The Life You Deserve

Chapter 21: The Talk

Warning for sexual themes in this chapter 

April 1986

It was just another normal school day for Mike and the party. They worked hard, listened to their teachers, ate together at lunch, teased one another for various things and then it was time for 5th period Life Science and Mike went from having a normal day to a mortifying one that he'd remember for the rest of his life.

It all started when the school nurse walked in with a heavy looking box and Mike's stomach just dropped. El was sat next to him at their work station and looking curious as to why they were being taught by the school nurse today and not the teacher. Sadly, Mike knew the reason why and so did Dustin and Max who also shared this class with them. They both turned to look at Mike with matching shit eating grins knowing he'd rather be anywhere else in the world right now.

"Right kids you've probably guessed it. We've got sex education today." The nurse said firmly before dropping the heavy box onto the teacher's desk to the sound of the groans of the students.

"Sex education?" El whispered to Mike in confusion. His cheeks immediately flushed and his eyes widened. He turned to her like a deer in the headlights and just nodded to confirm what she was asking.

"The sex education class is going to be split over two weeks. This week we will be covering the reproductive system, pregnancy prevention and consent." She said staring around at the room, giving a few boys a glare here and there when she mentioned consent.

The class started with diagrams and explanations of the reproductive system that made Mike blush and feel sweaty. What didn't help was how interested El was by it all. Having missed middle school sex ed, she was making notes on everything the nurse was saying with avid attention. Mike stared at her out of the corner of his eye and felt his heart tremble. Of course he wanted her to know about all of this stuff but he worried about the questions that might follow.

When the diagram of a penis came up Mike shifted in his seat and found that the majority of the teenage boys in the classroom did the same thing. All of them secretly wondering if they were bigger than the diagram photo and if girls really did care about size or not. Mike's cheeks went from pink to red when El looked from the diagram and then looked down at his pants with genuine curiosity plastered all over her face.

Mike cleared his throat to try and remind her that it wasn't exactly appropriate to be staring at his crotch and thankfully El got the message. A pretty blush crept up her cheeks and she focused back onto the teacher.

Mike prayed for mercy when the descriptions of the sexual organs were completed, but the nurse then moved onto consent and went around the class, forcing answers out of blundering students as to what they thought consent meant.

"Michael Wheeler?" The nurse asked looking up from the register. Mike immediately sat up straighter and nodded, unable to speak for a moment. "What do you think consent means?"

"Er..." Mike panicked. A few people had already given quite good answers so he felt like he was running out of options, but he didn't want the nurse or any of his classmates, especially his girlfriend to think he didn't understand consent, because he definitely did.

"It's about seeking permission? To not like...do anything until the other person agrees as well?" He offered sheepishly, his voice nervous. Mike noticed out of the corner of his eye that El was smiling at him sweetly and it made him feel slightly better about his answer.

The nurse merely nodded and looked back down at the register. "Maxine Mayfield? What do you think it means?"

Max huffed at being picked and Dustin nudged her with his elbow playfully at her clear embarrassment. "I guess it means that you're both willing participants. Guys too. Because everyone always thinks about the girls." She said before deciding to add irritated, "and it's Max by the way...not Maxine."