Page 9 of Poles Apart
Jacob hurried to the classroom. He took his laptop and homework out of his messenger bag and put them on his desk, placing the bag in his cupboard along with his lunch.
He glanced at the book on the top of the pile—Noah Wilkins. A great kid, but Jacob needed to have a word with his mum this morning about his homework. It wasn’t as if it was wrong as such. Jacob shook his head; the kid was too clever for his own good sometimes.
The bell rang, and slowly, the children filed into the classroom. He stood to greet them, keeping his eye out for Noah and his mum.
“Morning, Mr Greyson.” Jacob looked to see another of his pupils, a little girl called Ellie, and he had to smile. She was a slip of a thing, smaller than average, with a pretty face and big blue eyes, almost hidden behind the thick-lensed glasses she wore.
Jacob bent to her level. “Hi, Ellie. Did you have a good weekend? Someone told me it was your birthday!”
“It was, it was.” She danced where she stood, her excitement contagious, and Jacob smiled. “We had a party. All my friends came and my Gramps and Grandpa. Nanna Joan was there with Granddad, and Grandma Tessie came, but she was on her own. I wish she could find someone like Gramps did.” She played with her pigtails, pulling on the ends.
Ah, Jacob remembered now. At the Nativity play at Christmas, Ellie’s whole family had come along, including her grandparents. He could remember being curious about the dynamic. She had five grandparents, two female and three male. Her Gramps, as she called him, had divorced his wife and married his partner. Seemed like they all got on, and it was lovely to see.
He recalled watching them with fascination. There they were, out to the world, not bothered by the looks and stares they garnered. He got lost in the moment, thinking about what it might be like to have that with someone...anyone...Dominic.
He shoved the thought away. “I’m sure she will, Ellie. Don’t you worry about that.”
“Will you be Grandma Tessie’s boyfriend? You’re lovely, and she said you were sexy. She said you looked like Olly Murs, and she lurves him!”
Jacob glanced up at Ellie’s mum, who looked like she wanted the floor to open up, her face beet red.
“I think I’m probably a little young for your Grandma.”And she’s the wrong sex for me, he thought and he laughed nervously.
“Oh no, she said she liked ’em young, then Gramps called her a cougar. I don’t know what that means, but Grandma didn’t like it and smacked him on the arm.” Ellie turned as a friend called her name, and she scampered off.
“I am so sorry about that.” Ellie’s mum said, her hands over her face. “I can’t believe she told you.”
“No worries, it’s fine. Could have been worse. She could have said I looked like someone ugly. At least Olly’s not too bad-looking.” He grinned at her as she laughed.
Ellie’s mum walked away as Jacob spotted Noah and his dad. Shit, he hated talking to him. He was a homophobic dickhead who always looked condescendingly at Jacob. He could wait until tomorrow to see if his mum brought him, but no. He wasn’t a coward; hecoulddo this.
“Hi, Mr Wilkins. Could I have a word, please?”
Noah’s dad sauntered over, that all too familiar sneer on his face.
“What do you want? Noah in trouble?” He turned to his son. “How many times do I have to tell you to behave, you idiot?” Noah cowered, hearing his father’s words.
Okay, there was no way he was going to point out what he’d done wrong now. He’d save that for tomorrow. Jacob backpedalled quickly.
“No, he’s not in trouble. I wanted to tell you what a good job he did on his homework and what a pleasure it is to have him in the class. That was all. I’ll let you go and get him settled.” He hoped his tight smile wouldn’t give away his true feelings for the man.
“Sure. Whatever you say.” Noah’s dad looked at him, and Jacob could see the disgust in his eyes.
He’d never hidden the fact that he was gay since coming home, even at school. After he’d moved to Durham, it had taken him a while to come to terms with it, and he’d still hidden away. He had not been out by any means.
After his parents had died, he’d decided he needed to live his life, and that included coming out. He was fortunate no one had batted an eyelid, but there was always going to be someone that disapproved of his lifestyle, and Noah’s dad was one of these people.
“You done now?” The contempt in his voice was unmistakable, and Jacob was sorely tempted to call him out on his manners, but now wasn’t the time nor the place.
“Yes. Thank you for your time.” Jacob turned from his desk to speak to another of the parents but distinctly heard ‘fucking queer boy’ as Noah’s father moved away.
Jacob gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, holding back the retort that was on his lips. Again, not the time, not the place.
He smiled at the next parent waiting to speak to him, wiping the anger from his face.
“Don’t mind him. He’s an arsehole of epic proportions.” Jacob saw it was Ellie’s mum. “I wanted to come over when I saw you talking to him. I’ve no doubt you can handle yourself, but in case he said something and you wanted a witness at any stage. He’s been rude on more than one occasion to Ellie’s grandpas. I didn’t want to intrude, sorry.”
“It’s fine. Thank you for doing that. He’s clearly not a fan.”
