The Gods of Song and Poetry

Chapter 35 - I Know There Was A Girl, Gorgeous As Mine

Chapter 35 - I Know There Was A Girl, Gorgeous As Mine

"Are you ready for this?" I asked as we got out of the Jeep.

"Absolutely." Kelly smiled, holding her hand out to me. I took it, smiling like a darn fool, I'm sure, as we walked towards school together. I looked back at Kristy, who was following us. She was laughing and shaking her head at how giddy we were.

We passed a few people on our way into school, but they didn't seem to pay much attention to two girls holding hands. Once we got into the school, a few heads turned, and a few whispered conversations were directed towards us, but honestly, it wasn't much more attention than a straight couple might get when they first got together.

"Is it just me, or does coming out seem not nearly as traumatic as I thought it would be?" Kelly asked.

Kristy answered her. "I think a lot of people were wondering if you two were a real couple at homecoming. This is less of a surprise, and more of a confirmation of suspicions. Besides, Ani's been softening everybody up for three years."

Kelly squeezed my hand. "Thanks, Babe."

"I didn't think it would be too bad," I said. "You might get some rude comments from a few people, or some self-righteous ones from the Xanders and the Cindys of the school. Most people, though, are just going to be curious or gossipy, I bet. Just like they would be about any new couple. It is a small school, after all."

We were standing by her locker now. I must have looked like one of the high school boys that would always hang out by their younger girlfriend's locker. Kelly kept looking up and down the hall, but the lack of reaction was noticeable.

In a kidding way she said, "I almost feel cheated. Coming out is supposed to be a big deal, isn't it?"

"It is. Don't worry, somebody will be a butthead about it sooner or later, or treat you in an awkward way. Besides, maybe just holding hands coming into school isn't a big enough statement to draw attention."

"You're probably right," Kelly said. "It's not like we wore t-shirts advertising our relationship."

I saw a few students start to trickle into the halls still wearing their jackets and carrying backpacks. That meant the buses were here. A couple seconds later, the hall had significantly more people in it. I looked both ways, and saw that there were no teachers out.

"Here, maybe this will help." I put a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her in for a solid, lingering kiss. Her hands came up and grabbed the sleeves of my shirt to hold me there for a moment. Since the beginning of last week, we hadn't found any more private time to continue exploring our new sex life, but ever since that first time, there was some extra heat in our kisses. This one was no exception. I found myself wanting to grab her in inappropriate places right there in the hall. Of course, I didn't.

"Aw, good for you guys!" I heard from the other side of Kelly. There was a freshman girl from the basketball team standing at her locker. I think her name was Charlotte. "I kept wondering if you guys were a couple, but everyone said you weren't. Good for you guys," she repeated.

"Thanks," said Kelly. She looked pleased.

I noticed a drawing hanging on the inside of Kelly's locker door. It was a heart with a rose in it, but the stem of the rose was sort of off centered and sticking out of the heart. "That's really cool. Who made that?"

"I did." Kelly beamed. "It was an extra credit project for art."

"Did you make it with a marker or something?" I reached out and ran my fingertips over the thick black lines that the shapes were comprised of.