A PROPER FRIEND Michael, woke up from his bed which wore Captain Astro, sheets which matched his pyjamas, he got up and rubbed his eyes gently and collapsed onto the bed, "Michael! Get up your gonna be late for school" Debbie shouted at Michael, Michael hopped into the shower and took no time at all to be out and dressed in his smart clothes he wore to school. "You look beautiful Hun!" Debbie kissed Michael on the forehead and gave him a motherly nudge down the stairs, Michael, still half-a-sleep plonked himself on the wooden stool, which probably did more harm than good to his back, Debbie placed two slices of Jam on toast in front of Michael who was staring mindlessly at the card his mom and Uncle had got him, it said happy 14th birthday champ and had a picture of his favourite super hero captain Astro on it, he got up from his seat one piece of the jam on toast in his hand and pulled his bag across his back "See ya' mom I'm going to school! Bye Uncle Vic!" Michael shouted as he walked out the door "But what about your jam on toast Mikey!" Debbie shouted but Michael had already gone, she watched him stroll passed the window, his head in his comic book he got yesterday for his birthday. "He'll starve, I'm telling you!" Debbie looked down at Vic when she said this. "You can't force feed him sis! Vic was only here for the night, because his boyfriend was out of town, and Vic stopped round for Michael's birthday. "Oi ! Fag!" a boy Michael recognised from school strolled over with his friends and ripped up Michaels comic in front of him, Michael stared and said nothing, but inside he felt like crying, he got that for his birthday they had no right, then suddenly a boy who looked about Michaels age ran over "leave him alone! You had no right to do that that was his comic!" The boys, left and Michael smiled and hugged this random person he'd never met before, then he remembered that there was a new boy at school today he supposed this was him, still smiling at the boy without realising he said "thank you, that's the first time anybody has ever stuck up for me" Michael was still smiling without knowing. "Hi I'm Brian, I heard they called you a fag are you – Michael cut him off, "yeah I'm gay but my mom doesn't know, are you?" Michael regretted what he had said, why he would say this to a random person he had just met, but the boy, Brian, laughed "is it that obvious?" "No, it's just I've never met a nice person who was straight, I guess they don't exist." Brian laughed and nodded in agreement "my motto is there's the straight people who hate you in front of you and the ones that hate you behind your back" they both shared a smile together and then realised they had already walked all the way to school, it was at this moment Michael realised he had made a friend, a proper friend.