"No matter what you think of homosexuality, it is a fact that gays and lesbians are members of our families, clubs, and workplaces. They are our doctors, our teachers, our soldiers (whether we admit it or not), and our friends. They yearn for acceptance, stable relationships, and success in their lives, just like the rest of us." ~Theodore Olson, Bush's Solicitor General and head lawyer for plaintiffs in Bush v. Gore and Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Zack had stopped by the other day and handed me a copy of The Sims 3. He apparently had a good time making the girls in the game kiss, but gave it to me since he had found a better game in Avatar.
In any case, I was intrigued by this piece of information. The video game industry has largely either condemned the gay community via vulgar vernacular such as "fag" and using the word "gay" in the negative sense, or they have simply ignored our existence.
Yet after playing the game, which really is quite interesting, I learned that you could perform a same-sex marriage in it. What wonders! That there were people out there who believed that homosexuality was absolutely fine! The game is such a great source of self-empowerment. Being a simulation, it allowed me to live the life I always wanted: with a loving family and friends who accepted me just the way I was.
I sat in London's closet, engrossed in the simulation. I had built a nice, small condo. I was currently playing the piano, Beethoven's Fifth Concerto, mind you. That took quite a while to master. My partner was currently wandering around someplace downtown. Probably protesting at the city hall over some local ordinance. He's an outgoing one.
Of course, I was the one who made him that way. And there was still a major difference between simulation and real life. And, my God, I wished that the simulation was real.
I saved my game and shut down the laptop. I made a point to plug it in; last time, it wouldn't turn on and I had a heart attack.
I plopped down on the fluffy couch and sighed. Being stuck inside a closet for a month wasn't exactly that fun. Granted, London's closet was huge and exercise wasn't that much of a problem. Plus, Zack and Cody snuck food in to satisfy his ravenous appetite. So I decided to sneak out that night to get some fresh air and star gaze.
It wasn't that hard to sneak out. Nobody was outside at dark, anyway. I promptly made my way outside and sucked in a deep breath of salty ocean air. I sighed peacefully. It was a beautiful night out. The ship had just left port from Beijing and the polluted air that Cody had been complaining about for the past several days was no longer present.
I made my way down the stairs and onto the main deck. I sat on one of the lounge chairs and stared up into the sky. In my spare time while stuck in London's closet, I had become somewhat interested in Astronomy. But having always relied on images, it was a nice relief to finally have a real night sky and un(light)polluted air.
I spotted the Aquila constellation quite quickly. A diamond and line. It represented an eagle who was sent by Zeus to carry thunderbolts to the Shepard boy Ganymede. But I had found the Chinese story more interesting. Aquilae, one of the stars in the Eagle, is the son of two lovers (one mortal, one immortal) who were separated by a Milky Way because an intolerant God didn't believe mortals should be with immortals.
It reminded me of my parents. I was brought out of my revere by a familiar voice calling out my name.
"Woody."
I jumped and nearly fell out of the chair. "M-Mr. Moseby!"
Mr. Moseby nodded in response. "Yes. You know that there is a curfew, right? No persons under the age of 18 are to be outside after 11:00, except in cases of celebration."
"Umm, yes. I-I seem to recall," I replied.
"Perhaps you forgot due to your long absence. Come with me, Woody."
I nodded in reply and followed him. What else could I do? Kirby was right behind me and he patted my shoulder comfortingly.
It was odd when Mr. Moseby took a right turn instead of a left turn in the lobby. A left turn was where his office was. The right turn took us to the boy's cabins. Mr. Moseby led us to the cabin that Cody and I had shared before my escape into exile.
He knocked on the door a few times and stepped back. A loud thump was heard from inside and it was evident that Cody fell off his bed. "Who is it?" an irritatedly sleepy voice called from within.
"It's Mr. Moseby," Moseby yelled.
"I didn't do anything!" I chuckled. It was the twin's automatic response whenever Mr. Moseby greeted them.
"You're not in trouble," Mr. Moseby replied. "No open the door."
Footsteps. Then the doorknob slowly turned and Cody's head peeked out, hair slightly disheveled and eyes drooped. "What?"
Mr. Moseby gave me a slight shove and pushed me into the room. "Good night." He then proceeded to shut the door.
"Woody! What happened? W-were you caught? What's Mr. Moseby going to do?" Cody was finally awake now, and was visibly panicking. "Oh no..."
I shook my head. "It was all my fault. I just wanted some fresh air and-"
"No, its all right. That's perfectly understandable. I mean, if I were stuck in London's closet for a month..." Cody shuddered.
I shrugged. "I dunno, that room is pretty interesting."
"Whatever. Our primary objective is to get you off the ship. Who knows what Mr. Moseby is going to do to you?" Cody peeked out through the peep hole. "Coast is clear. Only Kirby is standing guard."
I nodded. "Okay." I slowly opened the door. Kirby noticed and immediately gestured for me to stop. I quickly noticed why. Mr. Moseby was nearby having an intense discussion with an unknown man in a suit.
I quietly slipped back in. "What now?"
Cody and I decided to simply go to bed for the night and hopefully, the confusing events of the night would unravel itself.
And unravel itself it did. The next morning, we were woken up by a loud helicopter. Over the noise of the helicopter propellers, I could hear Zack cursing next door.
"What the hell is that?" I yelled.
Cody shrugged and shook his head, indicating that he couldn't hear me. I yelled louder. This continued for a while, so I decided to investigate. Grabbing a robe from the closet, I left the room. The hallway was empty, so I went outside and looked up at the helipad.
The helicopter engine had been shut down and the propellers were slowing down. There was frantic shouting and some muffled speech. Baffled, I climbed the stairs to the helipad.
Several official-looking gentlemen had stepped off the helicopter in a square formation. Presumably, it was Mr. Tipton behind the wall of security officials. Zack and Cody had told me about this. What did this man do to warrant so many people trying to kill him?
In any case, there was a quick exchange between Mr. Tipton and Moseby. I decided spontaneously that I was just going to reveal myself. So I did.
Mr. Moseby looked shocked. Kirby was smiling. And Mr. Tipton...well, who knows? I saw a hand rise above the heads of the same-height security guards, and snap. Another official-looking man carrying a suitcase stepped off the helicopter and right towards me.
I confess. I began to panic and turned heel to run off the helipad. But all I succeeded in doing was run headfirst into Cody.
"Ouch, I yelled." I heard the footsteps behind me begin running and felt someone pick me up.
"Are you okay?" The man asked.
I nodded and broke free of his grasp. "Yeah, I'm fine."
I turned around and looked at Mr. Moseby. He was pointedly looking the other direction.
The man smiled. "My name is Simon Zavala. I'm Mr. Tipton's lawyer." He offered me a hand. I accepted it, confusedly.
"What's going on here?"
"London called her dad and reported some 'mistreatment' going on. Mr. Tipton immediately called Mr. Moseby and asked what was going on. But Mr. Moseby denied that anything was out of the ordinary. So Mr. Tipton contacted Kirby, and the entire story was revealed.
"Oh." Wow, London really is overly underestimated. "Wow. Umm."
Simon smiled. "Come, this helicopter is headed to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, where you can file for abuse."
"Oh." I repeated, stupidly.
Simon smiled again. "Don't worry, your friends will still be here when you return."
I nodded, and followed Simon aboard the helicopter. Back in my hometown Virginia, I had thought that I were the only gay person around. Those other gays on the internet seemed so unreal to me. But on this adventure, I had met new people: accepting ones whom I previously thought didn't exist. Through this wild roller coaster ride, I see hope shining at the end of the tunnel. When previously I had only dreamed of succeeding only if I forcefully ignored my sexual orientation, I could now see hope in living life out of the closet. I could see hope in making a family, finding a stable job, and leading an honest life. There are people out there who accept me and will support me. Who look at me and judge me by my personality and talents rather than my sexual orientation.
Although I broke others' stereotypes about gay people. This experience also broke my stereotype of the world. I learned that there were nice people out there.
Fin
Well this is the end. Sorry for taking so long to update. Junior year in high school is tough and I completely forgot that I had this until I learnt of a federal court case in California about gay rights and it jogged my memory.
The case is called Perry v. Schwarzenegger and it is challenging Proposition 8 to legalize same-sex marriage. The proceedings will be posted on Youtube. Just like Woody's experiences, this will be one hell of a roller coaster. Good luck!
P.S. The speaker of the last quote graduated from my high school. :)
