Snippet #1900688

Initially he and his parents had been extremely hesitant to take up Asher on his offer. "I've never seen his parents around," Kain's mother had said. Eventually Kain's father talked her down and after several long talks with Asher's parents, Kain was given permission to attend, along with an always-on cell phone and the best wishes of his mother.

The plane ride was not too troublesome. Kain caught up on his sleep during the flight, and was well-rested by the time that he arrived in California, a place that was far different from anything that he had imagined. The air was thick with smog and a certain putrid aroma that he couldn't quite place, and everything was so incredibly loud that he had to sit down for a few minutes to become acquainted with it. The locals were less than helpful when he asked for directions to the cabs, and he wasted half an hour wandering around the airport looking for his cab.

He tried to make conversation with his cabbie, a balding man in his fifties with a predisposition toward Bob Dylan, but received the cold shoulder and spent the rest of his time in the car rereading Asher's note. It was all so much to take in, and at first he had been suspicious-- usually these sorts of too-good-to-be-true offers were set-ups for scams and humiliation-- but if his parents felt that it was legitimate, he knew that he should trust Asher as well.

Getting from the airport to the beach house took about half an hour, and Kain was thankful for a chance to stretch his legs. He took a few minutes to examine the house before he used the key with which he had been provided to enter. Upon stepping inside, Kain realized that the house was even larger on the inside than it looked. Everything inside looked so incredibly modern-- how much had all of this cost Asher? Did all skater kids live so lavishly?

Though Kain could hear the distant voices of some of what he imagined were Asher's other guests, he was alone with himself for the time being, and he took the time to find his way up to the bedrooms. In order to claim a living space, Kain left his suitcase and grocery bag on one of the unoccupied beds and headed back downstairs to meet his housemates. Most of them, Kain realized as he headed out to the pool, were less than modest, and he felt a little out of place in his shirt and shorts.

Did any of them recognize him? he wondered. Kain never made much of a splash at school: he never meshed with any particular crowd, and he was not particularly well-known except for his interest in the debate team. Most of the other guests looked much more interesting.

Kain approached a small group that had clustered around the pool, and overheard one mention that he was a pansexual. His classmates were certainly open about it, he thought-- he had never known any of his peers to be so proud.

"Hi guys," he said. "I just got in. I'm Kain."