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The class I had before lunch wasn’t with Breck or Aster, much to my dismay, and while the numerical nuances of mathematical equations were stimulating, I was overwhelmingly concerned with the science of words. What equations could I construct to make myself cooler?

Responsibility and I were on the outs as I distractedly walked through the hallway, against the grain of half of the school population. I was contemplating subjects of conversation I could spark over lunch that didn’t include school. School didn’t seem to have Aster doing somersaults or writing sonnets. Pushing through the doorway, I finally felt like I’d broken the barrier. Music! I could talk about music. Aside from school, I was an accomplished music connoisseur (like all the other kids my age).

I could hear chatter as I readied myself to round the corner to our lunchtime bench, but I stopped in my tracks as the conversation unfolded.

"I’m sorry, but I knew the second you walked into the room that you were about as straight as a crooked pole. I could smell it." Breck’s brisk and airy voice puffed with laziness. Was Aster gay? As in she liked girls? Not that that was an issue, I just really had no idea. Falling back against the wall, I let that information wash over me and soak. Gay. Wow.

"Pfft! Whatever. You’re like Northstar in drag so don’t go talking to me about flaming." That was Aster’s voice. I heard Breck laugh along with her at a joke that I didn’t quite understand. When it died down, there was a pause before Aster spoke again.

"So, Vivian should come with us. To Therapy on Friday." Either Aster was asking us to go with her to one of her psychiatric help sessions or a gay club in Hell’s Kitchen. It only affirmed that Aster was gay. Gay. Again, wow. That meant that she liked girls. She liked to hug girls. She liked to kiss girls. And. Other things. Wow.

"Oh. No, no. You’ve got it all wrong. Sorry, Aster, me and Viv stick strictly to men. She wouldn’t want to go to a place like that." Wait a minute. Who said? Just because I was a mouse didn’t mean I couldn’t be a lesbian mouse and if I hadn’t been so mousy, I would’ve have said something about it! I mean, I hadn’t even had a boyfriend before, so what really constituted me as straight? Then again, never having a boyfriend didn’t exactly mean I was gay, did it?