today. It just says sometime soon.â
âMaybe I will go today,â said Anne-Marie. âIt might be better to get it out of the way.â
âUp to you.â Brooke shrugged again. âItâs no big deal.â
âMaybe I should just do it now. This is study hall.â
âNot now,â her friend replied quickly.
âWhy not?â
âBecause Iâve got something to tell you. Youâve got to hear this.â
âTell me what?â
âChris Weems asked me out.â
âHe asked you out? But you said heâs gay.â
âHe is gay. But he asked me out anyway. Can you believe it? He tells me heâs gay, then asks me out.â
âShut up.â
âNo, for real. He wants to take me out so he can overcome being gay.â
âBut what does that mean?â Anne-Marie already felt sorry for Chris Weems, despite the fact she didnât know him very well. It was too fascinating, though; Rosarioâs note would have to wait.
âHe said I was beautiful,â Brooke replied.
âWell, you are.â
âAnd the same to you. I only wish I had that bustline of yours. Anyway. He said if he went out with me, he might be like attracted to a girl. Or at least he would have a good chance.â
Anne-Marie was still confused. âDid he mean you were supposed to do something about it? Did he mean he wanted to make out?â
âMaybe. I didnât ask. But can you believe it?â
âSo what did you tell him?â
Before she answered, Brooke took her small mirror from her purse and began to check her makeup. âI told him maybe,â she said.
âMaybe?â
âI told him if he took me to the Billy Joel concert over at Ravinia, I might think about it.â
âBut why? Why would you want to go out with a guy whoâs gay?â
âJust for fun, I guess. I mean, in a way itâs kind of a hoot, donât you think? Besides, I just love Billy Joel.â
âBilly Joel is out of touch,â said Anne-Marie.
âBilly Joel is never out of touch,â Brooke said. âHe writes all of his own songs, arranges them, performs them, and always draws huge crowds even with high-priced tickets. People who are great musicians are never out of touch.â
Anne-Marie didnât feel like arguing. She didnât even know what arranging a song would involve. Brooke was a violinist, so she had a much stronger grasp of music.
What did seem to matter was the integrity of it. âBut that would be like just using him,â she said quietly. âThose tickets would be expensive.â
âDonât worry about it. He changed his mind. He said he couldnât go to the concert because he had to go to another one of those tabernacle meetings.â
âYou mean with Brother Jackson?â
âIf thatâs his name. Heâs moving on to some other place, so Chris says he doesnât want to miss out.â
Brother Jackson is moving on ? âWhen is he moving on? Where is he going?â
Brooke shrugged again before she answered. âHow would I know? Wow, that guy really got to you, huh?â She snapped the mirror back inside her purse.
Anne-Marie felt a sudden nervous stomach at the center of a whirlwind of pressing emotions. If Brother Jackson was leaving, where was he going? When? Was it any of her business? Chris Weems was gay. That was a sin, pure and simple. Still, you were supposed to love the sinner at the same time you hated the sin.
âI think heâs real spiritual,â she finally said to Brooke.
âWhatever.â
Agitation plagued Anne-Marie all the way to the counseling center. She was supposed to be headed to biology, but a sudden burst of guilt and apprehension about her term paper stopped her.
The counseling center had a large waiting room outside the actual offices. Anne-Marie took a seat at one of the round tables. At the next table a couple of boys wearing