I missed summer already. Yes, I like the warm days when the sun never sets and the days when no homework takes you away from enjoying it. I missed Otto. At camp, we met and stayed together. If distance were not a factor, we would still be holding hands, watching the sunset in some secluded location. Yet distance was and is a factor, Otto is gone and he is not coming back. I still remember him saying, "Bye Russell," as he waved to me as his car drove past the tall ponderosa pine trees. A tear trickling down my cheek, I raised my hand and waved back to him. Never again would I stare into his mysterious eyes. Never again would I listen to his songs which sounded better than any superstar today.

I needed a new boyfriend. Long term relationships were not for me. Yes, I could always email Otto or skype him but it was different. You cannot use skype to eat together in your favorite restaurant. You cannot use skype to go to the mall together. You cannot use skype to go to a movie. Actually, you could but do you really want to carry your computer into the theater with you? Forget it! I missed the confidentiality in our conversations, I missed the mutual trust but most importantly, I missed the togetherness. Who would the new boyfriend be? Kevin, my former boyfriend was still in the closet and shoved me away when I tried to talk to him last year. Did the summer warm him up? If I could just find him and talk to him…

"We have so many new transfer students this year," a girl said, pushing past me with her friend. As she saw me, a frown formed on her face and she slowly shifted to the other side of the hallway. No surprise, the gay kid always got dirty looks. I ignored her.

I opened the brown door to the GSA meeting. It would be fantastic if we picked up new people. Our club needed to expand so it was not just the original group, minus Kevin and Terese. We added Gunnar. If he were not my best friend, he would not be here though. I looked around the room to see that Min had arranged the tables in a circle and I sat down in an open one with Gunnar on the left and Min on the right.

A minute later, Min cleared her throat and said, "Welcome back everyone. I hope you all had a great summer. As you may have noticed, we do not have any new people."

"No one wants the suspicison," Gunnar said. "Fear is powerful. Wait, where's Ike?"

"Where is he?" Belinda asked. "He's still here, right?"

"Ike had a terrible accident," Min said. "A week ago, two guys discovered Ike was gay. As he was walking home from the mall, they threw a large rock at him. It hit his head and when they found him, blood was pouring out of the gash."

"Yikes!" Belinda said. "You can stop now."

"It's fine, Ike did not die and will not die. The worst is over but he is not coming back for a few days."

A tear trickled down Belinda's cheek as she wiped it. "We should cheer him up," she suggested.

"Good point," said Gunnar. "He must be emotionally hurt too."

"Let's throw him a party," Belinda said. "I make delicious chocolate chip cookies. You gotta try them."

"Good idea but nope," Min said. "Parties only last an hour. We need to keep Ike happy permanently. That head injury will hurt for awhile. This is why I have decided we find Ike a boyfriend."

I almost shook my head but stopped myself. Sorry Ike, I have nothing against you but we are not going to date. You do not look horrible but our personalities do not mesh. Unlike you, I can care less about politics and I know you are jealous that I got Kevin so you probably hate me.

"No Russell, I was not thinking of you," Min laughed. I never figured out how she could read my mind so well. She knew I liked Kevin from the beginning and who knows what else.

"Do you guys know any other gay people?" Brian asked. This was the first time he spoke today. Brian, our newest member was the total outcast in school but he was not gay, despite popular opinion.

"We have to find them," Min said. "The problem is that we cannot go around asking people if they are gay."

"It will make us look like idiots and do I really want to do that?" I asked. "People know I am gay, they will think I am flirting. We should just stick to the party. I…can make really good…strawberry shortcake…yeah."

Min nearly laughed. "Russell, we know you cannot even make sugar cookies. Quit the drama, we need to think."

Gunnar tapped his chin for a minute and said, "Maybe one of the political nerds Ike hangs out with is gay. They already know him well and share the same interests."

Min shrugged. "I guess we can start there. How do we find out though?"

"They are mostly liberal so they'll support gay rights and everyone knows they will. Get some to come to the meeting, then we can check."

"Sounds like a plan," said Min. "I will talk to them."

I grumbled as I walked out of the room. Once Min set her mind to something, she never buckled and she always succeeded. Last summer, she took Web who I wanted. He was an absolutely gorgeous guy over 6 feet tall, a mysterious smile, his brown hair was so clean and those legs were just killers. Min taking him though was a mistake because he cheated on her but still…Anyway, I was the one who needed a boyfriend, not Ike. As long as Min could force Ike to go with personality, not looks, I was fine. No, I care about personality too but I must have an honest nice guy who is hot! They go together and they must stay together! Kevin had the latter and usually had the former. Whoever Ike would get, it would not be Kevin!

As school ended the next day and I slammed my locker door shut, Kevin swaggered past me. Here was my chance!