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People believe in the light. They believe that everything is perfect in the world. Where nothing goes wrong. Existing by pure belief in the system. The system you may ask? Well, the system is the strict rules all must follow. The rules require that a male must marry a female. The rule that only the government allowed and reviewed topics can be mentioned. This means anything not allowed will have dire consequences. Consequences that nobody knows. See what nobody can tell you is what life was like years ago. Years ago in Florida, a bill was passed. This bill prohibited the talking of a community. The LGBTQ community to be exact. See it started out not being able to be mentioned in primary grades of preschool to third grade. But as time went on eventually it became illegal to be LGBTQ. Forcing the community in the dark. There are rumors of what had happened. Some say that they were burned at the stake like during the witch trials long ago. Some say the LGBTQ teens committed suicide as help was gone. That’s the most believable based on old archive surveys from somewhere called The Trevor Project. It is more believable because of the fact the survey said that 42 percent of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide before the bill was passed. I can only imagine what happened when it was passed. The bills that followed were not any better. That’s enough background I believe. Now for the reason, you are here. My name? Griffin. Eric Griffin. My first name is based on the greek name Eryx who was a famous boxer. While my last name means lord or prince. My parent believed that this would provide me with a strong virtuous future. unfortunately, that is not the case. I am an illegal. I am on the run. Why you may ask. Well, I will let you see for yourself.
I woke up to the shrill sound of my clock. I slam down the snooze button. Rolling over I look at the blinking red letters. 5:30 the clock reads. Two hours before school starts. I get up to try and decide what to wear for the day. See my school enforces uniforms every day except one. Today. Heading to my closet I decide on a black cashmere turtleneck with blue ripped jeans and a varsity jacket. The varsity jacket is black with white sleeves and green lettering. After getting dressed I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Looking in the mirror I decide to mess with my blond curly hair. When finished I head downstairs to eat breakfast and say hello to my parents. Soon enough it is time for school. Putting on sunglasses to cover my sleet grey and blue eyes I head to my car.
Walking in the school I head to my first period. Sitting in my seat I notice one less person. Rachel. Yesterday Rachel was publicly outed as being a lesbian. Her diary was read aloud while some high-ranking officials were present. She was dragged away to never be heard from again. What happened to her nobody knows. All we know is that she was here yesterday and now is not.
Soon enough the teacher comes in dragging me away from my thoughts.
“Class if I could get your attention,” Mr.Davis began as everyone looked at him. “Today we have a new student. You may come in now Ajax.”
A boy walked in dressed in black ripped jeans with a red shirt and black leather jacket. He has dark brown hair with mysterious green eyes. He seems to be around six feet. He seems to have around an olive skin tone. His hair is short but wavy. Messy but neat. He seems mysterious. Like a mystery waiting to be solved.
“This is Ajax Whitmore. He is a new transfer student. Please be kind to him. Ajax you can sit wherever you like,” Mr.Davis continues. Ajax walks to the seat in front of me and sits down.
Soon enough class is over and Ajax is gone. I can't help but be interested in him. Something about me is that I don't like not knowing something. So by the time my study hall begins I open my computer and try to figure out more about him. Clicking on links and pictures I finally found something. Westview High. His old school. I remember seeing it on the news a few weeks back. The school got sued because of the fact a teacher mistakenly mentioned the LGBTQ community and ended up getting sued by a parent and eventually the school lost all their money resulting in them shutting down. It seems it’s not the first time the school was sued either. Another report is shown about how a teacher went against the principal saying that teaching them about possibilities isn’t wrong and they ended up disappearing as well.
Soon enough it was time for lunch. For once I don't sit in my usual place. This time I decide to sit next to Ajax.
“Hey your Ajax right,” I asked sitting next to him.
“Yeah, why?” He responds defensively.
“I sit behind you in Mr.Davis’s class and you seem interesting. I was wondering if you would want to be friends?” I ask.
“Sure,” he responds skeptically.
From there on we were best friends. Thick as thieves. Eventually, I noticed something. I felt something. An odd feeling it was. The feeling of love. That’s right I developed a major crush on my best friend. An illegal crush. One nobody could ever know. I kept it hidden. Lock in a box deep inside myself. I hid it well. Or so I thought. Until. Stacy came along.
I am sitting in the theater for a school assembly. The principal does his speech as usual and things are as boring as usual. I eventually feel Ajax take my hand. I try my hardest to not react. Try not to blush. Eventually, I calm my heart.
That is when Stacy appears. She is dressed as usual. A fancy cocktail dress with her hair in a bun. Makeup all over her face. A microphone in her hand.
“A round of applause for our wonderful principal!” She says into the mic and everyone claps. “Now I happen to have some disgusting news.”
What news? Could she know? There is no way she knows.
“There is a gay in the school, actually two gays,” She continues as everyone gasps.
She knows. She knows. SHE KNOWS. I am panicking. I feel Ajax squeeze my hand and look over. He seems nervous.
“Eric and Ajax are the gays.” She reveals as a spotlight comes onto us.
I don't think as security and government officials start covering exits so we don't escape. Holding Ajax’s hand tightly I stand up and make a break for it. We run and end up letting go. He jumps over a guard. I slide under the legs of another. He punches an official and he’s out the door. I suddenly get tased but I try to not let it stop me. I continue to run. Sliding and jumping. Turning left and right. Breathing heavily. Time seems to slow down as I see my exit. The security begins. An automated door begins to come down. As it is almost on the floor I slide under.
Ajax is waiting on the other side. He grabs my hand and we book it out the door. Not taking a second to catch our breath. We run and run and run. Eventually, we end up in an abandoned building. Or so I thought.
As the door shut around twenty people walked out from behind boxes and walls. All with weapons. One is a female around thirty. Her I recognize. The teacher spoke out against the principal in Ajax’s old school. She has long red hair and glasses. She is holding hands with a female. The unknown female has black short hair she is wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt. There are more people. None of which I recognize. I continue looking around until I spot her. Rachel.
“Rachel?” I ask shocked.
“Eric?” She responds shocked as well. She runs up and hugs me.
“I thought you were dead Rachel!” I say loudly.
“I did too until the group here came in and got me away from the guards. “What are you doing here Eric,” she asks when we pull away.
“Stacy outed Ajax and I as gay to the whole school. I just ran to the nearest building I could find,” I respond.
“Well, it’s a good thing you choose this one,” the one who appears to be the leader began. “We all went against the law hence why we are here. I tried to create a group to help the hidden students and keep it away from the government and families. Which has failed obviously.”
Many others continued on stating what they did and what their names are. Some told a curious kid what the community was. Some said there was more than one gender. Some say they talked about the time before the system. More and more reason being said. Eventually, it was dark and we all went to bed. Waking from the blissful sensation of sleep I hear pounding and gunshots. Soon enough the feel of a rag and the smell of chloroform hits my nose. I am out like a light. I wish I could tell you how long I was out. If only I knew. All I know is the flash of olive skin on the hand that pulled away from me.
There is something peaceful about the dark. Something majestic. In the dark, you can be yourself. In the light, you must act. Behind the curtain, you can break character. But on stage, you must play the role. The role of the strong son who will get married to a beautiful girl. The role of the homophobe who agrees with the system. The role of the disgusted voice that goes against the dark. But in the dark, you can be the one who defends. The one that believes that genders are chosen by choice, not by the way you were born. The saving grace in the age of warped belief.
I wake up to the light. To the stone chamber, I seem to be in. To a barrel pressed to my head. The green eyes of mystery looming above me. But it is not Ajax I see. But a woman. One with long brunette hair and tan olive skin. The mother. The mother of my crush above me with a weapon and my head. My last moments. Waiting. Anticipating. Fearing. Until.
Until the woman is knocked out. Ajax behind her. He shouts to run and we do. We all run. Every one of us who were captured. I fall behind. Ajax is just next to me. We run until we see the exit. Everyone else has made it and is away. But for us. The smoke comes down. The toxin enters. I try to hold my breath. But yet I fail. I breathe in remembering. Remembering what Ajax said to me. Saying he had to. Saying his mother made him. Remembering what I read of a time before. And remember my last thought,
The bill was a curse. A poison that breached the airways of life. A mistake that was written to existence. One that should have gone up in fire as the aftermath is the smokey poison in its place.