This had been the worst day yet. Every target had been hit. The gut, the ripped pants, the ears, the voice, the walk, the lack of coordination, the unrequited crush that Anna Tompkins—or as charming Matt called her, Retardette, because she was in a Special Needs class—had on him and the unrequited crush he had on Brad LaBell. To top it off, Matt had cornered him in the music room and pushed his alto sax into Joel’s neck. It was the first time Joel had been able to tune out the “fag, fag, fag” blather, but only because he thought he was going to pass out. He was sure a bruise would show up by tomorrow morning, and wondered what the heck he would tell his mom. And he could just hear the “hickey” taunts already.
“Hey look, fat faggot Joel got a hickey from his boyfriend, Hadji! Or was it fro
