Page 44 of Inside Out

A knock sounded on the doorframe and I glanced up to see Clara, Ellie, and Curtis peeking in the room. I could tell by the dejected look on their faces they too had heard the news.

“We’re sorry to disturb your lunch,” Ellie said, looking between Rome and me.

“We can come back another time,” Curtis suggested, wrapping his hands around Clara’s and Ellie’s biceps.

“It’s okay,” I said, waving them in. “I’ve done enough damage to my mac and cheese.”

The trio entered the room and approached my desk.

“We’ve heard our play is going to get canceled. Is that true?” Clara asked. I was surprised her mother hadn’t told her, but maybe she wanted to wait until she had more facts.

“That’s not true,” Rome said. “A petition was presented to the board requesting they cancel the play.”

“But they’re not going to, right?” Ellie asked. “We already got the play approved by them. They all read the play before they took a vote.”

“They’re going to have a public meeting to discuss it and then vote to honor their original decision or reverse it.”

“Reverse it?” Curtis asked. “Do you think they will change their minds? Buckle under peer pressure?”

“I don’t,” Rome said. “I met with the board this morning, and a group of us are working on getting our facts straight so we can have an accurate picture of the challenge we’re facing.”

“Damn bigots and homophobes,” Clara said under her breath.

“Let’s not get upset about something that hasn’t happened yet,” I said calmly. “Let us look into it and have faith that things will work out the way we want them to.”

“I’m not so good at placing my faith in other people, Mr. S.,” Clara said.

“You can write your next play about that,” I teased.

“The music will consist of a bunch of whiny violins,” Curtis baited, earning a playful elbow jab from both girls. “Sorry. Bad joke.”

“I want you to do your best and not worry about this. Try being kids for once. I hear it’s a lot of fun,” Rome told them.

“Might I suggest worrying about your tennis matches instead?” I asked Ellie.

“Yes, sir,” she said sheepishly.

“We know how much this play means to you, and I assure you it means a lot to us too,” Rome told them. “I’m going into that special meeting with the belief we’ll be hosting auditions next week as planned.”

“Okay,” Clara said, sounding perkier. “Moping never fixes anything anyway.”

“No, it doesn’t,” I agreed. “I hate to be rude, but I only have five minutes left with my fella, so do you mind if we talk about this later?”

“Your fella, eh?” Clara asked brightly.

“Awww,” Ellie added.

Curtis snorted, but his smile said he approved of the development. “That was the worst thing to tell them if you expect them to clear out. Come on, ladies.”

“Okay,” Clara and Ellie said, unable to wipe the happy smirks off their faces as they left my classroom.

Rome chuckled. “Well, I guess that punctuates your previous remarks with a resounding exclamation mark. There’s no way everyone in this school building won’t know about our relationship status by the time school is out.”

“And you’re sure it’s not a problem for you?” I asked.

“I’m more than fine with people knowing you’re unavailable.” The bell rang, and Rome slowly stood up. “I wish I could give you a good luck kiss before you get on the bus.”

“Maybe I can stop by your place later after you have your walk with Howie. We should be back by six.”