Copyright © 2026 by Julien Gregg
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The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
FOUR
We didn't go home for Thanks Giving. None of The Five went home. We just stayed at Maxwell and had Thanksgiving Dinner in the cafeteria. We sat at our table and had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. We had a ball. Robby told us that he was gay and that's why his parents threw him out. I had suspected that was the problem. Pug told us he was gay and in a relationship with Robby. We congratulated them. Robby had one more year of school and Pug had two. We promised to be there for him when the time came. He thanked us. Alex told us that he was probably gay and it was going to go over like a lead balloon at his house. His parents were Baptists. I winced. Dustin told us that he had some same sex fantasies but had never acted on them. I told them that I was gay and sure of it. Robby laughed.
"So, Dustin are you bisexual or gay?" Robby asked.
"Probably gay," he said. "I haven't acted on it, but I have a thing for someone of the same sex. I'm just waiting for him to tell me that he's into me or to fuck off."
"You're a good looking boy," I said. "He won't tell you to fuck off."
"You won't?" he asked, grinning at me.
"You're talking about me?" I asked, stunned.
"Yes," he said. "I smile at you all of the time. I always want to sit next to you, and I'm always staring at you."
"He's right about the staring," said Robby. "I've seen it a time or two."
"Well, color me shocked," I said. "No, I won't tell you to fuck off, Dustin. I'm into you, too."
"Then that's a home run," he laughed.
"So, The Five is gay," Robby said. "Who'd have thought?"
"Well, we don't want it to be public knowledge any time soon," Alex said. "But yes, it appears The Five is gay."
"Of course we don't want it to become public knowledge any time soon," Robby said. "I've already been thrown out by my parents. I'd hate to see what would happen if everyone found out about me."
"So we're a secret?" I asked. "Because I'd like us to be."
"Me, too," said Dustin.
"We're a secret," said Pug. "So, are you and Dustin going to be together?"
"We are if I have anything to say about it," Dustin said.
"We are, don't worry," I said. "I won't let you get away that easily."
Robby laughed. He held Pug's hand. I held Dustin's. Alex just grinned at us. He said, "I kinda have thing for your twin."
"He's sleeping with half the school," said Pug.
"I don't care," he said. "I want him for my very own."
"I'll talk to him about it and see what he thinks," I said. "He did get into trouble for going off to the back hall to make out with Laken at the dance. Thiphet took two hundred points from him."
"I hear Thiphet was mad that it was Kevin and not you," Robby said. "What does he have against you?"
"I have no idea, but it's getting out of hand," I said. "I'm dropping his class next semester. I'm going to move to Spanish."
"You'll do better with Spanish," Pug said. "Professor Rivera is a sweetheart. He likes everyone."
"Good," I said. "We get to pick classes when everyone comes back. I'm going to talk to Professor Grant about switching from French to Spanish."
"Do that," Robby said. "Then we don't have to worry about what Thiphet is going to do to you next."
That's just what I did. I talked to Professor Grant about dropping French and taking Spanish in he second semester. He said that was a great idea, but I had to pass a Spanish test to get in. I told him I could. I told him that my brother and I had studied both French and Spanish and were fluent in both languages. He said that Kevin had talked to him about dropping French and taking Spanish as well. He'd told him the same thing. He wrote me down for Spanish, and I took the test with Kevin a little bit later. We passed and were admitted into the Spanish class.
"Mr. Killian Flynn," Thiphet said the next day. "Did I hear correctly that you are dropping my class next semester?"
"You did," I said. "I'll be in Spanish."
"One hundred points will be taken," he said. "I don't like quitters."
I seethed. I had decided to file a grievance against him for all of the point taking. I could get witness statements from everyone in class. When class was over I went to the office of the Honor Code and grabbed a grievance form and a lot of witness forms. I passed them out in Professor Grant's room and he asked me what I was doing. I told him that Professor Thiphet had taken one hundred points from me for dropping his class. His eyes opened wide at this. I told him I was filing a grievance and passing out witness statements. He took one and gave me fifty points for doing this.
When classes were over I took my grievance to the Honor Code. They told me that students don't take professors to the Honor Code. I told them that it says in the handbook that all disputes were solved by the Honor Code. They agreed to take my grievance. I was told that I'd be informed when the trial date was. I left them and went to dinner. I told The Five what I was doing. Alex said that he'd filled out a witness statement. They were outraged that a professor thought he could take a hundred points from you for not taking his class. I told them that I had filed a grievance and the Honor Code had accepted it. Robby smiled.
"Way to go, Killian!" he said. "You stick it to him."
"I'm planning to," I said. "I'm curious to hear what he has to say about taking the points for dropping his class. He said he doesn't like quitters."
"Tough shit," Pug said. "He can't do that. It's an abuse of power."
"That's what I said in my grievance," I said.
"Have students ever taken a professor before the Honor Code?" Dustin asked.
"No," Robby said. "It isn't done."
"Well, I did it," I said.
"And I support you," Robby said. "Just because a thing isn't done, it doesn't mean it can't be done."
With all of the witness statements out there, news spread. Thiphet took another hundred points from me for filing a grievance. I told him he couldn't do that. He said he'd done it. I added it to my grievance. He was hanging himself. The trial date was two days later. The students who had filed witness reports were allowed in so they could be questioned. No other students besides me and Kevin were allowed into the room.
"Professor Thiphet did you take one hundred points from Killian Flynn for dropping your class and then another hundred for filing a grievance against you?" Reggie asked him.
"Yes," he said. "Killian Flynn is the most disruptive student I've ever had the displeasure to try and teach."
"Is it true that you've taken in excess of a thousand points from Killian in one semester?" another of the Honor Code asked.
"I don't know," Thiphet said. "I take points from so many students."
"We have the point record for Killian Flynn," he said. "It says here that you have taken over one thousand points from Killian. The semester isn't over. You plan to take more?"
"If he continues to disrupt my classroom," Thiphet said.
I looked at Pritchard and he looked angry. I wasn't sure if he was angry at Thiphet or me for filing the grievance. I just sat there and turned my head back to look at the Honor Code panel. Thiphet went on and on about how disruptive I was and how he was trying to teach me to be a better student. I about screamed at this. I wasn't disruptive. I was quiet in that class. This was worse than Janus Junior High School's teachers. This was hatred.
"Professor Thiphet we have witness reports from the other students in your classroom," Reggie said. "They say that Killian is being picked on by you."
"Well, they are Durant students," he said.
"Excuse me," Pritchard said. "Are you trying to say that an entire classroom is lying to save a disruptive student?"
"I merely gave them a reason," Thiphet said.
"Well, that's not a reason," Pritchard said. "You don't get to drag the other students into this."
"Professor Thiphet," said Reggie. "It seems to us that you dislike Killian Flynn. Is that true?"
"Of course it's true," he snapped. "The boy is a blatant homosexual who flaunts the fact that he's had sex with half of his class all over the school."
I snapped my head to look at him. He was lying about me. Then I had a thought. Kevin and I had been mistaken for each other a lot over the years. Kevin was doing the very thing that Thiphet was accusing me of. Did he just have the wrong student? I looked at Kevin and he sunk lower in his seat. I shook my head. This as too much.
"Killian Flynn, do you boast about your sexual conquests?" Reggie asked.
"No, it would be pointless to brag about something I've never done," I said. "I am a virgin. I'd like to add to my grievance the accusation of bullying."
There was talking in the spectators. Professor Pritchard told them to shut up. Reggie looked at me with a startled expression before the panel left the table to confer. I sat there and looked straight ahead. This was bullying just like it had been at Janus Junior High School. They came back to the table and took some time to look at each other. Then they looked at Pritchard who nodded at them to get on with it. They cleared their throats and said, "We accept the amendment."
The room went wild after that. Pritchard screamed at them to shut up or he'd clear the room. He looked at Thiphet and said, "Professor Thiphet, you have been found guilty of bullying a student. You know the consequence of bullying, Sir. You are fired from your position of Professor here at Maxwell Academy, and you are removed from your status as Head of House for Pascal House. You have exactly six hours to vacate the school. Do not talk to any students or law enforcement will be called."
"Killian, all of your points have been restored," Reggie said.
"Thank you," I said.
"The rest of you get out of here," Pritchard said.
Professor Thiphet got up, glared at me, and left the room. I sat in my seat. The Honor Code panel looked shocked. I was shocked. This hadn't been what I had set out to do, but it had happened anyway. Pritchard asked me why I hadn't come to him with my problem instead of going to the Honor Code. I pointed out that the handbook states that all grievances were to be handled by the Honor Code. I asked if I had been wrong to file a grievance with the Honor Code.
"No," he said. "You're not wrong. The handbook does say that. It's just that students have never taken a professor before the Honor Code."
"I'm sorry that this happened," I said. "He did this to himself."
"Yes, he did," Pritchard agreed. "What are you going to do with all of your restored points?"
"I just got back the two hundred that he took from me," I said.
"No," he said. "You got back every point he's ever taken from you. You now have over two thousand points. Good thing for you that they roll over into next year when you'll get five hundred more."
With that said he got up and left the room. I waited until he was gone before I stood up. Kevin did as well. We shook hands with the Honor Code and left the room. We went back to our room in Durant House. Kevin looked at me and blanched. "It was because of me," he said.
"Kevin, it doesn't matter one way or another," I said. "He tired to use that against me and it backfired. You've got to slow down though. Do you want the talk to go on all the time?"
"No," he said. "I don't want the talk to go all over the place all of the time. I've stopped what I was doing."
"Well, I have something to discuss with you," I said. "What is your sexuality?"
"I think I'm bisexual," he said.
"Okay, Alex Porter is into you in a big way," I said. "He told me this on Thanks Giving. I didn't say anything because I thought you were still doing what you'd been doing. But Alex likes you, Kevin. He likes you a lot."
"Then I'll talk to Alex Porter," he said. "You're not mad at me for what Thiphet said?"
"No, I'm not mad at you," I said. "Why on Earth would I be mad? Thiphet is a nasty little bigot that got what he deserved. He just mixed the two of us up. That's happened a lot over the years."
"Okay, as long as you're not mad at me," he said. "I'd hate it if you were mad at me."
"Kevin, I saved your life so you could live it," I said. "Who the hell am I to tell you how to live it?"
"Okay," he said, smiling. "That takes a load off my mind, Kills. It really does."
"Come on, knuckle head," I said. "It's dinner time."
We went to the cafeteria. I reconnected with most of The Five. One look told me that Alex was talking to Kevin. I smiled at this. Kevin was doing it, and I was happy for him. I looked at Dustin. He smiled at me, and my erection became painful. I smiled back. He was mine. I couldn't believe it but he was mine. We sat and ate. Everyone was watching Kevin and Alex. Alex's tray was sitting in front of his chair untouched. We waited but decided to eat without him. He finally came to the table all smiles. We laughed at this. He said that he and Kevin were going to be an item. I smiled at this.
"Thank you for talking to him," he said.
"So much has happened since we talked," I said. "Professor Thiphet got fired."
"Because of your grievance?" Robby asked, wide-eyed.
"Yes and no," I said. "The initial grievance didn't get him fired. What he said next got him fired, because I added bullying to my grievance."
"Oh my God," Pug said. "You got Thiphet fired! You'll be a legend in this school soon."
"I'm not interested in that," I said. "He hated me. He had to go."
"Well, thank you," said Robby. "The whole school should thank you."
"Well, it isn't out yet," I said. "Give it time."
That night Kevin asked me more about Alex. I told him that he was supposed to learn all about Alex from Alex. I wasn't giving him an advantage. He laughed. He said the boy was drop dead gorgeous. I agreed that Alex was a good looking boy. I told him that me and Dustin were together. He hugged me and said congratulations. That meant a lot to me. We accepted each other. I was looking forward to telling Richard about Dustin so his heart wouldn't hurt.
The next day, we got troubling news. We came down to breakfast and found Jason standing at the front of the cafeteria. He came to us and told us that our grandfather was dead. He told us to pack for Winter Break because we were going home for a while. We packed. Kevin cried. I was fighting tears. I told him we'd be all right. We headed back to Jason. Dustin stopped me. I told him my grandfather had died. He hugged me. Then we were following Jason to his car. He told us that everyone was really upset. Then he told us that Richard was acting strange and had been since he found this new girlfriend. He said Richard was going to a new church and everything. He said he was warning us. Richard had a bug up his ass about the two of us.
When we got home, we learned first hand what Richard's bug was about. He cornered me and told me to repent and stop my wickedness. I asked him what the hell he was talking about. He said your sexuality is an sacrilege. I told him to get out of my face. He followed me to the kitchen, ranting about me repenting. I told him that if he didn't stop I'd punch him in the face. He went away after that, but only to corner Kevin with the same bullshit. Kevin did punch him. He punched him right in the eye. Richard fell backward onto the couch. He looked at Kevin like he'd gone insane.
"You deserved that for what you were saying to your brothers," Jason said.
"You're just as bad," Richard said. "You condone what they do. Well I've told my grandmother."
"You leave your grandmother alone," Jason said. "She's grieving."
"Because the twins' sexuality killed Grandpa," Jason said. "I think we should all pray."
"Oh, pray yourself, you moron," Kevin said. He came into the kitchen with me.
"You punched him," I said.
"And I'll do it again if he starts in on me with that shit again," he said. "I had my own meltdown over my sexuality. I'm over it. I won't let someone like him make me feel bad again."
"He's our brother," I said.
"No he's not," he said. "That's not Richard. That's just the moron that's wearing his skin."
Kevin went downstairs after that. I just stood there. Jason came into the kitchen and hugged me. I told him I couldn't handle Richard like this. He said that April was upset with him, too. I told him that when I came out to Richard before Maxwell he said he accepted me. Jason said it was this new church and girlfriend. I didn't know what to think. I went to the basement to be with my twin. But Richard came down as well. He said we weren't watching any deviant films in the house. I told him to shut his fucking mouth.
"Profanity," he said. "I expected no less from godless boys."
"You know what you're doing is a sin," I said. "Let he without sin cast the first stone."
"You know the bible and yet you're still an immoral homosexual," he said.
"You show me in your bible where Jesus talked about homosexuals," I said. "He didn't. The only ones that do never met Jesus and weren't part of his teaching. Jesus was about love."
"Sodom and Gomorrah," he said.
"Let me stop you right there," I said. "First, Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because the people were wicked and sexually abusing each other. That's not homosexuality. That's a pervert. It doesn't say a word about homosexuals. Just sexual deviants. Homosexuality isn't deviant. It goes on between consenting people. No one is raping anyone."
"You would try to explain God's word?" he bellowed.
"Richard, shut the fuck up," Kevin said. "You're eighteen years old. If you don't like the way this family operates then move the fuck out. But get the fuck away from us before I hit you again."
"Richard Flynn, you get your ass upstairs," Grandma said. "Leave those boys alone."
"Grandma," Richard said. "They're Godless."
"I said get your ass upstairs," she said. "Now I don't want another word on the matter. You get up here or so help me I'll come down there and cocock you with a bible."
He went upstairs but he didn't shut up. I sighed. I didn't want to be here. It seemed I wouldn't be. Jason came downstairs and told us to pack a bag. We were going to his house. We hadn't unpacked. We just grabbed our bags and followed him upstairs and out the door. Grandma asked where we were going. Jason said away from Richard's abusive talk. She just cried. I hugged her. Then Kevin hugged her. I said we'd be at the funeral but we weren't staying in the house with the likes of Richard one night.
"What he's saying to and about you is wrong," Jason said when we were back in the car. "There's nothing wrong with either of you. If you're gay or bisexual that's between you and your own version of God. He doesn't get to dictate what you believe."
"Jason, he's crazy," I said. "Something bad had to happen to make him this way."
"We don't know what it is," he said. "Your grandma is beside herself with this. Then your grandpa died in his sleep. She found him this morning. Richard started in on how the knowledge that you're gay killed him. She slapped him in the face."
"When does he go to college?" I asked.
"He was supposed to go in the fall, but he started going to that church," Jason said. "He wanted your grandmother to sign his trust over to the church and give them all of his money. He said it was what he owed them. Your grandmother stopped his allowance. He tried to take April's, and your grandmother said she would call the law if he tried it again. She's about to tell him to get out of her house."
"I don't know what to say about any of this," I said. "I'm sorry, Jason, but Richard is lost. There's no saving him from this when it's his own decision."
"I know it," he said. "Your grandma knows it. She's about to wash her hands of him."
"This is bad," Kevin said. "I punched him in the eye for what he said to me."
"Well, you shouldn't punch him, but I understand the urge," Jason said. "How's school?"
"Killian got a professor sacked," Kevin said.
"Sacked?" Jason asked.
"Fired," I said. "There's an exchange student in our house from England. Kevin's been spending time with him."
"Well, you're either with The Five or just Dustin," he said.
"Kevin," I sighed.
"No, I'm not coming down on you for anything," he said. "God knows that I don't have that right. What you're doing is fine. I just meant that you're never around anymore. So I hang out with Davis."
"Davis Miller is from London," I said to Jason. "He's taking a year of study at Maxwell so he can get the American experience. He said it was his father's idea. They have money."
"Okay, how did you get a professor fired?" Jason asked.
I told him all about Thiphet and his insane point taking. I told him that when he took one hundred points because I dropped his class for next semester I filed a grievance. Then he took another hundred points for me doing that. I added it to the grievance. He called me a filthy homosexual, and he got fired. Jason thought it was close to what Richard was doing. I told him that Professor Thiphet was bad but not that bad. Jason said he didn't know the man so he couldn't agree with me.
We got to his house and I was shocked to find Sarah there. She'd moved in with Jason. I could tell by all of the feminine touches in his house. She welcomed us to their home and asked how things went. Jason said that things went about how she could expect. She said she'd never known our brother to be that way, but he'd been going to the Tabernacle of Faith and going around with the bishop's daughter Erin. She said Erin was a strange girl who always wore grey clothes and talked about the bible.
"If it's all the same I'd like to not talk about Richard," I said. "I'm heartbroken about my grandfather. I'm not ready to process the loss of my brother."
"Understood," she said with a smile. "You are a smart one."
"Thank you," I said. "Right now I'm hungry."
"Well, dinner is about ready," she said. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," Kevin and I said at the same time, making her smile.
"You know you're like sons to Jason," she said. "He loves you very much."
"We love him, too," I said. "We'll get to know you better while we're here. I'm happy that you and Jason are together. He needed love in his life."
"Well, thank you," she said. "Come on into the dining room and sit down. I'll put dinner on the table."
We went and sat down. Sarah had made a tater tot casserole. We'd never had it before. It turned out that it was hamburger, cream of mushroom soup, tater tots, and cheese. It was delicious. We both had two helpings. Then we took our bags into the second bedroom. There was a single bed in there and a cot. Jason said he expected that we might stay with him while we were in town. I just put my bag in there and sat on the bed. Kevin sat on the cot and looked at me.
"What are we going to do?" he asked me.
"We're going to take every vacation with Jason if Richard stays in the house," I said. "I can't be around him or I'll start screaming."
"I know what you mean," he said. "Do you think Grandma will go for this?"
"Jason has guardianship of us," I said. "She has no choice."
"When you put it that way," he said.
We took showers and got ready for bed. We sat in the living room and watched television with Jason and Sarah. They told us that they were getting married in August. We thought that was awesome. Jason asked me to be his best man. I was thrilled and touched. Kevin would be a groomsman. She said that April was one of her bride's maids, but her best friend was her maid of honor. Her parents were paying for the wedding and they were going all out. I was thrilled for them. I told them so.
"We were going to get married just after Christmas, but then your grandfather died," Jason said. "We moved it to August so it wasn't near any birthdays."
"Yeah," I said. "It's supposed to be your day not shared by anyone else but Sarah."
"You have a way with words, Killian," he said. "Thank you."
"Okay," I said. "It's time to talk about Richard. If he's going to continue this hysterical nonsense and stay at Grandma's while he does it, we'll take every vacation here."
"I was going to suggest that," he said. "Your grandmother is on board. She's put the house in my name, too."
"In your name?" I asked.
"It was supposed to go to Richard, but she's decided it's going to the two of you," Jason said. "She put it in my name so I can sign it over when you reach eighteen. That way it doesn't have to go through probate. She's leaving you an awful lot of money, too. She won't leave Richard a dime. She's worried about April. She's not handling Richard's change well. She's been on our couch a lot."
"Where is she now?" I asked.
"She's staying with a friend," he said. "She's rather upset about your grandfather."
"Well, she's probably better off there," I said. "I don't know what to do about Richard."
"He said something about time travel," he said. "You and time travel that you traveled through time to be wicked."
"I don't know what he's talking about," I said. "Time travel is impossible."
"Yes," he said. "He's just a raving madman now."
"Yes, he is," I said. It was important for them to think that if he was going to spill secrets about time travel.
"Well, I'm sorry for the way he's acting," he said. "If I had seen this coming, I would have put a stop to it."
"Yeah, well, it's too late now," I said. "Richard is lost. There might be no getting him back. I'm afraid I'm going to have to write him off."
"Don't be so quick," Jason said. "He can come back from this."
"I don't know," I said. "But I'm tired. I'm going to bed."
"Me too," said Kevin.
We laid in bed. Well I was in the bed. He was on the cot. We talked about Richard. He was ready to write him off, too. I wondered what Grandma thought of all he was saying and doing. How much longer would she put up with him? Well, it was out of our control. I rolled over and went to sleep. The next morning we went to the visitation. I wore a suit of Jason's. Kevin had suit that he'd worn to the banquet for Dr. Maxwell's widow. He wore that.
Richard was there, but he steered clear of us. I saw his girlfriend with him. She was a plain looking young woman who was dressed all in black. She looked washed out. She was so pale. We sat in the family seats with Grandma. April was there in a black dress. We hugged her. Richard looked agitated. He didn't sit with us. We didn't go to the casket. We wanted to remember Grandpa in our own way. Grandma said she understood. Two hours later they had the funeral. A lot of Grandma's friends came. They hugged her as she cried. We sat through the sermon. Then it was time for the dinner afterward. We rode to the banquet hall with Jason and Sarah. April didn't like it, but Richard was riding with Grandma. Him and his girlfriend. I couldn't take him today.
The dinner was a buffet. Kevin and I got plates and sat down. Grandma came in and April got herself a plate and sat with us. Grandma hugged us both and told us that we could come home soon. She'd take care of Richard. We told her we loved and missed her. She told us she loved us, too. Then she went and got a plate and sat with her friends. Richard and Erin got plates and sat close enough to us that we could hear what they were saying.
"Those are the twins," he said. "I was telling you how wicked and vile they are."
"Hey numb nuts," I said. "We can hear you. Shut up."
He looked at me with such hatred in his eyes. I glared right back at him until his gaze faltered. He was quiet and we got our food eaten. Then people came to talk to us. Some of Grandma's friends came to pay their respects. Richard was cordial. He seemed aghast that they extended the same sympathies to us. He was about to say something when Erin put her hand on his arm. He looked at her and then back at us, but the people were gone.
"They wouldn't have talked to you if they'd known," he said.
"Richard, you take yourself straight to hell," I said. I got up and took my plate back. I dumped it and went outside.
Kevin came out a minute later. He said that Richard hadn't stopped. He couldn't take it. I told him I hated Richard now. He said he felt the same. We went and stood next to Jason's car. We waited for over two hours before he and Sarah came out. He asked if we'd been standing by the car for a long time. I told him two hours since Richard had started in on us. He said my grandmother was done with him. When we got home we found out that Grandma had told Richard that he had to go. We packed up and moved back in with her. She cried a lot, but she was happy to have us in the house. She said that Richard was lost to us and we'd likely never get him back.
"I don't know what happened to him," she said. "That girl only makes things worse. She's just like him."
"Well, we don't have to worry about him now," I said. "He's gone."
"That hurts my heart, but I couldn't have him around you guys and April," she said. "Especially with the insanity he's touting about time travel of all things."
"We don't know what he's talking about or where he got it from," I said.
"Oh, I know that, Honey," she said. "I just was talking."
"Okay," I said. "We need to put our clothes in the bedroom. We have pictures for you as well."
"Oh, good," she said.
We put our clothes away and took her the pictures. She asked about the girls in the pictures. I told her that the girl with me was Thalia Dwyer. She went to Worthington Prep. Kevin told her that the one with her was named Laken, but there weren't going to be any pictures of him with her again. She asked about that and he said she was trouble. Grandma nodded. We had dinner in the dining room. Mary cooked it. April went to the basement with us. She said that Richard had destroyed most of the movies down here. I told her it didn't matter. We wanted to hear how her year was going.
"Mine was going great until Richard changed," she said. "He started to yell at me and Jesse about being proper. Jesse is scared of him."
"That's not good," I said. "How's Jake?"
"Oh, you don't know," she said. "Jake was killed in a motor cycle accident last month. Jesse was beside himself."
"I can imagine," I said. I had thought Richard was going to make sure that didn't happen.
"He's doing better now," she said. "He was at the funeral."
"Was he?" I asked. "I didn't see him. But I wasn't looking for anyone either."
"Yeah," she said. "You'll be here until just after New Year's right?"
"Yes," I said. "We've already taken semester finals."
"So soon?" she asked. "We don't take ours until we're back from winter break."
"Things happen a lot different in prep schools," I said.
"Okay," she said. "How do you guys like it at Maxwell Academy?"
"We love it," I said. "We have a lot of friends there."
"Cool," she said. "It always made me feel bad that you guys didn't have friends."
"We have friends now," I said. "I even have a boyfriend."
"That's awesome," she said. "What's his name?"
"Dustin Flox," I said. "He's gorgeous."
"He really is," Kevin said. "But my boyfriend is cuter."
"You have a boyfriend too?"
"Yes," he said with a grin. "His name is Alex Porter."
"Wow," she said. "That's so radical. I didn't know you were gay."
"I'm not," he said. "I'm bisexual."
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"It means I like both girls and boys," he said.
"You guys are only thirteen," she said. "You have boyfriends already?"
"You had a boyfriend when you were eleven," I said.
"Jesse wasn't my boyfriend until just last week," she said.
"You made him wait?" I asked.
"Of course," she said. "He had to be salivating before I'd let him be my boyfriend."
"Okay," I laughed. "Our sister is vixen."
"You better believe it," she said. "Jesse goes to Radison now and lives with his uncle. His uncle is dating a man who used to work at Radison. Jason took his job when he left."
"Okay," I said. "His name is Paul something right?"
"Paul Jackson," she said. "He's really nice. He's writing a book."
"What about?" I asked.
"The Civil War," she said. "He's really into it."
"Cool," I said. It wasn't my bag, but whatever.
"So, what are the other boys at your school like?" she asked.
"You have a boyfriend," I said.
"That doesn't mean I'm not interested in who you hang out with," she said.
"Okay, well I hang out with Robby and Pug most of the time," I said. "It used to be Robby, Pug, and Alex, but he's got no time for us now that he has Kevin."
"That's not true," he said. "He still goes on the outings for The Five."
"True," I said. "Then we just hear about you the whole time."
Kevin smiled and looked mollified. I laughed at him. He told her that he hung out with Randy, Max, and Davis. He told that Davis was from England and she though that was amazing. He told her that after this year he'd go back to England and he wouldn't see him anymore. She thought that was sad. But then we started to talk about what her school was like. She said there weren't as many students in the classrooms there. She said the teachers were really nice and loved to help them out when they needed it. They even showcased kids that were super smart. We told her it sounded like she was going to a good school. She said it was so different from Janus Junior High School. We told her that Maxwell was nothing like it either. For one thing there were no girls.
"But you were in pictures with a girl," she said.
"She goes to Worthington Prep," I said. "It's the all girls' Sister School to Maxwell Academy. Those girls go the dances with us."
"Oh," she said. "How did you meet Thalia?"
"There's a social club for both schools called The Phoenix Club," I said. "The social events for the club are for both schools."
"Cool," she said. "Thalia is pretty."
"Yes, she is," I said. "She's going to go to all of the dances with me."
"So you have a girlfriend and a boyfriend?" she asked.
"No," I laughed. "Thalia is not my girlfriend. She has a boyfriend in Texas that she's quite fond of. I have a boyfriend that I'm quite fond of."
"Okay," she said. "It just looks weird."
"Maybe, but she's agreed to go to all of the dances with me so our pictures are always with the same people," I said. "Kevin will have a merry go round of girls in his pictures."
"OKay, dip shit," Kevin said. "Laken was a bad girl. Maybe the next one will give me the same deal."
"Maybe," I said. "I'll ask Thalia for a keeper."
"Do that," he said.
"What do you guys think of Grandpa dying?" April asked.
"I knew that it was a possibility," I said. "Elders with dementia are prone to death from the disease. Grandpa actually lived longer than the average."
"You knew it was going to happen?" Kevin asked.
"I thought it was a possibility," I said. "I didn't know it was going to happen. You have to understand that in my first go round he didn't have dementia when we moved in with him and it was a long while before we moved in for this go around."
"What changed things, and April's like right there," he said, looking at her.
"She knows," I said. "She's known almost from the start. And I don't know what changed things. Some things are the same and many things are different. Some of them are changing because of the changes that I've made to the timeline."
"Like what?" April asked.
"Getting Hank and Mom out of our lives, giving Grandma the lottery numbers, stopping us from being in the accident, getting us to Maxwell Academy," I said. "None of that happened the first time. Mom left Hank for cheating on her. She blamed me for this. Hank won the lottery and became the savior of the city. We were in the accident. You broke your hip and pelvis, Richard broke his neck, and Kevin died. There was no Maxwell Academy for me the first time. I was stuck because my twin was dead. This time he's alive and we're at Maxwell where we're changing the lives of everyone we meet. We wouldn't have met them if I hadn't come back in time."
"When you say it that way it's a mind scrambler," Kevin said.
"Yeah," April said. "I don't know how you do it."
"I just don't think about it much," I said. "I live my life. I mean I may be a forty year old in the body of a thirteen year old, but the body does construct your reality. I'm really thirteen. I'm going through puberty, and I'm finding it hard to do just like the first time. I'm really a thirteen year old boy. I feel thirteen. The adult that I was is a distant memory most of the time."
"Wow," she said. "I've been thinking about this for a while. You just put my mind into a tailspin about this."
"Well, whenever you need to talk about it, just find me," I said with a smile.
"I'll call you at school and drive you crazy," she said. "You better not say that to me."
"Okay, when I'm home," I said.
"There you go," she said. "Did you know that Grandma stopped Richard's allowance from the trust and that it'll never open if he doesn't go to college?"
"Yes, I knew all of that," I said. "Jason told me."
"Jason is mad at Richard for a lot of things he's said," April said. "It's been a dark time."
"Well, he's out of the house now," I said.
"And I'm happy about it," she said. "That person that's walking around in the Richard shell is not our brother."
"No, he's not," I said. "I hate this version of my brother."
"I do too," she said.
"Guys, we need to talk about something else," Kevin said. "This is just depressing."
"Yeah," I said. "It is. He's been there our whole lives."
"We need to go to bed," Kevin said. "It's ten o'clock."
"Grandma hasn't said anything," April said.
"She's probably in bed," I said. "Let's just get ready and go to bed."
We went upstairs and the house was dark. We used the bathroom and went to bed. The next morning Grandma was up and sitting at the table when I came in for breakfast. Kevin came in a minute later. Grandma smiled at us but it didn't reach her eyes. I asked her how she was doing. She said she had good moments and bad moments. I told her I though I understood. She smiled for real that time. Mary put a ham and cheese omelet in front of me with hash browns and a biscuit. I got orange juice to drink. Seconds later she put another one in front of Kevin.
"You've grown," Grandma said. "You're so tall already."
"We're about five foot eight," I said. "We're not done growing."
"No, you're not," she said. "You need new clothes."
"Okay," I said. I ate my omelet. It tasted so good.
"Later today I'll take you and get you new clothes to take back to school with you," she said. "Do you like it at that school?"
"We love it," I said.
"Good," she said. "I was against you going, but now I know it was the right idea. You've got friends there, don't you?"
"Lots of them," I said. "Plus we're going to play baseball in the spring. We'll have an entire team of friends then."
"Good," she said. "It always made me feel bad that you boys had no friends."
"Don't worry about us, Grandma," I said. "We're doing fine."
After breakfast, Grandma insisted that we go shopping. She spent a fortune on us. She bought us complete wardrobes. I didn't have the heart to tell her that at any moment we'd grow out of this stuff too. She took us to lunch. We had burgers and fries with soft drinks and hot fudge sundaes when it was gone. Then we went home and she washed all of those clothes and folded them. She stacked them on the table beside the dryer and we came and got them. I had to unpack and repack. Kevin did the same thing. It would officially be Winter Break in a few days. We'd have been here anyway.
"Grandma's different," he said.
"She might die," I said. "There are a lot of cases were one spouse dies shortly after the other. They just mourn to death."
"That's heavy," he said. "I don't want her to die."
"I don't either," I said. "So, while we're here we'd better do things to raise her spirits."
"Like what?" he asked.
"I don't know, I'm thinking about it," I said.
April came down and asked us where we'd gone. I told her that Grandma had taken us shopping and bought us whole new wardrobes that we'd grow out of in a matter of weeks. She just shook her head. She said that Grandma wanted to do the same with her. I told her to let her. It was a coping mechanism. She went up and told Grandma she was ready to go shopping whenever she was. They left to do it right then. Kevin and I just looked at each other.
We were sitting downstairs when the news came on. They talked about the Tabernacle of Faith and the arrests that had happened there today. The Bishop, the Deacon, and fourteen of the congregation were arrested for criminal sexual assault on minors. The church had been under investigation since an allegation was made by a minor child last year. Now they were arresting all who were involved. Kevin and I looked at each other. This was Richard's church. Where was Richard?
The report went on to name those that were arrested. Several children were being treated for sexual abuse because of these arrests. People lost their children because of this. It was a dark mess. Erin Gilcrest was one of the ones being treated for rape and child abuse. I looked at the screen in shock. The drab clothing, the pale skin. These had been signs and I'd overlooked them because my brother was acting like a madman who'd drunk the religion cool aid. So many people were arrested. It was unreal. Then the mob happened. They burned the church in protest. They wanted the members of the church that had been arrested for themselves. They said they'd hang them on the courthouse lawn. It was crazy. Kevin and I looked at each other in shock. Grandma and April were out there in all of this. I worried about them. I wished they'd come back.
"Killian, this happened yesterday," Kevin said. "They're talking about yesterday."
"Okay," I said. "Maybe the mob is in jail."
"They are," he said. "They said that almost all of them had been arrested for illegal weapons."
"Good," I said. "The last thing we needed was a vigilante mob."
"They burned the church down last night," he said. "It was still on fire this morning. We didn't go near it when we went shopping. The mall is on the other side of town."
"Right," I said. "Wow."
"Yes, Wow," he said. "This is outrageous."
"Maybe Richard will come to his senses," I said.
"Now that he knows his church leaders were horrible people maybe he will," Kevin said.
"Children," Mary called. "Stay downstairs. Your brother is here."
We could hear him asking for Grandma. He was drunk. Mary said so. He said he needed to talk to his grandma. Mary told her that she'd taken April shopping for more clothes. He said he'd wait. Then he fell in the floor. Mary told us he'd passed out. We came upstairs to sit with Mary while we waited for Grandma. Mary poured water over him and woke him up. She told him to go to bed. He went in his room, stripped naked and fell into bed. I closed his door.
"Your grandmother doesn't need this," Mary said. "She's upset about her husband."
"I know," I said. "But I don't know what to do about him. Did you hear about the church?"
"No, what about it?" she asked.
I told her all that had happened. The arrests, the burning of the church, the children taken from families, the angry mob, I told her all of it. Then she clucked her tongue and told me that this was probably why Richard was drunk. I told her that his girlfriend was one of the children being treated. She's only seventeen. Mary was shaking her head. Grandma and April came in to the middle of this. Grandma took April's clothes to the basement to wash.
"Why is that door closed?" April asked.
"Richard is in there sleeping off a massive drunk," I said.
"He's drunk?" she asked.
I told her the same things I'd told Mary. She grew wide-eyed as she listened. While I was telling her what had happened with the church, Grandma came upstairs. She'd put the clothes in the washing machine. She walked right past us and didn't bat and eye. Perhaps she hadn't heard me. I went into the kitchen were she sat with a cup of coffee. She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. I told her Richard was in the house.
"Well, he lives here," she said.
"He's drunk," I said.
"After what happened with his church I'm not surprised," she said. "Though he is young to be drinking so heavily."
"Grandma are you all right?" I asked.
"It's the pills," she said. "The doctor gave me some pills to help me cope. They keep making me happy."
"Well, if you need them," I said.
"I'm not sure I do," she said. "I mean my husband died. I understand that he lived longer than they expected, but I've been preparing myself for this for years, ever since the diagnosis."
"Well, do the pills help you at all?" I asked.
"They did at first, but I need to feel this, Killian," she said. "I need to feel that my husband is dead. I spent fifty-two years with that man and now he's dead."
"I'm so sorry, Grandma," I said.
"No," she said, waving her hand. "It was a good life. We had two children, and happy marriage, and we have six beautiful grandchildren."
"Grandma why didn't Uncle Nick and Aunt Dianne come to the funeral?" I asked.
"He's not speaking to us at the moment," she said. "He was upset when we wouldn't invest in his church idea."
"Okay," I said. "I was just wondering. This family does strange things at times."
"Boy doesn't it?" she laughed. "But this is serious, what happened to the church. I mean there was a mob after all. Children were hurt by these people and that drab girl that he was dating was one of them. Did you know she's only seventeen?"
"I did know that, Grandma," I said. "It was all over the news this morning when we got back from shopping. You had just taken April."
"Okay," she said. "You're upset about this?"
"Shocked is more like it," I said.
"Well, it was shocking all right," she said. "I tell you what, you and Kevin keep April downstairs while he's snoozing. When he wakes up he and I have to have a chat."
"Okay, Grandma," I said. "When he wakes up."
"Yes," she said.
I went to get my siblings and we went downstairs. I told them that Grandma was taking pills prescribed by her doctor that made her happy. She was thinking about stopping them, because she needs to feel that her husband is dead. I told them that Uncle Nick was mad because Grandma wouldn't invest in his church idea, so he and Dianne didn't come to the funeral. It was a mess. Now Richard was upstairs passed out drunk, and she was going to have a chat with him when he woke up. She asked that we stay downstairs and wait that out.
"Killian, he may sleep through dinner," he said. "We have to eat."
"She'll let us upstairs to eat dinner if that happens, Kevin," I said. "She's happy, not a monster."
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