Happy Wednesday! I haven’t been around for a snippet in a while, due to the school musical and NaNoWriMo. But November is almost over, and I’m happy to say I think I might get to claim by badge this year. I gave up last year for a number of reasons, but I stuck with it this time, and I’m almost at 50k.
This is also my first week doing a New Thing and joining the #QueerBlogWed h/t on Twitter. So you get 2-for-1 today. My snippet qualifies for both (as they generally do). I’m working on several projects because I discovered I can’t focus on just one until I’m well into the project. So currently, I have three sequels, an anthology, and two back-burner projects I only work on if I’m stuck on the others.
I got a little stuck last night, so I put some words down for a YA coming-of-age novel. It’s actually not about the MC’s coming out (though that’s in there). It’s…well, maybe a little bit of political ranting about a social issue affecting my local school district, and that part has nothing to do with being queer. The reason I started writing it was because my kids came to me about something they saw at school which bothered them. I also had a request from a bi teen who wanted books with bisexual boy protagonists but which were not focused only on that or on a relationship, and the teen in question wanted to see parents like his (supportive, but perhaps mildly exasperated with their child’s non-queer-related shenanigans—yes, I do know the parents).
Anyway, the snippet here is based on a real conversation with a pair of 12-year-olds, which I have fictionalized with permission from the youths in question. Their school (a middle-high school, so ages roughly 11-18) is based on our neighborhood school. The MC in this story, Bert, is 14. He tells the story of what happens to him in a series of memories leading up to the current situation. In this bit, he’s recounting his memory of the time he and his bestie came out to each other. As amusing as the real-life conversation was, it also makes me sad that even at twelve, kids know what biphobia is, even if they don’t know the word for it.
WIPmath: 11/30/16 = 11 + 3 + 0 = 14 paragraphs
Since Neveah shared with me, I figured I’d better spill my own secret. I’d been thinking a lot—like, the sweaty palms, pounding heart, just ran a mile kind of thinking—about this boy I knew from the drama club. Not that he’d have looked at me, and probably a good thing he didn’t. He was at least four years older. He was one of those gorgeous people you want to hate but you’re too busy fantasizing about being around them all the time.I confessed my raging crush on Marcus Tedesco, and she reacted pretty much as predicted. Her mouth hung open for about twenty seconds, then she closed it and kept staring at me for another whole minute.
“Okay, didn’t see that coming.”
Yeah, I already worked that one out, thanks. I said, “Right. But…don’t tell anyone, okay?”
“Who would I tell?”
“Dylan.” My reaction was instant. I didn’t need him to know, and I wasn’t sure why. He was our friend too, and my best guy friend at the time, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t take it too well.
Neveah shrugged. “Fine. So you’re, like, gay then? It’s cool if you are.”
“I guess so,” I said. I wasn’t sure, actually. But I went along with it because Neveah seemed to have a pretty good grasp on All Things Queer. She’d been my go-to person for about five minutes by then, which was longer than I’d had anyone else to ask up to that point. I sat up. “But I’m not going to come out any time soon. Not at school, anyway.”
Neveah nodded. She knew some of the guys—like Frankie—had been teasing me forever. I’ve been called gay since third grade, when I turned up with a pink Shutterfly backpack and my nails painted neon green. Even a teacher said he thought maybe I ought to ditch the nail polish when I hit sixth grade. Pretty disappointing, considering it meant giving up my silver shine. That wasn’t happening then, and it still isn’t happening now.
“It’s just…” I hesitated, but plowed on when Neveah gestured for me to. “Well, if I tell anyone at school, it’s going to hurt my chances with girls.”
“What girls?” Neveah blinked.
“Like…Maddie Alhart.” I’m sure I was red as a tomato.
Neveah stared at me again, but only for three seconds before she laughed so hard she fell off my bed. I rolled over onto my stomach and peered at her over the edge. She came back to herself and sat up, looking me dead in the eye.
“Dude.” She shook her head, and one more giggle escaped. “Dude, if you’re worried about not getting a girlfriend ‘cause she thinks you’re gay, then you are not gay!”
Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!
This is a great snippet.
Thanks! 😀
I agree with Fallon. It’s a lovely little scene; sensitive and funny, just the way I’ve come to expect in your writing. And. being the parent of a twelve year old this year, I think you’ve spot-on captured the vibe of he age.
I hope the school politics thing works out – I think I see what it is, and, if I’m right, it’s sad that teachers would be so rigid…some things aren’t about age, but identity.
The issue in question has to do with socioeconomic class and the way some students are penalized for it, particularly in families where they live paycheck to paycheck. The system is rigid in how this is dealt with, and it’s more harsh at the secondary level than the elementary level. My kids observed the problem, and then I learned more about what’s behind it when I talked to a school employee. I was just discussing with my kids how sometimes, parents need to fight things by petitioning the school board. But sometimes, it takes students standing up for what’s right before anyone will listen. I just learned that on two different issues, schools where my friends live changed policies. In one district, they stopped giving kids homework. They extended the day by a small amount, but all work is done in the classrooms. In another district, they dropped the free lunch program and made lunch free for all kids. It actually saved the district thousands of dollars and a lot of time wasted on paperwork/applications. Change can happen, but it takes everyone working together. Anyway, that’s the kind of issue I wanted to address because I think it’s personally meaningful for kids and yet also is in the realm of social justice.
I absolutely love the narrative voice here! You’ve captured the age so well! and in the dialogue as well.
😀 It helps to have kids that age on hand (my own and the ones I volunteer with at their school).