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Justin's Perspective

Kyle and I brought his stuff into the house. He didn't have that much, but the one suitcase I had weighed a damn ton. I'll bet it's all books, I thought.

"Guys, put his stuff in one of the third floor rooms for the time being," Kevin told us.

"Is it a garret," Denis asked, all excited like.

Kevin laughed. "No, it's just a regular bedroom, Denis," he said.

"What the hell's a garret," I asked Kyle on the way up.

"I don't know," he said.

"Is this bed made," Kyle asked, when we got to the room. He checked it, and it was.

We went into the bathroom up there to make sure it had towels and such, and it did.

"I guess he's all set up," I said.

"There's no computer in here, though," Kyle said.

I didn't think that was a requirement for a good night's sleep, but what did I know.

"Where's your laptop," he asked.

"Downstairs under the bed, in the box," I said.

"Do you mind if he uses it up here?"

"Hell, no, I don't mind," I said.

There were computers everywhere in that damn house. I had the one they had given me for my seventeenth birthday on a desk in my room, and Brian had his on the desk in the room Alex was in. That was officially Brian's room, but he never used it much. Kyle and Tim had one in their room, and Jeff had two in his, a desk one and a laptop. There was one in the study downstairs, and one in the kitchen, too. They were everywhere.

We went down to our room and got the laptop I had gotten for my eighteenth birthday. We took it back upstairs to the third floor, and Kyle set about working it after he plugged it in. He typed in some stuff here and there, and he was satisfied it worked.

"It's working. Let's go downstairs."

"What did you do," I asked.

"I configured it for the network in this house. I put in an IP address and a gateway address, and such. What do you think I did?"

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. That's what I thought you did," I said.

He started laughing and jumped on me, getting me in a headlock. Kyle was a very affectionate guy, but he was rough. He gave me a nuggie, and it hurt.

"You don't know what the fuck I was talking about, do you," he said.

"No, I really don't, but can I still be your friend?"

He laughed hard. "You and I are going to be friends on our deathbeds, joking and getting each other last," he said.

"I hope so," I said.

"I know so."

Back downstairs in the den, everybody was all huddled up. They were getting to know Denis. They had probably already gone over the house rules about sex, but I didn't think that was going to be an issue with him anytime soon.

"He's all set up," Kyle said. "Computer, toilet paper, and everything."

We laughed at that.

"There's a computer in my room," Denis asked, all excited.

"Yeah. We're on a local area network here, with cable modems," Kyle said.

I had no idea what that meant.

"Be still my heart," Denis said. "I've died and gone to heaven."

They all laughed. He was actually a pretty cute boy, I noticed, now that I wasn't terrorized by having to entertain him and Mr. Williams by myself.

"Who wants to swim," Kyle asked.

"We can swim, but we're going to six o'clock Mass," Rick said.

"It's only four o'clock," Kyle said.

"I know, but I'm just telling you. We leave at 5:45. Dressed," Rick said.

Jeff and Tyler were there, and they went out to the pool with us.

"We swim naked here, Denis," Brian said.

"I think I'll just sit out and watch," Denis said.

"You can wear a suit, if you want to," I said. "Naked ain't a requirement."

"No, that's okay. I really don't have a suit," he said.

"I'll lend you one," Brian offered.

"No, that's okay," Denis said.

Brian started to insist, but I said, "Buddy, it doesn't look like he wants to swim."

"Okay," Brian said, smiling real sweet. "I get the hint."

We had a good time in the pool that afternoon. I did a bad thing accidentally and smashed a volleyball into Kyle's face when we were playing. He went under and came up with a bloody lip. I knew it hurt, but he didn't say a word about it. That was just part of the game, but I still felt bad about hurting him.

After Mass we went to the Pelican's Roost, like we usually did. It was just us that night. When we went to Mass on Saturday night, Jerry, Pat, and Mike joined us. They weren't there that night, though. It was just the immediate family, and that was pretty big. After we ate, we went home, and everybody got together in the den.

"Denis, tomorrow morning Rick and I have to go to work," Kevin said, leading off.

"So do Alex and I," I said. "The rest of these guys are off for their last week before school starts."

"Kyle, will you get things organized in the morning," Rick asked.

"Sure," Kyle said. "You know I will."

"What are you guys going to do tomorrow," Kevin asked the ones staying home.

"Read," Tim said.

"Read," Brian said.

"Denis, do you need help getting organized for tomorrow," Kevin asked.

"No. I'm going to read, too. That's what I do," he said.

"Kyle?"

"I thought I would rape and pillage awhile tomorrow, and then rob a couple of banks on Tuesday," he said.

"Oh, so that means working on pictures, right," Kevin said.

"You got me last on that one, Bubba. Yeah," Kyle said, laughing.

"Okay, I'm satisfied," Kevin said. "You all have plans for tomorrow, and that's good."

"I am still tired from the trip," Kyle said. "You coming, Tim?"

Tim would be coming, all right, but not the way Kyle said it just then. He was so damn obvious when it came to wanting to have sex with Tim. That was all right, though.

"Kyle, did you ever get up with your parents," Rick asked.

"Yeah. They're in Destin with Doc and Sonya," he said.

"I didn't know your dad wasn't home, Tim," Kevin said.

"No, sir, he's in Destin."

Duh, I thought.

"Well, goodnight, guys," Kevin said.

We all said it, too. In about five minutes, we were all headed to bed.

Kyle's Perspective

Timmy and I just lolled around in bed on Monday morning. We made really good love that morning, really intense, and that would probably hold me for the whole day. Maybe even two days, but I doubted it.

"Let's get up," I said.

"No. Let's don't get up. Let's stay in bed all day," he said.

I laughed a little bit.

"You sorry-ass load. We've got a new brother, remember," I said.

"Fuck him," Tim said.

"No, thanks," I said.

Tim and I both laughed.

"He's a real piece of work, isn't he," Tim said.

"Yeah. Jus said he and Brian discussed a book Brian was reading, and it was way over Justin's head," I said.

"I seriously doubt that," Tim said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. He was funny as hell, yesterday, though, pretending to be dumb," I said.

"People who don't know him probably think he is dumb, especially because of his accent and all. You want people to think you're dumb, too, don't you?"

"I'm surprised it took you this long to pick up on that," I said.

"No. I picked up on it a long time ago, and I know what you're doing with that. But I've got your number, Babe. I know how not dumb you really are."

I laughed because I knew he really did have my number on that one.

"That's why they picked on Denis in Blountstown, I'll bet. They won't pick on him at Beachside. There are too many other kids like him there for that to matter. He just comes across as smart. He doesn't come across as gay. And we're doing this thing about academic achievement this year. I'm going to be all about academic achievement," I said.

He laughed.

"Shit, Kyle, you're all about having fun and surfing and taking pictures and shooting pool and giving parties and planning trips," he said.

"I know, but that's our little secret, okay? In public, I'm all about academic achievement. By the way, what exactly does that mean?"

He laughed. "God, I love you so much," he said. "We're going to have a great life together, aren't we?"

"Those are my plans," I said. "And I love you so much, too. Didn't that work out good?"

He laughed.

* * *

Tim and I finally took a shower and went downstairs. Brian and Denis were both down there already, reading books at the breakfast room table.

"Did you sleep good, Denis," I asked.

"Yes. That bed is wonderful. The room is beautiful, too. I noticed the curtains and how nice they are," Denis said.

"Did you have a chance to try out the computer," Tim asked.

"Yes. It was like lightening. I didn't have one at home, and the ones in school were really slow," he said. "I knew cable modems were fast, but I had no idea they were that fast."

"Did Kevin or Rick say anything about getting you registered for school," I asked Denis.

"No. I guess I need to do that," he said.

"I'm going up to school in a little while. I'll take you, if you want me to," I said.

"Can I do it without an adult," he asked.

"Yeah. You just have to fill out some forms. You might have to bring some home for Kevin and Rick to sign, but you don't really need them to register," I said.

"What grade are all of you going to be in," he asked.

"I'm going to be a senior," I said.

"Junior," Tim said.

"Sophomore," Brian said.

"And I'm going to be a lowly freshman," he said.

"You know who else is going to be a freshman? Peanut," I said.

"That's right. I forgot about that," Tim said. "I wonder if he's registered."

"Yeah, they took care of all of that in middle school," I said. "But you know what, he wanted to change his PE class. I wonder if he's done that."

"Did he want to get out of swimming? Is that what it was," Bri asked.

"Yeah. He swims like a fish. He'll pass that proficiency test right away," I said.

"Am I going to have to take swimming," Denis asked.

"Yep. Every freshman has to, or pass a swimming proficiency test to get out of it. It's a graduation requirement," I said.

"So hell will start all over again," he said. He had kind of a long face.

"What do you mean," I asked. "It's not that bad. You don't like to swim?"

"I can swim a little bit, but I probably couldn't pass a proficiency test. It's not that, though. It's the whole locker room thing and the jock mentality," he said.

"Did you get picked on at your old school," Tim asked. He said that so gentle and kind that Denis had to know he wanted to help if he could.

"Yes, unfortunately," he said. "That school I went to was a haven for rednecks and savages, and they made fun of me and called me names. They pushed me around, too, took my books away from me, that sort of thing."

"Did they call you 'faggot,'" Brian asked, also gentle and kind.

He put his head down and wouldn't look at us.

"Please don't call me that," he whispered.

I touched his arm.

"You're among your brothers here," I said, also trying to be gentle and kind. "We don't hurt each other, Denis. At least not on purpose."

I thought about the volleyball I took to the kisser the day before when I said that last part.

"Are you worried about changing in the locker room," Tim asked.

"That's part of it," he said.

"We're pretty free and easy about nudity around here, Den," I said. "It's all guys, and everything. But you don't have to swim nude here, if you don't want to. We had a guy who stayed with us for a few weeks this summer, and he was shy because his dick was real small. He got used to being naked around us, though. Didn't he?"

Tim and Brian both said he did.

"I can definitely relate. Has anybody ever gotten, er, you know?"

"Hard," I asked.

He nodded.

"It happens all the time, Denis," Tim said. "We just ignore it when it does."

"Yes, but I'm . . . different. "

"Gay," I asked.

He put his head down again, and his lower lip started trembling, like he was about to cry or something.

"Is it that easy to tell?"

"You tell me. How many gay guys have you met in the last twenty-four hours," I asked.

"None, that I know of," he said.

"That figure isn't quite right, Denis," I said. "You've met a houseful. We're all gay here."

He looked shocked as hell.

"They didn't tell you," Tim asked, not believing it.

"We knew about you because Kevin and Rick told us. Besides, we mostly only get the queers," I said.

"Nobody said anything about that," Denis said.

"Here's the way it is. Tim and I are boyfriends, and we have been for about twenty months," I said.

"And Justin and I are boyfriends, and our anniversary is in November. One year, coming up," Brian said.

"Kevin and Rick are actually married to each other, and they've been together over four years," Tim said. "And Alex and Cody just started dating about two weeks ago. Jeff and Tyler have been dating for a couple of months, and they're going to live together. In fact, I think you'll probably get Jeff's room."

"So, do you feel more at home now," I asked. "We're on your side, Bubba. That's what we call each other. Bubba. It means 'brother.'"

"When you say you're boyfriends, does that mean . . . "

"Yes, we do have sex," I said. "I guess they didn't say anything about the house rules about sex, huh?"

He shook his head.

"Whatever you do in private is your business, and nobody else's. We also don't talk in public about what we do in private. What that really means is in front of Kevin and Rick, or other adults. You never do anything sexual in public. Not even kissing, except like a quick hello kiss or something like that. And you never, ever do anything unless both guys want to do it. That could be fucking or sucking, or even jerking off or kissing. It's got to be mutual. Sex is for love, not for aggression," I said.

"I don't think that will be an issue for me," he said.

"Maybe not now, but you're going to be here a long time," I said. "You'll meet somebody, probably."

"Do the kids at school harass you all," he asked.

"No, they really don't," I said. "And they won't you, either. Everybody knows we're gay. You're going to have three brothers in that school with you, and all of us have a lot of friends, gay and straight. We're going to have your back, now. That's all there is to that."

"This is turning out to be better than I thought, and I already thought it was going to be wonderful," he said.

We all laughed a little.

"But, now, you've got to be a family member, too, you hear? That means you've got to do your part, both the chores around the house and contribute to family time together. No being up in your room reading all the time when everybody else is down watching TV or hanging out together," I said.

"Can I read in the den, say, while everybody else is watching TV," he asked.

"Absolutely," Tim said. "We do that all the time, but we're there together. And sometimes you'll want privacy, and we understand that. None of us is always with the family. Plus, some might be out shooting pool or swimming, while others are watching TV or reading or playing a game or cards or something. It's more like there being a family spirit than it is like having a set of rules about who can do what, when. Does that make any sense?"

"I think so," he said.

"Denis, you'll find out that there is an awful lot of love in this house," Bri said, "and I don't mean just between boyfriends. There's an awful lot of fun here, too, and you'll absolutely always feel safe and be safe here."

"Would you all mind calling me Denny? That's what I like to be called," he said.

"Mostly we're going to call you Bubba, but we'll call you Denny, too, if that's what you want," Bri said.

"You're going to be happy here, Denny. I mean that, Bubba," I said.

"Does anybody here ever cry, because I'm afraid I'm about to," he said.

The three of us laughed hard.

"Shit, we cry all the fucking time, Bubba. Cry your eyes out, man. They're happy tears, though, right," I said.

"Right," he said, and the water was just streaming down his face.

"I think this is an ice cream moment, Kyle," Brian said.

"Do you like ice cream, Denny," I asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, watch this, dude."

We didn't have any bananas (I put them on my mental shopping list), but we had everything else. Pineapple, cherries, coconut, marshmallow cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, chopped nuts, and three flavors of ice cream. We made 'em big. It was only ten o'clock in the morning, but sometimes ice cream moments happen then. I was going to be on a sugar high the rest of the damn day, but that was alright. We had us a new brother, and I thought he was going to be just fine, thank you very much.

"God, I'm full," I said when I had finished my ice cream.

"I know. Me, too," Tim said.

"You ate like crazed beasts. Both of you," Brian said.

"I am a crazed beast," I said.

I got up from my chair and started doing a monster walk over toward Brian. I had my arms up in the air and the meanest look I could get on my face. I knew he was ticklish as hell, and I was going to get him for saying that.

I got about two feet from him, and Trixie growled and bared her teeth at me.

"Whoa!" I said, and backed off.

"Trixie! No!" Brian screamed at her.

"What is this all about," I asked.

"She's real protective of me, Kyle. She did the same thing to Justin when he was tickling me in the clubhouse one day," Bri said. "I need to break her of it. Do it again."

"I don't want her to bite me," I said.

"She's not going to bite you. She knows who you are. She's trying to scare you, though."

"Well, she damn sure did," I said.

"Pet her," he said.

"Is she going to take my hand off," I asked.

"Kyle, use your left hand," Tim said.

We all laughed.

I petted Trixie, and it was like it never happened.

"Now do it again," Brian said.

So I did. She growled a little bit, but I spoke her name sharply, and she started wagging. I did it another time, and we didn't get a peep out of her.

By then, I really didn't feel like tickling Brian anymore, so I sat down.

"We've got some lists to make," I said.

Tim and Brian laughed.

"Yeah, laugh all you want to, but we've got things to get done, and a list is the best way to do it," I said.

"What have we got to get done," Brian asked.

"Let's start with school. He's got to get registered, and Peanut's probably got to get his schedule changed. That's probably about it for school," I said.

"What else," Brian asked.

I was on to that little cutie. He was playing the Justin role of teasing my ass for all he was worth, and I knew it.

"School clothes," I said. "Denny, have you got nice clothes for school? If you're going to be Kevin and Rick's son, you've got to dress nice for school."

"We were pretty poor, Kyle. My clothes aren't really very nice. And they don't fit me too well, either, any more," he said.

"I'm all fixed up for clothes," Brian said.

"Bullshit, Bri. You haven't had on a pair of long pants since the first of March, so you have no idea if they still fit you. You've grown, dude. I've watched it," I said.

"That's not true. I had on long pants at Rick's grandpa's funeral," he said.

"Yeah, and they were mighty high-waters, too," I said.

He laughed. "You don't miss a thing, do you?"

"Nope," I said. "And shoes. Do you have decent shoes? That fit?"

"I could use some shoes," Brian said.

"There you go," I said.

"I don't want to spend all my money on clothes, Kyle. I'm fine with what I've got," Brian said.

"You're not going to spend all your money on clothes. I have plastic," I said.

"Are you going to charge my clothes to Goodson," he asked.

"No. I'm going to charge yours and Denny's, and probably Justin's, too, to Kevin and Rick," I said. "We're not going to go hog-ass wild, but you're going to get what you need, Brian."

"Is that an order," he asked, grinning.

"If it needs to be, yes," I said. "Kevin and Rick, as good as they are, don't know shit about kids' clothing needs, and Justin is proof positive of that."

"I remember when you had to have a private talk with them about his clothes," Bri said.

"That's right, and they have not given it the first minute's thought since that talk. We're not waiting for them this time," I said.

"Are you like the boss kid," Denny asked.

Tim and Brian almost fell on the floor, they were laughing so hard. Trixie was barking her head off, wanting in on the fun.

"Absolutely," Brian said, still laughing.

"Yes," Tim said, laughing, too.

"I don't get what's so funny," Denny said.

"I don't, either," I said. "What about school supplies? Have you got a backpack to carry your shit in, Denny?"

"No. I just always carry my books loose," he said.

"Not here," I said. I wrote "backpack" on my list. "Pens, notebooks, loose leaf paper, pencils, all that kind of stuff. That's a Wal-Mart trip."

"Put index cards on the list," Brian said. "I've got to do my summer book reports on index cards. The 5" x 8" kind."

"Okay," I said, and I wrote that down. "What else?"

"I can't think of anything else, Babe," Tim said.

"Neither can I," Brian said.

"What about floppy disks for the computer and rulers and stuff like that," Denny said. "I don't have any of those things."

"Good point. And Brian, you're going to need a compass and a protractor for geometry," I said.

"I took that last year, Kyle," he said.

"Oh. Okay. What about calculators? Does everybody have a good one, with the trig functions on it, and all?"

Tim and Brian said they were good, but Denny said he didn't have one.

"I'll give you mine. I ain't ever using it again," I said.

"No. Get him one of his own," Tim said. "You hold on to yours."

"Okay," I said. "You need a cell phone, too, don't you," I asked Denny.

"Do I?"

"Yeah, you do. Everybody's got one. That's a company benefit that Kevin and Rick don't pay for," I said.

"I often wondered about that," Bri said.

"Yeah, I help my daddy figure out benefits, sometimes," I said.

Tim and Brian laughed, but Denny was in the dark. Leave him there for now, I thought.

"Okay, we've got us some lists. Now we just have to do 'em," I said. "Let me call Peanut."

I had a bunch of numbers programmed into my phone, and I used the alpha code on the keys to keep straight which number was which. I pressed in C-H-I-P for him, and he answered it quick.

I told him I was going up to school to register Denny, and I said he could come, too, if he wanted to. He said he wanted to.

"We'll be there in ten minutes," I said.

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you."

I told Denny on the way over why we called him Peanut and that we didn't know if he was straight, bi, gay, or something else.

"Whatever he is, he's just a great guy, and he's our friend," I said.

"You guys are pretty incredible," he said. "And you can call me Peanut the Second."

I laughed.

At Beachside High School, I was the kid who probably had the most access to the principal of any kid in the place. She and I had gotten to be good friends over the summer, and she already knew my family. She had babysat my dad when he was little. My dad had had an older brother who had been killed in the war in Vietnam, and it turned out her husband and my Uncle Joe had been very good friends in school. Not only that, but her son had cut his eye teeth as a chef in the restaurant of one of our big hotels. Talk about deep, entangled roots in a small beach town. I had 'em coming and going, and I was just really learning about them.

"Miss Sally, I want you to meet my newest brother, Denny Morgan," I said, when I introduced them. "He's going to be a freshman. And this is my good friend Chip Rooney, another freshman."

"Hi, Denny. Hi, Chip. Welcome to Beachside," she said. "Have you registered yet?"

"I did, but I need to change my schedule," Chip said.

"No, ma'am, I just got here," Denny said.

I noticed he said "no, ma'am," and that was a good thing. He needed to say "ma'am" and "sir" as often as he could. That was the way we did it in Emerald Beach. But he had grown up in Blountstown, so I knew he knew that.

We were in the lobby of the school.

"Kyle, take them over to guidance so they can get them squared away, and then come back to my office so we can talk, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

I took them to the guidance office, and there were a lot of people in there. They signed in for an appointment with their counselors and took a seat. It was first come, first served.

"This might take a while," I said. "I've got to go up to the front office, so y'all go to my car when you finish in here. Just wait there for me, okay?"

"Okay," they said.

I went up to the front office, and Miss Sally wanted to talk about Freshman Orientation. I told her I was cool with it and that I would stress academic achievement in my speech. I was supposed to try to whip up some school spirit, and then talk about academic achievement and our plan to make that happen.

"Kyle, the last thing I want to do is put words in your mouth," she said.

"I wish you would," I said.

"No, you've got plenty of words of your own. You can say anything you want to, but I really wish you would hit the academic achievement thing hard."

"Don't worry, Miss Sally," I said. "That's what I'm all about."

"Kyle, I hear you saying that, but I looked at your schedule the other day. It's not exactly what I would call 'academic.'"

"Yes, ma'am, I know that, but did you look at what I took before this year? I've already got fifteen credits at ECCC, and I'm taking two Englishes there this coming year. I might be slouching a little bit at school here, but I'm really not slouching overall."

"I didn't know about the English courses at the college. That's a lot better. Kyle, you have incredible potential. Do you know that about yourself?"

"Yes, ma'am, I think I do."

"I think you'll eventually come back here, with a partner who's a doctor , and you can run this place, if you want to."

"We're coming back, but I don't know about running anything. I just want us to be a Grade A school this year," I said.

"Go get those precious little boys you brought in here this morning. Take care of them this year, Kyle. I think they might need you."

"Yes, ma'am, I will. We're going to have their backs, that's for sure. We might have to bust some ass," I said.

"If you do it on campus, I'll deal with you exactly like I would anyone else," she said.

"Yes, ma'am, I know that," I said.

"Get out of here, Kyle," she said.

Then she winked.

They weren't at my car, so I figured they were still in the guidance office. It was too hot to wait out there, so I walked over to the sports complex. It was just a gym and the swimming pool, but that's what they called it, the sports complex. The pool was an indoor one, and there were big open windows on one side of it. It was supposed to be used year round, and it was, but to me it was always too hot in there in the summer, and the water was never really warm enough in the winter.

There were some guys in the gym playing pick-up basketball. I knew almost all of them, and they wanted me to play. I didn't want to because of Denny and Chip, though, so I faked a limp. They knew I was faking, and they laughed.

Nothing else was going on in the gym. I checked the weight room to see if anybody I knew was in there, but it was empty. Empty and hot as hell. The main gym was air conditioned and felt good, but it must have been off in that room. And it really smelled bad, too, like feet or something.

Then I went to the pool, and who should I see but Chip.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in guidance changing your schedule," I said to him.

"I already did it. They told me to come over here to see if the coach would give me my swimming test," he said.

"What are you going to do? Swim naked?"

"You wish, don't you," he said, with a big grin. Then he pulled the top of his shorts down a little bit to show me he had a bathing suit on under them. "I came prepared."

"Do you know where the coaches' offices are," I asked.

"No. I've never been in here before," he said.

"Come with me."

I found a coach I knew and liked, and I told him what was up. He asked Chip if he could swim, and Chip said he could. Then he asked me if I could vouch for that, and I said yes, sir. He got out a form and signed it.

"Fill in your name and the rest of that stuff, and turn it in in guidance," he said.

We thanked the coach and walked over toward guidance.

"I thought I was going to have to take a test, like actually get in the damn pool," Chip said.

"Evidently not," I said.

We both laughed.

Denny was just finishing up when we got to guidance. Chip fill out the form and turned it in.

"Let me see your schedule," I told Denny. He handed it to me.

He had English I, Algebra I, Drama I, and Personal Fitness the first half of the year. There weren't any courses listed for the second half.

"Why don't you have courses for second semester," I asked.

"The network went down before they could print it. That's when I'm taking swimming, though," he said.

"Good. Put it off as long as you can," I said. "Maybe things will grow by then."

Denny blushed, and it looked like he was bowing up.

I grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey, look. None of that shit, you hear? I didn't say that to hurt your feelings. I've never even seen what you've got. I was teasing you based on what you said this morning, that's all," I said.

"Sorry, Kyle. I knew that," he said.

If you knew it, why'd you bow up, I thought.

"Okay. I'm sorry if I made you mad, too. We don't really know one another yet, and I should have been more careful," I said. "Shake my hand, man."

He did, and it was pretty limp.

"Come on. Do it right," I said.

He grinned and shook normally.

"You're going to turn me into a man, aren't you," he said, playfully.

"You're goddamn right, I am. And you, too, Peanut. Now let's go."

"Were you getting ready to fight him," Chip asked.

"I guess," Denny said.

"Son, I don't think you want to take on these big boys," Chip said. "They'll grind you up. They'd turn me into peanut butter."

"You need to be careful, okay, Bubba? I was in the principal's office while you two were in guidance. She told me to look out for the two of you this year, and I intend to. I told her I might have to bust some ass to do it. She said that if I did that at school, she'd deal with me the same way she would with anybody else who fights on campus. Do you know what that means? Ten days out-of-school suspension for the first offense. Expulsion by the school board for the second offense. You acted like you have a pretty short fuse, Denny. Don't get in trouble, you hear, man?"

"Yes, sir," he said, and he didn't say it as a joke or sarcastic or anything.

"Can we walk around and look at the school," Chip asked.

"Sure," I said. "I'm going to call Tim and Brian and tell them to meet us for lunch."

I called them and told them to meet at our usual lunch place in half an hour, and we walked around the school. The cafeteria was nice and big, but we couldn't go in because they were waxing the floor. The teachers didn't officially start until the next day, but there were some around working in classrooms. We went to the room where Denny was going to have English, and the teacher was in there. I knew her because I had had her for English freshman year.

"Hi, Kyle," she said, as we stood at the open door. "Come in. Are you all ready to start back?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said. "Miss Johnstone, this is Denny Morgan and this is Chip Rooney, two friends of mine. Denny's going to be in your class for English."

"How do you do, gentlemen," she said.

The one thing about Miss Johnstone, she really stressed reading a lot, and writing, too. She had something she called her classroom library, which was basically just a ton of paperback books all over the place. Denny's eyes got as big as dinner plates when he saw all those books.

"Do you like to read, Denny," she asked.

"Oh, yes, ma'am. I love to read," he said.

"Well, you'll do a lot of reading in my class. If you'd like, you can pick out a book to take home with you, as long as I get it back when you're finished with it," she said.

"Just one?"

She smiled like she liked was she just heard. "No, as many as you'd like, but they'll be here all semester," she said.

He picked out three good sized ones, and she made him sign the card that was in the back of each one. I noticed one of those books had been read by quite a few people, but the other two were almost brand new.

We walked around a little bit more, and then we met the guys for lunch.

After lunch I asked them if they wanted to go into town to the mall.

"Why don't we go tonight, so Justin can go, too," Brian said.

"Okay. What do you want to do this afternoon," I asked.

"I'd like to get started on those books I borrowed," Denny said.

"I need to get home," Chip said.

"Okay. I want to work on the pictures, anyway," I said, so we went home for the rest of the day.