Products of Society

The setting sun paints the sky in a gradient of several pastel colors. He sat on the old park bench and watched this beautiful array of colors disappear beneath the horizon. Gavin came down the concrete steps, a boutique of white lilies in his hands. He shifted the flowers to one arm as he sat and grabbed Devin’s. Above them, the stars began to shine.

“It’s our six-month anniversary,” Gavin said, “I bought you your favorite flowers.”

Devin let go of Gavin and wiped his wet cheeks. “Thank you for coming.”

“I haven’t seen you all day. I thought we were going to celebrate today.”

“We were,” Devin admitted, thinking of his plans that could no longer be. He sniffled and pulls a Kleenex from his pocket. “But- something came up. With my parents.”

“What happened?” 

A lamp post came on, casting shadows across Devin’s face. “We- we’re moving. I’m being sent off to a private school. My dad got me a scholarship.”

The flowers fell to the ground as understanding dawns on Gavin. “They’re separating us.”

Devin didn’t say anything; his silence is confirmation enough. Gavin stood up, his boots stomping the lilies. He threw his hands on Devin’s shoulders and forced him to gaze into his green eyes. A memory comes to Devin’s mind, of getting lost in those emeralds irises while the two discusses their hopes and dreams. Then, they were filled with a want for a better future; a place where everything was easy. Now, they’re filled with a kind of terror that Devin has never seen before. Gavin’s voice echoed across the mostly empty park. “You can’t let them do that!”

He doesn’t look up again, won’t allow himself to look up again. If he did, that’d be it. He wouldn’t be able to say goodbye. Gavin yelled at the injustice of it, Devin said there was nothing he could do, tears filled both of their eyes, and Gavin yells himself hoarse. There’s a break in their conversation in which Gavin’s phone rings out. 

“Go,” Devin said, “answer it. Please.”

Gavin wasn’t stupid but still he went, taking his phone out of his pocket and turning his back to Devin. Devin picked up a lily from the ground and disappeared into the night. Gavin only glanced back once, to see the person he loved gone. 

White shirt collar button shirt, red pullover, black pants. The emblem of St. Laurens Academy on a breast pocket. A backpack with math homework, a science textbook, and a laptop. He is parents pride, yet he himself had none. Where was pride in a place where you’re told that you shouldn’t like that boy two blocks down, with brown hair and the deepest brown eyes? Devin sighed as he makes his bed and looks over to his roommate who is still asleep in his bed. Should Devin wake him? He considered for a moment, watching his roommate, a boy with black hair and the purest blue eyes, sleep. Should he wake him? The roommate didn’t much care for Devin. He thought it was wrong that he should be in a room with another bed. One of those rich kids who thought he deserved a room all by himself with all his fancy gadgets. Speaking of- that gave Devin a thought. He walks over to his roommate nightstand and presses the radio button on the alarm clock then leaves the room. Devin knows he’s not a bad guy, just a rich kid fed with silver spoons and lies. 

Ruffled band shirt, wrinkled khakis, a jacket that hasn’t been washed in at least a week. A school bus, with James City High painted on the side. Gavin sat down and took inventory of his book bag to ensure his science essay is there among the English textbook and the algebra binder. His seatmate- a boy with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes- slept against the window. The bus would be pulling into the school’s parking lot soon and his seatmate would need to be woken up. Should Gavin wake him up? This boy is the one that revealed his and Devin’s relationship to Devin’s parents. He’s the reason that Gavin isn’t sitting beside a boy with the deepest green eyes and blonde hair. He’s the child of a preacher whose sermon at the pulpit says Gavin will someday go to Hell. Should Gavin wake him? Gavin sighed as the bus hit a bump and his seatmates head banged against the window. Still, he slept. Gavin glances down at his cellphone, hoping for message. Devin’s phone was taken from him yet still Gavin hopes. Still nothing but a text message that came from Devin’s number but wasn’t Devin. Do not try to contact Devin ever again. Message sent with a threat that if they ever saw him again, they wouldn’t hesitate to tell his parents. Gavin’s parents didn’t know- he wanted to tell them. But now he wasn’t sure. His parents called his their pride and joy, yet he didn’t feel proud. He lived in a world where he was denied the love of a boy with blonde hair and the deepest emerald eyes. Should Gavin wake the boy beside him? He was the cause of this. Devin was sent away because of his seat mate. And yet, he was a product of his father’s sermons. Gavin ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was. He thought about Devin, about how he wanted him to come out to his parents.

“Your parents can’t stop us from being together,” Devin had argued. “Your parents seem like they’d accept you.”

“I don’t want to risk it. Let’s just wait until I get a car,” Gavin argued. 

But there was no waiting, because a week later Devin moved away. His fellow students found out the week Devin’s parents did. Some were like his seat mate. Some were like Devin. None of them knew this pain. Gavin sighed again, picked up his book, and shook his seat mate’s shoulder. Beneath all of his tough guy and religiosity, Gavin knows to he’s just a kid who listens but doesn’t question.

Both Gavin and Devin hope for a different future, one where neither of them have to hide.