The Closet Chronicles

4. Turning The Knob

    By the time I finished my run, did a few sets of squats, and had taken a shower, the bell to end first period rang. As I walked down the hallway to get to biology, I caught up with Jennifer.
    "Oh my good RuPaul, Jennifer, I got his number!" I gave a quick squeal before remembering we were in a public place.
    "Well, you know what RuPaul would say to you right now, girl," said Jennifer, smirking. "Con"drag"ulations, lady!" Jennifer and I laughed all the way to biology, where we took our normal seats in the middle of the room. We were the only table in the classroom to have two people. Everyone else had three.
    About thirty seconds before the bell rang to signal the start of class, everyone had taken their seats. To my extreme delight, walking in right behind the teacher was Zak. I couldn't believe my luck! He had to sit right next to me, and he didn't seem angry about it. In fact, he seemed to smile a little bit. His teeth were straight and whiter than Ariana Grande and Eminem combined. I was about to say hi when the bell rang, and the teacher began the lesson.
    All through class, I kept staring at him out of the corner of my eye. Every once in a while, I'd catch him staring at me too. As soon as our eyes met, we would both look away. I kept trying to stop myself. He was straight. I was metaphorically straight. It wouldn't work. Give up. He won't like you. He likes girls. But it was too hard. He was gorgeous, and funny, and kind, and I had his honest-to-goodness number! By the end of class, my brain felt like a pair of tangled earbuds. Do I go for it and get my heart broken? Do I let everyone know that I'm gay? Or do I let the perfect guy slip right through my fingertips? My heart was pounding, and I felt like I was starting to get a migraine. I popped an Advil, and decided to talk to Jennifer about my feelings at break. She always had great advice. We sat down in the cafeteria, and I got ready to rant. However, before a single word came out of my mouth, she spoke.
    "No," she said.
    "What do you mean, no?"
    "You are not going for it. Add him to your contacts, talk to him in the soccer group chat, but not in a private text chain. Never end up alone with him. You will be outed! Your heart will be broken! We promised to protect each other. That's what I'm gonna do, because I am a good girlfriend."
    "What am I gonna do, Jen? I don't know how to play soccer!"
    "Kick the ball into the net. It's not hard."
    "Soccer balls aren't exactly my forte."
    "I could say something really inappropriate right now if I wanted to out you," Jennifer laughed. I groaned, and palmed my face. Her tongue was quicker than a drag queen's.
    "In all seriousness though, just play your best. If you suck, it doesn't matter, because he's straight. You don't have to worry about impressing him." She looked at me, and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
    Zak also ended up being in my fourth period class, drama, where we were put into a group and asked to perform an improv about spicy burritos. I was given the role of the man buying him and his wife, played by Jennifer, burritos, and Zak was the cashier. We ended up winning the best performance award, and we all won extra marks on our next assignment. The only reason that the improv went so well was that I was trying much harder than normal. I didn't care what Jennifer had said at that point. I felt like I needed to impress Zak. After class was done, Jen and I had to part ways for fifth, when we had different classes. Right before I walked into history, I turned to Jennifer.
    "RuPaul after school?" I asked her.
    "You know it!" She smiled.