Chapter 61: You Say You Want a Revolution

Sunday, February 28, 1982

Busy week or not — and it was very busy — Jasmine and I spent a lot of time in study group holding hands and snuggling, even when we were working with different people on different classes. In an odd way it felt like my having been with Sheila, and Lexi as well, brought me and Jasmine closer together. It’s one thing to say you can handle an open relationship, another to do it. We’d now both been with a couple partners since we’d gotten to ‘I love you’ and were going strong.

Could it crash and burn? Of course. Still two teenagers in love, one of whom was a regular teenager. But, so far, so good.

9:30pm

Angie slipped into bed, rubbing noses, hugging. Smooching.

“Okay, picking up from yesterday. You said Jasmine has three more girls lined up. Who? Do you know?”

“I do. Guess?”

“Paige.” I nodded. “Sara?” I nodded again. “That’ll be funny. She looks almost like Sarah, which is amusing all by itself, and she acts almost like Sarah. I think you’ll like her. Unless fucking Sara makes things weird with Sarah.”

“Cute, Sis.”

“I thought so. Okay ... so ... third. Not Carole. I mean, it wouldn’t surprise me, but she’s not there yet, I don’t think.”

“I didn’t even consider whether she might be anywhere near there.”

“Of course, you didn’t. Um ... that’s the sophomores ... I mean, Bob would, Glenn probably would, but that’s a firm no on your end.”

“Yeah. My end is a firm no.”

Whap! “And Steve wins the ‘anything will come out of my mouth’ award again. I know, not everything will go in.”

“Definitely.”

“I think you’re around a 0.25 or so on the Kinsey scale. It could happen; it’d require something extraordinary.”

“I ... think that’s fair. I doubt it ever would. I can’t 100% rule it out. Like I said, that one time...”

“You had an extraordinary impulse that still went nowhere. Yeah. Okay. Not a sophomore. Um ... I don’t know.”

“Mikayla.”

“Oh! She’s hot!”

“I think so, too.”

“Plus, whoever snares you for Sadie Hawkins. I know of three girls right now who are interested,” Angie said, smirking. “They’re all scared you’ll turn them down, but also scared someone else will ask first. I know one other girl who’s interested but can’t. I think there’s at least one more like that, but I know it second-hand.”

“Mysterious!”

“You are a hot topic amongst the girl-talk community. I’m somewhat out of the loop because they won’t share with me lest I share with you.”

“You must hate that. I know you can’t stand being out of the loop,” I said.

“It’s amusing in this case.”

“It’s funny you mention that. Sheila and I got into it with each other.” Angie looked confused. “We got to sharing interesting things about our life. I mentioned never having pursued a girl, and she mentioned a girl she might pursue under other circumstances.”

“Jessica Lively.”

“Why am I not surprised you jumped right to it?”

“I know they were close; I know Sheila still likes the idea of her. And this led to you ‘getting into it’, how?”

“I made the apparent mistake of saying Jessica was out of my league and was advised to look in a mirror.”

Angie laughed. “Do that. She is totally not ‘out of your league,’ big brother. I have told you and told you again — if it was something that was you, you’d tear through the school separating girls from their panties and leaving them with broken hearts, and Jessica would be one of them. There’s no one at the school that’s out of your league, unless you count upperclassmen whose only hesitation would be that you’re a sophomore. There’s no one out of mine, either, especially since older guys don’t have an issue with my being younger,” she said, grinning. “And I don’t just mean looks. There are people hotter than either of us, and don’t you even start with ‘hottest blonde in the world.’ But the whole package? You want Jessica, you’ll have her. I mean, there are girls you’d have no chance with, but that’s because they’re only interested in class and status or only date football players or, well, you’ve got no chance with Lizzie, obviously. Wrong body parts.”

“Yeah, and for you it’s ... there are a few guys like that, but they’d still fuck you given a chance, but you’d see through them first. And obviously you’re not getting Andy or Cal in bed.”

“Andy, never. Cal? He’s a 5. I could. They have the perfect pairings. Andy and Mel? Nothing will ever happen. Cammie and Cal? The same. Cal and Mel? That could happen. Maybe. But it wouldn’t do for Mel what you can do, and she knows that.”

“I did not know that,” I said.

“Your gaydar isn’t so good with guys.”

“Guilty. Back to what I was saying. She put herself out of Jessica’s league as well, and I advised her to look in a mirror.”

“They’d be a cute couple. You know what just occurred to me?”

“Probably what occurred to me when we were getting into this.”

Angie grinned. “That, if we do understudy night for the show, you and Sheila are the feature couple?”

“Got it.”

“You’ll have good chemistry, even though you won’t be an item anymore.” She was smirking.

“We won’t, hmm? I agree, but I’m curious what you think you know.”

“You’re going to fix her up. My bet is Amit, for Sadie Hawkins. Which will work, though long-term I still think Sheila will gravitate towards a girl. Maybe Amit would be okay with that. If so, she gets the best of both worlds.”

“Another proof of why I should never underestimate you.”

“It’s likely a really good pairing, along the lines of me and Gene. Or you and me, really. Adventurous girl, level-headed guy.”

“Not me and Jasmine?”

“Jasmine is both adventurous and incredibly level-headed. I — obviously — would toss caution to the wind and embark on some adventure of the heart that leads to pain and tears. Been there, done that. Sheila? Been there, done that. Jasmine would’ve kicked Max to the curb in seconds, and anyone who’d do to her what those guys did to Sheila would lose a few teeth.”

I chuckled. “Okay, I see that. I’m glad you approve of Sheila and Amit.”

“I really do. Amit deserves someone; he’s a quality guy. I didn’t know who to fix him up with. Well, I had ideas. Iffy ones. If you think Sheila fits, I’m pretty sure you’re onto something.”

“We’re not done yet. Not until Sadie Hawkins.”

“Of course, you’re not. Why would you be?” She giggled. “I wouldn’t be, in your situation. She’s damn hot.”

“And I’d set it aside in a minute if Jasmine wanted.”

“But Jasmine’s Jasmine. And I feel like we’re both learning a lot from being around her.”

“Me, too.”

“So, what next?”

“Classes.” Whap! “Beyond that, I don’t know. Next weekend is date weekend, but I don’t know who or what, in what combinations. Jasmine, yes. Lexi? Don’t know. Sheila? Don’t know. Someone new? Don’t know.”

“There is a possibility I might take up some of Jasmine’s time next weekend.”

“Woohoo! I get a full report.”

“You get two, most likely. And yes, I told Jane. It amused her. I have my suspicions that she’s somewhere around a two.”

I shook my head. “I haven’t even tried to apply gaydar to Jane. Nor anything else. We’re already in a really complex relationship there.”

“When I push to see things through my older eyes, she’s attractive. As my real self, yeah, no.”

I nodded. “Me, too. Same with several teachers. I mostly don’t have the hot-for-teacher thing going with anyone right now.”

“I ... have changed my mind on Myerson. More than twice my age or not, the man is sexy. And no, nothing is ever going to happen, but I’m no longer ‘ewwww’. But he’s the only one.”

“Fantasies are always good.”

“I didn’t say it was a fantasy!”

“You didn’t have to say it.”

“Okay, fine. Point to you, big brother.” She leaned in and smooched me. “And with that, I am off to bed. Maybe not to sleep, yet.”

“Love you, little sis.”

“Love you, big bro.”

“Always.”

“Forever.”

Monday, March 1, 1982

Dad finally spilled the beans at dinner. “Sorry I haven’t made this official before. Neither of you have any big plans over Spring Break, right?”

Angie and I shook our heads.

“Good. I’m planning a trip to the Hill Country. Austin, Fredericksburg, Johnson City. We’ll probably go back through San Antonio. I know you were just there, but you didn’t go to the Hemisfair area or Six Flags. Overall, though, it’s much quieter than previous trips. I’m looking at getting back Friday, so we have a bit of time to decompress and you can see your friends before school gets going.”

“I like it,” Angie said. “I’ve only seen a bit of the rest of Texas and most of that was out of bus windows, or the inside of schools. I know there’s a lot to see.”

“We’ll probably drop by a college or two,” Dad said with a smile. “You know I enjoy doing that.”

“I know,” I said.

“And I’ve heard,” Angie said with a chuckle. “I’ve only experienced it with Northwestern. And Wisconsin, but that was just a brief drive-by.”

“Which means I need to do more of it!”

“Yeah, Dad!” we both said, chuckling.

Tuesday, March 2, 1982

We had cake for Sarah’s birthday — which would be tomorrow — in Study Group. This reminded me that she and Mike had been back together for nearly a year now.

That meant that, to date, we’d had four failed relationships out of study group: Candice and me, Nancy and me, Angie and Dan, and Debbie and Marcus. Of the four, two were no one’s fault, one I was still unsure of, and one was clearly the fault of both parties involved.

It was amazing, really. Emily and the Wonder Twins? Going strong. Sarah and Mike? Solid. Connie and Jimmy? Solid, too. Mel and Cammie? Hard to imagine anything splitting them up. Cal and Andy seemed perfectly content. Angie and Gene were coming up on a year.

Sue pulled me aside late in group. “I started seeing a therapist. We’ve done blood tests and she has concerns about my hormone levels. Nothing medically serious, but it could explain things. We’re working through my regular doctor to prescribe supplements. I think my parents are figuring out that ‘anxiety’ was a red herring, but a medical issue is a medical issue.”

“I hope it helps.”

“Me, too!”

9:45pm

Angie slipped in and snuggled in close. Not unusual, right?

Turning off the lights first was a bit unusual. The slight sniffling and trembling made it much more unusual.

“What’s wrong, Ang?” I said, hugging her tight.

“It’s ... nothing’s wrong. It’s just ... this is, um ... the night. The one where I woke up with a splitting headache, after nearly dying ... sometime ... and then nearly died again.”

“Oh!” I squeezed her close. “Last year...”

“I know. We had other things on our mind, and you didn’t know I’d ever had a night like this one.”

“You said you want to remember this one, right?”

She nodded. “I do. It’s ... this is ... this got me free of the FW. And I didn’t die. Nearly, though.”

“It’s an amazing story.”

“It is. The only reason I wasn’t terrified is that I was hurting so much I couldn’t feel much else. Now, I just want to snuggle and bask in feeling loved.”

I squeezed her again. “Happy to provide that.”

“I love you, Steve. So much. All this ... it’s well worth almost dying. Twice.”

“I love you, Ang. Well worth dying to get a chance to do this right.”

Wednesday, March 3, 1982

Cammie caught me just after Debate. “Okay, we ... Mel, really ... left this to nearly the last minute. Sorry. It wasn’t about you, it was about someone else. Anyway, that plot you’re curious about? Can you meet for maybe half an hour tomorrow after school? Mr. Myerson’s room?”

“Fortunately, yes, I can.”

“Good! See you then.”

I went over to Drama. Jasmine, Lexi, and Sheila all met me with hugs and kisses, to the obvious amusement of Steffie. “Are you going to make off with all my sophomores, Mr. Marshall?”

“I have no interest in Glenn, Bob, or John.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s actually not very helpful.” She went back to her papers; I settled down on one of the riser seats with the girls. Paige rolled her eyes, too, then stuck out her tongue at me. I stuck mine out and wiggled it; she grinned. The other girls were gone, except Mikayla, who smirked as she left.

“So, date weekend. Plans?”

“Mom’s out all day Saturday, Steve,” Sheila said. “Lunch, then my house?”

“That works for me.”

Lexi grinned. “Dinner Friday? Me and Jasmine?”

“That also works for me.”

Jasmine smirked. “I’m having dinner with a close friend of yours Saturday.”

“Very close?”

“Very.”

“Fun. Just her?”

“Just her, this time. And just dinner. Maybe ... maybe dessert. We’ll see.”

“Enjoy.”

“Planning to. Do you mind if I consider scheduling a dinner for you?”

I laughed. “My Saturday dinner is at your disposal, honey. Schedule away.”

“Will do. Sheila will let you know.”

Thursday, March 4, 1982

I headed up to Mr. Myerson’s room after class. I was a bit surprised by who was waiting there. Besides the obvious — Tom Myerson, Cammie, and Mel — the room was filled. I’d thought this was a skirmish; apparently, this was war.