AMaZiNg GrAyCE and the Amazing Race!

Chapter 10: Counting Cards

The day after my party, I was happy. I picked up my bonus of $10,000 to write my comic book and I wanted to start my writing as soon as possible. I was given one year to get my comic book finished and I wanted to just do it early so that I would have time for their feedback and so that I wouldn't feel rushed. I sat at the table and drifted off to my teenage land but nothing was coming out. I even started to feel sick again so I went to bed. The next morning was a nightmare for me, as I was so sick from my sudden bout of nausea. The only thing I did was throw up, even though there was nothing in my stomach.

It was weird because I would feel better then start throwing up all over again. It ended up being a week of that. The following week, I was much better and only feeling a little sickly. I realized it was all my nerves. I needed to just focus on my project, instead of being nervous about it.

Jely was there at my door talking about her mother and how she was going to just ask to go and talk to her birth mother about her dad. I told her that it was a good idea because the worst that could happen was her parents saying no. Also, I warned her she may not like what her biological mother said or she may not even want to talk to her. She said she hadn't thought of that, but still wanted to try.

After school, I had my Thursday club to attend to. Every seat was full. I think Dennis coming brought in even more students. He has some students that actually follow him from his class to mine. One of the new students, a girl with hair that was dyed bright red raised her hand, then stood.

"I am on this social media site and this kid calls herself an ace of spade, but I don't understand it. What is that?" She asked. I decided to give out my card chart.

Asexuals refer to themselves as ace. Sexuality and romantic orientation are two different things. When an ace is also aro, they are known as an Ace of Spade.

An ace of spades is an ace who doesn't want romance. 47% of Aces are spades.

An ace of hearts is a person who is ace but desires romance.

An ace of diamonds is Demi sexual or Demi romantic. (Someone who does not experience sexual attraction and/or romantic attraction unless they have already formed a strong emotional bond with the person.)

Ace of clubs represent Gray asexuals or Gray romantics. (Someone who doesn't typically experience sexual attraction and/or romantic attraction but may experience it rarely, or they can only act on that desire in very limited or specific circumstances.)

After looking at the handout. The girl raises her hand again.

"What if I am demi sexual but heteroromantic? Does that mean I don't get a card?" She asked.

"Your card would be an Ace of Diamond, it would just represent your sexuality. While many people only have one card, some have two. For example, you may be a demi sexual but have no romantic attraction, making your romance a spade.

Many people including allos have a mixed orientation identity, also called perioriented or varioriented. This means they can be bisexual but heteroromantic.

"Also remember, the cards are just a fun, visual way aces may identify or label themselves. Feel free to use them or not, they don't work for everyone but it is good to know the meaning when someone you know is using them." I explained.

The late bell rang and I still had students. They didn't want to leave, they continued to ask questions and even talk about their experiences. When they finally did leave, I slumped in my seat, completely exhausted.

By the weekend, I was feeling a lot better. My aces and I had a hang out at Richard's place. Whenever we meet at his place, we always just have pizza and beer. He doesn't even have water that is not tap. Jessie always complains because she doesn't drink alcohol. She donated a kidney years ago and was not allowed to drink, doctor's orders since then. As soon as Beth and I get to his place, Jessie says she is leaving to pick up soda and water and I tell her I will ride with her. When we get back, everyone is just starting to eat.

I notice the trash is full and volunteer to take it out. As I am coming back in, Richard meets me at the door and I walk past him and go to the kitchen to wash my hands. I hoped that he wouldn't try and talk to me. He didn't.

After we all hung out, I knew that Beth was leaving early for work so I had planned to ride with Jessie and James, but then Jessie asked Richard if he could take me home because she wanted to go straight to pick up her daughter, Natasha, who was having a melt down. Just what I didn't want. As he took me home, we sat in a tense silence for the whole way. He just played his loud rock music and I pretended to sleep. Right as he got on my street, he turned his music off.

"Hey, are you still mad at me?" He asked.

I shifted slightly in my seat. "A little."

He didn't say anything but pulled into my driveway.

"So I understand all the reasons that you regret what happened. And I still think sex is pretty gross, but I don't think you are or I am. I'm sorry if that makes you mad but I just wanted to tell you that."

"I don't think you're gross okay. I'm sorry if that's how you interpreted what I said. I just think we did a gross thing."

He nodded, conceding to that idea. "That's fair."

"I really don't want to think about it anymore though."

"Okay, but stop being mad at me and acting weird." He said.

"Okay. Let's just stop talking about it." I got out of the car.

"Alright then. See ya. I love you."

"See ya." I shut the door and turned to walk away.

"You're not gonna tell me you love me anymore?" He laughed.

I shrugged.

"Okay well, I still love you." He backed out of the driveway then yelled goodnight from his car.