As we walked back to my house, Peter got a call from his mom. She said he needed to be home by seven. I asked if he could have dinner with us and she apparently agreed. It would be dark and Dad would insist on driving him home.
I got Peter to join me by the piano. I'm no virtuoso but I can pick out a tune and with sheet music and a little practice, I can play most popular stuff. I started with something simple, You Are My Sunshine is easy to play and easy to sing. I realized what he meant almost immediately. He sang in a high shrill tone and after a verse or two, I stopped playing.
"I told you I can't sing."
"Well you can, and you're on pitch and everything but you're singing much higher than you need to. And you don't need to sing really loud either."
I sang a verse without him and then asked him to sing in the same octave. The result was he had an acceptable voice. I mean, neither of us were destined for stardom, but we didn't need auto-tune either. We sang a couple of others and I decided to play Red river valley. I let him take the melody and I filled in harmony; when we were done, Mom applauded quietly.
"You boys sound good together; I thought you said you couldn't sing, Peter."
"I guess I was just doing it wrong, Jules showed me how to go at it."
Dinner time arrived and we had fun at the table talking about TV shows and movies and some interesting things that we'd seen. It went by way too quickly and around six-thirty, Dad said it was time to get Peter pointed toward home. We went up to my room to make sure he had all his stuff. I loaned him a gym bag to carry the clothes he had worn Friday. We knew we couldn't kiss goodbye after we left, so we kissed right there in my room.
"I'll miss you tonight, Jules, I like sleeping with you right next to me."
"I'll dream of you all night Peej, I really do love you."
"I love you too, Jules, I had such a good time here. I hope I can come back."
"I don't think that's a problem, Mom likes you and I guess our moms know each other from P.T.A. or something. You know they'll talk about us, right?"
"Yeah, probably; it's what they do."
On the drive over, Dad was listening to Mozart.
"What's that, Sir?" Peter asked.
"Eine Kleine Nacht Musik by Mozart. Do you like it?"
"Yes Sir, it's quite lively."
"Am I that old already? Please call me Dan or Uncle Dan, 'Sir' makes me feel ancient."
We all laughed, Peter was right in there with both my parents.
"This is the one, Uncle Dan, the white gate with the vines."
"That's a nice looking house. Okay Jules, go introduce yourself to the Keswick's; I'll be here."
I walked Peter to the door and his mother opened it.
"Hello, you must be Jules, it's nice to meet you. I've met your mother, please tell her I said hello."
"I better get in there; she'll need help bathing my brothers. I really had fun, thanks. And thanks for being my friend."
"Thank you for keeping after me." I hugged him tight and whispered, "I love you" in his ear.
"Me too" he mouthed as he backed through the door and I turned to go. It was a long walk to the car and I wanted to cry.
"Are you okay, Jules?" Dad asked.
"I'm fine Dad, I just really like him."
"As much as Cam; or is there more to it than that?"
"I looked up at my Dad with my eyes brimming, but I couldn't speak so I nodded.
Dad put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed to comfort me. "I'm glad son; you were overdue for a friend like that."
I put my stuff together for school the next morning and showered.
I tried to watch a show with Mom but couldn't get into it, so I kissed her goodnight and headed for my room. I passed by my dad's den and the door was open. He was listening to music. I kind of liked it and it was a style I never heard before. My dad listens to all sorts of music and he even played the cello at one time. But this didn't sound like his usual jam. He said it was Louis Jordan doing Choo Choo Cha Boogie. I sat down and listened with him and when it finished, he asked if I liked it?
"It's really cool, I like it, but who's Louis Jordan?" I wondered.
"Louis Jordan was one of the progenitors of Rock and Roll."
"That's really cool Dad, you know a lot about music don't you."
"A fair amount I guess."
"I think it's great, I hope I can get to know it as well as you."
"Well, keep at the old piano Jules, and you will. If you get really good we'll get you a job in a bordello."
"What's a bordello, some kind of Italian restaurant?"
Dad laughed, "No buddy, it's another word for whorehouse. That's where many famous piano players got really good at their craft. Guys like Fats Waller and Jellyroll Morton for instance. But I was kidding, I don't know of any bordellos being in existence around here. But there's always the internet, it's the new cathouse where different cultures meet and merge."
That made me laugh and my laugh made Dad smile. He's a great guy.
"Is there anything you need to talk about Jules?"
"There is Dad, but I need to think about it some more before I talk to you."
"Whenever you're ready, Jules; and you also have your new therapist."
"But I'll always want to talk to you about stuff Dad, the therapist is to help me get rid of the nightmares, but I depend on you for advice and stuff."
I walked over and hugged his neck and kissed his cheek and he patted my back.
"I think I'm going to go on up to bed, Dad"
"Goodnight son, I love you."
"Goodnight Dad, I love you too."
It took a while to drop off and at some point, I jolted awake and found a boy sitting at the foot of my bed. It was the boy from the accident.
"Hi, I'm Mitchell. Look I can't stay long but I wanted to tell you to stop worrying about me. I'm sorry you had to see me die but you should let go of that. It isn't good for you and I can't move on unless you do. I hope you have a happier life from here on. Goodbye, Jules."
I woke for real yelling, "Wait Mitchell, I want to ask you something!"
The next thing I knew was Dad holding me and telling me it was all right.
"No, it's okay, Dad, I'm not scared this time. Mitchell told me not to worry about him but he left before I could ask him something."
"But nobody's here, Son."
"C'mon Dad, I know it was a dream; but he said I should stop worrying about him, and that he couldn't move on until I did."
"Mitchell? Where did you hear that name?"
"From him Dad, that's what he said his name was. Why?"
"Because your first therapist told us not to tell you his name; he said that it would make you fixate on the boy."
"Well, I guess we know what his advice was worth."
"Jules, you are way too young to be cynical, let me handle that part, okay," Dad grinned at me.
"I wonder what Dr. Ray will think of this."
"I'd be guessing so I won't answer that, but tell him about it and maybe you'll feel better about things in general."
Dad gave me a kiss and told me to get some sleep; surprisingly I slept well the rest of the night and got up with my alarm and no nagging from Mom.
Dad was already on his way to work when I hit the kitchen for some cereal and an orange. I grabbed my lunch and book bag and gave Mom a smooch. I left a little early with hopes of catching Peter on the way. He had just finished talking to the Doyle brothers near the park gate and the smile on his face when he saw me made me feel great. I hoped that mine would make him feel the same.
"I dreamed about you last night Jules, it was so nice."
"I started off dreaming of you but you got pre-empted. Mitchell, the kid from the accident, came to see me and told me to quit worrying about him. When he left, I woke up and yelled but I wasn't scared. My dad and I talked and it's weird, but I feel better about it now." I suddenly realized what Dad had meant. How could I have known his name? They never mentioned it and I had never seen any newspapers from that day. What the hell could that mean? I explained all that to Peter and it perplexed him as well.
"I don't know what to tell you about that Jules, but Uncle Ray will help you figure it out."
"I hope so; that part bugs me, and Mitchell left before I could ask about God and stuff."
"I'm no expert but I think you'd just be asking yourself. That Mitchell kid was probably your own brain saying cut it the fuck out and be happy."
I laughed and said, "You're probably right."
We only had a couple classes together but we hung out at the breaks and talked with the other guys. We share our campus with the elementary school but we usually don't mix. Some of the cooler sixth graders will come over and play horse or handball.
There was a commotion near the end of second break; our breaks overlap in the afternoon so the sixth graders come out halfway through our break. Adam and Billy, our bullies in training, had gotten a sixth grader cornered; the kid yelled "Raincloud" really loud. That brought eight or nine other sixth graders running and before they knew what was happening, Adam and Billy were on the ground covering their balls and heads. Peter and I ran over and started pulling boys away so that the littler kids wouldn't get into too much trouble.
Adam and Billy were a pathetic sight, Billy had a bloody nose and Adam had a split lip that was bleeding.
The faculty monitor, Mr. Pelham, walked up and wanted to know what happened. The bullies tried to say they fell and bumped heads but Peter wouldn't have it.
"Bullshit! These guys are bullies that picked on the wrong kid. The sixth graders have a code word that brought help running and the cowards got what they deserved," Peter challenged.
"I had to plunge in, "These guys and other guys like them get away with this stuff all the time because of some bullshit unwritten rule about not snitching. We need to tell our teachers and principal what guys like this do. Take away their power by sticking together like the sixth graders."
Other kids began to agree and verify that the events happened as Peter described.
"They're right, you guys." This was from a kid named Wyatt, who was really popular, speaking.
"I came from a school that had lots of bullies, real ones. You couldn't count on making it to lunch without being picked on. They picked on one kid just because he was a little different. It got so bad the kid tried to kill himself. He was really bad at it and lived. We finally stood up as a group to all the bullies in that school. We reported every harassment and punch or kick and they either stopped or got expelled."
Mr. Pelham pointed at Adam and Billy, "You two get to the office, no side trips." He looked at all of us kids and said, "You kids should listen to what these boys had to say. It's the only good way to get bullies to stop."
Peter and I hung around and talked to Wyatt. "We should get a petition or something going and get all the kids to sign up," Peter suggested.
"You're right Peter, if we all get together and show the bullies we won't put up with their crap, they'll back off," Wyatt agreed.
"I'm with you guys, whatever it takes. Let's make them embarrassed to be pointed out as bullies," I added.
First bell sounded and we had to start heading for classes so we shook hands and headed out. I walked with Peter to Geography and we discussed what the petition should include. Near the end of class, the office runner came in and handed the teacher some paperwork. I had finished color coding Asia and was reading ahead about Africa and the Middle East.
Mr. Riley called Peter and I up to his desk and handed us notes from the principal. We were excused from P.E. and directed to attend an emergency Student Council meeting. The bell rang and Peter and I walked to the office.
"Glad you're both here," Mr. Pelham said. "Sheri and the rest of the Council are in the small conference room." We walked into the conference room to find Wyatt and Kim who are the seventh grade reps and the other four reps from eighth and ninth grades, Jimmy and Neesha as well as Nate and Patty After introductions were made, the meeting started. Nate, the ninth grade rep, said it was cool that we stood up to guys like Adam and Billy.
"Well, there's a lot worse than those two," Jimmy said.
"So how do we go about this?" Sheri asked. "Do we just make a resolution or should we have a petition?"
I spoke up in favor of a petition, "If we get everyone to sign on, it will be easier to get them to actually report when they get bullied or see it being done."
"I agree," echoed Wyatt, "and that includes racial and other types of bullying like being singled out as gay or lesbian."
Nate spoke up then, "That should be just as wrong as using the 'N' word, I'm black and I don't say it, but it's a personal choice."
"Prejudice is universal, everyone has pre-conceived notions about how people of a certain race or orientation act and that includes me. All I can do is recognize that it's wrong and not let it affect how I deal with other people," Neesha stated. "And as far as the 'N' word goes, I don't use it either. Not even in jest around the house. I may only be half black but my mom is all hard ass about that word and won't tolerate it from anybody."
"Well, that's the sort of crap that bullies focus on, they make fun because you're smaller or smarter or different from them in any way. I've seen it before at my last school," Peter declared. "I'm for the petition, it gets what they call 'Buy In' from the other students."
"We should make this a zero-tolerance zone for any kind of harassment like when girls are being hassled because they have big um… because they have developed more than others." Jimmy said.
"Nice save Jimmy, but we know what you mean. Let's ask Mr. Pelham if our authority extends that far," Sheri suggested.
"Good question Sheri, and the answer is no, but with a petition from the student body en masse you could draft a resolution to be heard by the school board and they could enact such a regulation."
"Thank you, Sir, that sounds reasonable," Sheri said. "All in favor of circulating a petition to eliminate bullying say 'Aye.'"
Everyone but Peter and I said Aye and Sheri looked at us expectantly. "What about you two?"
"We're not Council members, we can't vote," I said.
"But this is a special session; I think you should be able to in this circumstance."
"They can vote but it won't be official, but as a symbolic gesture they should be included," said Mr. Pelham.
"Okay then, I vote 'Aye.'"
"Me too, um… 'Aye,'" added Peter.
"Thanks guys and thank you too, Mr. Pelham," Sheri beamed.
"Um, Sheri, I just thought of something, sometimes these guys will mess with other kids off campus on the way home or coming into school, can you add that to your resolution?" Peter requested.
"I'll check with our advisor, Mr. Pelham just left because school is out and he has to patrol out front. I'll make a note of that right now so I don't forget."
"He's right, all this is for nothing if kids have to run a gauntlet of bullies to get to school or home," Jimmy agreed.
Peter and I left the office and walked to our lockers and made sure we had our homework. We walked out through the back of the school, across the athletic field and out the back gate, waving at Coach Newberry as we passed. I held out as long as I could but when we reached Woodcrest Park's gate, I tugged him inside and looked for other people, but we were alone behind a huge bush and I kissed him with all the passion I could transmit. He returned the kiss and held me as tight as I held him.
"I've been wanting to do that all day and it kills me that I can't even hold your hand, Peter."
"Me too Jules, maybe someday we can."
"We took a step in the right direction today, didn't we?"
"That's true Jules, do you think if the school board makes that resolution, you will want to be out at school?"
"I don't know, I think so but I'm not sure. I'd like everybody to know I love you and why you're so great. But I don't want to put you in a bad position or catch a lot of crap from morons, resolution or not."
"Yeah, we're just getting started maybe we should start small. I'm going to come out to my parents so make room in your bed in case they throw me out."
"They won't throw you out, Peter, but there's always room in my bed for you."
"That's so sweet. What do you have going today?"
"I have to go see your uncle. My mom texted me earlier, so I have to get moving but I'll call you when I'm done."
We kissed some more and left the park; we talked a little as we walked to his turn off. I watched him cross the road and he turned and waved and I waved back and started for home again.