Flip Side - Chapter One

Instructions

(Click the mute button to mute, click again to unmute) Joey leaps and twirls, spinning a twig around as if it was a wand. I watch, giggling. “Joey, what are you doing?” A neighbor says in a teasing tone. Joey stops short and stares at the neighbor. “Lincoln..?” He says nervously Lincoln nods and scans Joey’s frame. Joey is fairly short, being 12 and 4’9. “Been a bit, twinkle.” Lincoln replies. I sense a fight building. Clearly there’s some tension between these two Joey didn’t tell me about. I’ve never heard Joey be called Twinkle. I step next to Joey and put my arm around his neck. Joey looks at me in a panic. “Marky Collins? That you?” Lincoln asks, staring at me. I fix my glasses and stand up straight. “How do you know my name?” I ask, tilting my head. “Oh…You know…Rumors about you and Twinkle being a…” he looks up into the orangey, nearly sunset sky, thinking. “A thing.” “I’m not gay!” Joey spat angrily. “We’re just friends, okay?” I add, speaking the TRUTH, by the way. Joey and I have been close since 1st grade, and we aren’t planning on changing this friendship into something else. We’ve both discussed it, sure, but Joey’s romantic orientation doesn’t match me. I am gay, and he is straight, and that just doesn’t work. I think he’s cute, but I don’t feel that way about him. Imagining that is…odd… “But you seem ga-“ Lincoln tries to shoot back, but Joey cuts him off. “I’m seriously not! Okay? I know who I like, and you don’t, so back off please!” I whisper “yess” to myself. Or maybe just in the back of my head. Lincoln tenses and steps back “Fine.” He says sharply, gritting his teeth. Once Lincoln walked away I high five Joey. “You know who you are! We love that!” I say, giving him a sort of lame bro hug. As we’ve gotten into middle school, our hugs get worse and worse. It’s kind of sad, to be honest. He chuckles in response and exhales. “I wish people would stop assuming this kind of thing. I really don’t like it.” I let go of him and nod. “I can like to dance without being gay.” He rolls his eyes. “That’s just dumb, to assume all boys who like dance are gay. It’s mean to gay people, too.” He continues. I nod in agreement. “Completely agree, bro.” “I’m going to head home, I need to do my evening chores.” He says, starting to walk toward his house. “Talk tomorrow!” he calls as he walks away. I wave back at him with a grin. Now that Joey’s gone home, I’m just out here by myself. My parents want me to stay out of the house until 6:30, cause they’re having a “date night.” I think it’s dumb that they’re having it at our own house and basically locking me out. It’s 6:00 now, so I’ll have to head back soon. I head toward the lake near our house, cause the sunset is gorgeous there around now. I arrive, and sit on the dock, thinking. Sometimes I feel like Joey isn’t honest with me. I’ve never met any of his other friends, and I know he has some. He talks about Amy and Kira. I wonder what they’re like. (To be continued in Chapter Two!) (Authors notes below.)