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Chapter 2
By the following
morning the pain in Calvin's groin had eased to a slight twinge and as
long as he was careful how he sat down, it wasn't a problem. His ribs,
however, were another matter entirely. It seemed that the bruised
muscles had tightened overnight to the extent that even getting out of
bed was an ordeal. Though he put on a brave face, it wasn't possible to
completely hide his discomfort from his parents. He got around this by
explaining that he was a bit stiff after overdoing things in the gym the
previous day. His mother was only partially satisfied with this and as
Calvin left the house for school she was still telling him he should be
more careful and even making hints about him seeing a doctor.
As he approached the school gates the teenager gave a groan of dismay.
Crossing the road towards him was Tom Mallory. The bully was alone, but
that didn't make Calvin feel any better. He'd already discovered the
previous day that he was no match for the bigger boy, even one to one,
and in his current bruised and battered condition he stood no chance at
all. He tensed himself, hoping to escape with just a verbal battering
and not a physical one. However, to Calvin's surprise, Tom walked
straight passed him without even a word, his head down and a scowl on
his face. Calvin was sure he'd seen a dark bruise on the bully's cheek
as he passed by. It looked like Tom had taken some punishment of his own
and the young singer suppressed a smile as he wondered whether the boy
had at last met someone who could stand up to him.
The bell for the start of the day sounded just as he entered the
classroom and his smile was still on his face as he slid into his seat
beside Dan Murphy.
"What's put you in such a good mood?" asked Dan, pushing his glasses up
onto the bridge of his nose with his forefinger.
"Nothing much," Calvin replied. "Though I just saw Tom Mallory and it
looked like someone had given him a thump."
"Really? About time." Dan gave a smile of his own. He too had been an
occasional victim of Tom's attentions. "What happened?"
"No idea, but he had a real nasty bruise under one eye. Wish I could
have been there to see it happen."
"Me too," Dan agreed. "What's happening between you and Tom? Is he still
giving you a hard time?"
"Nothing I can't handle," Calvin lied, his arm supporting his sore
chest.
A few minutes later the bell sounded again marking the end of the
registration period. Mrs. Taylor, their form tutor, sent the class off
to their first lesson of the day, but asked Calvin to stay behind.
"Is something wrong," Calvin asked, sitting on one of the desks in front
of the teacher's. All sorts of things were going through his mind. Had
someone seen his fight and with Tom yesterday and reported it? Had Rob
said something to one of the teachers?
"No, there's nothing wrong. Stop looking so worried," said the teacher.
"Unless of course you've got something to feel guilty about?" Her eyes
narrowed in mock seriousness. Mrs. Taylor was one of Calvin's favourite
teachers. She was always understanding about the special problems he
faced due to being away from school for extended periods. "I asked you
to stay behind because I have something to tell you."
"Oh, that's ok then. I thought it might be something I'd done," said
Calvin, feeling relieved.
Mrs. Taylor gave him a considering look. "Why do I get the impression
that you've been up to something?" She gave a sigh. "I suppose what I
don't know about I don't have to worry about. What I wanted you for was
to tell you about the school's knew mentoring scheme."
"Mentoring scheme? What's that?"
"It's one of these new ideas that comes down from above every so often.
Students who could do better in certain core subjects will be assigned a
'mentor' from amongst the older, more capable students. It will be the
mentor's job to get together with his or her charge for a couple of
hours each week and help them with any problem areas in their
schoolwork."
"What's that got to do with me?" Calvin asked, with a growing feeling of
unease.
"We both know that you aren't doing as well as you are able," said the
teacher. "I know it's not your fault that you miss so much schooling,
but it is a problem that we need to address."
"I have tutor when I'm away from school," Calvin pointed out.
"Yes, I know, and I'm sure that helps, but it doesn't change the fact
that you are not doing as well as you ought to be, especially in English
and Maths."
"Give me a chance and I promise to try harder."
Mrs. Taylor gave a smile. "This isn't a punishment, Calvin. We're just
trying to do what is best for you. Let's give the scheme a go for a few
weeks and if you feel it's not helping we can rethink the situation."
She opened a folder on her desk. "The mentor you've been assigned is
called Robert Dixon."
Calvin groaned aloud. Of all the students in the school, why did it have
to be him? Calvin remembered the lecture that Rob had given him the
previous evening about being 'pigheaded' and the memory caused his face
to heat up.
"Is there a problem?" the teacher asked, seeing the boy's reaction.
"Can't I have someone else? Does it have to be him?"
"Do you know Rob?"
"Not really well," said Calvin. "I'd just rather it be someone else."
"Rob's one of the top students in the school," said the teacher. "He's
also one of the nicest people you're likely to meet." She looked
thoughtful for a second. "This doesn't have anything to do with those
rumours that have been going around recently, does it?"
"What rumours?"
Mrs. Taylor frowned. "If you haven't heard them, then it doesn't matter.
Calvin, I'll be honest with you. In most cases this scheme will probably
turn out to be a waste of time for all concerned. Most of the
underachieving students on the scheme are beyond hope, they don't want
to learn and there is nothing we can do to change that. You though are
different. You have a willingness to learn, but your circumstances have
been preventing you doing as well as you could. In my opinion, Rob is
the best mentor on the list, which is why I've put the two of you
together. Unless you can give me a very good reason why you shouldn't be
partnered with Rob then my decision is final."
Calvin slowly shook his head. He couldn't explain his reasons for not
wanting to be put with the older boy without going into his problems
with Tom. If he did that, his parents would probably get to know and he
could say goodbye to this school and all of his friends. He would just
have to make the best of a bad job.
"That's settled then," said the teacher. "I'll have a word with Rob and
he'll probably search you out later to arrange you first mentoring
session. As I said, we'll give it a few weeks to see how it goes and
then look at things again. Now you'd better get yourself off to your
next lesson."
Rob approached Calvin during the lunch break. "Look's like the powers
that be have decided we should spend some more time together," said the
older teen.
"Yeah, looks that way," Calvin replied, sulkily.
"You don't look especially pleased at the prospect."
"Should I be?"
Rob frowned. "I didn't think you'd be too keen. When Mrs. Taylor told me
she'd put us together I tried to get her to assign you to someone else,
but she wouldn't have it. I told her that you were stubborn, independent
and not good at accepting help or advice."
"You said that about me? What did she say."
"She just smiled and said she knew that all to well." Rob gave a grin.
"She also said she would use those very same words to describe me and so
the two of us should be perfectly matched."
In spite of himself, Calvin smiled. "Mrs. Taylor's cool. She didn't tell
me you were stubborn though, she said you were one of the nicest people
I'm likely to meet."
"She got that bit right then," laughed Rob. "How's the injuries today?"
"A bit sore, especially my ribs. I'll live though." He opened his
schoolbag and pulled out a polythene bag. "Can you give this to Leo for
me, it's the shirt he lent me. I've been looking for him but can't see
him anywhere. Tell him thanks a lot for lending it to me and I'm sorry I
haven't been able to get it washed."
"I don't think he'll mind that it isn't washed," said Rob. "In fact
he'll be delighted. Knowing Leo he'll fasten it straight up on his
bedroom wall or something and show it off to all his friends."
This didn't especially surprise Calvin. He knew that fans collected all
sorts of strange things; in fact anything at all that had been used by
any member of the group was collected and treasured as if it had
enormous value. Most of the fan mail he received had been carefully
vetted before it reached him, but occasionally a strange one would slip
through. The previous week when he'd got a letter asking him for a pair
of his dirty socks, the smellier the better. He really couldn't
understand why anyone would want a smelly pair of socks. He knew for a
fact that all the members of the group received frequent requests for
used underwear.
"So when are we going to get together?" asked Rob. "We're supposed to
have at least a couple of one hour sessions a week where I help you with
homework and stuff. Tonight would be good for me."
Calvin shrugged. "I suppose tonight will be ok. Though it will have to
be a bit later, I can't do it straight after school. How about around
six'ish?"
"Suits me. You want to come to my house or should I come to yours?"
"I'll come to you," said Calvin. "I don't want my parents to know
anything about this."
"No problem. I'll see you later then."
As the day wore on, Calvin managed to gradually come to terms with the
idea of the extra tuition. Having it imposed on him still rankled a
little, but he had to admit that sometimes he tended to struggle a
little in some subjects. Also, he decided that maybe Rob wasn't quite so
bad; the older boy was pleasant and friendly, even if he did have a
tendency to be too free with the truth. Calvin grinned to himself. Rob
had been spot on; stubborn, independent and poor at accepting advice
summed him up pretty well.
At the sound of the final bell, he grabbed his bag and headed for exit.
Today, again, Dan had some after school activity, so Calvin had once
more to walk home on his own. His mind was very much on the upcoming
session with Rob and so he wasn't really paying much attention to his
surroundings. It therefore came as a shock when his path was suddenly
blocked by Fat William, one of Tom's cohorts.
"Look who it is, boys," William sneered, his piggy eyes narrowing.
"Guess we're going to have some fun."
Calvin felt sick as he looked around. Two more of Tom's friends were
behind him, blocking his escape and the bully himself had stepped up
next to William. The young singer wondered what they had in store for
him. His ribs still hurt badly from yesterday and he knew he couldn't
take any more physical punishment. It wondered whether he should plead
with boys to leave him alone, but knew that such talk would only
encourage them to torment him further. He clenched his lips shut and
hoped he didn't appear too terrified. The gang's leader had a face like
thunder and if anything looked even meaner than Calvin had ever seen him
before, his bruised faced adding to his threatening appearance.
"Let him pass." Tom spoke through clenched teeth as if the words were
being forced out of him.
"But..." William's face contained a mixture of surprise and
disappointment.
"I said let him pass," Tom repeated, viciously yanking at the fat boy's
arm to pull him out of the way. "Get out of my sight, 'Too Cool for
School' before I change my mind."
Calvin didn't need telling twice. He was just as amazed as William by
Tom's actions but he wasn't about to stand around and argue. He quickly
stepped around William and hurried on his way, glancing back frequently
to make sure this wasn't some sort of trick. He couldn't understand
Tom's sudden change in attitude; the bully had never missed opportunity
to have a least a verbal dig at the fourteen year old. Calvin wondered
if maybe the purple swelling under Tom's left eye had something to do
with it. Whatever was going on, Tom obviously hadn't told his gang about
it judging by the baffled looks they were still giving each other as the
teen went around a corner and lost sight of them.
It was just after six by the time Calvin rang the doorbell at Rob's
house. The fourteen year old had changed out of his school uniform and
into a much more casual, baggy, pale blue sweatshirt and a pair of worn
denims. As he waited at the door he lightly rubbed his chest through the
soft material of the sweatshirt. His ribs had eased a little as the day
had gone on, but they still grumbled every time he moved and had made
changing his clothes very hard work.
It was Leo who answered the door.
"Oh, hi Calvin," the youngster grinned, shyly dipping his head and
looking up at the singer through his long, brown eyelashes.
"Hi Leo. How's things?"
"Great. Come on in. Rob's upstairs, he'll be down in a minute." The
younger boy lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "I think he's in
the bathroom."
"That's ok," said Calvin. He held out a large envelope he was carrying.
"Here, these are for you. It's a thank you for the loan of the shirt."
"Oh, wow! Thanks." Leo's eyes widened as he pulled out of the envelope a
selection of Calvin's autographed publicity photographs and a CD of
SClub's 'Sundown' album, also autographed.
"Rob mentioned that you were a bit of fan so I thought you might like
them," said Calvin.
"They’re are amazing," beamed Leo. "Mum, look at these pictures Calvin
has given me," he grinned as his mother appeared from the kitchen.
"Hello, Calvin. Pleased to meet you," smiled the woman. She put her arm
around Leo's shoulders and glanced down at the pictures. "Very nice. Can
I get you a drink or anything, Calvin?"
"No, I'm fine thanks," the singer replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Maybe later."
Mrs. Dixon nodded. "I'll send Leo up with some drinks in a little
while."
"Hi Calvin. Come on up." Rob had appeared at the top of the stairs. He
beckoned to the younger boy and waited for him to catch up before
leading the way into his bedroom, pushing the door closed behind them.
"It'll be quieter in here. If we'd stayed downstairs Leo would be
wanting to watch TV and Mum would be interrupting all the time asking if
you wanted anything."
"In here will be fine," Calvin shrugged. There was a desk in the room
big enough that both boys could sit at it quite comfortably. He dropped
his bag containing some of his school books on Rob's bed. "I didn't know
what I should bring."
"Is there anything you're really having trouble with at the moment?" Rob
asked.
"Well I suppose I'm struggling a bit with my maths. I don't have a clue
how to start the homework Eddington has given us." He opened the bag and
pulled out some books.
"Ok then," said Rob. "Let's start with that."
The two boys sat down side by side at the desk and Calvin opened his
books to the relevant pages.
"This isn't really difficult once you know what you're doing" said Rob.
He pulled across some scrap paper and began explaining the calculations.
A couple of minutes in, he suddenly threw down his pencil and rubbed his
forehead. "Calvin, there's something I should tell you." His face had
taken on a sort of worried frown and his fingers nervously tapped on the
desktop.
"What's the matter?" Calvin asked, disturbed by the sudden and dramatic
change in the older teen's manner.
Rob was quiet for a few seconds as if about to make a big announcement
and trying to decide on the right words. "I suppose you've heard the
rumours about me?"
Calvin shook his head. He remembered his form teacher's words from their
talk that morning. "Mrs. Taylor said something about some rumours, but
she didn't say what they were about."
Rob groaned. "Oh, terrific. Even the teachers have heard them." He gave
a sigh. "I don't suppose it really matters anyway since they'll know the
truth pretty soon."
"The truth about what? What are people saying?" Calvin's curiosity was
aroused.
After a slight pause, Rob gave the younger boy his answer. "There is a
rumour going around that I'm gay."
"You're gay?" Calvin blinked in surprise. He gave a short laugh as if
the was most the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard, but the laughter
died on his lips as he saw Rob's deadly serious expression. "Are you
really gay?"
Rob gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Yep. My family knows and my close
friends know. Now you know. Since it appears that most of the school has
heard about it anyway, I've decided not to hide it anymore. If anyone
asks me outright I'll tell them the truth."
"I see." Calvin suddenly realised how close the too of them were
sitting. In fact, his knee was actually touching Rob's. He automatically
moved his leg, breaking the contact.
"It's not catching you know," said Rob, with a shake of his head.
Instantly, Calvin felt guilty about his reaction. "I'm sorry. It's just
a bit of a shock. I've never known anyone who was gay before."
"What you mean is you've never known anyone who admitted they were gay
before. I'm still the same person I was a few minutes ago. I thought I'd
better tell you so that you could decide whether you wanted to do these
tutoring sessions with me. I know what with you being who you are it
could make things difficult for you when everyone finds out the truth
about me. If you'd rather switch to someone else I'll go see Mrs. Taylor
in the morning, explain it all to her and get her to reassign you."
Calvin's mind raced to think this through. Rob was gay. He knew what the
kids at school were like; if he spent time with someone who was gay then
he must be gay himself. Not that there was anything new there. He'd
already heard plenty of rumours that himself and Aaron, one of his
fellow band members, were an item. Did he really care what people who
hardly knew him might think? And in spite of certain reservations, he
had to admit to himself that he did like Rob. The older teen was caring
in a big brother sort of way, but also very down to earth,. There was
something about Rob that made him nice to be around. "It's not a
problem," he said. "So you're gay, why should that make a difference?"
"You sure? Rob asked. "I'd understand if you decided it would be better
if you had nothing else to do with me."
"I'm sure," Calvin nodded. A slightly uncomfortable silence descended as
he tried to think of something to say to lighten the atmosphere after
the bombshell. "So, you got a boyfriend?" He cringed with embarrassment
the moment the question had left his lips and cursed himself for not
having his brain connected to his mouth.
Rob, however, just laughed. "Not at the moment. Why? You offering?"
"Erm, no, I don't think so," Calvin said quickly, feeling his cheeks
flush. "I just wondered."
"I don't have a boyfriend," Rob repeated, his eyes twinkling. "So if you
get any fan mail from any gay guys you think might be suitable, you can
send them my way."
"Ok, I'll do that," said Calvin, now grinning himself.
"Now that we've cleared that up, perhaps we should get some work done,"
said Rob, returning his attention to the books on the table.
Over the next half hour or so the two boys worked their way through a
variety of problems similar to the ones that Calvin had been set as
homework. The youngster was starting to understand the calculations
better, but in truth his mind wasn't really on what they were doing.
Bending forwards over the desk was causing his sore ribs to ache and he
kept shifting around in an effort to ease the discomfort.
"You ok?" asked Rob, eventually. "You want the loo?"
"No nothing like that," Calvin replied. "It's just that sitting like
this is making my ribs hurt."
Rob looked concerned. "You should have said something sooner. We'll take
a break for a while if you like, give you chance to move about a bit.
You're bound to be stiff for a few days, that was a hell of a kick Tom
gave you." He looked thoughtful for a second. "I've just had an idea.
Don't go away." The older boy hurried out of the room.
Calvin got up and walked around, very cautiously stretching out his
cramped muscles and grimacing each time they told him he'd stretched far
enough. In spite of the aches and the pains he knew that he had been
quite lucky. If Tom had decided to hit him in the face, Calvin knew that
he would have been sunk, there would have been no hiding that from his
parents.
"Found it," Rob reappeared. In his hand he was carrying a small plastic
bottle. "This is something the doctor gave me when I sprained my
shoulder a while back. It's for sports injuries, it relaxes the muscles
and eases the aching." He unscrewed the cap of the bottle. "It's a bit
like sun oil, you just gently rub it in. It works really fast, you'll
feel better almost straight away. Lift your shirt up and sit back on the
bed and I'll put some on for you."
"You'll put it on for me?" Calvin eyes widened at the suggestion. "Can't
I put it on myself?"
"I suppose you could, but it would be easier if I did it for you. I
promise I won't hurt you, I'll rub it in very gently."
"No, it's not that," said Calvin, uncomfortably.
"Well, what is it then?" Rob looked puzzled, then his eyes narrowed. "Is
it because of what I told you earlier about me being gay?"
Calvin shrugged. This was exactly what was on his mind. He could feel
his face starting to heat up.
"If you really don't want me to touch you then fine," said Rob. "You can
put it on yourself or if you prefer I'll give Leo a shout, I'm sure he'd
be happy to do it for you. I wasn't trying to take advantage of you if
that's what you think. I'm not about to rip your clothes off and rape
you."
Rob's tone was mild, but Calvin's face was now flaming at the rebuke. He
told himself to stop being so stupid. "I'm sorry," he said. "Go ahead
and put it on for me." He sat on the edge of the bed and lifted his
sweatshirt up to his chin before laying back, his head on the pillow. He
tried to force himself to relax as Rob poured some of the oil onto his
palm and approached the bed.
"Just lie still," said Rob. He rubbed his hands together to coat both
his palms then gently placed his hands on the sides of Calvin's chest.
In spite of himself, Calvin sighed at the touch. Rob was as gentle as
he'd promised and the singer soon forgot all his reservations. He closed
his eyes and let the older teen massage the oil into his chest. Slowly
Rob's hands moved across the boy's entire upper torso and Calvin began
to feel a warm glow on his skin. He was surprised at how nice it felt,
not just the affects of the oil but also the gentle touch of Rob's
hands. He couldn't remember anyone touching him like this before.
Gradually the warmth moved deeper and he felt his tightened muscles
begin to loosen and the nagging ache begin to subside. He closed his
eyes and let out another sigh.
"Feel good?" asked Rob, his voice soft.
"Uh huh," Calvin murmured.
"Told you it works quickly."
The teenager forced his eyes open, half afraid that if he kept them
closed he might drift off to sleep. "Tom Mallory was really strange
today."
"How so?"
"He completely ignored me this morning, then later on he forced his gang
to leave me alone."
"Maybe he's got bored with tormenting you and has turned on someone
else," said Rob, his eyes following the movement of his hands across the
smooth skin of Calvin's chest.
"Could be, though it's not likely. I think the bruise on one side of his
face might have something to do with it." Calvin stared straight at
Rob's face but the older boy refused to make eye contact.
"Could be," said Rob. "I suppose that it's possible that someone might
have warned him off."
"I wish I knew who it was," said Calvin, now feeling certain that he
knew exactly who had thumped Tom.
"Why?" asked Rob, at last raising his eyes and giving a half grin. "You
looking to shout at them and throw a sulk because they've interfered
without being asked?" His hands had stopped moving and now lay flat on
the younger boy's chest.
"Maybe." Calvin said, trying to look serious and being only partially
successful. "I expect it was someone who is always interfering and
always thinks they know best. Probably someone as 'stubborn and
independent' as me."
"That narrows things down a bit. There aren't many of us like that."
Before Calvin could respond, there was a light tap on the bedroom door
and Leo came in carrying a tray containing two steaming mugs and a plate
of biscuits.
"Mum sent you up some hot chocolate. She said..." The words tailed off
as the youngster took in the sight of his older brother with his hands
on Calvin's bare chest. "Erm, what are you guys doing?" he asked, his
tone uncertain and his eyes wide.
"Studying," said Rob, with a perfectly straight face.
Leo ignored the flippant answer. "Why has Calvin got his shirt up? Oh,
God! You weren't..." The boy looked horrified as his brain put two and
two together and came up with something approaching sixty-nine. He
looked around in a panic for somewhere to put the tray down, gave up and
turned to leave, the tray still in his hand.
Laughing, Rob leapt off the bed and pulled Leo back, relieving him of
the tray before pushing the door closed with his foot. At the same time
Calvin pulled his shirt down, covering himself up.
"No we weren't," Rob told his brother, still laughing. "Not what you
were thinking anyway. Calvin's chest hurt from where he was kicked and I
was just rubbing some of that oil on it that the doctor gave me for my
shoulder."
Leo looked sceptical. "You sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Look." Rob put the tray down on the desk and held up the
bottle as evidence. "Here, smell my hands if you don't believe me."
"No, it's ok. I thought you were... well, you know... what with you
being..." Leo's face turned scarlet.
"I know what you thought," Rob smiled. "But it wasn't anything like
that. Calvin did ask if he could be my boyfriend but I turned him down."
"I didn't ask anything of the sort," said Calvin, getting off the bed
and coming over to the desk for his hot chocolate. "Take no notice of
him, Leo. He's winding you up."
"He does that all the time," said Leo, giving his big brother a
reproachful look.
"Maybe we should get together some time and find a way of getting him
back," Calvin suggested.
"Hey that's not fair," grinned Rob, "the two of you ganging up on me."
Calvin sipped his chocolate. It had been an interesting sort of evening.
Perhaps having Rob as his 'mentor' wouldn't be so bad after all.
Comments about the above story can be made on the
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email me at gym@softhome.net
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