Wrestling Against Myself (56 page)

“Okay. Now get out of here, I'm sure your girlfriend is waiting. But put some thought into what I said. There's no shame in going back to just being friends with this girl.”

Tony found that unlikely, but wasn't going to say anything. “I'll think about it coach.”

Tony walked out of the locker room. Courtney was standing against the rail. “Hey you,” he said warmly as they started to walk towards the parking lot together. “Decide not to wait by the car?”

“I thought this would be safer, considering what happened last week. I saw you duck into the locker room and figured you would be a while. I don't mind waiting for you.”

Tony took hold of Courtney's hand. “I like that you waited, makes the walk to the car less lonely.”

The parking lot was empty by the time Tony made it to his Firebird. The car was left alone and that was a good sign. He opened up the passenger side door and let Courtney get in.

Tony settled behind the wheel and started the car. He revved the engine to get it warmed up and turned down the volume on the stereo. “How was your day?”

“Pretty good. All the other girls are jealous of me.”

“They have every right to be. You're prettier than they are.”

Courtney blushed. “That's not what I meant and you know it. I'm the first freshman girl to get a boyfriend this year and I snagged the hottest guy in school.”

“You found someone other than me?” Tony joked.

Courtney playfully slapped him on the arm. “You're too much.”

“So how did you find out that you were the first to get a boyfriend?”

“Some of the girls brought it up when we were talking in class. They saw I was wearing your wrestling pin and started asking questions.”

“No more silent treatment?”

“Heck no,” Courtney said with a huge smile. “They decided if I can land a guy like you that I must be one of them.”

“I had no doubts.”

“I did.”

Tony looked at the girl in confusion.

“Not about being a girl, but about being accepted. But when you date the most popular boy in school that makes you popular too.”

“It might be the pin. It's magic.”

“Maybe. Some of the boys said some really rude things about it.”

Tony knew the comments all too well, he heard them for years; they were crass and homophobic in nature. “They're jealous that I beat them to you.”

“Yeah, right,” Courtney said sarcastically.

“I'm glad you had a good day at school.”

“It's about time.”

“Maybe this is the start of things getting better,” Tony said hopefully.

“From your mouth to God's ears. My mom and dad want to talk to you again.”

“Am I in trouble?”

“I don't think so. I think they want to talk to you about being my boyfriend and make sure you know there are ground rules.”

“Oh, that conversation.”

“As a bonus, you'll get to eat steak again.”

“I suppose that is worth the punishment.”

It was Tuesday morning and Antonio was at the school early so he could set up for prayer meeting. He asked Courtney to join them but she backed out, still having a bad taste left in her mouth over the way her last church treated her. Thankfully, she didn't oppose to praying when it was just her and Tony, because that was important to the teen.

Antonio was surprised when he entered the building where the prayer meeting was being held, Carl was there waiting. “Door not unlocked yet,” he called through the hall as he made his way to his friend.

“It's unlocked. I wanted to talk to you before everything got started.”

Antonio made it to the other side of the door and leaned against the wall. “Sure, what's up?”

“That's what I wanted to ask you.”

“I don't understand.”

“What's up with you becoming Courtney's boyfriend? Are you out of your mind?”

“I didn't plan on it happening, it just did.”

“Guys don't accidentally become
someone’s boyfriend, that takes planning and commitment.”

“So I made a commitment. What is your problem with it?”

“What's my problem with it?” Carl was almost to hysterics. “She's a dude, dude.”

“She is not and you know it.”

“Let me put it this way. She's got a penis.”

“I'm well aware.”

“Don't you think that counts for something? Don't you see something wrong with that? Tab A goes into slot B; you can't put Tab A into Tab B.”

“I'm not planning on putting my tab anywhere.”

“You cannot date someone with a penis. It's wrong.”

“Says who.”

“Says God, that's who. Remember; a man shall not lie down with a man as he does a woman.”

“First off, she is a woman, well a girl at least. Second of all, I'm not lying down with anyone.”

Carl was turning red with anger. “This is wrong Tiny and you know it.”

“I agree this is wrong, so stop behaving like a boob.”

“I didn't want to do this, but you left me no choice.”

“What? Are we going to fight or something?”

“No. But we can't be friends and the rest of the group decided to meet elsewhere for prayer without you until you turn from your sin. I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice. I am going to apply first Corinthians here.”

“What does first Corinthians have to do with anything?”

“It has to do with sexual immorality in the church. We are turning you away and delivering you up to Satan and your own desires for the destruction of your flesh that the spirit may be saved. Sorry Tiny, but everyone agrees with me on this one.” Carl then turned and walked away.

“But I'm not doing anything sexual or immoral,” Tony called out after him.

“Not yet, but Satan already has you bound and you are on your way. Hopefully this will get your attention and make you think about what you're doing. We'll be praying for you. ”

Before he had a chance to say another word, Carl made his way through the door. Tony wanted to go after his friend to see where everyone decided to meet, but a part of him decided to see if Carl was bluffing and that there were still people going to meet in the usual place. He stayed where he was, and waited.

After a half an hour it became evident no one was showing up. Tony walked into the room alone and prayed by himself.

“Dear Lord,” he spoke out loud to the empty room. “Be with this school and help fix this rupture in the church body. If I am at fault, reveal it to me. If they are outside of your will, soften their hearts to see the error of their ways. In Jesus name I pray, amen.”

It was an interesting morning, Tony thought as he made his way to the lunch room. Those who had been acquaintances with him and stopped him in the hall to say hi or what's up, still did. But those who he counted as friends, brothers in Christ, avoided him all together. He tried not to get angry about the situation, but it hurt that they decided to take this approach with him.

“Don't they see I'm not doing anything wrong or to spite them,” Tony spoke to himself. “I didn't plan on falling in love with her, but I can't deny my feelings. What do they expect of her anyway, that she be alone her whole life and never risk loving someone? God put us into each other’s lives for a reason and as long as I stay true to Him and myself, I don't have anything to apologize for.”

Tony walked into the crowded cafeteria and sat down at the first table. He wasn't going to alter what he did over some petty squabble. He didn't think Carl and the others were pulling this isolation technique to be mean, but he felt they were taking things out of context.

He watched as Carl and Tracy walked through the line. He was curious what their next move was. Would they still sit with him? Would they try to explain why he was wrong to get into a relationship with Courtney? Or would they continue the silent treatment as if he didn't exist and a friendship that was going strong for three years didn't mean as much to them as he thought.

He had his answer when they sat at a different table. He found it surprising that Shannon and Stephanie both joined them. The only people missing were Dave and Ted, but since it was their day to spend in the library he would have to wait until tomorrow to find out if they too had bailed on him.

Courtney came to the table. Antonio was so focused on Carl and the rest of the group he didn't even notice she already got her food.

“Hey you,” Tony said with a smile.

Courtney sat down, even though the table was empty, she sat right next to her boyfriend. “I take it we're eating alone.”

“We got each other.”

Courtney turned and stared into the teenagers eyes. “We certainly do.”

For a moment, the drama of high school vanished as Antonio stared back into the girl's eyes. It brought him back to the pool, to the kiss, and the thoughts of that perfect moment made everything else pale in comparison. If he were one for open displays of affection, which he was not, he might lean in and kiss her in front of the whole student body, but he restrained himself.

“Are you okay with everything,” Courtney asked as she took hold of Tony's hand under the table.

“Why wouldn't I be? I could be lost in your eyes forever.”

Courtney blushed. “That's not what I meant. I meant with Carl and the others.”

“Oh them.” Tony gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Like those girls who use to ignore you but now deal with you, I think they'll come around. Our relationship is new, something they weren't prepared for and it took them off guard. They're reacting to the shock, but once they come to their senses and think it through, they'll be sitting here at the table, cracking jokes and being who they've always been.”

“You like to think the best of people, don't you?”

“I think the best of you, that worked out pretty good.”

Courtney couldn't contain her smile.

John Sharp appeared out of nowhere right across from the two. “Look at the lovebirds.”

“Hi John,” Tony said with some trepidation.

“So, are the rumors true? Did Tiny finally get a girlfriend?”

“Yes, it's true.”

“I never thought I'd see the day. Are you going to chase this one out of the state like you did Jennifer?”

“He's not getting rid of me that easy,” Courtney said in a rare instance of speaking up.

“A feisty one too, not like Jennifer.” John turned his attention towards the girl. “Congratulations to you, caught yourself a big one. You might want to have him stuffed and mounted over your fireplace. He's a real trophy.”

“Is there a reason you stop by? Normally you're causing trouble with your other friends?”

“There's good trouble and then there's being stupid. I stopped hanging with them last week when they tried to tip over the beast.”

“Do you want to join us?”