Kaimoana Tales, Riley 11

Doctor Stevens was standing by the reception desk, talking to Alice Kersten and Julia, who were changing over shifts. They all looked around when Riley came running out.

“What is it, Riley? Something wrong?” The doctor stepped towards him, the others both looked at the monitor alarms.

“Oh, Fuck! Doctor, you’ve gotta come quick. There’s another one! He spoke to me; he’s called Colin and he’s got a brother. There’s another one out there and he’s sicker than Colin was. We’ve got to do something. We have to find him!”

“Of course we do. Alice, tell Brian to get the ambulance out. Julia, get Constable Lawry, tell him that we need him – now! He’d better alert the Search and Rescue as well. Riley, come with me.”

Riley was not about to argue with him, but the doctor gave him no choice anyway. He grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back into the ward where Colin was. Tammy was not kidding when she said Doctor would move heaven and earth to help a kid.

The boy lay there, looking as terrified as usual. He fixed those eyes on them and he started panting, like he was hyper-ventilating. He was crying and the sight of him started Riley crying as well. He had to force himself to calm down. Panicking was not going to help anyone. He picked-up Colin’s hand and held it in both of his.

“Sorry, Colin. I’m sorry. It’s all right, everything’s going to be fine, you’re with friends. This is Doctor Stevens, he wants to help. Where is your brother? You have to tell us where to find him so we can help him.”

“Jacob, my Jacob,” Colin whispered.

“Yes, Jacob! Colin, where is he?”

The boy, Colin, shook his head on the pillows. He took a deep breath and held it, and then another. He exhaled, quietly.

“Jacob is there, where I was. There’s a cave, it’s by the creek. You go up the creek, about 50 meters up the hill, it’s on the right. The front is covered in scrub, but it’s there, by the creek. There’s a fire-place just inside it. He’s in there, in the back. He’s just lying there and he hasn’t moved for days.

Please find my brother. Help him!”

Doctor Stevens headed for the door. “I’m on my way.”

He stopped in the doorway and looked back. “Well done, Lad. Thank you. Don’t worry, we’ll find your brother, if I have to get the whole town out there, I will!” He smiled and he was gone.

Riley was ‘at 6’s and 7’s’. He didn’t know what to do. He looked, longingly, at the door. He wanted to be there. He wanted to help find the other boy, but he wanted to be here, with this one.

But, there was nothing that he could do out there and Colin was clinging to him, gripping his hand tightly. He’d stay where he was. He couldn’t leave Colin to wait on his own. He sat down by the bed and forced a smile.

“They’ll find him. Don’t worry, Colin, they’ll find your brother. We just have to wait. I’m staying here and I’ll wait with you.”

Colin nodded. “Thank you, Riley. We’ll wait together.”

“Sweet. Oh, damm! Hold on a minute. I’d better ring my mum and tell her that I’m staying here. She won’t be happy, but – whatever. Someone else can mop the floors for once.”

He got out his cell and called the café. When he told his mother what was happening, she was fine with it.

“Of course you have to stay with him, Riley. You can’t leave him alone. We’ll look after things here. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“Thanks, Mum. I love you, Mum.”

“You’re a good kid, Riley. Come home when you can.”

He closed his cell and slipped it back into his pocket. “Great invention, cell-phones. I don’t know how people live without them. Do you know about cells?”

Colin nodded and smiled. “I know about cells, I used to have one. I wasn’t born in a cave you know.”

“Of course you weren’t! Where did you come from, Colin?”

“I can’t tell you that. Sorry, I can’t.”

“Okay, if you can’t, you can’t. Did you run away?”

“We did what we had to do. I can’t tell you.”

“Yeah, well, I think I understand that. You just say what you want to. How long have you been living out there?”

Colin shook his head.

“No? Well, how old are you? Can you tell me that?”

“Fifteen, I think. Yes, I am fifteen.”

“15? So am I! 15 and you’re living alone? Except for your brother, I mean.”

“Yes, just us.”

“You’re not going to spring another one on us tomorrow?”

“No,” he smiled. “Just Jacob and me.”

“How old is Jacob?”

“He’s 15. We’re twins.”

“Twin cave-boys! Very cool. Look, can you hang on a minute? I’m not going anywhere; I’ll just go out and see the ladies and make sure that they tell us when there’s any news. Is there anything that you want?”

“No, I just want my brother.”

“They’re getting him. Doctor Stevens will get the army out if he has to. He’ll be here.

You wait, I’ll be back in a minute.”

He went out to the desk. Mrs. Kersten was there, on her own. She looked up.

“Still here? I thought that I was the only one left.”

“I’m waiting with the boy – with Colin. Is there any news yet?”

“Not yet. Give them a chance; I doubt if anyone’s there yet. I’ve called the night-staff on early, they’ll be here soon. Go back and sit with the boy, Riley. I’ll tell you as soon as I hear anything.”

“Please do. Thanks, Mrs. Kersten.”

“Not a problem. Go away.”

Some minutes are longer than hours. Riley and the quiet boy sat and watched the clock on the wall, for what seemed like ages, but wasn’t really. They didn’t have a lot to say; Colin was not talking again and Riley felt like he was talked out. He did have a hundred questions that he’d like to ask, but knew he’d get nowhere with them.

In a way, it was a welcome distraction when a busy young woman came into the ward. She had an open notebook and a large, expensive-looking camera slung around her neck.

However, in another way, it was not good. As soon as Colin saw her he got very agitated. He moaned, “Oh noo!” and he pulled the sheet up over his head, and lay there shaking like a leaf.

“Colin, what’s wrong?” Riley patted his shoulder through the sheet.

“That’s his name is it? Colin.” She smiled and wrote it in her book. “And you must be Riley. What’s your other name?”

“I, umm, who are you?”

“I’m Terri Rangi, I’m a reporter with the Kaimoana Chronicle, and, boy! Have we got a story here!” She smiled widely.

Riley looked fro her to his new friend, and knew exactly why he was upset. He turned back to the reporter.

“Oh no you haven’t. There’s no story here and we’ve got nothing to say. No comment, thank you.”

“Don’t be silly, Boy. There’s a great story here. This could be my biggest story of the year. Now, are you the one who found the cave-boy here?”

Riley sat and glared daggers at this pushy woman. She was upsetting Colin, they didn’t need this. He thought of asking Mrs. Kersten to kick her out, but, what could she do? She wasn’t a bouncer. Speaking of bouncers – he took out his cell and speed-dialled his mum.

“Hello. Is that you, Riley?”

“It’s me, Mum. Can you come to the hospital? There’s a reporter here, she wants to talk to Colin and he doesn’t want to. She’s upsetting him and she won’t take no for an answer.”

“Oh, won’t she just? We’ll see about that! I’ll be right there, Riley. Sit tight and don’t open your mouth.”

“Thanks, Mum. Hurry, won’t you?”

He closed the phone and patted Colin again. “My mum’s coming. She’ll sort this out.”

“I can’t believe that you rang your mummy. Does she wipe your nose for you?” the reporter sneered.

“No, she doesn’t, but she’ll wipe the floor with you, wait and see.”

“We’ll see. Now, you were the one who found him, what was he doing?”

Riley turned his back on her and joined Colin in clamming up and not saying a word. He waited.

In a very short time, the door opened again and Riley’s mother, Mrs. Kersten and Tammy, the nurse, came in.

“Oh, good.” Riley stood up. “My mum’s here, Colin. This is my mother, Dianne Sullivan. Mum, this is Colin.”

“Hello, Colin. You were our cave-boy? Good Lord! You scrubbed-up nicely.”

Colin smiled.

Tammy said, “There are too many people here. Only two visitors per patient are permitted. Someone is going to have to leave. Colin, it’s up to you. Do you want Riley to stay?”

Colin smiled and nodded.

“Do you want Ms. Rangi here to stay?”

He shook his head, vigorously.

“How about Mrs. Sullivan, should she stay?”

He nodded and Mrs. Kersten said, “I’m sorry, Terri, we’ll have to ask you to leave now.”

“I certainly will not. I was here first.”

“First or last makes no difference,” Riley’s mum said. “The hospital rules are quite clear – 2 visitors only. The boy has indicated who he wants to stay. You can leave now please.”

“I don’t see why I should. I have questions that I want to ask. It seems to me that this is a question of the Freedom of the Press.”

“The Freedom of the Press is a legal fiction and has no standing in the law of this country. Trust me, I do know the law.” Mrs. S. smiled and handed her one of her old business cards which gave her name and credentials as a registered Solicitor.

“I will be representing this boy’s interests. Pro bono, of course. This situation is clearly covered by Health and Safety regulations. Furthermore, you have been asked to leave by Mrs. Kersten, as a representative of the area Health Board, whose property this is. Therefore, you are now trespassing. Unless you want to spend the night in the Police cells, I suggest you leave immediately.”

The reporter looked around the blank faces, and huffed. “This is preposterous! You will be hearing more of this.”

“My address is on the card,” Mrs. S. smiled sweetly. “I suggest that you bring legal representation with you.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like this!” she stormed out and left.

“Awesome, Mum. Thanks,” Riley beamed. “I told you that Mum would sort it out, Colin.”

Colin smiled and said, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Son. Do you want me to represent you?”

“I do, but I have no money to pay you.”

“You don’t need any. Pro Bono means for free. First thing in the morning, I’ll pull in some favours and I’ll have Privacy Orders issued so you’ll be left in peace. No-one will be allowed to set foot in here without your express permission.”

“Will Riley be allowed to come in?”

“Yes, of course, if you say so.”

“I do say so. Thank you, Mrs. Sullivan.”

“Well done, Riley’s mum,” Tammy smiled. “It’s about time that little tart was taken down a peg or two.”

“And I’m just the one to do it. It’ll do me good to keep in practice. Is there any news on the other boy yet?”

“There is, actually,” Mrs. Kersten said. “They’ve found the cave. The doctor and Brian have gone in there. I’d better get back to the desk. I’ll let you know what develops.”

“Brian?”

“Yes, Brian Kersten. He’s my husband and he’s the ambulance driver.”

“Oh, I see. The hospital is a family affair then?”

“We like to think so. Take it easy, Boys. It won’t be long now.”

Kaimoana Tales, Gary 5

“I don’t think that Virgil likes me.”

“Of course he’ll like you. Why wouldn’t he? Virgil’s a good guy; he’s a nice kid. Why would you think that he doesn’t like you – have you met him again?”

“No, I’ve only ever met him once, at that carnival thing in Timaru. I was with you and if looks could kill, he’d be doing time by now.”

“No way,” Joel laughed.

“Way,” Gary insisted.

“I didn’t see that. He was with someone else then, now he’s with me and he’s got no reason not to like you. We’d better go around and see him and tell him what’s what before some big-mouth tells him that I picked-up a good-looking boy in the street and took him out to the beach.”

“Why would anyone do that?”

“It’s a small town and people love to gossip. Everyone knows what everyone’s doing, but sometimes they get the wrong idea.”

Joel drove back into town, along the Esplanade, up the main street and up the hill to Virgil’s house. He pulled-up in the driveway outside, the front door burst opened and Virgil came running out.

He stopped, looked at the pair getting out of the Chevy, and the welcoming smile fell off his face.

“Again?” he said. “You bastard, Stafford. You absolute bloody bastard! I’m not going through this again. Fuck off and take your boyfriend with you.”

He turned, went back inside and the door slammed. It was a wonder that the glass didn’t shatter at the impact.

“Damm!” said Joel. “Trust Virgil to get the wrong idea. He’s right about one thing, we’re not going through that again. Stay here, wait by the car and I’ll go and sort this out.”

“Maybe it’s best if I just leave.”

“No, it’s not! Don’t you run out on me too. You just wait here, I’ll be back. I love the Little Shit. I always will – but, sometimes!”

He went to the door. It was locked. He knocked, and then he hammered on it.

“Virgil! Virgil Cain, you open this door!” There was no reply.

He looked at Gary and shrugged, “I’ll go around the back then. Stay there.”

Joel went around the side of the house, heading for the back door. Gary stood, waiting, leaning on the Chevy and feeling really bad. This was all his fault. He should’ve stayed away from Joel. They didn’t need him messing up their lives.

A kid, in a school uniform, came in from the street and stood next to him. He dropped his bag on the ground and leaned against the car. “Trouble in paradise, is it?” He nodded towards the house.

“Looks like it,” Gary replied, miserably.

He looked at the boy. He was over-weight, had sticking-out ears and blond stubble for hair, but he seemed nice enough.

“Hey, don’t blame yourself,” the boy grinned. “Those two are always fighting about something, but they’ll sort it out. They love each other and they both know it.”

“I hope you’re right. It’s me that they’re fighting about.”

“I’m always right. I’m Lachlan. I’m Virgil’s welfare case. Who would you be?”

“I’m Gary – Gary Stafford. I’m Joel’s cousin and, yeah, I guess that I’m his welfare case too.”

“So we’re two of a kind then. Nice to meet you, Gary. Where are you from?”

“I’m from up North, but I’m going to be living here now, I think.”

“You think? Well, in case you do, welcome to Kaimoana. It’s a pretty cool town – best place I’ve ever lived.”

“It is? Where else have you lived?”

“I was hoping you’d ask that,” Lachlan grinned. “I’ve never lived anywhere else, I was born here.”

“So it’s definitely the best place you’ve lived then.”

“It is. The best and the worst.”

They exchanged smiles. Gary liked this kid, he was all right.

Lachlan asked, “Where exactly, up North did you live?”

“It’s a little town, you’ve probably never heard of it. It’s called Auckland.”

“I’ve heard of Auckland. It’s north of Wellington, isn’t it?”

“Everything’s north of Wellington, you Dork!” Gary laughed.

“Dork? That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Give me time, I’ll think of better.”

“Have they been at it long?” Lachlan nodded towards the house.

“No, just a couple of minutes. We arrived here, Virgil came out and exploded at him and ran back inside. Joel’s gone around to the back to see if he can get in there.”

“He’s a good guy, Joel.”

“He is. He’s the best.”

“Why’s Virgil upset with him?”

“Because I’m here. I was with Joel before he was with Virgil. I think he thinks he’s lost him again.”

“Oh, yeah, rite! Like that’s going to happen? Joel loves Virgil, end of story. Are you gay then?”

“A little bit, yeah.”

“Cool. Me too!”

There were smiles all around.

Joel tried the back door. It was locked, as usual, but that didn’t stop him, he knew where the spare key was hidden. He walked into the kitchen and Virgil’s gran was in there, sitting at the table, with her head in her hands and staring at the coffee before her. She looked up.

“Hello, Handsome. Tell the boy to keep the noise down. I’ve got a splitting headache!”

“Hey, Gran. Brewer’s asthma, is it? I don’t know why you do that to yourself.”

“I’m sure I don’t either. There should be a warning label on the bottle.”

“Would you take any notice if there was?”

“Probably not. Don’t slam the door on your way through.”

There was no lock on Virgil’s bedroom door, but he had trouble opening it. Something, several somethings, had been thrown against the inside and were blocking the way. He put his shoulder into it and pushed until it was open enough for him to slip through.

Virgil sat up on the bed and yelled at him. “Aargh! I told you to fuck off! Get out of my house and don’t ever come back.”

“Shut up, Virgil. We have to talk.”

“We do not. I’m not talking to you ever again. Never, ever, ever! Fuck off!”

He grabbed a pillow and wrapped it around his head, holding it with his clenched fists over his ears. He lay, face-down, kicking his feet and yelling.

“Aah! Aah, Aargh!!”

Joel sighed and sat patiently, on the end of the bed, and waited for the tantrum to finish. Virgil finally shut up, lay quietly for a minute, and then peeked around at him.

“Oh. You’re still here.”

“I’m still here”, Joel replied. “Have you finished?”

“Well, maybe.” Virgil sat up and glared at him.

“So help me,” Joel sighed. “Why did I have to fall in love with a bitch?”

“I’m not a bitch!”

“Stop acting like one then.”

“Well, what do you expect? What do you fucking expect when you come around here with your boyfriend?”

“You are my boyfriend, no-one else.”

“What is that little faggot out there then? Just your bit on the side, is he?”

“You’re better than this, Virgil. Did I throw a fit when you turned-up with Lachlan in tow?”

“Well, no. But that’s different.”

“Why is it different?”

“I was never in love with Lachlan, was I? I never loved him and I never fucked him.”

“No. Yes, it’s true that I had sex with Gary, a long time ago, but I never loved him. Not like I loved you. He’s my cousin, for fuck’s sake. He’s my cousin, he’s all alone and he needs me.”

“I hope you’ll be very happy together!”

“I very much doubt it. Goodbye, Virgil. I do love you and I always will. Have a good life.”

Joel got up and moved towards the door. Before he got there, Virgil flew across the room and slammed it shut. He stood leaning against it.

“What do you mean, goodbye? Don’t you walk out on me, Joel Stafford. Don’t you dare!”

“Why the hell shouldn’t I? You don’t love me; you never did.”

“I don’t love you?” Virgil grabbed his head and kissed him, savagely. “Don’t you tell me that I don’t love you. I fucking love you more than you’ll ever know!”

“Yeah, you do. I love you, Virgil. I love you, heaps, but you’ve got to learn to trust me. I’d never betray you, never again. Okay?”

“Yeah. I will, I do. I do know really, that you’re mine and I’m yours. It’s just that – well, you’re too bloody good to be true, you know!”

“I’m not, but you can keep on thinking that if you want to.”

“Shut it, Dork!”

They kissed again, and it was Joel who broke away first. “”Okay, we’re cool. Come outside now and meet Gary – properly this time.”

“Do I have to?” Virgil pouted.

“Yes, you have to. He’s going to be living around here now and he’s going to be my brother.”

“He’s not your brother, he’s your cousin.”

“Not any more, he’s not. We’re brothers now. He’s got no-one else.”

“No-one?”

“No-one at all. His family, my family, kicked him out because he’s gay.’

“They did? Bastards! I don’t understand how anyone can do that to their kids.”

“Neither do I, but some do. Not everyone’s as lucky as you are, Virgil.”

“No-one’s as lucky as I am – nobody! Let’s go out and meet your brother then.”

“Yeah. Come on. The kid’s probably feeling rotten out there.”

“Yeah. Got caught in the cross-fire, didn’t he? I owe him an apology.”

“Only if you want to, but it would be nice if you did.”

“I’m always nice, Joel.”

“Yeah, right! I’ve always said that you can be an awesome kid, as well as being a bitch sometimes. It’s time to be awesome again.”

“All right, all right. Don’t rub it in.”

They went back outside to make peace with Joel’s upset cousin, but he didn’t look like he was upset at all. Gary and Lachlan were in the drive, with their backs to them, laughing and joking together. They looked like they were having a great time.

“Looks like Lachlan’s found a friend,” Virgil smiled.

Joel replied, “It does. I think Gary’s found one too.”

Kaimoana Tales, Gary 4

Bright lights came on and there was another one there! Buck Thomas was leering at him and stripping his clothes off as well.

The three of them used him and abused him for hours. They all fucked him, separately and together, over and over again. At one point he had a dick in his mouth, he didn’t know whose, while 2 dicks tried, but failed, to get up his arse at the same time. It wasn’t rape, not quite, he wanted sex but not like this. There was no loving or affection involved, they just fucked him.

Finally, they’d all had enough. They all piled into Wayne’s car and he drove them back into town. He dropped Gary off at the corner where he’d picked him up and drove away without a word – not even a fucking thank-you.

Gary walked home, sore, stretched, used and tired. He was exhausted, but he still had to have a long shower before he crawled into bed. He felt dirty all over.

“The Bastards!” Joel couldn’t contain himself any longer. “The dirty bastards! I’ll kill them.”

“Shut up, Joel. You will not. That wouldn’t fix anything, it’d just get you in trouble too. Anyway, be quiet. I told you not to talk and I haven’t finished yet. It gets worse.”

“Worse? How could it? Did they give you the clap or something?”

“No, nothing like that. I’ve been tested and I’m clean, in that way anyway.”

“What happened then?”

That was Friday night. He went nowhere in the weekend, just stayed at his dad’s place as usual and didn’t put his nose out of the door. On Monday, he went back to school and was largely ignored, as usual. As the day went on, something was going on. Everyone was staying away from him and the only attention he got was sneers and abuse thrown from a distance. Apparently, he was a faggot and a cock-sucker and all the rest of it.

Apart from that, no-one wanted to talk to him, not even his so-called friends. They all stayed well away. By the end of the day, without being told, he figured that, somehow, they all knew what had happened to him on Friday night. He had confirmation of that on the way home.

(He lived with his mother on weekdays and his father on the weekends). His phone rang in his pocket and it was a message from Kathy Gilbertson, a ‘friend’ – one of the ones who wouldn’t talk to him. The message read, “Don’t reply 2 this. U shld no – Theres more.”

There were 3 video clips attached. He looked at them and stood stunned! They were all of him, stark naked, getting fucked and sucking dick. There were no other faces shown, just his, and there was plenty of that. One clip finished with a link to an internet site.

The bastards had taped him and clips were all over the school. Who could understand that? They’d all gotten into it and it was all their idea and now – this. Bastards!

It wasn’t just the school where they were doing the rounds, they were all over the town. He got to his mother’s house and she wouldn’t let him in the door. She didn’t want to know him anymore. She met him with a mouthful of abuse, worse than any he’d heard all day, and finally told hi to fuck off and don’t ever come back. She slammed the door in his face.

“Oh, well,” he shrugged. There was never much love lost there anyway; she only wanted him for the maintenance money from his dad. He picked up his bags and walked across town to his father’s house.

There was no-one there when he arrived, they were still at work. He let himself in and went on the net to check-out the link. It was more of the same stuff, still with only his face showing. He still didn’t know how they’d done it. He hadn’t seen the cameras, but he was kind of busy at the time.

His father and his new partner came home from work and screamed at him. It was worse than he’d got from his mother, and it was in stereo. He took their suggestion and fucked off out of their house, never to return there. They were just bastards too.

“They are,” Joel agreed. “They all are. You should’ve come to me right then.”

“I couldn’t. I did think about it, but you couldn’t have helped me. You were still living with Uncle Dick and your father is as big a prick as my one is.”

“Maybe not quite as much. What did you do then?”

“If you’d be quiet, I’d tell you. I went to our Granny Stafford. I didn’t know what else to do and she’d always told me that she loved me. So I cleaned-out my bank account and spent my last dollar on a bus ticket to Granny’s. The bus didn’t leave until the following morning so I had to spend the night in a park, sleeping under a tree. It was friggin’ cold too!”

“How did you get on at Granny’s?”

“Well, I’m not living there am I? Turns out, she likes gayboys even less than her sons do.”

“So what happened?”

“Joel! I’m trying to tell you. I figured that honesty is the best policy, so we sat in her kitchen, with a drink, and I told her the whole story – everything that happened. She went ballistic and she hit the roof! I didn’t know that Granny even knew language like that.

She had visitors, in the other room. They couldn’t hear me but they certainly heard her – every screaming word of it. She said that I was going to burn in hell and I deserved everything I got. She told me to get the fuck out of her house and her family and don’t ever come back. Witch!”

“Bitch!”

“Yeah, that too. I had no money left and nowhere else to go, so I was going to top myself. I headed across town to find a rope and a tree. I was going to hang myself and show them all what I thought of them.”

“Idiot!”

“Yeah. Anyway, it was raining too, just to make it more fun. It was persisting down and cold with it. That was the lowest point of my life. Then it got better. Ron saved me.”

“Ron?”

“Ron Clarke. Didn’t you know him? He was an old family friend, went to school with Granddad, or something. He was one of the visitors in the other room. He heard everything and came out looking for me.

He pulled-up in the street beside me, opened the door and called out. I got in – best thing I ever did – and he took me home. Well, back to his motel actually.

He told me to shower and get some dry clothes on while he got us some food. I did that and then I told him my story. We stayed the night there, in separate rooms, and next day and next day he took me back home to live with him.

I think he might have been gay, but he never actually said that. He lived alone, in a big old house on a huge, over-grown section, on the outskirts of Auckland. It was in a country area when he bought it but the city had grown around it.

Ron’s place was a real eye-sore, sitting there by the nice new suburbs. It wasn’t worth much, but the site was. He’d been offered big money for it, but wouldn’t sell. He liked sitting there pissing everyone off.

So, I lived there with Ron for almost a year. I went back to school up there, because he said I had to, but never made any friends. I did offer to sleep in his bed, I had no other way to repay him. He just laughed at me and told me to stay in my own bed where I belonged. He was too old and I didn’t have to repay him anything. He liked having me there and I was the son he never had.

I tried to help him around the house and made a start on clearing the section. Damm, it was a jungle out there! It’s probably all been bulldozed by now. Some good stuff happened. I liked living there.

Ron had a win in the lottery. He bought a ticket every week, but this was the first win he’d ever had. It was a big one too, but he never got to spend it, he died.”

“He died? Shit, Gary, that’s awful!”

“It was. But he did the best way he could and he’s still looking after me. Ron was always an old man, old beyond his years. He was always short of breath and lacking energy. He knew that something was wrong, but wouldn’t go to a doctor. When he finally did, it was too late, he was riddled with cancer and he only had months to live.

He tidied everything up, with a lawyer. He sold his house and everything he owned and put all the money, and the lottery money, into bank accounts in my name. He sorted everything and, when I was at school one day, left me a long letter, and then he hung himself.

He told me that he loved me and that he was sorry but he couldn’t face the months of pain ahead of him when he was going to die anyway. There was a long list of instructions and details of arrangements he’d made. He’d even arranged for me to go and board at his cousin’s, because the house had been sold.

They all came to the funeral – the loving mother, father, step-mother, step-father and Granny. I don’t know how, but they all knew that I had money now and they all wanted me to come home with them.

I stuck close to the lawyer and, as soon as I could, I was out of there. I’m 16 now and they can’t make me go with them, but they all tried. Fuck ‘em.

I’ve been bouncing around the country, just moving on when I felt like it. I was on the train, heading south. It stopped here and something about the place appealed to me, so I got off and stayed here. I’m staying in the Blue Pacific Hotel, and now I know what it was about Kaimoana that appealed to me – it was you. So, I found you and here we are.”

“Here we are. It’s great to see you too,” Joel smiled. “You won’t have money for long if you keep staying hotels. You could come and live with me if you like. I’ve just got a caravan, but there’d be room enough for two.”

“Thanks. But what about Virgil?”

“What about him? He doesn’t live there, he lives with his mum.”

“But you’re with him?”

“Of course I’m with him, I’ll be with him forever, but, so far, we don’t live together.”

“We could do better than a caravan. I could rent us a house, or buy one.”

“You could buy a house? Gary, how much money have you got anyway?”

“About 6 million.”

“Six million dollars! Fucking hell, that’s a lot of money! No wonder that your family want you back.”

“Yeah, but I’m not going. I’d rather be with you.”

“That’s cool. But never forget, I’m with Virgil. I don’t do sex with anyone else, not even you.”

“But, you love me anyway?”

“I do. Just not like that, it’s different. We can be brothers.”

“Sounds good to me, Brother.”

“Oh yes. Give me a hug.”

They hugged, chastely, and then broke apart and looked at each other.

“What are you going to do now?”

Gary grinned, “I guess I could kiss you.”

“Oh no, you could not! I love you, Gary, and I’m glad you’re here, but I love you like a brother and that’s all. Virgil is my boy. I love him very much. I fooled around once and I’m not ever going to do that again – no way!”

“Fair enough, I guess. You really do love him, don’t you?”

“Totally!”

“You’re lucky; I wish that I had someone like that, seems like I never will, but I’m happy to be your brother. I’ve got no-one else.”

“You will. I’m sure that you will. A great kid like you is not going to be alone for long; you’ll find someone to love.”

“I hope you’re right, Joel, I really do. Ron was old and he was just my friend, but since he’s been gone, I’ve got nobody – no-one at all.”

“Damm! That’s not right, it’s just not right. What about your family? Can’t you patch things up there?”

“No, I can’t. Oh, they’d take me back, but it’s Ron’s money that they want, not me. When I had no money they didn’t want to know me, none of them.”

“Bastards!”

“They are. They’re no great loss anyway. You’ll be my family, won’t you?”

“Course I will. We’ll make a family together.”

“Together. Yeah, thanks. What about you? How did Uncle Dick take the news that you’re gay? I don’t imagine that he’d be happy about that.”

“No, he didn’t really. He didn’t go all anti or anything; he just doesn’t want to talk about it. I think he thinks that if he ignores it, it’ll go away.”

“That’s not going to happen though, is it?”

“Not in my lifetime. So, again, what are your plans now?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t got any plans. I’ve just been drifting around and taking each day as it comes, but I’m sick of that. I’m lonely.”

“Oh, Gary! Give me a hug!”

Gary slid across the seat and they hugged, long and hard. Neither of them said a word, but their bodies said a lot. They broke apart and grinned. Gary kissed him on the cheek.

“Thanks, Joel. You’re the greatest!”

“That’s what Virgil tells me. From now on, you’re my brother. I need a brother too. Are you going to stay in Kaimoana?”

“I think I will. Yeah, I’d like that. I’m staying if I can be with you.”

“Of course you can, that’ll be great. You need to stay put somewhere so you can meet people. You’re never going to do that while you’re drifting around. You can stay with me, the caravan is not huge, but we’ll manage.”

“That’d be good, but not in a poky little caravan. There’s no need for that; I’ll buy us a house and we can live there.”

“Damm. You could, couldn’t you? I was forgetting. But, no. Don’t do that. You shouldn’t rush into a commitment like that. You need to look after your money.”

“Joel, I’m rich. I’ve got pots of money; I could buy a whole street of houses if I wanted to.”

“Well, don’t. You won’t be rich for long if you throw your money around.”

“I’m not throwing it around. Buying a house wouldn’t be wasting money, it’d be an investment. A better investment than living in hotels. That’s an idea, why don’t I buy the hotel and you could come and live there?”

“Gary, I can’t afford to live in a hotel.”

“It wouldn’t cost you anything. You could live there for free if I owned the place.”

“I could not. You’re not spending your money on me; I pay my own way.”

“That’s just pride, Joel.”

“Maybe it is. I’m proud to be me and I’m not a bludger.”

“Is that why you live in a caravan and not with Virgil?”

“Part of it, yeah. Virgil! He’ll be wondering where I am.”

He patted his pockets and grimaced. “Damm. I’ve left my phone at work. We’d better go around and see him. He needs to know about you.”

Kaimoana Tales, Gary 3

“You can’t? Why can’t you? Don’t you love me anymore?”

“Gary, I do love you. I love you a lot, but not like that. I’m in a relationship. I’m with my life-partner, and there is no way I’m ever going to screw around and stuff that up. Not with you, not with anyone. Sorry.”

“Sorry? Yeah, I’m sorry too, but good for you if you’ve got someone who loves you.”

“Oh, I have!”

“Good. Who is it, Joel? Is it that girl you met?”

“Cyn? No, not her. I was with Cyn for a while and that was the worst mistake of my life. I’m not ever going there again.”

“Is it that Virgil with the long hair?”

“Yes, it’s Virgil, but he hasn’t got the long hair, he cut that off ages ago.”

“Ages ago. We are out of touch, aren’t we?”

“We are, and that’s not good. What’s been going on in your life?”

“What hasn’t?” Gary sighed. “How much time have we got?”

“We’ve got all the time you need. Start at the beginning and tell me how we came to be sitting here now.”

“Okay then. Don’t talk until I’ve finished, some of this is not pretty.”

“I’m all ears.”

They sat in the car and Joel listened quietly while Gary poured out his story. Joel was not the first boy he’d had sex with, but he was the best by far, and he was the first one he’d gone all the way with. They’d done everything there was to do and he’d loved it.

After their holiday was over and they’d gone home to their separate lives many kilometers apart, he was keen to continue with what they’d been doing, and he went to the two boys that he’d done stuff with. Neither of them wanted to know and they both told him to fuck off and leave them alone.

So, he lost 2 friends and, when word got around, he lost all the rest. No-one wanted to be seen with the gayboy, they weren’t faggots. He was alone. Friendless and lonely for the first time in his life. He still wanted to do stuff, but had nobody to do it with. No-one wanted to know him.

By now he was an outcast and a reject in his school and in the town. Even the girls shunned him. He still didn’t understand that; it was not like he was serious competition for them. Now he knew what a loser felt like. It got worse.

After a couple of weeks of rejection and abuse he was still hungering for some loving; even more now. He couldn’t stop looking at, and dreaming about, the choice-looking boys around the town.

One day, he thought his dreams had come true. Walking home, alone of course, after school, a car pulled up next to him. The driver stood up and smiled across the roof at him. It was Wayne Bell!

Wayne was just about his no.1 fantasy figure. Gary had often admired him from a distance. One day Wayne caught him at it and their eyes met. He smiled.

He was in year 13, 17 years old, tall, blond and built like a brick-house. He had short blond hair and blue eyes. He reminded Gary of Joel, he had that same air of muscular sexuality about him. He was one of the sports-heroes, of course. He was good at everything he did and he did them all.

“Hey Gary. Everyone’s saying that you’re gay.”

“I know.”

“Well, are you?”

“I dunno. Maybe – with the right person.”

“Could I be the right person?”

“You? I dunno. Could you?”

“Possibly. Want to go out with me tonight and find out?”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. You want to or not?”

“Well, yeah! I’d love to.”

“Cool. Be right here at 9 o’clock tonight and I’ll pick you up. Okay?”

“Yes, very okay. I’ll be here. Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Just be here and waiting and I’ll worry about the rest. See ya, bye.”

He slid back into the car and left.

Gary went home, ate, showered, dressed in his best, and he was back there well before 9 o’clock. Wayne was a few minutes late. It was only a few minutes, but it was enough that Gary was starting to worry and think he wasn’t coming. So he was very relieved to see him when he showed up.

Wayne drove up the street and stopped and waited for him to get into the car. Warning bells started ringing in his head right then, but he didn’t listen. He wished that he did.

They drove for miles, away out of town and up a back-country road. They stopped outside a dark, old, and slightly derelict house in the middle of nowhere.

“What is this place, Wayne?”

“It’s just an empty house. It belongs to some old friend of my dad’s. I use it to camp-out sometimes. Good place to party, there’s no neighbours. C’mon in.”

Wayne led the way, around to the back and in through the unlocked kitchen door. The house smelled old, musty and empty. There were no lights working and there was no moon that night, it was very dark. However, he knew where he was going and he showed the way with flashes on his cigarette lighter.

“Watch your step. There’s a hole in the floor there.”

They went in to a back room and he lit a couple of candles.

“Here we go. This is better, eh?” He lit some more candles.

Gary stood looking around the room, it was a bit odd. It was big, but there was only the one door, the one they’d come in through, and there were no windows. Or, maybe there was, but they weren’t visible. The walls were all covered with white bed-sheets.

There was loose carpet on the floor and there were stacks of junk at one end. The other half of the room was empty, apart from a bed made-up on an old opened-out couch, and the boxes that the candles were on. It looked like a porn movie set. He was not comfortable.

“Home away from home,” Wayne announced. “Sit down, kick your shoes off and let’s get comfortable.”

“Wayne, I don’t know about this. Maybe some other time?”

“What’re you talking about? This is a great place, warm and dry and all the privacy we’ll ever need. C’mon, Kid, relax. I’ll get us a drink.”

He pushed him down to the bed and started pouring drinks from a spirits bottle. Gary sat and watched.

“Oh, well,” he shrugged. He was there, alone with Wayne Bell! That was what he wanted. How bad could it be?

“There you go, Good-Looking.” Wayne handed him a full glass and sat down next to him with another. “Get that down you. That’s a man’s drink. It’ll put some fire in your belly.”

He took a sip. He didn’t know what it is. It tasted like liquid fire.

“Good stuff, eh?” Wayne grinned. “Drink up, Kid. Take it like a man, it’ll make you feel better. Lots more where that came from. We’ll have a joint, and then you’ll really feel good.”

He produced a ready-made joint from somewhere and lit up. It was huge, Gary had never seen a bigger one. Not that he’d seen a lot, but he’d seen a few and tried it a few times. Wayne took a drag, filled his lungs and held it while he passed the joint to Gary. He inhaled and held and passed the joint back.

“Oh, yeah!” Wayne grinned. “Good shit. First of this year’s crop. It’s going to be a good year.”

“Every year is a good year,” Gary grinned back.

The joint passed backwards and forwards until they’d finished it. He didn’t bother with a roach-clip, just pinched the butt and dropped it on the candles’ box. They had another drink.

Gary was starting to feel good, relaxed and mellow. It felt good too when he pushed him back across the bed and they kissed – wetly, tongues and everything.

All too soon, the kissing stopped and Wayne’s hands were opening his clothes and exploring his flesh. He flinched and tried to slow him down.

“C’mon Gary. Play the game. This is what we came here for, isn’t it? Relax and you’re going to have the best sex of your life. Let’s get naked and then we can get down to it.”

Wayne got up off the bed and stripped his clothes off. He stood displaying his naked body and his stiff dick in the candlelight. He looked good, and he knew it. He looked as good as Joel did.

Gary shed his own clothes and they stroked each other and kissed again. That was good, but then Wayne pushed back to the bed.

“Enough of that. Suck my dick”, he growled.

He did. He was on his hands and knees on the low bed while Wayne stood beside it, his knees leaning against the edge and both hands holding Gary’s head while he fucked his face.

The hands let go and he felt something cold and wet. He stopped what he was doing and looked around. Wayne was leaning right over him and greasing up his arse with some goop from a jar.

One finger, then two, opened him up and greased his hole.

“C’mon, Hot Lips! Don’t stop now, we’re just getting started.”

He pressed his dick back at Gary’s mouth. He opened and took him back in, sucking him and being finger-fucked at the same time.

Wayne pulled out and crawled around behind him. Big hands held his hips and the dick lined-up with his hole. “Tell me that you want it,” he teased him.

“Yes! I want it. I. . ah!”

He got it. Wayne shoved forward and totally impaled him in one thrust. Wow. It felt good. Big, hot and good. His arms folded and he dropped his head to the bed, groaning in pleasure while the big dick fucked him from behind.

Hands enfolded his head and lifted it up. A stiff dick pressed against his lips. Another dick! He looked up at Bruce Abelson, one of Wayne’s jock friends.

“Come on, Bitch. I want some of that too!”

Whatever. There was nothing he could do. He opened up and took him in. Now he was being spitted – forcibly fucked at both ends at the same time.

Kaimoana Tales, Gary 2

Mrs. Tanner left, closing the door after her. Gary decided against having another shower. He didn’t need one and he wasn’t cold anymore. He took the towel off and dried himself with it.

He didn’t really need to do that either. He was, mostly, dry now. The weather outside was still foul, so he closed the drapes and crawled into bed to watch cartoons for a while.

However, he didn’t turn the TV on, he relaxed in the bed, closed his eyes for a minute and went straight to sleep. He woke with a start, hours later, when a door slammed somewhere.

The weather cleared later in the day; the clouds drifted away and the sun shone in a clear blue sky. Gary lay on his bed, watching TV as he’d done for most of the day. The blue sky outside was beckoning to him. Should he risk it? He’d gone out once today and got soaked when the rain caught him.

“Ah, whatever. Doesn’t look like it’s going to rain again and I’ve been cooped-up here all day. I’ll be going stir-crazy and talking to myself soon. Oh, right! I already am. Time I got outta here and went for a walk.”

He put his sneaker, a hoodie and a wind-cheater jacket on. He didn’t know how long he was gong to be and didn’t want to get cold and wet again. He headed down to the beach at the end of the street.

‘Not much of a beach – all stones and not much sand.’

He wandered along the Esplanade, going around the bay in the direction of the seal colony, but he wasn’t going there. He didn’t know what the tides were and, apparently, the best time to see the seals was at low-tide. It’d be just his luck to get all the way out there and find that it was high-tide.

A short way along the road, there was a finger-post promising a look-out up on the hills behind the town, so he went that way to check that out. The sheer, rock-faced cliffs weren’t really high, they just seemed like it.

He found the track which zig-zagged up the hill to join the road at the top. Another sign showed the way, so he went up the road until he found the look-out. There was a wooden viewing platform up on top of a huge, round, concrete water tank.

A couple of cars were in the small parking area, but the people in them weren’t interested in him; they were busy necking. This must be the local ‘lovers lane’, every town seems to have one. He wished that he had someone to neck with, or even just to talk to. He felt very alone.

He needed to stop this aimless drifting around the country and settle down somewhere – somewhere where he could meet some people and maybe build some relationships. This town, Kaimoana, seemed to be a nice-enough town. It was in a spectacular setting, hemmed between the sea and the snow-clad mountains to the west.

There seemed to be quite a lot of teenagers around, but nobody was very interested in him. They just looked and looked away as he walked past. How did he go about meeting someone? He didn’t have a clue. He had pots of money and no friends. He’d rather have friends.

He climbed the steps to the lookout and stood there admiring the view – spectacular! The mountains, the sea, the little town nestled between them, and the coastal strip of lush green farmland. Nice.

He didn’t know why, but there was something about this town that called to him. What? It was just a little town, miles away from anywhere else. So? Looking around at the pleasant scene, he racked his brains, and then it struck him. Of course!

Last summer, a year ago, back in the old days when he had a family, they’d gone on a holiday trip, touring and camping around the South Island, and his gorgeous cousin had gone with them. His cousin was a couple of years older than him, but way less experienced.

The two of them shared a small tent, every night for 3 weeks, and they had a short-lived, but very intense, all-on affair. It was awesome! Best sex he’d ever had.

This was the place, the town, where his cousin, Joel, was planning on living as soon as he could leave home. He was going to work for his uncle here.

That was a year ago. He wondered if Joel’s plans had worked out? If they had, he’d be living and working somewhere around here by now. He hadn’t heard from Joel in ages, they’d lost touch during all the upheavals and troubles in his life. How could he find him?

That’d be so cool if he did and he was living around here. There might be no sex involved, unfortunately. The last time he’d heard from Joel he was very keen on this other kid in Tiroroa.

What was his name? Yeah – Virgil, or something like that. He met him once, when they were on holiday, at the carnival in Timaru. He was a rather cute boy with a spectacular mane of long, long hair.

Even then, Gary had sensed some spark between the two of them. He didn’t like him much because Joel obviously did and he was supposed to be with him. He wondered how that had turned out? If it had, were they together now?

But they wouldn’t be together if Joel was living here, Virgil belonged in Tiroroa. That’d be so cool if Joel was here and alone again. He had to find him to find out.

How to find him? Well, there was his g-mail account. He hadn’t checked that in ages, it was about time he did. Also, he could just ring old Uncle Dick and ask him. He didn’t have to know where he was ringing from.

Uncle Dick was his father’s brother, and he didn’t want his family to find him. They didn’t want him but they’d like to get their hands on his money. That was not going to happen.

Anyway, even if Joel was in a relationship with someone else, they could still be friends. They were cousins, and always would be. They had a history and some great memories. Oh yes!

The first step was to get on the ‘net. The hotel might have the internet, of course they would. If he couldn’t use theirs, they’d know where he could go to connect. He forgot all about the great views and the town and everything and hurried back to start the search for his cousin.

His email account was no help at all. There was nothing from Joel there, just a whole lot of junk that the spam filters had missed and a couple from people that he didn’t want to hear from. He deleted the lot of them and sent a message to Joel’s address. He wasn’t sure it that would still work, his cell didn’t, but it sent anyway, so that was hopeful.

Next, he tried to ring Joel’s father, but had no joy there. The number he had didn’t work anymore. That was Uncle Dick’s land-line, he didn’t know his cell. Dammit.

He found the number for Tiroroa Area School, but didn’t waste his time emailing them, he’d ring them in the morning and see if they’d tell him how to contact his uncle.

None of the hotel staff knew of a boy named Joel Stafford, but the boss’ wife had a ray of hope for him. He should ask Patsy, the cleaner. Patsy was a great gossip and she knew everybody and all about them. Even if she didn’t know, she could probably find out, she had teenage kids and it was a small town.

There was no reply from Patsy’s number so, dammit, he’d wait to see her in the morning. Back up in his room, he turned the TV on. It was boring, but it was something to do. When he’d had enough of that, he shut down and went to bed for the night.

Next morning he was waiting for Mrs. Tanner and he waylaid her as soon as she arrived at work.

“Yes, sure I know Joel Stafford. I know who he is anyway. He’s a cousin of my son’s friends, Stephen and Dougie Griffin. Do you know those two?”

“No, I’ve never heard of them.”

“Good, because you wouldn’t want to anyway. They’re a couple of horrible little shits. I don’t know why my Dennis bothers with them, but he does. How do you know Joel?”

“He’s my cousin and my friend. I haven’t seen him in, like, forever and I really want to. How can I find him, Patsy?”

“I’m sure I don’t know. I’ll ask my Dennis, he’ll probably know, but it won’t be until tonight. His class is going on a field trip, up Mount Fife, today. What’s your number? I’ll ring you when I find out.”

They exchanged numbers, then, as he was about to go back to his room, she stopped him.

“Actually, Gary, there’s another one. The Griffins have got a sister, Sally, and she’s a good kid. She’s got an after-school job in the Foodmarket. You could ask her.”

“Sally Griffin in the Supermarket? Choice. I’ll ask her. I’ll go and see her this afternoon.”

“Yea, you do that. Good luck, Boy. Have a good day now.”

“You too. Thanks again.”

Things were looking up. Joel was around here somewhere and he should find him by tonight. He couldn’t wait. Joel wouldn’t reject him for being gay – not likely! So he should have one family member who still wanted to know him.

He knew Joel well, very well, intimately! He hoped that he didn’t have a boyfriend now.

The sun was still shining. It was too nice a day to be stuck inside all day, so he went out for a walk, to scope-out the town. There weren’t many kids around; hardly any in fact. They’d all be in school. He should be there himself, but wasn’t – he was finished with school.

He didn’t need the money, but maybe he should get a job of some sort? It would help to fill-up his empty days and be a way of meeting people. Maybe. First he’d have to decide if he was staying in this town. He didn’t know.

The I-Site, information centre, had some excellent large-scale maps of the town and surroundings. It was only a small town, but there was more to it than appeared at first glance. There were several areas, sub-divisions, tucked away in amongst, and on top of, the hills.

There was quite a large suburb over at the south side of the hill; there was even a race-course out there. There were two separate business districts in the town, one here, where the I-Site was, and one strung-out along the highway at the north end.

What was the main industry around here? Tourism, he supposed. There were a lot of accommodation and eating places. Plus, there was the fish-processing factory and it’d be a service town, there were no other towns for miles around.

He tried to remember what work Joel had said he’d be doing, but couldn’t. He hadn’t been paying much attention at the time, he had other things on his mind, like sex!

Sex was great and sex with Joel was the greatest – he’d never had better, probably never would. Maybe if Joel’s job wasn’t working out, he could hire him to be his full-time rent boy. He could afford it and that’d be ace! That would fill up his days, and nights, quite nicely.

He kept walking and found the Highschool up a side street, at the back of the hill. It was quite a large school. It all seemed quite newish and there were a lot of buildings. This must be a growing, and breeding, town. There was a primary school up there too, across the road. There were two primary schools, this one, which was the Catholic one, and another, bigger, one behind the Esplanade.

He walked and walked for hours, he must’ve seen the whole town. He bought a coffee and sat on the balcony outside the Craypot Café in the main street, and watched the world go by. His feet were sore, he’d done so much walking! But, the day was passing, slowly.

He was on his second coffee when school uniforms started to appear in the street. At last. He sat watching them pass in the street below. Little kids, from the primary school, were passing in one direction, and Highschool kids in the other. The lucky ones got to ride in cars.

When the parade thinned-out, he got up and went across to the small supermarket at the other side of the street. He walked around in there until he saw a girl, down on her knees, replenishing the stock in the shelves. He walked up to her, she looked up and smiled at him.

“Hi. Can I help you?”

“Hey. I’m not shopping, I’m looking for someone – Sally Griffin, do you know her?”

“Yes, I know Sally Griffin, what do you want her for?”

“I have to ask her something. Is she here?”

“Oh, she’s here,” she smiled. “I’m Sally. What do you want to ask me?”

“You are Sally? Sorry, I didn’t know. I’m looking for Joel Stafford. They tell me that you’d know where to find him. Where is he?”

“You’re looking for my cousin? What do you want him for?”

“He’s my cousin as well. I’m Gary Stafford and I just want to find him. I haven’t seen him in ages.”

“No, you haven’t, and I’d know – he lived with us. You’re not going to give him grief are you?”

“Of course I’m not. Joel’s not just my cousin, he’s my friend too.”

“Okay’, she nodded. “Sorry if I’m being a bit sensitive. Joel’s been getting grief from my idiot brothers lately and he doesn’t need any more. Wait a minute.”

She took out her cell and pressed a number on the speed-dial.

“Hey, Joel. Sally. Are you still at work? There’s a kid here at the Foodmarket. He says that he’s your friend and he’s looking for you. Who? Gary Stafford, he says. Okay? Cool. I’ll tell him. See you, Cus, ‘bye.”

She closed the phone and slipped it back into her pocket.

“Right, Gary Stafford. Sounds like you’re good news. Go and stand outside the front door there, he’s on his way, it’ll take him a few minutes.”

“He is? Oh, that’s great – really great. Thanks, Sally.” He was halfway to the door before he finished speaking.

“Hey,” Sally smiled. “Any friend of Joel’s - ” She was speaking to herself, he had gone.

Gary stood on the sidewalk outside the Foodmarket door, jigging up and down in his excitement. He was excited, anxious and impatient. A few minutes, she said – bloody long minutes! It had been so long since he’d seen a friendly face, way too long. He should’ve done this months ago.

He studied every approaching face, but none of them was Joel. A few cars, and a couple of trucks, went past. He spared them a glance, but he didn’t expect that Joel would be driving.

But he was! When he finally arrived, Joel was driving a big old Chevy. He pulled in, parked, got out and came around in front of the car.

“Joel!!” Gary flew at him and wrapped around him. “Joel,” he sobbed. “Oh, Joel! It’s so good to see you.”

“Hey, hey, Little Cousin!” Joel pushed him back and looked, smiling, into his teary eyes. “It’s good to see you too, really good. It’s been far too long. Where’ve you been?”

“Been? I’ve been everywhere. So much has happened; I’ve got so much to tell you – so very much!”

“Yeah? I’ve got stuff to tell you too, but not here. Jump in the car and we’ll go for a drive.”

“Oh, yes! Thanks, Joel.”

They got into the Chevy and buckled-up. Joel drove up the street, along the Esplanade and around the bay, out of town, towards the seal colony on the Peninsular. He didn’t go all the way out there, he stopped and parked, facing a sandy beach, next to a concrete-block changing shed.

“Public toilets and changing-shed, away out here?” Gary broke the silence.

“That’s the one,” Joel replied. “This is Taylor’s Beach. It’s not huge, but it’s the best swimming beach for miles around. No good for surfing though, it’s too sheltered for that. The surf beaches are all to the north of the town.

This is a popular place for the kids to hang-out. There’s parties out here most weekends.”

“Parties? The best parties I’ve ever been to were just two people – you and me.”

“Parties in your tent? They were good times, Gary, very good times, but they’re over now. I can’t do that anymore.”

A Wee Distraction

(Just wondering - has anybody recognised Gary (in the story) yet? I'm sure that Lloyd will, but anyone else?

Anyway :-

The Scottish Field Hospital

A new commander in Iraq hears that a Scottish regiment has a specialized field hospital that's doing fantastic things with the troops. He wants to know what is so special about the place, so he arranges a tour.

When he gets to the ward, it's full of patients with no obvious sign of injury or illness. He's perplexed, so goes up to the first bed and greets the soldier there.

The patient replies:

"Fair fa your honest sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin race,
Aboon them a ye take yer place,
Painch, tripe or thairm,
As langs my airm."

The general is confused, so he just grins and moves on to the next patient.

That soldier responds:

"Some hae meat an canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat an we can eat,
So let the Lord be thankit."

Even more confused, and his grin now rictus-like, the commander moves on to the next patient, who immediately begins to chant:

"Wee sleekit, cowerin, timorous beasty,
O the panic in thy breasty,
Thou needna start awa sae hastie,
Wi bickering brattle."

Now seriously troubled, the general turns to the accompanying doctor and asks, "Is this a psychiatric ward?"

"No, not at all," replies the doctor. "This is the Serious Burns unit."

Kaimoana Tales, Gary

(I know! Be patient).

Mid-afternoon, the Tranz Coastal passenger train arrived and stopped at the sea-side station in Kaimoana. That was nothing unusual, it happened every day. Some people got on and some got off. That happened every day too.

What was unusual was that one of the alighting passengers was a teenage boy, a stranger in the town, and he had no luggage, nothing at all, not even anything in his hands. He got off the train on impulse, he hadn’t intended to – just looked up, saw the sign and decided to get off.

He walked off the station platform and slowly strolled away, into the town. He walked up Station road, at the back of the beach, under the railway viaduct and around, back down and under it again and into the main street of the town.

He strolled along the short length of the business area, partway along the esplanade, and then turned and went back to a café in the main street.

In there, he selected a sausage roll and a couple of sandwiches, then took them to the counter and asked for an expresso coffee, no milk, no sugar. The lady raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, but she said nothing, just served his coffee and rang up the sale. He paid with plastic.

The tables outside were full, so he sat at a booth inside and quietly ate the food and drank the drink. There were advertising brochures on the wall-rack by the table. He took a couple out and inspected them, and then returned them to the rack.

School had finished for the day, obviously. Small groups of uniformed teenagers were walking past outside. Two boys came into the café and went through to the back. He glanced at them as they passed. One of them smiled at him. He nodded and looked away. They were just kids, about his age – 16 years.

Finished eating, he downed the coffee and took the tray back to the counter.

“Thanks, Love.” The lady was preparing more drinks. “Just drop it there and I’ll get it.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Where do I find the Blue Pacific Hotel?”

“Turn right, outside, go up the street and a couple of blocks along the Esplanade. It’s back up the side street, third block down, I think. You can’t miss it, it’s painted blue.”

“’Kay, thanks.”

He went outside, followed directions and easily found the hotel. It was a long, sprawling building. Only the older, central part of it was two-storied. It was painted in several shades of blue and was set back, at the foot of the hill, one block back from the Esplanade. The front windows looked down the street to the blue Pacific Ocean, behind him.

He went in to check into a single room. The guy in there looked at him suspiciously, probably because he was a kid, on his own and with no luggage. But they did have a room.

He checked-in, for a week, with a fully-serviced single room with breakfast and dinner provided. The guy asked for payment in advance. He didn’t turn a hair at the asking price, just paid with plastic.

He signed the register, using his real name. all the other details he gave were made-up. Who was going to check? He did give his real age though, who was going to believe he was 18, he barely looked 16.

He took the key and went up to have a look at his room. He hadn’t asked for a room with a view, but he got one anyway – upstairs, at the front of the building and looking down the street to the sea. He’d asked, and paid for, a single room, but apparently he’d been upgraded because this was a queen-sized bed. That was okay. He wasn’t planning on sleeping with anyone, but the extra room meant that he could stretch-out. Choice.

The TV had multiple channels – the 4 free-to-air plus Maori TV and a selection of Sky channels. He was getting a bit old for the Cartoon Network, but there were still some shows he enjoyed. There’d be no need to buy a book then.

There was still some shopping to be done, so he locked-up the room and went back to the main street to find a clothes store. He needed new clothes for the week and a decent padded jacket would be good. The nights were getting a bit chilly.

This time, he was not going to be fobbed-off with kid’s clothes. He might be small, but he was not a kid and he knew what he wanted. He wanted plain, ordinary clothes that would not stand-out in a crowd.

Back in the street, there were still a few kids around, but none in school clothes now. The unwritten law must apply here as well – uniforms were to be discarded as soon as possible after school was over for the day.

He was pleased that those days were behind him now. One day, he might go back and finish school, or he might go to university. Maybe. He didn’t have to work if he didn’t want to. Money was never going to be a problem, thanks to Ron, he had more than he knew what to do with.

Poor old Ron. He won the lottery and lost the lottery of life. He died of cancer before he got to enjoy it. Actually, he didn’t really die from cancer, he never waited around for that to happen. When he found out that he had it and that it was too late to do anything about it, he tidied-up his affairs, sold his house, paid for his funeral, transferred everything to Gary, and then he hung himself.

The note that he left said that he knew that it was the coward’s way out, but he couldn’t face the long months of pain and suffering ahead of him when he was going to die anyway.

He was lucky that he was dead. Gary would bloody kill him if he wasn’t! He missed Ron. It was, kind of, nice to be wealthy, but he’d rather have his old mate.

There were only a couple of clothes shops to choose from, so that wasn’t hard. He went into the first one he came to. He wasn’t fussy, clothes were just clothes, but it still took a while. It was almost 5 o’clock by the time he’d finished.

He went back to the hotel and watched TV while he was waiting for dinner.

After eating, alone in the dining room, he went for a walk down to the beach. From the look of all the seaweed, shells and bits and pieces washed-up on the high-water line, it was true what the books said, sea-life was prolific around here.

He thought he saw a seal out in the bay, but wasn’t sure. Tomorrow he’d go and check-out the seal colony around on the headland. Seals were cool.

He watched TV until far too late. The porn channel was conspicuous by its absence. He stripped naked, showered and got into bed, naked as usual, alone as was usual now. He was never going to get used to that.

When he opened the drapes in the morning, it was wet and windy and probably cold out there. The seals would have to wait a day. He put some fresh new clothes on and went down for breakfast in the dining-room.

The cooked breakfast was great, but it was far more than he was used to eating in the mornings. He doubted if he’d want any lunch.

Afterwards, he went back to his room to watch TV. There was nothing else to do on a wet day. If it got too boring, he’d brave the rain and go out and buy a lap-top and some games. Maybe.

There was a break in the weather. The sky hadn’t cleared, but at least it’d stopped raining, so he decided to go and have a look around the town while he could. He didn’t get far though, he’d just reached the beach when it started raining again, heavily.

He ran back to the hotel. At least the wind was behind him, but he was cold and wet to the skin by the time he got there. That was not his brightest idea.

He went back up to his room and the door was wide-open. What was that about? He was sure that he’d locked it when he left a few minutes ago. He closed the door, quietly, peeled off his wet clothes and went into the bath-room for a nice hot shower – his second one for the day, but it’d help to warm him up.

He didn’t see the little round lady in there until it was too late. Well, she was down on her hands and knees and backing out the door. He tripped over her and fell face-forward along her back. She collapsed with the sudden impact, and lay spread-eagled on the tiled floor of the bathroom with a naked teenager on her back.

“Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!” he scrambled frantically back off her and sat trying to cover himself with his wet t-shirt, which seemed inadequate for the job.

“Sorry! Are you all right? I didn’t see you there.” He was so embarrassed!

She sat up, pulled her ear-phones out and looked at hm. “My fault, Lovey. I didn’t see you coming. I’m all right, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. It was a soft landing. Oh, damm! I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why not? It’s true. I’m just pleased that you’re okay, it was my fault as much as yours. I haven’t got eyes in my backside.”

They sat on the floor, looking at each other. His face was burning hot, deepest red and getting redder. A big smile spread across her round face.

“I must say, it’s been a long time since I’ve had naked boys throwing themselves at me! You’re a very good-looking one too.”

“I, umm, I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.”

“Of course it was. A bit of a thrill for an old lady though.”

“You, ah, you’re not that old.”

“Oh, aren’t you lovely! Still too old for you, Lovey. Worse luck!”

“What?”

She sat grinning at him. Her bosom started heaving and she burst out laughing. He was mortified, but it was, kind of, funny now. He had to laugh back. They fed off each other and both laughed until they cried.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.” She got up on her knees, pulled a towel down from the rack and wiped her eyes with it. She handed it to him.

“Here, Lovey, this will cover you better than that wet rag will.”

“Thanks.” He took the towel and spread it over his nether regions. “But it’s not a rag. This is my brand-new shirt, I’ve only worn it for an hour.”

“It must’ve shrunk in the rain then.”

“Would it really? Damm.”

“No, not really. Rain doesn’t shrink anything. If it did, I’d be standing out there now.”

She stood up and offered him a hand. He got to his feet without taking it. The t-shirt dropped on to the floor. Both of his hands were busy, wrapping the towel around his waist and tucking it in to secure it.

“Glad we didn’t knock that bucket over or we would’ve been swimming. So, Handsome Naked Boy, you must be the guest, Stafford, G. I’m your friendly cleaner, Patsy Tanner.”

“I see. You’re the cleaner. That’s why you’re in here.”

“Course it is. I’m being paid to clean and you’re the one who’s paying. It’s a fully-serviced room.”

“So that’s what fully-serviced means. You don’t have to clean up after me, Ms. Tanner. I’m here for a week, I can take care of it myself.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s my job and you’ve already paid for it. And, it’s Mrs.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s Mrs. Tanner, Not Ms. I’m a Mrs., and I’m proud of it. On second thoughts, I think you’d better call me Patsy. It’s a bit late to be formal when we’ve been rolling around on the floor together.”

“I guess. Hey, Patsy. Nice to meet you. I’m Gary – Gary Stafford.”

“Nice to see you, Gary,” she smiled. “Very nice. Where are you from?”

“Oh, up North,” he replied.

“A man of mystery, eh? Don’t worry about me, I’m far too nosy. My kids tell me that all the time.”

Gary stood smiling easily. He liked this lady. She was comfortable and easy to be around.

“Now you’d better get into the shower, alone this time. Throw whatever clothes you want washed into the basket there and I’ll take care of them.”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course. All part of the service, M’Lord.”

“Thanks.”

“No problems, Lovey. Are you getting in the shower now?”

“No, ah, I’ll just wait until you’ve done.”

“Okay. I’ll be out here in a minute. Sit yourself down over there and try to look decent. You don’t make much mess, do you?”

“I haven’t been here for a whole day yet, give me time,” Gary grinned.

“You wouldn’t believe how much mess some people can make in a day. Proper pigs some of them are. You’re not like that. I should take you home and you could show my boys how it’s done. They’re shockers.”

“Really?”

“No, not really. They’re not that bad, I just like complaining. Where’s your mum?”

“I haven’t got one.”

“You haven’t? That’s sad, every boy needs a mum.”

“I get by.”

“You shouldn’t have to. Where’s your dad then?”

“I haven’t got one of those either.”

“No parents at all? Who looks after you?”

“Nobody. I look after myself.”

“Oh, Sweetheart. That’s just not right. A young boy like you should be with his family, you only get to be a kid once.”

“I hope you’re right. The sooner I’m finished being a kid, the better.”

“What happened with your parents, Lovey?”

“Nothing happened. They just decided that they don’t want to be my parents any more and they threw me out.”

“They what? That’s awful. How could any parents do that?”

“Mine could. They didn’t like me.”

That’s not natural. Parents should love their kids no matter what.”

“Maybe they should, but they don’t always, especially when the kids are gay.”

“Oh, you’re gay? That’s not something I’ve ever had to face with my kids. They’ve got their problems, but that’s not one of them. Your parents are bastards, Gary Stafford. If a boy’s gay then he needs support not rejection. It’s not like anyone would chose to be gay.”

“Thanks, Patsy. You’re all right. Pity my parents weren’t more like you.”

“Oh yes! Those brats of mine don’t know how lucky they are. But, how do you get on for money? You’re not on the game, are you? Not that it’s any of my business, but that’s a dangerous world.”

“No, I’ve never had to sell my body. I wouldn’t do that. I had an old friend, Ron. He took me in and looked after me.”

“Good for him. Where is he now?”

“He died. He had cancer.”

“Shit! Sorry, but that’s awful. So now you’re on your own again?”

“Yes, I am, but I’m okay. Ron’s still looking after me. He left me all the money he had, and he had a lot.”

“A lot of money?”

“Yes. More than enough for me.”

“It must be a lot if you’re staying hotels and buying new clothes. Tell me to mind my own business now.”

“No, I wouldn’t do that. You’re not just being nosy and it’s good to talk to someone.”

“Sure it is. It’s not right for a young boy to be all alone, no matter how much money he’s got. Your family were a dead loss. You’ll just have to get yourself another one. I’d better move on, Lovey. I’m not getting paid to talk to you. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that’d be good. Thanks, Patsy.”

“Bye, Gary. Stay out of trouble.”

“I will. ‘Bye.”

Kaimoana Tales, Lachlan 3

Matt Thompson was the boy of his dreams, the ‘object of his affections’. He was the one, the only one that Lachlan wanted to be with – to touch him, to hold him and to have sex with. Bugger it! He was the reason he got up in the morning and he was why he was putting himself through all of this torture and trying to re-make his body so that it would please him.

It was never going to happen. Matt Thompson was straight, he was never going to want him and he was never going to bugger him. Never! Lachlan had no reason to live.

He dropped his head, curled forward and cried. He sat in the middle of the busy school-yard and he cried his eyes out. If they looked at him, who cared? He didn’t. He didn’t care about anything; all he knew was this pain that was tearing him in two. What was he going to do?

“What are you going to do about it?”

What?? Shocked back to reality, he lifted his head and looked into dark brown eyes. His teary eyes focused – brown eyes, a brown face, black hair – long, black and unruly. It was Missy!

Oh wow. Missy was kneeling in front of him and looking into his eyes. There was a real look of concern on her face, but it was her – Missy!

This was not like her. Normally Missy was feisty, fiery and scary, but it was still her and she terrified him. She was the scariest girl that he’d ever seen. He drew back and hugged himself.

“Well?” she said quietly. “What are you going to do?”

“I, umm, what do you mean, what am I going to do?”

“Oh, come on. You’ve got a crush on the kid and he’s with a girl. You and him are not going to happen. What now?”

“I don’t know!” he wailed. “I don’t know and I don’t care. Nothing matters. My life is over. I’m going to eat until I swell up like a balloon and burst. Ah, Fuck it anyway!”

He got up and walked away. He left the school-grounds and kept on going, heading towards home. Missy sat back and watched him go. “Hmm,” she said. She went into the school.

After lunch, Virgil was with Mac, waiting to go in to their first class of the afternoon. Missy came up and stood in front of them. She looked at Mac and flicked her head. “Go away.”

“What do you mean, go away?” Mac protested.

“You heard me, Fool! Go away. I want to talk to this one.” Missy flared and Mac backed off.

“Okay, okay, I’m going. Laters, Virgil.” He walked away.

“Right then,” she turned to Virgil. “Lachlan McLaughlin. You know him?”

“Kind of, yeah. Chunky kid with glasses and a bald head. I know who he is, but I wouldn’t say that I know him.”

“Time you did. The boy needs a friend. He hasn’t got one. Go and talk to him.”

“Talk to him? Why me?”

“Why not? I can’t. He’s not one of mine, he’s one of yours and he needs help. Go and do it.”

“I still don’t see why I should get involved. He’s no friend of mine, why would he listen to me? I’ve got nothing to give him anyway.”

“Of course you have. Look, Virgil Cain, I don’t know much but I do know people. I watch and I see – a lot. You’ve got it all together. You’ve got a great boyfriend and you’re one of the happiest people around.”

“I think you’re right, but it’s nothing I did. I just got lucky, that’s all.”

“Well go and make someone else lucky. The kid will listen to you. He looks up to you. Go and see him before he does something stupid.”

“Something stupid? O, shit! You don’t think he’s going to hurt himself, do you?”

“He might if someone doesn’t stop him.”

“And that someone would be me?”

“Yes.”

“All right, I will then. I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try. Where is he now?”

“He’s gone home. 75 Marine Parade, South Bay.”

“South Bay? Damm, that’s a long way.”

“So? You walk out there all the time.”

“Yeah, I do. Don’t miss much, do you? You know, you’re okay, Missy.”

“Shut up, Fool!” she snapped, but she grinned as she walked away.

Okay, so he’d opened his big mouth and got himself involved in something. (‘Thanks, Missy’) What now. “Go and talk to him,” she’d said. But about what? Well, Denise had helped him when he’d needed it, he’d have to try.

He’d think of something when he got there. Cut school for the afternoon? He guessed that he’d have to. It might be too late if he waited until after school. His mother was standing, talking to Mr. Arram, outside the Manual Training block, so he went over to talk to her first.

“Hey, Mum.”

“Hey, Son. Something wrong?”

“I’m not sure, but there might be. I’m taking the afternoon off, okay?”

“You what? This had better be important!”

“It is, I think. There’s a kid in trouble and I’ve gotta go and see him.”

“Trouble? What kid and why you?”

“It’s Lachlan McLaughlin and Missy said that I have to talk to him.”

“Missy said? You’d better go and do it then.”

“Yeah, I will. Thanks, Mum. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Well,” she smiled coyly at her companion. “You might. Later, Virgil.”

“Laters, Mum.” He walked away shaking his head. His mother could be such a flirt! What about Barry anyway? She needed to find one guy to settle down with, like he did.

There was one bonus anyway. While he was out at South Bay, he could go and see Joel. He quite liked Joel.

He left the school and started up the hill, made a quick detour home to change his clothes, and then carried on, to South Bay. What was he going to say to this kid? He didn’t have a clue.

Marine Parade was the main road into South Bay, so he had no trouble finding Lachlan’s house. It was just an ordinary house; not new but not old either. He went around to the back and knocked on the door. An older lady answered.

“Yes?”

“Hi. Is Lachlan here please?”

“Lachlan? No, he’s not. He’s across the road there, sitting on the beach. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. Do you?”

“No, I don’t, but I want to find out. That’s why I’m here.”

“It is? Good. Be nice to him, he needs a friend.’

“I will. I think he’s got more friends than he knows.”

“I hope you’re right. Straight across the road there.’

“Okay, thanks.”

“Thank you!”

He went across the road and saw the hunched-down boy sitting by the water. Damm, this was a hard beach to walk on. In town, the beaches were all stones and a bit of sand, here it was all pebbles – small, round pebbles which made it hard to walk on.

He crunched his way across and sat down beside the boy there. Chunky? This kid was fat. But, there was something different about him.

“Hey, Lachlan.”

Teary eyes looked up at him. “Virgil?”

“That’s me. What are you doing here?”

“I live here. What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to you.”

“To me?”

“Yes, you. Missy said that I should.”

“And you do what Missy tells you too?”

“Wouldn’t you?”

“Well, yeah!”

“Wise move. She’s a scary girl.”

“She is.”

“She’s worried about you. What’s wrong, Lachlan?”

“Wrong? What would you care?”

“I care. Missy said that you’re one of my people. I’m gay, are you?”

“You’re gay? Of course you are. It’s all right for you, you’ve got everything.”

“I have. I’m very lucky and I know it. So, how can we make it better for you?”

“You can’t. I wish you could.”

“So do I. what’s the problem? You, ah, you’ve lost weight, haven’t you?”

“I’m trying to, starting to. You’re the first one who’s noticed. That’s part of my problem.”

“Which is?”

“I was trying to clean my act up, lose weight and get fit. I’ve even ordered contacts.”

“For your eyes?”

“I’m not going to sit on them. I’ve been killing myself for nothing. I’m not going to bother anymore.”

“Because?”

“Because there’s no point. There’s a boy I was keen on. I really, really wanted him and it’s not going to happen because he’s straight. He’s got a girlfriend.”

“Oh, I see. It’s not the end of the world you know.”

“It is for me.”

“No, it’s not. He might be still finding out who he is. My mate had a couple of girls before he knew that he belongs with me. I’ve always known that I’m gay, but I was with a couple of other boys before I finished up back with my first one ever. He’ll be the last one too. Maybe your boy will come back to you.”

“He never was my boy. It was just a dream in my stupid head.”

“It’s good to have a dream. You’re not stupid.”

“I bloody am!”

“You bloody are not! People who are stupid don’t think that they are. They usually think that they’re very clever.”

“I must be clever then, in a stupid sort of way.”

“Shut up!” Virgil grinned. He was starting to like this kid.

“Lachlan, it’s not the end of the world. Nobody is 100% straight or gay, except me. Your boy might have another look at you, or you might find someone else. There’s someone for everyone, I believe that. The lucky ones find them.”

“That counts me out then, with my luck.”

“It doesn’t at all. I’ll tell you something about luck too – the harder you work, the better your luck is.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. It’s a good thing you’re doing, with the diet and stuff, and it’s starting to work. Don’t give up now, it’ll get easier and you’ll be glad that you did.”

“You think? But it’s such hard work and I’ve got no reason to do it now.”

“Sure you have. Do it for yourself, that’s the best reason of all.”

“But. . Well, yeah, I suppose. I’ll give it a go.”

“Good for you. Great! You’re not ugly you know. Clean-up what’s wrong and you’ll be a good-looking kid.”

“I’m fat.”

“You can fix that, you’ve already started.”

“My ears are too big and they stick out!”

“Grow some bloody hair then!”

“Yeah.” Lachlan grinned and ran a hand over the blond stubble on his head. “I’ve been working on that too. It takes time.”

“Good things take time. You need to clean up your skin too. There’s lots of stuff you can get to treat it. The chemists are full of it.”

“I’d be embarrassed to buy something like that.”

“Embarrassed, why? Fuck ‘em. I’ll come with you, if you like.”

“Would you really do that? Thanks, Virgil. That’d be great. Your being there would make it a lot easier.”

“Let’s do it then. We’ll do it now.”

“Now?”

“Yeah. Why not? We’ve got all day. Come on, we can talk while we walk.”

“But, well, okay, why not? Thanks. You’re a good guy.”

“No I’m not. I’m a little shit – ask my mum.”

“She doesn’t know you then.”

“Oh, she knows me, all too well, but she loves me anyway. She has to, that’s her job.”

“Yeah? I thought her job was being a teacher.”

“That’s just a part-time job. Loving me takes much more than that.”

“You’re wrong. Loving you wouldn’t take much work at all.”

“Whoah! Hold it right there. I’ll be your friend, I’ll be happy to be your friend, but that’s as far as it goes. I’ve got a boyfriend, I love him very much and he loves me too. I’m not ever going to stuff that up. I’ll be with you, I’ll support you every way I can, but friends is all we’ll ever be.”

“Thanks, Virgil. I need a friend.”

“You’ve got one. Come on, let’s walk back to town. We’ll go to the chemists and then we’ll walk back here and I’ll go and see Joel.”

“Joel?”

“Yeah, best boy in the world, don’t you know?”

“He’s a lucky kid.”

“Sure he is, but not as lucky as me. Come on then – walking.”

Kaimoana Tales, Lachlan 2

Lachlan had his breakfast – 2 slices of dry toast with nothing but marmite on them, and a glass of orange juice. He started walking in to school. His gran was right, it was a long way, they lived in South Bay and the school was away over at the other side of the hill. It was a big hill and a bloody long way when you’re walking.

It was hard work. By the time he was half-way up the hill he was about ready to give up. His gran would come and get him if he called her on his cell. His mother wouldn’t; she’d just laugh at him, but Gran would come. But, no. He was going to do this today and everyday from now on, even when it was raining! Once he got to the top of the hill it would be easier going down the other side. (‘Be hard work going home though.’)

Still, what doesn’t kill you has got to be good for you. One day he would run up this hill – but, not today.

He arrived at school, at last. It was easier going down the hill, but it was still a very long way! He was knackered and the day hadn’t even started yet. However, he was quite pleased with himself, he’d done it and he felt like he’d achieved something.

No-one took any notice of him, they never did. He wasn’t one of the cool kids, he was just the fat-boy. Some fatties are jolly with it. Lachlan wasn’t, he couldn’t be bothered. Stuff ‘em anyway. There was more to a person than what he looked like.

While he was sitting, catching his breath and watching the people walking past, Mark Wilson came along. Wow. He had a full-blown moustache going there. Where did that come from?

He looked like he was pretty proud of it too; stroking it with a forefinger and calling attention to it. Skiting Prick. Well, he wouldn’t be for long. Facial hair was not allowed on the boys. It was in the Uniform Code and someone would make him shave it off. Teachers hated facial hair, but the kids were proud of it, those that could grow it.

That was another problem of Lachlan’s; not a big one, but a problem just the same. He wasn’t growing hair on his face, none at all. He had no body-hair either, the only hair he had was on his head and there wasn’t much of that.

It was about time that he was sprouting hair, here and there. He was 15 already and he was still as bald as a baby. Dammit. He was glad that NZ schools didn’t have shared showers like the ones you read about in the states and the UK.

Funny that. The gayboy didn’t want to get naked with a bunch of teens. He wouldn’t mind checking out what the others had, but he didn’t want them looking at his fat gut and bald dick.

There was nothing wrong with his dick and stuff, Big Jim and the Twins he called them, as far as he could tell from the net, they were pretty normal for his age. They worked fine too, they got a lot of practice. His dick was the favourite part of his body, it was choice – just bald.

And, he’d better start thinking about something else before he embarrassed himself. Kids do sometimes and everybody notices. Not a good way to get noticed.

He got up and went inside to work his way through the locker-room chaos. The one good thing about that was his locker-neighbour; he was Matt Thompson. Matt was in there, doing his thing, and he looked up and smiled as Lachlan approached.

“Hey, Lachlan. How’re you on this bright, sunny morning?”

“Hey, Matt. I’m okay, thanks. You’re looking happy today.”

“Well, yeah, I am! I had a great weekend. How was yours?”

Lachlan shrugged and sighed, “It was okay, I guess. Same old, same old.”

“We went to the beach-party, at Taylor’s Beach, on Friday night. It was grouse! I had a great time. You should come sometime.”

Lachlan’s heart did a flip. Was the boy of his dreams asking him out? Surely not. That only happened in his dreams. Matt was just being nice; he was nice to everyone. Anyway, who was this ‘we’ that he went to the party with?

“Yeah, well. Maybe I will sometime. I might surprise you.”

“That would be a surprise. Don’t think about it, just do it. Get out and live a bit, you’re only young once. Well,” he slapped his locker door shut, “Gotta go. Things to see, people to do. Catch you later, Lachlan.”

“Bye, Matt,” Lachlan sighed and opened his locker. That was the best part of his day, over already. He liked that boy so much. He was so going to bugger him!

It was funny, as the day went on, he wasn’t even feeling hungry and he felt good, kind of.

He had a good score during English in the second period. They had to go to the school library for some books and the book he’d been waiting for had arrived! Choice. It was nothing to do with school-work, it was just a sci-fi novel, the 5th part of a ‘trilogy’ that he’d been reading.

That made his day. It was nearly as good as getting a smile from Matt Thompson. Somehow, he controlled himself and he didn’t start reading until lunchtime, except for studying the covers of course.

As soon as they broke for lunch, he took his apple, his water and his book and found a quiet corner where he could start reading. He’d only just begun when a group of maori girls stopped near him, jabbering away in their language which he didn’t know a word of. He looked up and frowned at them, wishing they’d go away.

The leader of the group, Missy Waipori saw him looking. She tossed her mane of long, unruly, black hair and scowled her usual greeting. “What are you looking at? Fool!”

“Nothing, Missy. I was just reading here.”

“Do it then and stop looking at me. Egg!”

She moved away, her entourage following.

Lachlan sighed. She was fierce, that one. Nobody messed with Missy. An egg, was he? Yeah, he did look a bit like Humpty Dumpty. He’d better not sit on any walls. He had a mouthful of water and returned to his book.

He walked home after school, with his nose in the book again. It was great stuff. He loved science fiction and he adored Isaac Asimov. His books might be ancient, but they were the greatest. They stretched the mind and Asimov was the greatest writer ever.

It was a long, long climb up the hill, but it was even and gradual and he didn’t even notice it much. He was over the crest and going down to South Bay before he even knew it.

His gran was true to her word and she dished-up grilled fish and boiled rice for dinner, but she gave him too much of it. He shoveled half back into the pots. No! He didn’t want butter on his fish. Butter was 99% fat, didn’t she know?

Days crawled past, one after the other, as they do. Lachlan stubbornly stuck to his new regime. He exercised, drank heaps of water and ate ‘hardly enough to keep a bird alive’, according to his gran.

He even started running, out of town and after dark. He didn’t want anyone seeing and laughing at him. It was slow and painful, but he was making progress and he forced himself to go a bit further every night.

His father came home from work one day and threw an expensive pair of running-shoes at him. All he said was, “Wear them.”

“These are for me? Choice! Thanks, Dad.”

“Of course they’re for you. They wouldn’t fit the dog. If you’re going running on the highway, you need proper shoes. I’m not paying to fix your feet after you’ve wrecked them.”

“I will. Thanks, Dad. They’re really Ace.”

He tried them on, and then went out running. It wasn’t quite dark yet, but – whatever. It was great how his family were being so supportive of him.

Friday morning, it rained. Lachlan got out of bed and looked out at a miserable wet day. He thought seriously about asking for a ride to school, but, no, he didn’t. He walked and got wet. It didn’t kill him.

He thought of asking Matt if he was going to the party at Taylor’s Beach, but, no – bugger that in the rain. It’d be different if either of them had a car, but they didn’t, so he didn’t.

By the second week, he was making progress and he was starting to lose weight. No-one else noticed, but he did. He measured his gut and weighed himself at least twice a day. It was never going to happen overnight, but, like the ads said, it was happening.

He was pretty sure that his hair was growing too. He could definitely see a dark-blond fuzz on his head, in the mirror, and he could feel it. He’d have to get himself a comb or something soon. That’d be a first.

His gran took him to the optometrists’ clinic at the hospital, to get his eyes tested and ordered the contact lenses. They weren’t cheap, but she didn’t care. She wanted to do this for him.

It would be a couple of weeks before they arrived. That was one of the draw-backs of living in a small town. Whatever.

The next day was Friday again, already. He walked to school in the sunshine, and he was feeling good. He thought that he might go to the party that night. He’d have to ask Matt and make sure that he was going first. Matt was the only reason that he’d want to be there.

The last few blocks along the way, he was walking behind a small group of school-bound teens. The new kid, Virgil Cain, was one of them. Matt Thompson was his dream-boy, but he was not the only kid around who Lachlan secretly admired, from a distance.

Virgil Cain was one of them. He was a very cool kid, nice to look at and kind-of stylish, sort-of. He came across as very self-confident and capable and he always looked happy. His mum was a teacher in the school; she was a cool lady.

Virgil always had kids around him but he didn’t seem to have any ‘special’ friends. Rumours, (which, of course, are always totally reliable), said that Virgil was gay and that he had a boyfriend – that hunky blond who worked in the marine engineering place in South Bay. He was a lucky kid if that was true. They both were.

Lost in salacious thoughts, and with his eyes firmly fixed on Virgil Cain, he walked into the school-grounds and almost bumped into Missy Waihopi! Whoa. He backed off in a hurry. That would not be an intelligent thing to do.

“Sorry, Missy. Sorry, I didn’t see you,” he stammered.

She greeted him in the usual way, but she didn’t snap it out like she normally did. She said it quietly and thoughtfully.

“What are you looking at? Fool.”

She walked away, as always.

Whoah! Lachlan felt like he was almost busted. Of all the people there, he didn’t want Missy figuring out what he was thinking. He didn’t want anyone knowing, but especially not Missy. She was scary.

He indulged in one last, longing, look at Virgil, and then hurried inside to find Matt. He knew when someone was totally out of his class. Matt was too really, but he was a friend, kind of.

Matt was in there with his head inside his locker. He really needed to clean it out, it was a bigger mess than Lachlan’s one was.

“Hey, Matt. Lost something, have you?”

“Something? Try everything. This shove it in and slam the door system is not working very well. He, Lachlan. How’re you? Still walking to school are you?”

(He didn’t know that he’d noticed!)

“Yeah, I am. It’s not that far and its gotta be good for you.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Matt, are you, umm, are you going to the party tonight?”

Matt pulled his head out and looked at him. “Yeah, I’m going. Don’t tell me you’re coming too?”

“I thought I might.”

“That’s good – really good.” Matt beamed a smile. “About time you did. We’ll see you there then.”

“Yeah, you will. Thanks, Matt.”

“Thanks?”

“Yes, thanks. I wouldn’t go if you hadn’t said to.”

“Of course you should go, it’s fun! See you there tonight. And, there’s the elusive maths-book. Okay, I’m gone. Laters.”

Lachlan was walking on air for the rest of the morning. He had a date, and it was with Matt Thompson! It was a date, wasn’t it? Yeah, sure it was. He felt good.

The further up you go, the further you fall. His world came crashing down at lunchtime. He was sitting in the quadrangle, reading his novel one last time before he had to return it and a grinning Matt Thompson walked past.

He had his arm around a girl and was whispering in her ear. She was giggling and had an arm around him. It was a walking cuddle and it was disgusting!