Pride

Chapter 7- Jordan

"Stop glaring," Nate hisses to me. I try to, but I can't help it. I've been glaring daggers into the back of his head so intensely that I haven't even noticed where we're going, yet. I force myself to look away and straighten out my eyebrows, which is harder now that I'm actively trying.

"Right in here," Levi says, holding the door for us. I realize it's the GSA, which makes a lot of sense, actually (considering Levi is the student leader).

I glance around the room, trying not to seem too curious but also kind of curious. I recognize a few kids, but there don't seem to be any from our grade except Levi. The whole group isn't huge. Maybe ten, fifteen at most.

"Alright! Sorry we're late, I was rounding up the work-team," Levi says, immediately getting the attention of the group. It's not like watching a teacher and a class, though- Levi speaks to them more like equals, which makes sense since they're all in high school (though, he is older than them). Most people are sitting on desks, and it looks like a surprisingly chill club. More like they're all friends who are eating lunch together than, like, model UN or the computer club.

"And chaperone," one of the girls in the front row says with a smirk, referring to Nate. He grins at her, and she smirks a little more. Another girl is leaning against her shoulder, reading a book in her lap before closing it (her thumb holding the page) to look up at Levi.

"So, work-team," Levi says to me and Mister Magisterial, smirking widely, "Our current fundraiser is for GLSEN, and guess what the fundraiser is?"

I swear, the entire GSA smirks at us.

"A car wash."

I press my lips together.

"And I assume we're going to be..."

"You're going to be washing the cars, yes. Well, no, that makes it sound like the rest of us aren't going to be doing anything. But we voted, and you guys have been elected for soap duty."

Great. The most strenuous and usually dirty job (like, if you're on hosing-duty, you just spray the car off and you're done). Fortunately, it looks like Chase isn't much happier about it than I am. Nate, on the other hand, looks like he thinks this is the best thing since sliced bread. And Levi looks about as pleased with himself as the coaches did after they'd finished explaining their punishment idea to Chase and I.

"And it's going to be this Saturday. Morning," Levi says with an even larger smirk when I give him an alarmed look (because football practice is Saturday afternoon).

"Wait. Then how early is it going to start?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"Eight."

I gape at him. "Eight in the morning."

Levi is smirking so widely his teeth are showing. "Yes. Eight in the morning."

"Who's awake at-"

"You will be," Nate interrupts me, and I glare at him. The GSA students look very entertained. And Bigwig Blathering is-

Chase is actually being uncharacteristically quiet. It's weird. And it doesn't make very much sense. My first thought is, since it seemed to start when we got to the GSA meeting, he's homophobic or at least mildly uncomfortable. But that doesn't make any sense- his best friend is the gayest dude in school, and Chase has never seemed even remotely uncomfortable with that or anything else related to the LGBTQ+ community- I'm pretty sure he went to pride with Levi once (this apparently made him even more attractive to all the girls chasing after him). And as much as I hate Chase and prefer to believe the worst of him a lot of the time, he's almost certainly not homophobic. So then why...?