Chapter 30
by Dan Kirk
"I must tell you, these boys were nothing like I expected." Barbara Walters told her co-host on the show when the interview was broadcast. We had all been pleasantly surprised at how long the broadcast was; one of the few pleasant surprises during January.
"Really, why?" He asked in a pleasant grin.
"Well, from everything we'd seen up to this point, both had appeared to be very mature, very sure of themselves, and they were definitely that." She answered with a grin. "Yet, there was so much more to them when you actually saw them in person. First, we met up with them as they were preparing to go to federal court, seeking an injunction against their school district's ruling expelling them from their school. The hearing was at one o'clock and they got to San Francisco early in the morning. We met up with them at a local hospital where they were taking the opportunity to visit AIDS patients along with Dr. Grayson, one of the leading specialists in that field."
The screen had changed to show the visit, and I had to admit that Brian looked damned handsome as he sat at the bedside of a man who looked very sick and joked with him about football. I didn't look too bad as I was doing much the same, talking instead though about dogs, of which the man had owned several. The overall shot was very good and set the right tone as Barbara continued to speak.
"Here these boys were fighting to stay in their school and they still took time out to visit sick people like they've been doing for years." Barbara said over the picture. "I was told by Brian's parents that it had been the boy's idea, and they took every chance to do this that came up, so it wasn't anything unusual for them. Then, they went to eat lunch at a local restaurant before meeting their attorney for the hearing.
"The hearing didn't go well, and as it was federal court, cameras were not allowed. The judge refused to grant an injunction against their expulsion citing the rights generally granted school boards to determine dangers to their students and also the financial ability of the families involved to ensure their children receive continued education. After a short group hug, they got into their cars and headed back to Modesto, where an extended family meeting was held including their close friends and David's adoptive brother."
The screen showed all of us, Tyatya, Dyadya, Mom and Dad B, the Walkers, Trevor, Brandon, Sean, Reynolds and a few guys from the football team and drill squad all sitting in the kitchen at the large round table there.
"Man, this sucks." Reynolds was saying in his typical booming voice. "I can't believe they're doing this to you guys."
"Yeah, I thought for sure you guys would be able to go back to school." Sean said with a slight frown.
"So, what happens now?" Trevor asked.
"Well, we have several options." Mom B said with a slight smile. "First, we can try home schooling Brian and Davey. I'm sure we could manage to do it so you didn't fall behind in your studies, but the first hearing date for the case is not until two months from now. By the time it's finished, Carol says it could be as much as a year. Then, if they rule against us and we appeal, it could be six months to a year before that case is heard. Or we could win and the district would appeal, asking for an injunction to keep you boys out of school and that would probably be granted. The long and short of it is that they've succeeded in keeping you two out of public school for now. I wouldn't want your education to suffer because of other people's short-sightedness."
"That leaves private school, doesn't it?" Brian had asked.
"Now private school isn't too bad." Dad B said with a smile. "The hard part is going to be finding one that will take you two mid-year and on such short notice. We've already made a few inquiries and several of them have faxed over or even express mailed some brochures we want you to look over. There's a couple in the area, but they're all religious-based and I don't think you want one of those."
"Absolutely not." I had said with a little disgust in my voice. "They're the kind of people that put us in this mess to begin with."
"Davey, don't get down on all religious people." Dyadya had chided me gently. "Sure, it's those pastors that have been trying to do this for over a year now, but they don't represent all religious people, or even all Christians."
"I understand that, Dyadya." I had said softly. "It just leaves a bad taste in the mouth is all."
"That's understandable, but don't let it turn into hate." Dyadya had warned. "If you do, you will end up no better than they are."
"Konyechna." I had answered in Russian.
"After their family meeting, the boys broke up to go to the Breckenridge home where they worked to repair damage done by vandals on Monday." Barbara's voice over said as they showed us working on the damage to Brian's house. "Then David and Brian, who have been a couple since they were twelve, hugged each other good night and David went home with the couple who adopted him after his mother's death. He calls them by Dyadya and Tyatya, the Russian words for 'uncle' and 'aunt'. They are defectors from the Soviet Union who have made their home here in this small farming and manufacturing town and Russian is often spoken at their home.
"David and his adoptive brother, the natural son of the Rush parents, then performed their usual evening chores before heading inside where they both studied for several hours. Even though he is currently without a school, you can see David working on several projects, including writing an essay in German, the language he studies at school and then re-writing it into Russian for Mrs. Rush, who is fluent in both languages as well as English. Then, its Mr. Rush's turn as he helps David with advanced algebra and Trevor with geometry. After homework, both boys relax with reading or games, usually, and tonight it's a family game of Scrabble…in Russian."
When this had aired it was to my surprise that the producers had actually had what we were saying in Russian translated into sub-titles. Some of the things were pretty stupid, and Mr. Rush had had to correct me several times. It was a little embarrassing, but it set the right 'family' tone.
"Before bed, they watched the nightly news broadcasts." Barbara continued to narrate as the camera showed us watching the television. "It's the only time all night that the television was on, and both Mr. and Mrs. Rush commented that none of them watched much television, choosing instead to spend the time together as a family, interacting with each other. They go to bed by ten-thirty each evening, because they get up early every morning.
"There's always chores to do on a farm, even a small one like this, and it's Trevor and David who are up before dawn working on those chores. Then they come inside, shower and change for school, except this morning it's only Trevor who is going to school. David instead prepares for the day ahead where he will make choices on what he's to do after the court ruling. His boyfriend, Brian, and Brian's parents arrive shortly after seven in the morning.
"Mr. Breckenridge is a manager at a local cannery. Mrs. Breckenridge does volunteer work at a local hospital. Both have taken the day off to work with the boys on deciding their immediate future. Mr. Rush works for the Department of Energy several days a week in his field of physics while Mrs. Rush is a traditional homemaker. Today though, they provide both boys time to review the options they have."
The camera showed Brian and I hugging as he came in, followed by hugs with Mom B and Dad B. We all adjourned to the living room where we sat on the couches and quietly discussed all the different schools that had been amenable to taking Brian and I. Most were boarding schools, something that would be necessary since they were not within driving distance, and most of our discussion focused on academics and sports. We weren't going to be short-sighted and make a decision just because a school was close or we only thought we'd be there for a semester. We had to look at the reality that this court case could take the rest of our high school years if it went all the way to the Supreme Court, which Carol had insisted it might. If that happened, we could be in college by the time it was over, and the point would be moot for our immediate future. No, those people trying to keep us out of school had won an important battle, and our main point in pursuing the court case was to settle the issue for other students.
By the time it was settled, more than likely it would have no direct impact on us at all.
"The boys eventually reached a decision, which for reasons of their own safety we did not record." Barbara's voice over continued. "Then the boys went off to meet a group of their friends from school for lunch. It was at a local diner, and instead of the ten or twelve students they expected, nearly two hundred showed up, more than the eatery could handle."
The scene from that had been near-chaos. We'd expected only a few guys to show up, but there were over two hundred who showed up and we'd been at a loss for what to do. It had been Agent Castillo who had suggested we head to a nearby park instead of eating lunch and there we had been inundated with questions and demands to know what the students could do to help.
"We can protest back!" One slim girl had shouted when we got the group to the park.
"Yeah!" Another boy had added. "There's like at least another couple of hundred who are as pissed off as we are! This is like totally stupid! We should do a walk-out and show them they can't do this to people!"
"Thanks, guys!" I had shouted as I stood on a table, raising my hands for some quiet. It had taken a few moments, but I'd gotten their attention. "Brian and I really appreciate your support in this. It means more than I can tell you to see all of you here, really it does. The thing is, if we do a walk-out, or stage a counter-protest, we'll be no better than they are. We'll be using mob tactics and intimidation to get our way and that's not right. I know you want to do something, and there is something you can do. Talk to your parents about how you feel, and why you feel that way. The people who made this decision are elected officials and your parents can vote them out of office if they disagree with the decisions the board made. If you're upset about this, convince your parents that you're right and pester them to vote their conscious, and yours, when it comes time for election."
"But that's not for two years!" One of the girls in the group had shouted. "That won't keep you guys in school and playing football next year!"
"No, but it will tell people all across this country that what happened here was wrong." I said firmly. "Look you guys know us. We're tough. We are not going to let something like this get us down. We're going to keep fighting. In football, we've had it tough a few times, run into some competition that scored a touchdown or two, and that's all this is: a touchdown. The game is far from over and we've got three more quarters to go."
"What about a recall election?" Trevor had shouted from where he stood nearby as the rest of the students cheered my speech.
"A what?" A girl near the front asked in a puzzled voice.
"You know, a recall election." Trevor pushed. "It's where you gather a bunch of signatures and then our parents vote on removing the creeps who did this from office. We don't have to wait two years, we can do it now. I looked it up. We can get petitions going, get registered voters to sign them, our parents, alumni, and people around town. We only need eight thousand signatures of registered voters. Then we can get some of our parents to run to replace those we get voted out."
"That's…" A girl in front started to say, but her eyes went wide. "Can we do that?"
"There's nothing illegal about students starting a petition drive." I said slowly, not wanting to look like it was my idea, which it had been. "More than likely it won't get us back into school until after football season, but it will tell the people on the school board that they can't walk all over students without paying a price."
"Who will do it if you guys aren't here?" The same girl asked.
"I can get the petitions made and can work on the stuff we have to do to make sure the paperwork is done." Sean said, stepping forward on cue.
"I will help organize everyone like I did when they tried to shut down the campus." Trevor said, reminding our classmates of his skill in that successful endeavor.
"Brian and I will have to stay out of it." I said loudly and there were some loud groans, but I waited for them to finish before continuing. "Look, if we get involved it will be about us trying to get revenge and I don't think you guys want to be labeled that way. If this is what you want to do because you don't like the decision they made, then fine, do it, but don't let them label you as things you aren't. You have our support, you have our endorsement, but this will be your campaign, not ours and we want you to kick their butts!"
The round of cheers that followed that little meeting had gone on for a while. I knew that off-screen, Trevor and Sean had quickly moved to set things in motion so that before the special aired they were ready. The plan was to start distributing the petitions right after the Barbara Walters interview, to piggy-back on that publicity to carry things forward. My attention drew back to the screen as Barbara started talking again.
"After the surprising show of support from their classmates, Brian and David returned to the Rush farm where they met again with their parents to decide on their future. Once again, we shut our cameras off as requested by the Secret Service to provide some privacy for the boys' future school. What I can tell you is that their discussion focused first on the academics of their first choice, its location second, and then, a topic important to most soon-to-be-sixteen year olds, whether they could have their cars there. They also talked about sports offered at the school, and both boys were disheartened to learn there was no football program. Then again, none of the schools on their list offered serious football programs. Both boys seemed somewhat pleased that it did offer a baseball program, another sport they both play, a wrestling program, and some other activities. Brian mentioned he'd been Regional Champion in wrestling during Junior High and that David had placed third and second during those years. Their choice made, they called the headmaster of their new school and talked to him for a while about requirements they would need to meet before they showed up. Both boys were upset that they would miss the planned joint birthday party in order to be at the new school, but their parents promised they would hold the party on the weekend before they left. Then it was time for some more work around Brian's house that both boys helped with.
"That night, we all sat down for an interview." Barbara concluded, and the screen shifted to the interview itself. Brian and I sat in the center of the couch, our hands clasped together where our legs met. On my left were Tyatya and Dyadya, while Mom B and Dad B sat on the same couch to Brian's right. Barbara sat in a comfortable chair to Tyatya's left and gave us one of her famous smiles.
"You boys have had a long couple of days." She said to us and we laughed nervously. She smiled a little wider at that. "Are you nervous?"
"A little." Brian said. "It's our first time really doing a television interview."
"But you've been before cameras before, haven't you?" Barbara asked.
"Yes, but not like this." I answered.
"So, why don't we start with Brian and David?" She said gently. "You two are probably the most famous gay couple in the nation right now, not to mention the youngest. You've been together now for over three years, is that correct?"
"Yes, three years and a little over two months." Brian said. "We've been friends for longer than that."
"How did you two meet?" She asked and we both chuckled.
"It was the first day of seventh grade." I said. "I was walking with two girls I knew from elementary school and this big blond creep bumped into me and cussed me out for being in his way."
"Hey, I was in a bad mood." Brian said defensively, getting a laugh. "I woke up late, missed my friends Trevor and Brandon before school and had to walk because Mom had an early meeting. Thank god for that though or we might not have become friends like we did."
"What happened after he bumped into you?" Barbara asked me.
"Well, he told me to get out of his way and I told him to eff off." I said with a smile. She looked a little wide-eyed at that. "He got in my face and instead of challenging me to a fight, he challenged me to join the flag-football team."
"Yeah, here was this four-eyed big geek getting in my face and the first thought that came to my head was that we could use him on our line." Brian said with a laugh. "Then the creep was in my English class and we started talking even more. That's when our friendship started."
"Well, our friendship and my friendship with Brandon and Trevor as well." I corrected him carefully. He nodded.
"So you were friends before you started dating?" She asked. "How did you move from being twelve-year old friends to dating? I assume you started doing it in secret?"
"Brian seduced me." I said and that got a gale of laughter from everyone, especially his parents.
"Yeah, you were a cold fish at first." Brian said dead-pan and got even more laughs.
"So exactly how did you two move from being friends to being boyfriends?" Barbara asked us and we got a little serious. On camera, you could see we both had fond little smiles and shared a long look at each other.
"We were wrestling." Brian said. "Davey came over to my house and we were practicing wrestling. He wasn't too good. I'd been realizing I wanted him as more than a friend for a couple of weeks, and well he kind of noticed."
"It was a little obvious." I said dead-pan and got a few light laughs from the adults in the room. They were a little uncomfortable though. "I'd been having the same feelings for Brian and wasn't sure how he felt until that moment. To be honest, I was afraid. We were friends, becoming best friends and I didn't want to ruin that. Plus, I knew how my parents would react and I knew there would be trouble for us."
"Your natural father was a preacher at that time, correct?" Barbara asked and I nodded agreement. "Didn't that cause you some problems with knowing his beliefs about homosexuality? Did you share them up to that time?"
"Growing up as a preacher's kid is a totally different world than most kids have to live in." I said carefully. "You see more than just the church on Sunday morning. You see it every day of the week, and you learn a lot about politics. Like any other group of people, churches all have political games going on and seeing it happen from the inside you learn a lot. You might say I had to grow up quicker than a lot of kids do. I knew dad would object very strongly, but I also knew that it wasn't something I could change. It was who I was. I disagree with a lot of the religious views on homosexuality, and I had come to accept who I was at the time. My main problem was that I also knew the common perceptions of homosexuals and I didn't want that."
"What do you mean?" Barbara asked with great curiosity, leaning forward.
"When people think of gay people, they think of what they see on the evening news mostly." I explained carefully. "They see drag queens, guys dressed in leather and having sex with whoever they want. When they hear about gay people, they hear statistics about gay people having sex with thousands of others in their lifetime, and they think of us as all being promiscuous with no values."
"Why do you think that is?" Barbara asked me.
"Well, in part because there's a lot of truth to those images." I answered. "I've had a lot of opportunity over the last few years to talk to gay men who were dying of AIDS, and I learned a lot from that. Many of them were dying, knew they were dying, and they talked about their lives. They talked about how, when they came to accept they were gay, they felt outcast by society and since they weren't a part of society, they made their own and they did a lot of things mostly in rejection of society. I think that was short-sighted, and it's not what I wanted for me, and for any relationship I might enter."
"What is it that you do want?" Barbara asked me, but it was Brian who answered.
"The same thing I want." Brian said with a fond smile. "That's probably what is so great about that moment when we first started to realize we both shared the same feelings. What could have been a quick moment of fun, not too different than a lot of guys might do fooling around with friends turned into so much more because Davey and I talked about what we were feeling instead of just acting on it. We want to spend our lives together, with someone we love and who loves us back. What we want is not to reject society, but to embrace society, to be a part of it, a productive part of it. Our relationship now isn't that different than most other kids who have a girlfriend. Sure, the specifics of certain things are different. It's easier to be friends for instance, not just lovers."
"Friends?" Barbara asked him.
"It's one of the things I told my son about any relationship that lasts." Dad B said with a fond smile, speaking for the first time in the interview. "I told him that relationships that really work are founded on more than just physical attraction, or even love. They have to contain a friendship if you're going to be happy over the long years of adult life. His mother and I are friends, not just husband and wife. Sure, we have several other adult friends, but we are also friends with each other. It makes things a lot easier when we fight and we're mad at each other to know we have that friendship, not just love or attraction."
"I see." Barbara said slowly and moved back to Brian. "I understand that you two didn't start by telling everyone that you were in a relationship?"
"That's correct." Brian said. "I was pretty sure my parents would be okay with us being in a relationship eventually, but we knew Davey's parents would react badly. We kept it pretty much a secret, but our best friends eventually found out and so did my parents."
"How did you take the news?" Barbara asked his parents and they both laughed.
"Actually not too well." Mom B said with a sad smile. "It's one thing to love your gay brother, but when it's your son there are so many emotions. First, I was hit by the realization that I probably wouldn't have grandkids. Who knows, I still might, but it's not a real likelihood and that made me a little sad."
"I was worried about what they'd face in life." Dad B said. "Unfortunately, most of my fears have come true, but on the flip side of that, they've both handled it so very well, faced their problems directly, and grown together. It's been wonderful to watch, and to advise them as parents should, but it hasn't been easy. It would be a hell of a lot easier if Brian was straight, but he's not and I couldn't be happier with David as his boyfriend."
"Mr. and Mrs. Rush?" Barbara asked my adoptive parents carefully.
"We knew about them later than others." Mr. Rush said softly. "Trevor is their good friend, but we didn't see much of them until they started having problems with David's parents. Then, we get more involved. I do not understand this prejudice against people like David and Brian. They harm no one loving each other. Many times, I wish my son would follow their example more. They are fun, loving, and caring young men who are very faithful to each other. In Soviet Union, they throw young people like them in gulag for five years or more. Many do not survive. I never thought when we came to this country we would see things like we have seen happen to these two."
"Very interesting." Barbara said with a nod. Then she turned back to us. "Mr. Rush has remarked on your faithfulness to each other, but didn't you two date girls until you came out?"
"Yeah, we did." Brian said with a blush as I nodded my head. "It's not something we're particularly proud of doing."
"We thought it was kind of necessary to keep my parents from finding out." I said. "It's probably the most dishonest thing we've ever done and we both owe apologies to the girls we dated. We tried never to lead them on too much. Except for one time where Brian made a bad choice, drank some spiked punch and let himself be kissed by a girl, we never kissed them or did more than go on a few dates with the same girl."
"You would have to bring that up." Brian said with a weak grin and elbowed me in the ribs. That got a few laughs. "That was the first time we went on a date and I learned my lesson. I never got drunk again, and we didn't kiss any of the girls we dated except on the cheek when we said goodbye. We didn't want to lead them on and tie them up when they might find someone who would care about them the way we cared about each other. We just didn't want Davey's parents getting suspicious of why he wasn't dating. We were both really popular jocks and it's kind of expected that we would date."
"So it was a sham?" Barbara pushed. "You were never really attracted to the girls or wanted to pursue a relationship with them?"
"No." Brian said at the same time I did before he continued his answer. "We weren't really interested. No one's ever made me feel the way he can just by smiling at me."
"Davey, you especially have had a rough couple of weeks recently, haven't you?"
"Yeah, we've been through some rough spots." I said softly. "When my mom and sister died, I kind of lost it for a while, let the grief eat me up. It put a real strain on our relationship. Probably more strain than anything else has so far and hopefully more than we'll ever have again. Fortunately, a family friend helped me get my head back on straight and Brian accepted my apology for drawing away from him and the support he was trying to give me."
"That would be the President, wouldn't it?" Barbara asked with a knowing grin. I nodded in answer.
"Yeah, he's a really good man." I said slowly. "He kept me busy for two days with chopping wood and mending the fences on the ranch. Then, he took me for a ride and said some things that made me really think and analyze what I was doing. He's very wise when it comes to understanding what people are going through, and he really, really cares about others. I think that's something a lot of people don't see about him as President. Personally he's a really gentle, loving, and caring man who is genuinely concerned about people."
"Not to mention they really don't understand his relationship with Nancy." Brian added in a very firm voice. "It's really sad some of the crap that's put out about them. When you see them alone, together, away from the cameras you see just how much they truly love each other. It's wonderful how much they support each other emotionally, just by sharing a glance. She's always looking up at him and if you watch her eyes when she does, you can see the love in them. She's just watching him, taking in the sight of whatever he's doing and loving him in that moment. It's beautiful, and it's what I hope Davey and I will share in sixty years."
"I don't think I've ever heard them described quite so…beautifully." Barbara said with some surprise.
"People see them as the President and First Lady, not as Ronald and Nancy Reagan." I said carefully. "We get to see them as ordinary people sometimes, and so we get to see a lot of what the cameras don't show unless you look carefully. If you take the time and look at the pictures of them together you'll see what we're talking about."
"How exactly did you meet them?" Barbara asked, moving on to that topic. It was something we'd definitely expected and had prepared for.
"My family and I were invited to the White House to be honored for work I do after coming to this country." Mr. Rush said with a shrug. "I did not see why I was picked except I was defector. Many of the people I work with do as much or more, but I was picked to be honored and I invited my son's friends to join us. When they meet us in White House before presentation, the President recognized the boys from their television appearances with Doctor Grayson and he asked them about AIDS projects they work with."
"Once we started talking, the President realized he wanted to know more and so invited us to stay for a few days." I said carefully. "Our parents agreed and we talked to both of them about that and about our relationship and we became friends. It seemed a little odd at first, I mean we're so much younger than they are, but to them age wasn't an issue."
"No, they like people first and foremost and they have great respect for people who aren't afraid to speak their minds." Brian added. "I think that's why they liked us so much. Davey isn't often afraid to speak his mind on any subject."
"Look who's talking?" I quipped and got some more laughs.
"Doesn't this seem frustrating to you?" Barbara asked us next. "Here you are, personal friends of the President, the most powerful man in this country, and you're still the subject of protests, bomb threats, and you've been kicked out of your school. Aren't you angry that he's not doing more to support you?"
"No, absolutely not." Brian said immediately. "Why should we be angry with him? He's taken a lot of heat politically for our friendship and we appreciate that. What's happened here is a local issue, and as President, it's not his job to get involved. He's been very supportive of us in our fight, emotionally and mentally. We know he's rooting for us and wants us to succeed, and that's all you can ask for from a friend."
"We've been lucky in that because we're his friends, and the threats started after that became known so we've enjoyed some Secret Service protection." I added. "He didn't have anything to do with that decision directly, but it's in part because of him that we have the added security. Plus, as President, like Brian said, it's not his job to get involved directly. He has helped us make sure we have the proper resources, though, and he's given us both a lot of good advice. I mean, he's run successfully for President twice now, and he's widely regarded as a great communicator to the American people. Who better can you get advice from than him?"
"What advice has he given you?" She asked us.
"To make sure we don't sink to the level of the people who are pushing us out of school was the biggest thing." Brian said.
"Staying focused on those who made the political decisions that expelled us from school is another." I said.
"So this afternoon at the park, with your fellow students, was you putting that advice into action." She stated.
"In part." I agreed. "The idea about doing a recall against the board members came from Trevor and I'm not totally sure where he got it from. It's a good one though and it follows with the advice we got from the President. Holding a walk-out, or protesting is just as bad in many ways as whoever planted the fake bomb in my locker. Making the board members pay a political price for their cowardly decision is an adult response directly against those responsible for the decision, and it won't disrupt the normal operations of the school. In fact, it can be argued it's a great object lesson in democracy and civic participation. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of those students who turn eighteen before the recall vote happens register to vote and participate. Voter participation amongst young people is something that the media has been complaining about and it'd be great to see this result in those numbers increasing."
"Aren't you worried this might set a dangerous precedent for students recalling board members when they don't like decisions made by the board?" Barbara asked.
"That's a good question." Dad B said, leaning forward. "What we have to remember is that most of the kids in the school don't vote for board members. It's their parents and the kids must convince their parents to support whatever it is they're trying to do. Then they have to convince the parents to vote in the ballot box on election day. If the kids are objecting to longer school years to increase their education, well most parents aren't going to object to that no matter what their kids say, so they won't support a recall. However, on something like this, where a lot of parents are upset about what's happened, and they see the possibility of their own kids being treated like David and Brian have been, well, they might just listen to those kids and act."
"It's like Alexis de Tocqueville said about one of America's greatest strengths being the ability of a minority to convince the majority that they are right about an issue." I said and Barbara blinked.
"I've rarely had a college student, much less a high school sophomore quote Alexis de Tocqueville in an interview." Barbara said with some surprise. I just shrugged while Mr. Rush smiled.
"I bought a copy, in Russian, shortly after I came to this country." Mr. Rush said with a fond smile. "I wanted to learn more about my new home and so I read it. I believe young Davey read it a while back to practice his Russian. When he came here spoke very little, most of what you would learn from reading books in the library. He has gotten much better since then."
"That's right, you speak Russian don't you?" She asked me.
"Some, I'm not quite fluent in it yet." I said with a shrug. "I'm also studying German in school, or at least I was."
"So, what happens now?" She asked us in closing of the interview.
"They grow old and end up in rest home together, making sarcastic comments about all the nurses." Brian's voice from behind me startled me out of the reverie watching the taped interview was bringing. I swung around in the smallish room and smiled. He was wearing the school blazer required at the Stockard Academy in Washington D.C. and had a book bag over his shoulder.
"You get done with that stupid detention?" I asked him with a smile, getting to my feet, shutting off the VCR and television, and crossing to give him a hug as he shut the door.
"Yeah, and it wasn't stupid." Brian growled. "That asshole grabbed my crotch again."
"Well, pushing him like that wasn't the smartest thing to do when a teacher could see." I countered. "You're just lucky the guy's caused trouble before and you haven't. I'd hate to have you suspended."
"Yeah, well two weeks of detention have been a bitch." Brian muttered as he broke from the hug and set his book bag on the bed. It really was two beds pushed together. The headmaster had made it clear that on inspection days our room must look like any other student's, but between inspection days they wouldn't check up on us. Each morning we pushed them apart and whoever got back first would push them back together in the evening.
"I'll trade you and you can try that fucking cricket." I muttered and he laughed. Our schoolmates were from the 'upper' class of American society and while we'd managed to adopt a lot of their attitudes and behaviors in order to fit in, some of their ideas of games left a lot to be desired.
"No thanks, I told you that rowing would be more fun." Brian countered and I had to agree. He did look damn cute in that outfit.
"Is it too late for me to change?" I asked and he laughed. I'd been saying that since February and now in late March it was too late. Oh well, I was enjoying fencing more though. Baseball practice had also started recently and we played that together in the late afternoon, before dinner. It was after dinner that the cricket club or fencing club would meet, and Brian's rowing club.
Except Brian had detention for the last two weeks and hadn't been able to participate.
"Dude, I thought I hated ties before, but wearing them every day sucks." Brian said as he began to take off his tie and blazer. I was wearing just the dress shirt, slacks, and socks that were part of the school uniform. I had to admit Brian looked damn sexy in his.
"Get use to them." I warned him. "We'll probably be wearing them for the next sixty years."
"Dude, you really know how to pile it on." He said fondly, leaning forward to kiss the top of my head. Once he was down to the same clothes I was, he jumped on the joined beds and spread out in a way that I knew was his method of telling me he wanted a cuddle. I complied, crawling into his open arms and we started kissing each other gently.
It was our favorite past time here.
"Hey!" A voice shouted as there was a quick knock on the door followed by a classmate entering the room. I looked up from Brian's neck and glared at the mousy blond boy who was now blushing furiously. "Oh, um, I, ah, um, sorry guys."
"What is it Harry?" Brian asked with only a slight amount of exasperation. The smaller kid was the same age as us, but looked two years younger.
"Um, I was wondering if I could hang out with you guys for a bit." He said a little bit sheepishly and we sighed. Brian waved him in. Harry Smith had a problem with his roommate who was very overbearing and thought just because the kid was gay he existed to suck his cock. We'd tried talking to the headmaster about it, but little Harry had just stammered and denied anything was wrong.
His father worked with his roommate's father and he didn't want to cause too much friction between them.
"Have a seat." Brian said. "Davey was watching that damn Barbara Walters video again so if you want to pop in a movie, rewind it first."
"Hey, I don't watch it that much!" I exclaimed, jabbing Brian's elbow with my ribs.
"You watch it once a week every time you get homesick, ever since your Aunt Bev sent it to you." Brian said knowingly and I scowled.
"I'll tell her that when she comes out here next week." I said and he scowled.
"Oh, that's right, she's got that MADD presentation with Nancy doesn't she?" Brian said and I nodded.
"She's staying at the Ritz-Carlton and we're supposed to meet her there and take her to the White House." I reminded him. "We got a day pass for it and then she's staying over the weekend until we all fly back for Easter. Then we have to fly to Hawaii for that three-day vacation thing you wanted and it's back to school."
"Sheesh, you guys make fun of us with our families, but you two take the cake." Harry said with a snicker. "I don't know anyone here who takes their Aunt who has just been named a main lobbyist for the hottest political group in Washington right now, to the White House for tea and crumpets with their dear friends the Reagans, and then fly off to California for a half the week, followed by going to Hawaii for what was it? Oh yeah, going to tour the Pearl Harbor base, with their other good friend, Lieutenant General O'Keefe, the man who will be taking the J-3 slot for CinCPAC."
"Um, the big deal is?" Brian asked and I laughed out loud. Harry had us there, but he didn't know the real purpose of the Hawaii trip anyway.
"Oh, don't think I'm done yet." Harry countered. When he got on a roll he was quite cute and now he was smiling broadly. "Not only are you two the only ones in our year allowed to keep your cars on campus, but you also get to take them out on weekends! They are also the only two cars here that have White House passes on their windshield and yours, Davey, has a Pentagon pass that half our fathers would kill for. What's the story with that?"
"My adoptive father does work for the DOE and he got it for me." I said. "Sometimes, he's in Washington and I meet him there. You know that."
"That's what you say, but we don't really believe you." Harry said with a knowing smile and I was a little worried. "I've also seen that CIA pass in your glove compartment. I think you're some kind of super-spy in training. Lord knows you have the best grade of all of us."
"He's found out!" Brian cat-called and I followed his lead. "We must kill him!"
"Da!" I said in Russian and we jumped Harry playfully. He struggled for a moment, a look of real fear on his face but when he saw us smiling he relaxed slightly and just fought back playfully. We had him pinned to the bed moments later and were teasing him mercilessly when he managed to pull my hand underneath him and I felt something very hard rub against my hand. I was shocked for a moment and when he pushed against my hand again I snatched it back with a frown. Brian noticed what was going on and frowned a bit as well.
"Ah come on." Harry moaned aloud as he saw the looks on our faces. "Why the fuck do you two have to be so uptight? It's not like I want to horn on your guys's relationship. We can just mess around. It's for fun."
"Harry, we've warned you about this before." Brian said firmly. The last time had been when I'd been in the shower alone with him. He'd gotten on his knees while I was soaping up my hair and taken my soft cock into his mouth. I'd known immediately it wasn't Brian and pulled back before it had gone any further.
"Ah, stop being such tight asses." Harry moaned again. I noticed a tear in his eye and for a moment felt sorry for him.
"Harry, you have to realize it's not going to happen." I said softly. "Brian and I are committed to each other, that's the end of it."
"Man, not even my parents are this fucking faithful to each other and they've been married twenty-five years." Harry said as he groaned and got out of the bed. "I'll see you guys later."
"Later, Harry." I said as nicely as I could while Brian sighed.
"At least he didn't try to swallow your cock again." Brian said as the door was shut.
"Yeah, but I don't know if I can take two more years of this." I groaned, leaning against him.
"You weren't tempted were you?" Brian asked and I chuckled into his chest.
"Oh yeah, he's just the thing to get me to cheat on you, love."
"Whew, at least I can beat him up." Brian joked. "If you cheated on me with some big bloke I'd really have to worry."
"Like hell you would." I retorted. "You'd sneak up behind him and hit him with an oar."
"Yep." Brian agreed smugly and I relaxed against him. Despite Harry's amorous attentions, despite the Billy boy's attentions to Brian, and the occasional teasing from the other students because we were openly gay and a couple, and because we came from such different backgrounds as them, I was enjoying it here. I was taking Russian and German, and doing well in both. The course material in my other classes was much harder, and much more challenging. I had only one class with Brian, but we spent more time in the evenings together than we had at home, and I was really feeling like I was being used to my full potential, something very gratifying.
"Brian, are you happy here?" I asked him with some worry. Maybe he wasn't feeling the same way.
"Davey, if I had to choose between staying here and going back home, I'd pray to hell you wanted to stay here, even without football." Brian said firmly. "I have never known teachers like these. I always felt kind of stupid compared to you, but now I just know you've learned more from the first time around. These guys here really know how to teach and I love it. I miss Brandon and Trevor, but as long as you're here, I want to stay."
"You know what really sucks?" I asked him and he laughed.
"Yeah, we're still fighting to go back even though we really don't want to." Brian said. "I just have to remember it's the principle of the case, not really about going back."
"Yeah, me too." I agreed with my own chuckle.
Sometimes life really did throw a lot of irony around.
