KarMel
Scholarship 2008
|
RunnerUp
of the “Written” Category “One
in Five” By Cherae
Clark – United Kingdom |
Desciption of Submission: “Five gay and lesbian youth confront the issues of
HIV in their society when approaching the idea of getting tested themselves.” - Cherae
Biography: Cherae will be a freshman attending
Why Karen and Melody Liked It: We liked how
it showed the different demographics of the LGBT community, and how we all need
to be responsible with our sex lives.
|
Leaning
against the wall with a foot kicked up, she flicked her cigarette. She could
almost feel the nicotine rushing through her blood. She took a deep breath to
inhale fresh oxygen, and ended up coughing and hacking so hard that she
doubled over. These damned things will
be the death of me, she thought with a smirk. Taking
one last drag, she kicked off of the cool brick wall and walked over to the
door of the club, the lights inside providing refuge from the encroaching
darkness. The deep bass of the hip hop drew Cara inside. She passed the ‘Free
HIV Testing’ sign without a second glance. Leo
and Parker clutched each other’s hands as they walked through the small
hallway to the relaxed ‘living-room’ of the club. It was slightly away from
the thudding noise and swirling lights. That wasn’t really why they had come,
anyway; it wasn’t their scene. They came because they had heard from
word-of-mouth that there would be free HIV testing. Sitting
on the couches were several people filling out forms. At the table in the
centre was some official looking equipment that made Leo a little more
nervous than he already was. And there were needles. If Parker hadn’t
squeezed his hand a little tighter, Leo would have turned tail and run. Leo
hated needles with a passion. Erica
was dragging Callie off to the dance room by the tail of her black A-shirt,
laughing about dildos, strap-ons, and whip cream as they passed by the living-room.
They were regulars, and Erica was so ready to get her dancing hit; she had
been craving it all week! The group in the living-room her eyes glossed over;
there were always some kids who came just to hang around with people. The
dance floor wasn’t for everyone, after all. Callie,
however, stopped. Curiosity got the better of her and she pried Erica’s grip
from her shirt, allowing her to hold her hand instead. She stopped at the
threshold of the living room and peered in. ‘What’s
going on?’ Callie asked Leo, gesturing vaguely to the people scribbling away.
Leo was sitting on Parker’s lap, clutching the other boy tightly. ‘He’s
afraid of needles,’ Parker said, thinking Callie meant Leo’s frightened
position. He pinched Leo’s cheeks teasingly. The
smaller brown-haired boy blushed and squirmed on Parker’s lap. He turned his
baleful eyes, also brown, to the two girls in front of him. ‘You would hate
them too if your mom was in rehab for shooting up,’ he said. Callie
dropped her eyes, embarrassed. She had forgotten that not everyone here had
had a picture perfect childhood. Leo was a year younger than Callie’s 18
years, but he was much…older. In the way he acted, the things he said, he was
more like a thirty year old. Except for this apparent fear of needles. ‘What’s
it for?’ Erica chimed in, her mind temporarily leaving thoughts of the
pulsing dance floor. She wrapped her arms around Callie and raised an
almost-invisible eyebrow. ‘HIVtesting,’
Leo mumbled. At a nudge from Parker, he spoke louder. ‘HIV testing.’ ‘Oh.’
Just oh. The girls had never really broached this subject in their
relationship. They shared a glance, and then looked back at the boys. ‘That’s
cool,’ Callie said. ‘But I thought you guys were…’ ‘Virgins?’
Parker finished. He and Leo both blushed and mumbled, ‘We are.’ ‘Then,
why do you need to get tested?’ Callie was pretty sure that if they hadn’t
had sex or shared needles with other HIV victims, they couldn’t possibly have
HIV. ‘Er…well
it’s for other STDs, too,’ Parker said hesitantly. ‘And, well, it’s better
safe than sorry, you know?’ The lady at the table with the silver cartilage
bar in her ear called Parker and Leo up. ‘Well, that’s us. See you guys in a
sec.’ Together, he and Leo walked away. Both seemed more nervous than Callie
thought the situation merited. After
a moment of thought, Erica shrugged. ‘That makes sense. You wanna get tested,
baby?’ she asked Callie, playfully biting the shorter girl’s ear. ‘But
we don’t need to. If you haven’t noticed, we’re lesbians, hon.’ Someone
chuckled softly behind them. ‘Yeah, lesbians. I’m getting tested. You guys
might as well. Have you ever slept with anyone else?’ It was Cara, cool and
collected, even though her short dark hair hung damp against her forehead.
The sleeves on her dark button up shirt were rolled up past her elbows, and
the bracelets on her wrist glinted in the yellow light. ‘Yes?
But she didn’t have HIV or AIDS or anything,’ Callie answered. ‘Are
you sure?’ Cara asked, crossing to the cartilage-bar lady’s table and swiping
a packet of forms. She grabbed a brochure as well and tossed it to the young
couple. Callie fiddled nervously with her belt. ‘I’m getting tested ‘cause I had a fun run-in with a girl I didn’t know last
weekend. Haven’t seen her since,’ she drawled. Erica
casually flipped through the brochure, noting the pictures and titles. ‘HIV
and Lesbians: What We Assume,’ she read aloud to Callie. After scanning a
page, Erica said, ‘Hey, baby, we should go ahead and do this. It couldn’t
hurt, you know. And it’s free.’ ‘Yeah…I
guess. But I’m pretty sure I’m clean,’ she murmured. The
younger girls walked over to cartilage-bar shyly and took forms and began
filling them out on a beige couch with part anxiety and part naive
confidence. Leo and Parker were already in the back getting their blood
drawn; Leo’s face paled as the blood was siphoned out. Cara reclined coolly
on the other couch, her hands behind her head and her eyes closed; no one
would have guessed how terrified she was about the results of her test. Negative. Negative. Negative. Positive. Negative. |
Do you like this story? Then feel free to send an email message to Cherae
at: clclark35@yahoo.com