Prologue

"Okay, Will. This is your teacher, Sister Mary Clarence. She will teach you a lot of nice things," George Truman, Will's dad, said. "Good-bye, son."

"Bye-bye, Daddy," six-year-old Will said, excited for his first day of kindergarten.

As Mr. Truman left, Sr. Mary Clarence said, "Hello, Will. Come on over here – your cubby hole is this one right here, with the picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary above it."

Will put his backpack the cubby, after taking out his notebook and chubby pencil. "Where do I sit, Sister Mary Clements?"

"Clarence, dear. Sister Mary Clarence, and you will be sitting over here next to Jack McFarland."

"No, don't call me that! It's 'Just Jack'," Jack snapped, framing his face with his hands.

"Yes, dear, you told me that. However, there are three Jacks in this class, so I will need to call you something like, oh, I don't know, Jack M., or something like it to tell you apart from the other two," Sr. M. Clarence said, clearly frustrated. She was tired of Jack being so bratty about this "Just Jack" nonsense.

"Hi, 'Just Jack', I'm Billy," Will said. "Can I call you Jimmy?"

Jack looked at Will for the first time, and, instantly, his six-year-old heart fell in love with the young Will Truman.

"Sure, Billy, you can call be Jimmy," he said dreamily.

"I would like it if you let Sister Mary Clarence Jimmy, too," Will said, having learned how to manipulate people from his mother.

"Okay! Anything for you, Billy!"

Sister Mary Clarence nodded and went to welcome a couple more of her new students, and their over-emotional parents, to her class.

To be continued…

A/n: This is just to create a bit of back-story. Chapter one will pick up six years later, in 1978, when 12-year-old Will starts finding himself attracted to other boys.