The Misfits by James Howe Page A

they’re not stupid. No offense.”
    â€œNone taken,” Skeezie says.
    â€œThey’ve always let me just be myself, you know? Playing with dolls and dressing up and all that, they never told me it was wrong. Of course, they never told me it was right, either. So I worried a lot, especially about my dad. I figured he probably wanted a son who was a lot more like Jeff. It was Pam who helped me see that Mom and Dad were letting me be who I was instead of trying to make me into something else. She told me that was just about the best kind of love anybody could give anybody.”
    Skeezie nods. “Your parents are all right,” he says. “Still, it’s got to be tough. Being gay and all.”
    â€œWhy do you think that?”
    â€œWell, take the dance, for instance. If Bobby wants to go to the dance with Kelsey—”
    I start to object.
    â€œI’m just sayin’,” Skeezie says, heading me off. “IfBobby wants to, and let’s just say for the sake of argument that Kelsey wants to go with him, well, that’s okay. Nobody’s gonna make a big deal of it, y’know? But what if
you
want to go with somebody?”
    â€œI do,” says Joe, before he thinks to stop himself. He glances my way on account of my knowing his secret.
    â€œYou do?” says Skeezie. “Who?”
    â€œNot that it’s going to happen,” Joe says. “But I like... somebody.”
    â€œCome on, give.”
    â€œYou won’t tell anybody?”
    â€œJoDan. It’s
me.
The Skeeze.”
    â€œOkay, okay. I like Colin, all right?”
    â€œColin?”
    â€œYes, but if you tell anybody... I would’ve told you before this, Skeezie, but I don’t know... I wasn’t sure you’d understand.”
    â€œOh, man,” Skeezie says, hitting the side of his head with his hand. “Did you know about this, Bobby?”
    â€œUh-huh,” I say. “Since the end of fifth grade.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you tell me? If I’d known last week, even, it would’ve saved me ... oh, I feel so stupid, man. What’s Addie gonna say?”
    â€œAddie? What’s she got to do with anything?”
    Skeezie leans in, like he’s going to tell us some big secret, which in fact he is. “You gotta promise not to tell her I told you, okay?”
    â€œPinky swear,” Joe goes, and Skeezie gives him a look.
    â€œAddie likes Colin, too, man, and I told her I’d be, like, a go-between.”
    â€œSo
that’s
why you were putting something in Colin’s locker!” I say. “I saw you.”
    Joe asks, “What did you see?”
    â€œI’ll bet it was a ’somebody-likes-you’ note. Am I right?”
    Skeezie nods. “I’m trying to fix them up.”
    â€œSo much for being a cynic about love,” I go.
    â€œI am for me,” Skeezie answers. “No reason other people can’t be happy. If that’s what they want.”
    Joe gets quiet. “It doesn’t matter,” he says. “Go ahead and fix Addie up with Colin. She’s got a lot better chance than I do. Who am I kidding?”
    All of a sudden, we’re both staring at Joe—Skeezie and me—like we’ve never seen him before. I’m thinking about the first time I ever laid eyes on him, himstanding there behind the screen door wearing a dress and all, telling me he’s a boy, and I get to wondering if Skeezie’s remembering the way he used to pick on Joe in kindergarten. Next thing I know, I’ve got in my head the Easy-Bake Oven Joe got for his birthday when he was six, I think it was, and how much he loved that thing. Whenever I came over to play, he would tell me I had to be the father and he was the mother and he would give me cookies he made himself and I would always say, “You’re a good cook, Molly.” Because that was his name when he was the mother. Molly.
    And then I’m