Tears of a Teenage Boy

David and Josh sat in history class away from each other and listened to their history teacher, Ms. Lincon.

“We’ve been talking about this for a few weeks and it’s finally time for me to assign partners for the big project. Pick a historical figure or historic event and create a presentation to teach us about it or them,” Ms. Lincon said.

The class talked and muttered, hoping they would get who they wanted to work with.

“Quiet, first, David — -and Joshua,” Ms. Lincon said.

She continued to announce the other pairs, but Josh didn’t listen, he was thinking about this David kid. He knew nothing about him. He walked up to David.

“I guess we’re working together,” Josh said.

“I guess, what topic do what to do?” David asked.

“Um, I was thinking Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King,” Josh suggested.

“How about — -Alexander the Great?” David suggested.

“Okay, but hear me out, but Pompeii,” Josh proposed.

“What about Pompeii?” David asked.

“You know, the Roman city that was covered in ash and preserved by Mount. Vesuvius, the volcano,” Josh said.

“Oh, no, how about the fall of the Roman Empire?” David asked.

“How about the fall of the Ottoman Empire?” Josh asked.

“No, what about the Portuguese Empire?” David asked.

“Portugal had an empire?” Josh asked.

“Yes, it was small, but they took over Brazil, and small parts of Africa and Asia,” David said.

“Okay, sure,” Josh said.

This should be easy, they both thought.

“Now that all the partners have been assigned, get to work on deciding which topics you’ll be doing. It can be in PowerPoint, poster board, trifold, or diorama form. It’s due in two weeks,” Ms. Lincon said.

“How about we meet at my house after school, so we can start working on it right away?” David asked.

“Sure?” Josh asked.

They exchanged numbers.

That afternoon, after school, Josh knocked on David’s front door. David’s mother answered the door.

“Hi, is David here, I have a history project to work on with him?” Josh asked.

“Yes, come in, he’s upstairs in his room. Have fun!” David’s mother said.

Josh walked in and walked upstairs. David’s bedroom door was open and Josh walked in.

“Sorry for the mess, I’ve been meaning to clean. I’ve been researching the empire and it’s quite interesting,” David said as he shuffled some papers on his desk.

“That’s okay, where should we start?” Josh said.

“I thought we could first write an essay of the history of the empire,” David said.

“Okay, you’ve got it all figured out,” Josh said.

“Not really,” David admitted.

They worked on the essay via a collaborative document program. The sun set and it got dark, it had been hours since they started.

“How long does this easy have to be?” Josh asked David.

“As long as it needs to be,” David replied.

“Oh, can we take a break then? We’ve been working on this for hours,” Josh said.

“I guess, we could take a break,” David sighed.

“Do you have any video games?” Josh asked.

“No, I was never into video games,” David replied.

“Then what do you do for fun?’ Josh asked.

“I watch anime,” David responded.

“I see you have a TV, but do you have cable?” Josh asked.

“Yes, but I only watch drama shows like the Lakedale,” David said.

Josh found the remote and turned on the TV. The BW was on and was showing the first episode of Lakedale. They watched it together, David at his desk and Josh on David’s bed.

After forty-five minutes, the episode ended, David then asked, “Do you want to watch episode two?”

“Sure, that was so good. Ya know I used to watch soap operas with my mother when I was younger and I was too young to understand. But this is way better,” Josh explained.

“Okay, here we go,” David said as he unmuted the TV.

David sat next to Josh in his bed. They watched episodes two, and three, and four until they watched the whole season. They fell asleep.

The next morning, they woke up. Josh woke up first.

“Dude, wake up, we fell asleep — ” Josh said as he shook David.

David woke up and got out of bed. He stood up and stretched. “Uh, what time is it?” he asked.

“It’s eleven in the morning,” Josh replied.

“Wait, did we — ” David said.

“Sleep in the same bed, yes,” Josh replied.

“Oh — -I thought we — never mind,” David said.

“Nope,” Josh said.

“Now, I didn’t tell my mom you were staying over, so climb out the window. Then climb down the tree,” David said.

“What? She didn’t check in with you?” Josh asked.

“No, she’s really forgetful,” David replied.

“Oh, but can’t I just sneak out the front door?” Josh asked.

“No, she’ll see you, she wakes up really early,” David replied.

“Okay, then bye. We should meet at my house next time,” Josh said quickly as he collected his belongings and climbed out the window.

On Monday, in history class, Ms. Lincon talked to the class.

“Today is the first of many days you can work on this project with your partner, so get with your partner,” Ms. Lincon said.

Josh walked to David’s desk.

“So, where were we in the essay?” Josh said.

“I think we were in the middle of page five,” David said.

Josh opened his laptop and sat at the desk next to David.

They worked on the essay through the class period, packed up, and left when the bell rang.

They did that every class period until Friday.

At the end of class on Friday, Josh asked David, “Wanna come over to my house and we can decide if we’re gonna do a PowerPoint or trifold poster?”

“Okay, see you after school,” David replied.

“See you later,” Josh replied.

After school, David knocked on Josh’s apartment building door.

“Who is it?” Josh’s voice came through the speaker.

“It’s David,” he said as he pushed the button.

Josh buzzed him in. David opened the door and walked upstairs to apartment 3B. David knocked on Josh’s apartment door. Josh answered and let him in.

“I asked my dad if you could stay the weekend, he’s away on business, and he said, ‘Yes’,” Josh said as he walked David to his bedroom.

“Oh, so we have the apartment to ourselves this weekend?” David asked.

“Yes and here’s my room. I know it’s messy, I haven’t had time to clean it, since I’ve been at work,” Josh said as he walked into his bedroom.

“It’s fine, where do you work?” David asked.

“At the roller rink in town, I clean the skates and give people their skates,” Josh replied.

Josh sat at his desk and David sat on Josh’s bed.

“So, now that the essay’s done, should we do a PowerPoint or poster?” Josh asked as he opened his laptop.

“PowerPoint,” David responded.

“I was thinking a trifold poster,” Josh suggested.

“If we make a PowerPoint, it would project onto the screen and everyone would be able to see it. Tri-fold posters are not big enough for everyone to see,” David explained.

“True, but tri-folds are easier, you just glue some photos and text onto it, and you’re done,” Josh explained.

“Okay, but powerpoints are easy too, just type in some text, add in some photos from online, and a few slides later you’re done,” David explained.

“Alright, we’ll do a PowerPoint and a trifold poster, Josh suggested.

“And how will that work? It will take too much time to explain each presentation,” David said.

“I don’t know, but we have to decide soon. The project’s due in a week,” Josh said.

“Fine, we’ll do a trifold, everyone will just have to huddle around it,” David said defeated.

“Good, everyone’s gonna be doing powerpoints anyway,” Josh said.

“I’ll create a document to add online images and text,” David said.

They added image after image and information after information to the document over the next few hours.

“Can we take a break? We’ve got plenty of images and information,” Josh said.

“Sure, want to watch Lakedale?” David asked.

“Okay, but I don’t have a TV in here. I do have Netflix, we can watch it on my laptop. We’ll just have to watch it together on my bed,” Josh said.

“Fine,” David said.

“Now, which episode were we on?” Josh asked as he walked his laptop over to his bed.

“Season one, episode ten,” David said.

They watched it until the end of season one and they fell asleep next to each other.

The next morning, David woke up first, with his arm on Josh. He slowly removed his arm from Josh’s torso and thought:

I never really looked at Josh that way before, am I developing a crush?

David looked at Josh’s lanky body and saw his slight arm hair and thought, Maybe.

David shook Josh and said, “Wake up, we fell asleep again.”

“What? What time is it?” Josh asked as he opened his eyes.

“It’s ten in the morning,” David replied.

“I have to go, this is getting weird,” Josh said as he got out of bed and stood up.

“I not weird, how is it weird?” David said as he sat up.

“Yeah, it is, we keep falling asleep in the same bed. And I’m not — ” Josh said until David interrupted him.

“I’m not either, we’re just friends,” David said.

“Oh, okay, I see the way you stare at me,” Josh said.

“So what if I am? We still have to work together either way,” David said.

“You’re right, we do still have to work together. I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back,” Josh said.

“I’ll be here,” David said as Josh walked out of his bedroom.

David started to rummage through Josh’s things, looking through his dresser and desk drawers. He found nothing and before Josh came back, he rushed back to sit on Josh’s bed.

Josh came back and asked, “What do you wanna do now?”

“Got anything for breakfast?” David asked back.

“I’ve got cereal and eggs,” Josh replied.

“I’ll take eggs, scrambled. I only like scrambled,” David said.

“Okay?” Josh said in confusion.

David followed Josh into the kitchen and waited at the table. David looked at Josh in a new light. He stared at Josh’s slightly hairy legs. Josh turned his head and looked back at David. He caught David staring and smiled.

What are these strange new feelings? Do I like being stared at? Josh thought.

Josh continued making the scrambled eggs for David. Once the eggs were done, he used his spatula to pour them onto a plate. He set the plate in front of David. He poured himself some cereal and sat down.

“Got any ketchup?” David asked.

“Sure,” Josh said. He got up, opened the fridge, and slammed the ketchup bottle on the table.

“What’s your problem?” David asked as he squeezed the ketchup onto his eggs.

“My problem is you, you’re so needy,” Josh replied angrily.

“What? I just asked for one thing,” David said defensively.

“It’s not just the ketchup, it’s you, specifically you’re — -oh, never mind,” Josh rebutted.

“It’s my what?” David asked.

“Nothing, just finish eating, so we can work on the project,” Josh said before finishing his last spoonful of cereal.

“Don’t we need a trifold poster board?” David asked.

“We — I mean I will buy one after work on Monday. Today we should practice what we’re going to say during the presentation and when each of us will speak,” Josh replied.

“Alright,” David said before finishing his scrambled eggs.

David turned on the faucet, cleaned his plate, and set it in the sink. Josh cleaned out his bowl and set it in the sink. Then they removed important information from their essay to speak about.

After work on Monday, Josh bought a trifold poster board. The next day, Josh and David glued on the printed-out pictures and text. The project is due Friday and they were last to present on that day.

On Friday, it was time for them to present. They set their trifold poster on a desk and pushed it to the front of the class. Their classmates huddled around the poster so they could see it.

“Our project is about the Portuguese Empire. It began in 1415, with the conquest of Ceuta, a Muslim-held commercial center on the North African coast opposite Gibraltar.” David started.

“The conquest continued over the next few decades, the Portuguese took over or created ports all around the coasts of Africa. Additionally, ports they created ports in India and China. Then in 1500, Portuguese voyagers went on the search for India, but they founded Brazil instead. They landed in Porto Seguro, which is between Salvador and modern-day Rio de Janeiro,” Josh continued.

They continued taking turns talking about the history of the empire and saying fun facts about it. The presentation took exactly seven minutes.

The next day, David sent Josh a text:

Can we meet at the park?

I have something important to ask

you.

Can’t you ask it through text?

No.

Okay, what day and time?

Tomorrow at 4 pm?

Sure.

They met the next day.

“So, what the big question?” Josh asked.

“Do you — -want to go out?” David asked back.

“We are out, outside in the park? Oh, you mean like on a date?” Josh asked.

“Yes,” David replied.

“Bro, we’re just friends, I don’t see you in that way,” Josh responded.

“But I like you, over these few weeks, I’ve developed a crush on you,” David admitted.

“That just it, it’s just a crush, you’ll get over it in a few weeks or months,” Josh advised.

“I know, but I feel something for you that I never felt with other crushes,” David confessed.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t like you that way. Plus, I’m straight, I like girls,” Josh said.

“I know, but we like the same things and we slept in the same bed,” David replied.

“No, that’s what friends are for, sharing hobbies and talking. That’s it,” Josh said.

“Will this change your mind?” David said before going in for a kiss with Josh.

Josh let it happen.

After the kiss, Josh said, “Wow, I’ve only ever kissed girls, but that was — wow.”

“What did you think? Did you like it?” David asked.

“It was great, but a kiss can’t change a person’s sexuality or love for someone. I’ll give you a chance, but just one. Here, next Sunday at 7 pm,”

“Really? Thank you,” David excitedly said.

“Yes and you’re welcome,” Josh said. He walked away.

Next Sunday, David with a picnic basket and blanket walked up to Josh.

“Are you ready?” David said. He set up the blanket.

Josh and David sat down on the blanket and David pulled out two baggies full of BLT sandwiches from the picnic basket. He also pulled out two water bottles.

“Sorry, the waters are warm. I didn’t have much time to prepare,” David said.

“It’s fine,” Josh said.

“So, got any siblings?” David asked.

“No,” Josh replied.

“Me neither,” David said.

“How about hobbies?” David asked.

“I work a lot, but when I’m not working or doing homework, I watch Lakedale, I’m on season three,” Josh replied.

“We were supposed to watch it together,” David said angrily.

“I know, but it got so good. I’ve been binge-watching the past few days,” Josh said.

“Oh, looks like you’ve moved on,” David said sassily.

“Yes, I wanted to keep watching, I had the last few days off,” Josh responded.

They finished their BLTs, then David said, “And for dessert, I brought cupcakes.”

David handed Josh a cupcake. After removing the cupcake liner, Josh bit into the cupcake.

“Chocolate, my favorite,” Josh said.

“I’m glad you like it. I made them myself. I’m no baker, but I followed the recipe. I did my best,” David said contently.

Josh finished the cupcake, then asked, “That was delicious, very moist.

David quivered and shook in disgust by that word and said, “Ew, I hate that word.”

“What word? Moist?” Josh asked.

“Yes, the word makes me — uncomfortable,” David responded.

“Oh really? Moist, moist, moist!” Josh shouted.

“Stop it!” David said playfully. He pushed Josh down as he was still sitting and they locked eyes. Josh went in for a kiss and David reciprocated.

They dated for a few months until the end.

Josh’s boyfriend David broke up with him earlier today.

They met at the park and David told him, “I can’t be with you anymore. You’re bossy and always busy.”

“What, no I’m not,” Josh replied.

“Uh, yes, you are. You never do what I want to do. It’s always, ‘Let’s go to the roller rink’ or ‘I have homework’,” David said and mocked Josh.

“Yeah, I have a job and schoolwork. I’m a busy person,” Josh said.

“But we never go on dates anymore. I want to go out in public, like at a restaurant. We always go to the park and eat and talk, which is fine, I guess. But I want more,” David said.

“More, what more could you want?” Josh asked.

“I want to see more of you. I want to be together more. You’re always busy. And I know you haven’t come out yet to anyone, but me. But I need you to put one hundred percent of yourself into this relationship if you want to be with me.,” David said.

“I know, but it’s hard for me. I used to be a lady killer, what am I now? And what do I come out as gay or bi? I don’t know if I still like girls. All I know is I like you,” Josh said confused.

“I don’t know, you still have to figure it out for yourself. I haven’t figured it out yet either, I might be gay, probably. But I still have some exploring to do and experiences to live. You have to do that too, but not with me. I like you, but this isn’t working out anymore,” David said.

“You don’t think I know that,” Josh shouted.

“If you knew that you wouldn’t be with me. I’m not right for you, I want adventure and you want mundane-ness. The same thing over and over and over again. We can’t be together anymore,” David said.

“I can change, you’ve changed me before, you can do it again. We can work through this,” Josh pled.

“I know, but this time it’s too much work. You need to talk to a counselor or someone you trust to work out yourself and your sexuality,” David said.

“Okay, I will, but can you do something for me?” Josh asked.

“I know exactly what you’re talking about,” David said before kissing him on the mouth.

To Josh, it felt like they were floating, hovering above the ground. It was their third kiss.

To David, it was their third and last kiss, a kiss of many to come.

David walked away after the kiss.

“Dave wait!” Josh shouted to David.

Josh knew David heard him, but he didn’t follow or chase after him. He knew it was over and he had to move on. He rushed home and into his bedroom. He sat at the foot of his bed and stared at the trifold he and David made a few months ago. He knocked the trifold onto the floor and sat down. He cried, his tears fell onto the poster board, and he remembered when they were assigned to work on the project together by their history teacher.

Bibliography

https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/portuguese-empire-0