(Note: This is a story of sexual encounters among teenage boys. It is strictly fiction and fantasy. It involves sexual practices that are considered unsafe and is not an endorsement of these practices. Please comply with the laws where you live concerning such literature, and read it only if you can do so legally. If you are offended by this sort of material, please find other things that will not offend you. If you like this kind of material, please donate to Nifty to ensure that this free resource can continue.)
The first day of school had arrived. Summer was officially over for us.
Josh and I got on the school bus at the highway in front of our house, and Cody got on a couple of minutes later.
"Happy first day of school," I said to Cody. "I hope you enjoy the country school better than the city school."
"I know I will," he replied. "I already have more friends here than I did there."
"It may be a short day for me," I said. "There is the haircut to deal with."
Dad had trimmed my Mohawk the day before and had shaved the rest of my head. There would be no doubt in anyone's mind that I intended to keep my hairstyle.
"Oh yeah, I'm so used to it that I don't even think about it any more," Cody observed.
"The school dress regulations haven't been updated for so long they more closely represent a document for a military academy than standards for a public school," I said. "Ethnic cultural issues are not recognized, and other self expression that is commonplace in other school districts has never been heard of here. Girls can't wear pants except for athletic activities. One guy tried to grow a mustache last year, and was suspended from school until he shaved it off. I'm not excited about forcing the issue, but I'm going to."
I got a lot of stares as other kids got on the bus. A couple of guys I knew congratulated me on having the balls to do this, and added that they didn't expect to see me on the bus that night. I already had a new image in certain circles, but the image of a rebel was about to be established throughout the school.
As expected, I got called out of class during second period. I was invited to the office of Mr. Anderson, our vice principal. Also present was Mr. Garcia, the school counselor. Mr. Anderson had the reputation of being an asshole. Mr. Garcia was the token minority with the school district, and he had a reputation of being a much more understanding person and a friend of the students.
"I think you are familiar with the dress regulations, Buddy," Mr. Anderson began. "Your haircut doesn't conform."
The lawyer that Dad had retained had briefed me on how to deal with this encounter.
"I am a Native American registered with the tribe," I replied politely. "I insist on my right to cultural expression."
"The dress regulations don't recognize that option," Mr. Anderson continued. He pushed two documents across his desk. "This is a copy of the dress standards, and this is your notice of suspension from school until you have an acceptable haircut. Since shaving off all of your hair isn't acceptable either, I'll expect to see you back in a couple of weeks. Your mother is waiting for you in the lobby."
As I stood to leave, I picked up the documents from his desk and, as instructed by the lawyer, put two documents in their place.
"Here is some information that may be useful to you, sir," I said politely.
"One is a document proving my registration with the tribe. The other is a letter from my lawyer confirming that my father has retained him for the purpose of dealing with this issue."
As I turned to leave, I saw that Mr. Garcia was looking directly at me, and as I looked back a faint smile briefly appeared on his face. I knew that I had at least one friend on the school faculty.
I found my mother in the lobby and we got in the car.
"Your father has already notified the lawyer, and we'll fax him the suspension notice from the bank on the way home," she said. "You know you have our complete support in this. We will push it as far as it has to go, but I have a feeling we won't have to push very hard. This is an issue that has been clearly resolved in the courts, and it's time this school district moved into the twenty-first century. If they don't, we'll send you to a private school in the city."
That wasn't the first time the "private school" option had been mentioned. It had come up in the initial discussions earlier in the summer. At that time it wouldn't have made much difference to me. Now, I wanted very badly to go to school with my brother and my best friend.
When we got home, I was like a lost soul. Three months earlier being alone had been normal. Now it was not. I missed Cody and Josh. They had become my life.
To pass the time, I mowed the lawn. Then I went up to the grandparents' place and mowed their lawn. When I was finished, GrandMom invited me in for lunch.
"You need to know that George and I support you completely too," she said.
"This whole county is trapped one hundred years in the past and needs to move forward. We're not going to be able to make that happen alone, but this is one more small step in that direction."
"Thanks GrandMom," I replied. "I appreciate that very much. I wanna push this as far as necessary because it's important to both Dad and me, but I hope I don't have to go to another school because of it, even for a while. I would be lost without Cody and Josh."
"I don't think it will come to that," GrandMom replied with a smile. "You have a few allies that you don't know about yet. I expect you to be at school tomorrow."
In the afternoon, I went up the creek to the park. I had made use of the creek, the wind, and the other voices of the forest to help Cody and Josh during the summer. I realized now that it was my heritage that gave me this insight into the healing values of nature. Now I needed to listen to the voices as they spoke to me.
I hadn't told anyone where I was going, but Josh and Cody knew where to find me. They showed up late in the afternoon as soon as they got back from school.
"There's a betting pool going on as to when you'll show up at school again," Cody said. "Most of the bets center around two weeks from now."
"And what did you bet on?" I asked.
"Tomorrow," they replied in unison.
"Thanks for the confidence," I replied with a grin. "GrandMom agrees with you, and Mom is positive too. I hope you're right. I had a very lonely day. I missed you guys badly. It seems strange. Three months ago I wouldn't have had anything to miss."
They were lying on the blanket beside me now. I noticed that I was in the middle. It may have been subconscious on their part, but it was a that same sign of brotherhood and protection that Cody and I had provided to Josh more than once.
"We better go home for dinner," Josh said. "Cody has been invited to stay for the evening."
Dinner was a very quiet affair. We were all contemplating the possible outcomes to the events of the day. After dinner, the younger generation went down to the basement.
All three of us had been provided with study rules for the school year. Except for special occasions, to be negotiated, we would be studying in our own homes on week nights. Socialization at Cody's cabin was restricted to weekends only. Tonight was one of those special occasions. Josh studied in his room at his desk, Cody studied in my room using my desk, and I tried unsuccessfully to read a book in the family room.
About eight o'clock Dad came down the stairs.
"Josh and Cody, come into the family room for a minute or two," he said.
"This is a family matter, and you should be part of it."
"You'll be going to school tomorrow, Buddy," he said when Cody and Josh had joined us. "Vacation is officially over for you too. Exactly what happened during the course of the day isn't completely clear, but there apparently have been several conversations involving our lawyer, the school's lawyer, and numerous school officials. There was an unscheduled meeting of the school board this evening. That much is public information. The rest you need to keep to yourselves."
"I received three phone calls this evening," he continued. "The first was from our lawyer advising me that he did not expect the courts to get involved and that I should expect a call from the superintendent of schools. That call came next with the information that your suspension had been withdrawn pending a review of the dress standards. The third call was a personal one from the chairman of the school board. Although he doesn't advertise it, he is also one-quarter Native American, and I know him well. He extended his personal apology and informed me that the district will be doing a comprehensive review of what he referred to as 'that archaic dress code.'"
"We have won the battle today, but the war will continue," he concluded firmly. "They have taken our land, but they will not take away our culture."
"Thanks, Dad," I said. "I appreciate your help with this."
There was complete silence in the room as Dad went back upstairs. Dad wasn't prone to long speeches, and that was a record to my own memory. Josh and Cody, who both lacked any experience with a father, were awe-struck.
"Wow!" Cody finally managed to get out.
"I'm glad he's on our side," Josh said.
"So am I," I replied. "You know that he would go to bat for either of you in the same way if necessary. Between our parents and our grandparents, we have as much support as any kids could hope for."
It just came out that way naturally - "our parents and our grandparents."
Yes, we were now one integrated family, as Dad had just reinforced.
"You know what this is gonna do to your reputation at school," Cody said.
"In their eyes, you just took on the establishment and won. Your transformation from the shy kid is now complete. You might consider a student body office in the future."
"I'm not sure about that last part," I said with a grin. "But you are probably right about some of what you said. What I hope that translates into is the opportunity to help others with similar issues."
"Do you realize how awesome this summer has been for all of us?" Cody observed. "It has definitely been the best one of my life."
"That's true for me too," I replied. "It's been a complete life changer with my new best friend and my new brother. I can't imagine a better summer."
"I have three new families because of you guys," Josh added. "What we all have isn't gonna end just because the summer ends. It's really just a new beginning for all of us."
It was indeed a new beginning for all of us. There never would be another summer quite like it, and it had put all three of us on a much better path than we could have imagined three months earlier. Life was going to continue to have its ups and downs as always, but the three of us were going to handle them much better together than we had alone.