What Happens in Art Class...
Chapter 9 (F)
Grounded. For an entire month. No video games, no movies, no “Ryan’s house,” and no guitar. I had no idea how Mom expected me to survive that. I was almost scared to ask if I was still allowed to stay after school. She laughed at that. Apparently “cleaning Mr. Way’s room” was a perfectly acceptable way to spend my time. In fact, she wanted me to work harder at it. I wasn’t doing a good enough job in her eyes.
I couldn’t meet Gerard’s eyes all through class on Monday. My words kept playing through my head, making me hate myself. I had done some thinking and decided that I couldn’t really blame the nerves. I really had started to view our relationship that way. Which was really fucked up. I knew I was wrong. I saw Gerard’s loving side almost every day.
By the time the bell rang, I wanted to bolt out the door in shame. But I knew I couldn’t do that. I owed him an apology, and he was going to get one. I walked up to his desk and cleared my throat. He looked up and smiled slightly.
“Hello Frank. What is it you need?”
I sighed, “Don’t start that, please. I…I’m sorry. I was a jerk on Friday, and there’s no excuse for it.”
He stood and pulled me close, “You don’t have to apologize. It was just nerves, and even if it wasn’t…Well, I can’t really prove you wrong.”
I looked up into his eyes, unsure of what he meant. Surely he wasn’t saying that he really was only into this for the sex. I would feel worse than shit if that was the case. But the way he was holding me didn’t seem sexual. It seemed sweet and loving.
He smiled, “I want to make it up to you. Let’s go on a date.”
I felt shock take over my expression, “A d-date?! But…How? We’d be caught. You’d get fired!”
He sat and pulled me on his lap, “Don’t worry. I have this all planned out. I’ll call your mom and ask her if I can take you out as a thank you, and we’ll go out of town to avoid anyone we know.”
It sounded great, but… “There’s one problem. Mom won’t let me leave the house except for school because of my grades.”
His eyebrows furrow together, “That is going to be a problem, I guess. We’ll give her time to cool off. I want to go on a Saturday anyway.”
“Why Saturday?”
“Because then we can just spend the whole day together.”
“Hmmm…” I snuggled into him, “Yeah, that sounds nice. I’ll just try to be on my nest behavior this week. She should soften up. I’m her only child after all.”
…
I held up my end of the deal. At home I was the ideal child. I did everything I was asked, I did my homework where Mom could see me, and I basically used every suck up technique in the book. I was pretty sure she got the message, but I was still pretty nervous on the way home come Friday. What if she said no? I wanted my first date, dammit!
I was met with a surprise when I walked in the door. My dad was seated at the kitchen table, clearly waiting for me. He looked up when the door closed and motioned to the seat a cross from him, “Have a seat, boy.”
I sat. It’s never a good idea to disobey a direct order from a parent who never sees you. They’re just waiting to use their authoritative power.
“So what’s this I hear about you having bad grades?”
I shrugged, “It’s been a really stressful year. I’m not used to having work in so many classes yet.”
He nodded, “Uh-huh. I see. Well, if you’re having trouble dealing with your work load then why is your art teacher calling up asking if you can spend the day with him?”
This was probably the point to play dumb at, “Mr. Way asked me to spend a day with him?”
Another nod, “The way I see it, he’s being irresponsible as a teacher. He should be telling you to stay home and do your work. Kinda makes a dad suspicious. He’s not one of those creepy middle age men who likes young boys is he?”
I felt my face go white, “Oh, god, dad! No! He isn’t even out of college yet. We’re just friends since I spend so much time in his room. We have similar interests, you know?”
I could tell he was struggling to keep a straight face. It was all about appearing professional with him. Still, I wasn’t surprised when he said, “So he’s into that “punk” bullshit too?”
I hated how he said the word “punk” sarcastically. For some reason, he had a hard time accepting the type of person I was. There’s always one parent, right? Mom was the one who was all about being myself and having freedom of expression. Dad saw some of the music I listened to as treasonous, rejecting the way America functions when we actually have it good or some shit.
I took a deep breath, “Yeah, I guess. Most of the kids in the class make fun of him for it.”
“Well they should. He’s a grown man. He should have grown men interests. You should too for that matter.”
It took a lot of willpower to resist biting his head off. I really hated how he tried to control my life when he was barely a part of it, “Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. So…Can I go?”
He stood up, “Take that up with your mom. She’s the one who grounded you.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. On one hand, he had basically just said I wasn’t his problem. On the other, there was a slight smile on his face, indicating that he was making a joke out of it. I just shrugged and went to find my mom. She was in the kitchen making dinner. I kissed her cheek to get her attention.
“That smells great! Is there anything I can do to help?”
She turned around and pointed the knife at me in that way only mothers can master, “What do you want Franklin?”
I swallowed, “I just want to help. Is that a bad thing?”
“You’re not fooling me. I can tell when you’re trying to get something, and you’ve been trying real hard this whole week.”
I blushed. How horrible was this about to sound, “I was kind of hoping you’d let me hang out with Mr. Way tomorrow…”
An understanding came into her eyes, “Oh, right. He did call about that. Apparently he wants to do something to thank you for cleaning his room. As if the extra credit wasn’t enough.”
She paused in thought and I took the opportunity to put on my best puppy dog face. She couldn’t resist my puppy dog face.
She reached out and ruffled my hair, “I haven’t forgotten that you’re grounded, but since you’ve been so good I suppose I’ll give you a day off. Besides, I already told him yes.”
I nodded and walked off calmly. On the inside, though, I was completely spazzing out with excitement. I got to go on a date with the most beautiful man alive!
I couldn’t meet Gerard’s eyes all through class on Monday. My words kept playing through my head, making me hate myself. I had done some thinking and decided that I couldn’t really blame the nerves. I really had started to view our relationship that way. Which was really fucked up. I knew I was wrong. I saw Gerard’s loving side almost every day.
By the time the bell rang, I wanted to bolt out the door in shame. But I knew I couldn’t do that. I owed him an apology, and he was going to get one. I walked up to his desk and cleared my throat. He looked up and smiled slightly.
“Hello Frank. What is it you need?”
I sighed, “Don’t start that, please. I…I’m sorry. I was a jerk on Friday, and there’s no excuse for it.”
He stood and pulled me close, “You don’t have to apologize. It was just nerves, and even if it wasn’t…Well, I can’t really prove you wrong.”
I looked up into his eyes, unsure of what he meant. Surely he wasn’t saying that he really was only into this for the sex. I would feel worse than shit if that was the case. But the way he was holding me didn’t seem sexual. It seemed sweet and loving.
He smiled, “I want to make it up to you. Let’s go on a date.”
I felt shock take over my expression, “A d-date?! But…How? We’d be caught. You’d get fired!”
He sat and pulled me on his lap, “Don’t worry. I have this all planned out. I’ll call your mom and ask her if I can take you out as a thank you, and we’ll go out of town to avoid anyone we know.”
It sounded great, but… “There’s one problem. Mom won’t let me leave the house except for school because of my grades.”
His eyebrows furrow together, “That is going to be a problem, I guess. We’ll give her time to cool off. I want to go on a Saturday anyway.”
“Why Saturday?”
“Because then we can just spend the whole day together.”
“Hmmm…” I snuggled into him, “Yeah, that sounds nice. I’ll just try to be on my nest behavior this week. She should soften up. I’m her only child after all.”
…
I held up my end of the deal. At home I was the ideal child. I did everything I was asked, I did my homework where Mom could see me, and I basically used every suck up technique in the book. I was pretty sure she got the message, but I was still pretty nervous on the way home come Friday. What if she said no? I wanted my first date, dammit!
I was met with a surprise when I walked in the door. My dad was seated at the kitchen table, clearly waiting for me. He looked up when the door closed and motioned to the seat a cross from him, “Have a seat, boy.”
I sat. It’s never a good idea to disobey a direct order from a parent who never sees you. They’re just waiting to use their authoritative power.
“So what’s this I hear about you having bad grades?”
I shrugged, “It’s been a really stressful year. I’m not used to having work in so many classes yet.”
He nodded, “Uh-huh. I see. Well, if you’re having trouble dealing with your work load then why is your art teacher calling up asking if you can spend the day with him?”
This was probably the point to play dumb at, “Mr. Way asked me to spend a day with him?”
Another nod, “The way I see it, he’s being irresponsible as a teacher. He should be telling you to stay home and do your work. Kinda makes a dad suspicious. He’s not one of those creepy middle age men who likes young boys is he?”
I felt my face go white, “Oh, god, dad! No! He isn’t even out of college yet. We’re just friends since I spend so much time in his room. We have similar interests, you know?”
I could tell he was struggling to keep a straight face. It was all about appearing professional with him. Still, I wasn’t surprised when he said, “So he’s into that “punk” bullshit too?”
I hated how he said the word “punk” sarcastically. For some reason, he had a hard time accepting the type of person I was. There’s always one parent, right? Mom was the one who was all about being myself and having freedom of expression. Dad saw some of the music I listened to as treasonous, rejecting the way America functions when we actually have it good or some shit.
I took a deep breath, “Yeah, I guess. Most of the kids in the class make fun of him for it.”
“Well they should. He’s a grown man. He should have grown men interests. You should too for that matter.”
It took a lot of willpower to resist biting his head off. I really hated how he tried to control my life when he was barely a part of it, “Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind. So…Can I go?”
He stood up, “Take that up with your mom. She’s the one who grounded you.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. On one hand, he had basically just said I wasn’t his problem. On the other, there was a slight smile on his face, indicating that he was making a joke out of it. I just shrugged and went to find my mom. She was in the kitchen making dinner. I kissed her cheek to get her attention.
“That smells great! Is there anything I can do to help?”
She turned around and pointed the knife at me in that way only mothers can master, “What do you want Franklin?”
I swallowed, “I just want to help. Is that a bad thing?”
“You’re not fooling me. I can tell when you’re trying to get something, and you’ve been trying real hard this whole week.”
I blushed. How horrible was this about to sound, “I was kind of hoping you’d let me hang out with Mr. Way tomorrow…”
An understanding came into her eyes, “Oh, right. He did call about that. Apparently he wants to do something to thank you for cleaning his room. As if the extra credit wasn’t enough.”
She paused in thought and I took the opportunity to put on my best puppy dog face. She couldn’t resist my puppy dog face.
She reached out and ruffled my hair, “I haven’t forgotten that you’re grounded, but since you’ve been so good I suppose I’ll give you a day off. Besides, I already told him yes.”
I nodded and walked off calmly. On the inside, though, I was completely spazzing out with excitement. I got to go on a date with the most beautiful man alive!
@PumpkinPieMotherFucker
Sorry...I really had planned to wrap it up in a concise way, but the passion for this story just isn't in me anymore...
9/22/16