The One Where It's The Other Way Around
Chapter 17: Confession is Good for the Soul
Michael pulled as hard as he could on the locker door and couldn't get it to open. With a frustrated sigh he balled up a fist and violently hit the door, and suddenly it flew open. Hanging inside was a costume, obviously inspired by the 16th Century.
Michael's eyes widened as he reached out to touch the note attached delicately to the collar of the white gauzy shirt under a heavy brocaded vest.
O HANDSOME ONE. JOIN ME AT THE PROM.
I WILL BE WAITING.
LOVE, YOUR JULIET.
Michael's mouth curved into a smile. He hadn't planned on going to the Prom. However, there was only one person he could think of that would have put this costume in his locker (how DID she get in his locker? he thought mildly). And he couldn't wait to see what her costume looked like.
* * *
Cameron found his mom on the stationary bike on the upstairs balcony outside her room. Gathering up his courage, he slid open the glass door and stepped out onto the balcony.
"Mom, I want to talk to you about the Prom. It's tomorrow night and --"
"Prom. Senior Prom?" Mrs. Stratford wheezed. "Does Patrick have a date?"
Cameron bit back a sarcastic response and said, "No, but -"
Mrs. Stratford looked pointedly at her son as she continued pedaling. "For whom do you want me to bend the rules? That girl Chastity Donner that drove you home in her hot rod?"
Cameron frowned slightly. "It wasn't a hot rod, Mom. And I don't see why this is such a big deal."
Mrs. Stratford stopped pedaling so that she could focus on the conversation. Grabbing a towel from the handlebars she mopped her perspiring face and said, "Cameron, do you know what happens at the Prom?"
Cameron nodded. "Of course. Dancing, talking, maybe a kiss or two good night."
Mrs. Stratford snorted indelicately. "Kissing? Is that what you think happens? Listen, bucko, kissing isn't what keeps me up to the elbows in placenta all day long."
Cameron stared at his mother in disbelief. "You are completely unbalanced."
Ignoring the comment, Mrs. Stratford said, "I'm sorry, but you know the rules. If Patrick isn't going, you are not going either."
Cameron stomped one foot impatiently. "Oh I see. I'm not a son, I'm a prisoner. In my own house!"
With that, Cameron stormed from the balcony, leaving his mother to sigh dejectedly at the anger she could feel from her younger son.
* * *
Patrick heard the commotion from his mother's balcony through his open window in the next room. He cringed when he heard how desperately unhappy Cameron was about not being allowed to go to Prom.
Patrick sat at his desk for a few moments, debating what to do. The solution seemed simple: Go to Prom with Kat.
But in the back of his head he worried that by going with Kat he'd be opening up his brother to the clutches of Chastity, and that just didn't sit well at all. Patrick knew it was time to tell Cameron about Chastity Donner.
Patrick moved to stand then he sat back down again with a thud. But am I prepared to go to Prom with Kat? he asked himself. Can I trust her?
Patrick thought back to when Kat had abruptly asked him to Prom after their fun day at the arcade. He had thoroughly enjoyed her company that afternoon, and was actually thinking of asking her to go with him to the Prom. But when she wouldn't answer his question about why she had started pursuing him in the first place, he had gotten a bad feeling and left here sitting on his front porch steps.
Patrick sighed heavily, feeling the weight of so much stress on his shoulders. He wanted to make amends with Kat. He could tell she liked him, despite her reticence. And he knew he definitely liked her - he had made it obvious when he kissed her during their paintball session.
Patrick stood up. He had heard Cameron slam his bedroom door, and so Patrick went into the hall and knocked lightly on his brother's door and opened it a crack, saying "Cameron? Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Cameron was lying on his bed, holding a remote control in one hand. The tv on his desk was on, but Cameron politely pressed the mute button on his remote so that the volume was turned down completely. Then without a word he glared at Patrick.
Patrick took the muted tv as an invitation and came into Cameron's room, shutting the door behind him and sitting at the chair by Cameron's desk.
"Listen," he began. "I know you hate having to stay at home because I'm not Tommy High School."
"Like you care," Cameron grunted.
"I do care," Patrick insisted. "But I'm a firm believer in doing something for your own reasons, not someone else's."
"I wish I had that luxury," Cameron pouted. "I'm the only sophomore guy that got invited to the Senior Prom, and I can't even go."
Patrick paused a moment before letting the ball drop. "Chastity never told you I went out with her, did she?"
Cameron's eyes rounded in shock. "What?"
"In ninth grade, for about a month."
Cameron was totally confused. "Why?"
Patrick mocked himself, saying in a surfer voice, "Dude, she was a babe!"
"But you hate Chastity."
"I do now," Patrick clarified. "Back then, though, I really really liked her."
"As in...?" Cameron asked, not finishing his sentence.
Patrick shrugged. "I know it sounds stupid, I mean - I'm supposed to be the man's man of Padua High and all that. I knew everyone was doing it, and -"
"And what?"
"We did it. Just once," Patrick rushed on when Cameron sat up to interject a comment. "And after that I decided that I wasn't ready to be that physical - I decided to be a gentleman. She got pissed at me - and broke things off with me."
"Are you kidding? Are you an idiot? You slept with Chastity Donner and felt guilty ?"
Patrick shook his head, frustrated that Cameron wasn't getting the point of his confession. "Cameron, after that, I swore I'd never do anything just because 'everyone else' was doing it. And since that episode with Chastity in the ninth grade, I haven't. Except for Bogey's party, and my stunning gastro-intestinal display..."
"Why didn't you just tell me?" Cameron asked tightly.
"Because I wanted you to make up your own mind about her."
Cameron's slow-burning fuse ran out, and he jumped up from the bed in a fury. "No, you didn't! If you really thought I could make my own decisions, you would've let me go out with her instead of helping Mom hold me hostage."
Patrick stood up as well, towering over his younger brother. "That's not -"
"I'm not stupid enough to repeat your mistakes."
"I guess I thought I was protecting you. Chastity Donner is a shark in a short skirt."
"Man, you're just like Mom! Keeping me locked away so that I can't experience anything for myself."
"But not all experiences are good, Cameron," Patrick urged. "You can't always trust people the way you want to."
Cameron brushed past him and opened his door. Turning angrily before he stormed out, he cried out, "Well I guess I'll never know, will I?"
Chapter 17: Confession is Good for the Soul
Michael pulled as hard as he could on the locker door and couldn't get it to open. With a frustrated sigh he balled up a fist and violently hit the door, and suddenly it flew open. Hanging inside was a costume, obviously inspired by the 16th Century.
Michael's eyes widened as he reached out to touch the note attached delicately to the collar of the white gauzy shirt under a heavy brocaded vest.
O HANDSOME ONE. JOIN ME AT THE PROM.
I WILL BE WAITING.
LOVE, YOUR JULIET.
Michael's mouth curved into a smile. He hadn't planned on going to the Prom. However, there was only one person he could think of that would have put this costume in his locker (how DID she get in his locker? he thought mildly). And he couldn't wait to see what her costume looked like.
* * *
Cameron found his mom on the stationary bike on the upstairs balcony outside her room. Gathering up his courage, he slid open the glass door and stepped out onto the balcony.
"Mom, I want to talk to you about the Prom. It's tomorrow night and --"
"Prom. Senior Prom?" Mrs. Stratford wheezed. "Does Patrick have a date?"
Cameron bit back a sarcastic response and said, "No, but -"
Mrs. Stratford looked pointedly at her son as she continued pedaling. "For whom do you want me to bend the rules? That girl Chastity Donner that drove you home in her hot rod?"
Cameron frowned slightly. "It wasn't a hot rod, Mom. And I don't see why this is such a big deal."
Mrs. Stratford stopped pedaling so that she could focus on the conversation. Grabbing a towel from the handlebars she mopped her perspiring face and said, "Cameron, do you know what happens at the Prom?"
Cameron nodded. "Of course. Dancing, talking, maybe a kiss or two good night."
Mrs. Stratford snorted indelicately. "Kissing? Is that what you think happens? Listen, bucko, kissing isn't what keeps me up to the elbows in placenta all day long."
Cameron stared at his mother in disbelief. "You are completely unbalanced."
Ignoring the comment, Mrs. Stratford said, "I'm sorry, but you know the rules. If Patrick isn't going, you are not going either."
Cameron stomped one foot impatiently. "Oh I see. I'm not a son, I'm a prisoner. In my own house!"
With that, Cameron stormed from the balcony, leaving his mother to sigh dejectedly at the anger she could feel from her younger son.
* * *
Patrick heard the commotion from his mother's balcony through his open window in the next room. He cringed when he heard how desperately unhappy Cameron was about not being allowed to go to Prom.
Patrick sat at his desk for a few moments, debating what to do. The solution seemed simple: Go to Prom with Kat.
But in the back of his head he worried that by going with Kat he'd be opening up his brother to the clutches of Chastity, and that just didn't sit well at all. Patrick knew it was time to tell Cameron about Chastity Donner.
Patrick moved to stand then he sat back down again with a thud. But am I prepared to go to Prom with Kat? he asked himself. Can I trust her?
Patrick thought back to when Kat had abruptly asked him to Prom after their fun day at the arcade. He had thoroughly enjoyed her company that afternoon, and was actually thinking of asking her to go with him to the Prom. But when she wouldn't answer his question about why she had started pursuing him in the first place, he had gotten a bad feeling and left here sitting on his front porch steps.
Patrick sighed heavily, feeling the weight of so much stress on his shoulders. He wanted to make amends with Kat. He could tell she liked him, despite her reticence. And he knew he definitely liked her - he had made it obvious when he kissed her during their paintball session.
Patrick stood up. He had heard Cameron slam his bedroom door, and so Patrick went into the hall and knocked lightly on his brother's door and opened it a crack, saying "Cameron? Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Cameron was lying on his bed, holding a remote control in one hand. The tv on his desk was on, but Cameron politely pressed the mute button on his remote so that the volume was turned down completely. Then without a word he glared at Patrick.
Patrick took the muted tv as an invitation and came into Cameron's room, shutting the door behind him and sitting at the chair by Cameron's desk.
"Listen," he began. "I know you hate having to stay at home because I'm not Tommy High School."
"Like you care," Cameron grunted.
"I do care," Patrick insisted. "But I'm a firm believer in doing something for your own reasons, not someone else's."
"I wish I had that luxury," Cameron pouted. "I'm the only sophomore guy that got invited to the Senior Prom, and I can't even go."
Patrick paused a moment before letting the ball drop. "Chastity never told you I went out with her, did she?"
Cameron's eyes rounded in shock. "What?"
"In ninth grade, for about a month."
Cameron was totally confused. "Why?"
Patrick mocked himself, saying in a surfer voice, "Dude, she was a babe!"
"But you hate Chastity."
"I do now," Patrick clarified. "Back then, though, I really really liked her."
"As in...?" Cameron asked, not finishing his sentence.
Patrick shrugged. "I know it sounds stupid, I mean - I'm supposed to be the man's man of Padua High and all that. I knew everyone was doing it, and -"
"And what?"
"We did it. Just once," Patrick rushed on when Cameron sat up to interject a comment. "And after that I decided that I wasn't ready to be that physical - I decided to be a gentleman. She got pissed at me - and broke things off with me."
"Are you kidding? Are you an idiot? You slept with Chastity Donner and felt guilty ?"
Patrick shook his head, frustrated that Cameron wasn't getting the point of his confession. "Cameron, after that, I swore I'd never do anything just because 'everyone else' was doing it. And since that episode with Chastity in the ninth grade, I haven't. Except for Bogey's party, and my stunning gastro-intestinal display..."
"Why didn't you just tell me?" Cameron asked tightly.
"Because I wanted you to make up your own mind about her."
Cameron's slow-burning fuse ran out, and he jumped up from the bed in a fury. "No, you didn't! If you really thought I could make my own decisions, you would've let me go out with her instead of helping Mom hold me hostage."
Patrick stood up as well, towering over his younger brother. "That's not -"
"I'm not stupid enough to repeat your mistakes."
"I guess I thought I was protecting you. Chastity Donner is a shark in a short skirt."
"Man, you're just like Mom! Keeping me locked away so that I can't experience anything for myself."
"But not all experiences are good, Cameron," Patrick urged. "You can't always trust people the way you want to."
Cameron brushed past him and opened his door. Turning angrily before he stormed out, he cried out, "Well I guess I'll never know, will I?"
