Best-Case Scenario

Chapter Eleven

Finn's kisses trail a path from my shoulder to my ear. "Are you sure you don't want to come over? I could skip soccer and we could continue what we were doing on Sunday."

My body goes warm at what he was suggesting. We met at the park where there was a grouping of trees that allowed some privacy for two teenagers who can't keep their hands off each other. The school hallway right now feels like the exact opposite of that.

I lean back from him, but keep my arms wrapped around his neck. He has that blazing look in his eyes that leaves me warm. "It's the first meeting of GSA. I kind of have to be there."

He drops his arms and kisses me on the nose. "Okay. Snap me after?"

"Definitely," I say and fix my braid.

Finn gives me one last heartbreaking smile and turns down the hallway. When I turn around, the hallways are empty except for Seth leaning against the wall, hoodie pulled down over his forehead.

"Well, well, well. Having some straight kissing right outside of our meeting? I know you're an ally and all that, but we don't want people getting the wrong idea."

I walk over and punch him in the arm. "I don't think it's going to hurt anything." I nod over to Max and Alli who are giving each other googly eyes while wrapped up in each other's arms.

He glances at them. "Will I ever be that confidently gay?" he asks.

"College," I offer. My school is definitely a left leaning one and therefore, much more accepting than some of the horror stories I've heard at public schools only forty-five minutes away. Middle school, you were likely to get teased for being gay. Now, the worse you'd get is a couple of laughs and some baiting. Even that, the GSA has been trying to combat. It isn't perfect, but we're getting better year after year.

Seth goes over and taps Max's arm. "If you two are ready," he says and jerks his head at the classroom. I mouth a horrified sorry to Max and Alli.

Seth doesn't let my glare faze him. "You coming?" He walks in ahead of me. I fight down the urge to yank the hood off him and follow him in.

Kali and Imari are at the front big smiles on their faces welcoming freshmen and new members and greeting past members. I make sure to smile at a few new faces as I sit in my place next to Kali. Chairs form a large circle and more are pulled from the side. Overall, we have thirty people in the room.

Imari starts the meeting by listing a mission statement to keep everyone safe and comfortable in the school. He talks about what we've done past years: raised money to donate to the teen homeless fund, brought awareness of differing identities, and the various speakers that have come in to speak to the group and invites everyone who wants to join for open forum nights. Kali picks up the thread by talking about their goals for the following year.

I admire her from my chair. There are so many things that make her nervous but somehow public speaking isn't one of them. Kali stands there, waving her hands around to illustrate her comments and passing out pamphlets. Her dark eyes are warm and while she only stands at 5'3, she has a presence in the room. She says she pretends she's another person and if she messes up, she knows people won't tease her because she's not really herself. I haven't reached the point where I understand a word she says, but I support her nonetheless.

She asks if there are any questions and a few people raise their hands asking about outside events like open mic nights at the only cafe in town and weekend tabling at local festivals. She answers all of these and then adds, "If you have any questions that you're not comfortable asking yet, don't worry. I'm always open to answering questions through email or privately after meetings. Imari feels the same." He nods.