8. Skye

Skye smiled when his fourth period class strode in the door the following afternoon. He probably shouldn't have favorites, but these sixth graders were his. And being back at work was a welcome and much needed distraction.

"We missed you!" one student said.

"You were gone forever!" another said.

"Please, don't ever leave us for that long again," Gwen pleaded. "It was horrible. And not just because we never got our papers back."

Skye smiled at her and held up said papers in his hand. "Here." He handed her hers and then began to pass the rest of the long overdue papers back.

He stopped short when one of his students, Ben, asked, "So how is your boyfriend?"

"Idiot, he's not his boyfriend," Kevin chimed in. He looked at Skye. "Is he?"

"No," Skye replied, his palms starting to sweat. So much for the distraction. "No, he's not my boyfriend. We're just roommates."

"Told you," Kevin said to Ben.

"It doesn't matter," Ben snapped. "The question is still the same. How is he?"

"He's recovering slowly. He'll be fine." He gave them all a small smile and finished handing back their papers, before going over a quick summary of the past week to make sure they had gone through what they were supposed to go through with the sub, just as he had done with his previous classes.

"All right then," he said, "and that brings us to the Civil War."

"What's civil about a war?" one student teased, and they all snickered.

"That's actually a good question," Skye said, smiling a little as he leaned against his desk, fiddling with a pencil. "Anyone want to guess what that means? Usually when we say civil we mean peaceable or quiet, but you're right, the Civil War was clearly anything but that."

"Was it because the war was being fought between citizens of the same country?" Gwen asked.

Skye nodded. "Very good."

Gwen beamed.

"And what was the reason for the Civil War?" he asked, looking around the room at the chairs full of students, and waiting. Kevin raised his hand and Skye nodded at him.

"Slavery, right? One side was for it the other side wasn't?"

"Yes, the South, and the North, also known as the Confederacy and the Union." He walked over to the whiteboard and picked up a marker, then started to scribble down terms and dates as the students took out their notebooks and pens. "This is all in your books, but it's a good idea to take notes, too," he said.

"Yeah, just in case there's another pop quiz," Gwen remarked, and they giggled.

"Can you guys think of any issues today that our country faces that divide us, maybe not enough that they've caused a civil war, but are still pretty big?" he asked.

"Well, race is still something that divides us," Kevin said. "It shouldn't, but it does."

Skye nodded. "It's true, and even though the Civil War is long over and slavery has been abolished for a long time, our country still has a long way to go in regards to equality in that area. Anything else?" He looked around the room.

"Gay and trans rights," another girl, Claire, said, somewhat timidly, and he eyed her. She didn't speak up very often and it was good to hear her input, especially on something so important. From the look in her eyes Skye wondered if her words were personal.

"Yes, that's a really big one," he acknowledged. "Understanding and accepting your sexuality and gender identity is difficult, and it can be really scary. And living in a society that shames you and berates you for it makes it that much harder. A truly beautiful world would be one where our differences unite us rather than divide us. I think the best thing we can do for ourselves is to be authentic, and the best thing we can do for others is to be accepting."

He was looking at the whole classroom as he spoke, but his eyes landed on Claire when he was finished, and he noticed that she was shaking a little as she tucked her hands into the sleeves of her sweatshirt. She opened her mouth like she was about to ask something, but then closed it again.

"Claire, did you have a question?" he asked.

"Uh, no, it's, it's nothing," she stammered, looking down, her blonde hair falling in front of her face.

"You sure?"

She looked back up at him, and the words tumbled out of her mouth. "Are you gay?" She slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in horror, her cheeks turning bright red.

"Woah," Kevin said. "That happened."

Skye smiled a little, partly because of Claire's reaction, but partly because he really wasn't bothered by her question. She seemed so sincere, so earnest. And if his honesty could be of some help to her, then he was willing to give it. After all, that"s why he was there, wasn't it? To help these kids? To make a difference? Although he would have preferred to have this conversation in a one on one setting, maybe this was easier for Claire, and it would help more students than just her for him to say it.

"Yes," he said. "I am." The way her eyes lit up, and the frown on her face turned into the faintest hint of a smile, made it one hundred percent worth it. "And if you, or anyone else wants to talk about it more, you can see me after class, okay?"

"Ha, see, so it could have been his boyfriend," Ben said. "I was so right." He turned to Kevin and pointed a finger at him.

"Yeah, but he isn't," Kevin argued.

"Well, do you have a boyfriend?" Gwen asked.

"We've gotten way off topic now, guys," he said.

The class just groaned and Skye smiled. He loved his job.

River

"Hey, Skye, how was your day?" River asked when his roommate walked in the door later that afternoon.

"Good," Skye said, beaming. His eyes were sparkling and his cheeks flushed.

A wide smile split across River's face. "It must have been. You look like you're on cloud nine. What happened?"

"I came out to one of my classes," he said, that huge smile still brimming on his cheeks as he sat in the chair across from River.

River's eyes widened. "Really?"

Skye laughed. "Well, it was part of the conversation. I didn't just come in and announce it out of the blue. But there"s a student who I think it might have really helped. She asked me point blank if I was gay, so I told her, and you should have seen the way her face lit up, Riv. It was like she could breathe again. It made my day."

The joy radiating off of Skye made River smile even more. "Good for you. I'm glad you get to be back there. They need you."

Skye's eyes met his. "I'm glad to be back, too, angel, but I don't resent taking care of you. You know that, right? I was happy to do it, and I would have been happy to do it longer if you'd needed me to. I mean that."

The way Skye looked at him, and the sincerity in his voice had River's stomach doing weird flips. He found himself unable to look away from Skye, staring into those apple green eyes. He blinked and swallowed, his mouth dry all of a sudden.

"Where's Jodi?" Skye asked, looking around and bringing River out of his daze.

"Oh, uh, she's napping. I think she was pretty worn out from working all day yesterday and then making the drive. She's only been in there for a few minutes. I told her I would be fine til you got home."

"How was your day?" Skye asked, resting his head back on the chair and closing his eyes.

"It was good. We talked a lot and played some games. Watched some tv. She makes me laugh like crazy, which is kind of a bad thing right now ‘cause it makes my ribs hurt more. And she seems to like you a lot, could't stop going on about how amazing you were, although I'm not sure why," River teased.

Skye opened one eye to look at him and raised his eyebrow. "I can still spit in your dinner," he said, and River grinned. "Besides, I'm adorable. What's not to like?"

River gazed at his roommate, his smile fading. Skye's eyes were closed again, arms folded across his chest, and River couldn't think of an answer.