My Closet Door

Chapter 07: Working Conditions

Chapter 7

Working Conditions

            I finally told at least three-fourths of my family, so I'll just let them finish it by rumors and gossip that I'm gay.

            I was on my way to work today. After having a talk with my mom and older brother who I look up to and have such high respect about and I thought to myself. "I should tell my co-workers."

            It wasn't that bad of an idea come to think about it. I'll just let my co-workers know I'm gay and they; just like my family, can tell the people they know. So some part of my little town can know I'm gay. It wasn't a bad idea after all.

            The only flaw in my perfect idea was that at my work, most of them liked me. If I tell them… will they act and think different of me? I had no idea, but now I was having second thoughts.

            As I was walking towards my work… about a good quarter a mile away, I see this kid walking down towards me. He was a high schooler, maybe about 17 or 18. I didn't think much of him right then and there, but as he walked towards me, this car drove pass me and slowed down when it got closer to him.

            Another teenager rolled down his window and yelled out something cruel and laughed at him.

            "Faggot, Queer, you little pussy!" and they threw trash at him and drove off. I have terrible vision when it comes to depth perception but I could tell the guy was hurt and pissed off. He threw the paper trash off of him and just started walking toward my direction again. I felt bad for the guy, for what those jerks did to him. But there was nothing he or I could've done.

            Then it started to hit me! What if that's me further down the road? What if people started to throw trash at me, or call me crude names, or even worse? What if they decided to attack me? Now this whole coming out thing was starting to become a bad idea. I didn't want to get into fights again, or get picked on for the dumbest things.

            The high school kid was a few feet in front of me; I could now see he was bothered by what just happened. And it happened in public. There were about five people who saw it, and we all did nothing about it.      

            He just looked at me and said "Sup." and kept walking.

            "Nothing" I said back to him. Actually, there was nothing I could say to him, just that.

            Everyone that saw it just went about their business, acting like they saw nothing. As I walked to work, I kept thinking about what happen, because I know someday that will be me. I hoped that day would not come, hopefully not in a million years.

            I stepped into KFC (I do hope you know I work there.) I was 30 minutes early. I sat there and listened to my CD player I forgot I brought with me (Back then, IPods and MP3’s were pricey).

            I was there listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival, (CCR, for all those who do not know who they are.) and Suzanne walked in and sat right next to me.

            Now, Suzanne is a high school girl. And she got this job to save money for a car.

            She sat right beside me and said "What are you listening to?"

            I gave her my left ear-piece and she put it on. "I love this song! But I never knew who sang it" She said.

            "It's CCR." I replied back.