Dan and I pulled back from our hug. I smiled and saw him smile too.

“I can’t believe that you’re… you know?” Dan said.

“Well, duh!” I replied. “I am. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be, is there?” I started laughing, and then so did Dan.

We were lucky we’d broken off our hug and the kiss because Dan’s mom walked into his bedroom.

“Well, you two sound happy. What’s so funny?”

“Mark told me I should shove my clothes under the bed and make my bed and my room would be as neat as his. That’s very funny!”

“Except for the shoving of your clothes under the bed, the other part about you making your bed sounds appropriate to me,” she responded.

“Come on, Mom, I just got home from the hospital. I changed and the dirty clothes I put on the floor, then I took out my dirty clothes from my gym bag and added them to the pile. I would’ve picked them up later, but I was tired and went downstairs to the family room to rest.”

“I know, Dan. I’m just pulling your leg. But now that you have Mark to help you should straighten your bed, then pick up your clothes and put them on your bed. I’ll collect them later and put them in the wash.”

“Okay, will do.”

“Thanks. I came up to ask if you two would like a snack.”

“I am sort of hungry,” Dan said. “A snack sounds good.”

“Alright, wash your hands and then come on down to the kitchen,” she said, then she turned and left.

“We need to be more careful,” Dan whispered.

“I agree,” I whispered. “Uh, where’s the bathroom?”

“Follow me.”

I followed him down the hall to the bathroom, and closed the door after we entered. He looked puzzled.

“Why did you… oh. Never mind.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve gotta take a leak.”

We both took care of what we had to do, grabbing a glance of each other along the way, then I followed Dan downstairs. We sat across from each other at the kitchen table.

“How about some pizza rolls,” Dan’s mom suggested.

“Sounds good. That okay with you, Mark?”

“Sure, that’s good. Thanks, Mrs. Covington,” I answered.

“Pizza rolls it is,” his mom said. “Get whatever you’d like to drink.”

“You want a Coke or a 7-Up, Mark?”

“A Coke, please.”

Dan got up and got two bottles of Coke and brought them to the table.

“Here you go,” he said.

“So, tell me a little about yourself,” Dan’s mom asked me.

“Not much too tell, and what there is, is mostly boring. I was born in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. My dad was a hospital consultant, so we moved a bunch of times as his clients changed. Then he got a job at University Medical Center in Chicago. I went to Ryan High School and was there for my freshman year. Then during the summer my dad got the job offer at the Binghamton Health Center and we moved here just before school started. I’m a sophomore at Columbia High, same as Dan. I play tennis, and was on the freshman tennis team at Ryan.”

“Will you go out for the tennis team at Columbia High?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Is there a tennis team, Dan?”

“Yes. It’s a spring sport.”

“Do you play?” I asked him.

“Yeah, just for fun. I’m not good enough to be on the team.”

“What classes do you like, Mark?” she asked.

“I’m taking AP Biology. I like that a lot.” I grinned. “If I have questions I can go to my dad for the answers. He’s an M.D.”

“You’re lucky,” Dan said. “I wish there was a law class, then I could get my dad to help me. Say, where is Dad?”

“He went back to work. And if you’re wondering, Kaitlin is at a friend’s house and will be home by five o’clock.”

“Okay. Thanks, Mom.”

“What other classes do you like, Mark?” she asked.

“Mom! Please stop grilling him like he’s on the witness stand!” Dan said.

I laughed. “It’s okay. My mom will do the same thing when you come over to my house. I like going to school, and I like all my classes. My favorite classes, besides AP Biology, are Computer Tech, Spanish 3, and Pre-Calc.”

“You certainly like difficult classes,” she said. “Are there any you don’t like?”

“None besides lunch.” I grinned.

“You don’t like lunch? I thought all teens liked to eat,” she said.

“You haven’t eaten in our cafeteria, Mom,” Dan said.

I added, “Actually, the food isn’t that bad if you’re careful about what you pick. It’s better than the food at Ryan High. It’s more convenient to eat in the cafeteria than to bring a bag lunch from home.”

“I agree,” Dan added. “They could have some better choices, though.”

We finished our pizza rolls then went into the family room to watch TV.

“What do you want to watch?”

“I don’t know. What’s on?”

Dan scanned through the channels and found CSI New York. Neither of us had seen this episode, and even though it we got into it in the middle we decided to watch the rest of it anyway.

During a commercial, Dan bumped my shoulder.

“You want to have dinner with us? And maybe spend the night? Then we can do our homework together tonight, and tomorrow maybe go to the mall and wander for a while.”

“Yeah, that’d be great as long as it’s okay with your mom.”

“Lemme go ask her.”

Dan returned with his mom.

“Mark, you’re welcome to have dinner with us, and stay overnight. Will that be okay with your mother?”

“Thanks for offering, Mrs. Covington. It should be okay with my mom, but I’ll have to phone her and she’ll want to talk to you.”

“Why don’t you call her, and I’ll stand by so I can talk to her.”

I called home, and Mom said it would be okay but she wanted to talk to Mrs. Covington. I handed the phone to her. “My mom says okay, and she wants to talk to you. I’ll be in the family room with Dan.”

“You don’t want to wait while I talk with her?”

I just grinned and shook my head as a no. I knew once they got talking it would last for a long time.

I sat down next to Dan.

“Your mom said it would be okay?”

“Yup. No problem. Your mom is talking to my mom right now.”

“Oh, god, they’ll be on the phone for an hour.” Dan grinned.

“Tell me about it. My mom always spent more time talking to my friends’ moms than I did talking to my friends.”

“You want to play blackjack?”

“Sure.”

So that’s what we did until Kaitlin got home a little while later. As soon she saw that I was there visiting Dan she came in and joined us.

“Mark’s staying for dinner, we’ll do our homework together and he’ll spend the night,” Dan told her.

“Dan, a bunch of kids at school were talking about what happened to you yesterday. I told them Mark was a hero for knowing how to use that EpiPen on you so you wouldn’t die.”

“How did they find out about it?” I asked her. “You don’t go to Columbia High, do you?”

“No, I go to Eastside Middle School.”

“So how did they find out about it?” I said, wanting an answer.

“They said they saw it on the TV news last night.”

“It was on TV last night? What channel?” I asked.

“My friend Bonnie said it was on cable, channel 218. I didn’t know about it. You didn’t know it was on either?”

I shook my head. “No, we don’t have cable where we live, we have a dish. I’m not sure if we get that channel, and if we do get it we didn’t see it. How about you, Dan, you didn’t see it either, did you?”

“No, and I don’t think my folks did either, since Mom didn’t say anything.”

“This is totally weird,” Dan said. “I’m gonna turn on channel 218. It’s a local channel that I hardly ever watch. Let’s see if the news is on yet. Yes, look, the five o’clock news is just starting. I’ll set the DVR to record it.”

Kaitlin got up and ran into the kitchen, shouting, “Mom, Mom!” She returned with and they sat down with us to watch the news.

The channel 218 news started with the headlines, then we sat through five or six commercials. The major national and state news came on next, with three breaks for more commercials, then the weather news, more commercials, and finally the local news. Then:

“Last night we told you that a teen at Columbia High School was bitten by a tarantula and taken to Binghamton Health Center where we were told he was recovering. We have a follow-up with more information tonight.

“The teen was extremely allergic to spider bites and went into anaphylactic shock. One of his classmates recognized his symptoms and asked him if he had an EpiPen. This is a device that allows epinephrine to be injected to prevent anaphylaxis, a condition that can lead to death. Epinephrine is an anti-allergen drug for people who have this type of severe allergic reaction to spider bites and bee and wasp stings, and to foods like peanuts and shellfish. The teen was able to tell his classmate where he had his EpiPen and that classmate gave him the injection. This, according to our sources, saved his life. The classmate who knew what to do is certainly a hero.

“Please note that because it is our policy to protect children and teens, we will not report the names of these two boys because of their ages.”

A commercial break started, and Dan muted the sound.

“See!” Kaitlin said, “I told you that you’re a hero, Mark. They said you are right there on the news, so that proves it!”

I closed my eyes and growled, “I am not a hero! How many times do I have to tell people!”

“Yes, you are!” Dan, Kaitlin, and Mrs. Covington all said simultaneously. They started laughing, and so did I.

Mr. Covington walked in. “What’s so funny?”

I stood up, raised both hands in the air, shook my head, and said, “Your family is totally confused!”

He stood there looking confused, then turned to Mrs. Covington. “What is going on?”

Mrs. Covington, with a few interjections by Dan and Kaitlin, explained their side of the story, emphasizing the part about me being a hero, then Dan backed up the DVR to the start of the news item and played it back.

“You’re overruled, Mark. Everyone, including me, says you’re a hero. But I would like to know who leaked the information to this news program.”

“I don’t think it was anyone from school,” I said. “If it had been, they would probably have mentioned that the tarantula’s name is Oscar, or that it had been stolen, or that two students had dropped it into Dan’s pants, or other things about what happened. Also, they didn’t say much about the hospital, or that Dan is home now, so I don’t think it was any of the hospital staff. What I think is that it’s one of the EMT crew.”

“That’s a good summary and it makes sense, Mark. Maybe you should think about going for a law degree.”

“I never thought about that. Right now I’m more interested in computer science, designing and writing software.”

“How about a combination of the two?” he asked.

“Could be. One of the things I like about software is I have to figure out what to do and how to do it, then to actually do it. Sounds like law is something like that.”

“Certainly the prosecution has to do just that, figure out what had been done by the defendant and how they did it, and then how to actually prove to a jury that the defendant is guilty.”

“I’ll think about it. I’ve got plenty of time before I have to decide on my college major.”

“Well, I have some news that I think everyone here will find interesting,” Mr. Covington said. “I phoned the State Police when I returned to work this afternoon. Kenny Lamper and Jeff Walland left the campus when they realized they might be arrested. They were subsequently arrested at their homes, confessed to stealing the tarantula and dropping it in Dan’s pants. They claim the door to the Biology Lab wasn’t locked and they just walked in. They claim that they didn’t know the tarantula had fangs that could inject poison, or that Dan would have an allergic reaction to the spider bites, and they insisted that it was just a joke. They were charged with malicious mischief, and released to their parents. Other charges may be pending.

“Then I phoned Principal Benson and told him that I am your attorney, Mark. He told me that Kenny Lamper and Jeff Walland were suspended for leaving the campus without a pass, and there would be further action because of what they did to Dan pending a School Board hearing. The results of that hearing could be extended suspension or expulsion. I got the impression that he’d like to head off any kind of litigation.

“I told Principal Benson that you heard Ms. Lynch tell Coach Parks, in the presence of other students, that she would have you expelled. He told me that he has discussed the situation with Ms. Lynch and Coach Parks, and she agrees that the circumstances made it imperative that Dan receive an injection of epinephrine using the EpiPen and that what you did was appropriate.”

“I’m sure glad that Ms. Lynch didn’t push to have me expelled or suspended,” I said.

“Paul, Mark is staying for dinner tonight, and dinner is just about ready. So everyone wash up, and Kaitlin, after you wash your hands please set the table and then we’ll sit down to eat.”

Mrs. Covington served stew that had lots of beef and veggies, a salad, and homemade biscuits. Both Dan and I had two servings. For dessert she had fresh peach shortcake with whipped cream.

When we finished I told her how much I enjoyed the dinner. “It was delicious, Mrs. Covington. Thanks for everything.”

“Especially the shortcake,” Kaitlin said. “I love peach shortcake.”

“You should go to the school and take over the cafeteria,” Dan suggested.

“I’ll pass on that, thank you!” she responded.

I helped Dan and Kaitlin rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, and then Kaitlin washed the pots and pans, I dried, and Dan put them away. When we finished all of us went into the family room and watched the ‘Monsters University’ movie on Vudu. It was okay, but not nearly as funny as ‘Monsters Inc.’

Dan bumped me with his elbow. “Let’s get a start on our homework.”

“Okay, that’s a good idea.”

We stood up. “Mark and I are going to my room. We’re going to take a look at what homework we have and how long it’s going to take, and get started on it.”

“Alright,” Mrs. Covington said. “That’s probably something you should do as well, Kaitlin.”

“Oh, all right.” Kaitlin didn’t sound pleased, but Mrs. Covington ignored her tone of voice. Dan looked at me and rolled his eyes.

When Dan and I got to his room we opened our backpacks and pulled out our books.

“Since I missed most of my classes yesterday and today, what was covered in the classes we have together?” he asked.

We went over the homework for English 2, Spanish 3, and History of the Americas.

“What other classes do you have?” I asked.

“I have Chemistry first period. I know what the reading assignments are; Mrs. Barker gave us a list in our first class. I have Biology fourth period. She gave us a reading list in that class, too. It’s probably the same material as your AP class. I have Algebra 2 fifth period. The assignment is probably the next set of problems. I have the homework that we had for Thursday. I didn’t get a chance to turn it in.

“That reminds me. I better get a note from my mom for being missing fourth through seventh periods on Thursday and all of my classes today.”

“What do you want to start on?” I asked.

“How about Spanish 3? It sounds like the most work. What did you do yesterday and today?”

“Yesterday Ms. Rodriquez handed out paragraphs in Spanish, and we each stood up and translated our paragraph into English as we read it. Our homework was to take the Spanish paragraph and do a better translation and we turned them in today. I can give you my paragraph and you can translate it and turn it in on Monday. Today we wrote a short story in Spanish, just one page, in class and turned it in. You could do that, too. Today’s homework assignment is to review the grammar rules and vocabulary in chapter four of our textbook.”

We got to work on our homework. Since Dan had both yesterday’s and today’s homework to do for Spanish 3, after I finished reviewing today’s grammar and vocabulary assignment I worked on my Pre-Calc problems. We both finished at the same time, so Dan and I went over what we did in English 2 and History of the Americas and the homework for each of those classes. Again, we both finished at the same time.

“I need something to drink,” Dan said. “How about you?”

“Sure. A Coke will be good.”

We went to the kitchen and Dan got two Cokes out of the refrigerator.

“You hungry?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No. I’m still full from dinner.”

“Well, I’m hungry. I think eating what they called ‘meals’ in the hospital left my stomach emptier than it normally would be. So I’m going to grab a bag of chips.”

We went back to his bedroom and opened our Cokes.

“What do you think will happen to Lamper and Walland?” he asked.

“I’m new here so I don’t know how they handle stuff like what those guys did. But when I went to Ryan they seemed to go easier on anyone who got good grades or didn’t have a record of causing trouble. If you got suspended you still had to do all of your homework. If you didn’t do it, then you might have to go to summer school. If you got expelled, or flunked out a whole semester, and you were under eighteen, you’d be transferred to a remedial high school.”

“We don’t have a remedial high school here. I don’t know what happens if you’re expelled, or if you flunk out. If Lamper and Walland get expelled they should be sent to reform school.” Dan smirked.

“You really have reform schools here?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Probably not. I’m just joking. Those two were smart enough to get through ninth and tenth grades without flunking out. I don’t think they’d be expelled unless they committed a crime. What they did to me was just stupidity.”

I grinned. “But you said they were smart enough to get through the ninth and tenth grades.”

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean they’re intelligent enough to know what a stupid idea it is to steal a tarantula and put it in someone’s pants. I think some kids, like Lamper and Walland, can be smart and stupid at the same time.”

“Yeah, I see that. What homework should we do next?”

“I should work on my Algebra 2 problems. How about you?”

“I have to read the next chapter in my AP Biology textbook. That’s mostly dull and boring, so I’ll start that.”

I finished before Dan so I went to his bed and laid down.

I guess I fell asleep because I woke when I felt Dan shaking my arm.

“Hey, Mark, wake up. My mom wants to talk to us.”

Hearing ‘My mom wants to talk to us’ definitely woke me up. Those are words any teen never wants to hear.

I stretched and sat on the edge of Dan’s bed.

“Okay, I’m awake.”

“You look like you’re still half asleep,” Mrs. Covington said.

I looked up and focused on her, then I grinned. “I’m very hard to wake up. I have the volume on my clock radio set as high as it will go, and it’s on my desk across my room so I have to actually get out of bed to turn it off. That wakes me up. And I’m awake now.”

“I want to get you settled in the guest bedroom, Mark. So why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you where it is.”

The guest bedroom was directly across the hall from Dan’s bedroom. It had a queen size bed, like Dan had, a nightstand with a lamp and a clock, a small dresser, and a chair.

“I think you’ll be comfortable. You know where the bathroom is. There are clean towels and washcloths in the top drawer of the dresser, and a new toothbrush. There’s toothpaste in the drawer and mouthwash under the sink. If you need anything else, just ask Dan. I’ll say goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Mrs. Covington. Thanks for everything.”

“You’re welcome, Mark. Sleep well. On Saturday’s we usually have breakfast at eight thirty. Dan will make sure you wake up.”

He grinned. “That I’ll do. It’ll be the old dripping ice-water on your neck trick. Works every time.”

“Dan! You’re not to do anything like that!” his mom exclaimed.

“Oh, come on, Mom. I’m just kidding!”

“Well, make sure you never do anything like that. That’s just mean. Now, it’s ten thirty, so you two should think about getting ready for bed. I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Dan and I said together, as if we’d planned it. That made us laugh.

His mom walked out, mumbling, “Boys!”

Dan checked to make sure his mom and gone downstairs. “I wanted for us to sleep together,” he said. “But Mom pulled the old ‘guest bedroom’ interference trick play.”

“She’s pulled this on you before?”

“Once, when I was in the seventh grade. I think it freaked my friend Cory, and nothing ever developed, if you know what I mean.”

“I get the drift. I do have a problem, though. I don’t have any clean clothes with me. Can I borrow a T and boxer briefs to wear to bed tonight, and one of each that I can wear tomorrow? Please?”

“Sure. You’re a little taller than me, but we probably wear the same size boxer briefs, 28 to 30 waist, and medium T’s?”

“That’ll work.”

“Come on and select what you want. Some of my T’s are a little long so they should fit you better. Those are stacked on the left side of the bottom drawer.”

I picked out two T’s and two boxer briefs, both black which is my favorite color for underwear.

“Do you want to shower?” Dan asked.

“Yeah. I think I need one.”

Dan sniffed the air and scrunched up his nose and mouth.

“Don’t even start to say anything,” I said, then I laughed.

“Just kidding. You want to shower together?”

“Wouldn’t your mother wonder what we were doing?”

Dan grinned. “Don’t worry about my folks. Their bedroom is on the first floor at the other end of the house.”

“What about Kaitlin?”

“She’s like you. Once she’s asleep a railroad train could go through her bedroom and she wouldn’t hear it. Mom always has to go in her bedroom and practically drag her out of bed.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay. I just want to make sure we’re not pushing things too fast. Or too far.”

“Yeah,” Dan said. “You know, we’ve only spent a few hours together in total. I guess we need to go through the process, right?”

“The process?” I asked.

“Yeah. Friends first, then best friends, then boyfriends. Assuming that all makes sense.”

“I get it,” I said. “So I’d say we’re beyond the start of the ‘we are friends’ stage right now.”

“Yes, that’s what I think too. Now we need to hang together and see if we can prove that we’re really compatible and work on becoming best friends. I think we are, but we need to get out and do things together, like go to the movies and wander around the malls and play video games. And even play tennis.” Dan grinned.

“Dan, have you ever had a best friend?” I asked.

“Yup. In elementary school starting in the third grade my best friend was Brock Shaffer. Then he moved during the summer before middle school. When I went to Eastside Middle School I had a best friend in the sixth and part of the seventh grade, Cory Brown. His family moved to Endicott. In the eighth grade my best friend was Jim McDowell. I’d figured out that I was gay and told him. He was fine with it, he said, but he told a couple other kids and it got around school. Being gay and in middle school isn’t a good combination.

“So I’d been outed. Jim told me he was sorry he said anything to other kids, that he figured they’d be okay with it and wouldn’t tell anyone. He said he still wanted to be my friend. So we are still friends, but not best friends anymore. Some guys hassled me about being gay, especially two guys, Gavin Boyd and Larry Bresher.

“When I started ninth grade Gavin and Larry spread the word around that I was gay. I decided to keep a low profile, and that seemed to work. I didn’t get hassled the way I’d been in the eighth grade. I focused on my studies and brought my grades up and I got all A’s both semesters. So here we are at the start of the tenth grade, and now I’m being hassled by Lamper and Walland.”

“What happened to those two guys from your middle school, Gavin and Larry?”

“I haven’t seen them around this year. Maybe they both moved, or switched schools for some reason.”

“Dan, you think you don’t have many friends at Columbia High. But like I told you, when you were taken to the hospital it seemed that everyone asked me about you. They wanted to know how you were, if they could visit you in the hospital, if you’d be back on Monday. That tells me you have friends here. Lots of friends. Maybe they aren’t close friends, but some could be. All you have to do is open up and be friendly.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so. You’ll find out on Monday. I assume you’re going back to school on Monday, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be back at school. Assuming you help me finish my homework.” Dan grinned.

“Dufus. Here you tell me you go straight A’s last year and you’re telling me I have to help you with your homework? You should be helping me with my homework!”

“Do you really think so, Mr. Mark Langstrom who’s taking AP Biology? An AP class when you’re only a sophomore? I’ll bet you got straight A’s in the ninth grade too.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ so I am not a dufus!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll withdraw what I said. You’re not a dufus.”

“So how about you, Mark. What were your middle school and ninth grades like? Did you have best friends? Did you come out?”

“Last question first, you’re the first person, other than my folks, that I’ve told that I’m gay. My folks don’t have a problem with it, my dad being an M.D. means that he knows it’s genetic.

“Not much to tell about the four middle schools I attended. I had a lot of friends and a best friend at each school. My freshman year in high school was a little different. I’d been getting mostly B’s with a few A’s in middle school. I decided that I wanted to go into computer science so I’d need to up all my grades to A’s, and that’s what I did at Ryan. I still had friends, and even a best friend, but I didn’t get on the party train. That’s what kids at Ryan called going to parties every weekend. That sort of thing wasn’t for me, even though it was for my best friend.

“Some kids called me a goody-goody. My attitude was, and is, ‘so what?’ They can call me what they want. I’m going to walk away with a straight A average and go to college. Just like you.”

Dan grinned. “You know, I think you and I are very much alike. And I like that. I like having you as a friend. I don’t think it’s going to take us very long to move from stage one to stage two.”

“That’s friend to best friend, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

I sat looking at Dan and thinking for a few seconds. “You know, it’s all Oscar’s doing, isn’t it.”

“I never thought about it that way. Brought together by a spider. Not many people in the world can say that.”

I chuckled. “So it turns out that this is one of those ‘Come up to my room, said the spider to the fly’ deals after all, isn’t it.”

“And it’s still for me to know and for you to find out.” Dan wiggled his eyebrows, just like he had earlier.

I watched Dan smile. I liked his smile. “You know, it’s going to be a lot of fun finding out.”