The Quantum

By Dabeagle

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Epilogue

“Henry, have you seen this?” Eleanor stomped into the garage, flowered hat askew and a look of muley determination on her aged face.

“Seen what? What’s that?” My grandfather reached out for the paper in her hand.

“It says that the high school is taking reservations for the Spring Formal. This is the first I’ve heard of it, have you been keeping this from me?”

“Hide a way to make Jake and Kris squirm? I thought you knew me better than that.”

I did begin to squirm as both elderly sets of eyes zeroed in on me. Of course, Jake and I had both known the dance was coming, and we had talked about going, but it seemed like such a big step. Not that Jake and I hadn’t been in public together, but this is a redneck, ignorant town so we had taken sensible precautions. To do this, to dare to be treated as equals, would be like waving a red flag in a bull’s face.

“Did you know about this, Kristopher?”

“Yes.”

“Did you plan to say anything?” My grandfather asked.

“No, not really.”

“You realize you have just as much right to go as anyone else?” Eleanor questioned.

“Yes, I do. We do.”

“And?”

“It’s not worth it. We thought we’d just go out to dinner and…”

“Kristopher! Your Spring Formal is a memory to have forever! These occasions are the things you remember fondly as you get older. The ambiance, the revelry, dancing close with the one you love…”

“Getting laid afterward,” my grandfather interjected.

“Philistine.”

“Realist.” He smirked at her.

“Regardless of your motivation, this is something you ought not to miss.” She looked at my grandfather. “Henry, how about we go down to the high school?”

“Little long in the tooth for those boys, aren’t you?”

“Henry, get in the damned car.”

He raised an eyebrow and went to wash his hands. I sighed and decided I had better talk to Jake so we could form a defense against some well meaning septuagenarians. I went inside and changed before heading to Jake’s, because he complained if I showed up in my ‘grease monkey’ clothes. I headed out and was mentally making notes about how to talk to him about this as I went. I wasn’t lying when I said we had discussed it and decided it was too much trouble, but the thing that could tip the scales would be to continue to have this conversation without Jake’s father around.

I had learned that, in general, if Jake’s dad said yes, Jake said no and vice versa. So talking to Jake without his dad was critical in order for us not to get humiliated and killed all in the same night. The last time this subject was brought up and I expressed concern for our safety my grandfather and Eleanor offered to chaperone. I would move mountains to avoid that. If Jake’s dad told him he was forbidden, we would surely go.

When I got to Jake’s the alien informed me that he had gone to the high school to play basketball with JR, so I headed over there. Now, I could have called, but as a rule if I am going to interact with Jake, I’d prefer to do it in person.

Pulling up to the high school I went inside to find him. Our school has open gym days after school until about six o’clock, overseen by the various gym teachers. I didn’t have to go as far as the gym to find Jake and JR fooling around in the hallway, shoving each other and giggling.

“This looks like there’s a story behind it.” I remarked. Jake looked up and grinned at me and JR laughed a little more.

Before I got the story from them, I heard the undeniable sound of Eleanor. Now I’m sure that the principal wouldn’t normally engage in verbal pugilism in the hallway, but Eleanor wasn’t the kind of person to stay in the office and keep it civilized either.

“Why would you make such a rule if it’s not to discriminate? How can you claim to be acting in the best interests of all the students when you make rules to restrict their ability to fully partake in school functions!”

I looked at Jake and he at me with eyes as wide as dinner plates. JR’s grin merely grew.

“Quite frankly, Ma’am,” the principle replied, clearly restraining his temper, “this is a God fearing town. We have a lot of church goers and they will not tolerate this kind of deviant behavior in their schools and around their children. In fact, allowing those two into the dance as a couple is not only against scripture, not only would it cause an uproar in the school, but it does in fact go against nature!”

“So, ah, the kid in the wheelchair who plays in the band, he‘s not allowed to go?” My grandfather asked, his deep voice carrying down the hallway.

“What? Of course not!”

“But the section of Leviticus you quote goes on to say nasty things about cripples and people with funny noses, or blemishes of any kind. If a pimple can be rightly referred to as a blemish, most of your kids are disqualified right there.”

“You are deliberately twisting the Bible to fit your own ends!”

“No, Principal Walters, that’s what you are doing. We are merely pointing out your own hypocrisy to you.”

Principal Walters stared at the old couple in front of him, his eyes bulging from their sockets. “I cannot allow them in, the town will not stand for it. Good day!”

“Oh, yes it will be, I’m sure. Probably not for you though. I want you to know, Walters that I am calling lawyers and TV stations when I leave here and, if you’ll forgive the term, I’m going to crucify you.” My grandfather smiled at Walters.

“Do you understand what you are doing?” Walters sounded near hysterical.

“Yes, but that is one of the benefits of a mind that continues to think for itself, instead of allowing its gears to be clogged by the cobwebs of faith. I would think, as an educated man you could see that. But I forget, you are no longer a teacher, merely an administrator.” Eleanor sniffed and hooked her arm through my grandfather’s. “Come, Henry, we have work to do.

“What the fuck are they doing?” Jake hissed to me. I swallowed hard.

“Looks like they are trying to give Walters a stroke!” JR giggled.

“I was trying to find you to talk to you before this happened!” I turned to Jake.

“I can’t help it if I wasn’t home. JR asked me to come play basketball with a bunch of guys with their shirts off. How could I say no!”

“Hey!” JR poked him, “You like basketball!”

“That’s why he liked basketball,” I muttered. Jake merely grinned in insolence.

“No time to fight. You guys going to the prom, or are you gonna head off the Geritol Task Force?”

I grabbed Jake’s hand, “Come on!” I urged.

“No.”

“What?”

“No. Babe, I’m sick of this. The school knows. They gave us some shit, but most of them have moved on; even they know other shit is more important. Let them do this, let them rile the town up. What do we care? We don’t go to school with these kids’ parents, and the kids just don’t give a damn, mostly.”

“But…Jake, what about the rest of it? The whole town knowing, the staring…”

“Let them stare.” He stepped close to me and placed a hand on the back of my neck while smiling to me. “I only said no to going before ’cause you wanted me to. I want everyone to know. We’re not some dirty secret; we’re just in love. The people that will be angriest at us will be the ones who don’t have the love we do.”

“Does he always talk like this to you? ’Cause the only time he says things like that to me is after he cums,” JR said matter of factly. I stared at him for a moment before he burst out laughing and I slowly smiled back at him. There was something seriously wrong with him.

“No, you’re not going. I forbid it.”

“Ok, that’ll stop me. Mom, what do you think?”

“Al, it’s a school dance. Of course he should be able to go. Stop being so mean.”

“Why can’t he go with a girl?” he growled.

“Because he’s gay, and he has Kris. I thought you understood that?”

“It’s a phase. Don’t encourage him,” Jake’s dad said as he retreated from the room. Jake’s mom rolled her eyes at his back.

“We should get you a tux. Let‘s go to the mall and look!” His mom smiled in pride at her son, and he visibly squirmed.

“Kris, wanna go help me with a tux?” he mumbled.

“Oh no, you don’t,” his mom jumped in. “No offense, Kris. If I’m springing for a tux, I want to pick it out, and if you are there Jake will pay no attention to the tux, me or the world around him.” She smiled at us both. “Besides, you don’t look at your date’s clothes before you go. That would be weird. You guys should be surprised at how the other looks when you meet. Now, scoot!” She waved her hands at me. I smiled at Jake and headed out of the house. Jake, of course, caught me in the living room and gave me a languishing kiss goodbye in front of his father. My boyfriend will one day die by his father‘s hand, I think.

When I got back to the garage Eleanor and my grandfather were hunched together around the kitchen table, studying the phone book.

“What are you guys doing?” I asked while getting a drink.

“Looking for a listing in the book for ‘Gay Lawyers’,” My grandfather muttered.

“You’d think there would be an easier way…” Eleanor moved her finger down the ‘G’ section, lips moving as she studied each name.

I decided not to tell them about the internet; better to leave them with old technology.

“Oh, look, there is a Gay and Lesbian Task Force listed here. I wonder if they’d give the boys an armed escort?”

“Will you guys cut it out? Why don’t you go to a school board meeting or something? Besides, there is only about a month to the dance. You’ll never get a lawyer and all that stuff set up before then. Let it go.”

“Yes! The School Board! That is the way to go. Good thinking, Kris!” And just like that, they were mobile again. I groaned and walked into the living room to plop down on the couch. Yes, I was moping and I knew it. Things had gone along predictably in my father’s house. This past year here had been non-stop change and there was more on the way. I’d like the chance to just catch my breath.

I’d love for Jess to show up now, or Bryan, just to bounce some ideas off of. Jake was no good for that; he’d just make little jokes until I was ready to choke him. Or he’d kiss me and claim it was just to get me to stop talking. Ass.

I sipped my drink and wondered about this whole situation, how it almost seemed as though Eleanor and my grandfather…holy crap. If ever there were two people who needed someone else in their life, it was them. I think they consciously know that, but they are both too damn stubborn to admit it, so instead they’ll come together to destroy my life instead.

Ok, maybe I was being a bit dramatic, but the things they were talking about doing to the principal were mind numbing. Lawyers? Newspapers? The evening freaking news? I had to do something, and fast. Jake would be no help, so I’d have to make it a way that we could go to the dance and not have to jump through all the other hoops. But how? I decided to take my own advice and looked on the internet, and there at last I had a few good ideas. Time to call a war meeting.

“Hey guys, thanks for coming.” I greeted everyone matter of factly. Bryan, Jake, Jess, and JR were in attendance, curiously looking at me.

“My grandfather, who shall be forever known as the Mad Scientist, and Eleanor, who is otherwise known as the Bride of Frankenstein, have teamed up. I need you guys to help me beat them to the punch.”

“What are they doing, exactly?” Jess asked.

Jake jumped in and JR added impressions of the voices of grandpa, Eleanor, and Walters in the school hallway. Jake made a very tender proclamation similar to the one he made to me in the hallway, but a lot sappier so as to embarrass me mightily. It worked. I was beet red, and took much abuse from around the table, much to Jake and JR’s satisfaction. I may have to separate them.

“The plan is two stage. First step, which I did, was to contact Lambda Legal and ask a few questions, mainly that rights have already been won in other states for situations like this, so there is legal ground for a lawsuit, which can be costly. Nobody likes that.

“So with that behind us, it’d be nice to know we won’t be made into piñatas once we get there, so I’d like to start a petition with the students. It’s really basic, they can sign their name in support of letting us go with who they want, and extend that to folks who are dates from another school. Now, legally it carries no weight, but I think if push comes to shove that we can use it as a show of support.” I smiled at the group, “It would be embarrassing for parents if they are whining about not wanting their kids exposed to that when their kid says they don’t mind.”

“I think that’s a good idea, especially if we can get it in time for the Board of Education meeting this month. It’s only a few weeks away, I think,” Bryan noted.

“So that’s the plan. If we could sabotage the school newspaper, that’d be the only other thing.”

“Oh, I can do something along those lines.” JR grinned.

We all looked at him.

“When the paper comes out they have folks take the bundles and drop them in the baskets for students to pick up. The local printer who does the job drops the papers off on the loading dock out back, and they move them to the media lab after that till they get distributed the next day.

“Thing is, the Media Lab stays unlocked until after the school closes, so I could get in there and put an insert in or something, a leaflet that folks could read as they picked up the paper.”

“Kind of like a coupon in the Sunday Paper!” Jess squealed.

“Yeah.” JR grinned.

“That’s awesome man, I…I could kiss you!” Jake batted his eyes and JR made the sign of the cross at him.

That night I told my grandfather our battle plan, and he agreed it was a good one. He’d found a lawyer who would represent us if it went that far, and then he thought it would be a good idea if we all went to the Board Meeting. That’s how it came to be that we sat in a meeting in the cafeteria of the board of education. Armed with our petition, which had caused some uproar when word spread that it was making the rounds, and that was mostly from parents. There were a few students who made a fuss, but by and large I have to admit Jake was right – most really didn’t care.

Finally, the issue came before the board and we all went up to address them. A small knot of parents were there to oppose us, but they seemed to be just a very few. Their leader, I guess, stood to speak for his allotted thirty seconds. He quoted Bible verses, and worked himself into an impressive froth for just thirty seconds.

My grandfather and Eleanor spearheaded our group as our turn came to speak, and no one was more surprised than I when Bryan took the podium before anyone else could get there.

“I’ve heard an awful lot of people talk about how my friends shouldn’t be allowed to go because they are gay, because the Bible says they shouldn’t be allowed to be who they are. I have heard nothing about fairness, human rights, or basically anything outside of religion. Last time I checked, this was a public school, not a Catholic, Jewish, or anything even close to parochial. The school board doesn’t make its rules, neither does the district for that matter, based on biblical teachings, or the laws of the Koran, the Talmud, or the signs of the Zodiac. There are students, students of this school and they want to go to the dance. They should be allowed to go, just like any other student.”

I have to say I was impressed. I don’t think I had heard Bryan use that many words outside of automobiles. My Grandfather made his way up to the podium while Jake and I shook Bryan’s hand and thanked him.

“Well, the Bible says homosexuality is abomination. ‘Cept there is abomination and there is unclean. It’s been known for a long time that the translation of the Bible that says abomination is a mistake, except if you believe the Bible is the word of God. If so, that Bible also says it’s ok to sell your daughters into slavery. It also says it’s an abomination to eat shellfish and pork. When’s the last time these folks came down to protest pork chops being on the menu?

“If that’s the word of God, he’s pretty sad, and as supreme beings go, he shoulda been tossed out on his all-powerful ass a long time ago. If you believe God created AIDS to punish the gays, which is ignorant, you have to believe God powered the researchers who have discovered the drugs that are now extending people’s lives who have AIDS.” He turned and looked at the small group of protesters. “Any God that discriminates as much as yours does doesn’t deserve to be God. And I don’t think he gives a rat‘s ass about two boys going to the dance together.”

Eleanor was fast on his heels to make her two cents known. “You should be ashamed of yourselves,” she scolded the group of protesters. “You think these boys are an abomination and a half dozen people is all the outrage you can muster? Apparently the rest of the community, and rightly so, has more important things to do. The Board knows that not only are the students well within school rules, for there are no rules prohibiting two members of the same sex from attending a school function, according to the student manual current for this year. That is of course in direct opposition to the information the Principal provided to me.

“Even if the board were so inclined to create such a rule now, I’d like to remind them that there are already court rulings on the books preventing you from allowing this sort of discrimination. If the board chooses to do so, I would remind them also that not only would it piss me off royally, I’d also be forced to call lawyers in and cost the school system hundreds of thousands in legal fees to justify its bigotry. Make no mistake, while I certainly hope that the school board is not comprised of individuals that would allow such a thing, I am long out of touch with day to day school operations.

“But if you long for the day we are ruled by religion and its rules, as we were once. It was called the Dark Ages.”

After deliberating for a very few minutes, and chastising Eleanor for her abrasive argument, the board voted 6-1 to allow Jake and I equal access. We were going to the dance.

I’d like to tell you that there were lots of protesters and we made quite a splash at the dance, but after the fireworks at the Board Meeting, no one really seemed to care. We danced together like other couples, got stern looks for kissing like the other couples and before the dance was over Jake was suggesting we break in my back seat.

“No, I will not have sex in a car, and you will not leave pecker tracks on my seats,” I laughed at him.

It was funny, though, Eleanor was right. I guess the night was magic, due to us being just like everyone else. We were normal, who knew?

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