Walking Out of Stride

Chapter Five

"You what?" Kirelle and Chailyn shouted in chorus. Caleb jerked back against the wall of the planter in surprise.

It was lunchtime the next day. All three friends sat on the ground in a tiny triangle, so close their knees touched. A girl walking past glanced at them with a confused look, but kept going.

"Lower your voices!" Caleb hissed. "Jeez, guys."

"Sorry," Kirelle said. "So, what, is he your boyfriend now?"

Caleb bit the side of his thumb. It had the residual taste of pizza sauce. "I'm not sure," he said. "I don't think either of us is sure. But we kissed, so that means we're something, right?"

"Well... not necessarily?" Chailyn said hesitantly. Caleb shot her a scandalized look. She held up her hands in defense. "I mean, people who aren't together kiss all the time, right?"

"I think that's just you," Kirelle laughed. Chailyn stuck out her tongue, but she was smiling.

"Maybe guys and girls," Caleb said. "But not like... not two guys. He risked a lot by kissing me. Like, I could destroy him with it if I wanted to. Which I obviously don't, but..." He paused and looked between his friends. "By the way, you can't tell anyone. He's not out."

Chailyn saluted and Kirelle jostled his shoulder.

"You got it."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Chailyn added. "So, what are you going to do about school?"

"Nothing," Caleb shrugged. "Everything stays the same. We're just friends who sit together in class."

Chailyn shot Caleb a sad look and hugged her knees to her chest. "That sucks," she murmured. "I had to be like that with my last girlfriend."

"It's okay," Caleb said. "I'm not one for big public displays of affection, anyway."

The rest of the day went by in a blur. There was nothing notable about it: classes, homework at the library, helping with the mural at the community center. Caleb left early to get his hair cut, then stop by the movie theatre to ask for an application, which they told him to do online. So he went home and straight to his room and did just that.

The personality test alone took a half hour and he finished just as his mother was calling his family for dinner. Caleb swallowed hard as he stood and pushed his chair into his desk. His parents weren't going to be happy about the haircut. It wasn't even anything extreme: his curls were only a couple of inches shorter, now, at his ears instead of his chin. He took a deep breath, steeled himself for the inevitable yelling, and went out to the table.

Caleb was the first to sit down. His mother turned the corner from the kitchen with a dish of greens in her hands. He looked down at the table and squeezed his eyes closed.

"Arianna Ortega!"

He flinched. The dish slammed down on the middle of the table.

"What did you do to your hair!?"

"I... cut it," Caleb said. His voice wavered and it made him hate himself. A big hand smacked hard against the back of his head and he flinched forward.

"Your hair looks stupid." It was Manny. "You look like an even bigger dyke now."

Caleb's hands tightened in his lap.

"Luis!" His mother screamed. His father ambled into the room.

"What the hell are you screaming about?"

"Just look at what your daughter has done to her hair!"

"My daughter?" he scoffed. He stepped up beside Caleb. "Let me see." He curled his fist in the back of Caleb's hair and sharply pulled his head from left to right. Caleb flinched and squeezed his eyes closed so they couldn't see the tears beginning, so they couldn't use that against him, too, because that meant he couldn't be a boy because boys didn't cry. His father finally let go and smacked him in the back of his sore head.