Expanding Horizons

Brad walked quietly into his English class. He was well aware of the whispers and not so covert looks in his direction. He knew also that Ronnie had played right into his plans. Brad had been informed by a couple of the kids in his class that there were rumors about something really big happening in class that day.

Chris had heard the rumors as well, of course he had been told the less diluted version. Brad was expected to make that particular class unforgettable. He had tried to talk to Brad about this several times, but the boy had been irritatingly vague. Just before class, Chris got cornered in the hallway by Ronnie.

“It’s not too late to stop what’s about to happen,” Ronnie told him.

“What are you talking about? What’s going to happen?” Chris questioned.

“Don’t tell me he really didn’t talk to you,” Ronnie replied. “I mean I know I told him not to, but…”

“You don’t tell him anything, you got me?” Chris cut him off.

“Protective of your little boyfriend?” Ronnie sneered. “We’ll see how you feel about him after class.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chris demanded, but he got no answer as they had to get into class.

“All right class,” Ms. Phillips called out. “Students involved in Act 4 to the front of the room.”

“Come on Juliet,” Ronnie called out as Brad stalled beside his desk. To the bully, and everyone else in the room, it appeared Brad was nervous about moving forward. The truth was, Brad was only a little nervous. He had a plan and he was going to stick to it.

Brad’s second kissing scene went well right up to the moment everyone in the room was paying close attention to see. Brad leaned in as if he was going to follow through with Ronnie’s demands. At the last second, he pulled away.

“I’m sorry Ronnie,” he announced quietly, but still knowing that everyone in the room could hear him. “I’m flattered that you wanted me to kiss you, but I tried to tell you that I just don’t feel comfortable doing that, but you just wouldn't listen. I'm sure that someday you will find a guy who wants you as much as you want him, but it won't be me."

The room was silent for a second as Brad’s words sunk in. All of a sudden, the noise level increased explosively. Brad and Ronnie were probably the only two people in the room not talking. Ronnie appeared to be in shock. His mouth hung open, and he stood at the front of the room, blinking. When he did react, he turned and ran from the room.

After class, Brad found himself being surrounded by kids that in some cases had never spoken to him before. Everyone wanted details of what had happened between him and Ronnie. He answered some of the questions but he soon discovered that the facts were already being wildly exaggerated.

“How long had you and Ronnie been going out?”

“We weren't going out,” Brad replied. “He caught me in the bathroom the other day and told me that he wanted me to kiss him in front of the whole class today.”

“You guys made out in the bathroom? EEWW gross!!!!”

“I never said that,” Brad protested. “He was pushing me into the sink. He was threatening me and hurting me.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” someone he couldn't see asked. The voice sounded really familiar though.

“Would anybody have believed me?” Brad countered. “Who would take the word of the new kid over somebody you all grew up with?” Just as he said it, he caught the eyes of the person who had asked the question.

“I would have,” Chris said pointedly before walking away.

“Chris, wait!” Brad called out, but the boy he loved was already gone. Brad had to hurry to art class or he would have gone after Chris. He didn’t actually make it to art class, though. Just as he was walking into the room, Mr. Kennedy told him to report to the school office. Before he could leave the art teacher had also instructed him to put his sketchbook on the desk so that it could be evaluated while he was gone.

“What if I don’t get to come back, Mr. Kennedy?”

“Do you doubt the safety of your sketches in my hands, Brad?”

“No sir, I just wondered how I would get them back, if I have to… well in case I don’t get back to class,” Brad explained.

Mr. Kennedy stepped closer to the boy and spoke lowly so that only Brad would hear him. “You aren’t in that much trouble, my boy. They simply want to know what happened in the school rest room between you and Ronnie.”

“You already know about that?” Brad gulped.

“My dear boy, did you think that Ms. Phillips and her beloved were the only members of her … organization?” Mr. Kennedy asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Now run along to the office, Brad. They are waiting for you.”

When Brad reached the office, the secretary showed him into the principal’s office before he could even tell her who he was. He walked into the room just as the principal was speaking into a cell phone. “What do you mean the boy isn’t on the campus? He must be here somewhere. Keep looking for him. I want that boy in this office now.”

“Come in Brad,” Ms Phillips said. The boy hadn’t noticed her standing there.

“I’m sorry about disrupting the class, Ms. Phillips,” Brad told her.

“No you’re not, but you will be before this mess you have created is over,” the woman replied.

“Bradley, it has come to our attention that you have suggested something untoward has happened on school property,” the principal announced. “I’m sure you understand that this is a serious accusation you are making. Ronald has been in this office before for various infractions of school policy, but assault on another student cannot be ignored.”

“Assault, sir?” Brad asked with a nervous gulp.

“If what you have said is true, Ronnie will be expelled from school, and possibly charged with a criminal act,” Ms. Phillips pointed out.

“I just wanted him to leave me alone,” Brad mumbled. “I didn’t mean for him to go to jail.”

“Your intentions are inconsequential at this point,” the principal advised. “We must now deal with consequences. Now I must ask you to tell us everything that occurred between the two of you.”

"Well, I walked into the boy's room to wash my hands and Ronnie was already in there," Brad began. "He saw me and started mouthing off and telling me that I wasn’t …….. Well, he was threatening me."

"What was he telling you, Bradley?" Ms. Phillips asked directly. "You are hiding something from us and that does not do you or Ronald either one any good."

"Well, he was telling me to stay away from Chris," Brad stated nervously. Ms. Phillips arched an eyebrow, letting Brad know that she understood what Ronnie had said. She didn’t comment, though.

"Are you telling us everything that happened?" Mr. Wheaton questioned sternly. "We have to know the entire truth of what took place in that boy's room, Bradley." He saw the boy's face growing redder and softened his tone. "Brad, if he did something else, something bad to you, we understand that you may be embarrassed to tell us, but we really do need to know. We are only here to help you, son."

Brad looked nervously up at Ms. Phillips. “I am the vice principal in addition to your instructor. I am required to be here for this conversation. However, I must tell you that in as far as biological functions of adolescent boys are concerned nothing you reveal will come as a shock to me.”

Poor Brad was essentially forced to tell what Ronnie had done. He thought for sure that he would die of embarrassment when he told about the realization of what he had found on the side of his pants. The principal’s gasp and look of disgust didn’t help his feelings any, nor did the man asking if Brad was sure that was what he had found on his pants. It was Ms. Phillips comment to the principal that made Brad wish he could run from the room and hide under a rock for the rest of his life, however.

Ms. Phillips regarded the look of shock and disgust on Principal Wheaton’s face and actually laughed. “Really, Simon, one would think you were never a hormone ravaged boy yourself. You no doubt knew precisely what it looked like at this age as well as Brad.”

“There is no reason to embarrass the boy further, Ms. Phillips,” the principal told her, but his own face looked as red as Brad’s. He looked back at Brad with a thoughtful expression. "I had hoped to keep this within the confines of the school environment, but clearly this is out of our hands now. We have no choice, given these circumstances, but to turn the matter over to the police. I knew Ronnie was a problem child, but I never dreamed he would….Sexual assault in my school. What will the school board have to say about this?"

"Sexual assault?" Brad gasped.

"Yes, Brad," Ms. Phillips said quietly. "What he did to you would be seen in the eyes of the law as a sex crime. He performed a sexual act on you without your permission, not that you are old enough to consent in this state. Anyone your age involved in a sexual act of any kind is automatically a sex offender according to the legal codes of this state." She had looked directly into Brad's eyes and stressed the word anyone giving the boy a clear but unspoken message. He nodded his understanding even though he blushed profusely again.

"Brad, I think given the circumstances that you should call your mother to come pick you up," Mr. Wheaton announced.

"Am I being suspended or expelled?" Brad asked nervously.

"Certainly not," Mr. Wheaton answered. "You are being given the rest of the day to rest after your ordeal. You will be contacted by the police department I am sure, to give a statement to them so that they can arrest Ronnie."

"I would also suggest that you think very carefully about what you say and do in the future, not only in regards to this situation, but in general as well," Ms. Phillips cautioned as she showed him out of the principal's office. "Each of us must face the realization that sometimes our actions cause consequences for others as well as ourselves. I believe that time has arrived in your life, Bradley. You must learn whom you can trust to hear everything about yourself, and you must learn when to talk and when to remain silent."

"I should trust Chris with everything, shouldn't I?" Brad stated more than asked.

"I believe you can and should, yes," Ms. Phillips agreed.

"I should have stayed silent about what Ronnie did in the bathroom, shouldn't I?" the boy asked in the same tone as before.

"That is a bell that may not be unrung at this point," the woman reminded him. "If an answer will help you process your thoughts, however…." She guided Brad to a chair and then sat beside him. "The information you have shared will have both positive and negative impacts on yourself and many others as well. This day will be a life-changing event for quite a few people in this town. It is up to each individual to determine for himself or herself whether the outcome will be in their favor or not.” She laid a hand on Brad’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “I would suggest that for the moment, you think on how best to handle this situation with your parents. Your mother will be here in a few moments.”

“Oh crap my dad is going to have a cow,” Brad gasped.

“Physically unlikely, but metaphorically highly probable,” Ms. Phillips mused. “He will most definitely have a profound impact on the situation, not just for you, but for the community as well.”

Her words were to be far more prophetic than Bradley realized at first. When his mother took him home, his father was already gone to the church for a meeting with Ronnie’s family. Brad was told that he should join them in his father’s office in the church as soon as possible. He walked into the room more nervous than he had ever been in his life. Ronnie’s parents glared at him, and his father looked pretty angry too. He didn’t see Ronnie until he got further into the room. Ronnie was standing with his face in the corner of the room, and Brad could see that his legs were very red and he thought they might be bleeding as well.

“Now Bradley, the Tasick’s are a little upset about what happened in your English class today,” his father began. “We would like you to tell us this whole story from the beginning. What brought this episode about?”

“Couldn’t we just forget about it, Father?” Brad asked quietly.

“We most certainly cannot, young man,” Mr. Tasick snarled. “You have accused my son of being a homosexual. Now I want you to admit that you were lying in front of your father. You upset Ronnie so bad that he left school and ran home. He has already been punished for leaving school like that. I think it is only fair that you get punished for what you have said.”

“I assure you, Ralph, if Brad has lied about any of this, you will see him punished right here in this office before you leave,” Brad’s father told the man. “If he was not, however, we will have far more serious issues to deal with, I believe.” He looked over to Ronnie and frowned, before turning back to face Brad. “Were you lying, son?”

“He didn’t lie,” Ronnie blurted suddenly. “I cornered him in the bathroom at school and I humped his leg. I didn’t realize I was doing it at first and then when I did it felt too good to stop. I wanted him to kiss me and do things with me, and he wouldn’t.” He looked right at Brad and begged. “I am so sorry for what I did to you, Brad. It was wrong and I knew it was. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness or your help, but will you help me through this mess? Please, help me, Brad,” he repeated with an extra emphasis. Brad suddenly realized that Ronnie was wiggling his fingers, pointing toward something in the room. He followed the direction the fingers were pointing and saw an enormous wooden paddle leaning against the wall. Brad’s eyes went wide with shock and realization. Ronnie was asking him for help to not get beaten by their fathers.

“I don’t know what I can do for sure, Ronnie, but I will help you as much as I can,” Brad told the other boy. He turned then to face the adults. “We’ve made up now. Everything is settled now, right?”

“Thank you for showing Ronnie what true Christian charity is, Brad,” Mrs. Tasick told him. “It’s a pity it is too late to do him any good.”

“Pastor, I apologize to you and your good son,” Mr. Tasick said. “I didn’t want to believe that my child could be such a disgusting degenerate, but I have witnessed his confession with my own eyes and ears. Pastor, will you help me drive the demons of homosexuality out of this boy that was my son?”

“Brother Tasick, it is my duty and honor to bring the truth and justice of God to sinners such as him,” Brad’s father replied.

“Father, I missed my other classes after English today, may I go home now so I can study?” Brad asked quickly and nervously.

“It is really a shame that Ronnie couldn’t have learned more from you,” Mrs. Tasick said. “He was always shirking his school work. Is your mother home, dear? I really should pay a call while the men folk handle this thing.”

“Yes, ma’am, she is at home,” Brad confirmed. He and Mrs. Tasick walked next door to the parsonage, and then Brad went straight to his room. He was trying to figure out some way to help Ronnie when his mother called him.

“Bradley, sweetheart, I hate to interrupt your studies, but I need you to run an errand for me,” his mother told him. “I need a bag of ice and some sour cream from the little convenience store down the street. Be a dear and ride your bicycle down there really, really quickly and pick them up will you?” She handed him a slip of paper and some money. “Make sure you read the note so you get exactly what we need,” she told him as he turned to leave.

Once outside he looked at the paper and saw that it was actually a note telling him to call the police and report a case of child abuse happening in the church. He rushed to the store and showed the note to the clerk, who quickly made the call for him. Moments later he was back at home with the ice and a container of sour cream. Just as he stepped into the house, the police car roared past and skidded to a stop in the church parking lot.