Every day, we'd march to the bus stop to await our carriage to school. It was the only time Kent and I would genuinely hold teenage conversations. Before the crush of the other kids, and the fight to make a way to the next class before the bell rang. We had fresh minds and perspective. Then the bus would pull up, radio blaring the latest music, kids laughing, and the "friends" we shared would greet us. Sounds like a great way to start the day. But it didn't take long to recognize that many of the "shared friends" carried cruel secrets. Yes, Kent was gay, but back then, it was not safe to share that information. It's possible he hadn't even come to terms with it himself. I hold absolutely no hard feelings, no shame, and no blame on him for what was to come. He was gorgeous and every girl in school pursued him. One female tactic was to be my friend, buddy up to me, be nice to me, so that they could get closer to Kent. They were easy to spot. Disingenuous, scheming, girls, girls, and more girls, hanging around. Then the instant Kent showed interest in any of them, I became the doormat.
In no way, was I an angel in this story. I had days where full metal mean-ness exploded and I'd scream at the girls, proclaiming that he's NOT INTERESTED... okay, I was meaner than that. Kent appeared to be oblivious, but if he knew, he was an angel for not hating me for it. I'm so very proud of who he has become, and he's such a well-grounded, happy person. He so deserves a great life after living with me as his sister. This is my apology to him, because I can't figure out how to apologize in person.
