Surrounded by my teammates, I walked to the locker room after football practice. The sun was setting behind the buildings, but the heat was still unbearable, and a cold shower sounded better than anything else in the world.
"Nice job, man," Jason said, poking me on the shoulder. "You've been practicing the whole summer."
"Only a little," I said, enjoying the attention.
I hoped the coach had noticed my effort too. My senior year had just started, and an athletic scholarship would definitely help me be able to attend a decent college.
The entire team had been drenched in sweat within the first half hour of practice. I didn't need to step into the locker room to know how awful it would smell. It was overwhelming, and I pinched my nose as I walked inside.
"Guys! You smell like pigs!" I shouted, and took my place in front of my locker.
Like you're one to talk," Jason said.
He brought his nose closer to my wet shirt.
"Hey, stop sniffing me."
I opened my locker and undressed. Soon, I had my shower gel in one hand and my towel in the other. As I stepped into the shower area, I saw three guys talking.
"Seriously? Wow, that's cool."
"Yeah, maybe. And I don't give a shit what others think."
"It isn't anybody's business."
The three guys who were rinsing off their bodies, stopped chatting and turned to look at me when they saw me coming. I wasn't quite sure what the conversation was all about, and after the tough practice, my energy was depleted and my stomach was beginning to roar. The other's must have noticed it.
"Feeling tired?" Javier asked.
"And starving," I said, turning on the shower.
As I scrubbed the dirt off my body, more and more players entered the shower room and began telling stories about what they had done over the summer vacation. I didn't have a fancy story of traveling to Europe or anything. Mostly, I had played football and basketball with some of my teammates, and I had spent time with my best friend, Kenny, sometimes accompanied by his girlfriend.
He's a lucky bastard to have such a sweet girl, I thought. I spread shampoo into my hair, which needed cut a long time ago. The first summer Kenny and Hannah had met, I had to beg to get time from my friend. Now days, he seemed more willing to hang around with me, which was definitely a welcome change.
He's probably waiting for me outside already. Eager to play video games with him, I turned the water off and wrapped my towel around my waist. Time was too precious to be wasted, especially now when school took a big portion of my day.
Back in the locker room, a few guys were still sitting on the benches. I opened my locker and searched for clean clothes. I should have known better than to turn my back to the others when Bryan was in the room. As soon as my hands were in the locker, he sneaked closer and tugged my towel off, revealing my bare butt.
"Give it back, faggot," I shouted.
I grabbed my towel from him.
At the same time Javier and Jason came from the shower room. They stopped and Jason looked at me like he was about to say something. He didn't have time before we heard footsteps in the hallway outside the locker room. Bryan took his seat and pulled his shirt over his head before Coach Barrett's head appeared at the door. He scanned the room.
"Watch your mouth, Chris," he growled.
"But he took…" I struggled, intimidated by the older man who stared at me firmly. "Sorry, Coach. Bryan grabbed my towel and…"
"I don't accept such language in my locker room. And you should think of your teammates," Coach Barrett said, pointing to Javier standing at the door.
I turned to look at Javier, who tightened the towel around his waist and slowly raised his eyes to glance at me. He rubbed his elbow with his other hand and stood at the door leading to the shower room.
"Let's just ignore it, okay?" he said.
"Um…I… okay," I said, confused.
"Wait here. I want to talk to you," Coach Barrett said to me, and left.
Javier took his bag from his locker and began dressing without saying a word. Jason asked him if he was okay and returned to his locker next to mine. The locker room was suddenly silent, like someone had pressed the mute button on the remote control.
"Can someone explain what the hell that was all about?" I asked nobody in particular.
"Didn't you know? Javier came out before practice," Jason said.
"Came out of where?" I asked. "Oh wait… do you mean…"
Javier gave me an awkward smile.
"Yes, I'm gay," he said, and looked around at the other boys in the locker room.
No one said anything; in fact, no one moved. My jaw dropped and my mind went blank. This can't be real, I thought frantically, waiting for someone to start laughing. No one stated the punch line; no one laughed. No one reacted at all except Javier, who shut his locker and slung his bag over his shoulder.
Jason stopped him before he made it out of the locker room.
"Javier, wait," he said. "You're one of us and we don't care if you're gay or whatever.
Most of the guys nodded in agreement. Javier lifted his chin, and his trademark grin returned to his face.
"I'm still single if anyone is interested," he said and left.
I sat on the bench, my shoulders slumping and my head down. I sensed Jason's stare, but pressed my lips tightly and avoided any eye contact with my teammates. Unfortunately, Jason didn't give up.
"You should apologize to him," he said.
"I didn't know."
"It's no excuse."
He was probably right, but I had no intention of talking to Javier anytime soon. And I certainly wouldn't be his boyfriend, that was for sure. I hope he's not interested in me I thought, and finished getting dressed.
Soon, the coach returned, and I didn't like what he had in mind at all.
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