Chapter 9

Then I wandered outside. It was still snowy, although now there was slush, and there were dirty heaps of gray snow by the road and parking lot. The sidewalks had been shoveled, but shortcuts had been taken across the once pristine fields, leaving chewed up paths hither and yon. It was still beautiful, but cold. And I felt cold, too, in spite of my warm jacket. I remembered sliding down the hill and across the river, and smiled. How in hell was I going to live through this crush? What if he found out about it? What if anyone here found out about it, about my being gay? Would I be kicked out of school? Or just humiliated until I left on my own? Maybe I should start looking into other…who was I kidding? There was only one semester left.