After the hectic events of Friday night the rest of the weekend had passed relatively quietly. Lois and Hal had spent their anniversary at home with their family, and during those peaceful hours all of their problems had been practically forgotten, seeming too insignificant to even contemplate. On Monday morning, however, the honeymoon period was over, and they each woke up to the harsh light of day. Lois lay in bed thinking about the situation with Craig, wondering how she could possibly help him to get over her and move on with his life. Francis, Malcolm and Dewey were imagining what would happen if they ran into Richie and his gang again, and considering all sorts of possible methods of retribution. Reese was worrying about what had happened with Walt at the party, still very confused and just a little bit scared. Even Hal was depressed, thinking about the prospect of another long week at work.
All in all it was not a happy family that sat down to breakfast, and even the prospect of pancakes did little to imbue their spirit. They passed the meal in silence, like prisoners bent over their plates, no one wanting to make eye contact, the atmosphere a cross between that of a classroom and a morgue. Eventually they finished eating and Lois began to clear away the plates. Whilst the rest of the family were getting ready to leave for their respective occupations Malcolm headed in the direction of the bedroom to fetch his books for school. Seeing him leave Reese quickly went after him.
Throughout breakfast Reese had been thinking more and more about the events of the party. Whilst in the past he had never even questioned his sexuality, the encounter with Walt had raised numerous doubt in his mind. He still didn't believe himself to be gay, but he felt like a black shadow had been cast over him, one which he could not be rid of until he had proven once and for all, both to everyone else but more importantly to himself, that he was straight. Though it was usually not a practice of his to ask Malcolm for advice, in this case he felt that he must talk to someone, and Malcolm was as good a candidate as any. 'Who knows, Malcolm may even have been through something like this himself,' he thought to himself as he entered the bedroom. Malcolm was on the other side of the room, picking up papers and stuffing them into his backpack.
'Err, Malcolm, can I talk to you about something? Reese asked apprehensively. Malcolm turned around, looking slightly irritated.
'I can't find my math book, can you believe that? I mean it sits there for months and when I finally actually need it it just disappears' he replied, before turning back to the desk and resuming his search.
Now it was Reese's turn to look irritated. He headed across the room towards Malcolm. 'I'm serious, forget your damn book and just listen to me, OK?' He reached Malcolm. Who turned around and looked at him.
'What is it?' Malcolm asked, focusing his attention on Reese.
'First of all, if you breathe a word of what I tell you to anyone, I'll give you such a beating they'll finding pieces of you all over the house for weeks. I mean it, you have to keep this to yourself.' Malcolm suddenly looked more interested. He dropped the papers he was holding and grabbed his backpack.
'What is it?' he asked again. 'Are you in some kind of trouble. What did you do this time?' Malcolm was unable to keep the excitement out of his voice, eager to hear what Reese was going to say.
'I'm not in any trouble, at least not the sort of trouble you mean. It's about what happened at the party on Friday night...' Reese began.
'Can we talk about this on the way to school' interrupted Malcolm, glancing at his watch, 'it's just otherwise we're gonna be late, and while that may not matter to you some of us actually care about getting into trouble.' He slung the backpack over his shoulder and headed for the door, Reese following suit. As they exited the bedroom into the hall they heard the sound of arguing from the kitchen. It appeared that Lois and Hal were fighting about Craig. Malcolm thought he heard Hal saying:
'I don't want you working with that man. I just don't trust him. I've seen the way he looks at you!' To which he heard Lois reply:
'Oh, since when do you get to tell me who I may or may not work with? What gives you the right to dictate to me how to live my life?' And then they were out of the front door and heading down the path towards the street.
'Mom sure sounds pissed' Reese remarked dryly.
'Yeah' replied Malcolm, 'I reckon we should put as much distance as possible between us and her before she explodes!' They both laughed, but somewhat half-heartedly. They had been on the wrong end of Lois's temper and felt her wrath too many times to make that much of a joke out of it. They turned out of the driveway and made a left onto the sidewalk. Reese's junior high was only a short distance from Malcolm's school, so they could walk together for the majority of the journey.
Reese looked around apprehensively, checking to make sure there was no one about before he launched into the account of the events of Saturday night. He told Malcolm all about his crush on Delilah, his attempts to make contact with her, and finally his encounter with Walt. 'And after that I just left, I mean, how could I stay at the party after what happened?' Malcolm nodded in agreement.
'And you're sure nobody overheard you' he said, 'I mean, if this got out, you'd be a laughing stock.'
'I'm pretty sure no one heard us' replied Reese, 'but I can't be certain.' They had reached a busy intersection, and they paused their conversation as they waited with a crowd of other people to cross the street. Having negotiated the crossing they began to talk again in hushed voices.
'Well as long as nobody finds out then what's your problem?' asked Malcolm, with an air of finality. 'Just put it behind you and move on.'
'That's the thing, I can't' said Reese in his usual exasperate tone. 'I wish I could, but it's like a curse hanging over me, you know. I feel like I need to prove myself before I can move on.' He looked at Malcolm expectantly, sure that the solution to his problem was imminent. After all, Malcolm was supposedly a genius, this should be a walk in the park for him.
'So go prove yourself then' Malcolm replied. Reese scowled at him.
'That's your advice. An IQ of 165 an all you can come up with is 'Go prove yourself!' Well gee, Malcolm, thanks for the advice. I sure am glad I asked you about this.' He said sarcastically.
'Well I don't know' responded Malcolm. 'I'm a genius not a psychiatrist. Why don't you just go make out with a hot girl? Why don't you join a sports team?... Why don't you just get over it for Christ sake?' he added angrily. They had reached the point where they had to go their separate ways, and Reese turned to Malcolm looking less than pleased.
'I should have known you wouldn't understand' he said, more in disappointment than in anger. 'I'll see you later, and thanks for nothing.' He turned away and headed in the direction of the junior high, which was now only four blocks away. Malcolm just shook his head as he set off in the opposite direction. Though he would never say it he was flattered that Reese had asked his advice on such a personal matter. He had felt closer to his brother during that one conversation than he remembered having been for a long, long time, and he also felt guilty that he hadn't been able to be more helpful. He made a mental note to talk to Reese that evening and straighten things out with him.
Without realising it though, Malcolm had actually given Reese a very useful piece of advice. As he continued on his way to school one thing that Malcolm had said stuck in Reese's head. 'Join a sports team.' The more he thought about it the more it seemed like the perfect solution. He could prove his masculinity and have fun at the same time. Though his previous experience of joining a school team had been a less than positive one, when he had briefly been a member of the wrestling team the previous year, he now warmed to the idea. The only thing he had to do was decide what sport to try out for.
All in all it was not a happy family that sat down to breakfast, and even the prospect of pancakes did little to imbue their spirit. They passed the meal in silence, like prisoners bent over their plates, no one wanting to make eye contact, the atmosphere a cross between that of a classroom and a morgue. Eventually they finished eating and Lois began to clear away the plates. Whilst the rest of the family were getting ready to leave for their respective occupations Malcolm headed in the direction of the bedroom to fetch his books for school. Seeing him leave Reese quickly went after him.
Throughout breakfast Reese had been thinking more and more about the events of the party. Whilst in the past he had never even questioned his sexuality, the encounter with Walt had raised numerous doubt in his mind. He still didn't believe himself to be gay, but he felt like a black shadow had been cast over him, one which he could not be rid of until he had proven once and for all, both to everyone else but more importantly to himself, that he was straight. Though it was usually not a practice of his to ask Malcolm for advice, in this case he felt that he must talk to someone, and Malcolm was as good a candidate as any. 'Who knows, Malcolm may even have been through something like this himself,' he thought to himself as he entered the bedroom. Malcolm was on the other side of the room, picking up papers and stuffing them into his backpack.
'Err, Malcolm, can I talk to you about something? Reese asked apprehensively. Malcolm turned around, looking slightly irritated.
'I can't find my math book, can you believe that? I mean it sits there for months and when I finally actually need it it just disappears' he replied, before turning back to the desk and resuming his search.
Now it was Reese's turn to look irritated. He headed across the room towards Malcolm. 'I'm serious, forget your damn book and just listen to me, OK?' He reached Malcolm. Who turned around and looked at him.
'What is it?' Malcolm asked, focusing his attention on Reese.
'First of all, if you breathe a word of what I tell you to anyone, I'll give you such a beating they'll finding pieces of you all over the house for weeks. I mean it, you have to keep this to yourself.' Malcolm suddenly looked more interested. He dropped the papers he was holding and grabbed his backpack.
'What is it?' he asked again. 'Are you in some kind of trouble. What did you do this time?' Malcolm was unable to keep the excitement out of his voice, eager to hear what Reese was going to say.
'I'm not in any trouble, at least not the sort of trouble you mean. It's about what happened at the party on Friday night...' Reese began.
'Can we talk about this on the way to school' interrupted Malcolm, glancing at his watch, 'it's just otherwise we're gonna be late, and while that may not matter to you some of us actually care about getting into trouble.' He slung the backpack over his shoulder and headed for the door, Reese following suit. As they exited the bedroom into the hall they heard the sound of arguing from the kitchen. It appeared that Lois and Hal were fighting about Craig. Malcolm thought he heard Hal saying:
'I don't want you working with that man. I just don't trust him. I've seen the way he looks at you!' To which he heard Lois reply:
'Oh, since when do you get to tell me who I may or may not work with? What gives you the right to dictate to me how to live my life?' And then they were out of the front door and heading down the path towards the street.
'Mom sure sounds pissed' Reese remarked dryly.
'Yeah' replied Malcolm, 'I reckon we should put as much distance as possible between us and her before she explodes!' They both laughed, but somewhat half-heartedly. They had been on the wrong end of Lois's temper and felt her wrath too many times to make that much of a joke out of it. They turned out of the driveway and made a left onto the sidewalk. Reese's junior high was only a short distance from Malcolm's school, so they could walk together for the majority of the journey.
Reese looked around apprehensively, checking to make sure there was no one about before he launched into the account of the events of Saturday night. He told Malcolm all about his crush on Delilah, his attempts to make contact with her, and finally his encounter with Walt. 'And after that I just left, I mean, how could I stay at the party after what happened?' Malcolm nodded in agreement.
'And you're sure nobody overheard you' he said, 'I mean, if this got out, you'd be a laughing stock.'
'I'm pretty sure no one heard us' replied Reese, 'but I can't be certain.' They had reached a busy intersection, and they paused their conversation as they waited with a crowd of other people to cross the street. Having negotiated the crossing they began to talk again in hushed voices.
'Well as long as nobody finds out then what's your problem?' asked Malcolm, with an air of finality. 'Just put it behind you and move on.'
'That's the thing, I can't' said Reese in his usual exasperate tone. 'I wish I could, but it's like a curse hanging over me, you know. I feel like I need to prove myself before I can move on.' He looked at Malcolm expectantly, sure that the solution to his problem was imminent. After all, Malcolm was supposedly a genius, this should be a walk in the park for him.
'So go prove yourself then' Malcolm replied. Reese scowled at him.
'That's your advice. An IQ of 165 an all you can come up with is 'Go prove yourself!' Well gee, Malcolm, thanks for the advice. I sure am glad I asked you about this.' He said sarcastically.
'Well I don't know' responded Malcolm. 'I'm a genius not a psychiatrist. Why don't you just go make out with a hot girl? Why don't you join a sports team?... Why don't you just get over it for Christ sake?' he added angrily. They had reached the point where they had to go their separate ways, and Reese turned to Malcolm looking less than pleased.
'I should have known you wouldn't understand' he said, more in disappointment than in anger. 'I'll see you later, and thanks for nothing.' He turned away and headed in the direction of the junior high, which was now only four blocks away. Malcolm just shook his head as he set off in the opposite direction. Though he would never say it he was flattered that Reese had asked his advice on such a personal matter. He had felt closer to his brother during that one conversation than he remembered having been for a long, long time, and he also felt guilty that he hadn't been able to be more helpful. He made a mental note to talk to Reese that evening and straighten things out with him.
Without realising it though, Malcolm had actually given Reese a very useful piece of advice. As he continued on his way to school one thing that Malcolm had said stuck in Reese's head. 'Join a sports team.' The more he thought about it the more it seemed like the perfect solution. He could prove his masculinity and have fun at the same time. Though his previous experience of joining a school team had been a less than positive one, when he had briefly been a member of the wrestling team the previous year, he now warmed to the idea. The only thing he had to do was decide what sport to try out for.