CHAPTER ONE

"I Want To Break Free"

Thurston High School: Thursday, April 12

Dave waited until he was pretty sure no one was left inside the school before he unfastened his safety belt and climbed out of his truck. He shoved his hands inside the pockets of his red windbreaker as he moved across the near-empty parking lot. This was only his third time back on campus since his so-called teammate decided to out him to the rest of the hockey team. After his release from the hospital, his dad had arranged for him to finish up the rest of the school year at home. At first Dave had been opposed to the idea. He had run away from McKinley to get away from his problems. Frankly, he was tired of running. Then Kurt had reminded him of all the hateful and disgusting comments he had received on his Facebook and that was enough for him to reconsider his decision. Luckily, all of his teachers had been supportive so for the last month, Dave had been completing his assignments, essays and tests at home and submitting them via email. The one downside to his new setup was that once a week he had to come to Thurston to meet with his guidance counselor.

Dave walked through the main entrance and made a beeline for the front office. Behind the main desk was a long corridor of offices belonging to the principal, vice principal and other notable staff members. Dave stopped at the end of the hallway and turned to the door on the left. There was a poster of Harvey Milk and a small rainbow flag thumbtacked to the door. The name plaque beside the door read: Thaddeus Winchester III. Seeing the name always got a chuckle out of Dave. Thaddeus Winchester III sounded like some rich lord who rode horses and played croquet – not some middle-aged guidance counselor at a high school in Lima, Ohio.

Dave knocked twice. The door immediately opened to Mr. Winchester standing on the other side. He was a tall man, rail thin with a shock of gray-blond hair. He wore a thin, white button down with the sleeves hiked past his forearms and gray slacks. His eyes crinkled from behind his glasses as he ushered Dave inside.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Karofsky. Come in and have a seat."

Dave sat in one of the two chairs facing Mr. Winchester's cluttered desk and looked around the small space. There were college posters and brochures tacked to the dark blue walls. On the wall next to Dave was a large map of the United States. Each year, Mr. Winchester liked to write the names of each of the seniors next to the cities where the colleges they would be attending in the fall were located. Dave saw his name written in black Sharpie next to Columbus, Ohio. Both Dave and his dad had decided for his first year it would be best to go to a college that was away from Lima but not so far away in case Dave wanted to come home on the weekends. So, Ohio State it was.

Mr. Winchester took his seat behind his desk and lifted the lid on his laptop.

"I found a few more scholarships I think you should apply for," he said, his bright blue eyes glued to the screen in front of him. "I just emailed you the information. The deadline for both of them is April 22."

"Thanks, sir," Dave said. "I really appreciate you helping me out."

Mr. Winchester waved his hand as if he were swatting a small insect and said, "Don't mention it. I'm very much aware of your situation, Mr. Karofsky, and it is my goal to make sure you don't have to come out of pocket for anything."

Dave nodded and looked down at his lap. After his suicide attempt and subsequent hospital stay, Mr. Winchester had stopped by his home to check in on him. Of course, Dave had been so out of it because of all of the drugs his doctors had sent him home with he barely remembered the visit. What he did remember is that Mr. Winchester stayed at least a few hours talking with his dad in the kitchen. Ever since that visit, Mr. Winchester had gone out of his way to let Dave know he was on his side and Dave was so grateful to have the man in his corner.

"Mr. Winchester," he said after several moments of silence had passed. "I was wondering if you had any information on volunteer opportunities. I'm thinking ahead for the summer."

The other man looked up from his computer screen and his eyes widened. "Are you sure you're up to that?"

Dave recalled the last several weeks. His life had become so routine, even without the structure of a school schedule. He usually woke early and immediately showered. His dad would insist on them having breakfast together before he left for the office and Dave started on his schoolwork. Every hour, on the hour, his dad would call to check on him. He was allowed to jog during his lunch break but only around the neighborhood and he had to have his phone with him at all times. When his dad arrived home from work, he spent the rest of the afternoon and evening following Dave around the house until Dave would finally head upstairs to go to bed.

Dave loved his dad more than anything, but he was going stir crazy being inside all the time.

"Yes," Dave answered. "I think it would be good for me."

Mr. Winchester leaned back in his chair and studied Dave for a moment. Without a word, he stood up and walked over to the tall filing cabinet tucked in the corner of the room. He pulled open the second drawer and started rifling through files.

"I got something in the mail a few weeks ago," he said as he pulled out a manilla folder. "Perhaps you might be interested."

Dave watched as Mr. Winchester took his seat and flipped open the folder. He wondered what volunteer opportunity he was about to be presented with. Dave imagined himself working in a nursing home or with Habitat for Humanity or maybe he would become the big brother to some underprivileged kid.

Mr. Winchester plucked a brochure from the inside of the folder and slid it across the desk towards Dave. Dave leaned forward and picked it up. The first thing he noticed was a photo of a young girl posed in front of a rock-climbing wall. Next to the photo, in bright, bold letters it said Are You Ready for the Best Summer Ever? Right underneath was a small caption that read: Welcome to Camp Black Bear. Our Mission: To enhance and empower LGBTQ+ youth.

Dave looked up and made eye contact with Mr. Winchester. "This is a camp."

Mr. Winchester nodded.

"For LGBTQ+ youth," David said. "Says here they are looking for responsible, compassionate and enthusiastic individuals to serve as counselors."

"Responsible, compassionate, enthusiastic," Mr. Winchester repeated. "Think you fit the bill?"

Dave chewed his bottom lip. Responsible? He had done a pretty good job of managing his schoolwork. Compassionate? He supposed he could be more compassionate, but he was definitely getting there. Enthusiastic? He was enthusiastic about not spending the whole summer cooped up in his house.

"Most definitely," he said sounding the most confident he had been in weeks. "I think this would be perfect for me. To have a chance to help some kid maybe not go down the same dark path as I did – I think that would be the best thing in the world."

"Mr. Karofsky, I can think of no one else better suited to take on such a role," Mr. Winchester said. "However, have you taken notice of where the camp is located?"

Dave glanced down at the brochure and saw that the camp was located in New York, right on Lake Erie. He did the math in his head and figured that was roughly five hours away. Five hours away and in another state. There was no way his dad would consent to him spending the entire summer five hours away in New York.

"I know what you're thinking, Mr. Karofsky, but before you give up on this, I want you to take this folder home and have a good, long talk with your dad."

Dave sighed and slumped in his chair. "What's the point. He's not going to let me go spend the summer in New York. He can barely stand not being in the same room with me."

Mr. Winchester winced and removed his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. He reached over his desk and took the brochure back from Dave. He placed it back in the folder and stood up from his chair. He walked to the other side of the desk and stood next to Dave.

"Dave, I think this would be a great opportunity for you," he said. "Talk to your dad. Tell him everything you told me. I have a feeling he will be more open than you think."

Dave gave the older man a sheepish look. "Think so?"

Mr. Winchester handed the folder over to Dave. "There's only one way to find out."

Dave looked down at the folder in his hand. He then pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was a quarter after three. He had almost two hours before his dad got home from work. He figured that gave him ample time to prepare himself for the onslaught of questions his dad was sure to have.