Voicegay

Opportunity

To say that Tony was on edge all morning was an understatement.

He had waited impatiently by his locker for Layne, where they usually met before the school day started. His already overflowing stress levels continued to grow as he intently watched the hall clock's minute hand tick steadily closer to 8:25am, when he'd be forced to abandon his lookout station and go to his first class of the day. Layne's threat to talk to Geoff played on loop in his head, and he couldn't shake the fear that the boy had decided not to wait and was already talking to him, telling him of his friend's affections. Although he'd be trying to help, Layne put too much faith in people; he didn't understand how cruel teenagers could be. Tony could imagine Geoff laughing at him, telling everyone... He'd never want to show his face at school again.

The piercing sound of the last bell ripped him from his thoughts, and with a little more force than needed, he slammed his locker closed and cursed to himself. He didn't share first or second period with Layne, so he'd have to wait until lunch to corner the boy, which gave him too much opportunity. Pulling his bag onto his shoulder, Tony trudged to his first lesson, his expression even more sour than usual.

-

"8:27," Layne repeated desperately in his head as he burst through the main doors, and sprinted through the hallways as if running for his life, trying to ignore his already forming stitch. After he had returned home from Tony's house the night before, he had stayed up, sneakily playing video games on mute until the early hours, despite his mom warning him not to, and had woken up late as a result of his bad decision making. He reached the door to his first class just as the teacher was about to call attendance, and he sheepishly apologized and took his seat without attracting too much attention.

-

First period went by painfully slowly, as it always did, but was generally uneventful for both boys. It was as Layne rounded the corner while walking to his second class, that he noticed 3 boys stood across the hall, casually chatting. They all wore the school's maroon varsity jackets, and he wouldn't have paid them any mind if he hadn't overheard a voice that caught his attention. It was deep, pleasantly so, and seemed almost... warm. He slowed his pace and tried to work out which of them it had come from without looking like he was sizing them up, when the tallest of them said goodbye to the other two and turned to walk to his next class, and yep, that was unmistakably him. As he walked past, Layne caught a glimpse of the name "CASTELLUCI" embroidered in white on the left side of the chest of his letterman.

As he focused back on the other two, Layne saw the small one- Eli, he recalled his name was from their classes together- pat the bigger one on the shoulder as a goodbye and turn to walk into his next class. Without really thinking it through, Layne jogged after the boy, and called his name to get his attention. Eli turned, his expression a mix of mild confusion and apprehension at the stranger addressing him.

"Eli? Hey, hi!" Layne started nervously, already starting to fidget with his bag strap, as he often did when he was anxious.

"Uh, hi?"

Layne smiled awkwardly at him, but the other boy's expression didn't falter.
"It's Layne. I'm in your chem class?" He was expecting a look of realization to dawn on Eli's face, but he was unmoved. "I was in your English class last year."

Eli sighed, glancing into the classroom before looking back to Layne, not hiding his boredom. "Was there something you needed?"

Layne was stunned for a second by the comment, but swallowed and tried to collect his thoughts enough to make a comprehensible sentence. "Uh, yeah. That-uh, that guy, the tall one, was that... George Castellucci?"

A look of amusement settled fleetingly upon Eli's face. "It's Geoff."

"Geoff Castellucci?"

Eli rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yes, Geoff Castellucci. Why do you want to know? You don't look like the football type." He paused, "No offense."

"Uh... none taken?" He murmured, more as a question than a statement, as he tried to work out what had just happened. "Uhm, anyway, I was just asking because..."

Eli looked at him expectantly, waiting for the awkward boy to get his words out. "Because?"

"Because- my friend wants to join the team." He blurted, his eyes immediately growing wide at the excuse his own brain thought was best, but there was no backing out now. "Try out for the team, I mean. If that's okay?"

Eli just stared at him for a second, one eyebrow raised as he tried to deduce if it was some kind of prank that his teammates had put this guy up to. "You have a friend..."

"Don't sound so surprised." Layne joked, but when he other boy didn't laugh, his lost his smile. "So, he'd have to talk to Geoff, right? If he wanted to try out?"

Eli considered it for a moment. "Let me run it by him first. What's this friend of yours' name, anyway?"

"Tony Wakim."

Eli didn't react for a second, before his expression finally cracked, and he couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face. "Okay, now I know this is a prank. Was this Earl's idea?" He waited for Layne to break character and laugh with him, but he didn't. He just looked confused.

"Why would this be a prank?"

Eli squinted at him, trying to pick up any sign of a lie in his body language. "You're telling me Tony Wakim wants to join the football team?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"...Wouldn't he better suited to, like, musical theatre?"

Layne sensed there was something behind that comment, but didn't know what he was implying. "He's just really into football."

"Really? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I haven't seen him at a single game."

"Well, I mean, he could be into it. He wants to learn."

Eli glanced at the lockers, trying to fully take in the situation. "Listen. If he's looking for some kind of extra credit, he's not gonna find it out on the field. Maybe he should just stick to stuff he's good at. Like theatre!" He finally turned and walked into their classroom. "God knows he's good at creating drama."

"Please!" Layne half yelled after him, unintentionally attracting a little too much attention in his desperation in the heat of the moment, so he cringed and followed Eli to his desk, continuing quieter. "Please. Just, give him a chance?"

Eli sighed deeply as he pulled out his seat, wanting to be rid of the boy. "Okay. I'll talk to Geoff. But no promises!"

Layne thanked him and took his own seat, smiling proudly until it dawned on him what he'd just signed his friend up for.