Knots, Book 3

by Elias Scott

Chapter 21

Andy

My heart was racing as we walked down to talk to the student activities director about forming a LGBT club. My first thought was, how in the hell did you get yourself into this situation. You should have listened to Matt. After all, who knew how the kids at school would react when they found out it was my idea. But then Emily and Gina weren't lesbians and as far as I knew Ollie could be bisexual or gay, and he'd fit right in. If they were willing to put their necks out, why shouldn't I? Of course, we could have them chopped off. I kept hoping Mr. Lynch, the student activities director wouldn't be in his office, but of course he was.

We stopped outside his office.

I looked around the group. "Who's going to do the talking,"

"You are," Emily managed to say without a bit of hesitation. "You said you're the boss and not me. I would have, but now it's on you."

"No one else wants to do it?" I asked.

"Nope. It's all on you," Ollie said with a grin.

"Let's do it," I managed as I knocked on Mr. Lynch's door.

"Enter"

We walked in and he had a broad smile on his face. "What can I do for all of you?"

"Uh. Uh. We'd like to form a gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual club."

The smile left his face.

He cleared his throat. "Do you all qualify?"

Emily spoke up. "Well no." She pointed at Ollie. "We're not sure what he is, but Gina and I are not lesbian, transsexual, or bisexual."

Ollie gave her a dirty look. "I might be bisexual. I really don't know. I just thought it would be a great idea to start a club to give kids a chance to meet and share their thoughts and feelings."

Mr. Lynch pulled some papers out of his desk. "You need to fill these out indicating you want to start a club and who the members are." He paused. "You realize this could cause a stir on campus. Who knows how some of the students will react?"

Thanks God for Emily. She just took over. I was always amazed at her confidence. You already know Emily had no trouble expressing her opinion. "We understand that Mr. Lynch, but everyone loves talking about courage, but not many people show it. We're willing to take our chances."

Mr. Lynch looked at all of us. "You all agree with Ms. Cooper."

We all nodded. Mine wasn't quite as telling as the others.

"Mr. Gibson, you seem unsure."

"To be honest, Mr. Lynch. This was my idea and I know there will be some blow back. It scares me a little. But there's a need for this club on campus. I've had a lot of guys come up and talk to me about being gay now that they know I am. They have doubts and questions. This would be a good place for people to meet. We need to let students know that everyone is welcome, and just because they are a member doesn't mean they fall into any of these four categories. We're forming this club to support each other."

Mr. Lynch looked directly at me. "Your reasoning is good, but you know that anyone who goes to one of those meetings is going to labeled. Do you really think you'll be able to get other kids to come?"

Emily stepped forward. "Gina, Oliver, and I will do our best to recruit other students."

"Why not form a GSA club?" Lynch asked. "You know Gay Straight Alliance? Wouldn't that be better?"

I wondered why he knew so much. I'd never heard of the Gay Straight Alliance until he mentioned it.

Mr. Lynch handed me the papers. "I'd like all of you to do some research and report back to me with your findings. There's a lot of information on the Internet. We'll discuss it and you let me know what you decide. Is that fair?"

I took the papers. "My only concern is that a GSA club will make it sound like we're leaving out the students who are bisexual, lesbian, or transsexual."

"That's a legitimate concern, Andy. But maybe you'll change your mind after you do some research?"

Ollie raised his hand. "How come you know so much about this? We were expecting a lot more resistance."

Lynch smiled. "It's my job to know about these things. I figured after all the publicity from Dillon Burke's trial that there was a good possibility someone might want to form a club."

"Are you gay?" Ollie asked.

"Your name is Oliver, right?"

Ollie nodded.

"Let's just say that the answer to that question is personal. But if you do form a club, I might be willing to be your advisor."

I was ready to jump up and down and make a fool out of myself right there in his office. All my fear was gone. Mr. Lynch was going to support us. I was expecting resistance.

Then he said, "I'll have to talk to Principal Evans about this. And I imagine he'll have to take it to the school board. But you can count on my support."

Gina had been quiet, taking it all in until then. "Mr. Lynch, you know this will slow everything down. Mr. Evans will be fine. He's been great through all the Dillon Burke fallout. Andy, Matt, and Thomas can testify to that. But the school board, that's another thing. It will probably die right there."

Mr. Lynch stood. "Ms. Lockhart. It is Ms Lockhart, right?"

"Yes it is Mr. Lynch."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. There are rules we have to follow and you don't know the outcome."

Thomas spoke. "Mr. Lynch, this is important to us. What options do we have if they say no?"

Thomas always surprised me at how quiet and shy he can be and then out of nowhere he says someething. He just stood there and listened until he had something to say. It was sometimes hard to know what he was thinking.

"Your name is Thomas, right?"

Thomas nodded.

"Like I said. There are rules we have to follow. At this point, you don't know whether you'll be forming a LGBT club or a GSA club. You'll have a better idea after you do your research. I suggest you calm down for now. Don't create problems before they exist. Report back to me as soon as your research is done. We'll fill out the paper work and we'll see what happens after that."

"We were hoping to get it all done today," Emily said.

"I understand that. But I'm doing my job and trying to make sure you make the right and best decision for you and your members. I've already told you I'd be your advisor. You have my support and want you to do the best thing for the young men and women who join your club." He gave us a big smile. "Now get out of here. I have things to do."

We got in each other's way as we left his office and walked into the hallway.

"What a lot of administrative bull," Emily spouted.

"Relax, Em," I said. "Mr. Lynch is on your side. You should know enough to understand that what we want to do is going to be pretty damn controversial. Why do you think Matt, Alan, and Ernie didn't join us?"

I was actually relieved and happy to take the time to do the research. The whole thing scared me. It sounded like such a great idea when Matt and I were on our date, but now that we were actually doing it, doubt began to stir inside my head.

The five of us agreed that we'd do our own research and meet at lunch the next day to discuss our findings and make a decision about which club to form.

Matt

Basketball had ended a month or so before and we were already in the month of May. The days were longer and warmer so Andy and I walked home after school so we could talk about his LGBT club. He told me about the meeting with Mr. Lynch and said that it wasn't until they were on the way to Lynch's office that he began to have doubts.

I told him I might consider joining if they formed an GSA club. That made him smile.

Andy fumbled with his fingers as we talked. "I now know how you felt on our date night when I brought it up. The adrenaline rush has made me horny. How 'bout you?"

"I'm always horny. You want to do something about it?"

"Yeah, what do you have in mind?"

I pointed in the direction of the pond. "It's warm enough to go out to the pond."

Andy smiled. "Damn good idea. Can you get the car? I can't."

"No, my parents are both out."

I put my arm around Andy's neck. "Let's ride our bikes like the old days. I'll grab a blanket."

We were at the pond and stripped in no time. We no longer had to take glances at each other in secret. We could admire each other openly and lovingly. The rope still hung from the tree, a little more tattered and worn than when we first put it up. I suppose our lives were like that too. Andy grabbed the rope and swung his naked body out, did a somersault, and screamed when he hit the cold water. He came up. "Shit it's cold."

"Big baby. Give me the rope."

The huge knot at the end of the rope that I tied two years before was tighter from so many kids swinging on it over the last two years. I looked at it and thought, it's only been two years but seems like ten.

I swung out and tried to flip like Andy, but let go too soon and went in feet first. I came up. "I don't know what you're complaining about. It feels great."

"You're so full of shit. Stay there. I'm coming in."

Andy grabbed a condom, dove in, and moved toward me. (We still hadn't gotten tested yet.) I remembered the first time we were in the pond naked and he came close to me. I was afraid he was going to hug me and our bodies would touch. Now I longed for it as he moved next to me, pressed his slim teen body next to mine, and pressed our hardening cocks together. The water was cold but as we hugged and twisted around in the water, the cold went away as warmth from our bodies ignited our passion. Andy kissed me and I kissed back as our tongues lashed at each other. My cock was hard. "Do you want to fuck me or me you," I asked."

"Fuck me. I love your cock in my ass."

The water made us buoyant so I suggested we try something we'd never tried before. "Let's try something new. Stay facing me. I'm going to lift you and put my dick in your ass and bounce you up and down. Doesn't that sound hot?"

"You're so blunt. What do you mean stick your dick in my ass? How about something romantic like, I'm going to put my magic wand in your love canal and perform magic."

"Okay. I'm going to put my magic wand in your love canal and perform magic. Are you happy?"

"Yeah, let's fuck."

I lifted him and slid my magic wand into this love canal easily because the water lubed his ass and my cock. I no longer noticed the cold water. Andy put his arm around my neck and kissed me as I moved him up and down. It felt so good having my cock in his ass and his tongue in my mouth. "I think I'm going to cum."

"So soon. We just started."

"Can't help it. Ahhhhh. Shit." With that, I unloaded in his ass. "Oh fuck. This is hot."

"I felt each shot of your warm cum in my ass. It made me warm all over."

"Glad you liked it. That was one of the best orgasm I've ever had."

"Nice, but how about me. My cock needs attention. Blow me."

. We climbed out of the water, stretched the blanket on the ground, and laid head to cock. I took his wet cock into my mouth, licked around the head, and up and down his shaft before putting my mouth over the tip of his cock, sucking it while flipping my tongue against the sensitive part of the head. He took my softening cock into his mouth and it came back to life. I worked Andy's magic wand until he said, "I'm going to cum. Let me cum in your mouth. He'd done it before and I actually found Andy's cum sweet. I kept working on the head and going down to the pubes until his breathing quickened and I felt his cock stiffen in my mouth. I slowed up to let him cum, only moving enough to let him finish without me touching the sensitive head. "My God. It's been so long. Fuck. Fuck. Damn, Matt. This is almost better than having my dick in your ass. In fact it is better. Shit. Let's do this again when we're done."

"I'm game if you are. But first, put my cock back in your mouth and finish the job."

We fucked two more times on the blanket that afternoon. The sun was setting as we climbed on our bikes and Andy said, "Ready, set, go." And of course, he did as he always did, took off on set. I did my damndest to catch up. The difference now is that I didn't slow down around the turn like I used to. I sped up and it was Andy who slowed just enough for me to catch up. I was ahead when we got to my house. "Gotcha," I said. "You can't even win when you cheat?"

He climbed off his bike and patted me on the back just as my mom pulled into the driveway. She glanced at us as she grabbed some bags from the trunk. Her eyes panned over to the blanket folded over my handlebars, then asked, "Can I get some help?"

We headed over to help her.

"Where'd you go that you needed a blanket?"

"Out to the pond," I answered as if it was nothing.

"Did you have fun?"

"A lot," Andy said. "We did all the things we used to do. We swung on the rope, swam, and laid on the blanket and talked. It was just like old times. I cheated as usual on our bike race, but this time, Matt beat me."

She smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves."

Andy and I gave each other a quick smile as he climbed on his bike. "Gotta go Mrs. Spence. See you later, Matt."

"Later, man." It seemed strange seeing a sixteen year old boy riding a bike.

Andy

I started my LGBT research with a Google search that did not locate LBGT clubs but mentioned only forming Gay Straight Alliance clubs in high school. That pretty much answered our question about the type of club we were going to organize. This is what I discovered about the Gay Straight Alliance at gsanetwork.org.

Mission

Gay-Straight Alliance Network is a national youth leadership organization that connects school-based Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) to each other and community resources through peer support, leadership development, and training.

GSA Network supports young people in starting, strengthening, and sustaining GSAs and builds the capacity of GSAs to:

  1. create safe environments in schools for students to support each other and learn about homophobia, transphobia, and other oppressions,
  2. educate the school community about homophobia, transphobia, gender identity, and sexual orientation issues, and
  3. fight discrimination, harassment, and violence in schools.

Why We Are Needed

Youth are coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning at younger and younger ages, in middle schools and high schools across the country. Far too many face pervasive harassment and violence at school because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Research shows that youth harassed on the basis of sexual orientation are:

  • More than twice as likely to report depression and seriously consider suicide

  • More likely to report low grades, smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs
  • More likely to become victims of violence
  • 3 times as likely to carry a weapon
  • 3 times as likely to report missing school in the last 30 days

While youth who are harassed report weaker connections to school and less support from teachers and other adults, research shows students with GSA clubs at their school feel safer and more supported.

According to the Preventing School Harassment Survey, students in California schools with a GSA club:

  • experienced less harassment based on sexual orientation
  • experienced less harassment based on gender non-conformity
  • were more likely to feel safe at school
  • were more likely to feel school is safe for LGBT students and gender non-conforming students
  • reported stronger youth resilience factors, such as connections with supportive adults at school
  • GSA clubs can successfully decrease harassment and increase school safety for LGBTQ students.

You can learn more in our Research and Reports section.

Why Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs Work

GSA clubs provide a safety net for students during the coming out process. With a GSA club, youth break through the isolation to find support from peers and school staff. GSA clubs unite LGBTQ students, straight allies, and members of the school community who are committed to making schools safer and more accepting for LGBT students.

GSAs draw on the courage of LGBTQ youth and the commitment of straight allies working in partnership to build bridges, improve school climates, and change school policies. Strong, well-supported GSAs can have a major impact on the education environment and possess the power to transform individuals, school cultures, and educational institutions.

Our Strategy

Our overall strategy for fighting homophobia and transphobia in schools is to work with grassroots, youth-led groups and GSAs, empowering them to educate their school communities, advocate for just policies that protect LGBTQ youth from harassment and violence, and organize in coalition with other youth groups across identity lines to address broader issues of oppression.

All of our work with students focuses on leadership development and activism that prioritizes building alliances not only across sexual orientation and gender identity lines, but also across race, ethnicity, and class lines, and our resources and trainings are designed to facilitate coalition building. Our programs benefit our constituents in three critical ways:

  1. Ending Isolation through Building GSAs : Our GSA support programs help students start school-based GSAs, clubs that have proven to be vital support systems or "safe zones" for enhancing the well being of youth suffering from isolation, harassment, discrimination, and violence.
  2. Developing Leaders: Our networking and leadership training programs develop youth leaders capable of effecting positive change in their schools and communities.
  3. Making Schools Safer: We help student organizers learn how to educate teachers and student peers to reduce slurs and work with the school administration to implement school policies that prevent harassment and violence.

All five of us found basically the same information and decided to form a GSA club. During lunch, we filled out the form Mr. Lynch gave us while Matt, Alan, and Ernie looked on.

"So, can I join?" Alan asked.

"Of course. It's the gay straight alliance. That means you can be straight and still join. This will keep anyone from harassing you because you belong," I said.

Alan threw up his right hand. "Yeah, good luck with that. But hell, we hang with you guys anyway, so what difference does it make?"

Ernie expressed the same opinion.

Gina glanced at Matt. "What about you Matt?"

"I think I can go along with this. I just don't like labels. The other sounded like you had to be in one of those four categories."

I poked Matt in the ribs. "So you're still trying to pass for straight?"

"No, but I don't believe in advertising."

Matt changed the subject. "Gina, how was your date with Greg?"

"Great! We had a good time. He's nice and a gentleman."

I winked at Gina. "He didn't try to put any moves on you did he? If he did, tell Matt and he'll take care of it."

Matt punched me in the thigh.

"Ouch."

Ollie leaned in like he had a big secret. "Thomas and I are going to meet under the elm in front of the school. What do you think of that?"

All heads turned to Thomas. "We're just going to talk and get to know each other better."

Matt said, "Ollie, be sure you call him an asshole so you can kiss and make up."

Ollie laughed. "I guess I deserve that one.

All of us, including Matt, Alan, and Ernie all went to see Mr. Lynch after school and give him the papers to form our club.

"I guess you realized there aren't really any LGBT clubs on most campuses."

"Yep," I said. "We learned a lot and we think this is the right way to go."

Lynch smiled. "Good for you. I'll present it to Principal Evans and he'll have it put on the agenda of the next school board meeting. I suggest that you get to work between now and then to get as many supporters as you can to the meeting. You made need them.

I squinted at Mr. Lynch. "This is all we have."

"Well, get to work. You wanted to start the club so round up some supporters."

We left his office unsure, but ready to at least go to people other than guys like Jackass Barnes. We knew there had to be at least ten or fifteen people we could recruit, and that's what we set out to do.

Chapter Quotes

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. - Steve Jobs

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. - T. S. Eliot

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. - Winston Churchill

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