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Chapter (9)

"Five years ago"

Adam:

I woke up to the sound of my alarm at 6:30 as always I turn it off just to be surprised to the amount of unread massage on the group chat, Jeremy and Noah talked all night why didn't they take to their private chat? I opened the group chat not bothering to read all the 256 massages above and just read the last one

Noah: lets meet at the back of building1

"Hey what's up?" I said meeting Noah's gaze he seems enthusiastic about something

-"Hey" he replied, looking extra fancy today more like a model than a student- I didn't get the chance to read the entire poet Noah and Jeremy crafted so

"could you give me a showtcut?" I said grinning in Noah's face he lets out a sigh then he starts talking

-"fine since Jeremy hasn't got here yet-l am going to a Taekwondo summer camp for one week" he said

"You don't do Taekwondo" as I remember Noah is a basketball star his height is really helpful in such a sport, he reads my face realizing I don't understands what is he on about
-“Sam applied for that program” he declared
“Ah” now that the ends are connected—Noah never said it aloud that he loved or likes Sam but neither did he bother to hide it—so he is saying he applied for the summer camp just because of that?
If I am being honest I never experienced love or know what’s it feel like to like someone and it’s too complicated to look into.
Jeremy is finally in sight moving toward us
-“what did you decide to do?” Jeremy asked as to continue the conversation they’ve had until 3am
-“I’m going to ask her out… the camp is taking place in Hawaii so that would be  the ideal time and place to ask her” Noah answered  and waiting for us, I’m not sure what kind of reaction he is waiting from us—but I’m no experts so I’ll just support since he him seems happy about the idea
-“First don’t ask her out on the first three days because in case she rejected you, you won’t be able to handle the next three days, Second ask her in the last two days of the week, have flowers and when you kiss watch out for your teeth and of course you had the chance sex is the best!” Jeremy said so bluntly leaving Noah with such an expression on his face that I can’t quite read
-“Kiss? Sex?” Noah repeated his voice got lower showing how astonished and speechless he has become- with this conversation my brain automatically flashed back to when my mind couldn’t get Agnes’s lips out of my mind…. My sometimes dreams she appeared in- and that isn’t love that is…I don’t know what is that but it’s not love- NO—NO—this— I don’t like this—the  feeling of my chest tighten, heart beat fasten and ..NO stop thinking about it
-“Yeah?” Jeremy answered thankfully cutting my wild thoughts from evolving from what I’ve already imagined—dangerous I thought then and now she is dangerous she put my future in danger by not allowing me to focus in class, by staring at me and leaving me with high blood pressure
-“Wait, Noah? You never kissed a girl before?” Jeremy asked half amazed and half mocking at Noah then he shifted his gaze to me
-“Oh I don’t need to ask about it you, you obviously never held hands with a girl before!” he said meaning to insult me but he didn’t—fair enough I thought—he let out a long sigh as if he is a disappointed father looking at both of us like we are some babies he has to teach.
he put his hand on his head showing more signs of disappointment  then he  turned toward us wrapped his arms on his chest  as if he is trying to remember  the things he is going to say
-“Fine, I’ll keep it brief… these are the things to do if I want to make a move on a girl I like: make sure to brush your teeth, have some mint or something in case things went well and you are going to kiss, don’t rush things, be smooth so you don’t scare her off, don’t be pushy if she said no… then it is a NO!”
Jeremy said, he explained things really carefully for the first time he really knows what he is talking about we both nodded—never thought in my life that kissing would be so complicated!— he stopped as if he was recalling the rest of the instructions
-“And lastly Do not forget to use protection!!” he said in a very serious tone as t warn us of something but the real question is            –of what?— I  looked at Jeremy frowning like an idiot, Jeremy looked at us not getting what exactly is the part we didn’t understand from his speech.
Noah was flushed red.
-“why would he protect himself from kiss if he already want to kiss her?”  I asked, and that was it—I latterly saw his nerves burst out on his forehead and neck
-“The fuck?  Kissing? — All this time you thought I was talking about kissing?” Jeremy snapped his eyes were wide open it almost felt like they will fall out!
“You wewen’t?” I asked
-“No! I was talking about sex!” he answered shouting!
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” I said
-“Do you even know what SEX is?” he scoffed
“sex is the intewcouwse that happens between female and male in owdew to make babies” I answered what I believe is an excellent answer—For a minute Jeremy stood in front of not able to speak then he managed the words  out
-“And how do they make a baby?” Jeremy asked in a mocking tone Noah is left between us not able to speak
“Duwing intewcouwse, a single spewm and the mothew's egg cell meet in the fallopian tube. When the single spewm enters the egg, conception occuws” I explained what we took in biology class which is also another perfect answer
-“I’m asking how they met the sperm and the egg?” Jeremy said raising a single brow
“I –I don’t know” I actually never thought about that—how did they meet? Jeremy looked at Noah hoping for an answer but he shoke his head declaring that he know nothing
-“holy fuck—I knew you two were weird but I never thought you were that weird!!— I’m not going to explain that okay? I know that you”
*pointing at Noah*
“Are a weird freak but are you telling me you never watched porn?”—Noah didn’t answer; Jeremy shifted his attention to me
-“And you—don’t you have an older brother? I’m sure you’ve found videos or magazines in his room or something?” Jeremy said—
The age gap between me and my brother is making everything between us awkward, I mean he already graduated and working at the company, we hardly exchange greetings!
-“what do you do both do in the morning? You know morning woods waking up with your dick standing?” Jeremy asked—me and Noah’s eyes widened I didn’t speak, Noah raised his hand as to grapping something in the air but he didn’t, he just moved it up and down
-“So you jack off? I guess there is some hope for you” Jeremy said rolling his eyes then turned towards me
-“And you?” again with the disappointed father looks
“I—I wait for it to go down on its own” I said because that is really what I do, is there something else to do?-what does jack off even mean? Jeremy stood still for a minute staring or Astonished by my answer
-“Why didn’t you pay attention in class? ” Jeremy said as he walks around himself in circles
“We nevew took that in biology class!!” I replied with the same tension in my voice
-“that’s because it’s not in biology it’s in sex ed. class idiot”
-“I skipped it” Noah said, me too
-“Why would you skip it it’s an important class!!” Jeremy screamed in our face
“If it was an impowtant class why don’t we have exams on it?” I screamed back
-“because they can’t ask you in an exam: how do you stick your dick in some—”
-“both of you stop!!” Noah cut Jeremy – thankfully I didn’t want to know the rest of that sentence– Jeremy let out a longer sigh longer than the one from the (kiss conversation)
-“Okay you do as I said and skip the protection part you’ll never get their anyway” Jeremy said showing signs of a strong headache on his face then looked at me
-“And you—you need therapy A LOT of it—you need to stop defying everything in science! This one is more about….chemistry or something”
“Chemistwy is science” I said
-“No!!!—that is not what I meant…this is another type of chemistry—you know what? Just shut the fuck up!” 
There were a few minutes of silent until I decided to break it with another question.
“How do you even weaw pwotection?” the whole thing sounds weird?? Is it like a shield? Do you hold it in your hand and it protect you? Does it have a button to activate?!???
Jeremy’s eyes widened so much I thought they might pop out. Noah turned towards me, his expression frozen in slow motion, like I’d just asked him to explain the theory of relativity or something. The look on his face was priceless—complete disbelief, mixed with a hint of terror.
Jeremy looked like he was about to implode, then finally blurted out, -“Um, you… you wear a condom.”
I blinked, completely lost.
“What’s a condom?”
Jeremy slapped his palm to his face with a groan of frustration. It was like he was trying to will himself into another dimension to escape this conversation.
Noah, struggling to stifle a laugh, covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders shaking. It was clear he was trying to keep his composure, but the sight of Jeremy’s exasperation and my cluelessness was too much.
Jeremy took a deep breath and tried to explain with the kind of look that said—Why me? — Then he managed to talk again
-“It’s a thin… stretchy thing that you put on—well, you know, over— your…”
Before he could finish, Noah let out a snort of laughter, and Jeremy just rubbed his temples, clearly done with this entire conversation.
-“dick” he finally said, I went into Loading mode….
I stared blankly, trying to process the information. It was like my brain had hit a buffering loop.
It’s not a shield??!
“A sleeve for—” I began, still struggling to piece it together.
Jeremy threw his hands up in the air like he was done with humanity.
-“Yes, exactly. It’s a sleeve for—”
“So, wait,” I said, finally putting two and two together,
“this thing is like a... a mini raincoat for—”
-“Yes!” Jeremy interrupted, Noah lost it completely, doubling over and laughing uncontrollably. Through his laughter,  repeating my words my words,
-“Mini raincoat! He said Mini raincoat!”—Jeremy laughed with him, but continued talking
-“A mini raincoat for—”
“Dick,” I finished, feeling oddly triumphant.
-“Yeah….that’s one way to put it.” Jeremy said
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When I got home that day I looked it up—how are babies made—and that the dreams I have is just because I am sexually frustrated I didn’t search the meaning of having the dream about the same person more than one time because I was afraid to know more- Now I understand how important sex ed. class was and why there are no exams on it…
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Noah sent us pictures of Hawaii his hotel room, the beach, the buffet, there was some photos of him and Sam together but he hasn’t asked her out yet; on the other hand Agnes was nowhere to be seen the first day Sam was gone, then she came the day after but her cold got worse she had her head down on the desk the whole time she was so quite—which is rare she always burst out of laughter being soooo loud that I can’t help looking her way, now she is nearly dead— I was grateful that I always study during break so that she won’t be alone in case something happen, her sweat shirt slipped off while she was sleeping I put it back on her so smoothly so she won’t wake up then continued to study eventually her condition got worse and her dad had to come and pick her up then she didn’t come for the rest of the week, I made sure to write my notes in better shape in case she asked for them but she never did.
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