Part 54
Wes stood at the parking lot of the Asian Camp, trying to find Mike and Tina. He and Jerry had arrived the day before and found the place in its normal almost chaotic state. Wes had met Chris Kim again and the boy had waved happily before running off with his friends. It didn't really bother Wes. He got the time to get to know the boys he was sharing a cabin with this time.
They were all fifteen like him and all day yesterday they spent their time together, to get to know each other and it turned out they were all interested in mostly the same things. It was a great group of guys and Wes hoped they could stay friends even when they realized he was friends with Mike and Tina, otherwise Wes would choose Tike over them any day.
Wes was sitting on the fence watching car after car roll in. He was dressed in the clothes everyone wore at camp and he really disliked the tini-tiny shorts. He felt stupid. He wore a dark t-shirt and the navy blue sweatshirt that everyone had. While he sat there he was humming to himself and watched the students roll in and kids going through the 'gate' to get to their cabins and such.
Wes couldn't help but smile. It was a somewhat sad smile. He watched kids hug their parents goodbye, the parents saying that they'd better write or the likes of it… and everyone saying their I love yous. As he sat there he wondered what it would have been like if his stepmom and birthfather had taken him in instead of shutting him out… and he also found himself wondering where his mother was and if she had more children.
He wondered what it would have been like if she never gave him up, what would his life had been if she hadn't given him to his father? Was she wondering what he was like? Was she looking for him? Did he look something like her or just like his tall, jerk of a father? Had he gotten her height? Had he gotten her smile? Had he gotten her talent in music and arts? Had she loved him at all? Did she love him still? Where was she now? Was she thinking of him? Was she happy? Was she a teacher? Was she a chef? Was she a doctor? What did she work as? Was she pretty? Was she kind? Was she nearby or far away? Was she dreaming of meeting him again? What was her name? Was she missing her baby? Maybe… Wes looked at the strand of grass he held in his hand and sang softly:
Maybe far away
Or maybe real nearby
Shemay be pouring some coffee
She may be shining with a smile!
Maybe in a house
All hidden by a hill
She's sitting playing piano,
Or she's sitting paying a bill!
Betcha she's young
Betcha she's smart
Bet she collect things
Like ashtrays, and art!
Betcha she's good
"Why shouldn't she be?", Wes asked himself.
Her one mistake
Was giving up me!
So maybe now it's time,
And maybe when I wake
She'll be there calling me "Baby"...
Maybe.
Betcha she reads
Betcha she sews
Maybe she's made me
A closet of clothes!
Maybe she's strict
As straight as a line...
Don't really care
As long as she's mine!
So maybe now this prayer's
The last one of it's kind...
Won't you please come get your "Baby"
Maybe…
A few hours away sat Rochelle Cohen-Chang fixing a shirt for her husband that had lost a button. She had hugged her daughter goodbye earlier that day. She was going to Asian Camp for the summer and she was talking eagerly about it. She was going to have fun with those two boys she had gotten close to there. Mike Chang, she knew that boy but she had no idea of who this other boys was, Wes was it… or was it Will? She didn't remembered. She only remembered that his parents lived in Westerville and that he was living there too. Tina had no picture of the boy. They had too much fun at camp to take pictures. She talked to him sometimes over the phone but they lived two very different lives so they were never really close except for during the summers.
Rochelle looked up from her work and saw the family portrait she had on the wall in her living room. It was of her, her husband and Tina. Tina was smiling brightly. Rochelle couldn't help but smile. It was a somewhat sad smile. She watched the picture and wished that here were four people on it instead of three. As she sat there she wondered what it would have been like if she had never lost her baby all those years ago.
She wondered what her son was like. Was he wondering what she was like? Was he looking for her? Was he loved? Did he look something like her or just like his tall, jerk of a father? Had he gotten her height? Had he gotten her smile? Had he gotten her talent in music and arts? Was he like Tina? Did he think about her? Did he love her at all? Where was he now? Was he thinking of her? Was he happy? Was he a good student? Was he on a sports team? Was he singing? Was he happy? Was he handsome? Was he kind? Was he nearby or far away? Was he dreaming of meeting her again? What was his name now because she doubted he was still named Wayne. Was he missing his mother? Maybe… She got up and walked up to the window and looked out on the street where children were playing. She sighed sadly and sang softly:
Somewhere out there
Beneath the pale moonlight
Someone 's thinking of me
And loving me tonight
Somewhere out there
Someone 's saying a prayer
That we'll find one another
In that big somewhere out there
And even though I know
How very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing
On the same bright star
Wyatt Cohen-Chang entered the room and watched his wife by the window and heard her singing. He smiled sadly because he knew what that was about. She always got like this when Tina left for Asian Camp. His wife missed their daughter and her son that went missing so long ago.
And when the night wind
Starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping
Underneath the same big sky
Somewhere out there
If love can see us through
Then we'll be together
Somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true
And even though I know
How very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing
on the same bright star
And when the night wind
Starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping
Underneath the same big sky
Somewhere out there
If love can see us through
Then we'll be together
Somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true...
Rochelle felt her husband's arms around her and turned to rest her head on his shoulder as she felt her tears slowly streaming down her cheeks. Maybe one day… maybe one day she would find her baby… maybe.
Wes jumped off of the fence with a grin when he heard his name being called. He barely got time to brace himself before Tina was hugging him. Mike was not far behind and he had grown since last they met… he was almost a head taller than Wes now. Tina was still shorter than him and he was thankful for that at least. Mike's parents smiled, waved and left. Wes took Tina's bags in his hands and Mike took his own. Tina hooked her arms to the boys' and then they walked towards Lisa who was telling the kid where they were going. She smiled when she saw them.
"Oh so the sunny trio has been reunited again I see", she said fondly. "Have you three been having a good year?"
"I can't speak for these two" Wes said with a smile. "But I know I have."
"So have I", Mike chimed.
"I h-have had a g-good year t-too", Tina stuttered and smiled. "Where do I l-live this year L-Lisa?"
"You will be…" Lisa started checking her papers and told Mike and Tina where they were supposed to go. The trio grinned at her and said bye before heading towards Tina's cottage, it was the closest.
After dropping Tina and her stuff off Mike and Wes headed for Mike's cottage. Wes and Mike had an arm around each other's shoulders and one bag each. They laughed and talked about anything really, mostly sports and girls and Mike confessed to having this small crush on Tina but he was too chicken to act on it. Wes asked if Mike wanted his help but Mike shook his head.
"Tina's in love with someone else", he said. "She hangs with this kid Artie, he's in a wheelchair and I know she likes him, likes him likes him. I don't want to get in her way so I'll let them be."
Wes patted him on the back.
"Well we'll always have her friendship won't we", Wes teased.
"We will", Mike said and grinned. "How about you? Any girl that's caught your attention? You told us about that Becca girl last year. Got a replacement for her?"
"No, no one in the world is bitchy enough to replace Becca's spot in the world. But I have gotten myself a girl that is much better than Becca ever was. Her name is Olivia and man I tell you she is amazing in every way."
Mike grinned, he could see his friend really liked this girl. He patted Wes on the back and then said with a wicked grin:
"I still see you haven't grown anything."
Wes stared at him and Mike took off running.
"Get back her you jerk!" Wes yelled and ran after him, chasing him through the camp. Still carrying Mike's bag though. Mike ran through groups of people and around fences, tables, towers of suitcases and stuff. Wes steered around the people, jumped over or ran over fences and rolled over a big pile of suitcases.
"You're cheating", Mike yelled over his shoulder but Wes just left and continued to chase him. Jerry watched him from the porch where he was telling Nina about this amazing girl he'd gotten to know a bit… and about his plans to woo her. Nina was not impressed but kept smiling. Jerry was smiling for a different reason. He was smiling at seeing Wes at a place where he fit in with no questions being asked. At this place he was Wes, just another Asian kid while he was that kid at Dalton. Well maybe next year it would change, what with Wes being a freshman. Man did time fly.
"Oh those two", Nina said as Wes and Mike ran around the flagpole, Mike was now trying to steal back his bag. "Along with Tina they are both a menace and a joy."
"A menace how?"
"Well they are always in the center of trouble. They don't cause it but they are not trying to stay away from it."
"Why should they", Jerry teased as he walked off the porch. "They are usually right."
"I'd keep an eye on them if I were you", Nina called after him and Jerry just waved as he walked off.
Later that evening everyone was gathered around the big campfire down by the lake. Everyone was having a good time and telling stories from their school year. Tina and Mike noticed that Wes was very reluctant to tell them anything and that only spiked their curiosity. They decided to try and lure him into telling them by telling him all sorts of things about their own year. Tina told them everything about her new friends Artie and Mercedes and also about this very annoying and loud girl named Rachel Berry that thought she was better than everyone else. Mike laughed because he knew of that girl. Wes just listened with half a smile.
"And you should see the way she dress", Tina said and rolled her eyes. "I get accused for being tacky with my Goth clothes but she somehow manages to look like a doll, a toddler, a sack, an old granny and a circus worker at the same time! And her voice gets on my nerves when she nags about me for this or that. She nags on everyone!"
"She doesn't sound like a very popular person", Wes said.
"She isn't", Mike said. "Everyone gets annoyed with her. The guys I hang out with all agree that she has a pretty face but her personality kills the wish to date her. I mean… she's so bossy that I feel sorry for whatever guy ends up being her girlfriend."
"So who are you hanging out with?" Wes asked.
"This guy named Matt mostly. We're great friends and he's totally amazing. He's fun, likes the same things I do and is just fun to be around. I love it really."
"You sounded so gay like now Chang", a boy nearby them closed up. "Are you a fag or something."
"And what if he is", Wes challenged and the guy turned to him.
"The-"
"The Bible says a lot of shit and we all know it. It doesn't claim slavery as something wrong, 14 year old girls get sold to older men and no one questions it! Today that would be pedophilia! But it's okay according to the Bible so why should we punish pedophiles?"
"Because it's fucking wrong!"
"The Bible doesn't say so you prick", Wes growled and got up. "In the Bible it's okay for an old man to marry a girl that is just a child! And you were about to say that the Bible says that it's wrong to be gay so then you should agree with slavery being okay and that you can have slaves, knock them up and then have children with your own wife oh and have more wives than one at the same time, having slaves, hit your children, treat women like weaker beings, allowing pedophiles, see nothing wrong with genocide, nothing wrong with wiping out whole cities, people or cultures, see nothing wrong with favoritism… I can go on forever!"
"The Bible says-"
"Exactly what I told you!" Wes cut in. "If we must follow it when it comes to homosexuality we should follow it in everything else! You can't just choose to follow one law and then ignore the rest and ladi dad di! There is nothing wrong with being gay. Love is love and that's the way it is. Period."
"I'll have you know that there is everything wrong with it."
"No", a voice spoke up and all attention turned to Nina that walked up to them. "You are wrong Paul and always have been wrong. There is nothing wrong with loving someone with the same gender as you. We should never hate each other for what we look like, where we're from, who we choose to love or how we choose to end our days. Love is love and that's the way it is. Now I think it is time we kick of this year with a song that is both appropriate, emotional and says it all. Wes darling do you have any ideas?"
She held the guitar out to him and Wes smirked as he took it.
"Yes as a matter of fact I do", he almost growled as he strapped on the guitar and started to play. Everyone knew that song and Wes started singing, not noticing Jerry coming closer to him. Wes looked up at the big group of kids that were all looking at him.
Wes: Everyday is so wonderful
Then suddenly
It's hard to breathe
Now and then I get insecure
From all the pain
I'm so ashamed
He swallowed the lump in his throat as he came to think of his father and grandparents' treatment of him. They were disgusted with him… But then he realized he was loved. So he sang:
I am beautiful
No matter what they say
Words can't bring me down
I am beautiful
In every single way
Yes words can't bring me down
Oh no
So don't you bring me down today
Jerry smiled. He had noticed Wes halting just a little, it looked to everyone else as if he was trying to remember the lyrics but the Jerry it meant something else. Wes was thinking about something and by the sad glow in his eyes it had to do with his "family". Before Wes could started the next verse Jerry jumped in.
Jerry: To all your friends you're delirious
So consumed
In all your doom, ooh
Trying hard to fill the emptiness
The pieces gone
Left the puzzle undone
Ain't that the way it is
He put his hand on Wes' shoulder and the younger boy smiled up at him and Jerry crouched down beside him and put a hand to Wes' heart.
Jerry: You are beautiful
No matter what they say
Words can't bring you down
Oh no
You're beautiful
In every single way
Yes words can't bring you down
Oh no
So don't you bring me down today
Wes laughed at that and Jerry gave him a hug before he got up and turned to the crowd.
Jerry: No matter what we do
Wes: (No matter what we do)
Jerry: No matter what we say
Wes: (No matter what we say)
Jerry: We're the song inside the tune
Wes: (Yeah, oh yeah)
Jerry: Full of beautiful mistakes
Tina grinned and got up and sang:
And everywhere we go
Wes & Jerry: (And everywhere we go)
Tina: The sun will always shine
Wes & Jerry: (The sun will always, always, shine)
Tina: And tomorrow we might awake
On the other side
All: We are beautiful
No matter what they say
Yes words won't bring us down
Oh no
Mike got up and so did most of the other kids around the fire and they all sang:
We are beautiful
In every single way
Yes words can't bring us down
Oh no
So don't you bring me down today
Oh, oh
Don't you bring me down today
Don't you bring me down, ooh
Today
Everyone cheered and clapped when the singing ended and Wes and Jerry shared a hug.
"Don't you think about those jerks", Jerry whispered into Wes' ear. "They are not worth it. Just forget about them and have fun okay? And if you need to talk come to me okay? I'll look after you."
"Thanks Jerry", Wes whispered back and smiled softly. "I know you will."
TBC Sorry if I made anyone cry :P
Answer to non-members' (or not signed in members') reviews:
Guest (1) - Yes the gavel made an apperance and will for now lay dormant until Wes will starts his sophomore year ;)
Guest (2) - I don't understand why people have to call their teachers Mr. Mrs. or Ms. It's just strange and I'm happy you ship Jerry and Emma.