The Choir He Wanted, The LIfe He Had

Monday, September 24, 1935

"Welcome, all of you!"

I looked out at all of the boys seated in front of me. The turnout ended up being higher than I had thought it would be when the auditions started. I was very glad that everything worked out. I was standing on a chair at the front of the room, ready to get started.

"I'm sure you all understand why you're here," I said. "And I hope that you all enjoy singing, because you'll be doing a lot of it."

I laughed and a few people chuckled, but otherwise, there was silence. I blushed deeply and looked down. When I had recovered, I looked back up and said,

"We'll start by introducing ourselves. Say your name and one interesting thing about you. I'll start." I straightened my posture, then said, "I'm Jack. Jack Merridew."

I paused. Jack seemed like a childish name to me, and I wanted to prove that I was no longer a child. I cleared my throat, then said confidently, "I'm Jack Merridew, but you will just call me Merridew."

Some people looked interested. When I looked over at Roger, he smiled and nodded his approval. I cleared my throat and went on.

"My interesting fact is that I created this choir because I've loved to sing my whole life, and I want someone to share that love with."

"And you still pee your pants."

The room erupted into laughter and I blushed deeply. I turned towards Roger, fuming.

"Shut up Roger!" I yelled. "What do you know?"

"Don't try to hide it," Roger said. "It literally just happened, like, today."

The laughter got louder. I jumped off the chair and slumped down into it.

"Just introduce yourself," I said.

"Alright," Roger said. "My name's Roger Clark. You can call me Roger. I'm a sadistic sociopath and I hate people." He paused, then said sarcastically, "Naturally, this is the best place for me." Nobody said anything, so Roger added, "Don't worry, it's been a while since I hurt someone."

To get back at him for what he had said, I asked,

"And when was 'a while'?"

"I don't know," Roger replied. "A couple days?"

"Wow," I said, standing up. "That's surprising."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roger asked.

"You know what that means," I said. When I stood next to Roger, he suddenly hit me in the shoulder.

"Ow!" I said. I pushed him. When he pushed me back, I tripped and fell backward over the chair. I heard some people screaming and some people laughing. Someone asked if I was okay. I slowly stood up and said in a pained voice,

"Next person."

"Hello," Simon said. "My name is Simon Parker. You can call me Simon. My interesting fact is...I'm a year younger than all of you."

"And you're gay." Roger said it very quietly but I still heard it.

"Excuse me?" I asked, turning to him. He didn't say anything, and before I could say anything else someone asked Simon how he was able to sign up if he wasn't in this school.

"My sister signed me up," Simon said.

"You have a sister?" Roger asked.

"Yeah," Simon replied.

"Okay," I said, "Who's next?"

One after another, kids introduced themselves. The process took a long time, and by the last few people I had basically zoned out. When the last boy had introduced himself, I was sitting on the chair with my head resting on my hand. The room got quiet, and when I asked if there was anyone else, no one said anything.