Chapter 1: Lab Partner

I looked up at the clock and yawned. It was only the first day of school and second period chemistry was already boring me to tears. We were all standing in the back half of the class room which was set up as a lab. Mr. Carl was explaining the safety rules.

"Okay, everyone pick a lab partner for the semester," Mr. Carl announced.

Great. It was bad enough that I was always picked last at sports, but I was always get picked last for this stuff too. Well, being a senior at least I don't have to take PE anymore.

"Hey, Clark. Wanna be my partner?"

I looked up in shock to see Gordon Thomas was standing next to me. Gordon was a senior like me. He played on the football team. I was shocked for two reasons: one, that he would be taking chemistry; and two, that he was talking to me. Being a jock, he was pretty popular, especially compared to me. I was a bookworm who hung out with two other nerds.

"Uh, really?" I asked looking at him skeptically.

"Yeah. I need to get a good grade... and you're really smart... so..."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, Gordon. I'll be your lab partner."

Mr. Carl had everyone take a seat with their partners. The front half of the room had tables designed for two students instead of individual desks. Gordon and I sat together at one of the back tables.

While Mr. Carl droned on, I snuck a peek at Gordon. He was a big, husky guy, over 6'4" and a bit overweight. He had a bit of a stomach and love handles. I figured he must be at least 240 pounds. He had brown hair and green eyes. He also had a beard, which wasn't very common for high school guys. His beard wasn't very thick, but it was full. His family moved here from Georgia four years ago, so he had a very Southern accent that stuck out amongst everyone else's northern Michigan accent. Gordon wasn't gorgeous, but he wasn't ugly either.

I'm Clark as you already know. I just turned 18 years old and I'm quite a bit smaller than Gordon at 5'9" and 145 pounds. I've got black hair and brown eyes and I wear glasses. My mom is Thai and my Dad is white, so I have a half-Asian look to me. Most people can't seem to figure out my nationality and since I was born and raised in the U.S., I don't sound 'Asian'. Mom has lived in the U.S. most of her life, so she's really Americanized and became a U.S. citizen several years ago. I get the "Where are you from?" question a lot. Depending on my mood, I usually end up saying "Michigan". Most of the people that live in the small northern Michigan town where I live are white, I guess it's understandable that they'd be curious, but sometimes it's rude.

"Fuck, this dude is boring as hell," Gordon whispered to me.

I chuckled.

When the bell finally rang, Gordon hopped out of his seat. "See ya tomorrow, Clark," he said and he was out the door.

***

After school, I usually walk to the public library to study and do my homework for a couple of hours. By the time I get home from the library, usually Mom and Dad are home. Right now, it's just Mom, Dad and me at home. My older brother Greg is a junior at Central Michigan, so he's living on campus down in Mt. Pleasant.

When we did our first chemistry lab, I did most of the work while Gordon watched. He was eager to help, but didn't want to mess anything up. One thing I quickly discovered about Gordon was that he was a big joker. He was always joking or making fun of something. He had me giggling inappropriately on more than one occasion.

We had a quiz coming up and Gordon wanted to get together to study. I told him I always went to the library after school so we could study there. He had football practice and asked me if I could hang out and wait for him. After school, I hung out in the computer lab for an hour and then made my way to the parking lot.

A few minutes later, the guys exited the school and were headed to their cars. Gordon called out to me and I met up with him and we walked to his truck. He had a really old, rusty, beat-up, blue Dodge pick up truck. It wasn't much to look at, but at least he had a car of his own.

I climbed into the truck with him and he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

"You smoke?" he asked, holding out the pack to me.

I shook my head. "No."

"You don't mind if I do, do ya?"

"Nah. It's your truck, Gordon."

"My friends call me Gordie. Call me Gordie."

"Sure, Gordie."

As Gordie started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot, I snuck a look at him. His hair was wet from the after-practice shower. His beard was damp a little bit as well. It looks like he had trimmed it down and shaped it up a little bit recently. I hadn't noticed in class this morning. It looked good. As we drove to the library, he had his window down. He kept his cigarette outside the window except when he took a drag.

Gordie followed me into the library and I sat down at my usual table near the back corner. We went over everything a few times for a couple of hours.

Gordie finally yawned and stretched. When he leaned back and stretched, his T-shirt rode up a little bit and I saw his furry belly. I felt something tingle inside me that I knew would get me into trouble and I quickly looked away.

"I'm fuckin' starved," he said. "Let's call it a day and go grab something to eat."

I called my mom and told her I was going out to dinner with a friend from school. We both ordered a cheeseburger and fries and got to know each other a little better. I found out that he's the youngest of four boys. None of his three older brothers live at home. I told him my older brother Greg was going to CMU.

Gordie had a nasty sense of humor, which I found really funny. He was sarcastic and actually kind of mean, but I couldn't stop laughing. He'd say something scathing about someone and I would have a laughing fit and he'd just grin at me, pleased that he made me laugh.

He asked if I as going to the game on Friday night and I had already planned on going. Gordie dropped me off at home and we said goodbye and I watched him speed off.