A Day In The Life: Chapter Three
--*--
Yamato rushed to his Biology class, hoping that the teacher had, by some miracle, already marked the previous day's unit test. The blonde was anxious to see his mark; he felt he had done fairly well, and if he was correct, then the good grade could raise his average by quite a bit. Maybe he'd actually make high honors this year.
Yesterday's test meant that the class would start a new unit today, but the Biology teacher, Mr. Hiroshi, was quite… eccentric, to say the least. He had told the class that the new unit would be a 'surprise'. Yamato nearly at the fact that teachers always found their subjects more fascinating than the students did. Hiroshi was probably wetting himself in excitement over letting the class dissect earthworms, or something.
Slowly but surely, the rest of the class filed in after Yamato. As the blonde had begrudgingly anticipated, the tests remained unmarked. He'd have to wait until Monday. Fuck.
"Today, class, I've got something special for you. It's the coolest unit ever! You get to learn the biology of… yourselves! That's right, human biology. And as the first section of this unit is on reproduction, you oughta steady your hormones, kiddies, because Uncle Hiroshi is gonna teach ya 'bout the birds and the bees!"
Yamato had never been so disturbed in his life. He hated when teachers tried to act 'cool'.
Half the class snickered at Mr. Hiroshi's antics while the other half groaned. Yamato didn't know if he could handle the teacher's overly enthusiastic attitude when it came to talking about subjects that were embarrassing enough without the added pep.
"Now class, settle down. The first thing we'll be learning is the male system. Let's get started, shall we?"
Hiroshi turned on the projector, displaying a labeled diagram of a penis and scrotum. Yamato felt a sharp jab in his upper back. He turned to face the desk behind him and glared at its occupant, who he recognized as… Frank, was it? Fred? Francis? Francis, that's it, one of Taichi's teammates from soccer.
"Betcha like that slide, don't you, Ishida?" he whispered.
"Shut up."
"Boys, is there a problem?" Hiroshi asked.
"It's nothing, sir. Sorry for disturbing the class." Yamato mumbled, embarrassed.
"Actually, sir," Francis cut in, "I was trying to ask Ishida here about the reproduction – or whatever it is they try to do – of faggots. I thought he might know, since he seems the most experienced in that area."
The class roared in laughter. Hiroshi was fuming, but the jock was already failing and could care less if he were kicked out of the class. He'd done the damage he had set out to do. Yamato ran out of the classroom, eyes brimming with tears.
--*--
"Tai, what are you doing here?" Hikari asked when she saw her brother leaning against her locker. "Shouldn't you be back at Odaiba High? I thought you had a class right now."
"I thought we could go for ice cream… I need to talk to you." Taichi replied, forcing a smile so his sister wouldn't worry too much. "Don't worry, I called your school and told them there was a 'family emergency', so you won't be marked as skipping. The excuse isn't too far off base, really… but don't get worried. Nothing's wrong, I just really need to talk with you."
Taichi was visible shaking now and stumbling on his words. Hikari placed a hand on her older brother's shoulder to comfort him. Even though he told her twice not to worry, she couldn't help it. She knew something was upsetting him. She had never seen her brother so scared, not even in the Digital World.
Once Taichi calmed down, the two siblings walked together to his beat-up old Honda Civic and drove to the ice cream shop in silence. When the arrived, Taichi paid for them both – a double cone of Cookies 'N' Cream for Hikari, and a single scoop of vanilla in a bowl for him. He wasn't really in the mood for eating ice cream, or anything else for that matter.
The young girl frowned. She had always known her brother to stack as many chocolaty scoops into the cone as he could, and then try to eat it all before it 'got melty'. He always ended up with chocolate all over his face, and he would grin widely, showing off his now-brown teeth. Hikari would laugh and say, 'Ew, Taichi, shut your mouth', but she really didn't mind. She liked the happy, gross Taichi better than the sulking, dull one she now sat across from in the booth.
Tai shoved the ice cream around in the bowl, watching as it turned into a puddle of sugary milk. Hikari had had enough. She spoke up.
"So, I thought we were going to talk? You haven't done much of that yet, it seems. Am I missing class to just look at you watching that ice cream melt?"
Taichi was silent for a moment longer, not breaking his gaze at the mostly melted ice cream. Then, he stopped.
"I'm sorry, 'Kari. I guess I just don't know where to start. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time now. I know I have the Crest of Courage, but I've changed a lot since those days. It's been over three years since I last went to the Digital World. Those qualities have faded in me now. But I'm not being fair to you. I have to tell you. You're the closest person in my life… I know you'd never leave me, 'Kari. I love you…"
"I love you too, 'Chi, and of course I'd never leave you. Nothing in the world could ever make me stop loving you. But you're hurting me, now, because I can't stand to watch you sulk like this, like you've got no life in you at all. Whatever you've got to say, I'll be here for you. You know you can trust me."
Taichi smiled faintly, but looked skeptical. "I'm a freak, Hikari. I'm a boy, and everyone keeps telling me I should get a girlfriend, that I should find a girl I like. I'm seventeen years old and I've never so much as looked at a girl… that way, Hikari. I know you don't like hearing about these things from your big brother, but it's been bothering me, and you're the only one I feel like I can talk to about this. I guess what I'm getting at is… I like boys. I'm gay, Hikari. I'm sorry."
Hikari got out of her seat and slid next to her brother, hugging him tightly. He was crying now. She spoke softly in his ear, "You're perfect, Taichi, and don't you ever forget that. You've got nothing to be sorry for. You never need to apologize for being yourself. I love you."
--*--
Yamato spent the last half hour of his biology class in the washroom. Mr. Hiroshi had come in at one point, telling Yamato that he wouldn't mark him absent or tell the principal and his parents about the incident if the blonde thought it would cause more trouble from the other students. Yamato nodded and thanked his teacher. Maybe sometimes he's an okay guy. After clearing things up with Yamato, the teacher went back to finish teaching the class.
The blonde boy stood from the toilet he had been sitting on and walked across the room to wash his face. His eyes looked like a raccoon from where his eyeliner had smudged. No wonder they call me a faggot, he thought bitterly, wiping it off of his face with a dampened paper towel.
After getting himself cleaned up, Yamato decided to go sit on the lawn outside of the school. The atmosphere of the grimy washroom was beginning to intimidate him. He sat under a large birch tree on the school's large front lawn and watched the cars drive past.
Soon, a car sputtered to a stop directly in the blonde's line of vision. Yamato saw the mess of brown hair stepping out of the beat-up Honda Civic. Oh no, Yamato thought. What am I going to tell Taichi?
***
A/N – That's right, two updates. I'm pretty sure I don't gotta mention any reviewers, because no one would have had the time to read chapter two in the time it took me to put this up. GO DARCY! There, the thanks go to me for being AWESOME.