Family

Kevin and the Gang: In-Between
Family

Kevin reached into the very bottom of the large wooden trunk, withdrew the last armful of clothing and said, 'Finally, pyjama bottoms!'

Oscar opened a drawer underneath the main section of his closet and said, 'They go in here.'

'Did you bring the shirts?' Kevin grinned at him.

'I know Jessica has at least two of them,' said Oscar, 'and my mom's put the rest somewhere sensible.'

Kevin handed the pyjama bottoms to Oscar. Oscar put them in the drawer and closed it, then he took a moment to drink in the sight of his fully completed new bedroom.

'That's the last of my unpacking done,' he said. 'I'm now officially moved in!'

'Hooray,' Kevin laughed, giving Oscar a punch on the arm. 'So, er... did you bring your magazine stash? You know, the... naughty ones.'

'Actually, I put them all in the recycling dumpster before we left Connecticut,' Oscar admitted. 'They, er... they weren't really doing anything for me anymore.'

'Oh, really?'

'Yeah. Maybe I've just gotten bored with those particular issues, huh? I mean, there's only so many times you can look at the same picture and... well, you know what I mean?'

'Yeah, I guess I do,' said Kevin.

'We, er... we can still have a good time without them, can't we?' said Oscar.

'Yeah, sure,' Kevin laughed. 'So long as you're here, man, that's all I really care about.'

They smiled at each other for several seconds, then Oscar's gaze moved down to the huge item of luggage on the floor at his feet.

'This trunk weighs a ton,' he said. 'I'll have to get my dad to put it in the attic.'

'We could do that, couldn't we?' said Kevin. 'It'd save him a job.'

'I don't think I could get it up the ladder,' Oscar said uncertainly.

'How about if you stand at the top of the ladder and I slide it up to you? Then you can kind of topple it into the attic and shove it into a convenient place.'

'Okay, let's try that.'

They each took an end of the trunk and carried it out into the hallway. Oscar then opened the loft hatch and unfolded the retractable ladder, before climbing to the top. Kevin heaved the trunk onto the third step of the ladder and then lifted it above his head. Oscar put both his hands underneath the cumbersome item and slid it into the attic, where it dropped with an almighty thud.

'Jesus,' said Kevin, 'it's not gonna come through the ceiling, is it?'

'No; I've rested it on two rafters,' said Oscar, as he came down the ladder. 'Thanks for that, dude.'

'No problem, man.'

Oscar folded up the ladder and closed the hatch, then he gave Kevin a searching look.

'What?' said Kevin, giggling slightly.

'I can't believe you managed to lift that thing over your head,' said Oscar. 'Do your biceps for me.'

Kevin grinned, rolled up his sleeves and tensed his muscles. Oscar came to prod and squeeze them.

'Oh my God, that's incredible,' Oscar laughed. 'Does it hurt if I squeeze it with both hands?'

'Not really,' said Kevin.

'Seriously, bro, you have the biggest guns I've ever seen!' said Oscar. 'You're gonna start splitting your shirts soon, like the Incredible Hulk! It's no wonder you're so good at arm-wrestling.'

'I can't beat my Uncle Eduardo yet.'

'It won't be long now, dude.'

'Yours are pretty impressive too,' said Kevin, 'considering you're not exactly... well, you know.'

'What?' Oscar said with a laugh. 'What aren't I?'

'Well... beefy,' said Kevin.

'I'll show you who's beefy,' said Oscar, and he launched himself at Kevin.

*

Oscar and Kevin arrived in the kitchen out of breath and red in the face. Kevin sat down at the breakfast bar, while Oscar went over to the fridge and opened it.

'Mom, where's my orange?' he said peevishly.

'It's lying down on the top shelf, Oscar,' said Dana, who was preparing dinner at the kitchen counter.

'Why is it impossible for anyone to put anything in this refrigerator without it getting moved?' Oscar muttered, as he groped around inside.

'Maybe it's haunted,' said Dana, allowing herself a private smile.

Oscar finally managed to remove two foil cartons from the fridge. He came to sit at the breakfast bar and handed one of the cartons to Kevin.

'Thanks,' said Kevin. 'Ooh, Capri-Sun – that's even better than Sunny D!'

Kevin removed the orange straw from its sheath and carefully inserted it into the hole. He then glanced at Oscar, who had stabbed his straw straight through the back of his carton.

'Godsake,' Oscar snarled at the drink.

'Here,' said Kevin, 'let me do it for you.'

Kevin took Oscar's Capri-Sun, drew back the straw, re-angled it slightly and plunged it into the actual drink. He then handed it back to Oscar.

'Thanks, bro,' said Oscar. 'You're always my knight in shining armour, aren't you?'

'Well, I guess you could say that,' Kevin laughed.

'Oscar, I finished sewing those name-tapes in your gym kit,' said Dana. 'I've left everything on top of the sewing box.'

'Thanks, Mom,' said Oscar.

'You'd better get all your school stuff ready sometime tomorrow, hadn't you?' said Dana.

'I will, Mom,' said Oscar, rolling his eyes at Kevin.

Kevin giggled and said, 'You're starting on Thursday, right?'

'Yeah,' said Oscar. 'But you get an extra day off, don't you?'

'That's right,' said Kevin. 'It's always just the seventh graders on campus the first day back, with a few ninth graders to help them settle in. We lucky eighth graders don't go back 'til Friday. Eighth grade, Jesus...'

'Speaking of Friday, you do know how to get to the karate studio from the school, don't you?' Dana said to Oscar.

'Yeah, it's not a problem,' said Oscar. 'I only have to go three blocks. Mom, are you sure you can't get off work early that day?'

'I'm sorry, Oscar, but I don't want to make a bad impression my first week,' said Dana. 'Your dad will be there to watch you for the second half, just as soon as the meeting about Jessica's field trip is over.'

'Those field trip meetings take forever,' said Oscar, scowling and folding his arms. 'The stupid parents always ask a load of dumb questions at the end, most of which they've already been told the answers to!'

'Are you always gonna have karate after school on Friday, man?' Kevin asked. 'I'm hoping to organise a regular after-school get-together at my place with you and Lucy and Jandro and Michael and Ella, so I guess if you can't do Fridays...'

'Normally I'll be able to do Fridays,' said Oscar, 'and I'm really looking forward to meeting your friends, dude.'

'They'll be your friends too pretty soon,' said Kevin.

'Yeah, I hope so,' said Oscar. 'Anyways, this Friday I'm taking part in the finals of the Citywide Junior Karate Championship. I performed in the heats last week and I qualified in second position, so...'

'Wow, that's really impressive, man,' said Kevin.

'Oh, anyone could've done it,' said Oscar, going slightly red. 'It's just a shame no one's gonna be free to come watch me, isn't it Mom?'

'Yes, Oscar, it's a shame,' said Dana, 'but like I said, your dad and Jessica will be there as soon as they can. So, did you boys have fun this afternoon?'

'We sure did,' Oscar grinned, 'and we finished unpacking all my stuff!'

'I didn't hear you screwing around in the attic, did I?'

'No, Mom – we were just putting Dad's old trunk up there.'

'But that thing weighs a ton!' said Dana. 'I hope you were careful, Oscar.'

'Of course we were,' said Oscar. 'Don't worry about it, Mom – Kevin's really strong!'

'Will you be staying for dinner, Kevin?' Dana asked.

'Thanks, but I can't,' said Kevin. 'I said I'd be back in time to have dinner with my mom.'

Dana gave him a smile in response to this, which made Kevin feel slightly uncomfortable.

'How much longer do we have, Mom?' said Oscar.

'It'll be ready in about a half-hour,' said Dana.

'Great!' said Oscar. 'So we have time to go out back and play with the soccer net!'

'Now, Oscar,' said Dana, 'you know that's Jessica's, really.'

'If she turns up and makes a fuss, tell her she can come outside and join in,' said Oscar, already making his way to the back door. 'Come on, dude – see if you can shoot some fast ones at me!'

Kevin followed Oscar into the back garden. A few seconds later, Peter entered the kitchen.

'Is dinner nearly ready, hon?' he asked Dana.

'Yes, Peter,' said Dana, sighing slightly.

'Is Kevin still here?'

'Yes, but he'll be going soon.'

'What did the boys get up to all afternoon?'

'God knows! But apparently they've finished unpacking Oscar's stuff, and they managed to get that enormous old trunk of yours up into the attic.'

'Thank goodness for that,' said Peter. 'I just know I'd have thrown my back out if I'd had to do it. Oscar really loves hanging out with Kevin, doesn't he?'

Dana looked out of the window to see Oscar standing in the goalmouth while Kevin took a penalty.

'He sure does,' she said. 'I... I hope we've done the right thing, Peter. Moving back here, I mean. Connecticut really is a beautiful place.'

'Sure, it's beautiful,' said Peter, 'but I've been missing the city, Dana, and I know you have too. We always kinda knew we'd have to come back to New York sooner or later. We have our careers to think about, for one thing.'

'What are our careers compared to the happiness of our kids?'

'Don't let your new boss hear you say that! Besides, the kids will be fine in New York. Oscar didn't really seem to like Connecticut very much anyway!'

'That's just his age,' said Dana. 'He doesn't really like anything very much at the moment. Apart from his music and his karate, obviously.'

'And Kevin,' said Peter.

'Yes,' said Dana, drinking in the sight of Oscar taking his turn to score a goal, 'and Kevin. It really wasn't the best time to move Jessica, though. Oscar was going to have to start a new school wherever we lived, but Jess... well, I just hope we haven't been unfair to her.'

'Jess will be fine,' said Peter. 'She's very adaptable.'

'Of course I'm adaptable,' said Jessica, as she sauntered into the kitchen. 'I can adapt anything I want! Isn't dinner ready yet, Mom?'

'Almost, sweetheart,' said Dana.

'Is Kevin still here?' Jessica asked.

'Yes,' said Dana, peering out of the window to see that Kevin was now pummelling Oscar in the stomach with both fists while Oscar tried to trip him up, 'Kevin's still here.'

'I guess he's gonna be here a lot of the time now, huh?' said Jessica.

'Well... I expect we'll see him regularly, yes,' said Dana. 'But you're welcome to have friends over too, Jess; whenever you want.'

'If I ever make any,' Jessica sighed.

'Of course you will, sport,' Peter said to her. 'This time tomorrow, you'll have a whole load of new friends!'

'Why do I have to start school tomorrow but Oscar doesn't have to start 'til the next day?' Jessica demanded.

'That's just the way it goes, Jess,' said Dana. 'Different schools have different semester dates.'

'Are they in the backyard?' said Jessica, her mind obviously back on Kevin now. 'What are they doing out there? Oh my God, they're not playing with my soccer net, are they?'

Dana looked out of the window again. Kevin and Oscar were now rolling around on the grass, laughing and squealing in equal measure.

'Well... they were,' said Dana. 'Oscar said he'd really like it if you went out and joined them, if you want to.'

'I'll say I want to!' said Jessica, storming towards the back door. 'That's my stuff!'

'You see,' said Peter, as Jessica closed the door behind her, 'she's the same old Jessica as always.'

'Yeah, I guess so,' said Dana. 'And he's certainly the same old Oscar... in many ways.'

'Don't worry about his mood swings, honey,' said Peter. 'Like you said, it's just his age.'

'Yes...' said Dana. 'Peter, you really will try to get to his karate final as soon as you can, won't you?'

'Of course, Dana,' said Peter. 'You can rely on me.'

Dana took another look at the scene in the back garden. Kevin was now standing in the goalmouth, while Jessica and Oscar were passing the ball between them as they approached him.

'Yes,' she said with a smile, 'I'm sure I can.'

*

Oscar exhaled heavily as his back slammed against the gym mat. He then found himself struggling to draw breath as his opponent's foot pressed down on his throat.

'Tough break, blondie!' Oscar's adversary snarled at him. 'I guess you should've stayed in Connecticut with the other losers, huh?'

Oscar glared up at the jeering expression of the unpleasant kid, then his eyes turned to the audience, most of whom where cheering and shouting at a considerable volume. The expression of hope faded from Oscar's eyes as he failed to discern Peter or Jessica among the spectators.

'You can do it, man! Come on, get up and show him what you're really made of!'

Oscar's eyes opened wide as he heard the familiar voice. It did not take him long to spot Kevin in the crowd, an expression of concern and anticipation on his face. Oscar stared at Kevin for several seconds, then he gritted his teeth and got to work.

Oscar's opponent cried out in alarm as he felt his ankle being clasped in an iron grip. Five seconds later he was on the floor, then Oscar was on top of him. Kevin cheered boisterously as Oscar forced his adversary onto his front and dragged his arms behind his back.

'Now who's the loser, huh?' Oscar snarled into his opponent's ear.

'I am!' the unpleasant kid wailed. 'Please, let me go – you're hurting me!'

'So tell the referee you're ready to concede!'

'But my dad'll be really mad if I don't bring home the trophy!'

Oscar gave his opponent's left arm a yank and said, 'That's your problem, kid.'

'Argh!' the floored contender yelled. 'Okay, okay, I concede!'

Oscar rose to his feet and everyone cheered. An old man of Asian descent appeared from somewhere and handed Oscar a large trophy, which he held above his head with a triumphant smile.

*

Kevin entered the changing room and looked around for Oscar. Oscar spotted him first. Despite the fact that he was now dressed only in a pair of white karate trousers, Oscar jumped to his feet, ran up to Kevin and threw his arms around him. Kevin returned the hug, and laughed.

'Congratulations, bro,' said Kevin. 'So, Citywide Junior Karate Champion, huh? You were amazing out there, man.'

'You were amazing to come see me,' Oscar exhaled into Kevin's ear. 'I won it for you, you know – I was just about to give up when I heard you cheering me on!'

'Your dad and Jessica didn't make it, huh?'

'No. But I don't need them – I have you!'

Kevin felt his ribs straining under the force of Oscar's embrace.

'You'd, er... you'd better finish getting changed now, hadn't you?' Kevin suggested.

'Yeah... yeah, I guess so,' said Oscar, pulling away slightly. 'I just... I can't believe you're here, dude! What happened to your after-school get-together with Lucy and Jandro and Michael and Ella?'

'It turns out Jandro has chess club on Fridays, so we're gonna have our first after-school get-together on Monday,' said Kevin. 'You're invited too, of course. But I was gonna postpone it today anyway, after I found out that you... well, you might be lacking a little support.'

'There's never any danger of that with my knight in shining armour around,' said Oscar, grinning at Kevin. 'Bro, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you came!'

'You actually can, and you already are!' Kevin laughed, as he felt himself being squeezed again. 'Hey, look – isn't that your dad?'

Oscar whirled around to see Peter walking towards him, an apologetic expression on his face.

'Sorry I'm late, champ,' he said. 'The field trip meeting took forever 'cause the other parents asked a load of dumb questions at the end, most of which they'd already been told the answers to. Still, I hear you won the championship – well done!'

Peter reached out and ruffled Oscar's hair. Oscar squirmed.

'Dad, don't,' he said, not quite managing to sound annoyed. 'You know I hate that!'

'Excuse me, do you mind if I take your picture for the local paper?'

The press photographer seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Oscar looked up at him, smiled and nodded, then ran to fetch his trophy.

'Is this gonna be on the front page?' asked Peter.

'I doubt it,' said the photographer. 'But you never know; it might be a slow news day.'

Oscar came back with his trophy and held it above his head.

'I want you both in the picture with me,' he said to Peter and Kevin. 'That's okay, isn't it?'

'Sure thing, kid,' said the photographer. 'Let's have one of you on each side of him... and just hold the trophy up a little higher... nice!'

The photographer took the picture and Oscar lowered the trophy.

'Oh my God,' he said, 'I forgot I don't have a shirt on!'

'Never mind,' said Kevin. 'Now the whole city can see how beefy you are!'

Oscar grinned and slapped Kevin across the chest, then he ran back to where most of his clothes were still waiting to be put on. Peter gave a few details to the photographer, who wrote them down in a small notebook.

'Okay,' said Peter, when the photographer had gone and Oscar was fully dressed, 'are we ready to roll?'

'Where's Jess, Dad?' Oscar suddenly thought to ask.

'She decided to wait in the car, seeing as we were too late to watch the action,' said Peter.

'Kevin can come with us, can't he?' said Oscar. 'Do you want to sleep over tonight, bro? I think you should sleep over tonight. Dad, Kevin can sleep over tonight, can't he?'

'If he wants to, I'm sure that won't be a problem,' said Peter.

'Yeah, I want to,' Kevin grinned. 'I'll have to call my mom to check it's okay, but I don't think she'll mind.'

'Great!' said Oscar. 'I'll lend you a pair of my pyjama bottoms again.'

'I'd expect nothing less,' said Kevin.

Oscar grinned and threw his free arm around Kevin's shoulders, then they followed Peter out to the parking lot.

*

Beth put the phone down and returned her attention to her dinner preparations.

'Was that Kevin?' Carl asked from his position at the breakfast bar.

'Yes, it was,' said Beth. 'He's sleeping over with Oscar tonight.'

'Again? Jeez, he's hardly ever at home nowadays!'

'That's an exaggeration, Carl.'

'Ah, so you're admitting that it's at least a little bit true!' Carl said triumphantly.

'Let me give you a small piece of advice, hon,' Beth said gently. 'If you try to come between those two boys – now, or ever – you'll be the one who ends up suffering for it.'

'What exactly are you trying to say?' said Carl.

'I'm saying, boys will be boys,' said Beth, 'and Kevin will be Kevin, and if you try to stop him being Kevin... well, he just won't let you do it, Carl.'

'I'd never try to stop him “being Kevin”!' Carl said indignantly.

'Good,' said Beth, 'then everything will be okay.'

*

Early the next morning, Kevin emerged from the Venkmans' bathroom in the process of pulling his pyjama bottoms back up. Just as he managed to adjust them into a position he was happy with, he noticed that Dana was walking along the hallway towards him. He gave her an embarrassed smile and tried to step out of her path, but she foiled his plan by adjusting her course to intercept him.

'What did you do to Oscar yesterday?' Dana asked with a smile.

'What did I do to him?' Kevin said uncertainly.

'When I dropped him off at school in the morning, he looked like he was about to walk up the steps to the guillotine,' said Dana, 'but when I came home from work, he was dancing around the house in a state of euphoria!'

'Oh, well... he'd become Citywide Junior Karate Champion in the meantime, don't forget,' said Kevin.

'But he wouldn't have done that without you there to support him, would he?'

'Oh, I don't know. He says not, but...'

'Well, just so long as you realise that you're always welcome in this house, Kevin,' said Dana. 'Like I've told your mom several times, Oscar's happier when he's with you than he's been in... well, forever!'

'I feel the same way about him,' Kevin said with a smile, then he went red and looked down at his feet.

Dana smiled and stepped out of Kevin's way, so he went back to Oscar's bedroom. As soon as Kevin entered the room, Oscar fell on him and started pummelling him in the stomach. Kevin responded by grabbing Oscar's shoulders and shoving him against the wall, then Oscar took Kevin's feet out from under him. Kevin wrapped his arms around Oscar's body and they fell together in a heap, then they both went tumbling across the floor, laughing and crying out in mock anguish. Dana smiled, then she entered the bathroom.

*

At the end of the lunch hour the following Monday, Kevin, Lucy and Jandro entered their homeroom and sat down together.

'We're definitely on for tonight, right?' said Kevin.

'You bet your sweet buns we are!' Lucy grinned at him. 'I can't wait!'

'Can we play truth-or-dare?' said Jandro.

'Oh, no!' said Lucy. 'That game only causes awkwardness and arguments.'

'Let's start with a few rounds of “I've Never”,' said Kevin, 'and we'll see where things go from there.'

They became aware of a large figure looming over them. Kevin looked up to see that Michael was in the process of sliding a newspaper onto the table in front of him.

'There's something you need to know, Kev,' Michael announced in dramatic tones. 'Have you seen this? Have you heard about this?'

Michael pushed the newspaper towards Kevin. Kevin looked down at it.

'It's in the bottom left corner,' said Michael. 'That's you and Oscar, right?'

'Um... yeah, it sure is,' said Kevin. 'Wow, we made the front page! I guess it must've been a slow news day after all.'

'I caught Mark Warner reading it out to Jack Trent and some other guys in the locker room,' said Michael, 'and they were all laughing like a bunch of morons. Mr Page was there too, but he wasn't doing anything about it.'

'Okay... yeah, I see,' said Kevin, as he studied the two photographs. 'I didn't realise we were being photographed while we were hugging. That's a complete liberty, actually – it was supposed to be a private moment.'

'You were doing it right in the middle of a public locker room, Kev,' Jandro pointed out. 'Still, that's a great one of you and Oscar and Dr Venkman.'

'The one of just you and Oscar is pretty great too, in some ways,' said Lucy. 'I know it's an invasion of your privacy, but there's a whole load of emotional truth in it.'

'Yeah, I guess so,' said Kevin. 'Man, I wonder if Oscar's seen these.'

'Did you read the caption, Kev?' said Michael.

'Um... New Citywide Junior Karate Champion Oskar Wankmen, twelve, celebrates his victory with his family... oh my God, that's terrible!' Kevin said shrilly. 'I heard Dr Venkman giving the photographer all our details, but they haven't bothered to print them! Are they assuming me and Oscar are brothers? Why would they think that?'

'It's a dumb thing to think,' said Jandro. 'Now, if someone got hold of a picture of you and me, Kev, and assumed we were brothers, I could understand why they'd jump to that conclusion... but you and Oscar –'

'Okay, Jandro, I think we all get the idea,' said Lucy, shooting him a wry smile.

'Kev, why is Oscar topless in these pictures?' Michael asked.

'Um... oh, because I took him by surprise in the locker room,' said Kevin.

Michael smirked and said, 'That sounds a little wrong, Kev.'

'You know what I mean, Mike,' said Kevin, frowning slightly.

'Yeah, I know what you mean,' said Michael, 'but Mark Warner and his stupid friends were saying maybe the hugging picture meant you were gay, so I took the newspaper from them and I told them they shouldn't talk about you behind your back because you're a really swell guy, whether you're gay or not, and the picture doesn't even mean you are gay anyway.'

'Thanks for thinking of my feelings, Mike,' said Kevin, 'but I really don't care if Mark Warner thinks I'm gay. You didn't... hit him or anything, did you?'

'No, I couldn't,' said Michael, somewhat wistfully. 'Mr Page was watching me the whole time. So, er... the picture doesn't bother you, then?'

'I'm only bothered about whether Oscar's upset by having his privacy invaded, or by the crap they've printed in the caption,' said Kevin. 'I'll have to talk to him after next period. Do you mind if I keep this paper, Mike?'

'Be my guest, Kev,' said Michael. 'I think Mark Warner's the one who actually paid for it.'

'Hmm, well I won't worry too much about not paying him back,' said Kevin. 'Mike, you and Ella are planning to come to my place after school tonight, right?'

'Of course, Kev,' said Michael, fixing Kevin with a smile. 'We've both been looking forward to it all weekend.'

'And are we finally gonna get to be properly introduced to Oscar, Kev?' Lucy asked.

'I sure hope so,' said Kevin. 'I mean, yeah... if he still wants to come!'

*

As Kevin and his classmates flocked out of their homeroom, Mr Page pushed his way inside and went to speak to the teacher.

'Was everything okay in homeroom this afternoon, Mr Toy?' said Mr Page.

'Um... yes, Mr Page,' said Mr Toy. 'Everything was fine, thanks. What makes you ask?'

'Oh... nothing, really,' said Mr Page. 'It's just that I saw an altercation in the locker room earlier involving some of your boys, and I wasn't exactly sure what was being said, but I suddenly thought to myself, I hope Michael didn't march into homeroom and start gay-bashing Kevin!'

'Good God,' breathed Mr Toy, 'do you really think that might be on the cards? I saw the two of them having a conversation and looking at a newspaper, but it all seemed perfectly friendly.'

'Oh, good,' said Mr Page. 'Maybe I'm wrong, then.'

'I sure hope you are!' Mr Toy said with feeling. 'If Michael and Kevin wanted to have a fist-fight in homeroom, there's not one god-damned thing I could do to stop them! Have you seen the size of them both? But fortunately they seem to like each other a whole lot.'

'Yeah, I thought they were friends,' said Mr Page, 'but then you never know how some guys might react when they find out about other guys being... well, you know.'

'I didn't realise Kevin was gay,' said Mr Toy. 'He seems perfectly normal to me.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Mr Page said sharply.

'Oh, nothing!' Mr Toy said hastily. 'I'm sorry, Ian – that didn't come out right at all!'

'Well, I guess you'd better keep an eye on the situation, just in case,' said Mr Page. 'I need to get back to the locker room now – I have to drill into the new seventh graders the vital importance of taking communal showers.'

*

Kevin forced his way into the boys' changing room, picking through several hastily dressed seventh graders as he went. He soon found Oscar, sitting on a wooden bench and pulling his socks on.

'Hey, man,' said Kevin. 'How was your first gym class?'

'Oh, hey,' Oscar beamed at him. 'It was okay. We played table-tennis – it wasn't too strenuous!'

'Yeah, I guess not,' Kevin laughed. 'Er... just out of interest, bro, did you decide to join in with the naked showering in the end?'

'I really was going to do it,' said Oscar, 'but I chickened out after I saw Barnaby Abbott – he's a kid from my homeroom – standing in there with a huge boner stretching out in front of him! I suddenly realised, I don't want the other guys seeing that kind of intimate detail on me. I can't deny it, dude – I'm not comfortable with just anyone seeing my junk.'

They exchanged a smile, then Kevin reached into his bag and pulled out the newspaper.

'Anyways, I really came here to show you this,' he said. 'Michael gave it to me... and he said that Mark Warner and some of the other guys from my class were laughing about it. Have you seen the report on your karate final?'

'Have I seen it?' Oscar laughed. 'I've cut it out and hung it on my wall!'

'Oh,' said Kevin. 'Oh, I see. So you weren't... upset by any of it?'

'Upset?' said Oscar. 'Oh, you mean by how they got my name wrong? Yeah, that did piss me off a little. I'll let them off the erroneous K, but I really think they should've gotten my surname right. I mean, don't they know who my dad is?'

'Yeah, that was pretty stupid of them,' said Kevin, 'but what I was really wondering is whether you were bothered by the whole “family” part of the caption?'

'Are you kidding?' said Oscar. 'I love that part!'

'You do?'

'Yeah, it's perfect! I know it's a mistake, but it really gets to the heart of the true meaning of family, don't you think? I mean, there I am in the picture – looking pretty beefy, even by my own admission – and I'm with two guys who fit the caption perfectly. Neither of them are related to me by blood, but both of them are definitely my family!'

'The true meaning of family...' said Kevin. 'People who really care about each other... and who love each other, in some way.'

'Exactly,' said Oscar, jumping to his feet and clapping Kevin on the shoulder. 'That's what a family is, and this picture shows me with two of my closest family members in the world! I don't even care that they printed the one of you and me hugging that they took when we weren't looking. I mean, have you seen the expression on my face? I didn't think I could actually look that happy! And you did that to me, bro. Both those pictures give me warm fuzzies all over!'

'I'm really glad to hear that,' Kevin beamed at him. 'I think I'm gonna cut out this copy and hang it on my wall.'

'Wonderful,' Oscar grinned.

'You know, man, I... I'm getting a very strong urge to hug you again right now,' Kevin confessed.

'You mean here in the locker room?' said Oscar. 'What if Michael or Mark Warner or another of those meat-heads walks in and sees us?'

'I don't care if they do,' said Kevin. 'And Michael's not a meat-head, by the way.'

Kevin slipped his arms around Oscar, and Oscar returned the hug with gusto. A few seconds later, Mr Page put his head into the room. His eyes opened wide and he gaped at Kevin and Oscar for a while, then he removed himself from the doorway and slipped off.

'No one's taking a picture of us this time, are they?' Oscar said at length.

'I don't think so,' Kevin laughed. 'You know, we really need to stop doing this now and get to final period.'

'What do you have?'

'Math. How about you?'

'Geography.'

'You're gonna come back to my place after school, right?'

'Of course.'

'See you outside the music block at three?'

'I'll be there, dude.'