Harry watched in horror as Aaron and Spencer jumped onto one of the lunch tables and started simulating sex at Simon and Ethan's expense. He couldn't hear the music that was playing, but could feel rage pouring through him like it never had before. Fuming, Harry stood up with a crash as his water bottle fell to the floor. That seemed to wake up Simon from his stupor.
"Don't," Simon whispered. "I'll take care of this."
Harry nodded, the anger still coursing through him as he watched Simon walk over to Aaron and Spencer.
"Do you have something to say to me?" Simon demanded.
"What's that, Spier?" asked Spencer as he and Aaron kept dancing.
At this, Harry stood up again and started to walk toward Simon to back him up, but stopped when he saw Miss Albright, the theatre teacher, stomping through the lunch room, rolling up her sleeves.
"I said, 'Do you have something to say to me?'" Simon shouted.
Miss Albright reached them and turned off the radio. She held up a hand to stop Simon from moving.
"I'll take it from here," she said.
"Hey, Miss Albright," said Aaron sheepishly.
"Don't 'Hey Miss Albright' me," Miss Albright retorted, sounding just as pissed as Harry and Simon both felt. "We're not friends. You're not gonna braid my hair or paint my nails. Get your ass off the table now, you sweaty, hormonal virgins."
Spencer and Aaron wordlessly obeyed, now looking scared for the first time since they had walked into the lunch room.
"You know what?" Miss Albright went on, "you're about to be suspended for so long that by the time it's over, you're gonna be the fat, bald, unhappily married, wildly mediocre nobodies you're destined to become."
"You can't talk to us like this!" Spencer exclaimed.
"Actually, I can, cause I just did," Miss Albright retorted. "And you know why, because you're just those two assholes who did that shitty thing in front of the whole school. And guess what? Nobody feels sorry for those assholes, especially me. Now, walk," she added, gesturing behind her. "Mr. Worth's office now."
As Aaron bent down to retrieve the radio they had brought, Miss Albright grabbed it.
"Uh-uh, that's mine now. I'mma sell it, get my tubes tied."
A few students laughed at this, but most of them watched in silence as Aaron and Spencer followed Miss Albright to Mr. Worth's office. Their eyes then turned to Simon, who was blushing slightly. Harry walked over to him and grabbed his arm.
"Come on, Si," he whispered just loud enough for Simon to hear. "Let's get out of here and get some air."
Simon nodded wordlessly as Harry pulled him away. Before they left the lunchroom, Harry turned to face the student body.
"Show's over, go back to your lunch," he said grumpily.
Harry led Simon through the hallway and they didn't speak until they were outside and could feel the fresh air.
"Are you OK?" Harry demanded.
Simon nodded. "I'll be fine. I kinda expected something like that to happen."
"Still, are you sure you're all right?"
"I think you were more upset than I am, Harry," Simon said with a chuckle. "I saw the look in your eyes. You looked ready to kill a man."
"I still am," Harry replied with a serious face before the two burst into laughter. "Seriously, how you were able to hold restraint when they were doing that is beyond me. I was ready to pounce on both of them when Miss Albright stepped in. Thank god she did otherwise I'd probably be expelled right now."
"Dang, I didn't know you felt so strongly about it. I guess I'm pretty lucky to have you, Harry."
"Hey, an attack on someone I consider family is an attack on me. It's personal. And I'm gonna have to find some way to address it."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm the student body president, Si. It's my responsibility to call out this kind of behavior whenever I see it. I'll have to make a statement, or something. I'll run it by you before I do anything, I promise."
Harry walked over to Simon, who was sitting in the library working on one of the computers. He sat down next to him and checked to make sure nobody would listen in on their conversation.
"Hey, mind if I interrupt?" Harry asked.
"You already did, but sure," Simon replied with a grin.
"OK, asshole," Harry retorted as Simon suppressed a loud laugh. "I guess you don't wanna hear what I have to say."
"Oh, all right, go on then," said Simon, rolling his eyes.
"That's better," Harry said, chuckling. "But, in all seriousness, it's about you-know-what."
"OK."
"Well, since I have to address it one way or another, I thought I could make it the focus of my State of the School speech I have to give next week. I'd talk about what happened in the lunchroom and how we need to be above that kind of behavior. Traditionally, the speech is to focus on the school as a whole, but since a good chunk of the student body saw what happened, I think calling it out in front of the whole student body will help make sure we don't have a repeat of that."
Simon took a deep breath as he took in what Harry was proposing. He considered what it would mean for him and for Blue. The message would fall on some deaf ears, such as Aaron and Spencer, but for those who weren't out, it was a message they would need to hear. And for those who weren't quite sure why they needed to hear the message, it would help educate them on stopping the behavior. Finally, Simon nodded.
"I think that's the best way for you to speak out on it," he said. "But if I can make a request?" Harry nodded. "Can you not refer to me by name?"
"Of course," Harry replied. "I wasn't planning on using your name anyway, just referring to what happened in the lunchroom and that it happened to a friend."
"And, uh, in case I change my mind before you give the speech, you might want to have another on hand."
Harry grinned.
"Great minds think alike, Si. I've already got a traditional speech ready just in case. That was finished before Christmas break. Even if you change your mind in the instant before I give the speech, I'll stick to my original one. You have my word, Si."
Harry and Simon stood outside of the gym, with each of the student leaders from each class in the school and their guests. The rest of the student senate stood in front of the doors, waiting for Harry to enter the gym for his speech. The faculty and staff of their school also stood with the Senate, waiting to greet Harry and the other leaders. In the center of the gym, a podium stood surrounded by two chairs, one for Mr. Worth, the principal, and the other for Bianca, the student body vice president.
"You sure you want me to give this speech, Si?" Harry asked. "I can still change it to the traditional one."
"I'm sure, Harry," Simon replied with a grin. "I've gone back and forth on it in my head, but I think you need to give this speech. It's for the best."
"All right, if you say so," Harry said before he turned to Miss Swayne, the assistant principal. "Miss Swayne, I'm ready to go see the Principal."
"All right, Harry," Miss Swayne said kindly. "I'll let him know."
With that, Miss Swayne opened the gym doors. The members of the student senate straightened their stances, as did the faculty and staff. The chatter from the student body continued, even as Miss Swayne shouted into the gym.
"Mr. Principal!" Miss Swayne called. "The student body president!"
Miss Swayne stepped aside for Harry to enter the gym with Simon and the other student leaders as the gym erupted in applause. The student senators and faculty seemed more enthusiastic than the general student body audience, who clapped politely. Harry kept a smile on as he shook hands with several senators and greeted them.
"Good luck, Mr. President," one of the senators said. "I can't wait to hear what you have to say."
"Thank you," Harry replied kindly as he kept walking forward, greeting more senators.
Soon, Harry had finished greeting the senators and found himself shaking the hands of several faculty members, many of whom echoed their well-wishes. As he hugged Miss Albright, she whispered into his ear.
"Kick some ass," she said.
"Always," Harry replied as they broke apart and she clapped him on the back.
Harry spent the next several seconds greeting faculty members before he finally shook hands with the last one and walked toward the center. The student senators and faculty took their positions where they would sit in the audience, but remained standing and applauding as Harry approached the podium. Bianca and Mr. Worth were both clapping enthusiastically with smiles on their faces as Harry approached them. He reached Bianca first and shook hands with her, handing her a copy of his speech. Harry then walked over to Mr. Worth, shooks his hand and handed him the speech. When he was done, Harry walked to the podium, where he opened a folder than contained a copy of his speech. It was shorter than he had anticipated, but full of the strong message he hoped to convey.
Harry smiled and waved as the audience continued to applaud him. After several seconds, he turned around to face Bianca. She nodded at him, so Harry turned to Mr. Worth, who nodded as well. Harry nodded back at him and Mr. Worth banged a gavel several times, quieting down the applause. Everyone in the room sat down except for Harry, Bianca and Mr. Worth.
"Members of the student body: it is my great pleasure to welcome the student body president!"
At that, an applause erupted again. Harry smiled at the audience and waved. He caught Simon's eye and Simon winked at him. Finally, Harry held up his hands for quiet and the cheering gradually stopped.
"Mr. Principal, Vice President Brown, Members of the Student Senate, faculty and staff and to the student body: thank you," Harry began. "It is a great gift to stand here in front of the student body whose privilege I have of serving as president. Though many of us only have a few months left at this wonderful school, the impact we can make is great.
"That is why the focus of my speech won't be on the state of the school at large, but what the state of the school should be. This speech won't be long, but it will arguably be the most important I ever give as student body president. As many of you saw a week ago in the school cafeteria, a student was outed over social media during the winter break and was made fun of, along with another student.
"One of those students is someone I've known since we were four years old, the other is someone I'm friendly with. Which is why seeing a despicable display of bullying in front of the whole school made me angry. I won't lie, my initial response was less than respectful. Had I responded as I had wanted to, I likely wouldn't be a student at this school any more.
"But I know I'm better than that. Our school is better than that. So rather than my initial emotional response, my response to seeing such bullying on display is this: this school is above such behavior. We're all old enough and mature enough to understand the difference between right and wrong.
"There is no question in my mind that many of you sitting in the audience understand that what took place was wrong. And there is no doubt that my message today is falling on deaf ears. But it's still important for me, as the student body president, to condemn this sort of behavior. Some of you may fear social ostracization for calling out bullying like this, I get it.
"But you still need to speak up and say something. Even if you don't say it to the person committing the bullying, tell a teacher. Tell a student leader. Tell a coach. Tell somebody. We need to be above such behavior and we need to call it out when we see it.
"Now to any student who feels alone because you identify as part of the LGBTQIA spectrum or you're questioning if you do, know that you are not alone. We, the student body, stand with you today and every day. I know it may not seem like it, but you are not alone.
"And to anyone who has a friend who comes out to you, remember that it is not about you. It is your friend sharing something deeply personal and private with you. Do not take that responsibility lightly. And remember to show your friends and loved ones that you support them. Never let them feel like they can't talk to you.
"My fellow students, America is the only country that since its birth has said over and over and over that we can do better. I'm proud of our school for being one that repeats that same message. We can all do better. We can support one another and respect each other's privacy. We can call out bullying when we see it. And above all, we can learn from one another and make us better, more productive citizens and students.
"Thank you," Harry finished. As he did, several in the audience started to applaud loudly for him. "Blessings to all of you. And blessings to our wonderful school. And remember to be kind to one another!"