Copyright © 2020-2024 DouglasDD. All Rights Reserved.
CHAPTER 7
SEVENTH GRADE
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
<Fourth Dimension>
Aiden was trying to find a way to get out of going to the Fourth Dimension. His excuse that the next day was the first day of school sounded lame even to him, so he didn’t bring it up with his dads. Finally, he realized if he didn’t go, he would be late for the meeting which, according to Sammy, meant less than fifteen minutes early.
“Fellowship before the meeting, and after if you can, is important. It’s one of the ways we keep each other sober,” Sammy had explained to Aiden.
“I guess I’m gonna go ride my bike to the meeting,” Aiden told his dads, who were sitting in the TV room watching the Mariners at Texas.
“Don’t sound too enthusiastic about it,” Phil responded. Aiden wasn’t sure if he detected sarcasm in his dad’s voice.
Larry felt a touch of irritation with his husband - he didn’t feel this was the proper time for Phil to be sarcastic. But he didn’t want to make an issue of it front of their son.
“How about if I give you a ride,” Larry offered. “That way you’ll be home in plenty of time to get yourself into night—before—the— first—day—of—school mode.”
“Pop, this isn’t the day before a game,” Aiden grumbled.
“No, but the first day of school comes close.”
“Whatever. What’s happening in the baseball game?”
“The Rangers have a six to three lead. I’m surprised you weren’t watching.”
“I was thinking about if I was gonna go to the meeting and lost track. Besides, Marty didn’t start, so I figured I wasn’t missing anything important.”
“The Mariners are right in the thick of the postseason race,” Phil pointed out.
“Yeah, I suppose I could have watched. I’m just kinda confused about this meeting business and school starting and if I really need to go.” He looked at Phil, who was giving him a disapproving look. “If I need to go to the meeting, I mean, not to school. I know I need to go to school,” he explained.
“Aiden, quit thinking so much,” Larry chided his son. “Just do it. Now get your hoodie so we can go.”
“You sound like Marty. He keeps saying I need to think less and listen more.”
“Sound advice, now get the hoodie.” While the late summer day had been warm, the evenings were beginning to get cool.
Aiden retrieved his sweater and followed his pop to the Honda. Larry dropped Aiden at the church fifteen minutes before meeting time. Lexi Jones, who was one of the group’s greeters, met him at the door with a smile and quick hug. Aiden was learning that the kids of the Fourth Dimension were big on hugs, at least at the meeting venue.
When Aiden entered the meeting room, Grant was just finishing with his setup duties.
“Hi, Aiden,” Grant said with a big smile. “I was hoping you’d come. I’m glad to see you.”
Aiden saw Grant take a step toward him and start to raise his hands and then stop. Aiden could tell Grant wanted to give him a hug but looked like he wasn’t sure what to do. Aiden decided to make it easy on Grant and initiated the hug. The smaller boy flashed a brilliant grin when they let go. The hugging ice had been broken between them. Aiden knew that Grant had been one of the few boys in seventh grade smaller than he was, Mason and Rusty being two of the others.
And just as Aiden thought about Rusty, the redhead walked into the meeting room. “Aiden? What are you doing here?” was Rusty’s immediate reaction.
“The same thing you are, I imagine.”
“I didn’t know you drank.”
“It’s kind of a long story, but I haven’t for a long time. Everybody thinks I should be coming here, is all I can say.”
“Do you think you should be coming here?”
Aiden felt uncomfortable with Rusty’s grilling and didn’t answer. His silence told Rusty all he needed to know.
“This is like my third time here,” Rusty said. “How come I haven’t seen you here before?”
“I’ve been busy.”
Peter Astor, Sammy, and a couple of other high school kids came into the room. Sammy gave Aiden a quick hug and then traded hugs with Rusty and Grant. Aiden received a hug from Peter Astor, of all people. The hug from his one-time enemy made Aiden wonder if maybe the AA program really did work the way Marty, his dads, Sammy, and the kids attending the Fourth Dimension said.
When the basket for contributions came around at the half-way mark of the meeting, Aiden dropped a dollar into it. At the end of the meeting Aiden realized he hadn’t shared anything on the topic of humility. He wondered if not sharing was a good thing or a bad thing. That was something he would need to ask Sammy the next time they met, or Marty the next time they talked.
He thought Peter’s share was the best. He told how his ego had controlled everything and that now that he had gone through all twelve steps, he was working on letting his Higher Power control his ego, which helped him to be humble. When Barry shared, he said being humble was for people who didn’t want to get ahead and thought it was a fake character trait. That was not only the opposite of what Peter said, it was the opposite of what Aiden had heard Marty say more than once. Aiden trusted Marty way more than he trusted Barry.
At the end of the meeting, Aiden decided he would come back, like everybody was telling him to. He just didn’t know when. He did know that he would meet with Sammy Sunday afternoon at three. The meeting had given him a lot of questions to ask Sammy. He had questions he wanted to ask Rusty, too, but he understood that this wasn’t the time.
He didn’t want Sammy and Marty giving him shit for not taking his AA program seriously. He knew he wasn’t taking it as seriously as they seemed to think he should. He concluded that the best way to keep them off his back was to come back for at least a few more meetings. It was as if he had forgotten that just a few days ago he had sat in a meeting and admitted he was an alcoholic.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
<Mayfield Middle School>
Aiden’s first day of seventh grade started with his usual routine of catching the school bus in front of his house. Aiden was hoping to be able to ride his bike for the first few weeks of school, but his dads told him that the time wasn’t right yet—that they would reconsider their decision in the spring.
Kalie had begged her parents to allow her to ride her bike to school when Aiden rode his but got nowhere. They reminded her that they lived over two miles farther from the school than Aiden did. “The days are getting shorter,” Kalie’s mother told her, “and no way will we allow you to ride to and from school in the dark. We’ll give this another look in the spring.”
The riding in the dark argument was the one Phil and Larry dropped on Aiden as well. He argued that he would be on the bike path until he crossed Highway 12. As with Kalie, his argument met deaf ears. Since he could leave for school later than Kalie morning darkness wouldn’t affect him as much, but he knew by early October he would be back on the bus permanently until Spring. He wanted to get as many riding days in as he could until then, but the answer was a solid no.
This was the first year that school uniforms were required at Mayfield Middle School. Larry had taken Aiden to the school the week before to buy three different styles of shirts, a sweatshirt, and a hoodie with the Mayfield Titans logo. They were all dark blue and white. “Do you really need all of this?” Larry asked Aiden.
“I do if I want to be styling and not have to wear the same smelly shirt every day.”
“Well, we can afford it. Just don’t grow too fast, okay?”
“Whatever you say, Pop.”
Pants, shorts, or skirts, had to be either blue or tan, and could be purchased either at the school sale or at a retail outlet. Blue jeans were acceptable. Aiden was happy there weren’t rules about what kind of underpants to wear—at least he could be himself underneath his pants.
Aiden was wearing a white school polo shirt with the Titans logo on the breast pocket, dark blue shorts, and a light jacket as he waited for the bus. When it pulled up, he crossed the street and boarded. Mrs. Emerson gave Aiden her usual friendly greeting as he climbed up the steps onto the bus. “You look sharp in your uniform, and your girlfriend is in the back ready for you to meet her.”
“Mrs. Emerson, I keep telling you she is not my girlfriend and that I have a boyfriend.”
“It is possible to have both,” she laughed. Aiden knew the bus driver was having fun with him. He noted that Kalie was sitting a couple of seats farther back than last year. The bus wasn’t nearly as crowded as the year before because the middle school schedule was changed to a later time. As a result, another bus had to be used to pick up the high school students. Since Mrs. Emerson worked as an assistant at the middle school during the day, she continued to drive the middle school route.
“Hey, Kalie,” Aiden said as he sat next to her. When she left the aisle seat open, she was signaling that she wasn’t going to get sexy with him. In this case it made him happy since he didn’t want the distraction on the first day of school. Plus, they needed to scout out who would be sitting around them. Aiden’s stop was the next to last stop on the run, so they would know who most of their fellow riders were when Aiden boarded.
“Hey yourself. Why is it always sunny on the first day of school and always rainy on the last day of school?” Kalie asked.
“I dunno, but I do know today would have been a great day to ride our bikes to school.”
“Tell me about it.”
Even though Kalie’s seat choice indicated she had no plans to cop a feel, Aiden couldn’t help but make a suggestive comment. “Gordy says he shot a lot of stuff for you.”
Kalie wasn’t fazed by what Aiden told her at all. They felt at ease talking sex with each other, not to mention sharing a grope or two. “He thinks it was a lot, but it’s nothing compared to what Ian shoots.” Ian was Kalie’s fourteen-year-old cousin who lived in Eugene, Oregon. The two of them had been intimate when Ian and his sister had visited Mayfield but, despite his best efforts, Ian had not yet been able to take his cousin Kalie’s virginity.
“Gordy shoots more than I shoot, but Nolan has him beat,” Aiden said.
“I’d love to watch you guys all jerk off together and see what you shoot out.”
“Does that include Miles and Mason?”
“Of course.” She reached down and gave Aiden a quick grope. “I knew you’d get a boner from talking about something sexy. You boys always get boners.”
“Yeah, and sometimes we get them from doing nothing; they just happen.”
Since the bus no longer served the high school, the ride was shorter than the year before. Aiden wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. It certainly limited the amount of time he and Kalie had to play around with each other when they were in the mood.
When Mrs. Emerson turned the bus into the school driveway, Aiden grinned when he saw the school reader board. The sign read “Mayfield Middle School, Home of the Titans”. Underneath it, the electronic sign flashed between “Welcome New 6th Graders” and “Welcome Back, Titans”.
Aiden strapped on his backpack, told Kalie he would see her in Core class, and headed for the door. “It was good to see you again, Mrs. Emerson,” he told the grandmotherly driver. “I was afraid you’d be changing buses.”
“What and miss all of my favorite students?” she laughed. “It’s always good to see you.”
“I hope to ride my bike to school sometimes.”
“I’ll miss you if you do. Now get moving, people are eager to get off the bus.” Not for the first time Aiden stepped off the bus wondering what Mrs. Emerson would say if she knew he had messed around with her ten-year-old grandson, Skip. Aiden was aware that she knew Skip got naked for swimming at his house, but he was sure she didn’t know about the gropes and licks and other things that went on at the naked swim parties.
By the time Aiden entered the school he was rock hard and happy he wasn’t wearing tight pants. There was plenty of room in his new shorts for his boner to get lost in.
Aiden went to home room first. Miss Truefan was his Homeroom teacher. She was a first-year teacher and Aiden could tell she was nervous. She was young and good looking. Aiden knew that the straight boys would be drooling over her. Aiden had an appreciation for anything beautiful and even as a gay boy he couldn’t help but be enamored by her looks.
Aiden already knew that Miles and Gordy would be in his Homeroom. He looked around to see if there were any new kids or anybody he knew well. Since Mayfield Middle School was the only middle school in a small town, everybody knew who almost everybody else was, but only knew a few of those as a friend. Aiden was pleased to see Rusty and Muddy were in his Homeroom.
By the time Miss Truefan had assigned everyone to a locker, Homeroom was over. Aiden and Gordy walked to Science class together. Like the year before, Mr. Randall would be Aiden’s Science teacher. Biology would be the science emphasized for the first semester. Aiden hoped to get into the new Robotics class second semester. Since they had all shared their schedules as soon as they arrived in the mail two weeks before, Aiden knew that Gordy, Miles, and Mason would be in his Science class. He soon learned that Brittany and Collin were also in his class.
Aiden liked Mr. Randall. The fact that he was the head basketball coach didn’t hurt his stock any. He had also been Aiden’s coach on the JV baseball team, but he was not returning in that capacity. With his wife expecting a baby in February, Coach Randall was starting a new family and wanted to restrict himself to one sport for a year or two. There were those who theorized that Mrs. Randall was the one who wanted her husband to take the time off.
Once again, Aiden knew which friends would be in his class. This time it was Gordy, Kalie and Miles. Once class started, he saw that Grant, Heather Gardner, Brittany, Collin, Rusty, and Blake Knox were there too. Aiden could tell it was going to be a great three periods, even with Heather in the class. He considered Heather to be stuck up and way too full of herself.
Next came three periods of Core, just like sixth grade. Once again, Aiden knew which friends would be in his class. This time it was Gordy, Kalie and Miles. Once class started, he saw that Grant, Heather Gardner, Brittany, Collin, Rusty, and Blake Knox were there too.
His teacher was Mr. Edison, who was a twenty-year veteran. While he wasn’t a coach, he did referee high school and college basketball. He was an outstanding teacher and was well-respected by parents, faculty, and his students. Seventh Grade Core consisted of Reading and Literature, English and Writing, and Social Studies (World History and Culture), and Current Events.
The students quickly learned that Mr. Edison’s reputation for being demanding was well-earned as he not once, but twice, committed the ultimate sin—assigning homework on the first day of school. One was a reading assignment in their World History text, with five questions to answer. The other was a writing assignment in which they had to tell at least three things that made Mayfield a great place to live and tell why that was true.
“What about the things that aren’t so good about Mayfield?” Heather Gardner asked.
“Well, Heather, you seem to have an idea of what the next writing assignment will be. For now, I want only the good.”
“But how can you say anything good about a place that’s a dump?” Wade Hart asked. Wade was a new student who had moved to Mayfield from New York in July. Aiden wasn’t the only one who wondered how the new boy had become so negative on Mayfield in just a few weeks. He added Wade next to Heather on his list of negatives for the day.
“Think of things that make it a good dump.”
“But that’s not fair. How can you make something good out of something bad?”
“That will be the challenge of the assignment, won’t it?”
It became obvious during that little exchange that Mr. Edison was all business and that his business had better be the student’s business.
“John had Mr. Edison when he was in seventh grade,” Miles said as the third period of Core ended. “He said he’ll work your ass off, but he was fair and when you got to know him, he was pretty nice. But at the start of the year he was the world’s meanest asswaffle.” It was also the end of fourth period, which meant it was time for lunch.
Aiden started for the lunchroom with Gordy and Miles when he was stopped by Heather. “Hi, Aiden,” she cooed. She went on without waiting for a reply, which was fortuitous since Aiden had no intention of replying. “I’m so happy we’re in the same Core class together since we’re the two best writers in the seventh grade.”
Aiden saw Gordy and Miles start to walk away, obviously giggling about his predicament. “I gotta go,” he said without fanfare.
“Maybe we can have lunch together sometime.”
Heather’s syrupy voice grated on Aiden’s ears. All he wanted to do was get away from her and catch up with his friends and as a result he made what would end up being a humongous mistake. “Yeah, sure, whatever. See ya.”
Heather admired Aiden’s ass as he took off after Gordy and Miles. She didn’t mind that he was playing hard-to-get; it would just make him that much more of a prize when she finally won him over. She could hardly wait for their first kiss and whatever would follow that. She turned the other way to get to her locker.
By the time Aiden caught up with his friends they had come across Mason, who was heading to his locker from Chorus. They waited for him to put away his books as Aiden nervously looked back, hoping Heather wasn’t trying to catch up to him. He didn’t see her in the hallway.
“Looks like Aiden’s got a new girlfriend,” Miles giggled.
“Shut up,” Aiden retorted. “She’s a pain in the gluteus maximus.”
“Wow, listen to Aiden use big words for ass,” Mason said as he returned from his locker.
“I’m just prepping for Health, which we’ll have next semester.”
“I missed who the ass is.”
“Heather Gardner.”
“She trapped Aiden in the hall just now,” Gordy told Mason. “And that’s what we were giggling about.”
“Yeah, Aiden’s new girlfriend,” Miles said again.
“I’d say you were just jealous, but I know you and Brittany are going out, and we all know Gordy has nothing to say about girlfriends. Besides, I have a boyfriend, so I don’t need a girlfriend.”
“Well, I don’t want a girlfriend because I suck dicks or get my butt fucked like almost every day,” Mason giggled.
“You are such a perv,” Miles grinned.
“Yes, and you don’t mind being one of the guys who goes up my butt.” Mason’s most frequent sex partner was Muddy, with Trent and Miles’ brother John getting their turns as well. Getting fucked now equaled sucking dick as Mason’s favorite erotic recreation.
Gordy and Aiden, who were carrying their own lunches, sat at the long table that had been where Aiden and his group had sat the year before. Some called it Aiden’s clique, which was not meant to be a compliment for Aiden or his group of friends. The long table could seat twelve, although that number hadn’t been reached often in sixth grade. Aiden and Gordy agreed it could be different in seventh grade because all the seventh graders had second lunch. The sixth graders were split between the two lunches while the eighth graders all had first lunch.
Aiden, Gordy, Miles, and Mason sat at the table, of course. Soon Muddy and Collin came to the table. Aiden was pleased to see that Collin had Rusty in tow, especially after the surprise Rusty had given him the day before. Another surprise was Grant, who walked up to the table carrying a lunch tray. “Do you guys mind if I sit with you?” he asked shyly.
“Dude, you don’t have to ask. This is not a private table,” Aiden said. “Take a seat and join us.” Grant sat next to Rusty, who looked pleased to have Grant sit with him.
Grant’s eyes lit up when Lance came over to the table. “Is it okay if a sixth grader sits here?” Lance asked the group of seventh graders.
“I was wondering when I was gonna see you,” Aiden said.
“Well, now you know. This lunch thing sucks. Lenny and almost all of my friends have first lunch. At least Emmitt has second lunch, but he wants to sit with our sports friends. I told them I wanted to sit with you guys today, but I’ll sit with them most lunches.”
Lance sat next to Grant, who scooted over so that they were touching. Lance thought if this was how things were going to be, he might just end up sitting at the seventh-grade table for most of the lunches. Of course, Grant could sit with him and the sixth graders sometimes, too, he thought. Both Lance and Grant were surprised how their legs touching had given them almost instant boners.
The talk at the table was soccer, the Mariners, the Seahawks, and plans for future events and parties. Somehow, girls never entered their conversation.
At the same time, over at the girls’ table, Kalie, Heather, Brittany, and Autumn were talking only about boys. Aiden was at the top of their list of “really fine” boys.
“There is no way he is gay,” Autumn said. “I don’t care what he says, he’s way too fine to be gay.”
“I’ve seen his boyfriend,” Kalie told them, “and he is like, a total hunk.”
“Aiden and I are going to start going together before Christmas,” Heather promised.
“Did he tell you that?” Brittany asked.
“No, but I know I can make it happen.”
“Lots of luck. It hasn’t worked for anybody else.” Brittany looked at her friends. “Let’s see, I think me and Miles are going out, Kalie and Gordy are going out, Heather is wetting her panties over Aiden, and Autumn likes everybody.”
“Not true,” Autumn protested. “I asked Barry to go out with me.”
“What did he say?” Heather gasped.
“He said he’d think about it, which is better than saying no. I mean, we have gone all the way, so he should say yes, right?”
“It makes sense, but I haven’t gone all the way, so I don’t know if it’s right or not,” Kalie responded.
“We need to get Christy Caine to sit with us,” Heather said. Christy was a new student who had moved to Mayfield from Tacoma, which was not uncommon since Tacoma City Utilities operated the Mayfield dam. “I bet she likes the same kind of boys we do, plus she joined our soccer team.” All of the girls except for Autumn played soccer. Everyone agreed it was a good idea. Heather and Kalie said they would invite her during soccer practice that evening.
“Can anybody come to my house after school?” Autumn asked her friends. “Talking about boys made me want to get off with somebody.”
“Autumn, you’re worse than a boy when it comes to getting off,” Kalie told her.
“Like you don’t get horny a lot. You mess around with boys more than anybody, not to mention you messing around with girls.”
“Whatever, we all have soccer practice today, but maybe on a different day if you, like, set it all up ahead of time,” Brittany said.
“Well, Michelle Keeler lives two houses away. I’ll talk to her.”
“She’s only in sixth grade,” Heather pointed out.
“I know that. I’ve been teaching her stuff. She likes it.”
The girls finished their lunches and then headed for the foyer or outside.
After finishing their lunches, the boys went either to the foyer or the outside courtyard to enjoy the late summer sunshine. Aiden and Gordy noticed Blake and Brody sitting together on a bench in the courtyard and walked over to say hi and invite them to their table since there was still room for more.
They hadn’t noticed the two of them during lunch; in fact they weren’t even aware that the two of them were friends. The group saw Brody as a nice person who they tried to be friends with but also thought of him as a loner. Blake had become very much into sex, but the group thought he was a bit stand-offish.
Aiden’s fifth period class was pre-algebra. About a third of the students in the class were eighth graders. Aiden knew Gordy, Collin, and Kalie would be in the class. When class started, he saw Heather and Brody as well. Mrs. Streit, who had been Aiden’s math teacher the year before, taught the class. Aiden liked her, even though she had worked his ass off the year before.
Sixth period was PE. Gordy, Blake, Grant, Rusty, Muddy, Mason, and Barry were all in the class with Aiden. Mr. Harkness told them that the proper gym uniform of Mayfield Middle School, which was shorts and t-shirts would be required by Monday. Showers were optional, and half of the showers were now in private stalls, not that Aiden and his friends were shy about nudity.
Seventh period was mostly electives for the seventh graders. Aiden had chosen Creative Writing for the first semester and Photography for the second semester. Mr. Lawrence, his sixth grade Core teacher, was the teacher for Creative Writing. Despite their shaky beginning the year before, they had gained a great deal of mutual respect as the year progressed. Aiden realized that Mr. Lawrence was a good writing teacher once he got over his love for rules, and Mr. Lawrence realized that once he opened his mind, that Aiden was a very talented writer.
Seventh period ended the school day. Aiden gathered the books he needed, said good-bye to the friends he saw on his way to the bus zone, and boarded his bus. Kalie wasn’t on board yet, so he took a seat in the row they had usually sat in the year before.
As soon as Kalie sat down next to him, the two friends talked about their day. “Heather has the hots for you,” Kalie told Aiden as the bus pulled away from the school.
“It’s hard not to notice that.”
“She says there is no way you’re gay and she’s going to get you to go out with her before Christmas.”
“No way that’s happening, ever!”
“You never know.”
“Yeah, well, I know. Remember, I have a boyfriend.”
Kalie took a second look around her, then placed her hand on Aiden’s crotch, feeling the hardness underneath his shorts. “I remember, but talking about Heather made you get a boner.” She rubbed her hand along the stiff rod.
Aiden let out a light groan. “Heather’s got nothing to do with that. I’ve been horny all day and your hand did that to me. So, now you can stop.”
“Are you going to let me get you off on the bus sometimes?”
“I promise, but not today. And for sure not because you think Heather has me turned on. She’s not as bad as Autumn, but I think she wants to be able to boss me around.”
Kalie let go of Aiden’s cock, wishing she could do more. But, like all of Aiden’s friends, she knew the importance of not doing something sexy the other person doesn’t want you to do.
After Aiden got off the bus at his stop, he hustled to his room and stripped naked. Kalie’s hand on his cock had turned him on so much he couldn’t stand it. He jerked off desperately, hoping to shoot a giant load on himself. His fantasy had nothing to do with Heather or any other girl. It was about Nolan, Grant, Lance, and himself engaged in wild sex on his dads’ king-size bed.
It didn’t take him long to finish. His load wasn’t giant, just his usual watery drops. Still, it felt tremendous and he was glad he was able to get himself off—he felt much better now. He took a few deep breaths, left the cum on himself to clean off later, and went downstairs for a snack. He thought about what Kalie had told him regarding Heather. He wondered if Nolan had any girls drooling over him on the first day of school. After pulling an apple out of the refrigerator, he sat down and called Nolan. It was going to be an interesting school year and he wanted to share every bit he could with his boyfriend.
Next: Aiden and Gordy