The Mixtape to the Real Me, page 17
Dominic remains in his position. “They were cool with it. I mean, a couple of them said the usual stupid stuff like as long as I don’t try anything with them, but, you know, I know they weren’t trying to be jerks. It’s gonna take time with people. Ruben and Scott even apologized for not sticking up for me before. They were afraid, but after seeing the lockers, they want to help.”
I’m intrigued. “So, what are you saying?”
“Maybe we could ask your dad to talk to Coach Rocha and see what he thinks. Maybe we can get me back on the team. I mean, if I have some people on my side, it won’t be so bad, right? Never mind, don’t answer that since we don’t really know. But we can try.”
“Is that what you wished for?” I ask him.
“No,” he says while getting up. He then kisses me, nice and soft. Feeling his lips make me melt.
“I wished that you’d still want to kiss me.”
I kiss him. “You know you don’t have to wish for that. It will always happen.”
He doesn’t ask me about my wish, and I never told him.
Chapter 25
(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)
Justin
Word spread like wildfire in the school. Not even a day had passed when we approached the principal about the club. But it happened. An emergency PTA meeting is set up for next week, one that wants to deal with the growing problem of kids acting inappropriately while representing the school. Of course, it’s all centered around Pastor Montrose. He’s the one that called everyone, and did his best to keep us out of the loop. Luckily, someone reached out to my dad to let him know that something was up.
But I don’t think it’s just the club that he is against. It’s the fact that as our first order of business for the Garza Acceptance Society was a petition to get Dominic back on the team. I brought it up to the group and they fully supported the idea. Apparently, Pastor Montrose is also seeking to keep us from ever going to dances again, even just by ourselves. Though Mr. Perez told us we were banned from future dances, he changed his mind after talking with Mrs. Everett and my dad. He agreed that if we got enough signatures of students who felt like we did, then he would allow us to go and to get Dominic back on the football field. As much as I want to ask why there is a sudden change of heart in the man we talked to weeks ago, there was a lot to plan. Besides, I don’t want to let my big mouth ruin things.
But this weekend is all about Janice. She’s going for her dress, and we’ve got to hurry because the wedding is at the end of May and she wants to make sure she gets one she will be able to alter in case she gets huge. Her words, not mine. While I did try to keep the topic of the upcoming upside/down prom, or more affectionately called MORP off the table, Janice won’t let me.
“So do you think you can get enough signatures?” she asks from the front seat. I’m sitting in back with Tia Ruthie, while my mom drives. It’s a little awkward with Tia Ruthie in the back. We haven’t spoken much since our last talk together. She did hug me and everything like normal, but she doesn’t ask me all the stuff she normally does. I tried to shrug it off, but it is hard since I love her so much. But I have to hold it together.
I told Mom what happened, and she said to just give Ruthie time. I’m still a little reluctant to talk about things with her in the car, but if I’m truly not going to hide anymore, I can’t really be doing that, can I?
“I think so. We just have to hurry now that the stupid meeting is happening. Some people were shocked and disgusted by the stuff on the lockers, and were excited to sign. They even used real names.” I honestly thought there would be a few joke ones, but luckily everything checked out.
“So, what is a MORP?” Tia Ruthie asks, which surprises the heck out of me.
“It’s a backward prom,” I answer. “Girls are supposed to ask the guys. You go in jeans and a T-shirt, stuff like that.”
“Ah, okay,” she says. Then doesn’t say anything else for a few seconds before surprising us again. “And why do people need to sign that thing for you to go?”
“Because I want to go with my boyfriend.”
“That nice boy next door?” Tia Ruthie sure is being weirdly talkative now.
“Yes, hermana,” my mom responds.
“I like him. He is so polite and handsome. They should let him play.” She gives me a smile. I sure don’t know where this is coming from, but I’ll probably find out soon.
“Look, I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but is this such a good idea? I mean after what happened with the lockers, do you really want to poke the hornets’ nest?” I look at Janice’s reflection in the rearview mirror. She has concern in her eyes, and while I know she wants me to be myself, she also doesn’t want anything bad to happen.
“Lockers?” Ruthie says with confusion.
I take a deep breath, then flash a look at Janice. She mouths “sorry”. I really didn’t want this to come up. Not again. I’d already hashed it out with Mom and Dad when I brought up my idea to them. They weren’t on board at first, but then both Benny and Daniel came over and helped me convince them that we were going to be cautious and that plenty of people had my back. And Dominic’s.
“Tell her, mijo. The cat is out of the bag and you know she won’t let it go until you do,” Mom says while making a turn.
“Ay, Mary, you make me sound so horrible,” Ruthie says with a huff.
“No, Ruthie, but you can be a little, how should we say…difficult?”
Ruthie waves off my mom’s comment, then turns to me.
I take a gulp, then talk about the lockers. And the video store. And the dance before. I was honestly going to stop at the lockers, but things just kept spilling out of me.
“You didn’t tell me about the video store,” Mom says as she parks the car. She doesn’t look too happy that I kept that bit of info to myself.
I reach for the door handle.
“Don’t you dare open that door until you tell me everything.”
My hand slowly moves away from the handle. “It wasn’t anything. I mean, some jerk from school came up to us at the video store because Dominic gave me a kiss on the cheek. He didn’t mean to. He just got carried away.”
“Well, I hope you told him something,” Ruthie says. “I hope you told him that you have every right to be there. And that you have every right to be at that dance. And that nice boy can play football. It’s like that song you would play when you stayed with me in the summer, when you were little. Fight to Party? You need to do that. You need to fight. People will keep coming after you if you don’t. I know.” I thought she might be joking, or trying to lighten the mood, but no, Ruthie is now crying.
The three of us look at each other, then back at Tia Ruthie.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry, it’s just that…” She stops for a moment. “Mijo, when you told me, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. It’s just that, well, someone told me something like that a long, long time ago. And I didn’t say the right thing. I said something very, very wrong. And it took a long time to make it right. I thought if I didn’t say anything, that maybe it wouldn’t happen again. But it did, didn’t it?”
I hear sniffles come from the front of the car. I’m almost there myself.
“You were hurt, weren’t you, mijo?” Tia Ruthie continues.
“I was. I’m not going to lie. You looked as if all the emotion drained out of your body. I didn’t understand it.”
“Then I’m going to tell you what I should have told you then. It might not make it right, but at least you will know. I love you with all my heart, Justin. I love you, and will love anyone you love. You are special to me. Don’t ever forget that, please. Mijo, I just got scared. I didn’t want your life to be harder than it was. The way you say people make fun of you; I just worry. And now I’ll worry even more. But I will always love you. And I’ll bring my chancla along if you need it too.” Tia Ruthie actually never used a chancla, or any other type of shoe, on anyone. That’s why her statement is so funny. Though it makes me wonder if that would change if she ever saw Santos or Ivan in action.
She’s now sobbing heavily, and I’m right there with her. I’m pretty sure Mom and Janice are too.
I take off my seatbelt and move over to Tia Ruthie to give her a big hug. She gives me the tightest hug I’ve ever felt.
“Promise me you’ll fight,” she says.
“I will, I promise.”
After a few more minutes of crying, we finally go into the dress store and pick out one for Janice. Let’s just say, she took all our breaths away when she walked out in that sparkly white gown. Sure, people might mumble that white isn’t appropriate but she wasn’t going to let anyone tell her what to do. Neither was I. I am going to fight, and I’m going to fight hard.
I take a look at Tia Ruthie, who is beaming from ear to ear when Janice walks out. I start to wonder what she meant when she said she knew. I look for evidence on her face. Sometimes there’s a certain hardness that people have when they have had to fight. But I don’t see it now. I just see this happy woman who loves her family. Who loves me. If she can fight whatever she fought and still come back to smile, maybe I can too.
Chapter 26
No Me Queda Mas
Justin
I had thought that going to school would be the worst thing about this week. But the news took care of that. Selena Quintanilla Perez, the singer who I had fallen in love with, the spirit that was helping me see me for who I really am, had been shot and killed by the president of her fan club. The icon that touched so many hearts, and even represented the love that my parents had, is gone. I could feel the sadness in the halls the moment I stepped inside of the school. Every class had a discussion about it, since it seemed that so many people were too distracted and heartbroken to get any work done. Of course, you had those few cold-hearted and clueless jackasses that tried to make jokes, but they were quickly taken down.
Something was off about that day before I even knew what was going on. My parents, who rarely watch Spanish news, had it blaring from the kitchen. Mom was in tears, and Dad was doing his best to console her. Even Joseph, who was strictly a hip-hop guy now, seemed upset.
“Dude, have you seen this?” he says to me as I walk into the kitchen.
“No, what happened?” I ask.
“Just watch,” he replies.
My dad shushes us, pointing at the TV before quickly putting his arm back around mom.
I feel numb as the captions scroll across the screen. I need them in order to understand what is going on. But even without them, it is clear. Selena is dead, and somehow, I feel as if I just lost a friend I barely had made. I can only imagine what the most devoted fans, like Mom, were feeling.
Today is one of the days where Dominic can take me to school. He had heard the news as well, and didn’t know what to make of it. Some people might think it was silly to mourn someone you didn’t even know, and yet, it’s ’cause I and so many others felt we had a connection to her. I can’t speak for anyone else, but when I read up on Selena’s story and listened to her songs, I saw someone who was powerful enough to bust through a male-dominated world and make her own way. It couldn’t have been easy, and she probably faced a lot of machismo-heavy personalities who told her she would never make it in this world. I felt that as a gay person, I could sort of relate. A lot of times I was told that I couldn’t do certain things because I was too girly or not the right kind of man. It broke my heart, but also gave me motivation to show them exactly what I could do.
But the one thing that made me feel close to her, was that she had to be taught to sing in Spanish, since she wasn’t fluent. There’s a famous story about her father being nervous about Selena speaking to the Mexican press because of her lack of fluency, and that any wrong step would send the negative headlines flying. But although she did make a slight hiccup in her interview, she broke the ice by giving all the reporters a hug, then charmed them with her effervescent personality.
That night I cried. Yes, I didn’t know her. But I felt like I did. That was the power that she brought to her music and her life. Now more than ever I vowed that I wasn’t going to back down no matter what. Life is too short, and I don’t want to have any regrets. Just before I fall asleep, I decide to listen to my favorite song of hers, No Me Queda Mas. The song is about the end of a relationship and coming to terms, though you don’t want to deny it happened. It doesn’t relate to my life in any way right now, at least not in any way I can think of. But it’s pretty and emotional, and I love the way she looked in the video. That is enough to make me want to listen to it over and over again.
Chapter 27
We are the Champions
Justin
The PTA meeting is finally here. Honestly, it felt like it took forever. I have to admit, I was actually hoping that someone would cancel it. Or realize what a big waste of time it is. I’m not sure what I am expecting. But it definitely isn’t this. So many people came that they have to move it from the cafeteria to the gym. Even then, the bleachers have more people than I have ever seen them hold. It seems like a pep rally. If pep rallies were held in Hell.
Dominic and I wanted to go together, and our parents let us. We took Dominic’s car, and my mom and dad went with Dolores. The plan was to meet up once we got to the school so we could all walk in together. Juntos. I was expecting to see Benny, Lila, and Roger. What I wasn’t expecting were Carlos, Perla, and Daniel to also be there. But so many more also showed up.
“What is this?” I ask Benny as we get closer to the gym entrance.
“People started asking us what they can do to help. So, we told them about today and how we needed every voice and person to say how they support you and Dominic. It started with a few, then a few others, now this,” Benny says while pointing at the group of people waiting with signs. Stuff that says We are all Human and Jesus Doesn’t Hate. Some people I recognize, like Jessica, and others I don’t. I almost want to cry.
“They are here for us?” Dominic asks.
“You bet they are,” Lila says excitedly.
“Mijos, we wanted to surprise you both,” Mom says while waving to a crowd in the distance.
“There are some people from my school, their family members, and even from Dolores’ work.”
“We know you two have had a hard time thinking people were going to accept you. Well, we just wanted to make sure you know that for every jerk out there, there are going to be those who will stand up for what is right,” Dolores says.
“Speaking of jerks,” Dad begins while pointing out a big section of the gym. Reverend Montrose is there, along with Patrick, and a huge group of people holding signs with words like Be Happy, Not Gay and others too hurtful for me to mention. This is going to be a fight, but as I look around to the support we have, I almost want to cry knowing it is going to be a fair one.
“So, what’s the plan?” Benny asks.
“Well, I had wanted to talk, but maybe we can convince a few other people to say something too,” I say. “’Cause I’m sure plenty of people from Reverend Montrose’s church will have a lot to shout about.”
“We are on it,” Daniel shouts over the other voices, and quickly grabs the rest of our friends to go ask the crowd.
A few minutes pass and after getting everyone seated, the meeting is set to begin. Though the PTA president, whose name I didn’t catch because of all the chatter, has a hard time getting everyone to settle down. She finally does and calls the meeting to order.
“Before we begin, we ask that Reverend Montrose lead us in prayer.” Reverend Montrose approaches the mic at in front of the PTA officers’ table.
“It will be my pleasure,” he says with an assured smile. That feeling I had of fairness suddenly fades away. Why would they ask him to say a prayer if they weren’t going to side with him?
As expected, his prayer was full of double speak. Mentions of both sides listening to each other, but ultimately doing what’s right for the safety of our children. There was more, but I tuned it out in order to pump myself up with my own prayer, followed by a personal soundtrack. It took a few songs in my head to really block his voice, but I finally landed on We are the Champions by Queen. There was something about the melody and the way Freddy Mercury sings it that hits the right tone for me.
After that, Reverend Montrose is simply a blur in the distance. I am focused and ready.
“Thank you, Reverend Montrose. That was beautiful.” The crowd he brought claps and cheers, while everyone else remains quiet.
“Okay, this meeting was called to discuss recent actions by some students here at Garza High that some people find inappropriate and a possible danger to others. Namely having a gay player on the football team sharing facilities with other boys, and couples of the same sex wanting to flaunt themselves in front of others at dances and other events. Reverend Montrose and other parents have brought up their concerns, and we will begin with them. This meeting will be an open forum format, with each side getting their say.” She then turns directly at us. “But if anyone gets out of hand, we will have you removed.” Again, the same crowd from earlier claps. The words “flaunt” and “sharing facilities” lead me to believe her mind is made up. Hopefully the rest don’t think that way. I honestly don’t know how this is supposed to go in that sense. Is there a vote? And who votes?
“Does anyone have any questions before we start?”
Since I had those questions, I raise my hand. In the distance I see Patrick whispering something to his dad.
“Yes, young man? Could you walk over to the microphone please?” I make my way there, and oddly enough so does Reverend Montrose.
“Reverend Montrose, I know you are going to speak first, but could you wait until this young man asks his question,” another member at the table says. Montrose looks at the president, who nods for him to sit back down. He does, but doesn’t look happy about it.
I’m intrigued. “So, what are you saying?”
“Maybe we could ask your dad to talk to Coach Rocha and see what he thinks. Maybe we can get me back on the team. I mean, if I have some people on my side, it won’t be so bad, right? Never mind, don’t answer that since we don’t really know. But we can try.”
“Is that what you wished for?” I ask him.
“No,” he says while getting up. He then kisses me, nice and soft. Feeling his lips make me melt.
“I wished that you’d still want to kiss me.”
I kiss him. “You know you don’t have to wish for that. It will always happen.”
He doesn’t ask me about my wish, and I never told him.
Chapter 25
(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)
Justin
Word spread like wildfire in the school. Not even a day had passed when we approached the principal about the club. But it happened. An emergency PTA meeting is set up for next week, one that wants to deal with the growing problem of kids acting inappropriately while representing the school. Of course, it’s all centered around Pastor Montrose. He’s the one that called everyone, and did his best to keep us out of the loop. Luckily, someone reached out to my dad to let him know that something was up.
But I don’t think it’s just the club that he is against. It’s the fact that as our first order of business for the Garza Acceptance Society was a petition to get Dominic back on the team. I brought it up to the group and they fully supported the idea. Apparently, Pastor Montrose is also seeking to keep us from ever going to dances again, even just by ourselves. Though Mr. Perez told us we were banned from future dances, he changed his mind after talking with Mrs. Everett and my dad. He agreed that if we got enough signatures of students who felt like we did, then he would allow us to go and to get Dominic back on the football field. As much as I want to ask why there is a sudden change of heart in the man we talked to weeks ago, there was a lot to plan. Besides, I don’t want to let my big mouth ruin things.
But this weekend is all about Janice. She’s going for her dress, and we’ve got to hurry because the wedding is at the end of May and she wants to make sure she gets one she will be able to alter in case she gets huge. Her words, not mine. While I did try to keep the topic of the upcoming upside/down prom, or more affectionately called MORP off the table, Janice won’t let me.
“So do you think you can get enough signatures?” she asks from the front seat. I’m sitting in back with Tia Ruthie, while my mom drives. It’s a little awkward with Tia Ruthie in the back. We haven’t spoken much since our last talk together. She did hug me and everything like normal, but she doesn’t ask me all the stuff she normally does. I tried to shrug it off, but it is hard since I love her so much. But I have to hold it together.
I told Mom what happened, and she said to just give Ruthie time. I’m still a little reluctant to talk about things with her in the car, but if I’m truly not going to hide anymore, I can’t really be doing that, can I?
“I think so. We just have to hurry now that the stupid meeting is happening. Some people were shocked and disgusted by the stuff on the lockers, and were excited to sign. They even used real names.” I honestly thought there would be a few joke ones, but luckily everything checked out.
“So, what is a MORP?” Tia Ruthie asks, which surprises the heck out of me.
“It’s a backward prom,” I answer. “Girls are supposed to ask the guys. You go in jeans and a T-shirt, stuff like that.”
“Ah, okay,” she says. Then doesn’t say anything else for a few seconds before surprising us again. “And why do people need to sign that thing for you to go?”
“Because I want to go with my boyfriend.”
“That nice boy next door?” Tia Ruthie sure is being weirdly talkative now.
“Yes, hermana,” my mom responds.
“I like him. He is so polite and handsome. They should let him play.” She gives me a smile. I sure don’t know where this is coming from, but I’ll probably find out soon.
“Look, I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but is this such a good idea? I mean after what happened with the lockers, do you really want to poke the hornets’ nest?” I look at Janice’s reflection in the rearview mirror. She has concern in her eyes, and while I know she wants me to be myself, she also doesn’t want anything bad to happen.
“Lockers?” Ruthie says with confusion.
I take a deep breath, then flash a look at Janice. She mouths “sorry”. I really didn’t want this to come up. Not again. I’d already hashed it out with Mom and Dad when I brought up my idea to them. They weren’t on board at first, but then both Benny and Daniel came over and helped me convince them that we were going to be cautious and that plenty of people had my back. And Dominic’s.
“Tell her, mijo. The cat is out of the bag and you know she won’t let it go until you do,” Mom says while making a turn.
“Ay, Mary, you make me sound so horrible,” Ruthie says with a huff.
“No, Ruthie, but you can be a little, how should we say…difficult?”
Ruthie waves off my mom’s comment, then turns to me.
I take a gulp, then talk about the lockers. And the video store. And the dance before. I was honestly going to stop at the lockers, but things just kept spilling out of me.
“You didn’t tell me about the video store,” Mom says as she parks the car. She doesn’t look too happy that I kept that bit of info to myself.
I reach for the door handle.
“Don’t you dare open that door until you tell me everything.”
My hand slowly moves away from the handle. “It wasn’t anything. I mean, some jerk from school came up to us at the video store because Dominic gave me a kiss on the cheek. He didn’t mean to. He just got carried away.”
“Well, I hope you told him something,” Ruthie says. “I hope you told him that you have every right to be there. And that you have every right to be at that dance. And that nice boy can play football. It’s like that song you would play when you stayed with me in the summer, when you were little. Fight to Party? You need to do that. You need to fight. People will keep coming after you if you don’t. I know.” I thought she might be joking, or trying to lighten the mood, but no, Ruthie is now crying.
The three of us look at each other, then back at Tia Ruthie.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cry, it’s just that…” She stops for a moment. “Mijo, when you told me, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. It’s just that, well, someone told me something like that a long, long time ago. And I didn’t say the right thing. I said something very, very wrong. And it took a long time to make it right. I thought if I didn’t say anything, that maybe it wouldn’t happen again. But it did, didn’t it?”
I hear sniffles come from the front of the car. I’m almost there myself.
“You were hurt, weren’t you, mijo?” Tia Ruthie continues.
“I was. I’m not going to lie. You looked as if all the emotion drained out of your body. I didn’t understand it.”
“Then I’m going to tell you what I should have told you then. It might not make it right, but at least you will know. I love you with all my heart, Justin. I love you, and will love anyone you love. You are special to me. Don’t ever forget that, please. Mijo, I just got scared. I didn’t want your life to be harder than it was. The way you say people make fun of you; I just worry. And now I’ll worry even more. But I will always love you. And I’ll bring my chancla along if you need it too.” Tia Ruthie actually never used a chancla, or any other type of shoe, on anyone. That’s why her statement is so funny. Though it makes me wonder if that would change if she ever saw Santos or Ivan in action.
She’s now sobbing heavily, and I’m right there with her. I’m pretty sure Mom and Janice are too.
I take off my seatbelt and move over to Tia Ruthie to give her a big hug. She gives me the tightest hug I’ve ever felt.
“Promise me you’ll fight,” she says.
“I will, I promise.”
After a few more minutes of crying, we finally go into the dress store and pick out one for Janice. Let’s just say, she took all our breaths away when she walked out in that sparkly white gown. Sure, people might mumble that white isn’t appropriate but she wasn’t going to let anyone tell her what to do. Neither was I. I am going to fight, and I’m going to fight hard.
I take a look at Tia Ruthie, who is beaming from ear to ear when Janice walks out. I start to wonder what she meant when she said she knew. I look for evidence on her face. Sometimes there’s a certain hardness that people have when they have had to fight. But I don’t see it now. I just see this happy woman who loves her family. Who loves me. If she can fight whatever she fought and still come back to smile, maybe I can too.
Chapter 26
No Me Queda Mas
Justin
I had thought that going to school would be the worst thing about this week. But the news took care of that. Selena Quintanilla Perez, the singer who I had fallen in love with, the spirit that was helping me see me for who I really am, had been shot and killed by the president of her fan club. The icon that touched so many hearts, and even represented the love that my parents had, is gone. I could feel the sadness in the halls the moment I stepped inside of the school. Every class had a discussion about it, since it seemed that so many people were too distracted and heartbroken to get any work done. Of course, you had those few cold-hearted and clueless jackasses that tried to make jokes, but they were quickly taken down.
Something was off about that day before I even knew what was going on. My parents, who rarely watch Spanish news, had it blaring from the kitchen. Mom was in tears, and Dad was doing his best to console her. Even Joseph, who was strictly a hip-hop guy now, seemed upset.
“Dude, have you seen this?” he says to me as I walk into the kitchen.
“No, what happened?” I ask.
“Just watch,” he replies.
My dad shushes us, pointing at the TV before quickly putting his arm back around mom.
I feel numb as the captions scroll across the screen. I need them in order to understand what is going on. But even without them, it is clear. Selena is dead, and somehow, I feel as if I just lost a friend I barely had made. I can only imagine what the most devoted fans, like Mom, were feeling.
Today is one of the days where Dominic can take me to school. He had heard the news as well, and didn’t know what to make of it. Some people might think it was silly to mourn someone you didn’t even know, and yet, it’s ’cause I and so many others felt we had a connection to her. I can’t speak for anyone else, but when I read up on Selena’s story and listened to her songs, I saw someone who was powerful enough to bust through a male-dominated world and make her own way. It couldn’t have been easy, and she probably faced a lot of machismo-heavy personalities who told her she would never make it in this world. I felt that as a gay person, I could sort of relate. A lot of times I was told that I couldn’t do certain things because I was too girly or not the right kind of man. It broke my heart, but also gave me motivation to show them exactly what I could do.
But the one thing that made me feel close to her, was that she had to be taught to sing in Spanish, since she wasn’t fluent. There’s a famous story about her father being nervous about Selena speaking to the Mexican press because of her lack of fluency, and that any wrong step would send the negative headlines flying. But although she did make a slight hiccup in her interview, she broke the ice by giving all the reporters a hug, then charmed them with her effervescent personality.
That night I cried. Yes, I didn’t know her. But I felt like I did. That was the power that she brought to her music and her life. Now more than ever I vowed that I wasn’t going to back down no matter what. Life is too short, and I don’t want to have any regrets. Just before I fall asleep, I decide to listen to my favorite song of hers, No Me Queda Mas. The song is about the end of a relationship and coming to terms, though you don’t want to deny it happened. It doesn’t relate to my life in any way right now, at least not in any way I can think of. But it’s pretty and emotional, and I love the way she looked in the video. That is enough to make me want to listen to it over and over again.
Chapter 27
We are the Champions
Justin
The PTA meeting is finally here. Honestly, it felt like it took forever. I have to admit, I was actually hoping that someone would cancel it. Or realize what a big waste of time it is. I’m not sure what I am expecting. But it definitely isn’t this. So many people came that they have to move it from the cafeteria to the gym. Even then, the bleachers have more people than I have ever seen them hold. It seems like a pep rally. If pep rallies were held in Hell.
Dominic and I wanted to go together, and our parents let us. We took Dominic’s car, and my mom and dad went with Dolores. The plan was to meet up once we got to the school so we could all walk in together. Juntos. I was expecting to see Benny, Lila, and Roger. What I wasn’t expecting were Carlos, Perla, and Daniel to also be there. But so many more also showed up.
“What is this?” I ask Benny as we get closer to the gym entrance.
“People started asking us what they can do to help. So, we told them about today and how we needed every voice and person to say how they support you and Dominic. It started with a few, then a few others, now this,” Benny says while pointing at the group of people waiting with signs. Stuff that says We are all Human and Jesus Doesn’t Hate. Some people I recognize, like Jessica, and others I don’t. I almost want to cry.
“They are here for us?” Dominic asks.
“You bet they are,” Lila says excitedly.
“Mijos, we wanted to surprise you both,” Mom says while waving to a crowd in the distance.
“There are some people from my school, their family members, and even from Dolores’ work.”
“We know you two have had a hard time thinking people were going to accept you. Well, we just wanted to make sure you know that for every jerk out there, there are going to be those who will stand up for what is right,” Dolores says.
“Speaking of jerks,” Dad begins while pointing out a big section of the gym. Reverend Montrose is there, along with Patrick, and a huge group of people holding signs with words like Be Happy, Not Gay and others too hurtful for me to mention. This is going to be a fight, but as I look around to the support we have, I almost want to cry knowing it is going to be a fair one.
“So, what’s the plan?” Benny asks.
“Well, I had wanted to talk, but maybe we can convince a few other people to say something too,” I say. “’Cause I’m sure plenty of people from Reverend Montrose’s church will have a lot to shout about.”
“We are on it,” Daniel shouts over the other voices, and quickly grabs the rest of our friends to go ask the crowd.
A few minutes pass and after getting everyone seated, the meeting is set to begin. Though the PTA president, whose name I didn’t catch because of all the chatter, has a hard time getting everyone to settle down. She finally does and calls the meeting to order.
“Before we begin, we ask that Reverend Montrose lead us in prayer.” Reverend Montrose approaches the mic at in front of the PTA officers’ table.
“It will be my pleasure,” he says with an assured smile. That feeling I had of fairness suddenly fades away. Why would they ask him to say a prayer if they weren’t going to side with him?
As expected, his prayer was full of double speak. Mentions of both sides listening to each other, but ultimately doing what’s right for the safety of our children. There was more, but I tuned it out in order to pump myself up with my own prayer, followed by a personal soundtrack. It took a few songs in my head to really block his voice, but I finally landed on We are the Champions by Queen. There was something about the melody and the way Freddy Mercury sings it that hits the right tone for me.
After that, Reverend Montrose is simply a blur in the distance. I am focused and ready.
“Thank you, Reverend Montrose. That was beautiful.” The crowd he brought claps and cheers, while everyone else remains quiet.
“Okay, this meeting was called to discuss recent actions by some students here at Garza High that some people find inappropriate and a possible danger to others. Namely having a gay player on the football team sharing facilities with other boys, and couples of the same sex wanting to flaunt themselves in front of others at dances and other events. Reverend Montrose and other parents have brought up their concerns, and we will begin with them. This meeting will be an open forum format, with each side getting their say.” She then turns directly at us. “But if anyone gets out of hand, we will have you removed.” Again, the same crowd from earlier claps. The words “flaunt” and “sharing facilities” lead me to believe her mind is made up. Hopefully the rest don’t think that way. I honestly don’t know how this is supposed to go in that sense. Is there a vote? And who votes?
“Does anyone have any questions before we start?”
Since I had those questions, I raise my hand. In the distance I see Patrick whispering something to his dad.
“Yes, young man? Could you walk over to the microphone please?” I make my way there, and oddly enough so does Reverend Montrose.
“Reverend Montrose, I know you are going to speak first, but could you wait until this young man asks his question,” another member at the table says. Montrose looks at the president, who nods for him to sit back down. He does, but doesn’t look happy about it.
