Rainbow U
"Alright Twinkles," Manny said. "What's wrong?"
"What makes you think something's wrong?" Nelson asked.
"The fact that I made your favorite Baja shrimp tacos and you've barely taken two bites. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…kind of nervous about tomorrow."
"Oh for…Nelson! We've been through this, you're great with kids! You'll do fine running the petting tank."
"Not that, I meant orientation."
"Oh, I forgot about that."
"I'm not going," Nelson said. "I'm not cut out for college."
"The hell you're not. You're just scared college is going to be like high school. Don't worry about it so much."
Nelson smiled at him and took another bite of his food.
Nelson took the card out of his pocket and checked the number on the door. He raised his hand and hesitated for a couple of seconds before knocking. He took a step back as he heard shuffling in the room and footsteps approaching the door.
"Nelson!" Dr. Kringle exclaimed. "It's good to see you! Up here for orientation?"
"Yeah, I just got done with it," Nelson said, showing his "Freshman Bag" full of information.
"Have you chosen your classes yet?" Dr. Kringle asked, ushering Nelson into a seat.
"I haven't turned in the paper yet," Nelson said. "I'm thinking about doing a bio major."
"Wonderful! I'll get to torture you in some of my classes. Tell me your schedule."
"Introduction to Cells, Genetics, British Literature, Foundations of Dance, and Photography."
"Good, that's a total of fifteen hours, yes?"
"Yes. I didn't want to overload myself my first semester."
"Wise choice." Kringle looked at him for a moment. "Are you nervous about starting?"
"Yeah," Nelson said, laughing. He wiped his hands on his jeans. "I…I didn't have an easy time in high school. That's why I took a gap year, to clear my head a little. But…um, my boyfriend talked me into it."
"Good man. You'll be fine here. Your schedule looks great. Did they tell you about the advisor situation?"
"Switching once we're here in the fall? Yeah, they went over that."
"Since you're a bio major, I can be your advisor if you want."
"Sure," Nelson said. "I get to cause you all kinds of trouble then, right?"
"Not too much trouble," Kringle said, laughing.
"Well, I have to run. I'm running the petting tanks at the aquarium this afternoon."
"It was good to see you! Stop by anytime, alright?"
"Thanks," Nelson said.
"Remember to be gentle with our watery friends," Nelson said as he walked around the tank. "If you need anything, just holler 'Hey Nelson!'. And tempting though it is, do not try to squish the sea cucumbers."
The children laughed and moved closer to the tanks. It took about thirty seconds for one of them to yell, "Hey Nelson!"
"What's up?" Nelson said, squatting down next to him.
"What's that thing?" the boy pointed to a big red-ish lump.
"That's a sea cucumber."
"Can I touch it?"
"Yep! You can touch everything in these tanks." Nelson picked up the creature and held it closer to the boy and his friends. "Which school are you guys from?"
"Williams School for Boys," he answered. "Can I hold a starfish?"
"Sure," Nelson said, putting the sea cucumber back.
He went around like this, helping the kids and answering their questions, for about an hour. He answered everything from "What does it eat?" to "How does it poop?" to "Why is your hair blue?" Finally, the kids lined up along the wall to leave. He grabbed the goodie bags from the counter and went down the line distributing them as Allen, his manager, monitored from the doorway. "Everybody have fun today?" he asked, once the last boy had gotten his bag.
"Yeah!"
"Awesome!" Nelson looked at his watch as the class filed out. "Quittin' time," he sang to himself quietly. As he went around the room closing the tanks, he heard one of the boys' chaperones talking to Allen. Feeling like his first day at the petting tank had been a success, Nelson moved closer to the door to hear what they were saying.
"…hope they all enjoyed their trip," Allen said.
"We did, it was lovely. There's just one thing that concerns me…" the woman said.
"Yes?"
"I don't mean to sound like I'm judging," she began.
Nelson knew what was coming next and braced himself.
"Do you…run background checks on your employees?"
"Er…yes ma'am. Why?"
"I was just making sure. Like I said, I don't judge, but I can't see why you all couldn't find someone different to work here. Especially since the exhibit is around kids."
"Nelson's been working at the aquarium since last summer, and he's great with kids. Why shouldn't he work here?"
"Well, you know…people like him…they can't all be trusted around children…."
"I assure you ma'am," Allen said, sounding strained now. "Nelson is completely trustworthy. He's a good kid."
"I understand all that, I do, but really…I just don't think it's right that these…people automatically think they're entitled to the world just because—"
"Wait, what?" Allen asked.
"I'm sure that the petting tanks are a coveted position. Just because you have a diversity goal doesn't mean you have to give them the best jobs."
"Ma'am," Allen said. He was definitely fighting to control his temper now. "Like I said, Nelson's been with us for nearly a year now. His work ethic and conduct record are impeccable. We asked the kids who are senior to him if they wanted the job, but they were already in the positions they wanted."
"I'm sure you could've found—"
"Allen?" Nelson said, grabbing his bag. He walked toward the door calmly, as if he hadn't heard anything. His flushed face probably gave him away though… "I'm heading home for the day." He turned to the lady. "I hope your kids had a good time." Without another glance at either of them, he headed out to his car.
By the time he got there, he'd worked himself into a rage thinking about the lady. He stormed into the apartment and flung himself onto the couch.
"Nelson?" Manny asked coming out of their room. "What's wrong?" He sat next to Nelson and put a hand on his stomach. "Twinkles?"
"Tell me something," Nelson said quietly. "I worked my butt off today, helping those kids play with the animals, answering their questions, keeping them from getting water all over themselves…Is there any reason that witch should go to my manager and complain about me being gay?"
"WHAT?" Manny asked, reeling back.
"This Stepford-Wife-looking chick was complaining about Allen letting me run a kids' exhibit. She said not all us queers could be trusted around their precious angels—I'm paraphrasing," he added, smiling at Manny's scandalized expression.
"Stepford Wife?"
"She was wearing pearls, Manny! Pearls with one of those 'fashionable' track suits!" Nelson shook his head. His taste in fashion was horribly offended just thinking about it.
Manny laughed and grabbed Nelson's hand. "Come on," he said, pulling him off the couch. "Help me cook dinner; it'll make you feel better."
LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews!