“Hey, Bro,” Pontius called, rushing up to Gideon’s locker at the Riverpointe Christian Academy in Charleston.
“Hey, yourself.” Gideon was a bit suspicious: his younger brother rarely talked to him at school. Sometimes he didn’t even accept a ride home, preferring to call one of the Gemstone drivers to avoid being seen with a “glee club nerd.” An odd insult, since Gideon didn’t belong to Glee Club.
“Are you staying after for gymnastics?”
“No, that’s on Tuesday and Thursday. Why, what do you need?”
“Well, a ride home.”
“Why – the drivers are both busy, and your pogo stick’s in the shop?”
Pontius smiled, either not noticing the dig at his age, or too invested in whatever he wanted to care. “And can we stop for pizza on the way?”
This was really suspicious -- Pontius never invited him to go anywhere. Maybe the age difference was too great for them to really be friends – Gideon was in eleventh grade, with a girlfriend and college plans, while Pontius in eighth grade still played with toys. Maybe they didn’t have much in common – Gideon was into gymnastics and acrobatics (he loved tumbling with Uncle Kelvin at the Gemstone Teen Center), while Pontius was into…well, hanging out with his buds and telling dirty jokes. Or maybe they just didn’t like each other. He must want a big favor, Gideon thought.
They climbed into the Lexus that Granddad Eli gave him for his sixteenth birthday and drove down to Famulari’s, the go-to pizza place for all of the Gemstones, probably because the delivery guys didn’t mind driving ten miles out to the Compound. The moment they sat down, Pontius said, "Ok, here’s the thing. I want to have a sleepover Friday night, and you have to come."
"No way, José! 16-year olds do not go to slumber parties.”
“You used to like them.”
“Sure, and I used to like Battlebots, too. I grew up.”
From his 10th birthday until last year, when he graduated to the high school building at the Academy, Gideon and Pontius hosted sleepovers at least once a month. They each invited two or three boys, plus their younger brother Abraham by default. They spent the night playing video games, watching tv, eating snacks, and bragging about how late they were staying up. Then they bedded down in the Kid Guest Room, Pontius and Abraham on the top bunk, Gideon and another boy “on the bottom,” and the rest in sleeping bags. Gideon always took awhile to choose his bed partner: not necessarily his best friend. Maybe even one of Pontius’s friends, if he was cute.
How did I know which boys were cute? Gideon thought, surprised by the memory. Why did I care?
"We haven't had one for a long time!" Pontus protested. "And Mom says I can't have one by myself – you have to be there, too."
The waiter came – a rather chunky, sandy-haired guy from Gideon’s Biblical History class – and they ordered their usual bacon-cheeseburger pizza (sometimes Mom and Dad called for something “healthy,” and they had to scour the menu for healthy toppings. What kind of pizza topping was healthy?).
“What will my friends say if they find out I went to a sleepover with a bunch of eighth grade dorks? What will my girlfriend say?” He and Katie had only been dating for three weeks, but Gideon mentioned her every chance he got. “Katie likes lima beans. Katie’s aunt lives in Belgium. Katie’s favorite Harry Potter character is…”
"They won't all be dorks," Pontius said. "How about if you can invite some of your friends. Whoever you want.”
"As if! My friends are way too cool for sleepovers!”
"Well, maybe not one of your friends, just guys that you like. You know, want to spend time with, like the guys that Uncle Kelvin hangs out with”
Gideon felt the anger rising. “I do not want to spend time with guys like that, Jackass! Uncle Kelvin is gay, and I have a girlfriend!”
Pontius laughed. “You dummy, no way is Uncle Kelvin a homo!”
“How do you know?”
“Number One, he’s got muscles. Number Two: he works with kids…”
“You’re an idiot. Gay guys have muscles sometimes, and they can work with kids like anybody else.”
Pontius sneered. “Number Three, he never brings a little fruity friend to the family dinner….”
“Maybe he’s afraid to bring a boyfriend around. Granddad Eli might kick him out of the church.”
“Number Four: He doesn’t live in California,” Pontius said with a flourish, as if that was a definitive argument. “Why do you want Uncle Kelvin to be gay so much? Are you in love with him? Do you want to, like, hug and kiss?”
“Dude, that’s my uncle!” Gideon said, disgusted.
“Ok, so if he wasn’t your uncle, you’d be all into him.” He made pucker sounds. “Oh, Thweetie, your muscles are so big! Kiss me again!”
“You’d better stop talking trash about me if you want me to come to your darn sleepover.”
“Ok, ok, sorry…Thweetie.” He giggled. “Now pick two guys that you want to invite. Somebody you want to spend time with.”
More after the break