Katie sqirmed in her seat. It was only eight forty three, and she already wanted to leave. She was sitting in first hour health class, one of the many disadvantages of being a freshman. Everyone was required to take it, and everone hated it. Including Katie. It was the most boring class by far, and it dragged from eight thirty to ninefifteen every morning. Katie was squirming and nervous because a woman was there to talk to them about sex and 'risky behavior'. What they really were doing was watching a video of teenage girls with bad hair in the back of a car at a drive in saying 'no' to their zit faced boyfriends.
"So you see, sex before marraige is not only wrong, but it's really a bad decision too." The woman said, stopping the awful tape.
How would she know, Katie thought. The woman was so ugly she probabally hadn't had sex yet. The woman turned her back to write something on the board and a piece of paper fell onto her desk. Nicole sat beind her, and was constantly throwing her notes. Katie glanced up at their teacher, Mr. Ryan, who was leaning back in his chair and working in his playbook for football practice. Most of the time, the entire class was in the room before HE was. She opened the note from Nicole.
Just because she isn't getting any doesn't mean that nobody should, Nicole wrote.
Katie smiled to herself and wrote back.
Tell me about it. I'm so sick of these nasty people getting up here and preaching to us, Katie wrote. She threw it to Nicole, and a few moments later, the woman turned around.
"Now I understand that you're all at that age where everything is new and changing. What kind of changes do girls and boys your age go through?" She asked.
Katie rolled her eyes. This woman HAD to be stupid to think that she was going to get an answer to that question in a room full of high school freshmen.
"Anyone?" She asked, looking around the room.
When no one raised their hand with an answer, the woman continued.
"Well, I'll tell you." She said cheerfully. "Girls at this age will generally grow a few inches, and start to fill out and catch up with their bodies." She said. "They will develop breasts and start to grow pubic hair, and they will start menstration."
Katie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She threw a glance over at Zac, who was busy doodling in his notebook. He sensed her eyes on him, and he looked up and smiled nervously. Katie knew he was trying his best not to listen to the embarassing scene in front of him.
Katie listened as the woman described a boy's physical maturation.
"A boy will begin to develop semen in his testicles, and he will frequently have nocturnal emmisions in his sleep, and 'pop' as you all say, random erections." The woman said with a giggle.
Oh my god. She did not just say that, Katie thought. This wasn't only embarassing, it was sad.
"Now we're going to look at slides." She said gleefully. Isn't she having a little too much fun with this, Katie asked herself. A few minutes later, they were looking at rather rude slides of cartoon men and women, and a few real slides. Katie was shocked that they would show such a thing. She casually looked over at Zac, who had stopped doodling and was watching the slides, his eyebrows raised. He looked at Katie and blushed, turning his attention back to his artwork.
This woman was making the rather sqeamish topic seam like it was an every day thing to talk about with a bunch of teenagers. It wasn't that he didn't want to think about sex...he just didn't want to talk about it with a fortysomething year old woman.
Zac had been thinking about sex for the past couple of weeks more and more. A few of his friends had done it, and most of them had come pretty close the last few weeks, except for Zac, who had just made it to second base. Or maybe it was just first...or....He shook his head, clearing the thoughts. The whole 'base' thing really confused him. He made a mental not to talk to Taylor about that later.
He glanced over at Katie and saw that she was squirming and fidgeting and turning redder and redder. He felt sorry for her, having to see it that way. She glanced up at the screen of the naken men and shuddered. He hoped she knew that no one really looked like that. Zac glanced around the room. Well, HE didn't look like that.
Finally the bell rang, and they were able to leave. Katie had never left a class so quickly.
Eighth hour, Zac was surprised to get a note from the office while he was sitting in study hall. It said that he was to meet his mother out front after school. When the bell rang, he went to his locker, explained the situation to Katie, then stood in front of the building. He saw Taylor waiting also, and he made his way over to his big brother.
"Hey." Taylor said, noticing him.
"Hey." Zac said, shifting his bookbag. "So why are we meeting mom?"
"I dunno." Taylor said. When their mother finally pulled up in the van, they rushed over and got in.
"Something wrong?" Taylor asked, fastening his seatbelt.
"Yeah, what's up?" Zac asked, closing the door.
"Oh, you boys have your physicals. I forgot to tell you this morning." Diana said, pulling away from the school.
Zac and Taylor both moaned. They both had a woman doctor, a small, old, hispanic woman named Marla Gomez. She had a thick, latin accent, and she was always very blunt and well....annoying.
"Oh, it's just a physical." Diana said, laughing at her sons.
"Yeah, but you don't have to have your-" Zac was cut off by Taylor elbowing him.
"That's enough." He said.
"Honey, I know. You're not the first man I know to go through this." Diana said with a chuckle as they drove through Tulsa.
When they finally reached the office, Zac and Taylor reluctantly got out of the car. Their mother walked in with them, and as she talked with the receptionist, they opted to sit.
"You know, I really hate this." Zac said, absentmindedly flipping through a magazine.
"Who likes it?" Taylor said. Within a few minutes, Taylor's name was called and he stood up.
"Wish me luck." He said, raising his eyebrows.
"You're gonna die." Zac said.
"Rub it in, why don't you." Taylor muttered, standing up.
"Tell me how it goes." Zac said.
"yeah yeah..."
Zac watched as Taylor walked through what Zac called the Doors of Death. He never minded going to the doctor unless he was getting a shot. He only started to mind a few years ago when the exam changed. He sighed and glanced at his watch. Half an hour had gone by. What could she be doing? It was only a physical, Zac reminded himself. Suddenly, the door opened, and Taylor emerged, Doctor Gomez behind him. Taylor had a look that would kill on his face. He stalked over to Zac.
"What?" Zac asked, starting to panic.
"She's rough today." Taylor grumbled quietly.
"What do you mean?" Zac asked, his voice starting to sqeak.
"Zac?" Zac looked to see the nurst standing in the doorway with his medical chart.
"She grabs them. Ouch." Taylor made a painful face. Zac finally got up and followed the nurse through the Doors, down a hallway, and to a small room.
"Okay, take off your clothes, put this on, and then I'll come back and take your blood pressure." She said, throwing a cloth gown onto the examination table.
Zac nodded shyly and tucked his hair behind his ears. What he had been dreading. This was going to be ugly, he thought, looking resentfully at the robe. The nurse left, and Zac was left alone. He took off his shoes and shocks, stuffing them under the chair in the corner. He stripped off his shirt and took off his jeans. He unfolded the gown, and put it on. He sighed and obediently pulled down his boxers, letting them fall the floor. He carfully folded his clothes and hid his boxers under his clothes, as if the nurse would care.
He tried desperately to tie the flimsy strings that were in the back. He managed to tie one on his back, but the most important lower one would not stay tied nor shut. He gave up when the door opened and the nurse rushed in to take his blood pressure.
"Okay, now go ahead and sit on the table, Dr. Gomez will be in in a moment." She said, closing the door. Zac opted to stand by the table until the door was flung open, and the short, plump, Dr. Gomez barged in.
She pulled a latex glove onto her hand, letting the rubber snap at her wrist loudly. Zac cringed.
"Zac?" She asked cheerfully.
"Yeah." He said.
"How are you, long time no see." She said, boucing into the room. Her accent was thick, Zac thought. And she sure was chipper for an old woman.