“Have a seat, Rocco,” Ms. Richards said from behind her desk. She folded her hands on her desk and looked at Rocco attentively.

  “I wanted to talk to you about college,” Rocco started.

  “You’ve come to the right place. And just in time. This is around the time universities get their applications in,” Ms. Richards said.

  “Well, that’s just it. I have my heart set on one school, but wanted to explore some alternatives,” Rocco started.

  Ms. Richard’s raised her eyebrows. “Where are you wanting to go?”

  “UCLA,” Rocco replied.

  “Oh wow!” Ms. Richards replied surprised.

  “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to go,” Rocco replied in a dejected way.

  “That’s a long way from Miners Creek,” Ms. Richards said.

  “Yeah, that was the whole point,” Rocco answered.

  “Ah, I see now. You’re wanting to use college as your way to get out of Miners Creek,” Ms. Richards nodded. “That’s very understandable. There’s not much for a young person like yourself around here.”

  “That’s right,” Rocco nodded.

  “Have you ever been to LA?” Ms. Richards asked.

  “No,” Rocco replied.

  “Any connections in the area? Family?” Ms. Richards asked.

  “No,” Rocco replied.

  “That’s a brave decision to go to school for four years in a place you’ve never been,” Ms. Richards said. “You say you are not able to go. Why do you say that?” Ms. Richards asked.

  “My mom says she can’t afford to help me to move out,” Rocco said.

  “That’s understandable. It is expensive to move across the country not to mention. Los Angeles is an expensive city,” Ms. Richards said.

  “That’s what I gathered,” Rocco said looking down at the floor.

  “Well, I looked at your file before and your grades are excellent. So are your test scores. You have so many options,” Ms. Richards said. “Have you even considered anywhere else?” Ms. Richards asked.

  “No,” Rocco said.

  “Of course, you’ve still got time to apply to other places,” Ms. Richards replied.

  “Yes,” Rocco breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought I was screwed.”

  “No!” Ms. Richards laughed. “You’re not screwed. This is around the time when everyone starts applying so you’re going to be fine.”

  “Okay,” Ms. Richards continued, “Let’s explore some other options. With your grades, you can almost name your school. The only barrier is going to be all the application fees you’ll have to pay. I’d recommend maybe applying to 5 schools, 3 good ones and two back-ups. Does that make sense?”

  “Yes,” Rocco said feeling comfortable with Ms. Richards.

  “What do you want to study?” Ms. Richards asked.

  “I was thinking I’d like to study music,” Rocco replied.

  “Of course!” Ms. Richards said. “You don’t have to go to college to play music, but you should have a backup. What about music education?”

  “Music education?” Rocco asked in wonder.

  “Yeah, you could teach people how to play musical instruments and continue to be in a band! It would be perfect!” Ms. Richards exclaimed.

  “I never really thought about that,” Rocco said.

  “You’d be able to create music but have something more stable like teaching something that you love,” Ms. Richards said in logical tone.

  “I kinda like that idea,” Rocco said.

  “There’s some wonderful music education schools that are close but far enough away from Miners Creek that your parents would have to plan a trip to see you, if you know what I mean,” Ms. Richards said giving him a wink. She knew exactly why Rocco wanted to go away to school.

  “Like where?” Rocco was eager to hear his options.

  “Well, there’s Vanderbilt in Nashville. There’s Emery in Atlanta. If you want to get out of the South, there’s some options in Chicago if you want to be in a big city,” Ms. Richards started. “I’d recommend UT which is in Knoxville and maybe University of Memphis?”

  “Wow, I like those options,” Rocco said.

  “Tell you what. Give me a couple of hours, and I can get together a packet of materials for you to look at over the next couple of weeks. You’re going to have to hustle with the applications because the deadlines for next fall are coming up fast,” Ms. Richards said.

  “How long do you think I have to apply?” Rocco asked.

  “You’ve got a good couple of weeks. Plus, any of these schools would be happy to give you financial aid. There are tons of scholarships out there like minority scholarships. I’ll be honest with you, Rocco. UCLA is a very popular school with people in LA not to mention the rest of the US, so they’re not falling over themselves to give aid to out of state students,” Ms. Richards explained.

  “Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Rocco said rolling his eyes.

  “I want to set up an appointment with you for next week so we can talk about your application process so far,” Ms. Richards said. “How does next Tuesday sound?”

  “Okay, I’ll look over everything by then,” Rocco said smiling.

  “A piece of advice, Rocco,” Ms. Richards added, “LA is not going anywhere. Why don’t you think about saving up a little and going out to LA over the summer. You can check it out to see how you like it. You can even go visit UCLA. If you like LA, you can always transfer.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Rocco thought for a moment. “That’s a great idea.”

  “Come back at the end of the day. I’ll have a packet of schools and scholarship opportunities for you to pick up at the front desk,” Ms. Richards said standing up.

  Rocco stood up. He started to leave but turned around. “Thank you for talking me through all of this. I was so scared that I had messed up everything.”

  Ms. Richards smiled. “It’s going to all work out. Next time, ask for help when you’re making such a big decision, okay?” Rocco nodded. “Besides, if you go somewhere closer, it won’t strain your relationship with Mike.”

  Rocco smiled at that thought.

  At lunch, Rocco sat with his bandmates to go over the lineup for their GSA charity show. Rocco’s mind was elsewhere. It was on his conversation with Ms. Richards. While he was bummed that UCLA was looking more off the table than ever before, he was relieved to know that he had other options.

  “Rocco, where are you? You haven’t been paying attention to anything we’ve been talking about,” Austin said.

  “I’m sorry guys. I had an appointment with the guidance counselor about college. I’ve just been thinking about that,” Rocco said.

  “I thought your future was already set,” Raz replied.

  “Not at all. I’m probably not going to UCLA,” Rocco said.

  “Really? That’s all you’ve been talking about,” Austin said.

  “Yeah, I know. But I’m not going to be able to afford to go there,” Rocco said.

  “So, what are you going to do now?” Austin said.

  “Well, Ms. Richards said I can apply anywhere if I’m quick about it,” Rocco said.

  “She’s not wrong. I don’t have to turn my applications until the end of the month,” Austin replied.

  “Yeah, that’s what she said,” Rocco said distantly. “Where are you applying?”

  “I’m staying close by. Some of the state schools,” Austin replied.

  “Right, she said I should do that. But she also thought I’d be good material for Vandy or Emery,” Rocco replied.

  “Yeah, man, you’ve got the grades,” Austin assured. Rocco smiled back.

  “So, you’re not going to LA?” Pete asked disappointed.

  “Well, she suggested I should at least go out to LA over the summer to see if I like it. I could transfer later down the road,” Rocco said.

  Pete smiled. “You know, if you do that, you think I could tag along?”

  “What?” Rocco said with a confused yet surprised look on his face.

  “Ever since you mentioned it, I thought about going out to LA. You know, to see what I could do with my music for a while,” Pete said.

  “You’d want to go?” Rocco asked.

  “Fuck yeah, man! I mean, yeah, I want to go to college but I’m thinking that I’d like to do that a little later,” Pete explained. “I’d like to give the music thing a go.”

  “You’ve got the voice,” Raz said.

  “Thank you, kind sir!” Pete retorted. “What do you say?”

  “You and I in Los Angeles?” Rocco asked to make sure he was on the same page as Pete.

  “Fuck yeah, you and me in sunny LA,” Pete said.

  “I’d just be there a few weeks over the summer. I wouldn’t be moving there. I’m coming back for school,” Rocco explained.

  “I know,” Pete said. “But we could go for a few weeks, try it out. If we bust, I come back with you.”

  “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?” Rocco asked.

  “I really have. I’ve got nothing to lose. You’re coming back so it’s just a summer trip for you,” Pete stated.

  “That’s true,” Rocco thought. After some silent consideration, he lit up. “Fuck yeah! Let’s do it!”

  “FUCK YEAH!!!!” Pete yelled getting the attention of some of the students around him. “It’ll be the Queer as Fuck tour!” Rocco laughed at this.

  “Ah man, I feel like I’m losing out!” Austin said.

  “Yeah, me too,” Raz said.

  “You guys can come too!” Pete said.

  “Maybe,” Austin said in a way to indicate that he would not seriously consider the opportunity. Raz was silent.

  “Well, if nothing else, it’s you and me, Rocky,” Pete said. “Now, can we get back to talking about the show?”

  “How was your conversation with Ms. Richards?” Mike asked Rocco. Mike was lying down on Rocco’s bed under the drawing he had done of Rocco. Rocco was sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “Kinda odd,” Rocco said. “She doesn’t think I have a good chance at UCLA. I’m starting to believe her.”

  “Oh yeah?” Mike asked sitting up.

  “She said there’s so many options I have. I’ve got a packet of stuff with information about other schools that she wants me to look at,” Rocco replied.

  “Other schools?” Mike’s energy picked up. “Like where?” He was hoping that Ms. Richards had changed Rocco’s mind about California.

  “There’s Vandy and Emery. There’s a couple of schools in Chicago. She also thought I should apply to a couple of state schools,” Rocco replied.

  Mike instantly perked up when hearing these closer school suggestions. “How do you feel about that?”

  “I’m bummed it’s not LA, but I have a good chance at financial aid to these other schools. I guess I’m going to have to go where I can afford when it comes down to it,” Rocco said.

  “Of course you’re bummed. That’s all you’ve been talking about since I met you. I can see her point, however,” Mike said trying to contain his excitement that California was not going to be a real viable option.

  “Yeah, I can too. As much as I hate to say it, I’m doubting I’ll get to go to UCLA,” Rocco said looking at Mike with big sorrowful eyes.

  “Hey, I can try to come up to see you and you can come down to see me,” Mike said cheerfully.

  “A long-distance sort of relationship?” Rocco asked.

  “Yeah, but a shorter long-distance relationship!” Mike exclaimed. “Let’s look at that stuff she gave you.”

  Rocco got up to get the packet of information from Ms. Richards. It was a hefty manilla envelope stuffed to its maximum with pamphlets and papers. He emptied the contents onto the bed and sat down next to Mike to sort through the slick paged booklets. Mike and Rocco flipped through several of the papers.

  “Why is there all this information about education?” Mike asked looking a sheet of paper from the University in Chicago.

  “We talked about fields of study too. I told her I wanted to do something in music, and she suggested maybe I could think about music education,” Rocco replied.

  “You? A teacher?” Mike asked loudly.

  “Yeah, me. A teacher,” Rocco answered defensively. “You think I would be a bad teacher?”

  “It’s not that at all,” Mike said. “I just never thought about that possibility. That’s all.”

  “You know, neither have I. It makes sense though. I could play my guitar, and I could teach other kids how play guitar,” Rocco thought.

  “Yeah, that’s true,” Mike said looking at a few of the other booklets. A thought crossed his mind. Even though Rocco was considering a school closer to home, it was very likely that Rocco would be busy with college—too busy for a high school boyfriend. Rocco would meet other college students and start hanging out with them. He wouldn’t want to have to give up the college experience to go home to see his boyfriend in high school. He wondered how long after Rocco started college that he would begin to see less and less of Rocco. It hurt his heart thinking about Rocco slipping away from him. Of course, he was happy that Rocco had so many options. However, he couldn’t help of thinking about the inevitable.

  “Hey, you alright?” Rocco asked sensing Mike was miles away.

  “Oh, yeah,” Mike said. “I’m just thinking about when you go to college.”

  “What’s on your mind?” Rocco asked.

  “I don’t want you to lose touch with me,” Mike said with a melancholy in his voice.

  “Oh, Mike,” Rocco replied holding Mike’s chin in his hand. “No matter what, I’ll always be your boyfriend.”

  “You mean that?” Mike said.

  “I mean it,” Rocco leaned in to give Mike a kiss. Mike ran his fingers through Rocco’s hair. He wanted to get as many kisses and caresses in before the end of the school year. He heard what Rocco said but knew that these promises were hollow.

  “Hey, let’s think about here and now,” Mike said trying at shaking off his sadness. “Are you guys getting ready for your GSA fundraiser?”

  Rocco perked up. “Yeah! As a matter of fact, O’Malley is going to give 10% of the night’s profit to the GSA plus some extra money on his own.”

  “What? You’re kidding!” Mike exclaimed.

  “No shit! So, the more people we get in, the more we can raise for the GSA,” Rocco replied with equal fervor. “That leads me to a question.”

  “Yes???” Mike replied wondering what the question would be.

  “Would you design and draw some posters for the show?” Rocco asked shyly.

  “You know I will!” Mike answered.

  “Your designs are sure to bring attention to the show. But you have to be sure to mention the park in the posters. O’Malley is expecting some free advertising,” Rocco said.

  “Oh, of course. I’ll come up with some ideas,” Mike said. “I do have a model I can use,” Mike pointed up at the drawing that he did for Rocco. Rocco smiled.

  Rocco’s smile turned into a smirk. “When do you think we can go camping again?”

  Mike returned the smirk. “It’s getting a little cold to go camping. But we don’t have to save what we did on the camping trip only for a tent.”

  Rocco snickered. “Very true.”

  “Is your door locked?” Mike asked. Rocco got up and checked the knob to make sure it was locked.

  “It is now,” Rocco replied coyly.

  “Then come over here,” Mike said as he hastily tossed the college pamphlets on the floor.