God's in 7th Heaven, All's Right with the World

By Cypher

Chapter Fifteen: Reminiscing

Terry yawned and stretched, scratching his chest and blearily taking in the room around him. The plane he and his brother had been on had been slightly delayed, and by the time they reached their mother's apartment in Glen Oak, both were exhausted. His older brother, Jordon, was lying next to him, still dead to the world.

How he made it two years in Japanese schools I'll never know. Then again, they start later there than they do here. Crawling out of bed, he looked down at his pajamas, royal blue with a black band running across his chest and expanding to encompass the sleeves. They weren't his favorite, but his mom liked how they brought out the intensity of his golden brown eyes. I wonder if mom's going to be stopping by while I'm visiting. He doubted it, but with his mother, one could never be sure.

Glancing at his sleeping brother, he decided to let Jordon rest a little longer. I'll get to explore without him raining on my parade. Terry was rather looking forward to exploring the small town. He had read how smaller towns were more tightly knit, how people knew almost everyone, rather than just a couple people who lived immediately nearby. It was a concept almost foreign to him, having been in a small town only one other time in his life when he was five. His memory was pretty good even at that age, but he was focused more on winning the video games he was playing with Jordon than on the town itself.

I wonder why mom has an apartment here, anyway. If Jordon's right, she'd have nothing to write about here. Padding out of the room, he entered the kitchen and opened the fridge. As with most places their mother kept, their three day notice of arrival allowed the landlord to buy some groceries and stock them, as well as turn on the electricity and water. Maybe she comes here to unwind. It seems like a quiet place. He tried to imagine his mom living among quiet, peaceful people, and winced. Maybe not. But then why?

Pulling out a carton of orange juice, he set it on the counter and went about looking for a cup. Sure enough, he found the paper and plastic utensils. I wonder if I have enough to go out to breakfast. Unlike most thirteen year olds, his short but successful six-year career of modeling left him with a nice balance in the bank. Unfortunately, most of it was kept in trusts and savings accounts, and he was kept on a weekly allowance of no more than a couple hundred dollars. I think I do. It's not like I bought much before I left. Drinking the glass of juice he poured, he headed for the bathroom. I'll just leave aniki a note. Not like he'll wake up for a few hours, anyway.

~*()*~

Stepping outside into the crisp winter air of Glen Oak, Terry looked around, trying to get his bearings. Unlike Los Angeles or Atlanta or Denver, there wasn't a rush of traffic on the road, there were no obvious signs of buses or cabs. In fact, to Terry, it was eerily quiet. It's like I stepped into a town in the Outer Limits or something. Looking at the map he had grabbed at the airport the night before, he glanced left and right, and headed towards the right, which the map indicated would take him to downtown.

Now, the apartment complex was in a quiet, upper-scale area of Glen Oak, and therefore was about a mile from the main downtown area. Terry, however, wasn't worried. He had learned how to get around on his own without mass transit a long time ago. His sensei had insisted on it.

Roller blades.

Okay, so he knew that a young teen on roller blades might look strange, even laughable, but he found that, compared to Philadelphia traffic, he could beat bus time by ten minutes. His personal best was a mile in eight minutes, though that was just on a track, not a place with sidewalks and corners and traffic lights.

But a mile was still a mile, and within twenty minutes, he had found the outskirts of downtown Glen Oak. He was surprised to see so many shops closed, until he realized that he was still running on his internal clock, which had awoken him at 6:30. It was barely 7:15, now, and even some of the bakeries hadn't yet opened. In a city they would've been open at five, selling no more than thirty minutes later. He chided himself at the thought. This isn't the city. You're here to experience small town life.

At least there were some things that never changed. Tucked between two stores was a tiny coffee shop, open and bustling with business. Part of it was outdoors, and he was thankful for that. He'd found some places were rather anal about roller blades inside, even if it was for only a minute or two.

As he ordered, he wondered why all the adults were giving him strange looks. It wasn't as if he was ordering anything strange. An orange juice and a croissant, something to tide him over until he found a restaurant. He looked over his outfit, loose fitting blue jeans and a tan turtleneck. It was one of his more casual outfits he had gotten from a clothing ad shoot he had done. Nothing wrong there. What's so strange, then?

Paying for his order, he skated over to a small table and sat down, removing his helmet so he could eat comfortably. He didn't rush, rather he ate leisurely, observing all the adults eyeing him, whispering about him. He was used to the attention from people his own age, unable to believe he was a model, and adults who found out he was gay. But this community had no knowledge of either fact, so it was slightly disconcerting that they still paid so much attention to him.

Sighing, he sipped his orange juice and decided to focus on the city, rather than the people. Most of the buildings had obviously been there since the beginning of the town, though renovated for modern conveniences. Owners who stepped out of their just opening stores paused to talk with people walking by, a sight that he had only seen with family-owned businesses in the city, and only with other family members. People seemed to move at a more leisurely pace, too. There was no real rush at this early hour of the morning, so unlike what he was used to.

He got the Outer Limits feeling again when something caught his eye. It was another person staring at him, a group of persons whispering and looking at him. Except they weren't adults, they were kids, some his age, some older, some younger. Each had a bag, mostly backpacks, and were walking to school. It suddenly hit him why the adults were giving him strange looks. He had simply forgotten what day it was: Friday. All other kids had school to attend. He wouldn't be visiting a school until Tuesday of next week, and his brother didn't start till Monday. They're wondering who I am and why I'm out so early, in no rush to get to class.

He had never personally had to worry about class schedules. Sure, his sensei kept a rigid outline of what he was to accomplish and by what time in the day, but with the exception of a few deadlines, there wasn't any real set schedule. He could learn about math at eight in the morning, or four in the afternoon, depending on what he felt like. Even testing wasn't as strict as the school schedules seemed to be.

Jordon's comment on the plane came back to him, and he narrowed his eyes. Why did he say he wasn't sure if public schools could handle me? I'd be the best student there, getting up early, focused, on task. Hell, I try and get my work done early to move onto the next subject. Realizing his juice bottle was empty and he had finished his pastry, he strapped his helmet back on and deposited the plate and bottle in the trash. Leaning against a lamp post, he pulled out the map and eyed it, debating where to go. After a minute, he put the map back in his pocket and took off, heading in the opposite direction of the kids going to school.

I know why I'm not going to private school. Mom doesn't want me to deal with religious bigots. But why is Jordon worried about me in public school? It just makes no sense.

His eye caught a sign and he double backed, using another lamp post to swing around, and stopped at the edge of the block. Across the street was a breakfast diner. Before he could cross it, however, a police car stopped by the curb.

"Can I help you, son?"

Terry immediately tensed. Police rarely interacted with citizens unless they were in trouble in the city. What'd I do? "Um, no, not really." Terry looked at the officer, an African-American one. Ha, aniki. You said that most small towns hadn't evolved into the racial equalities of cities. So much for your theory. He searched for a name tag. "Thanks anyway, Sergeant Michaels."

The officer looked surprised, but the look quickly passed and he returned to his friendly, though impassive, face. "Are you sure? You're not heading for school. Are you lost? Sick?"

Terry furrowed his brow. "No. If I were lost or sick, I'd call my brother to help me." He crossed his arms and eyed the officer. "I'm out to get a decent breakfast, then wander a bit. Nothing exciting."

"You're supposed to be in school, son."

Son? Terry knew it was a term to be taken as a friendly association, but it irked him. Possibly because he had never been called 'son' before, or perhaps it was the fact that a male figure was calling him that, when his own father never had. "No, I'm not. I go to school Tuesday." Why is this Michaels so interested in what I'm doing? I don't see any steel grates or fences on the storefronts, so crime isn't an issue here.

"Till Tuesday?"

Terry sighed. The croissant he'd had was beginning to fail at keeping his hunger at bay. "Yes, Tuesday. I just got into town last night." Not that it's any of your business. Terry blinked. Or...is it? Does being in a small town mean that everything is everybody's business? No, that can't be right.

"Ah, so you're visiting. Do you need help getting around?"

Terry shook his head and pulled out the map he had used. "I'll be fine." He hesitated. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine, just hungry. So if you don't mind..." Terry flitted his eyes across the street.

Sergeant Michaels looked across as well, smiling briefly and nodding. "Okay, just wanted to check. Welcome to Glen Oak."

Terry smiled back, then glanced both ways and skated across the street, looking back at the police car as he reached the door. They certainly aren't as rude as city cops. With that, he entered the restaurant.

~*()*~

"Pardon me, but are you lost?"

Terry tried his hardest not to scream. He was beginning to understand why Jordon hated small towns. Almost everyone he'd seen had asked if he was lost, or okay or cutting school or some other nonsense. He was running out of his seemingly endless patience. "I'm fine. Just about to head home." It wasn't a lie. At the moment he was on his way to return to the apartment. "Excuse me." He skated around the woman and put on as much speed as he could, wanting to get back to the safety of where he was staying.

"Look out!"

Terry glanced at the man who had called out, and noticed a car pulling out in front of him. Teme... Crouching, he pushed himself off the ground and into the air, landing on the trunk for a moment, and jumping again back onto the sidewalk. "Sorry!" Yet another trick he had learned in the city. When his brother had seen it, he had forbidden Terry to do it again because it was a risky maneuver. Even his sensei agreed with Jordon. But they don't get it. Sometimes there's no time to break. So every now and then, he used the technique. Hey, he learned martial arts, why not apply them to something other than fighting?

By the time he got home, he noticed the clock was reaching one in the afternoon. Unbuckling his roller blades, he looked around, trying to see where his brother was. "Tadaima!" No response came, and Terry tilted his head, trying to hear if the water was running in the bathroom. Oh great. Tossing his skates to the side, he went into the bedroom, finding Jordon still fast asleep. When he sleeps, he sleeps. Sighing, he sat by Jordon. "Aniki, time to get up."

"Mm..."

"Aniki, I'll do something you hate if you don't get up."

"Go'way."

Terry rubbed his hands together and stood up. "Last chance, aniki."

Jordon pulled the pillow of his head. "Lemme'lone."

Terry shrugged. "I tried." He took a deep breath. "FIRE!"

Jordon didn't move.

Terry frowned. "Guess I've used that one too many times." He rubbed his chin. Water just soaks the sheets, ice, well, same problem. I could push him off the bed, but then he's cranky. Inspiration struck him. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to tell Sakura that you can't see her today."

Jordon sat straight up and jerked his head around, scanning the room. "Sakura? Doko? Doko? Doko?"

Terry laughed at the confused look on his brother's face. "Geeze, aniki. That's pathetic."

Jordon blinked a few times before he realized what Terry had done. "Hey! Bakayaro!" He whapped Terry with the pillow.

Terry stopped laughing, staring at his brother. A slow grin spread across his face. "Baka." Terry's arm lashed out and grabbed the other pillow, and a pillow war had begun. Before long the brothers here panting and watching each other warily, clutching their cushy weapons, and both grinning. "Truce?"

"Truce."

Jordon and Terry slowly set the pillows down. Jordon relaxed and turned around.

Terry whacked Jordon again.

"Hey!"

"If you were more mature you would've seen that coming." Terry stuck out his tongue and tossed the pillow to the side. "I can't believe how late you sleep."

Jordon stretched. "You have early shoots. I have late study sessions. It's something you'll get used to when you hit college."

"Uh huh. You're not even in college yet, baka." Terry glanced behind Jordon. "Um, aniki, you do know that your nude."

Jordon looked over his shoulder. "I always sleep nude."

"Yes, but you're stretching in front of an open window."

Jordon let out a strangled cry and grabbed his boxers. "Why didn't you close the blinds?!"

"I thought the sun would wake you up."

Jordon put on his underwear and searched for his robe, shooting Terry a look. "When has the sun ever woken me up?"

Terry thought about it a moment. "Okay, point taken. But you have been gone two years, in my defense."

"What defense?" Jordon shrugged on his robe. "So what's for breakfast?"

"Lunch."

"Whatever."

"Whatever you fix. I ate out."

"You went out?"

"Yes."

"On your own?"

"Oh stop being a protective brother. I handled everything fine." Terry crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "It's not like it's as dangerous as New York. This place is probably the safest place in the world. I had everyone asking me if I was lost or sick or something."

"Annoying, isn't it."

Terry growled softly. "Yeah, somewhat. But other than that, it's a quaint little town."

"We still have time to go to San Francisco. We're mostly packed and a plane ticket isn't that much."

"No." Terry headed towards the living room to get his bag. "It still seems really nice. I'm staying, and if I'm staying, you're staying."

"Yeah, I know." Jordon stumbled towards the living room. "After I eat-"

"And shower."
Jordon looked at the ceiling. "-and shower, I'm going to head to the high school and grab the books I'll need."

"Check out some places we can hang out, too. If school bombs, then I'll need a place to kill time."

"If school bombs," Jordon poured himself a bowl of cereal, "you're hanging out here and finishing up your homework."

"Do I really have to?"

"The Tale of Genji is a beautiful novel, ototou."

"You're about to dip your ponytail into your milk."

Jordon pushed his hair over his shoulder. "Just do it. I had to read novels I hated. At least you're given a choice of novels. No school I know of allows you to read Dune as an assignment."

"Dune was cool. This isn't."

"Have you even started it?"

Terry shoved his hands in his pockets. "Well, not really, no."

"Try reading it before you judge it."

Terry sighed. "Hai, hai. I'll see you when you get back."

"Right."

Terry went to his bag and dug through it. I hope school has interesting books to read.

~*()*~

"Tadaima!"

Terry glanced up from the book in front of him and tilted his head. He pulled off his earphones and listened.

"Tadaima, ototou!"

"Okaerinasai!" Terry put the earphones back on and went back to reading. A few minutes later he felt Jordon sit by him on the bed and pause the CD player.

"Whatcha listening to?"

"The Best of Gravitation."

"Ohhh." Jordon removed the earphones and looked at the book. "Fury Invasion? I thought you were going to try reading The Tale of Genji."

"I will eventually. This looked good, though."

Jordon picked up the book and skimmed the pages Terry was on. "Careful, you'll blow your mind with these time paradoxes."

Terry stuck out his tongue and took the book back. "Urusai. And why're you in such a good mood?"

"Well, I stopped by this place called The Pool Hall."

"So? You hate pool. I hate pool."

"Well, it's also a restaurant where older kids hang out."

"Uh huh. So why would I care?"

"Well, you might care that Friday nights at ten, it's karaoke night."

Terry sat up. "Karaoke! Wai! Can we go tonight?"

"Tonight they're having a theme night. Great heroes of football or something. But next week it's back to normal." He tilted his head and grinned. "Wanna come with me to sing?"

"Yeah! Sensei never took me to do karaoke."

"I've been going for two years. Had tons of fun with my friends."

"Lucky."

"Yeah."

Terry placed a bookmark in the book and crossed his legs. "What about church? Do you know of any we could go to?"

"I was thinking we could check out churches tomorrow. Print out a list of them in the area, and you take half to check out, and I'll take the other half."

Terry nodded. "Good thinking." He poked Jordon in the side. "That means waking up before noon."

Jordon batted Terry's hand away. "Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna order some pizza."

"Kay." Terry lay back down to continue reading.

Jordon rubbed Terry's head. "Love ya."

"Love you too. Now let me read."

Jordon shook his head and stood up. "I knew you'd throw that back in my face sometime."

"Hai, hai."
~*()*~

"How many you got left?"

Terry looked around and spotted the church he was looking for. He skated towards it, holding the cell phone to his ear. "Three. Most of mine were the wrong denomination."

"Ditto. I think I found one, though. It's a little on the edge of town, but it's nice."

"Right. I'm going to check this one out. I'll talk later." Terry hung up and put the phone in his pocket. He slowed down as he approached the front of the church. Glen Oak Community Church. There's about three others with the same name. How do they keep them separate? Glancing at the parking lot for signs of someone there, he headed up the stairs and entered, glad that the floor was carpeted so that he didn't need to remove his roller blades.

Looking around, he found he wasn't impressed, but wasn't disappointed either. Stanford has a better chapel. But this one is a lot...warmer. It's kinda nice.

"Can I help you?"

Terry blinked and looked towards the organ. He hadn't realized someone was there. Pay closer attention, idiot. "Uh, no. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were practicing."

"Oh, I don't mind." The elderly woman smiled. She had shoulder-length grew hair and multiple wrinkles, but it was obvious that she was in perfect health. "I was just fooling around before you came in. Waiting for the choir. They tend to dawdle."

Terry smiled and skated towards her. "Yeah, I know. Mom took me to one church where the choir took thirty minutes to prepare, and they still weren't on time."

"Don'tcha just hate that."

"Oh yeah. And the pastor tried to make pathetic small talk to kill the time."

"Ho, that must've been boring."

"Big time."

The two of them went silent, Terry stopping just beside the edge of the organ.

"I'm Mrs. Hinkle." She extended her hand.

Terry accepted and shook it. "Dax Jordon."

"You know, I've never seen you around here."

"I'm visiting with my brother for the next couple of weeks. Maybe longer if we like it."

"Oh, well, Glen Oak is a pretty nice place."

Terry nodded. "It's...different from the city, though." He looked around the church. "This feels more like a home than a church. And it's one of the smallest chapels I've seen for Christian denominations."

"You've never been out east."

Terry nodded. "I have, but only the big cities."

Mrs. Hinkle turned slightly to face him better. "The smaller ones have tons of small congregations, and as such-"

"Small churches." Terry leaned on the piano. "Do mind if I ask some...personal questions about the church? Or should I talk to whoever's in charge?"

"I don't mind. I've been a member of this church for years. Know just about everything there is to know. Ask away."

Terry took a deep breath. "Well, being from a big city and all, one thing that I always look for is a church's opinion on modern issues."

"Such as?"

"Abortion, homosexuality, the hot topics."

Mrs. Hinkle raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a bit young to be considering such things?"

"My mom's a reporter. I'm afraid they've always been around me."

"Ah, well, we won't condemn a person for abortion, but we don't necessarily like it."

"I've found a lot of churches have gone that route."

"Indeed. As for homosexuality," she rubbed her chin. "You know, I don't think that's ever come up."

Terry gave her a dubious look. "Your kidding."

"No, I'm pretty sure we've never had that come up in any way. No gay parishioners, no group talks on it, nothing."

Terry suddenly felt a little self conscious about being in the church, even the community. This is the fifth nondenominational church that's had this ignorance. Have they never encountered homosexuality before?

"Are you gonna get that."
Terry blinked and looked at her. "Get what?"

"Your phone. It's ringing."

"Oh!" Terry pulled out his phone. "Sorry, excuse me." He slid back and tilted his head as he put the phone to his ear. "Aniki?"
"Found a place. It's perfect. Just outside of Glen Oak. I'll meet you at home in ten, okay?"

"Gotcha." Terry hung up and smiled at Mrs. Hinkle. "My brother. I've got to go."

"Aw. Well, it was nice meeting you, and I hope we'll see you tomorrow."

Terry bowed his head slightly and turned to skate away. He noticed a man with brown hair standing in the doorway reading a Bible. "Pardon."

The man looked up in time to move enough for Terry to maneuver around him. "No skating-"

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Thanks." Terry hopped down the steps and zoomed towards home.

~*()*~

"You sure you don't want me to drive you? Or to take the bus?"

Terry strapped on his helmet and gave his brother a 'back off' look. "I've told you a million times no. Leave the bus for the kids who really need it. And you need to get to your school early enough to fix your schedule."

Tuesday had rolled around, and Terry had felt nervous about his first day at school. It didn't help that Jordon had come home Monday evening complaining about the idiocy of the school administration. Apparently, they screwed up his transfer papers and he was in normal classes. So not only was he bored, he was ruining the curve for the other students, and within that first day he had met a great deal of resentful people. "Being a genius means taking guff when with normal people."

Terry didn't believe that, personally, but when his brother was whining like he was last night, it was best to just smile and agree with him. Nonetheless, he now wondered if the administration would be so careless as to enroll him in the wrong grade, or in remedial classes.

Pulling his backpack on, he grabbed the keys from the end table by the door and put them in his pocket. "I'll be fine. And this way if it sucks, I can leave halfway through and bug you at your school."

Jordon groaned and grabbed his leather jacket. "Please don't do that."

"Why? A cute younger brother may boost your popularity."

"I don't want a boost in popularity. I just want to get in the right classes. I have to sign up for the tests this week or next week."

"And you can't remember." Terry rolled his eyes. "We went through this last year, too. Can't you write things down on a calendar?"

"I forgot."

Terry shook his head and waved at Jordon. "I'm going. Later." And he was out the door, skating into the elevator and out into the world. The day before he had memorized the route to school, and though he got lost once or twice by taking a wrong turn, he had given himself enough time to get to school on time.

Pausing out front, though, he had to stare at the building. It looks normal, but it feels...I dunno, stifling somehow. He debated sitting on the steps and removing his blades then, but decided against it. Too many moving bodies. Working his way up, he pushed his way into the mainstream of students in the hallway and began looking for some sign of the office.

"Hey, geek, nice helmet."

"Look at his skates. What a looser."

"Weirdo."

Terry let the insults wash over his back. Compared to other insults hurled at him due to his orientation, these were nothing. Ignorant. Why would the school allow such animosity to exist here? He was beginning to have real doubts about this whole public school idea.

He stopped at an intersection and looked around, trying to get his bearings. Face it, you're lost. He wanted to ask someone for directions, but considering the insults that were still flying around, he didn't know who to ask.

"Hey, do you need some help?"

I never thought I'd like to hear those words on this trip again. "Yes." He let out an exhausting sigh and turned to face the person. "I'm trying to find the office."

The kid was blond with a set of the most handsome gray eyes Terry had ever seen. He was on the skinny side, but it was obvious that as he grew, he would fill out nicely. Mental note: find out who this kid is.

"The office is that way." He pointed. "Take a left at the third hall and it's your fourth door to your right."

"Thanks." Terry paused. "I'm-"

A bell cut him off, and the blond gave him an apologetic look before rushing off into some room.

Strange. Oh wait, I've seen this on television. Class started. He blinked. Damn. Class started. He turned and glided down the hall. Nice, Terry, late on your first day ever.

~*()*~

Well, that was one big disappointment. He swung his legs back and forth as he sat on the railing of the stairs leading up to the middle school. This turned out to be a horrible day. And it's only 1:30! He looked at his watch. 1:23. About 1:30.

It hadn't started out that horrible. The principal had understood that in the morning rush things could be pretty hectic, and being the first day at a new school probably didn't help. She looked really surprised when Terry told her it was his first time at school ever. He realized now that revealing that fact was his first big mistake.

His second began in his first class. The teacher had at least pronounced his name right, but it just didn't seem to stick, a first for him. Normally the name Dax stuck out like a sore thumb in people's minds. He took his seat and listened to the lecture. English literature. Halfway through he found himself falling asleep. It wasn't that it was boring, but he had analyzed the novel over a year ago and was now on to books with more complex themes. Apparently the American system was a couple years behind the Japanese.

So he pulled out his CD player and listened to music. That was his second mistake. Apparently that isn't allowed, in fact no electronics were allowed, which was a strange concept to him. He'd always done his English homework, most of his homework actually, listening to music. He figured the teacher wouldn't mind if he listened to music and read. He had, though, and Terry's face flushed as he became a source of brief ridicule for the rest of the class.

He was glad when it ended. He was about to leave the school, when he remembered that his mother, his brother, even his sensei would never want him to give up after just one class. So he'd made a mistake and been embarrassed by it. Give it a chance, maybe it was just that one class that was screwed up.

As it turned out, it wasn't. Seventh grade felt too slow to him, and it was proven in the second class he was in: math. Basic algebra. Algebra. He had graduated from algebra two years ago, the equivalent of fifth grade in the American system. Still, he tried to be patient. The other students obviously didn't know the material, and it was their time to learn.

Only the teaching seemed inadequate to him. The teacher was impersonal, there was no time for student-teacher one-on-one interaction, and the lesson was being explained as if no one had taken math before. It was insulting. Terry had resorted to borrowing a textbook and reading through the advanced chapters leading to geometry, a subject he had graduated from the year previously. It offered meager entertainment.

Third period, after a rather jumbled and too short a break, faired slightly better. Science. Now, he disliked science on many levels because that was the field his father worked in, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy certain topics. Some of his best memories were of his sensei and him discussing scientific theories on evolution, chemical bonding, and even gravity. From the previous two classes, he assumed there'd be no student-teacher discussions, but the teacher would have some sort of interaction for an experiment or something.

Okay, so he was wrong about the experiment, but at least it was a subject he could get into. He'd finally found a class he could live with, that he wouldn't mind dealing with in public school. He began thinking that perhaps he'd just missed something in his last classes. That it wasn't so bad after all.

It was in the middle of third period that his breakfast orange juice had caught up with him, and he stood to leave the class.

This wasn't allowed. At least, not without a great deal of time and further embarrassment to the student. The teacher berated him for getting ready to leave without asking for permission or giving a reason why. There was also the fact that break was for using the bathroom. Terry hadn't known that, and even if he had, he had no clue where the bathrooms were in that crowd. It was a joke to think all those students could use the facilities in only fifteen minutes.

But it wasn't a joke to the science teacher, and Terry was further embarrassed as the teacher slowly extracted the fact he had never been to a school before, and didn't know any of the rules. Some of the class seemed impressed by that fact, but the teacher just kept lecturing, and ending with an order to return to his seat.

And then Terry just had to do it. He had to add fuel to the fire by insulting the teacher's ability to, well, teach the material being covered. He never would've told his sensei that, as it was a sign of disrespect. Normally he never would've, but this day just wasn't turning out well, and she had gotten on his bad side. So he insulted her. She made the sarcastic comment about seeing him teaching it better. And just because he was still upset, he took that bet.

In retrospect, it was a stupid move. He basically took over and, not only showed up her teaching ability, was able to keep the students' attention. Though, whether it was because he had done what no other student had ever done or how he presented the course material, he wasn't sure. By the end of class, though, the teacher had obviously had enough. He'd never seen a person's face so crimson in color. She was humiliated and angry, and was obviously tired of Terry's antics. He got sent to the principal.

And even now, as he was sitting there watching the clouds roll by, he didn't fully get it. America was supposed to be one of the best countries in the world, and yet it had such a pathetic educational system that he, a mere thirteen year old, had shown up a teacher when discussing the periodic table and electron shells.

On his way back to the principal's office, he was beginning to understand what Jordon was so afraid of. He wasn't cut out for the public system, at least not at this level. He was too set in the ways of being home schooled to even bother considering transferring. I'll have to talk to sensei about that. Maybe get him to wean me towards the public high school. Like aniki's AP classes. They're something I think I could handle.

The principal had been somewhat dumbfounded. Obviously she'd never met the eleven-year-old college student on scholarship at Harvard. Or was it Yale? Terry could never keep it straight. He was fun, for a real genius. But she had decided to let Terry try and get through at least four periods. And she sent him where she figured he could do the least amount of harm.

Physical education.

Terry hadn't brought a change of clothes, but sports was one of those universal things that everyone could do no matter their ability or skill. And it was fun to play with a large group of peers rather than a small group, or with adults. While the conversations were trivial and prosaic at times, it was enjoyable. And the teachers had little say except refereeing the game and determining what they were playing. It was like being home schooled in a large group.

Time flies when you're having fun, though, and soon enough fourth period was over and it was lunch time. In his opinion, the worst part of his day today. He had been ostracized from the lunch tables, the teachers wouldn't let him into the kitchen to cook his own meal, and he couldn't leave the campus to buy lunch. He settled for walking along the edge of the campus, trying to catch sight of the blond boy that had helped him earlier.

And he was able to spot him, sitting with a group of kids that were obviously sixth graders. Terry didn't care what grade the kid was in. He had shown kindness when no one else had. He could use that support again.

Before he was able to go over, though, four eighth graders surrounded him. Bullies. Terry asked them politely to move, he warned them when they pushed and threatened him. But with the day he had, what were the chances of bullies listening to his warnings? Still, he warned them, even when they grabbed for his bag. When one got a hold of his arm, though, he was through with warning.

Within seconds, his instincts took over. Jordon had insisted he take martial arts even before he was gay, and after, the lessons doubled to ensure he could defend himself from homophobics who would try and hurt him. Without warning he struck out with a fist, landing a blow to the jaw of the person who had grabbed his arm. When another guy came at him, his leg lashed out and landed a blow to the boy's stomach. Both of them were down, with no sign of fight left.

The other two bullies glanced at their friends, then at Terry. Terry knew what was going through their heads. They were wondering if they could take him, or if they should ditch their fellow bullies and run. He didn't want to fight any more, so he narrowed his eyes and flexed his fingers, taking a threatening step forward. That did it, and the two shot off like frightened deer.

And yet, Terry looked at the ground, watching a pigeon peck for food, I'm the one who took the blame for it.

Another student had seen the altercation and summoned a teacher. Terry explained he was merely defending himself from four bullies, and he was well within his legal rights when one of them touched him. He was a reporter's son, he knew law better than anyone in that room.

The problem was, he was the new kid, and four kids the principal knew, even known bullies, had more weight than he alone did. The two injured ones were fine, just winded. The two that had run defended their injured friends' stories, though faltered slightly under scrutiny. Terry knew this was trouble, though. Before the principal said anything, he ended it right there.

"You know what, just forget it. Aniki was right. This isn't for me. Don't bother placing me in another class. I'll just go home and leave you and your students be. I'm sorry I was such trouble."

"I need to call your parents."

"Go ahead and try. One's in Tokyo and won't take calls, the other's in Taiwan covering some train wreck. I can find my own way home."

And he got up and walked out of the room, out of the school. One teacher had tried to stop him, but Terry had glared at him with his piercing eyes, and the teacher had backed down.

So now, here he was, outside the school wondering what to do. This is going cause trouble for aniki and I. He rubbed his face. I should've listened to him when he said I wouldn't be able to make this. But it's not like they made it any easier! He sighed. Excuses, excuses. Feeling his stomach rumble, he pulled out his roller blades and strapped them on. I'll go grab something to eat and then get aniki. He'll know what to do. Still, as he skated off and put on his helmet, he knew that his journey to this small town, to Glen Oak, was going to be even rougher from here on out.

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Aniki: older brother

Ototou: younger brother

Sensei: teacher

Teme: damn

Hai: yes

Tadaima: I'm home

Okaerinasai: welcome back

Baka: idiot

Bakayaro: jerk

Urusai: shut up

Wai: yay

Doko: where

Author's Prattle: Wow, another two parter. But I know what I'm gonna do for the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed making it up. Sorry it took so long, but I got sudden inspiration for "Never Again Separate," my other 7th Heaven fanfic, and churned out four chapters, and posted three of them last week. On top of that, I found a pic by Ken Mizuki that had basically what I thought Terry and Jordon looked like. To compliment this chapter, the picture is on my profile page, which you can get to by clicking on my author link at the top (sorry about the quality, blame ff.n for that). Sometime down the line there's another Mizuki pic I'm going to post that looks a lot like Simon and Terry together. If I can find some way to post both at once, I will. Thank you for reading, and as always, if you enjoyed, please review. Chapter sixteen should be out soon!

Gravitation is a shounen ai anime with, well, you either like the music or you don't. I don't know the creators or anything, but I don't own it. It is a fun series, though. Dune is another great book (movie sucked, SciFi version was cool) worth reading. The Tale of Genji is a Japanese literary masterpiece, at least that's what I've been told. I don't own it either.