“Take a look at this and tell me what you think,” Mike said pulling out a sheet of paper. There was drawing of a stylized version of Jared on a skateboard. Written on top were the words:

  LEARN HOW TO BE A BADASS ON YOUR SKATEBOARD

  Under the drawing was written:

  Or just learn how to stay on your board

  He slid the paper over to Jared who was sitting across from him at the round lunch table. Jared took a look at the paper. His dirty hair fell forward and hung down from his knit cap as he examined the advertisement Mike had created. Jared looked up with glee.

  “This is fucking great!” Jared beamed.

  “I was thinking of doing that thing where we cut the bottom into fringe and write your number on each of the fringes so people can tear off your number,” Mike explained.

  “Yeah, I like that idea,” Jared said showing Rusty. Rusty gave a thumbs-up.

  “It dawned on me this weekend, I don’t know either of your last names,” Mike said.

  “What? Seriously?” Rusty asked.

  “Seriously. I’m Mike Barber,” Mike said extending his hand to shake it.

  “I’m Rusty Simpson,” Rusty said shaking his hand.

  “I’m Jared Shackelford,” Jared said shaking Mike’s hand. “I mean, I already knew your name, but it’s nice to make it official.”

  “So, I’ll write Jared Shackelford on this flyer. What’s your number?” Mike said pulling out a pencil. Jared gave out his digits which Mike wrote on the back of the paper. “Good deal. I’ll do a real one tonight and get some copies made.”

  “You rock,” Jared said and put his tray to the side.

  “Hey, how’s the lessons going?” Rusty asked.

  “Well, I can stand and push myself off,” Mike answered. “I’ve only fallen off like twice a day now.” This made Rusty laugh.

  “Wow, that’s better than when I learned,” Rusty replied.

  “Just be sure to watch your wrists when you practice at home. You can get a nasty break,” Jared said.

  “Yeah, my dad did that when he skated,” Mike replied.

  “It runs in the family then,” Rusty chuckled.

  “Hopefully not the broken wrists,” Mike replied with a laugh. “So, are we going to have a lesson tonight?”

  “Yep, I’m available,” Jared confirmed. “Does Rocco know about these lessons yet?”

  “No, not yet. I was thinking I could do a little boarding before the show this weekend,” Mike responded.

  “The debut of the prodigal son,” Rusty laughed and gave a horn finger sign.

  Mike laughed at both Rusty’s awkward sign as well as his off-target reference.

  “What’s been going on with you and Rocco?” Jared curiously asked.

  “We went camping this past weekend,” Mike said.

  “Oh, yeah? Alone?” Rusty asked.

  “All alone,” Mike said with a smile.

  “From that smile, I can tell it was a good trip,” Jared said.

  “Well, yeah. It was,” Mike said with a sheepish grin.

  Mike’s attention went over to the table where his old friends, Stanton, Matt, and Chris, were sitting. He noticed they were looking over at their table and laughing. Jared looked over and caught the guys laughing at them. Without warning, Jared jumped out of his chair, tipping it over onto the floor. He stormed over to the table with his chest puffed out and his fists clinched.

  “The fuck are you dickheads laughing at?” Jared yelled, his face turning bright red.

  “Easy, little fella,” Stanton said.

  “You got a problem with me and my friends?” Jared shouted, crazy faced.

  Stanton stood up. The lunchroom went silent. Chris and Matt’s faces were frozen in fear.

  “We were just laughing at a joke,” Stanton said trying to calm Jared’s anger.

  Jared got within an inch of Stanton’s face. “It looked like you were laughing at us.” The look on Jared’s face conveyed unchecked fury.

  “I wasn’t, I swear,” Stanton’s entitled smile quickly turned to fright. He caught onto Jared’s fury that bordered on sociopathic behavior. He knew Jared was the rash type that had nothing to lose. He swallowed hard.

  Jared’s face changed to an unsettling neutral expression. He leaned up and whispered into Stanton’s ear. “If you ever laugh at us again, I’m going to cut that pretty face of yours.” He turned and walked back to the table completely expressionless. Stanton’s face turned ghost white.

  When Jared returned to the table, he calmly picked up his chair and sat down as if nothing happened.

  “Jesus, Jared! What was that?” Mike said fearfully.

  “They were laughing at you,” Jared said. “I take care of my friends.”

  Mike was not sure if he should be scared or touched. He looked at Rusty who shrugged. Mike looked back at Jared. Jared was staring at Mike. Though he was frightened by the outburst, he knew it came from a good place. He smiled and nodded at Jared in unspoken appreciation.

  “So, anyway, yeah, we had a great weekend together doing a little something, something,” Mike continued as if nothing happened.

  “Okay, okay, I gotta know something,” Rusty interrupted.

  “What is it?” Mike asked.

  “What’s it like to fuck a rock star?” Rusty bluntly asked. Mike sat back with a big smirk on his face.

  “I take it he’s got to have good rhythm,” Jared piped in. Mike’s eyes got big, and his mouth dropped in joking surprise.

  “There’s quite a bit of crossover,” Mike laughed.

  Some of the kids in the lunchroom looked over at their table and whispered. The trio were not fazed by the attention they were getting due to Jared’s outburst. They continued to joke at Mike’s stories of conquest over the weekend. They seemed genuinely interested in his relationship with Rocco. It made him feel wanted. It made his relationship feel validated.

  “Are we meeting at the park to check out the system?” Austin asked the band at the lunch table.

  “Yeah, O’Malley wants us to be there around 7,” Rocco said. “He’ll let us play a few songs to test out the equipment.”

  “Cool, and we’ve got our little assistant to help us out?” Pete asked Rocco referring to Mike.

  “Of course we do,” Rocco said.

  “How did the camping trip go?” Austin asked.

  “I had the best time,” Rocco said dreamily.

  “Is that all we are going to get?” Pete asked.

  “What more do you want?” Rocco asked.

  “Details, my friend,” Austin replied.

  “Well, we got there and ate. We got up the next morning. We ate breakfast, hiked, swam, had a campfire. Then we went home,” Rocco responded.

  “Surely that’s not all,” Pete said.

  Rocco looked around the table. Everyone was staring at him in anticipation as he gave details.

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at Mike in the same way again,” Austin responded.

  “We’re the same as we always have been,” Rocco said.

  “Yeah, but it kinda takes away from his innocence,” Austin said.

  “He was never that innocent!” Rocco said and laughed. “But that’s as much as I want to talk about. I like to keep some things between me and Mike.”

  “Fair enough,” Raz said. “Hey, we still going to the dance?”

  “The Hell-o-ween dance?” Austin said. Raz nodded.

  “Yeah! I said I’m down with it. Are we still all going as something together?” Austin asked.

  “What if we all went as KISS?” Rocco suggested recalling his conversation with Mike about this.

  “FUCK YES!” Raz perked up. “I want to do that.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Austin said.

  “Well, I want to be Gene Simmons,” Pete said trying to do his impression of Gene Simmons’s tongue.

  “You know, he’s the bass. That should be Raz,” Austin said.

  “We don’t have to go as what we play in our own band,” Pete replied.

  “It doesn’t matter to me who is who. I just think that’s a great idea,” Raz said.

  “See! Raz doesn’t care,” Pete said.

  “Fine, you can be Gene Simmons. I’ll be Paul Stanley,” Rocco said. “That’s leaves Ace Frehley and Peter Criss.”

  “I’ll be Peter. Drummers need to stick together,” Austin said.

  “Then I’ll take the Spaceman,” Raz said smiling. Rocco sensed Raz wanted to be Ace Frehley all along.

  “Fucking A,” Pete said and drummed on the table. “Now back to the show this weekend. Okay, the park at 7, we play a few songs for the kids to test out the sound. And we know what we are playing?”

  “I think we should do our usual practice songs. I don’t think they will have any expectations of what we play,” Rocco said.

  “Nice,” Raz said. “Hey Rocco, you think I could talk to you solo for a minute?”

  “Sure,” Rocco said and got up from the table. He pointed to an empty table in the corner of the lunchroom. He and Raz started towards the table.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You girls and your secrets,” Pete said as they walked away. Rocco rolled his eyes so only Raz could see.

  They sat down next to each other at the table. Raz was looking down at the floor.

  “What’s up?” Rocco asked. Raz paused for a moment. Rocco noticed Raz was growing his hair out. It was a falling forward in curls as he looked down at the floor. Rocco could tell something deep was on his mind. “Everything going okay?”

  Raz looked up. “You’ve been an inspiration to me these past few weeks.”

  Rocco was taken back. “I have?”

  Raz nodded. His dark hair flopped over his deep eyes. “Your journey coming out, having a boyfriend. All of that.”

  “Thanks?” Rocco said not knowing where the conversation was going to go.

  “I think I’ve come to a conclusion on my own,” Raz said seriously.

  “What’s that?” Rocco asked.

  “I’m gay too,” Raz confessed.

  Rocco sat quietly for a moment. He had no idea this was coming. He knew Raz didn’t have any girlfriends, but he never imagined that it was because he was gay. Rocco thought for a moment. He had never really considered Raz’s sexuality at all. Rocco couldn’t think of anything to say. “Really?”

  “Yeah, being around you made me realize something deep within me. I’ve always been attracted to other guys but never really considered it could be something I could pursue until you came along.” Raz said staring at Rocco.

  “Wow. I don’t know what I did, but I’m happy I could help you figure some things out,” Rocco said. He was genuinely flattered at Raz’s confession. “It definitely has not been easy.”

  “Oh, I know. But you’ve shown me that, despite everything, you can have a boyfriend,” Raz said.

  Rocco looked at Raz. He picked up that Raz looked up to him when it came to sexuality. This meant the world to Rocco. “Thank you for telling me. Does anyone else know?”

  “No, just you,” Raz stated.

  “You know the other guys will be cool with it,” Rocco said.

  “Yeah, I know. I wanted to tell you first,” Raz said.

  Rocco started to well up with tears. He was deeply touched by Raz’s confession. “I just had no idea.”

  “I always keep things deep inside,” Raz said.

  “Yeah, I just had no idea you were going through all the same questions and doubts I had,” Rocco said wiping away his tears. “To be honest, I’ve been so self-absorbed that it never dawned on me someone else could be going through the same thing.”

  “Yeah,” Raz nodded.

  “I wish we had this conversation years ago. It might have made things so much easier,” Rocco said.

  “Well, neither of us would have been ready to have this conversation,” Raz replied.

  “Yeah, you are totally right,” Rocco said. “Are you into anyone?”

  “I was into you for a while,” Raz said looking down.

  “Me? Really?” Rocco was really surprised at this confession.

  “Yeah,” Raz responded quietly.

  “I had no idea,” Rocco said.

  “Yeah, I know,” Raz said.

  “I’m so sorry if I ever caused you any pain,” Rocco said not knowing how to handle this situation.

  “It’s okay. I’m not anymore. It’s for the best though. I don’t think I could have stayed in the band if I was still hung up on you,” Raz said looking back up.

  Rocco sat awkwardly silent. He tried to say something. “I—”

  Raz interrupted him, “Seriously, I don’t like you that way anymore so don’t be awkward. Please.”

  Rocco chuckled. “Okay, I won’t be. I promise.” Raz smiled.

  “I know you and Mike are in love. I just wanted you to know how much that has spoken to me. It gives me some hope that I can find a guy, too,” Raz said.

  Rocco smiled and nodded. “I want you to know that I will be there to support you in whatever way I can,” Rocco said.

  “Thanks,” Raz said. “Well, that’s all I wanted to say.”

  “Do you want to tell the guys yet?” Rocco asked.

  “Not just yet,” Raz said.

  “Okay,” Rocco said. Raz stood up. Rocco did the same. He held out his arms to signal to Raz to give him a hug. Raz hugged Rocco. They could hear Pete let out a loud “AWWW!” from the other lunch table. “You want to go punch him in the throat?”

  Raz laughed and nodded.

  Rocco and Pete got to the park at 7. They were going to meet O’Malley at the gate. They had noticed that an impressive stage was set up in one corner of the park where there was grass. This grassy area was just large enough for an audience to stand.

  “Hey O’Malley, we’re here for practice,” Rocco said as he and Pete walked up to the gate. Austin and Raz pulled into the park. As they got out of the car and made their way to the gate, Rocco lit up at seeing Raz. He waved at the guys. Rocco gave Raz a hug. He felt they shared a special brotherhood now.

  “Come on in guys,” O’Malley motioned them in. They entered the park and noted that there were a few kids in the big bowl skating along with a couple of parents watching. The light crowd was not unusual for a mid-weeknight. “Not too many people here so it’ll be perfect for testing out the sound system,” O’Malley croaked out.

  They walked over to the stage. The sound system O’Malley had procured was a nice system that came with a decent soundboard.

  “You’ve put some money in this,” Pete noted.

  “Yeah, we’d like to do regular shows this year. At least every two weeks. If you guys are good, maybe you can be our house band,” O’Malley said laughing.

  “It would be an honor,” Pete said. He knew O’Malley was serious because the stage was semi-permanent. It wasn’t going to be dismantled anytime soon.

  “Well, we weren’t sure how this would go so we don’t have our equipment. I think Rocco and Raz have their guitars but no drums,” Pete said. Rocco and Raz nodded in confirmation.

  “That’s alright. I’ve got the plug-ins ready for the guitars and the mics are connected so you can do what you can,” O’Malley said.

  “Raz, let’s go get our guitars. Pete and Austin, go ahead and check out the set-up,” Rocco said putting his arm around Raz’s shoulders. Austin threw his keys to Raz. As Rocco and Raz walked to the cars, they could hear Pete speaking into the hot mic. “Test 1-2 Test”.

  “I’m really excited to see you!” Rocco said to Raz.

  “Likewise,” Raz said smiling. “I’ve been thinking about our conversation. I’m going to tell the guys tonight.”

  “I’ll be with you every step of the way,” Rocco said proudly acting in the mentor role. Raz looked over in the distance.

  “Speaking of gay, isn’t that Mike over there?” Raz said pointed in the distance. “I think he’s on a skateboard too.”

  Rocco looked over in confusion. He was shocked to see that Raz was telling the truth. Mike was indeed on a skateboard rolling along the flat pavement. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. What stood out to Rocco was that Mike was wearing his Yankees cap backwards.

  “What the fuck am I witnessing?” Rocco said and started towards Mike. He and Raz went over closer. Mike was unaware that he was being watched and continued to roll along in the other direction. Rocco and Raz moved into closer. Mike switched directions and started to roll towards the two. As he saw Rocco watching him skate, Mike lost his balance and fell onto the smooth concrete. Luckily, he had fallen on his ass.

  “Good fall, Vonder kid!” Rocco exclaimed.

  “Oh shit,” Mike cursed.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Rocco asked all confused.

  “Just skating,” Mike said getting up.

  “Yeah, I see that,” Rocco dusted Mike off and stopped Mike’s board. Jared and Rusty ran over.

  “I was going to surprise you with my skate skills,” Mike said smiling.

  “What? You’ve been learning how to skate? For me?” Rocco asked, his voice a little shaky from emotion.

  “Yeah. That picture I showed you that I drew was for Jared’s teaching enterprise,” Mike said pointing to Jared.

  “Hey Rocco!” Jared said and waved awkwardly. Rusty also waved.

  “I don’t really know what to say to this. How long have you been learning?” Rocco asked.

  “Just before our camping trip,” Mike said proudly.

  “Don’t be mad, Rocco,” Jared explained. “He was going to surprise you. He’s been doing awesome so far.”

  Rocco stood quietly for a few seconds. “I’m not mad at all. I’m just surprised. I had no idea you were doing this!”

  Mike shrugged and looked down. “Surprise!”

  Rocco laughed. “I guess I ruined the surprise!”

  Mike looked up and laughed as well, “You did.”

  “Well, let’s see you in action,” Rocco said handing the board to Mike and stepping aside.

  “Okay,” Mike said. “I can only stand and push off.”

  “That’s how you start,” Rocco said. Mike stood on his board in starting position and pushed himself forward with his back leg. He pivoted his feet perpendicular to the board. His feet caught on the grip tape as he rolled away from the group. When he got to the other end of the concrete, he put his foot down and stopped the board. The group of guys cheered Mike. Mike then did the same rolling towards the guys. Rocco reached out and grabbed Mike and gave him a kiss. The board rolled away which Jared quickly retrieved. Rocco put Mike back on the ground. “Very well done!”

  “Thank you!” Mike said bowing in an exaggerated manner.

  “I’m so impressed. And touched that you did this for me,” Rocco said.

  Mike shrugged and looked down again.

  Rocco leaned forward to whisper in Mike’s ear. “I love you, Mike Barber.” Mike looked up at Rocco and smiled.

  Mike leaned up, cupped his hand around Rocco’s ear and whispered back. “I love you, Rocco.”

  “We are doing a test of the stage for our show this weekend,” Rocco said. “When you get done, come on over.” Mike nodded and joined Jared and Rusty.

  “See, that’s what I mean by you guys inspire me,” Raz said.

  “Yeah, Mike is one that inspires me,” Rocco said watching Mike interact with Jared and Rusty. Raz and Rocco turned to the parking lot to get their guitars.

  “What do you know about that Jared kid? He’s a cutie.” Raz said.

  Rocco looked over at Raz. “I’m afraid nothing. But I suppose you want me to find out?”

  “Oh yes,” Raz said as they went to the car to get their guitars.

  “Excuse me, I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but it looks like you all are having a lesson. I thought I heard the name Jared,” an older gentleman interrupted Mike, Jared, and Rusty.

  “I’m Jared,” he said waving at the man.

  “The same Jared that’s on the flyer about lessons?” the man asked.

  “Yep, that’s me,” Jared said.

  “I’m interested in getting some lessons for my son. Would you take on a 10-year-old?” the man asked.

  “Sure, that’s not a problem,” Jared said.

  “My son over there is 13,” the man pointed to a boy on a skateboard in the big bowl. “My youngest wants to learn, but his brother over there is too cool to teach him.”

  “I can see that. It takes time away from prime shredding,” Jared said.

  “He’s so eager to get on a board but I can’t teach him. I don’t know how to do that,” the man said looking at some of the kids in the bowl.

  “No problem,” Jared said.

  “What do you charge?” the man asked. Jared had not considered the price. They put the flyers that Mike designed up a day ago, so Jared did not have time to consider the business aspect.

  “Hmm, let me think about that,” Jared pondered. Mike knew that Jared hadn’t thought about this.

  “You charge me $10 a lesson, so I better not be getting ripped off,” Mike interjected. The lessons were free, but Mike thought if he prodded the situation a little, Jared would establish a decent price for himself. Jared smiled at Mike.

  “That’s my rate. $10 per lesson. 5 for $40 if you pay in advance,” Jared replied.

  “Okay, when can you start?” the man said digging out his wallet.

  “How does tomorrow sound after school?” Jared said.

  The man fished out two twenty-dollar bills and handed them to Jared. “That sounds just fine. We will be here at 6. Does that work?”

  “Sure does,” Jared replied. “What’s your son’s name?”

  “His name is Caleb. I’ll introduce you two tomorrow,” the man replied.

  “Does he have his own board?” Jared asked. The man nodded. Jared gave a thumbs-up.

  “Whoa, man, your first customer!” Rusty exclaimed quietly.

  “Yeah, and I couldn’t have done it without ol’ Mikey here,” Jared said as he patted Mike on the back.

  “And I just paid for the rest of my lessons,” Mike said smiling.

  Jared flipped up the board that Mike was using. “Lessons over, man. Let’s go check out the band.” All three walked over to the other side of the park where the stage was erected. Jared put his board on the ground and sat on it. Mike and Rusty sat in the grass. Raz and Rocco had not come back so the three just watched Pete sing some scales into the microphone while Austin and O’Malley adjusted levels. Since the equipment belonged to O’Malley and the park, he was very careful to let Austin touch as little of the controls as possible.

  “Could you give me a little bit of an echo?” Pete asked O’Malley. O’Malley turned up the echo level until Pete was satisfied. “Perfect.” He started singing some of the lyrics of a song and gave O’Malley a signal to indicate that the sound needed a touch more echo.

  A few minutes later, Raz and Rocco showed up with their guitars. They plugged in the instruments, and, at Pete’s command, they started playing a song on their play list without drums. They ran through the song all the way through. A few of the skaters stopped to watch the show. Mike, Jared, and Rusty applauded at the free concert when they finished the song. The skaters also cheered. The response was so favorable that they decided to play another song. Austin felt left out without his equipment. O’Malley was impressed at the response the band was getting from their practice set. He felt certain that hiring Fred to play the park was a good move.

  When they finished their practice, Mike ran up to Rocco to give him a huge hug.

  “You guys sounded spectacular,” Mike exclaimed. “I can’t wait for the actual show!”

  “Thanks!” Rocco said putting his guitar in its case.

  “You guys want a coke or something? It’s on the house,” O’Malley said to which everyone nodded. He motioned for everyone to follow him to the snack bar. The group followed O’Malley to the other end of the park and set out cans of soda for all the group. Everyone took a drink and gathered at a nearby picnic table. O’Malley stayed at the counter to take care of some business.

  “I think we are going to have a great show,” Pete said to the group. “It’ll sound even better with drums.” Austin lifted his can to the sky.

  The parent of one of the kids approached the table. “You guys sound great. Do you play private parties?”

  “Of course we do,” Pete said winking to the group.

  “I’ll be having a party in a few weeks and would love to have you play,” the parent said. He produced a card and wrote his number down. “Here’s my phone number. Give me a call and we can talk details.” He handed the card to Pete. Pete turned back around to the group and tucked the card into his pocket.

  “Looks like we got another gig!” Pete said. “Hey, Mikey, what are you going to the Halloween festival as? Did Rocco tell you we are going to dress up as KISS?”

  Mike looked over at Rocco and smiled. “No, he didn’t!” He smirked. “I don’t know. I was thinking of coming as one of those medieval bird doctors.”

  “So, you’re gonna come?” Rocco asked.

  “Of course! You think I’d miss out on a dance with KISS?” Mike retorted. Rocco grinned.

  “Very cool. Very cool indeed,” Raz said.

  “Who are your friends, Mikey?” Pete asked.

  “Oh, yeah, this is Jared and Rusty. We’ve started hanging out,” Mike said as he pointed to the other boys.

  “Jared is teaching Mike how to skate as a surprise to me,” Rocco told Pete.

  “That ain’t much of a surprise if you already know,” Austin said.

  “I just found out about it tonight,” Rocco said looking at Mike.

  “How romantic!” Pete said. “Jared and Rusty…you guys hang out here a lot, don’t you? You look familiar.”

  “Yeah, we come here a lot. I think I’ve seen you here a few times,” Jared said to Pete.

  “Welcome to the group then,” Pete said and lifted his can as if to toast. Jared and Rusty reciprocated from the other end of the table.

  “Be sure to get the word out about the show this weekend,” Pete said. Jared and Rusty nodded.

  “Oh, I think Joe’s here to pick me up,” Mike said looking at a car that pulled in.

  “Oh no! So soon?” Rocco said getting up. “I can give you a ride.”

  “Well, he’s already here,” Mike and Rocco started walking towards Joe’s car. “And I’m sure my parents are expecting me. If you’d like, you could come over later. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of you,” Mike said grabbing Rocco’s arm.

  “Are you asking me if I will sneak up to your house later?” Rocco said.

  “I’m not asking, I’m demanding,” Mike said giving Rocco a wink.

  “I could get into trouble if I sneak out. My mom’s on to me these days, don’t you know?” Rocco said.

  “Hmm, well, if you’d rather wait,” Mike said trailing off.

  “Oh, no. I will see you later tonight for sure. I haven’t gotten to see you alone since the camping trip,” Rocco said.

  “I know!” Mike said. They reached the car. Joe leaned out and gave Rocco a high-five.

  Rocco leaned into whisper in Mike’s ear. “Until tonight.” He gently kissed Mike’s ear which made Mike quake with anticipation.

  Mike got in the car. The two brothers waved as they drove off leaving Rocco to watch the car disappear.