I regret the lateness and the length, but the next part will come more quickly.
Like This All Along - Part 3
With Travis on his side, Pat felt more confident about pursuing his interests. If anything ever went wrong, he knew he could confide in his closest friend. This comforted him, mainly because he still felt that Dirk was a typical straight boy who would never consider experimenting with another guy.
3rd period Advanced English was a time for great reflection. At this point, all Mr. Reynolds wanted them to do was to finish their final essay by May 31st, the last day of school. This allowed for time to socialize, sign yearbooks and for some, work on their papers. Since Pat was halfway finished, he decided to work quickly on Dirk's yearbook, for fear his friend would be angry he didn't finish it in time.
Pat rushed to class and took his seat at one of the back tables. He cracked the book open to the first back page, and put his pen to upper right corner. He had trouble forming his thoughts though, and spent a moment to gather everything he was thinking of. He wanted Dirk to know that he knew they had a rocky start, but that he was extremely glad that they were now friends. He hoped that they would now become friends in the future, and that he forgave him for all the time he spent being mean to him.
It came down to this following passage:
Dirk,
It's been an exciting year. We started off really poorly,
but I realize that you just have a temper. I've enjoyed these last
few weeks, mostly because we've become friends now. I can
now say that I am glad I didn't let your temper affect me too much
and that we can now joke around like old friends. I hope that next year
we can still be good friends, despite our different programs. Maybe we
can party together, have fun at movies and do stuff like true friends. I
don't know why you chose to accept me finally, but I'm glad either way.
Have a good summer, and I'll see you next year.
Pat
He knew this would be a good message that truly expressed how he felt. It wasn't too forward, but it showed that he was excited about where things were going.
Dirk came to class two minutes late, as usual, with Lindsay and a few of his other friends. They were very blase about it, which made Mr. Reynolds a little angry.
"All of you show up late every day. It's a surprise I don't send you all to Ms. Heffner every week," Mr. Reynolds said.
"Well, since we are just working on this paper stuff, why should we come on time?" Lindsay asked, sitting down with her group at the very back table.
Mr. Reynolds was too frustrated with them to respond, so he walked around helping students like Alexandra and Calle, who enjoyed school work too much. Meanwhile, as Lindsay gossiped with their friends about some rumors she heard in the hallway, Dirk went over to Pat.
"Did you finish yet? Linds is on my case about how she didn't get to be first," Dirk said, standing a foot away from Pat.
"Yeah. I think you'll like it, Dirk," Pat said as he handed Dirk his book back with a smile.
"Thanks Pat. You're a good guy," Dirk said, as he walked it back to Lindsay and said "Okay woman, here's the book you wanted. Have fun with it."
Pat was very disappointed. He desperately wanted Dirk to read it, look over at him and smile. In a more perfect world, he pictured Dirk coming over to him, hugging him and kissing him right there. He knew that would never happen, but he at least hoped for some immediate appreciation for his thoughts. That wasn't the Dirk he liked though. The Dirk he liked was tough, slightly neurotic, and above all, a typical insensitive prep.
Dirk was still normal with him. They still hung out during school and talked about a lot of different things. Apparently, he hadn't read any of his messages yet.
The next major event for all of them was the Honors Ceremony, which was in two days. Later during Algebra I, the next day, Ms. Cruz told all of the students in the class that would be receiving awards, which was all but two. That became the next major topic for discussion between Pat and Dirk.
The awards the next day were an interesting ceremony. Many parents showed up to watch their children receive various awards. The `Northern 16' were alone however; like themselves, their parents were uncaring and treated them with money rather than love.
The more popular students sat in the back of the auditorium, which meant that Dirk and his friends took up most of the last row. They were among the last to arrive, which was no surprise to anyone. Their loud, rude behavior was so normalized at this point that only the adults seemed to notice.
Pat was in the fourth to the back row, sitting with both of his parents. When he heard Lindsay's cackle, he turned around. He called to Dirk and waved, trying to get him to come over and visit him. Dirk waved back quickly before his second closest female friend, Megan, called him to sit by her. He jumped over his best friend Justin and took the seat between he and Megan.
The awards ceremony went by smoothly. During the entire assembly, Dirk and his friends were the loudest and most obnoxious students there. Vice Principal Solomon came over to them and quieted them numerous times, but it clearly had no effect. To no one's surprise, Dirk won the Superintendent's Key of Honor, the award given to the student with the most academic ability.
Pat didn't even bother trying to get his attention while Dirk was on stage - with a few hundred people in the audience, Dirk would not notice him that much. He felt Dirk didn't pay attention to him much already. He simply cheered when his friend went up there, trying not to get his parents attention towards his ulterior motive - they were relaxed Catholics, but they still frowned upon certain concepts.
After the ceremony, there were tables of food donated by local businesses. Everyone got in line, except for the Neptune 16, who decided to wait until everyone was done. They went to their area in the main court, and began chatting as usual. Everyone of them was especially rowdy after the assembly - being cooped up too long had a disastrous effect on them. Their actions became more perverse - the girls were trying to go off with the boys and the boys becoming sexually ambiguous. Dirk and Lindsay were practically having sex in the main courtyard. Even when the deans came over, nothing changed.
This was another case of wealthy students playing the political strings. The deans knew they couldn't pull the entire group in to the office, and they knew they couldn't discipline any of them unless it was a major infraction. When some of the Northern 16 stood in front of the deans, standing in an intimidating manner.
10 minutes before the end of the day, Pat came over with his parents. His parents knew all his friends, and he wanted Dirk to be on the list now. He found Dirk alone for a few seconds, while Lindsay was in the bathroom with her girls.
"Hey Dirk. Congrats on the Key of Honor," Pat said as he put his hand on Dirk's shoulder to get his attention. Dirk always has a textbook available - this one was on College Geology.
"Patrick, nice to see you with an Honors certificate," Dirk said, looking distant as usual. He always appeared to be thinking, which was probably true.
"Thanks. So, since you're my friend, I wanted you to meet my parents. This is Dirk," Pat said, as he turned to them.
"Nice to meet you Dirk," Pat's mother said, extending her hand.
"Likewise, you have a very personable son," Dirk responded, shaking her hand a little loosely.
"He gets that from his mother's side," Pat's father said, extending his hand as well.
"It's nice that you notice your son. My parents are too busy at their company," Dirk responded, shaking his hand firmly.
"Heinz Motors. Very impressive. Are you a science whiz as well?" Pat's father asked.
" Yes, I'm completely left brain. It's not always the best, but I have fun either way, " Dirk said with a slight smile.
"Dirk, we need to drop our textbooks off," Megan asked, as she started pulling him away.
" Nice meeting you, but my people never leave me for long, " Dirk said as he ran off with her.
" Seems like a very smart young man," Pat's mother said to her son.
" That's how it appears," Pat said, as he and his parents left early in their BMW. Pat had a little money, but it was nothing impressive.
The 8th grade dance would prove to be a fundamental part of Pat's relationship with Dirk. It would be where he fully understands Dirk, and fully understands his feeling towards him.
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