Subject: A Kid Named Ryan Chapter 1 From – hoo “A Kid Named Ryan” Chapter 1 My name is Mark. I think I figured out that I was gay when I was in 7th grade. I grew up in the upper, middle class suburbs of Charlotte, NC and attended private school there – the only child of two great parents. They supported me in everything, particularly in playing soccer. It wasn’t that I was great at it, but they were there for it all. Travel ball during the summers meant weekends away and there was the summer soccer camp at one of the local colleges which mom and dad sent me to while they went away for a vacation sans me. In junior high, going through all the self-discovery angst, when I thought I may be “different” from the rest of the boys in my class and on my soccer clubs, I just decided to be quiet about it. On Friday and Saturday nights, once my parents had gone to bed, I would surf the internet. The more shirtless young men I saw, the more I knew that I was probably gay. By the time I was in high school, and taking showers after gym class was mandatory, I knew definitely what got me excited. My sophomore year is when my dad figured it out. I didn’t think that my online activities were being tracked. But dad sat me down one day and point-blank asked me if I had been on these sites. My flushed, red face told him without me having to say a word. It was when he told mom later in the day that all hell broke loose. Moms have this hope of grandchildren, keeping the family name going and all that stuff. As the only child – and identifying as gay – she was pretty upset that those things wouldn’t be happening. Getting through high school was pretty easy. I simply stayed to myself most of the time. I had friends on the soccer team as well as a few others around, including a couple of girls who probably knew I was gay. But I never dated or anything like that. When I graduated from high school, escort izmit I went to a small college in the middle part of the state to major in History and Political Science. I ended up staying 6 years to get an M.A. in History and another Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education. There I met Matt, who was gay, too. We ended up getting an apartment together my third year there. But he was a helluva lot farther along sexually than I was. So, what I had hoped would be a decent friendship with someone else like me, turned into a nightmare. He and I parted ways once I graduated and my parents leased a small one-bedroom apartment for me until I was finished the M.A. Now it was time to find a job. I put resumes into several school districts and private schools in the state. A very high-end, private school in western Carolina called and asked me to come for an interview. At 24, I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be hired, but by the end of the day the headmaster had called me and offered me the teaching position. “You noted on your resume that you played soccer in high school,” he said. “Would you be available to serve as an assistant coach for us?” “I’m no soccer genius, sir,” I answered, “but if you’re looking for someone to be around and help, I guess I could do it.” “I’ll have the head soccer coach get with you once you get settled here. Do you need help finding a place to live?” “Any leads would be appreciated,” I said. The department head called later and asked me to teach one class of 9th grade World History and 4 classes of American History to 11th graders. Two subjects, two preps for a new teacher wouldn’t be too bad I determined, so I readily accepted the deal. In early August, dad went with me to find a place for me to live. The school was two hours away from home, so I would be away, but close enough for weekends and holidays with my family. It was also great since izmit escort he and mom had decided to pay my first year’s lease! They had the money, but I never expected this! We found a very nice 2-bedroom condo that included a swimming pool and exercise center. The following weekend, we packed a moving van with my stuff and I headed to begin the next chapter of my life. A 24-year-old, male teacher on day 1 of the school year gets students talking. By the time my lunch period came around it seemed that every girl was flirting with me, asking me if I had a girl friend or if I was married. Answering “No” meant that flirting with the young, male teacher was OK. However, they didn’t know me and I was being very low-key about my sexual identity. One kid seemed to take to me very quickly; his name was Ryan. He was in the one World History class I taught. The class had only 18 students so it was a breeze to teach. When Ryan found out I was going to be the assistant soccer coach, he let me know that he would be on the team. “Aren’t there try outs?” I asked. “Oh, yeh, there are. But I know I’ll be on the team.” When try outs for freshmen and new students came around the second week of school, I knew why Ryan was so confident. He was good! Ryan was quick, had great ball skills and seemed to know where the ball needed to go each time down the field. So, he would certainly make the team as he said. There was no junior varsity, so if you made the team, it was varsity and you had to keep up. Ryan, for the most part, did. Conditioning and weight lifting were not his strong suit, but physically he was naturally gifted. And Ryan had a great personality. He was smart with his comebacks (some teachers and the head soccer coach,Tim, thought too smart). So, I pulled Ryan aside one day after class and told him to be careful what he said and when he said it. As the first weeks izmit kendi evi olan escort of the school year progressed, Ryan became a fixture in my room after school. He would drop by, we’d talk about something or nothing, and then we’d head to practice. One day I asked if he had any brothers or sisters. “No. It’s just me.” “Really? I’m an only child, too.” “No way!” “Way! I guess we have something else in common other than soccer and a World History class,” I said. When he smiled back at me, I about melted. Ryan had blond hair, blue eyes and, as I mentioned earlier, a great personality that came with a great smile. I knew I couldn’t get into any kind of relationship with him, but damn the kid was hot! The high school season for soccer in North Carolina was in the spring. From September through January meant conditioning and working on skill sets. Ryan was fine about that during the week, but Saturday practices and workouts were another thing. Tim told him in mid-October that if he was serious about being on the team he had to be there on Saturdays. So, I talked to Ryan about it one day as we were making our way after school to the locker rooms. “What’s with you and Saturdays?” “I just hate to get up. I sleep late.” “You need help getting up? I’ll call you and get you up if need be.” “Could you I get a ride with you, too?” “Where do you live?” When he gave me the neighborhood he lived in I said, “That’s just around the corner from my place.” Ryan lived in a gated community right next to the condos I lived in. What’s the chance in that? So, we worked out a plan that, with his parents’ permission, I would get his cell phone number and call him 30 minutes before we had to be at school for Saturday practices and work outs. I would come by, pick him up and get him back home after practice. Tim alerted me that the headmaster would not like the arrangement, but he would support me if something was said. Either the headmaster never found out or Tim had already told him what was happening and Ryan’s parents were certainly okay with it. Little did I know that this would end up becoming a long-term relationship.