After School Activities by Dirk Hunter Page A

face that day.
    Even Kai eventually gave in, did an impression of his ten-year-old self,
    which caused Mel to dissolve into a fit of helpless laughter at how perfectly he was able to recapture the exact expression, a mix of shock,
    embarrassment, and the fervent hope that he would wake up from the
    nightmare his life had suddenly become. All in all, it was fun having Adam
    around. I started to feel the tension drain from my shoulders. Maybe this
    wouldn’t be a disaster.
    Adam looked over at me and smiled his most dazzling smile,
    dimples and all. Under the table, he reached out and grabbed my hand,
    twining our fingers where no one could see. My heart caught in my throat
    at the unexpected gesture of affection. I must have had some kind of look
    on my face, ’cause Adam’s smile grew wider, and he winked at me.
    I could get used to this.

    AFTER LUNCH, I brought my tray over to the garbage cans to dump
    my trash. Adam had left a while back to meet up with his friends, and
    Mel and Kai were still reminiscing about the various embarrassing
    things we had all done in elementary school. It turned out Mel had
    quite a trove of stories from her old school too. Though really, they
    could all be made up, not like we knew the kids she mentioned to check
    if the stories were true. Hilarious nonetheless.
    “Dude, what were you doing sitting at that queer’s table today? You
    switching teams on us?” The voice was Will Davis, one of Adam’s most
    obnoxious friends. It came from around the corner, right outside of the
    lunchroom in the hall.
    It was Adam who responded. “Fuck no! You know I hate that
    faggot.”
    “That’s not what it looked like to us. Looked like you were having a
    great time with your new boyfriend and his troupe of drama outcasts….”
    As quietly as possible, so they wouldn’t notice me, I cleaned off my
    tray, put it in the bin with the others, and made my way back to my table. I
    didn’t want to hear Will spew his vitriolic bullshit anymore, and I
    especially didn’t want to hear how Adam was going to respond to it. I
    wasn’t mad, honest! It’s kind of what I had expected. His friends were
    assholes, he had always cultivated that faux macho façade, and he was
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    Dirk Hunter

    obviously so deep in the closet he’d gotten on a first name basis with the
    mothballs and forgotten shoes. Besides, by all accounts, it seemed as
    though he really liked me, and I know firsthand how difficult it can be to
    come to terms with your sexuality. Even with the supportive friends and
    family I had, which Adam clearly lacked. So no, not mad.
    But, I don’t know… I guess there had been some kind of hope. Of
    what? I wasn’t sure exactly. I tried not to let myself feel disappointed, and especially not sad. And I was almost successful, until it was Kai who was
    smiling, calling to me from across the lunchroom, and I was faced anew
    with my dilemma—straight guy who is comfortable with liking me, and a
    gay one who isn’t.

    I WAS pacing nervously as Kai shut the door to my bedroom. I heard the
    door click as he locked it, but it didn’t register. I was too caught up in my thoughts.
    “Listen,” I said, finally getting up the courage to begin. “Something
    pretty big happened, and I kinda need to talk to you—”
    Kai cut me off. “Something big is about to happen.” With a
    mischievous grin, he pushed me back onto the bed and got on his knees in
    front of me. “I’ve been practicing on a Fudgsicle,” he said with a wink.
    “No, I’m serious. There’s something I need to work out and….” Kai
    had gotten my pants unbuttoned and pulled them down to my ankles.
    “Wait, you what?” And just like that, Kai swallowed my dick.
    I was about to stop him. But when I opened my mouth with every
    intention of telling him to stop, Adam’s voice flashed through my mind.
    You know I hate that faggot. There was even a bit of an echo, as though my subconscious were trying for dramatic effect. And my protests