𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐭

xiv. FLEA AND ACROBAT

"So, you know how in Cosmos, Carl Sagan talks about other dimensions? Like, beyond our world?" Mike asked Mr. Clarke who they all sat with at one of the tables. "Yeah, sure. Theoretically." The teacher said. "Right, theoretically." Mike said in response. "So, theoretically, how do we travel there?" Lucas asked their teacher.

"You guys have been thinking about Hugh Everett's Many-Worlds Interpertation, haven't you?" The teacher asked but Charles never heard of it so he looks at Dustin who also looks back at him with the same clueless look on his face.

"Well, basically, there are parallel universes. Just like our world, but just infinite variations of it. Which means there's a world out there where none of this tragic stuff ever happened." The man said and Charles looked down, thinking of that.

"Yeah, that's not what we're talking about." Lucas said as he shaked his head. Charles thinks of a possibility of another universe, he thinks of how in that universe, there was another him. The same person, the same best friend named Will. He thinks how maybe in that world, there wasn't that much hatred for people like him. Maybe in that world, he was possibly even able to be himself.

The more he thought of it, the more Charles wished he lived in such an amazing sounding universe. It sounded so much better than this. Living like you couldn't be yourself, living having to be called slurs like faggot or fairy. He knows he's too young to even be so sure of it, but how is he suppose to know he was straight either? He's too young for anything if he's too young to know if he is gay.

He never understood whenever someone teased him about girls. He never did and he never will. Oh, you like a girl? Are you dating yet? Oh yeah, Aunt Nikki? What if I like a boy? Or dating a boy? What'd you say to that? Jesus, Charles, stay focused, this is not time to freak out about what gender you might or might not like. Christ.

"Oh." The teacher said and Charles looks up. "We were thinking more of an evil dimension, like the Vale of Shadows. You know the Vale of Shadows?" Dustin asked the teacher. "An echo of the Material Plane, where necrotic and shadow magic—" "yeah, exactly." Mike cuts off the man as Dustin nodded with a smile. "Michael.." Charles whispered, scolding the boy for his bad manners.

Mike chooses to ignore him. "If that did exist, a place like the Vale of Shadows, how would we travel there?" The dark haired boy asked their teacher. "Theoretically." Lucas added as Charles thinks more deeply about this whole thing.

"Well.." Mr. Clarke started, then looks at the paper plate on the table in front of him, it had a snack on it but he had grabbed two plates, so he pulls out the one from the bottom before looking into his pocket, retrieving a pen from it. He clicks it open before holding up the pen and plate.

"Picture.. an acrobat." He said as he drew two straight line across the paper and then draws an acrobat. "Standing on a tightrope." He said before he pulls his hand away to show the drawing of a stick figure that was on the top line, the two lines that represented a tightrope.

"Now, the tightrope is our dimension. And our dimension has rules. You can move forwards," he explained, drawing an arrow on one side of the stick figure, "or backwards." He said as he drew another arrow pointing the other way on the other side of the stick figure. "But, what if.. right next to our acrobat, there is a flea?" He asked them.

He draws said flea, "now, the flea can also travel back and forth, just like the acrobat. Right?" He said before looking at the four boys. "Right." Mike said with a small nod. "Here's where things get really interesting. The flea can also travel this way..." He said as he drew an arrow on the tightrope. "Along the side of the rope." He says.

"He can even go.." The teacher explained before drawing another arrow pointing to under the tightrope. "Underneath the tightrope." He says and then all the four boys look to each other. "Upside down." They all said in sync.

"Exactly." Mr. Clarke says with a nod. "But we're not the flea, we're the acrobat." Mike says. "In this metaphor, yes, we're the acrobat." Mr. Clarke said and Charles looks down. "So, we can't go upside down?" Lucas asked. "No." Their teacher responded with and Charles looks up again.

"Well, is there any way for the acrobat to get to the Upside Down?" He asked the teacher who looked down, thinking. "Well... you'd have to create a massive amount of energy." The man said as he looked up, holding his hands out. "More than humans are currently caple of creating, mind you, to open up some kind of tear in time and space, and then.." He paused to fold the paper in half.

He uses the pen to stab a hole into the paper plate causing Charles' eyes to go wide, sort of taken back by their teacher's actions. "You create a doorway." He says as he takes the pen out of the paper plate. "Like a gate?" Dustin asked, causing to catch the teacher's attention as he looks at him.

"Sure. Like a gate." He says as he nods. "But again, this is all—" "Theoretical." Lucas cut off their teacher as he nodded his head and Charles sighs. "But.. but what if this gate already existed?" Mike asked and Charles looks at him instantly.

"Well, if it did, I.. I think we'd know. It would disrupt gravity, the magnetic field, our environment. Heck, it might even swallow us up whole. Science is neat. But I'm afraid it's not very forgiving." Their teacher says and Charles looks down.

authors note ok i love my gay son like he's over here having a crisis about his sexuality and missing his boyfriend love that for him