In the late 1950's, fourteen year old Philip Noland is a gay but sexually inexperienced freshman at St. Sebastian’s, a Catholic high school for boys. Alone and emotionally isolated, with the exception of two friends named O’Riley and Carlin, there are no familiar guideposts for Philip to follow, just an excess of rules and regulations that make no sense to him.<br><br>A late bloomer, Philip learns to masturbate effectively and fall in love for the first time, but his greatest challenge isn’t the regimented behavior at St. Sebastian’s -- it's surviving a bully named Molinara who has set his sights on Philip.<br><br>Can Philip navigate the minefields of St. Sebastian's and emerge victorious?

Boys Will Be Boys

O’Riley had his eyes closed. He’d given his hand a rest and that’s when I made my move—and the worst mistake possible. I closed my mouth over his penis. I liked the feel of it, the taste, even the smell.


“No,” he said, pushing me away. “I don’t want that.”


“Because it’s not normal,” he said. “Only my wife will do that for me.”


“But you’re a kid and not married and I’m here.” I reached for him, but he grabbed my hand.


“No, Phil.” Then he must have seen my dejected expression and added, “what we were doing, that’s fine. Like I said, all the boys at St. Sebastian’s do this, but not—”


“—I gotta go,” I said and bent over to tie my shoes.


“You’ll miss the rest of the album. Stay.” But when he saw I was leaving, he shrugged and went back to finish up.


Chapter 8