308
Love and Relationships
STARTING POINT
Search the internet for and watch Alex Sanchez’s video “It Gets Better,” where he talks about growing up gay. As you watch, write a list of 10–15 key words or phrases from the video. In class use this list to tell a partner about Sanchez and his message. Sum up in class.
Alex Sanchez (1957–) was born in Mexico, but now lives in the USA.
ALEX SANCHEZ
se m
gs ek
in
Remember! You don’t have to understand all the words in a story to enjoy it.
Joe and Jamal have been best friends since primary school. One night while they are horsing around, Joe kisses Jamal. Even though it felt great, Joe feels like he has done something wrong, and now Jamal is ignoring him. At school the next day, their homophobic friend Curt teases Joe about being gay after their science teacher, Mr. Bonita, holds him back after class. Then Curt and Joe get in a fight. Mr. Bonita breaks it up.
rd
er
“Okay,” Mr. Bonita tells the crowd, “get to your buses. Curt and Joe, come with me.” As he walks us to the principal’s, I think how every day seems to bring some new thing I can’t believe I did. In the principal’s office, Curt and I each have to tell our side of what happened. Curt gets a week’s suspension for starting the fight. I get a week of after-school detention for punching him in return. Great, now everyone will make jokes about me staying after school with Mr. Bonita. Curt gets to leave after talking to the principal, but Mr. Bonita says he wants to talk to me. When we get back to his room, he asks me to sit down across from him. At first he doesn’t say anything, just scratches the side of his face like he does in class when someone asks him a question that he has to think about. “Joe,” he tells me, with that tone of voice that says, Time for the lecture. “Just because Curt pushed you doesn’t make it
Vu
!
pl
ar
If You Kiss a Boy
primary school barneskolen horsing around lekeslåss ignoring overser homophobic homofobe principal’s rektorens (kontor) suspension utvisning detention gjensitting
