Name: High School Beginnings Chapter 3: Don't Judge
After about an hour of waiting, it was finally Alex's turn to audition for one of two cello parts in the pit orchestra for his high school's fall musical, West Side Story. As he entered the room, there was a chair set out with an empty music stand. On the other side of the room, a man was sitting on a table, writing intently on a legal pad.
Alex sat down in the chair, and got himself situated with his gorgeous instrument. He waited as calmly as he could for the man to speak. After a few minutes, the man did.
"Hello, I'm Mr. Palmer. As you must know, I am the pit director here at the high school and you are obviously auditioning for the pit orchestra. Please state your name."
"Umm, Alex O'Connor."
"Alright then, Alex, I want you to play this," he said, as he got up and placed a sheet of music on the stand. "If you need to, take a moment or two and look over the lines highlighted, and when you are ready, play away."
"Right," Alex said. Alex looked at the sheet for a split second. It seemed simple enough. He was ready to go in under a minute; sight reading was something that Alex always found came naturally to him. In his eighth grade year, there was a solo cello part for one of the pieces. It was most likely Bach... Anyway, without even looking at it prior to the audition, he played the part so well that his conductor gave him the part.
He looked up at Palmer, and he nodded his head. Alex began. After playing only 3 of the 4 lines, Mr. Palmer stopped Alex, "Okay, thank you." Alex's bow slid unceremoniously off the string in his confusion.
"Is that all then?" Alex asked.
"Yep, that's it. You're in."
"What? Really?"
"Yes, you got the part," Mr. Palmer said. "Now move along. Anthony will give you a schedule on the way out."
"Thanks!" Alex said as he held onto his instrument and left the room excitedly. As he left, a tall, awkward looking guy handed him a sheet of paper. Alex assumed he had been listening through the door and already knew Alex had made it into the pit.
"Congratulations," Anthony said. Alex said thank you, and moved to where his case was. He was so happy with himself!
--
At about the same time, Tony exited from his audition with the three directors. He had also been given a part in the chorus and as a member of the Puerto Rican sharks gang. He was so happy and couldn't wait to find Jessie and see if she also got a part. As he walked through the huge music department, he thought about how his audition had gone. He knew he could sing, but the praise that one woman, Ms. Rime had given him really raised his ego just enough to give him back the confidence he had started the day with. As he turned the corner, he nearly tripped over someone putting an instrument away.
"Oh jeez! I am so sorry," Tony said right away.
"Oh it's okay," the person said.
As the boy looked up, Tony realized it was Alex, from the run.
"Oh, hey Alex! How'd your audition go?"
"It went well. I got the part I wanted in the pit. You?"
"Yeah, I am a minor role, but I got in! For a freshman, that's good!"
"Congrats, then. We both got in, that's cool."
"It sure is," Tony said. `It's a lot cooler than it seems, oh yes it is,' Tony thought to himself. "So what are you up to for the rest of the day?"
"Oh, I don't know, as little as possible. School will be here a lot sooner than I wish it will be," Alex said. He only wished he could tell Tony how he really felt about him, but didn't want to lose a new friend so soon.
"Yeah, I totally know what you mean. Well, I'll catch you later. I have a long walk home ahead of me."
"You have to walk home?" Alex asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I wrecked my bike; it's a long story. But walking is fine; good for the hips, I hear," Tony said, with quite the bit of sarcasm in his voice.
"Good to know. I'll remember that," Alex smiled. "But, if you want, I am sure my mom could bring you home. Where do you live?"
"I live right in the Sanford neighborhood, near the lake."
"No way! I live in Pioneer Hills, just across the lake! You are really close then!"
"Wow, we are practically neighbors, and we didn't know it. But it makes sense. You went to west side schools, where as I went to east side for elementary and middle school. So there would have been no way for us to know each other," Tony pointed out quite intelligently.
"Oh yeah, good point..." Alex said, quite put down.
"But I would certainly like a ride! Maybe..." Tony's voice trailed off as if he didn't know what to say.
"That would be cool. You, umm," Alex started, almost talking over Tony. "You wanna come over and hang out then? Before you go home?"
"That would be awesome!" Tony said immediately, not wanting to give Alex any time to take back the invitation.
"Sweet, just let me call my mom. She should be at home waiting for my call."
"Okay, cool," Tony said, watching as Alex whipped out his cell phone. As Alex talked with his mom, Tony's thoughts wandered. In fact, his brain was moving far faster than normal. But it was in a good way, for this was exactly what Tony wanted; to spend time with this new boy. No, not `new boy,' but Alex. He knew his name now.
Alex finally got a hold of his mom, and started off with the normal greeting, "Hi mom. Yeah, I'm done. Yes, it went very well, I got a part. Yes, one of two chairs. I have a schedule, yes. Yeah, could you come and get me? Yeah, the same place where you dropped me off. And is it okay if someone comes home with us? Yeah, I met him today. Okay, thanks Mom. See you in ten minutes. Love you too." Alex said this last bit with a little bit of embarrassment in his voice, and hung up the phone with a little bit of color coming to his lightly tanned face.
"So, what's the verdict?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, she says that will be fine. It is summer after all," Alex said.
"Sweet! I am excited then!"
"Err, yeah. Me too," Alex said. "Do you like videogames at all?"
"Well, let me think about that... yes!" Tony said, barely pausing for a second.
"Cool, what kinds of games do you like? I have lots of different kinds, so I am sure there will be one you will like."
"Sounds great! I like a lot of different kinds. I guess every kind except like puzzle ones," Tony said, with a small grimace on his face. "They bore me to death."
"Oh, I know! Just let me kill something," Alex agreed.
Tony laughed, "Now you're talking!"
"I just got Halo 3. I think it is fun, but it only gets better when there is another person to play with," Alex said, with a hint of loneliness of his face.
Tony noticed something was up, but did not want to pursue the topic too much. "Sweet! I haven't played that yet."
"Oh really?" Alex said, the tinge of sadness wiped from his face, "It is so much fun! They have all these new vehicles and the online play! Just wait!!"
They sat outside on a small ledge while they waited for Mrs. O'Connor to arrive. Alex talked about the games he owned, not even realizing how much the other boy, his new friend, was enjoying it. Tony's eyes were locked onto Alex's, not breaking the contact for a minute. Tony couldn't believe how beautiful this boy really was. And there was so much passion hidden behind those eyes, he wondered to himself whether anyone else had ever seen the passion lingering there.
"Hey, umm, Tony, are you alright?" Alex asked, after he noticed Tony simply smiling at him, staring deep into his eyes. It made Alex feel a bit uncomfortable, although he liked the attention this boy was giving him.
"Oh, uhh, yeah. Sorry about that," Tony said awkwardly, pulling his face away to try and hide his red face. "Guess I just got caught up in what you were saying."
"Oh really? It seemed like you were..." but before Alex could finish, a car honked and both boys turned to see Alex's mom waiting for them. "Oh, that's my mom."
"Yeah, well let's go then!" Tony said, laughing to make it seem he felt alright.
"Right, let's go," Alex said, but before either of them moved, they had this moment. It was an odd moment for them both. Their eyes met, and neither one of them moved to break the connection. They just sat there looking at each other. Finally Tony got up, with Alex right behind him.
Alex moved to pick up his cello case, but before he could pick it up, Tony offered, "Here, let me grab that for you."
"Oh, sure. Thanks," Alex said, giving a small grin of acknowledgement, which was greeted with the bright smile from Tony; perfect in every way.
They walked over to the car together and Alex moved behind to open the trunk hatch for Tony. Once the instrument was safely put away, the two hopped into the backseat.
"Hi mom," Alex said.
"Uhh, hi Alex's mom," Tony spluttered out, trying to find the right words.
"Hi boys, and please call me Deborah..." she trailed off, not knowing her son's new friend's name.
"Oh, sorry mom, this is Tony. I met him briefly while I was out on my run today."
"Are you a runner then, Tony?" Deborah said, pulling out of the school's parking lot.
"Yeah, I try and get out every day. Gotta be in shape for the track season in the spring and all."
"Ah, yes. High school track..." Mrs. O'Connor droned on in an excited tone, oblivious to the boys' boredom of her recollections of her own track and field days. Alex simply rolled his eyes and peered out the window, catching the faint reflection of his friend in the window.
Tony, on the other hand, felt it polite to at least attempt to sound interested, so he nodded every once in a while, trying his best to not look bored.
It only took about another five minutes for them to reach the O'Connor residence. They pulled into the driveway and as Tony stepped out of the SUV, his eyes opened in awe. The house before him was like a mansion compared to his own. Four pillars outlined the front door, and a side door, next to the garage led into another part of the house. The driveway was a level surface, leading up to an expansive three-car-garage. Milky stucco covered the majority of the home, giving it an eclectic feel.
"Hey, Tony. You comin'?" Alex called, standing on the stairs from inside the garage.
"Oh, yeah," he responded, running into the encroaching garage doors. He walked in behind Alex, trying hard to keep his dick under control, so as not to pop a boner with the site of his crush's ass in his face.
Walking in the door only made Tony's eyes open in astonishment even more. The house seemed perfect in every way. A grand staircase led up to a second floor, with a large landing at the top. To his left, there was a hallway into what seemed to be a kitchen and eating area, and to his right was the front foyer. "You have a really nice house," he said to Alex.
"Eh, it's pretty nice I suppose," Alex responded. "Come with me. We can go hang out in my room. We will be in my room, mom," he called as they climbed the looming staircase.
Alex led the way down the hall, once upstairs, to the furthest room. As Tony turned into the doorway, his mouth dropped open. He could not believe this was his new friend's room; it looked like something out of a dream. On one side of the room was the entertainment system. A plasma TV was on top of a huge shelf system, looming black and sleek. On the shelf underneath was an Xbox 360, among some older game systems and a lineup of so many games it was hard to imagine. Above the TV were two rows of small, framed mirrors, lining across the wall. It gave the illusion of the room extending twice as far, making Tony realize the room wasn't as large as it seemed.
As he looked along the other walls, there were windows against the far wall, from the door, draped with dark blue curtains to go with the slightly lighter blue painted on the walls. There was a photograph of someone playing the cello hung between the two. As Tony peered closer, he realized it was actually Alex, probably only ten or eleven years old, on a stage in a spotlight. He looked intense and controlling and yet sent a feeling of calm through you when you looked at the picture. Tony noted to himself to tell Alex he really liked that picture.
Going further, to the other outer wall, was a large bed, covered in sheets and a blanket matching the curtains, but with huge orange circles, of differing sizes, spread across them. In front of the bed was a huge black leather couch, and next to it a matching chair. A table was set between the two to make up for the awkward diagonal angle they sat at.
Now looking at the last wall on which the door to the hallway stood, there was another door further along, and on the other side of that was a nice, large desk complete with computer. Tony could tell it was a newer model and was actually an Apple, at closer inspection. A nice sized monitor, silver chrome, to match the tower, sat on the desk. It only solidified the fact that Alex's family had lots of money. And even with that knowledge, Tony brushed it aside. Money didn't make a person; a person made them who they are, and so far Tony liked Alex.
"So, what do you think? This is pretty much where I spend all of my time," Alex said, as he set his cello case down in the far corner of the room, next to a before-unseen chair and music stand.
"Shit, this is the coolest room I have ever seen!" Tony gasped with excitement. "Your parents really got all this for you?"
"Yeah, mostly my dad. He isn't around much, so yeah, nevermind," Alex said, not finishing his own thought. He didn't want to bore his new friend with his confusing family situation.
"Oh, I see," Tony said, noticing Alex was hiding what he originally wanted to say. "So, let's see this TV get into action!"
"Yeah, sounds great! Can I get you something to drink or anything?" Alex asked, being the good host his mom had raised him to be.
"Nah, I am good for now. Maybe later though."
"Okay, cool."
So, the two sat down on the couch and Alex handed over one of the controllers. He turned the system on and popped in the right disk, and booted up the sound system and TV. In the beginning of the game, Alex was killing Tony ten times as much as Tony was able to kill him. It took him a while, but Tony finally got the hang of the game, and they were soon evenly matched.
"This is so much fun! Oh no, OH NO! DAMN!" Tony exclaimed as Alex sniped a head shot from across the stage. This nasty kill made Tony push Alex, catching him off guard, as his attention was on the game.
Alex fell of the couch, quite ungracefully, and landed on the floor. It took him a moment to realize what had happened, and as soon as his brain caught up to the situation, he broke out laughing.
"Oh, I see how it is!" Alex cried out, and latched onto Tony's legs, pulling him to the ground too. Tony careened off the couch, almost landing on top of Alex, but dodging out of the way just in time. They were now both on the floor, laughing hysterically.
"What on earth is going on in here?!" exclaimed an exasperated Mrs. O'Connor. "You boys gave me quite the fright with all that banging going on up here."
"Oh, sorry mom," said Alex, between deep breaths, as he tried to get his breath back from all the laughter. "We were just goofing around."
"Well, anyways, it is almost 5:30 pm, and your father should be home for dinner soon. I just wanted to let you know," she said this last bit and walked back down the hall, and down the stairs.
"Oh man, I didn't realize it was getting so late!" Tony said. "I should probably be going soon, especially if you are having dinner soon."
"Yeah, I guess so. Do you, you know, wanna stay for dinner maybe?" Alex asked with a hint of red coming to his cheek and ears.
"As much as I would like to, I really should be getting home. Maybe another time though, for sure!" Tony said, flashing the perfect smile.
"Okay, I don't want you to get into trouble with your parents."
"Def, this was fun man. Maybe we can get together to run together? You going out tomorrow?"
"I sure am," Alex said, "I will be out around nine tomorrow morning."
"Sounds good," Tony said, still with that gleaming smile on his face. "So want to meet up at the blue bench by the lake? I would say that is half way from each of our houses."
"Hell yeah! I will see you then."
"Cool."
They both walked out of the door, and down the stairs toward the door. Tony slipped on his shoes and walked out the door, waving goodbye to Alex. "See you tomorrow," he called as he jogged down the front walk.
"You bet!" Alex yelled back. He closed the door and turned to walk back into the kitchen to help his mom with dinner. He looked back on the day and wondered if it could have been any better.