Love For Sale

“You ready?” Cole asked me.

“Not really.” I replied, my voice, like my hands, were shaking. I felt my hands getting sweaty, and I wiped them on my shirt. That didn’t help though, my palms were getting sweaty again, and I took a big gulp. “I don’t think I am ready to do this again.” I told him.

“Kyle, you can do this. You are going to do fine, everyone gets nervous.”

“I know. But it feels weird going back.” I told him, turning my head towards the door, and seeing my new high school outside the window. The front of the school was packed with students talking to their friends, others were waiting for their friends to come, and others were just standing doing nothing. I could tell that this was going to be a tough school to be at. Not because of the academic part, but because of the people. Cole had told me that this was a good school, but there were all these different clicks, so fitting in would be tough for me to do. “Well, come on then.” Cole sighed, getting out of the car.

I followed after him, and kept in step with him as we both headed up to the administration office. As I walked up the small sidewalk, I looked at the students around me, and I felt uncomfortable. They looked at me like I was some kind of alien and I could hear some of the whispers some people here saying about me. I pulled back from Cole a little, so that I wasn’t walking on his heels, but that proved to be a bad idea. I had distanced myself too much from Cole, and students were cutting across my path. Walking too far from Cole, I was distracted by the closest building to me, and I ended bumping into someone.

“What the!” the guy I bumped into said, but I cut him off with my apology. “You better look where you’re going, you fucker,” the guy hissed, pushing me back. I stumbled to keep my balance, and I ended up knocking into a pair of cheerleaders. I apologized to them too, but the guy turned me around before I could utter a word. “You just can’t get a break, can you?” He pushed me again, and three of his friends surrounded us. I gulped as I saw all four guys in front of me wearing lettermen jackets, so I could only guess that they were on the football team. The leader of the pack pushed me again, but this time it was to his friend on his right. He caught me, and all four of them started to play hot potato with me. The crowd of students around us gathered in a circle to see what was going on, and they started to chant “Fight!” as I was being passed around, like some kind of rag doll, and the small football players would take hits at me. Some would throw a punch at my face, while others hit my stomach. I tried to yell for Cole, but every time I tried, I would get tossed around and hit.

“COLE!” I finally screamed out, and the football players stopped. I thought I was in the arms of the leader; however, I was in much safer arms. Looking up at whom had me, I smiled and pressed myself up against Cole. Cole tightened his grip around me, and I hissed in pain. He had his hands clenched around my shoulders but I knew he didn’t mean to do it. He was just being protective, and was angry at the boys. Looking from Cole, I saw that he wasn’t alone, and that two school officials were beside him. One I could tell was the principal of the school, the other was the school’s police officer. I relaxed when I saw the three, and I moved out of Cole’s grasp and stood behind him.

“That will be quite enough,” the principal said to the mob of students. “Get to class, or else I will have all of you put into detention.” At the principal’s words, the group of students dispatched, and raced towards their first period classrooms. “Not you four,” the principal said, noticing the four football players trying to escape. “Andrew, Conner, Trace, and Toby, you all have detention for three weeks.”

“What? Sir, don’t you think that is a bit harsh?” the leader of the group, Andrew, protested.

“Just for that, Andrew, you all will have three weeks of Saturday school as well.”

“Fuck that!”

“Do you wish to add more to your punishment, or do you want me to drop everything and Officer Figgs here can take you down to the station?”

“Fine.” all four boys sighed and they took their detention slips from their principal one by one. “I am sorry for the trouble those boys caused.” The principal said to me, once the students were gone. “Our students aren’t usually like that, I assure you Mr. Varani.”

“Let’s hope not.” Cole said, unclenching his fingers from my shoulders. “Kyle, are you okay?” he asked, turning me around to get a good look.

“Yeah.” I told him, looking in the direction that the football players walked off to.

“That’s good.” Cole said looking around the school. I saw him lick his lips, and I knew that he was fighting back the temptation of kissing me. I smiled, and wished that I could kiss him too. “Well, come on, Mr. Goldman needs to speak with us before you head off to your first class.” I nodded, and followed Cole to the office, while the police officer and the principal wandered off to the front of the school.

Inside the office, there were four secretaries behind the desk, one for each of the administrators. The one that I and Cole went in was in the back, and we quickly sat down. The administrator smiled and welcomed us to Central High School. He had introduced himself as Mr. Goldman, and he opened up my file.

“I see that you are in the process of adopting Kyle, Mr. Varani.”

“Yes I am; Kyle and I have a court date to have the adoption legalized this Friday.”

“Well I hope so.” Mr. Goldman said, putting my file on his desk. “You see, your school is very prestigious, however, with how things are going so smoothly for you two, I will allow Kyle to be enrolled at Central for the fall term. But if the adoption falls through, then we have to pull Kyle out.” He smiled, and I felt my heart grow heavy. As Mr. Goldman signed the papers, I started to get second thoughts.

I was scared that I might be bullied by those football players again, and I was worried that things might get bad from here on out. What I was scared the most about, was that somebody would find out my secret of being a hooker. That was something that I didn’t want people to find out, and I pulled Cole to the side when we were out of the office.

“Cole, I don’t think I can do this.” I told him frantically.

“What are you talking about? You said you wanted to go back to school.”

“I know, and I still do. It’s just I am scared that somebody might find out who I was.”

Cole sighed, and grabbed me by the back of the neck, lightly. “Listen, I know you are scared, but everyone is scared on their first day of high school. I was scared, and that was twenty-five“

“You were scared?” I chuckled, thinking that Cole wouldn’t be scared of anything.

“Yes I was. But you know what? I turned that fear into excitement, and I met my wife from it.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, so don’t be afraid, and do your best. Here is five bucks for lunch,” he smiled as he held out a five spot for me, and I took it from him. “Have a good first day of school,” he smiled, and he kissed me goodbye on the forehead.

That made all my fear go away, and I turned and watch Cole get back into his car. Cole’s kiss lingered on my forehead for another five minutes after he left, and I felt like I was in heaven. Cole hadn’t kissed me when we were in public, so this was a new experience for me. When I turned back around, I saw Mr. Goldman behind me, and my fear returned. I was scared, he had seen Cole kiss me, and I wondered what he might have thought of the kiss.

“Cole must really care for you.” Mr. Goldman said to me, pulling his arms around his back.

“Why do you say that?” I asked, I was frantic, and I was thinking of something to say to him if he started to get suspicious of our relationship.

“Well, he came to your rescue today, or so I was told. And he cares for you because he is willing to take you off the streets and into his home.” He smiled and rested his hand on my shoulder. My heart raced faster, and I gulped hard.

“You know about me living on the streets?” I asked.

“Yep. I know everything that there is to know about you, it says so in your file. But don’t worry; what is in your file, stays in your file.” Mr. Goldman gave me a wink of comfort, and I started to relax a bit.

“Thank you.” I sighed.

Just as Mr. Goldman was going to show me to my first class of the school year, a bitty-eyed kid came running up the pathway. “This isn’t a good way to start the school year off, Mr. Waters.”

“I know, Mr. Goldman. I‘m so sorry.” the boy said quickly. He was just as flustered as I was, and he seemed to be having trouble with keeping his jeans up. They looked like they were a size too big for him, and his Taz shirt look like the same. His backpack was all a mess too, and it looked like he could drop his books any minute. He didn’t even look like he had time to brush his jet black hair.

“Just don’t make it a habit.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Who do you have first period?”

“History, with Mr. Phelps.” Mr. Waters replied, cleaning his nerdy glasses off.

“That’s great. I will excuse your lateness, if you will show Mr. Wolf here to his class. He has Mr. Phelps with you as well.”

“Okay.” the kid shrugged, and Mr. Goldman filled out an excused late slip for me and Waters. “I’m Cage,” the late kid said, walking to our first class together.

“Kyle.” I replied, smiling brightly.

“Cool.” We slapped hands, and I felt awkward already. “So, this is your first year here?”

“Yep, and I already got into my first fight.”

“Really, with who?”

“Four beefed up guys who look like they should be tested for steroids.” I told him, giving him a side glance.

“Ah, Andrew and his gang. If you want to survive high school…stay away from them.”

“Thanks for the tip.” I rolled my eyes, knowing that already when I was being a human rag doll.

When we arrived at the classroom, Cage and I handed our slips to Mr. Phelps, and we took the only available seats, which were in the back. I felt calm when I was in the sea of students in the room. I had blended in easily, and I felt comfortable. A few students had recognized me from this morning’s fight, and asked how I was feeling. I told them I was a little shook up, but in other words, I was fine. A few of the girls asked if I was alright too, but I could tell that they were trying to get to know me also. I tried to keep the conversation to a minimum with them, and I tried to read the history book Mr. Phelps gave us. When I asked one of the girls flirting with me, if we will be learning anything today, she laughed, and told me that today was just an introduction day. I was happy that there were no lectures today and just relaxed for the rest of the class period.

“What’s your next class?” Cage asked me after history class.

“Biology.” I groaned. I hated science.

“Sucks. Well, do you want me to show you where the class is?” Cage smiled at me, and I could tell from the look in his eyes, he wanted to be my friend, maybe a little more then friends.

“Sure.” I replied, and we headed off towards the other end of the school.

I had discovered by lunch time, that I had three other classes with Cage. I was happy that I had half of my classes with him, and I was glad to have someone to talk to during the time we waited for class to be over with. Cage even told me about the teachers I would be having. He had said, Mrs. Gold was a total bitch, and that Mr. Homes, was a great person who would give you extra credit if you needed it. The more that I hung out with Cage, the more I started to like him, and by the end of the school day, it seemed that we have been best friends since grade school. It was fun hanging out with Cage, and it seemed like both of us didn’t want to separate.

“Do you want to come over to my house?” Cage asked me after our math class was over.

“Um, I would love to, but I have to meet my dad after school.” I told him. It felt weird to call Cole dad, but I couldn’t just call him my lover or boyfriend. Even calling him uncle was weird.

“Oh, okay then, maybe tomorrow.” His smile shrunk and I could see how disappointed he was. It seemed like I was his only friend; from what I noticed today, he didn’t seem to have any friends.

“Maybe, I need to check with my dad.” I cringed at saying that word again; I wished I didn’t have to say it. “But do you want to come over to the university with me?” I asked him. Since I couldn’t come over to Cage’s house, then maybe he could come over and hang out while I waited for Cole’s day to the end.

“Really, is it okay with your father?”

“Yeah. I have nothing else to do with my time at his office, except to grade papers.”

“Thanks, Kyle. I will call my mom to let her know.” Cage called his mom while we walked to Cole’s office in the next town over. It was a twenty minute walk, and by the time we arrived, my feet were sore. I would bet that Cage’s were too. We stopped in the school’s mini mart to grab something to nibble on, and we headed over to the music department. “So who is your adoptive father?” Caged asked as we headed towards the teacher’s offices.

“He’s just a music teacher here at the university.” I told him, unlocking Cole’s office. He had posted his “in class” sign, so I unlocked it with the key Cole gave me, and waited for him inside. “He is really nice though, took me in when I was down on my luck.”

“Seems nice enough. Is this him?” he asked, seeing a picture of Cole and his family on his desk.

“Yeah. He doesn’t like anyone touching that picture though.” I told him, taking the family portrait from him. Cole had told me that that picture was the last one that they took together before their death. It meant a lot to him, and he would be devastated if anything happened to it.

“Sorry.” Cage cringed, and sat in the extra seat next to the desk. I took Cole’s desk chair, and we talked about our families. Cage had told me that both his father and older brother were in the army, but he didn’t have any plans of joining. His mom was proud of him for not joining. He told me he wanted to go to Ashland to be an actor.

“An actor?” I laughed, thinking he might be joking. He looked more like a wannabe rapper then an actor.

“Yeah. I love the theater. Why, you don’t think I can act?”

“Well, it’s just the way you look.”

“Oh, well. Will it help if I told you that I was wearing my older brother’s clothes, mine were in the washer when it broke?”

“Kind of.” I shrugged, understanding why he was in suck baggy clothes. “So you’ve been in any plays?”

“Yeah I have. Only bit parts though, but I am trying out for the lead part in the school’s winter production.”

“What is the school putting on?” I asked, curious about what play the school was going to do. I was even considering of going to go see it, if Cage would get a part.

“The school likes to do Shakespeare in the winter, and this year we are going to do Romeo and Juliet.”

I laughed harder, thinking about Cage prancing around in tights.

“What’s so funny?” Cole asked, walking into his office. I stifled my laugh as Cole walked in, and I moved to greet him. “Mmm…how was your first day at school?” he asked, hugging me.

“Fun. We didn’t learn anything though.”

“Kids don’t usually do,” he laughed. “And is this your new friend?” he asked, spotting Cage in the extra chair.

“Yeah,” I snapped awake. When Cole walked in, I went into my dream like daze, and I forgot that Cage was even in the room. “Cole, this is Cage Waters. Cage, this is my adoptive father, Cole Varani.”

“Cole Varani?” Cage cried, practically jumping out of the chair. “As in the famous pianist, Cole Varani?”

Cole gave me sideways look of awkwardness, and answered Cage’s question. “Yes I am. Why, are you a fan?”

“Kind of. I loved your last CD. My mom is a bigger fan than I am though.”

“Thank you; it is always a pleasure to meet a fan.”

“No thank you. Kyle, you didn’t tell me that Cole Varani adopted you. All that he said was his father was just a teacher at the university, not Cole Varani!”

“Well, I am just a university teacher now.” Cole replied. “I haven’t written anything for a long time.”

“I know, god I would just love to hear you play.” Cage begged.

“Well, you might just get your wish soon.” Cole said, “Thanks to Kyle here, he was inspiring me to write again.”

“REALLY?” Cage yelled, getting more excited as he heard the good news.

“Yep. I have only two pieces done, but I plan on doing more and will be putting out a new CD soon.”

“I can’t wait!”

Cole and I laughed at Cage’s excitement, and Cage stopped when he noticed how excitement he got over Cole’s new CD. After that, Cage kept his excitement in the best he could, and would keep quiet at much as possible. Cage did have a good time spending time with Cole and I though, and he was kind of jealous of how I helped Cole in his classes. It didn’t bother me though, and while Cole finished up his last classes for the day, I took Cage into an empty classroom and show him how to play the piano. I played Cage one of the pieces that Cole finished, and he drooled over the piece. He didn’t quite understand how the piano worked, but he managed to plunk out the first few notes. He sounded great for a first timer, and I told him to practice. He said he would, and he spent the rest of the time we had together practicing Cole’s work. Cole came to get us when he was finished for the day, and asked Cage if he needed a ride home. Cage was more than thrilled to get a lift from his favorite composer, and Cole dropped him off at home before we headed home ourselves.

“See you tomorrow.” Cage called, exiting out of Cole’s car. “Maybe you can help me with my lines tomorrow.”

“Sure I can. Just bring an extra script for me okay.”

“Sure thing,” he smiled at me, and shut the car door.

Cole and I sat in silence as we saw Cage run up his family’s driveway, and unlocked the front door. He gave Cole and I one last wave goodbye before he shut the door, and we waved goodbye back. “So,” Cole said, once Cage shut his front door, and we sped off. “Cage seems like a nice person.”

“He is.” I replied, looking out the passenger window.

“What lines does he want to go over with you?” he asked, curious about what Cage meant.

“Cage is trying out for the school play, so he wants me to help him run a few lines.”

“Oh. That’s good. Seems like you two can be best of friends.” His tone went flat, and I could feel the atmosphere in the car change. Cole seemed to be getting jealous about Cage’s and my friendship, and I saw where this was going.

“You don’t have to worry.” I told him, turning to face him, and reassuring him that he had nothing to fear.

“That’s what worries me. Cage is much younger then I am, and he is handsome.”

“Not as handsome as you are.” I smiled, leaning over the center divider and kissing him. Cole smiled back, and managed to kiss me back as he drove onto the highway. “Besides, Cage isn’t my type.”

“That’s good.” Cole sighed with relief, and he kissed me again.

I had thought the rest of the week was going to be just as difficult as the first day, but I was wrong. Cage had made it easy for me the first day, so finding my classes was easy for me, and things went smoothly. On Thursday, Cage had texted me and said the he would meet me in cafeteria the next day, and that he wanted to go over lines with him. Cole said that he didn’t mind about Cage, but I could tell from his actions he did. It was a good laugh to see Cole jealous over my new friend, but I couldn’t keep Cole hanging on a limb forever. If Cage did form a crush on me, then I need to let him down easy. And today I was going to find out.

Cole dropped me off early the next day, due to a department meeting with his fellow teachers, so he dropped me off in front of the school before his meeting. There was hardly anyone at the school when I arrived, just a few janitors and a handful of students who had a zero period. I walked around the school while I waited for Cage to arrive, and found myself down at the practice field for the football team. I wasn’t surprise when I saw our team practicing, and I watched from the hill that the school was on, and I watched from a distance. I feared that Andrew and his minions might be down there, so I kept a safe distance. However, I was unaware of what was in store for me.

As I watched the football practice going on, I heard people coming up from behind me. I thought that there were more students to come and watch the practice. Looking over my shoulder, I shuddered, and felt my whole body shutting down. Andrew and his gang were coming this way. They were talking to themselves as they walked this way, and I was happy that they didn’t see me yet. They weren’t in their football jerseys, so they were skipping practice, and I didn’t like that. I was happy that they hadn’t seen me yet, which gave me time to escape, but my feet were not responding to my brainwaves. I gulped, and tried to move. They were getting closer, and I knew any minute they were going to spot me. By the time my feet were working again, it was too late, and Andrew had spotted me.

“Shit!” my mind snapped, and I made a mad dash away from the football field.

“Get him!” I heard Andrew yell, and I picked up speed.

I was fast, but the football players were faster, and I tried to lose them in the building complexes. Making my way over to the science department, I darted between a narrow gap, to catch my breath. It was a short run, but I was now out of breath. I kept my heavy breathing to a minimum as best as possible, so that the players wouldn’t find me, but that was difficult for me. I stopped my breathing all together when I heard them coming, and my heart raced as I watched them stop right in front of the gap.

“Where the fuck is he?” I heard Andrew yell, looking around. “He couldn’t have gotten far. You two, search at the other end of the school, and me and Trace will continue to search over here.” All three of Andrew’s friends nodded, and two of the four boys went to the other side of the school.

“Let’s go Trace. That fucking whore can run, but he can’t hide.” Andrew grunted, and I watched as the two boys jog off.

“Fuck, how did they find out?” I thought. I squeezed out of the tight space I was in once the thugs were gone, and I pulled out my cell. Thinking quickly, I text Cole to tell him to come and get me.

“Andrew, there he is!” I heard Trace yell, and I turned to find him standing fifteen feet away. “Stop you Bitch!”

I didn’t have time to wait for Cole to text back, and I took off running again. I didn’t look back, but I could hear their footsteps, and I tried to out run them. Unfortunately, I was blocked from escaping the school, and they forced me into the boy’s locker room. I was a mouse in a mouse trap, and I knew I was done for. Thinking that the back door to the locker room was open, I ran for that, but only to discover it was locked.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Andrew yelled, grabbing me by my collar, and throwing me up against a set of lockers. “The fun has just begun.” He picked me up when I hit the floor, and tossed me up against the wall.

“You are not going to get away with this.” I spat, thinking that he would.

“Oh, really? And who is going to stop me, Mr. Carp?” He laughed and he threw me into his friends. They quickly grabbed a hold of me so I couldn’t escape, and Andrew started hitting me. “You see, there is no one to save you now. You are mine to play with, and I can’t picture a more perfect place to be,” he smiled as he punched me in the stomach, and I went down hard. “You see, after our little meet and greet yesterday, I thought you were just some punk who likes to get into trouble. But then I discovered you were special. I found out about your past and that you liked to fuck men. You little whore.”

“How did you find out?” I groaned.

“I read your file.” Andrew smirked. “And I got to say, it is very impressing…slut. So I was thinking last night of all the many ways I can make your life a fucking hell. And then it dawned on me: let’s start out with a big bang.” Andrew and his friends laughed, and I rolled my eyes. I could only think of a million different things that they can do to me.

“Do whatever the fuck you want with me.” I spat. “I don’t care. I have been through hell and back already.”

“Really, then we just have to go right to the big finale.” Andrew smirked, and picked up a baseball bat hiding in one of the lockers.

I got scared when I saw the blunt wooden object, and struggled to break free from the football players, but I was too weak. The players tightened their hold on my arms as Andrew came closer, the bat raise over his head. I screamed as I saw there wasn’t anything to do, and I closed my eyes as Andrew swung the bat down on my head, knocking me unconscious.