mr. Xuân comforted him. "That's terrible," Mr. Xuân said hugging his son, "I hope he is doing alright now." Jake wiped his tears. Mr. Xuân left the room, leaving Jake alone. Jake couldn't just sit by and let Jayden get hurt.

He had to do something...