They Don't Know - Tracey Ulman (1983)
https://youtu.be/SMATCl-5idY
Clifton's POV.
It was Sunday morning and the day we were to go back to school. I was still feeling a little shell shocked regarding the reaction to the surprises that I had sprung on my parents .
I had expected Dad to have gone apeshit about who I really was but I was gobsmacked when he said that they had already talked about the difference in me over the summer, and since bringing Xander home. It had been little things that I had done, and the way that I said things, that caused them to question if I really was Clifton or not.
Dad was adamant that I should remain as Clifton because of the illegality of taking my brother's identity. Not only would I be prosecuted but questions would be asked and fingers pointed at them for not knowing, or being able to identify their own son.
I think another reason for them wanting me to remain as Clifton was because once they learned of the real Clifton's character and sexual behaviour they had been appalled and now associated his sexual permissiveness with the name Clayton. I could see that Clayton remaining dead and buried, well cremated actually, was the right thing to do.
Another surprise for them was when I revealed Xander's meditation and psychic abilities and that we had 'conversed' with the dead real Clifton. I'm not sure if Dad believed me or not but he didn't dismiss the revelation out of hand and was really respectful to Xander.
Mum believed me. I know she did because she chatted with Xander for quite a while last night. I could tell from the sincerity of her questions and her demeanour as she sat and listened intently to every word he said that she did.
It was after lunch that Xander and I sat quietly in the back of Dad's car as he, with Mum beside him, drove us back to school.
Although I had told my parents that Trevor was a bully I didn't go into any major detail. I also most certainly didn't mention that Niko and Logan had been expelled for nocturnal assignations of the sexual kind. My thought process was that I had hit them with enough already this weekend and I didn't want to run the risk of them pulling me out of school before I had the chance to expose Trevor for being the total little shit that he was.
Dad also advised me to be careful about coming out regarding our relationship. He was honest enough to say that he was not happy that I had become involved with someone and would have preferred me to have concentrated on my studies, but was realistic enough to know love didn't work like that and to force changes on me was not in my interest.
Although he was understanding he didn't think the school would be and would most likely look to prevent us from sharing a room. He said that would be utterly pointless as it wouldn't prevent any sexual contact. His viewpoint was most enlightening, as well as surprising, but I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with him and admiring him for being willing to compromise on his obviously strongly held views.
I had already worked out for myself that if Xander and I were separated we would still be able to meet up in each other's room and, if we so desired, get up to anything we wanted to. It would be more difficult, granted, but where there's a will there's a way.
Love knows no barrier.
I had also compromised. Willingly too I might add. During our serious bonding talks over the weekend Dad hadn't made any further mention of his desire for a son of his to win a coveted England Rugby cap. This new found understanding that I was now experiencing with him led me to promise him that I would try to win a major tournament with the school and if the England scouts came a knocking, I would keep quiet about my sexuality and take their offer. To say that he was delighted by that is an understatement.
I had made the promise because I now knew that my father understood me and by making the promise showed him that I now understood and respected him.
It made me feel good too.
On arriving at school we said our goodbyes and, as Xander and I headed for our room, Mum and Dad sought out the headmaster. Dad had pre-warned me that it was just to voice his disappointment at Mr Dickinson's lack of discipline and obvious favouritism with the hope that, with his international rugby reputation, the criticism would carry a little bit of weight.
"Regarding Trevor," I said to Xander as we unpacked our bags. "If we were able to get a hold of his phone and delete all the photos he has on it then he wouldn't be able to continue to blackmail anyone. Any ideas?"
Xander turned and looked at me. "What's the point in doing that? If he's got any sense he would have backed them up on Cloud and just download them again."
"I hadn't thought of that." I replied, kicking myself. "I thought I had it sussed."
"It's a starting point though," Xander suggested. "What if we borrowed his phone without him knowing... We could then download everything so we know who else he is blackmailing and then try to persuade them to report him."
"Oh shit! Shit! Shit!" I exclaimed loudly.
Xander turned round. "What's up?"
"We forgot to download my conversations with Logan and Niko to doctor them. They can't be used or we will be exposed."
"We forgot?" Xander countered, with the emphasis on the 'we'. "Don't you mean you forgot?"
"Okay but you could have reminded me, couldn't you?" I replied, slightly miffed that he hadn't.
"I thought about it when we were sitting having lunch at the country park." Xander answered a little sheepishly. "I didn't want to spoil the atmosphere by talking about school and then that foursome came along and it went out of my head."
I smirked at the thought of what happened. "I'm not surprised with Stacey hitting on you.... Anyway, it's no use borrowing Trevor's phone as it probably is fingerprint access only."
"Even if it is, he will still have a PIN number though." Xander answered with a sly little grin which let me know that he had something interesting in mind. "There is a way of getting his pin but it's pretty devious."
"Enlighten me. I don't mind being devious as far as Trevor is concerned."
Xander looked like the cat who had the cream. "We need someone who doesn't like Toad but Toad trusts them....., and I think I know the perfect candidate for the job. Sheridan Wiley-Williamson. Niko's old roomie. He's good mates with Fabian and can get close to Toad without raising any suspicion. If we can get him to borrow Toad's phone, turn it off and try to open it again by fingerprint access three times, it will automatically lock. Sheridan can then hand the phone back to Toad saying it's just locked on him and watches as Toad taps in his PIN."
I sucked in my breath. "I'm not sure about that. After what happened with Niko I'm not sure if Sheridan will have any time for Trevor."
"What if we enlisted Roland and Jacob to get Toad's PIN? We're friends again and they like you, so I'm sure if we were to both go and ask them, they would help us. They play rugby and have easy access to the changing rooms, don't they? Those two may be looked on as nerds and completely useless but they have a gift as far as anything remotely electrical or computer based is concerned. They could even doctor those conversations for us as they have more access to the school's computers than us."
"Getting other boys involved in this could backfire on us." I answered, worried about exposing our relationship.
"They don't like Toad full stop. I'm sure that they would jump at the chance to help bring him down. They have never given me any reason to think that they are homophobic or anti gay. I actually think they would be supportive."
"Do you think they are a couple?" I asked, wondering if Xander knew something I didn't.
"I very much doubt it. Roland's older brother is gay and he said that the whole family just accepted it. Both he and Jacob were really supportive when me and Ashton were being bullied, but when it started to get real bad they buggered off as they were worried about being bullied themselves. They are both under pressure from their parents to do well here and keep out of trouble. That's why they've always kept their heads down and gone with the flow."
I knew Xander was right. I could distinctly remember Roland saying to prevent them being picked on, he and Jacob waddled around the rugby pitch pretending to enjoy themselves. "Don't say anything for now. It will be best if we can do what we can ourselves.... Besides when we do confront Trevor it would be better if we had backup a little more threatening than those two."
"So you're planning on confronting Toad, are you?" Xander asked as there was a knock on the door.
"Hopefully publicly," I answered as he opened it.
"Hi Xander. Cliff." Leo called out as he walked right in and came and stood beside me. "Dickie's called a meeting for 5:30 this evening, Cliffy old boy. He's in a foul mood, though. Bradders saw old Jock bending his ear not long ago and what with that, and Logan and Niko being expelled, we reckon he's got himself rattled because of next weekend's cup game. We reckon there's going to be extra practice sessions."
"That won't be a bad thing," I replied, as Leo made himself comfortable, lounging out on my bed.
"Yeah but I can just see us having extra practice sessions everyday this week. Bloody ridiculous if you ask me.... We'll all be too bloody knackered to play on Sunday." Leo replied, pulling a face.
I sat down beside him. "We will need to adjust how we play without Logan. I daresay Kasper is well pleased he's likely to be Dickie's first choice Openside Flanker again now Logan is conveniently out of the way."
"What do you mean by that?" Leo asked, looking surprised.
"I know that Logan and Niko were set up and it doesn't take much working out as to who was behind it."
Leo chuckled. "If you're talking about someone with brains then it wouldn't be Kasper himself. He's just the monkey. Trevor's the organ master."
"Precisely!" I responded. "Actually Leo. I'm more than a little worried about us adjusting to the loss of Logan. Dickie calling this meeting tonight shows that he is too."
"That's exactly what Bradders said," Leo answered, as he stood up and walked towards the door. "If we lose this cup game because of Trevor's shenanigans then I wouldn't want to be in his shoes. Bradders will kill him."
"Win or no win Cliff," Xander commented as soon as Leo had closed the door behind him. "If you're looking for backup you couldn't do better than Eyetie and Big Bradders."
My heart raced. Xander had a point. When Bradley and Leo had negotiated the deal between me and Trevor it had all been about the unity and cohesion of the team. They were desperate to win something in their final year and it had looked like we had been in with a good chance. Losing Logan had changed all that.
Xander broke my thought. "You know I can read you like a book!"
I looked over at him. He was standing there grinning at me. "Did Bradders say, or not say, that as far as he was concerned we could fuck like rabbits just as long as it doesn't affect your game?"
I nodded. "I'm sure that was just a figure of speech and if we were I'd have the piss taken out of me no end."
"Maybe...., maybe not. If you do end up losing this cup game then I think you will find that there will be a queue of boys wanting a piece of Toad's arse to kick."
"What if we win though?" I parried. "What then? We wouldn't be able to touch Trevor because, annoying and frustrating as he is, we will still need him for future games."
"Then you just have to make sure you lose then, won't you?"
"Fuck off Xander!" I yelled. "How dare you suggest that. I know you don't give a shit about rugby but.... but that's well below the belt. What type of player do you take me for?"
Xander stood his ground and answered back. "Rugby may be important to you but in all honesty I don't care who wins. We have a chance to have Toad's head on a plate and you care more about a bloody stupid game."
I glared back at him. I could feel my anger rising and knew I was losing it. So I stomped out of the room, slamming the door after me.