Kel's Journal 5
Kel's Journal
Entry 5
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This story is a work of fiction copyrighted by Lastimer. Do not publish or reproduce on another site without author's permission.
Okay, time for the regular disclaimer: This is a story of mature themes (at some points at least). This may include some sexual acts. Be advised that if you're not 18 or older, (or whatever it is where you live), you shouldn't be reading. But if you defy this, it ain't my fault.
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Well, welcome to my first attempt at internet fiction. This is the main branch of this story, following Kel. There are future plans to expand this story to talk about other characters, but for now Kel isthe narrator. This story really isn't designed to be an literary orgy, more a story of relationships, friends, and dreams. The chapters may seem a bit on the short side as of yet, but that's because I'm still new to actually writing down my story ideas. I'm open to any comments.
The place this story takes place is a fictional town in Central New Jersey. There will be references to other areas that happen to be real places.
If you are offended by the opinions expressed in this story, just remember they are those of the characters, and do not necessarily reflect those of their creator (ME).
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Kel's Journal
Entry 5: Getting Down to Business
August 14
Today became a weird day, especially for Dave. He now had to deal with his father's death. I got the phone call before I left for my run, finally some good news for David. The doctors called and said that his mother made a major recovery overnight. She would need lots of time to recover, but it's good to hear she's all right. I decided to wake Dave up just to tell him the news.
Billie and I couldn't stop talking about Dave on our run. We normally don't hold conversations, but we made an exception this time. There's no way you can ignore something like this.
"I'm telling you Kel. He has it rough. Worse than me. I don't know how attached he was to his dad, but what makes this a difficult case is that the death was sudden. I knew Mom was going to die, I just had to come to grips with it. I was as well adjusted as someone could be."
"I should ask about his relationship. Most of these kids are pretty detached from their parents, and the parents see the camp as a babysitter. But from my indications, his dad was really nice and was always there when we needed a parent. He might just have been taken out of the house so the parents could have some free time."
"Maybe. Just be gentle. I've been to all sorts of support groups for kids who lose parents. Sudden deaths are the hardest."
"You've been to support groups."
"Yeah. Dad started me in one soon after Mom was diagnosed. It was for kids whose parents had cancer. I've been to a couple different ones for a while. Occasionally, I go to one. Mostly around the tough days."
"Tough days?"
"There's five: Christmas, her birthday, the day she died, my parents'
anniversary, and Halloween. That was her favorite holiday."
"Man, there's so much more to it than I thought."
"The thing that makes our loss so much more tragic is because we're so young. Normally, a parent dies when the child is much older, often when they have children of their own. At that point, they've gained enough wisdom to think enough about death in a better light. They accept it as a part of life, and realize it must happen to everyone. But the young often can't grasp death well.
"How old were your brothers?"
"They were one. So they really didn't have the kind of bond my mom and I had. I still tear up when I hear certain songs. That's because she would always sing them to me."
"What do you think I should do?"
"As much as you may help, it's best if he comes to you. Let your parents intervene. They have more experience talking with kids."
"That's probably the right thing."
"All right. We've gotten behind, so let's pick up the pace."
Billie is a great resource for me when it comes to Dave.
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When I got home, I decided to make a nice breakfast for everyone. By this time Dave had woken up, and I asked him to join me. "Wanna help make some pancakes?" I may not have been a therapist or anything, but I still knew doing stuff can help people cope. Take it out of their minds for a while.
"Okay Kel." He then looked at me a threw out a sharp question.
"So what's it like being gay?"
I almost threw up. "What?"
"You heard what I said."
"Who the hell told you anything?"
"I just read your diary."
"Well, I don't like how you found out, but I guess I have to face facts. Yes, I'm gay. Now, can we get on with the cooking?" I was evidently mad. I don't mind him finding out, but just the fact he invaded my privacy to do it pisses me off.
"Don't worry about it Kel. My sister's a lesbian. She's over in Europe with her girlfriend, since my parents didn't take it too well."
I know he's pouring his heart out, but I was really concerned with what he read. "Tell me this: How much did you read?"
"Only the first one. That's when Sarah caught me."
"Listen to me Dave. No one, except Sarah and you, knows about this. Don't tell anyone: not my parents, not Billie, not the other campers, no one! This could be a major problem if someone found out. There's people who beat up guys for liking other guys. So if you really want to be a good friend, we'll keep between the three of us."
"I'll right, I swear."
"Let's shake to it."
This was a weird development. Note to self: Lock the journal in my desk.
If Laura or Kristie got hold of it, it could be disastrous. Good thing it was someone more mature and who had some understanding of it. We just went on with cooking. Sarah joined us in time to help set the table.
"Hey Sarah." I gestured to my sister to move into the living room. She followed me to the room.
"Yeah brother?"
"Do you know he knows about me being gay?"
"Yeah. He asked me when I caught him if I knew you were gay. I told him yes, then to keep his mouth shut until he talked to you about it."
"Wow. How journalistic of him. Looking for two sources."
"Shouldn't you get back to cooking, bro? I think he just dropped one on the floor."
So the rest of the cooking went off without a hitch. The rest of the
family joined us at our kitchen table.
"So David," my mom asked, "Do you have an idea where your sister is?"
"I really don't know. She may be in Austria now, 'cuz that's where she was two weeks ago. But she could be in Switzerland, or Italy, or Germany, or just about anywhere."
"She doesn't keep you guys in the loop?"
"Not since she went there."
My dad chimed in. "We should call the phone company, tell them to route
his family's calls to our phone number."
Sarah also had an idea. "What about e-mail?"
"My sister does use e-mail sometimes. I'll try that."
After breakfast, Dave and I went to send his sister an e-mail. We told her to give her location, stay put, and possible put the number of where she was staying. There's an emergency at home, and we need her to call ASAP. We probably should have said what it was about, but my mom thought it would be impersonal to hear about dad's death through an e-mail.
Eventually his sister did call. He told her about their parents, but he was disappointed by her reaction. I guess she wasn't on good terms with them. She said she wouldn't be able to leave for a while, as she now had settled in Holland.
When Dave hung up, he began to cry.
"Why is she like that? I mean, they were her parents! Doesn't she have any compassion?"
"So is she coming back?"
"No. I'm stuck here with no family."
"Don't worry, Dave. We're here for ya."
My mom interrupted. "David, we need to go get your stuff and bring it over here. You can set up in one of our guest rooms."
"Okay, Mrs. Hutchinson."
"Call me Ruth."
"You wanna come Kel?"
"Sorry Dave. I have a picnic tonight."
"Okay."
"I need to call up Drew now. Sarah and I are leaving once he gets
here Mom."
"Okay. Have fun, and stay away from booze and drugs."
"Fine."
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The three of us went to Stacy's picnic. I probably should have invited Billie, but I felt it would be easier to introduced people to her in a more civilized fashion. I always feel that if you're new, a party has too many people and too many names to learned properly. Besides, I could fulfill my plan better with only one person to avoid. Drew can be easily distracted. I just gotta find a cute drunk girl, and they'll talk for hours. That will give me and Sarah time to work on Operation Boycatcher (yes, we did actually give it that name).
The party was pretty tame when we got there. Her parents were still around, mostly tending to the food. Knowing her parties, they would leave in a few hours, and Stacy's 'keg crew' would come in with all the goods. I don't really care though, because I hate alcohol. I see the damage it does, and I don't want part of it. Sarah's a bit more receptive to it, but since we drove over there she pledged not to drink (and I held her to it).
I was looking out for Mark. He wasn't outside, so I went to look in the house. He was walking into the study. When I looked inside, he was the only one there.
You had to see him. He looked very nice. He had his hair, a perfect natural blonde, short and slicked forward. He was dressed very nicely, probably to nicely for this occasion. He's a bit on the short side, two or three inches shorter than me. Nothing spectacular on the muscle front. But it was his face. Everything fit together perfectly, finished off by chocolate brown eyes.
Mark was sitting there, reading. He had Hamlet in his hands. I love Shakespeare. Most people hate it, but I really appreciate it. Apparently he loves it too.
"You know, A Midsummer Night's Dream is his best work."
"If you're into comedies, that is. I like the dramas better."
"I guess it's all opinion anyway. By the way, I'm Kel."
"Mark. So Stacy invited you to the party?"
"Yeah. So why is your head in a book and not at the party?"
"Me? I hate social situations. I guess I'm Stace's opposite. Those people out there just want to get drunk, or laid, or both." He kept reading, but still kept to our conversation. "Tell me this Kel. Why are YOU in here?"
"I just got bored, so I decided to explore." I know it was a lie, but I wasn't really going to tell him truth. He'd probably think I'm a stalker or something.
"You do this at everyone's party?"
"Not really. I don't usually accept the invitations."
"Well, if you need a place to retreat, this is the place. People don't really come around to this room. People usually go upstairs, since all we've got it chairs in here. And most people don't like having sex on hard floors."
"Okay then. Do you want anything to eat or something?"
"Maybe a Coke."
I decided to make my exit and to find Sarah. She was sitting at a picnic table with Drew, and Karrie, a girl from school. Sarah had already found the bait to hook Drew in with. I hate doing that to my best friend, but this is a special operation. I walked up and starting talking to them for ten minutes or so. I motioned to Sarah to follow me. We walked a good distance from Drew before we started talking.
Sarah had something to say. She just had a look in her eye. "You know, what we're
doing to Drew is really dishonest. Maybe he could be of some help. He's pretty extroverted."
"I know you're right. But I have better news. I found Mark. He's all alone in
the study."
"Okay. Just leave it up to me. Now, spend some time with your damn best friend."
"Just bring him a Coke. Tell him I sent you, or something like that."
As we went our separate ways, Sarah and I gave each other a perfect look. I've heard of a special bond twins have, and I think we have it, even though we aren't twins. We're so close, and I truly love her.
I spent the rest of the night with Drew and Karrie. I never really spent time with her before, but she was actually a nice person when I got to know her. In addition, I started working on getting Sarah's new guy. The three of us tried to gauge some interest, only finding one or two good people for her. Nothing serious so far, but we have some choices now.
When 11:30 rolled around, it was time to leave. We dropped Drew and his new girl off,
then headed home. At home, it was time for Sarah and I to give our selections to each other.
"So what's the story, Kel?" My sister asked while she started munching on some chips. "You find anyone?"
"Just for you sis. I think you could use someone like Alex Haller."
"He's nice alright. Maybe a bit too passive though."
"Jordan Doyle?"
"Arrogant. If you think Greg's bad..."
"Okay. How about Matt Chance? He's got everything for you."
"There you go. Tall, dark, handsome." She started to giggle while she was talking. "Lift me to your white steed, my knight in armor!" Perhaps she did have a little of the al-key-hol tonight.
"Are you being serious, or are you joking?"
"I guess it's a great joke, if the great Kelly can't figure it out. Actually, I do
think it maybe a good candidate."
"Okay. But if we're gonna talk about this, we have to refer to them as people. 'It'
is for a puppy, not a guy."
"Boys, puppies. Same difference," as she flashed a devilish smile at me"
"Let's get back to business. How'd it go with Mark?"
"He's a nice guy. I think you might get along with him. I think he senses something."
A dead silence, then she changed the subject. "Now let's talk about Drew. When the hell are
you gonna tell him?"
"I don't know. I have to choose the right place, the right time-"
"What is this, coming out or the space shuttle launch? It shouldn't be that hard.
Just, make sure it ain't in your bedroom. He may see that as a come on."
"I'll figure out something." I staring blinking quickly, showing my exhaustion. "I'm
ready to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay. Night Kel."
"Night Sarah."
So now, I have to tell Drew. I hope he takes it well.
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Ooh. Finally some intrigue! How will Drew react? Is there something between Kel and Mark?
How about the secret. Is it safe? You'll just have keep your eyes on the story!
Remember, I'm always looking for suggestions. Just e-mail me at mlb137@hotmail.com or lastimer@hotmail.com.