It Will Rain

Chapter two

Will

It's time to go back to school. I've already missed 2 days. I convinced my mom to let me go in today for a test in physics. I reassured her that I was "fine". I wasn't but I hated to sit around and see her worried. It's Wednsday. I can't miss another day. I don't want the party to pop up again. I haven't seen Mike since Saturday. Plus my mom and Jonathan keep missing work. I can't have that weight on my shoulders.

I didn't want to ride my bike to school or get driven so I walked. I needed time to clear my mind before I get to school. I walked slowly, my hands deep in my pockets. The wind blew harshly and I shivered. When I got to school I walked in with my head down low trying to hide my face Incase the party was here early. We have AV club before breakfast and after school but I honestly don't know if I'm gonna go. I don't even know if I want to go. I walked to my locker and quickly threw my bookbag in it and pulled out my stuff for my first class which is science. I was dreading it because I have it with  Mike and El. The only two good things about science was that I love science and Max was also in this class. I rushed to class to get there early so that if the party comes in the building they won't see me at my locker and try to talk to me.

When I got to class as always I was the first one. I went to the back of the room to my seat and slumped into the chair. "William. Can you come here for a sec?" Mr, Clarke, the science teacher and leader of the AV club asked. I nodded and slowly got up and walked over to his desk where he was sitting down playing with a rubiks cube. "Yeah?" I said quietly. He looked up at me. "I wanted to talk to you about your grades and AV club." He said. I nodded, suddenly kinda nervous.  Was I failing? "Am I failing?" I asked. His forehead scrunched up. "No, of course not. Your a really smart boy, but your grades are dropping." He said. I frowned.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll try harder." I said. He sighed. "Will, is every thing alright? I mean is there anything you want to talk about? I promise whatever you say now will stay here." He said. I could tell he was trying to help but it made me feel awful. I was so close to failing. He knows something is up. What am I supposed to say? No, nothing is "okay" anymore. I'm confused on why I'm extremely attracted to my best friend when he's straight and has a sweet beautiful girlfriend. I'm confused on why I wanna die. And I'm haunted with nightmares and flashbacks of the time I spent in another dimension being hunted down by a creature that only exists in comics and scary movies.

I can't say any of that. I just shake my head. He sighs again and places his finished  Rubik's cube on his desk. "Now, about AV club, where have you been? You've been missing every meeting." He said. I felt my eyes water and my bottom lip tremble. Just then the bell rang and kids started pouring in. I took this chance to rush back to my seat. When I got there I let out a breath of relief. Then Max walked in and rushed to take the seat next to me.

"So, you finally show up." She says smiling. I just shrugged and let out a small laugh. "I have a lot going on, that's it." I said. She nodded and suddenly her face got serious. She reached over to my desk and grabbed my hand. "I'm here for you Will. Always will be." She said. I forced myself to smile. A tear rolled down my cheek. "I know." I said quietly, almost a whisper. The last bell rang and Mr, Clarke quited down the noisy classroom. "Okay class, I want you to open your notebook to your first clear page then wait for more directions. Today's lesson is gonna be different." He told the class. Max pulled away and I wiped my tear.

I followed the direction by opening my notebook and waiting patiently. "Would someone help pass these out?" He asked. A few people raised they're hands. His eyes passed through the class and landed on me. I didn't raise my hand though. "Will?" He asked. I sighed before getting up to help. Then Mike and Eleven came in laughing. I felt my heart sting but I just kept going towards the front. I felt someone's eyes on me but didn't look to see who. I didn't want to risk making eye contact with Mike or El. Nothing personal.

I was handed the books and looked down at it." The human sexualitys". My eyes widened and I looked over at Mr, Clarke. He just grinned. I awkwardly handed out the books and heard gasps and snickers when the rest of the class looked at their books. Luckily Troy and James weren't in this class. From the corner of my eyes I saw Mike staring. A concerned look on his face. I turned my head slightly and made eye contact. It lasted a little too long because Eleven had to shake him to get his attention.

When he looked away I focused back on the front of the class. "Okay so I know this seems weird. And I know it might disgust some of you guys but it's important for you to learn that what you might think is weird or disgusting is someone's everyday normal. Just because it isn't yours doesn't mean it's not somebody's else's." He said.

I felt weirded out by this subject. Not like everyone else. But because that "normal" he's talking about that isn't normal for everyone is my normal. "So today class we will be looking into different sexualities." He stated as if we didn't already know. "Can anyone tell me a sexuality?" He asked. A uncomfortable vibe was passed through the room. Max raised her hand and I looked at her. "Yes Maxine." Mr, Clarke said. Max rolled her eyes in annoyance with him addressing get by her real name. She cringed and shrugged. "Straight." She said in a unsure voice. He frowned. He grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote it down on the board.

"Anything else more unique or rare?" He asked and turned to face the class. No one raised a hand. Someone blew a bubble in the front with their gum and the pop echoed in the quiet room. I felt his eyes land on me. "Will?" He asked. Everyone turned to me. My heart raced and my palms went sweaty. My breath got caught in my throat and I could feel my stomach doing flops. I gulped. "Do you have one you'd like to share?" He asked me. What was he up to? Did he know? Where was this going? Was he trying to prove something?

I know that they were waiting for me to say gay. Being as though I get called it all the time. I took a deep breath. "Gay." I choked out. "What's another term for it?" He asked. I closed my eyes and looked down to hide my red face. "Homosexual." I said. He nodded and wrote it down. After that a few other people rose their hands and said things like lesbian and gay. No one knew anything else.

"What about Bi? Bisexual? Anyone know what that means?" Mr, Clarke asked. I looked around and saw that everyone else was looking around too. Mr,Clarke nodded as if he proved himself a point. He walked over to the whiteboard and grabbed a pink marker. He wrote the word Bi-sexual in all caps. "Would someone come up here please?" He asked. I slouched trying to hide myself so he wouldn't chose me. Not again. It would be too humiliating. "Okay since we don't have any volunteers, Will." He said. I shut my eyes tight and leaned back. "Come on Will." He said.

I hesitated before getting up and walking towards the board. I picked up a green marker. "Okay so bi sexual, do you know what it is?" He asked me. I shook my head no. "Okay well write down what I say." He instructed. I nodded. "Bi-sexual is when your attracted to BOTH genders." He said. I wrote it down quickly. "Thank you Will. Now what I want you guys to do is flip to pages 3 and 4. I want you to read it and answer questions 1 through 6 in your notebooks and talk to your neighbor about the last 2 questions. You may begin."