Just Wait » Boyf Riends

I Am Slightly Less Traumatized Than Before

  "D-Dude, Avi means dad in Hebrew."

  "Oh," I let out a short-lived wheeze, whether or not the wheeze was because I was laughing or because I was embarrassed, who fucking knew, "Wait, you're a Hebrew?"

  "A Hebrew?" Jeremy laughed again, "H-Hebrew isn't a noun, it's an adjective." He had tears in his eyes at this point from laughing at my complete misinformation of Israeli culture.

  I open my mouth to retort something, but end up cutting myself off with laughter. Jesus Christ, I'm a fucking idiot, aren't I? But for once, I was actually laughing at myself instead of feeling guilty about it.

  "Yes, Michael, I'm 'a Hebrew,'" he joked, making quotation marks with his hands, giggling, "I'm Jewish, you know that, right?"

  "Not all Jewish people are Hebrew though, are they?"

  "I mean, you have a point," he stayed quiet for a moment, and then started laughing again, "God, this feels like 4th grade recess."

  I smile, "It really does," I suddenly have another very stupid question, but I'm so comfortable with Jeremy at the moment, so I'm not scared to ask it: "Hey, were you at school today?"

  "Yeah, why?"

  "Uh, well, it's just that, y'know..." I look at him and do some vague hand gestures. Maybe this question is a bit insensitive...

  Jeremy smiled, "Dude, really, y-you don't have to scared of asking questions, even if they are offensive, I know Middleborough doesn't teach you shit," he joked.

  "Uh, yeah, like Greenwell teaches you anything."

  "In Greenwell we learn that Hebrew isn't a noun."

  My lips formed a straight line, "Touché," I follow back up on the stupid question I had, "Okay, okay, fine, back to my stupid offensive question: Why do you go to school if you have... y'know... cancer?"

  Jeremy's eyebrows furrowed, "Well, why wouldn't I?"

  "Well, uh..." I fidgeted with my hands a bit, "Good question."

  He giggled, "I get what you mean. I mean, if I had the flu, I would stay home, b-because it's contagious and stuff, and it actually would like, stop me from learning."

  "Well, wouldn't cancer stop you from learning too?"

  "I mean, a-all it really does at this stage is make me throw up some blood sometimes, a-and I can just to the bathroom for that, and I had heartburn before I ever even g-got cancer, so y'know, it's easy to deal with."

  "Jesus Christ, throw up blood? And you're still going to school?"

  Jeremy scoffed, "It's really uncommon, I swear."

  "Well, doesn't it suck to be trapped in here all day?" I pouted, "C'mon, dude, really, do you have any hobbies?"

  Jeremy's smile suddenly turned really sad, "Haha... it, uh, sure sounds like y-you're trying to make me a bucket-list before I d-die here, Michael."

  I almost choke, my head getting dizzy, "Wh-what? N-No way!" I shoot him a fake smile, hoping he won't realize that's exactly what I'm doing. I mean, Jeremy could die tomorrow, I need to make sure every day I spend with him ends with him being happy just in case it's his last.

  "Michael..." his eyes glossed over, "I-I'm not going to die, you know that right...? I-I have a great d-doctor, they found t-the cancer at an early stage, I'm going to b-be oka—"