THREE
At lunch I went to the canteen. Norma went down to the pub with some other friends.
I took my packed lunch out of my rucksack, said grace and started eating.
Pretty soon Daniel arrived at my table.
“Hi, Paul,” he said sitting down.
“ Hi. How's your day been so far, then?” I asked him.
“ All right. Same as normal really, nothing new to report.” He put his lunch box on the table. “ How was your lesson then?” he asked.
“Okay,” I replied twisting my kit kat wrapper into a ball. “ We had genetics which is my least favourite lesson. It’s really difficult.”
“I like that subject,” Daniel said unwrapping his sandwiches from a tin foil packet.
“How old are you again, Paul?” he asked me.
“Sixteen. What about you?” I asked him.
“Thirty One.”
Daniel took a bite out of one of his sandwiches.
“ How are your brother and sister. Are they al right?” he asked after he had swallowed his mouthful.
“ They are al right. Robert had a cold the other day but he’s better now. Vivian is fine."
"So, you've got one sister and one brother?" Daniel asked.
"Yes."
"And they're both younger than you?"
"Yes, that's right. How’s your job at the garage?”
“Same as normal, although we had a couple of new people this week.”
“What are they like?”
“Al right, very nice to work with.”
We continued talking until we had finished eating. Then I went to the library to do some work and Daniel went to meet some other friends.
All through the day I kept my secret to myself.
I was in love with Daniel.
FOUR
I had not told anyone. I could not bring myself to tell Daniel or anyone else. There was also the secret that I was gay, that I had not realised until now, but I hadn’t told anyone that either.
I met Daniel again at the bus stop at the end of the day. He lived in the same town as I did.
“Did you get much work done?” he asked me.
“ Yes, I handed an assignment in, one on animal anatomy.”
“ Just think, in three weeks time we will be on holiday,” Daniel said.
“Yes, that’ll be nice,” I said.
We stood in silence. Next to the bus stop we could see over the barbed wire fence into a field of cows. Rooks wandered over the damp grass, prodding it with their pale grey beaks. The pavement was covered in wet copper and yellow coloured leaves.
Soon the bus pulled up beside us. We both got on, paid the driver and sat down. In ten minutes we arrived home. We said goodbye and went our separate ways.
I spent the rest of the evening working on assignments, but Daniel was still in my thoughts.
*
We had been taught at home all our lives, Vivian, Robert and me. We were raised in a Christian home by Christian parents. They encouraged us to read the Bible and took us to church every Sunday. I thought I had become a Christian, but I was wrong as I found out later.
I had taken my GCSEs earlier this year. I took six subjects, English, English Literature, Maths, History, Biology and Chemistry. It was hard work but I managed to pass my English, Maths and Biology with a two As and a B. I revised at home and took them at a local school in our area.
After I had achieved the results mother found out about a college nearby that did animal management courses. I had always had a keen interest in animals so it seemed like the ideal next step for me. We made enquiries, I had an interview and I was offered a position in September.
The first few days were really strange. I had been home schooled all my life and i felt like a complete outsider: I did not seem to have anything in common with the other students and I had to put up their silly questions like
“ Have you ever been pissed?”
“When did you loose your virginity?”
“Have you ever been stoned?”
Of course, I could not answer yes to any of these questions and I felt really awkward and self-conscious. I complained to my parents about all this. They were sympathetic, but told me not to worry too much. “You’ve only just started,” Mum told me. “Wait and see how you find it.”
So I did, and they were right. Soon I did settle in. I found I was enjoying the course and I made a few friends. The two people who I was closest to were Norma Davidson and Mark Wilson. They were both the same age as me. I sometimes had the feeling that we did not have much in common, but I was able to work around this.
“You mustn't worry to much about what other people think about you,” Norma told me when I confided in her once about how uncomfortable I was feeling. “ I was bullied at school myself. I like you, otherwise I wouldn’t talk to you.”
I felt better after that.
