Hawthorne Heights [Editing]

nine [edited]

Miracle Lenae Parker

     "I don't like how she's pushing herself onto the new guy. It's not a good look," I mumbled over to Warren, tugging on my earlobe.

Warren glanced up from his textbooks to see Milo leaning against a wall covered in multicolored flyers with her head tilted back. She let out a loud laugh at whatever Khari mumbled in her ear, making him glance around them. Her efforts had been going on for nearly two weeks, much to my distaste, and Warren found it all amusing.

     "You realize that you're talking about Milo, right? She doesn't care what people think," Warren grumbled at me. "And all she's trying to do is be his friend. Chill."

I chewed my sugar-free gum while watching the new boy crack a smile at Milo. He had yet to talk to anyone else besides, surprisingly, his photography teacher and Milo. I didn't understand why my best friend wanted the attention from a boy like him. He wore dirty Vans, ripped jeans, and black t-shirts all of the time. If I wanted to bring him home, my father would have an aneurysm.

     "So, what's going on with your dad?" I closed my bright orange locker door after checking to see if lip gloss appeared neat.

Warren shrugged his broad shoulders and played with a free-form dreadlock. Whenever the topic of his parents arrived, Warren would either turn mute or just ignore it in general. He hated living in a home where he had to explain his sexuality behind closed doors because the rest of his family wouldn't understand. His mother, bless her heart, could be named the only one that actually tried to make Warren feel normal. She didn't bring it up because she refused to believe that she could birth a gay child. She loved him, somewhat, but she was just as confused as her son. All he knew was that he found men sexually attractive. Warren still didn't know how to tell his dad.

He sighed, "My mom still thinks that I can change it. I told her that I was born gay and apparently she thinks I insulted her."

Not one used to showing empathy, I didn't know how to respond. So instead, I just rubbed Warren's back and watched Milo and Khari laugh about something.

     "If it makes you feel any better, my dad said that my natural hair looks nappy. So now I gotta get perms again," I groaned.

Instead of replying to my dry attempt at cheering him up, Warren walked over to Milo and Khari. Khari stopped laughing and nodded his head at us.

     "Akikiki I wanna laugh too," Warren joked. "Wassup?"

I didn't know why, but he always felt the need to assert his masculinity around other black men. The stigma that black boys can't be gay only made Warren afraid to be around the ones at his school. Puffing out his chest, sagging his pants, and deepening his voice were his go-to strategies of showing off his masculinity.

     "Khari just told me a funny joke," Tears rolled down Milo's cheeks as she attempted to reiterate the joke. "It goes-"

We all stood around to hear the joke until we realized that she wouldn't say it anytime soon. Milo slapped her knee and hunched her body over; Khari smirked at her antics but made no move to talk.