The White Rose

3

My name is Ethan Mar. And this is my story.

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I stared at the white board where Mr. Goudon was writing something about integrals. He kept droning on and then boxed an answer. We may have been doing Calc, but I learned it quickly. I doodled in my notebook and just relaxed as best I could at my desk. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

"Mr. Mar, am I boring you?"

My eyes snapped open and I looked up at Mr. Goudon. "No." I said. "It's just we've been over this a dozen times and everyone knows how to do these integration problems."

Mr. Goudon looked around the classroom. "Is this true?" I looked around too and saw lots of heads nodding. "Well then, we shall move onto something more difficult tomorrow." The bell rang two seconds later. "Have a good afternoon everyone, and Mr. Mar I'd like to have a word with you."

"Sorry Ethan," my best friend Mary Ann whispered as she packed her stuff up.

"Way to go," my other best friend Matt said, grinning, as he shoved his binder and papers into his bag. "Now you're gonna get it."

"He never 'gets' it Matt, he never gets in trouble." Mary Ann whispered as the classroom emptied.

"Guys, shut up." I hissed. "I don't want this to be the time that I do get in trouble!" I crammed my papers into my notebook and slid the pen down in the metal spiral that held it together. I liked my friends, but sometimes they could be so annoying.

"Good luck!" Matt sang as I watched him and Mary Ann leave the room. The door closed behind them as I approached Mr. Goudon's desk.

"Mr. Mar, I understand that we're covering something that you're all set with and have learned, but you still need to pay attention in class." Mr. Goudon looked at me and carefully rolled a pen between his fingers. He had an angular face, chocolate brown eyes and dark brown hair, and he wasn't more than thirty years old. Yeah, I definitely had a crush on my teacher. He dropped the pen and rolled his sleeves back. There was a small tattoo on his arm of a white rose. "But if everyone in the class already knows what we've covered, you should feel that you can tell me. I don't want to spend time going over something that everyone knows."

"Yes Mr. Goudon." I said quietly, my eyes looking at the tattoo, it looked really familiar for some reason. I just couldn't place it.

"Just let me know next time, okay?" He looked at me. Then his eyes followed mine and saw that his tattoo was exposed. He rolled his sleeves back down quickly.

"Yeah." I just said and shifted on my feet. It was weird for me. He always yelled at other students, but never me.

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Mar." He said to me as he went back to grading.

"See ya," I said, I stopped holding the door. "Do you want this open?"

"You may shut it, thank you."

Mary Ann and Matt were waiting for me in the hall.

"So?" Mary Ann said, drawing it out. "What happened?"

"Nothing, as usual." I moved down the hall towards my locker. "Nothing ever happens. It's weird."

"It's wonderful! That's what it is." Matt said coming alongside me. "Cause nothing ever happens to us either." He grinned and spun around me until he was next to Mary Ann. "I told you nothing would happen."

"You're the one who thought something was going to!"

"No I wasn't," Matt said and then ignored her. "So, did you start the physics project yet?"

"No. Do I look like I need to?" I stopped and spun the dial on my combo lock. It took me about three seconds to open it and then I opened my locker. I shoved my Calc notebook in and then found my notebook for English. "I'll do it this weekend and get a perfect grade as always."

"You know that's not fair..." Matt said, slamming his locker shut.

"Well," I said laughing. "I am the smart one."

English was just as dull. We were writing essays for college and I, of course, had the most to write. I'd received so many scholarships and at least five universities were offering me full rides. I didn't really want to go though. But I wrote three essays during the ninety minute period. We were in the nicest computer lab in the school, so I ended up browsing the web and watching some videos on YouTube. I never really got into Facebook, but I definitely got into YouTube. There were some great people who made videos that I laughed at all the time.

After English was Gym, and we were playing softball now. I had Gym with Matt and as usual, he played too hard. He looked damn good playing though. I didn't mind Gym, but I would have rather been reading or better yet, swimming. Swimming was definitely my favorite thing to do. I spent most of my time in the pool when I was home. I made a couple of good plays during Gym, but then it was over. I jogged back to the locker room with Matt. We both liked to shower after gym, but had to beat the rest of the class. It was what we did. We were first in the communal shower. Our school didn't have stalls yet. Or they took them out. I didn't really know which it was.

"You made a sick catch." Matt said soaping up his chest. He had already done the rest of his body. "I mean, I couldn't have caught that at your height." He grinned as he stepped under the flow of water.

"Yeah, and you couldn't hit the ball either." I jabbed back, laughing as I shampooed my hair.

"Well, you didn't hit the ball either." He said, rinsing all the soap off.

The shower filled up slowly, the jets of hot water creating thick layers of steam. Yup, I was done. I kept to myself as I made my way out, being careful not to touch any of the guys. I saw what happened to a freshman who did that on accident once. He was teased and called gay the rest of the year. Turns out he was, he came out to everyone earlier this year. I was a sophomore when he first accidentally bumped into the other boy in the shower.

I dried myself off and then pulled on a pair of American Eagle athletic trunks. They were my favorite kind of underwear. I pulled my black skinny jeans on, letting them ride a little low, and then put on my neon green tee shirt. My Converses finished off my outfit. I walked into the bathroom area and ran a hand through my hair. It wasn't long, but I liked it a little messy.

"Ooolala," Matt said as he came into the same area. He fixed his hair and studied himself. He hadn't put a shirt on yet. "You like?" He asked me, flexing while he grinned like an idiot. He turned around and flexed showing his back and shoulders off. "I know you like my rose tattoo." He said, flexing his left arm to me.

"It's cool, I guess. Although I don't know why you'd get a rose." It was cool. I really enjoyed seeing it when I could. It was white with small thorns on it. Most people drew roses with no thorns, but Matt's had them.

"Roses are cool." He said, and before I could stop him he reached over and grabbed my crotch. "Just like you," he said, grinning. I could feel myself blushing angrily. At this point, I wasn't going to give in. I stood there and let him continue to hold my crotch. He caught on and did the same thing. So, he wasn't going to give in either. We played the game often, and I was determined to win.

My eyes narrowed as I watched him. His eyes narrowed right back.

"I'm not going to be embarrassed," he said. "I could stay here all day."

I was blushing so much I could feel my face warming up. That's when I began to feel it, stirring in my belly. No, not here. I can't get one here. I panicked and bailed. I swatted his hand away. "You win," I said. "But I'm gonna win one day."

Matt laughed, his rich laugh echoing in the locker room, cutting through the chatter of all the other guys around. I really liked his laugh, a lot. "Sure you are."

I glared at him and stomped away. Idiot. He always had to screw it up. I was doing perfectly fine until he squeezed just a little bit. I didn't like the feelings that I felt...especially about Matt.