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!