Stereotype

That last week had been a more or less uneventful one. The bullies hadn't seriously hurt anyone as far as Frank knew. There had been a few situations where things seemed bound to get violent, but they were thankfully stopped in time. It was a matter of luck really, yet those poor kids surely appreciated it.

Frank had dealt with the same amount of verbal abuse as always while alone, but he noticed that it went down considerably when Gerard was around. Only a few of the guys still dared talk shit about him during lunch. He was well used to it by now, anyway.

The bell that marked the end of the school day had rang exactly five minutes and thirty seconds ago -Frank verified as he stared at his watch. Like it was usual, the whole class had been ready to escape the room as soon as they were officially discharged. On any other day, Frank would have done the same. He had things to do before he could meet his mother at the door, so he couldn't waste any time. This day, however, was one of the unfortunate exceptions. He couldn't leave. Mrs. Fandi had handed over the essays they had submitted the previous week and, once again, she had purposely skipped Frank so he would be forced to stay after class.

It was a good thing that Frank knew the woman so well. That allowed him to warn Gerard -who would be coming over to his house- that he'd have to wait longer. He hadn't told his mother, though. He never did because then he'd have to tell her why the teacher preferred to talk to him alone, which would give her more reasons to fuss over him and worry. Or she would make a scandal.

While he doodled on a piece of paper to entertain himself, waiting for the teacher to finally address his presence, Frank thought she had no reason to reprobate his essay this time. He had worked harder than ever for days. He could have easily gotten it done in a few hours, but he wanted to be sure it included everything that was expected and more. He had revised it hundreds of times before printing it, adding details here and there and rewording anything that didn't sound well enough. It was perfect, he believed. But deep inside, he knew all that might not help him at all.

"Iero, come over here," Mrs. Fandi called bitterly in her old-smoker voice.

Frank slowly got up and walked towards the teacher's desk, trying to hide the fear in his eyes as he looked at her. "Yeah?"

The woman left the pen she had been writing with over Frank's folder and crossed her arms. She stared the teen up and down, making him squirm uncomfortably under her gaze. "I see you decided to dress accordingly to your sex for my class today. Well...mostly. Good decision, except for the makeup."

Actually, if Frank was wearing an unisex red hoodie, it was only because it was a cold day and he liked said hoodie. It had nothing do with all the times Mrs. Fandi had criticized him or lowered his notes because of the girl clothes he wore. But if he had accidentally pleased her, he wasn't going to argue and correct her.

"Does that mean I'll get the note I deserve? Please, Mrs. Fandi, I worked really hard on it and made sure there wasn't a single typo," he supplicated.

The teacher grimaced, ran a hand through her short curly hair and shook her head. "Maybe when you start speaking like a man," she threw.

That angered Frank far more than the complaints about his hair or the way he dressed. "I'm only fifteen, ma'am. Not technically a man yet," he replied cheekily.

"Well, then at least speak like a boy, because that's what you're supposed to be if you go to this school."

"You can't reprove me because of the way I speak, that's just ridiculous," Frank fought back. There was no point in trying to be polite after what he had heard.

"Yes, I can. If you look like a girl and speak like a girl then you shouldn't be here, since it's a school for boys. Therefore, I don't have to approve you. Go home and meditate about it. If you want the note you deserve, come back speaking like a man, or a boy, or whatever word you prefer as long as it's masculine."

"What?! I can't change the way I speak!"

"Practice, get rid of that stupid habit, it's certainly not natural. And again, wash your face before my class," Mrs. Fandi retorted.

Just when Frank was thinking of the best comeback to such an ignorant statement, the door flew open and a pissed-off looking Gerard entered the classroom.

The woman contemplated him agape. "Mr. Way, what are those manners? What are you doing here?"

Gerard got closer and rested his open palms on the desk, staring into her eyes. "I was outside waiting for my friend, but I couldn't keep listening to your string of injustices without doing anything."

"It's not your business, Way. Leave right now or I'll make sure you get detention," she threatened, though her voice lacked firmness.

It was evident to Gerard that she didn't intend to, otherwise she would have just done it instead of teasing him. She never faltered when it came to imparting discipline; but just like most of the students, some teachers also treated Gerard differently.

"Yes, it is my business because you, ma'am, are discriminating my friend here. I read that essay, it's perfect. I had to do it two years ago so I'd know. It's far better than mine and I got a B+. Frank is one of the best student of this school -if not the best. Yet you lower his notes because of the way he dresses, and now you're refusing to approve him because you don't like the way he speaks?"

"Way..."

"No. Let me finish," Gerard cut her off. "What you're doing is not only discriminatory but also ignorant. Do you think Frank just...decided how he wanted to speak and practiced until he liked it enough? Maybe to piss you off too, right? Well, no. This is him. What you see and what you hear. He's not going to feign a different voice or start speaking differently to please you. So you should start giving him the grades he deserve because of his work or..."

"Or what, Way?" Mrs. Fandi sighed, annoyed.

Frank was getting worried for Gerard and himself. He had tried a similar approach with the history teacher in the past, and it hadn't worked; she had some kind of impunity with the principal. He wasn't a bad man, but it was very possible that there was something going on with him and Fandi, because he never seemed to believe the complaints about her. If confronted about unfair grades, he'd just repeat, "I'm pretty sure she has a reason to reprove you."

"Gerard...please leave it, it's no use," he whispered.

Gerard didn't listen, even though he had perceived the security in the teacher's words and expression too. She obviously knew something he didn't, something that gave her the certainty that she wouldn't get in trouble for what she was doing. That was maybe inside the school, but Gerard had other weapons.

"Or...my father, Donald Way, might have to publish an article in the local paper talking about how disappointed he is in his beloved school that he did so much for. He'd have to denounce the discrimination and well, probably give names not to generalize. So, maybe it'd be easier for you to just be fair to Frank." Once he was done and true to his style, Gerard ignored whatever the teacher was saying and took Frank's wrist. "Come on, Frankie, your mom's waiting for us."

"Wait..." Frank stopped in the middle of the corridor and motioned to his face. "Gotta get rid of this real quick."

He took the lead in silence, hurrying towards the bathroom. When they were inside, staring at their own reflections over the line of dark gray sinks, Frank finally spoke. "Thank you." He smiled at his friend in the cracked mirror.

"You don't need to thank me. I...I just had to. I know you're perfectly able to stand up for yourself. I'm sure you must have done it dozens of times before. But I got so pissed off hearing that woman that I swear, Frankie-"

Frank turned to Gerard then, raising a hand to stop him. "I'm not only thanking you for what you did, but also for what you said when you talked about me in there. You...get it. Not many do. I'm not even sure my mom does."

"What do you mean?"

"Listen...I need to be fast now; my mom must be worried and they're gonna close the school with us inside. I'll explain at my house, okay?"

"Okay," Gerard assented, propping himself against the counter as he watched Frank remove his make-up.

Five minutes later they got to the entrance hall to find Frank's mother talking to a janitor. From what they could hear, he was telling her he didn't think there were any students left in the building. She was beginning to freak out.

"Mom...we're here," Frank announced, preparing for what he knew was coming.

Linda looked at the two boys and sighed relieved, then back at the man she had been talking to. "I told you my kid and his friend were here!" she said, then took rushed steps towards them.

"My God, Frank. You got me so worried! Are you okay?"

"Yes, mom."

"You're not sick, aren't you? Or hurt?" She cupped her son's face with her hands, inspecting it.

"No, mom. Why would I? Told you I'm fine," Frank insisted monotonously.

"I don't know! You weren't coming out and I...I thought something had happened. Just...what took you so long, boy?"

"Uh..." Frank tugged at Gerard's sleeve as inconspicuously as he could, needing assistance to come up with a lie. He wasn't going to tell her about Mrs. Fandi.

"Oh, hello Gerard." Linda seemed to realise he hadn't greeted the dark-haired boy, who stood awkwardly next to Frank. "I'm sorry, it's just not normal for Frank to take this long and I was getting worried."

"No problem, Mrs. Iero." Gerard smiled. Almost laughed upon hearing that Frank's mom was only "getting worried". It had looked more like she was on the verge of a panic attack to him. Frank...he looked desperate, so he assumed the boy didn't want to tell his mother the truth. Thankfully, on-the-moment excuses came easily to Gerard. "I'm the one who has to apologize, anyway. I needed to ask a teacher something after class. It was very simple, so I didn't think it'd take long, but the guy ended up giving me a whole explanation and I thought it would be rude to stop him. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Gerard. It's not your fault exactly, Frank should have texted me...."

And yes, Frank should have texted his mother, but he had not wanted to. "I know, I forgot."

"You forgot. Just like you forgot to bring a jacket." She shook the padded white coat she'd been holding all that time. "Seriously. You ask for independence and then act like a little kid. Put this on and let's go."

"It's not that cold and we're gonna go in the car anyway," Frank whined, embarrassed. Still, he did as told; otherwise he knew his mom would dress him herself, like a baby.

"It is for someone with such a poor immune system as you. And you know I gotta keep the window open."

"What are you laughing at?" Frank snapped at Gerard as he heard the snickering behind him.

"You just...look adorable all bundled up, like a marshmallow."

"Fuck you."

"Frank!" Linda scolded him.

During the car ride, Linda tried to have some conversation with the two teens, but she couldn't get them to emit more than a few monosyllables. Gerard did talk a little more than Frank, who just kept his forehead pressed against the glass, looking at nothing in particular. He hated it when he'd let what people said get to him. He hated that they didn't understand. Gerard did, though, and that thought brought a smile back to his lips. He was the best friend he had ever had apart from Marina. How could he not smile when thinking of them?