Trouble Read online

  What Russ didn’t know was that Byron had already seen the fake message Russ was going to post in his timeline. He had hacked into Russ’s account and was going to place it on his timeline instead. He had also added, “I will stop being a bully and stop hitting girls.”

  Russ walked away abruptly.

  The crowd cheered and clapped.

  Quentin lingered back looking at Byron with admiration. He decided against thanking him at this point. He would have to choose an appropriate time later when Byron was more relaxed and alone.

  Chapter 8: Natalie and Quentin

  As Natalie moved up the stairs Quentin came by.

  Natalie looked quizzically at him.

  “Thanks.”

  “Was glad to help.”

  “You’re my hero.”

  “Anyone could have stepped in. I was just there at the right time as the drama unfolded.”

  Quentin did not say that he felt remorseful that he had not stayed to defend her especially as Russ had slapped her. He had resolved that if another incident like this happened he would stay and fight to the end.

  “I’m just thankful it was you. Didn’t realize they’d followed me from school.”

  “These things happen.”

  “For a moment i thought I was mince meat.”

  “I think they just wanted to frighten you. Not to hurt you. They were going to let you go.”

  “I’m taking up martial arts so I can defend myself.”

  “Good for you. Bullies will always be around, I guess.”

  “I know I shouldn’t be saying this.”

  “Say it anyway. I won’t be insulted.”

  “You really deserve better than that goon.”

  “I’ve moved on.”

  ‘That’s great. You have an interesting friend,” Quentin began hesitantly.

  “You mean Byron?”

  “He has a sensitive face?”

  “You mean you like him?”

  “Not in a romantic sort of a way,” he smiled uneasily. “He has an unusual name.”

  “I think his mum was a romantic who named him after the English poet.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “Whenever I want to irritate him I call him Lord Byron.”

  “Irritated?”

  “Although Byron was a great poet he had so many affairs and even one with his half sister. “ Natalie paused and looked at Quentin. “We’re not having this conversation because you want to hear about history,” Natalie said.

  “No I just find him an interesting character and you hang out a lot with him. I just found it odd that I haven’t got to know him as closely as others.”

  ‘You were saying that he has a sensitive face?”

  “Kind of?”

  “Which is another way of asking if he is gay or bisexual?”

  “You’re so upfront?” he laughed.

  “I’ll ask him.”

  “No please!” Quentin screamed and laughed.

  “Oh he’s very open. That’s what I like about him.”

  “I don’t want him to feel I’m coming on to him.”

  “You don’t want a relationship with him. You just want to know him better. That’s okay. This is the 21st century. He can come out, remain in the closet or just tell you politely that he is straight.”

  “Or tell me it’s none of my business.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “Can you believe it? He just defended me back there against Russ. He could have got hurt really badly.”

  “That’s Byron for you. He hates prejudices of any kind and will do anything once it gets on his nerves.”

  “That’s why I want to meet him and get to know him better. I’d like some of that feeling to rub off on me. I hate being a wimp suffering silently while people abuse me.” Quentin was not smiling when he said this.

  Natalie liked what he was saying. Lately she had been thinking of Byron. She was very close to him but the relationship was very brotherly / sisterly. He never had a sister and was protective of her. She just could not bring herself to be linked romantically to him. She had discussed this with him indirectly and knew that he would raise it again before the day ended. What she liked about him was that he was very understanding and would accept the situation once it was clearly explained.

  Chapter 9: Byron and Matt

  The locker area in the hallway was a busy hive of activity like a fish market as students rushed in to pick up texts or throw in stuff they didn’t need immediately. There was a terrible din of clanging and banging that sounded like an army of raw recruits hurriedly on the move. Above the clanging one could hear students talking, shouting, screaming, laughing and arguing.

  In the midst of these commotion and gentle crash of young bodies Byron saw Matt.

  “Hi,” he smiled. “I was expecting you.”

  Matt didn’t look too pleased. “I can manage on my own.”

  “Please let me help,” Byron said as he followed him down the hall.

  “Look I’ll level with you. I was so hurt at the things you said at the station. So move on and leave me alone.”

  Noticing that Byron was still following him, he stopped abruptly and turned back to him. “Didn’t I make myself clear?”

  “I heard you clearly but I want you to at least hear me out.”

  Matt went into the bathroom and washed his face.

  Byron leaned on the wall and watched him.

  “I just want you to hear me out and then I won’t get in your way again if you don’t want to see me.”

  Matt concentrated on his face.

  “Okay have it your way. I guess I’ll have to post that you hugged me and called me your brother.”

  Matt’s irritation evaporated and he burst out laughing, “Are you usually this irritating?”

  “I’m really sorry. I was so rude and hurtful that evening and I feel bad about it. I apologize.”

  He held out his hand.

  Matt relaxed and shook his hand.

  “Come I’ll take you to Mr Chang’s Office. I think we’re in the same home room.”

  “With Natalie?”

  Byron felt slightly tense, “With Natalie” he said guardedly.

  Matt had barely come into the school and was already staking out the best looking girl. Byron really liked her but if she was lukewarm to him and preferred this teen hunk with the body of an adult, there was little he could do. He sighed. Although he weight lifted and was on a special diet he’d probably need to be on steroids to compete. Some teens had the right genes, ate the right foods or had a combination of these to account for their hunky bodies. He had to work at it and he wasn’t even half way there. Oh well, it all depended on Natalie. She didn’t want to pre-empt her choice but Matt with his good looks and easy going nature seemed miles ahead of him in the competition. But he was not going to let go that easily. Oh no, he wasn’t, he resolved!

  “You have a great sports car out there.” (The fast car certainly helps, he thought as he tried hard not to feel bitter.)

  “But I didn’t see you looking around when the secret service brought you in that SUV,” Matt teased good-naturedly.

  This guy has a blunt sense of humor which I’ll have to get used to since I’ll be the brunt of jokes, he thought drily. “I put on an act,” Byron laughed. “I see everything. Next week I’m not being driven to school.”

  “What’s happening?”

  “My dad has bought me a motorbike. And if I behave myself a car later.”

  “That’s cool for you.”

  “I know I won’t feel like the First Kid,” Byron admitted. “Perhaps you can take me for a spin.”

  “During lunch time?”

  “If that’s okay.”

  “And I’ll show you some of my maneuvers?”

  “That’ll be awesome. I’ll get two passes for the free period.” Tracey High allowed students to leave the campus and either go to their homes, or to the shop. He forgot to mention that going on a fast spin in a sports
car was not condoned.

  “Hope we come out alive.”

  Byron was not sure if he was joking.

  As they walked to Mr Chang, there was an announcement on the intercom that sophomores would go to Griffin Observatory for a field trip at 2.00pm. Students were asked to be prompt.

  Chapter 10: Conflict

  “Byron!” Russ screamed at him during lunch period. “I’m sick of you,” his face glistened with rage.

  Other students milled around in the hall way.

  “You hacked into my phone,” he screamed.

  “You hacked mine and put in this message about me being gay and wanting to do it with the world,” Byron said without raising his voice. He held up his Iphone. “I merely put it back in your timeline.”

  “You called me names,” he shouted.

  There was a murmur of nervousness from both freshmen and sophomores who were milling around. This could take a turn for the worst.

  “I can’t believe you did this,” he said.

  “You can’t believe that your plan backfired.”

  “You humiliated me, you fag lover.”

  “Okay I’m sorry. I’m a kind of rebel with a cause. I’m sick of the way you terrorize everyone and deface school buildings and slap girls around so I added to your message and posted it,” he paused. “Maybe I was wrong to hack your phone because two wrongs don’t make a right.”

  “I’m going to humiliate you just as you humiliated me.” There was an evil glint in his eyes. “You’re going to take off your clothes and walk only in your underwear from here to the bathroom. I think that’s only fair for the humiliation you caused me by hacking into my phone and calling me a bully.”

  There was a collective gasp from the bystanders, growing ever larger.

  His gaggle of goons loved this. It was an ingenuous punishment.

  “Please don’t do it Byron,” Natalie said nervously. “You can walk out of this.”

  “You stay out of this Nat. I still have to deal with you and that new kid on the block,” Russ said sharply.

  “Natalie, don’t worry. I can handle this,” Byron reassured her.

  Matt ran up, “Byron you don’t have to do this.” He turned to Russ. “I challenge you to a fight. If I lose Byron does what you tell him.”

  “My fight is not with you lover boy.”

  “Matt, it’s okay. I can handle this my way.”

  “I haven’t finished with you,” Russ said angrily as he looked at Matt. “You’re going to get your fight before the end of the day.”

  “Russ you’ve always hated me so I’m going to do as you say but you must agree to two things.”

  “What?”

  “Stop bullying and stop hitting girls. Stop terrorizing boys on empty street corners.”

  “Lord Byron has become a knight in shining armor,” he said to his gaggle of goons who cackled. “And he’s a fag lover to boot.”

  “That was really cruel of you. No one deserves to be bullied.”

  There were murmurings of support from the crowd.

  “Once and for all, I humiliate myself and make you very happy. But you must stop your bullying. Get counseling or whatever. Get a better life. Act normally.”

  “What if I want to humiliate you and continue with the bullying?” he sneered.

  “If you don’t agree, then we’ll shoot this out.” There was a dangerous tone to Byron’s voice that Russ sensed immediately. Byron was well known for being such an excellent marksman and he was not keen on a shootout. Besides, walking half naked in the school would bring him so much shame that he would not be able to live with it. It was a win-win situation for Russ and he smiled slyly. He had the upper hand.

  “Agreed,” he smiled confidently.

  Byron took of his sweater and jeans and sneakers until he was only in his underwear. There was a collective gasp of admiration from the onlookers as he walked slowly and confidently to the bathroom. Byron was handsome with a perfectly chiseled body and he was also a hero for standing up for the downtrodden and those who were bullied. He didn’t know it then but he would become a legend in years to come.

  Students cheered him as he walked to the bathroom about 20 feet away and looked contemptuously at Russ and his goons.

  As he walked a freshman asked, “Can I have your weight training program?”

  “Sure,” he said.

  “If you need a friend let me know,” a junior with long dark hair said.

  “I’m kind of occupied,” he said politely.

  “Thanks for standing up for guys like me,” Quentin said.

  “Be glad to.”

  Cell phones clicked furiously. The students recognized a hero in the making.

  Too late, Russ was consumed with impotent rage. The punishment had backfired. Byron had not been humiliated. He had become a star at his expense!

  Byron dressed and came out to a hero’s welcome as students milled around.

  Natalie hugged him, “You’re the craziest sonofagun I have ever met. You’re impossible, Brother.”

  He felt very tense and hoped that she hadn’t noticed. His overwhelming urge at that moment was to kiss her passionately. And brothers didn’t do French kisses. He just hated it when he was hugged for being a brother. Maybe I should have an ‘attitude’ and look really focused like Taylor Lautner, he thought wistfully.

  Quentin came forward and Byron shook his hand uneasily. It wasn’t because he was wary of Quentin. He’d heard about his gay parents and was anxious not to say or do anything that might be seen as being socially incorrect. He wanted to relax and just talk to Quentin but worried that he might say something that was misconstrued as insulting to his family. In fact, while walking around in his underwear, he had wanted to show his support for him by hugging him but worried that Quentin might have been deeply embarrassed.

  Russ and his goons were nowhere to be seen.

  Chapter 11: Fast driving

  Lunch period was for half an hour so they had only a short time for Matt to demonstrate some racing car maneuvers.

  “Impress me,” Byron teased.

  Matt drove fast but within the speed limit then abruptly he turned the sports car sideways. Byron felt himself being thrown forward but was held back by his seat belt. He was sweating with excitement. Matt was very calm and did not stop or lose control.

  Matt had started driving in Indiana as a way of overcoming his loneliness. His maneuvers were a window to his inner troubled world and the way in which he tried to come to terms with it. For Byron, this rollercoaster kind of ride was like being inside Matt’s risk filled mind. It was as if unseen forces were trying to harm him and he was taking evasive action. Byron was disturbed because it was like a mirror in which he saw his own stormy life. He couldn’t keep avoiding it. He felt he needed to confront his fears, his concerns, his trials and his search for identity. He was glad he had confronted Russ because it showed that he was on the right track in dealing directly with his issues.

  Later he would talk to Natalie!

  He was going to ask Matt to teach him these maneuvers but knew he would be unwilling to do so because they were quite dangerous for someone just learning to drive.

  “Okay let’s go back to school otherwise we’ll miss the next period,” Matt said breezily.

  Byron was sweating and his head seemed to be pounding.

  “What’s with you?” he asked good naturedly. “You walk around fearlessly like Tarzan in school but you’re shaking inside here.”

  “I’m impressed.”

  ‘With my car?”

  “Yes. But more so with your driving. It’s like riding inside your mind.”

  Suddenly Matt jerked the steering wheel and Byron was flabbergasted that he was not using the brakes! He swerved furiously and Byron thought they were going to crush. Then he steered very quickly without being too fast. Instantly he corrected the car’s direction and they moved back to school.

  “You’re one crazy son of a gun.”

  “But nev
er ask me to teach you to drive like this. It’s dangerous.”

  “You remind me of a legend.”

  “Who?”

  “James Dean.”

  “Rebel without.”

  “No,” Byron added quickly. “Rebel with a cause.”

  “Why ‘with a cause’?”

  “I guess I’m trying to find some deeper meaning in life. Trying to search for the right identity rather than just having a good time.”

  “You mean rather than just going with the flow of drinking, sexing and having a blast? That’s cool.” Matt pressed a button and Carly Rae came on loud and clear.

  “You like Natalie, do you?” There was subtle tension in Byron’s voice as he tried to be as casual as possible.

  And then Matt understood. The whole purpose of this ride was not to be impressed with his driving but to quiz him on the love of their lives. Byron was hoping that she would hook up with him after her break up with Russ and it was Matt’s good fortune that he was at the right place at the right time when the drama unfolded. He sensed that Byron had wanted Natalie to break up with Russ, partly because he was a bully but there was more. There was an invisible barrier between Byron and Natalie. It was a mystery to him what the whole issue was about. He sensed that he was in the middle of the invisible barrier and could get caught in the crossfire! If he was patient it would just unfold. He wished that he was not so temperamental. He needed to learn to deal with the issues calmly so he would be able to ride out this storm of a love triangle!

  “What is it to you?” he asked nonchalantly as they came to the car park. Immediately he regretted his response and his tone of voice. If he had spoken reasonably and calmly this issue would have been solved easily but his cavalier reply would set off a chain of events.

  He had not meant to be rude but it came as a blunt question. The situation was made worse by Carly Rae’s song Call Me Maybe booming loudly in the confined space. In his own brave way, Byron had stood up to the biggest bully in school and had provided Natalie with a face saving solution for leaving him. He suspected that by humiliating himself, he had also humiliated Russ and this was done out of his deep love for Natalie. What he was not sure about was whether this love was brotherly or romantic or a mixture of both. He was going to find out soon enough!