Kingswood Interview Week - Part 6 - Chris (Patreon)

Thursday afternoon, 20 January 2022

“Well this is… certainly different!” Mr Everett said, smiling at the grinning boy as he took a seat. “Most of your friends have looked somewhat… apprehensive about these interviews!”

Chris shrugged as he giggled and said, “Well they obviously don’t understand the opportunities!”

“Interesting,” the Headmaster nodded thoughtfully. “And what would those opportunities be exactly?” he asked curiously.

“Pfft, where do I start?” Chris asked with a bemused shrug. “It’s chance to make a new friend. It’s chance to pick a person to be part of a dorm as awesome as mine. It’s a chance to pass on all the really cool stuff Brian’s taught me. It’s a chance to find myself another new little bro. It’s just… so much good from one decision!”

Mr Everett’s smile was so broad it almost hurt. “I think maybe we should have had YOU preparing the Year 9s for the interviews. Enthusiasm like that would certainly go a long way,” he said with obvious amusement.

“Well life’s a bit sh…” Chris started, but caught himself just short of swearing. Cringing a little and hoping Mr Everett hadn’t caught it, he continued, “Bad! Life can be a bit BAD sometimes, so ya gotta enjoy the good things, right!”

“That’s a wonderful attitude to have, Chris. Genuinely,” the man said with a sincere nod. He smiled as he leaned a little closer and added quietly, “And you’re right, life CAN be a bit shit sometimes!”

Chris giggled, surprised to hear the man swear.

“It’s truly wonderful to hear you’re going into this with such excitement. I’m sure the boys this afternoon will certainly appreciate it too,” Mr Everett said with a smile. He cocked his head a little as he looked at Chris and asked, “Is there anything… you’re LESS excited about?”

Chris pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment, unsure whether to unburden himself or not. As Mr Everett just sat waiting quietly, he figured it would be best to just get it out. “Sir, some of the others, they’ve said… some of the new boys really don’t wanna come to Kingswood, but some of them REALLY do.”

“Mmm-huh,” the man hummed, nodding a little.

“It’s just… what happens if, like, all four of them are REALLY cool and a great fit for Kingswood and REALLY want to come?” Chris asked curiously.

“Well assuming all four had been approved by myself, the decision would be yours,” Mr Everett explained.

“But that means only one happy boy and three… really upset!” Chris said sadly. “I don’t wanna do that to anyone!” He sighed softly, then gave a meek smile as he asked, “If I like them all, can I keep them all?”

“I’m afraid not,” Mr Everett chuckled. “But it says a lot about your character for you to worry about the feelings of people you haven’t even met yet, Chris.”

“I just… don’t like people being upset, especially not because of me!” Chris sighed. He frowned a little as he looked at the Headmaster and said, “It feels like a lot of pressure to put on us, sir!”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Mr Everett nodded, “But that’s for a reason.”

“Because Kingswood loves drama?” Chris asked with a lop-sided grin.

Mr Everett struggled to hold back a laugh and shook his head. “Chris, I’m sure it’s no big surprise to you that boys at Kingswood don’t necessarily get treated like other boys your age at other schools.”

Chris nodded but remained silent.

“We do a lot of things to mould you into the fine young men you’ll become. It’s always been a strong Kingswood belief that far too many young people have no say and no control over the things in their lives and that’s just not a good lesson to teach. We allow you to do things and decide things, but only the things we’re confident you can handle,” the Headmaster explained. “However… not all of these things will be easy and some of them may not be very pleasant. The fact that sometimes life can be disappointing is a tough lesson to learn but it’s a vitally important one.”

Chris thought for a moment, then said cheekily, “Are you sure you’re not just being lazy and making us do your job for you?”

“Ah, ya got me!” Mr Everett laughed. “In fact I’m gonna take the whole afternoon off, you can do the whole interview, okay!”

“I’d be okay with that!” Chris grinned.

Mr Everett nodded and said, “That doesn’t surprise me.” He paused for a moment then said softly, “Don’t worry about the boys you don’t pick. They’ll be okay. Just focus on the one you do pick. I have a feeling they’re in for a wonderful time at Kingswood!”

“I hope so, sir!” Chris said with a meek smile.

*****

Declan

“Thank you, Mr Everett!” Declan said with a broad smile, waving back into the room at his parents before the Headmaster closed the door. “Hi!” he said as he turned back to face Chris.

“Hi,” Chris said, standing up. He knew some of the others had chatted for a while before moving down the hall to the suite with their interviewees, but Chris was keen to get somewhere more private and avoid disturbing the ongoing interview. The moment he stood, Declan surged forward and wrapped his arms around him.

Standing a good thirty centimetres shorter, Declan’s cheek pressed against Chris chest as his arms wrapped around his waist. “Sorry,” he said, not sounding remotely sorry. “I’m a hugger!” he explained.

Tightly gripping onto the boy, Chris grinned and exclaimed, “That’s okay, so am I!” He proved the point by giving the boy a tight squeeze.

“Yay, awesome,” Declan said happily without letting go.

“Hey, we’re gonna go hang out somewhere else,” Chris explained. “Let go for a sec!”

Declan let go as instructed, then looked curiously at Chris as he squatted a little, bringing them face-to-face.

“Grab on,” Chris instructed, gesturing over both shoulders.

Declan grabbed on as instructed and felt Chris’ arms wrap around his waist before he stood back up properly and lifted him off the ground. The younger boy burst into laughter and quickly wrapped his legs around Chris’ waist as he got carried out.

Chris started out into the hallway, carrying the boy with relative ease, both of them laughing hysterically as he waddled along. As they reached the door to the suite, Chris tried to grab the handle and push the door open, but didn’t manage to do it properly and instead just squished Declan against the door, making him laugh even louder. They made it through on a second attempt.

Once they were inside, Declan started scrabbling around. He managed to circumnavigate Chris to end up on his back, now shifted into a more traditional piggyback. “Gimme the tour then!” he requested, resting his chin on Chris’ shoulder.

“Yes sir,” Chris chuckled and started showing the boy around. As he walked, he did his best to ignore a strange feeling… not some deep emotion, though he certainly liked the boy already, this was a physical thing… a firmness against the small of his back. There was every chance it was completely innocent, simply the result of friction and movement, but what if it wasn’t. This could be a good sign for the boy’s future at Kingswood.

Chris started speeding up the tour as Declan was starting to get a little heavy. They finished in the bedroom where Chris came to a stop by the bed and declared, “Sorry about this!”

“About wha…” Declan started, but was cut off as Chris leaned backwards, toppling him onto the bed. “Oof!” the boy grunted as Chris landed on top of him, followed moments later by hysterical laughter.

Chris rolled away, panting slightly from both the exertion and the laughter.

“You’re fun!” Declan declared happily. “Have you got any brothers or sisters?” he asked curiously.

“Oh god, yeah!” Chris nodded, propping himself up on his elbows. “Two older brothers, younger twin brothers, an older sister and two younger sisters,” he explained, then quickly added, “And I guess I think of my dormmates at Kingswood as brothers, so they count for seven more!”

“Wow, that’s a lot. I don’t have any!” Declan said, shaking his head. “I always wanted a brother though… but I don’t know if I’d want an older brother or a younger brother,” he said thoughtfully. He propped himself up too and cocked his head curiously at Chris as he asked, “Which one’s better?”

“Jesus, no way I can answer that!” Chris insisted. “My little brothers are so cute and so fun to be around and I love being their big bro, but my older brothers are so cool and smart and they look out for me. I like being in the middle!”

“Cool,” Declan smiled. “My best friend has an older brother.”

“That’s nice,” Chris smiled.

Declan frowned. “Sometimes they kiss each other and do naked things together. Do all brothers do that?” he asked, cocking his head slightly.

Chris almost choked. His first instinct was just to call out, “No!” but as he thought about the things he had done with Blane, he wasn’t sure if it was quite the right thing to say. He took a moment to think and answered, “No, not all brothers do… but SOME brothers do!” He realised this was a perfect opportunity to lead the conversation where he needed it to go and added, “Just like some boys do things like that with other boys who aren’t their brothers!”

“Duh, I know that. Me and my friend do things sometimes. It’s really funny!” Declan giggled.

Chris was once again shocked to hear the boy say something like that so openly. “You ever do stuff like that with girls?” he asked, “Or ever want to?”

Declan screwed up his face as he shook his head. “Girls are nice, but they’re not for touching!” he replied.

Chris sniggered at the comment, shaking his head a little.

“Wait, is that bad?” Declan asked nervously.

“No,” Chris insisted. “Absolutely not. I happen to think the same thing!”

“Yay, I knew I liked you for a reason!” Declan giggled playfully. He suddenly sat up, staring down at Chris for a moment as he said, “Hey, Mr Everett said we get someone who’s a… erm… a thingy… I can’t remember the word! Someone older who’ll look after us!”

“Oh, mentor!” Chris commented.

“Yeah, that!” Declan nodded. “You need to tell them you’ll be mine!”

“Oh really? Just like that?” Chris asked, suppressing a smirk.

“Yeah,” Declan said, laying down at Chris’ side, cuddling up against him. “I like you, so…” he raised his head to look the older boy up and down for a moment, then finished, “… I’m claiming you!”

The words felt like an emotional gut punch. On his very first night at Kingswood, Chris had ‘claimed’ Danny and it had been the start of the most wonderful, traumatising, delightful, terrifying, amazing, dreadful experience of his life. He had gained a best friend – maybe even a soulmate – on that night, with those words. Now here he was, two and a half years later, getting ‘claimed’ by this wonderfully affectionate and forward boy. “Oh, just like that, you’ve claimed me?” he asked, feeling almost tearful at it.

“Yup. Sorry, you don’t get any say in it. You just provide the hugs!” Declan said, grinning cheekily before nuzzling back down beside Chris.

*****

Bradley

Chris had been so enamoured by Declan that he had barely even given a thought to the other three boys awaiting him that afternoon. He was still thinking about the adorably affectionate boy when Mr Everett emerged from the interview room to introduce Bradley.

“Hi Bradley,” Chris smiled as the Headmaster headed back into the other room.

“I prefer Brad!” the boy said, direct but not abrupt.

“Well hi Brad!” Chris smiled as he stood. “Let’s get the fuck outta here!” he said, gesturing out towards the hallway.

“You swore!” Brad said in shock. “Do they… allow that at Kingswood?”

Chris went to answer but paused for a moment and said, “Actually… I don’t know!”

“You don’t know?” Brad asked, clearly confused.

“Well… we don’t, like, swear in front of teachers. At least, not all the time. You know they just kinda slip out sometimes!” Chris said, thinking aloud. “You get told off, but it’s just like… ‘mind your language’ and not… ‘have a detention’ or anything like that!”

“Huh,” Brad grunted thoughtfully. “A boy in my class said the f word once and they literally killed him!”

“Seems… harsh!” Chris smirked, sure the boy had just used ‘literally’ incorrectly but not wanting to correct him.

Brad shrugged. “They’re kinda harsh on most things. Dad says it’s good prep for King Edwards!” he said causally, then added, “No idea why!”

Chris clenched a little at the mention of the rival school. He had heard quite awful things about it from boys who had visited, but heard even more detailed unpleasantness from Mark, who had gone there for two years. King Edwards was a school that turned out only the highest performing students, though it appeared to come at a very high cost. Discipline was extreme, living conditions were harsh and any sense of creativity or individuality seemed to be slowly squeezed out of the boys who went there. “That where you want to go then?” Chris asked curiously, avoiding scaring the boy with more details. “In here,” he quickly added as they reached their destination.

“I don’t know,” Brad frowned, shaking his head a little. He took a seat on the sofa, following Chris’ lead. “Part of me kinda wishes I could just stay with my parents but… well… that’s just not gonna happen, so I figure I may as well end up at the best school I can!”

“You don’t think Kingswood is the best?” Chris asked, feigning being offended.

“I dunno. If you can swear, that’s a fucking bonus,” Brad replied with a giggle.

“Ha, nice,” Chris said happily.

“Well… do YOU think Kingswood’s the best?” Brad asked curiously.

Chris thought for a moment. “For me… yes, totally. But I have friends at other schools that they love and I guess that makes them the best choice for them!” he explained.

“Come on then, what makes Kingswood so good for you. Make me want to come!” Brad said with a smile as he sat staring at the older boy.

‘I’ll happily make you want to cum!’ Chris thought to himself with a slight snigger. “Okay then,” he nodded, “It’s a school where they really want everyone to have a good time. They obviously want you to learn, but they really care about you too.”

“Hmm, okay,” Brad nodded thoughtfully.

“Oh, and there’s a LOT of sex!” Chris added with a grin.

“Sweet!” Brad said, not fazed by the comment at all, much to Chris’ surprise. “And I was right then, You’re gay aren’t you!”

Chris recoiled slightly. “Is it… that obvious?” he asked, intrigued.

“Well you’ve spent more time looking at my willy than my face,” Brad said bluntly.

Chris turned bright red instantly. He didn’t think he had been doing that, but on reflection, he realised he must have been for the boy to pick up on it. As was normal for Chris, the rush of blood to his cheeks as he got embarrassed was matched by a rush of blood to somewhere a little lower, his cock thickening instantly.

“Ha,” Brad smirked. “You totally hadn’t, but still good to know! But you totally look at me the way my Uncle does!”

“Wow, you’re…” Chris started with a snigger then stopped and said, “Your Uncle!?”

“Chill, he’s never tried anything but I SO know he wants to!” Brad said, almost cockily.

“I’m surprised you even… know about things he might WANT to do!” Chris replied curiously.

Brad finally blushed a little, seemingly reaching the extent of his bravado. He shrugged again as he said, “I don’t know all of it, but… I know some of… ya know… what’s involved!”

Chris just chuckled quietly as he nodded.

“So… lots of… that stuff at Kingswood then?” Brad asked carefully.

Chris pursed his lips as he nodded, thinking for a moment. “Yeah, quite a bit. It’s not a place you wanna go if that stuff… I dunno, puts you off. Nobody’s gonna MAKE you do stuff, but… it’s there and it happens a lot and I’d hate you to end up somewhere you’re not comfortable with.”

“I think I’d be comfortable with it,” Brad said, his brow furrowing heavily. “Maybe… you could show me so I… know for sure!”

Chris sat up, shuffling a bit closer to the boy. “Do you… jerk off yet?” As he got an awkward silent stare back, he smiled meekly and said, “It’s okay to say if you don’t know what that is!”

“I don’t,” Brad said, barely louder than a whisper.

Chris turned to the side and spread his legs apart, holding his arms out to the younger boy. “Here, shuffle back against me, I can show you!” he instructed.

Brad’s nerves seemed to fade a little as he moved into place and felt Chris’ body pressed against his back.

“I’m gonna be touching you down there,” Chris whispered in Brad’s ear. “Is that okay?”

“Very!” Brad nodded eagerly.

Chris chuckled as he reached down to undo the boy’s trousers. He pulled them open, then reached inside and immediately felt the firmness of Brad’s erection. He was very clearly not yet in the throes of puberty, the little rod rigid but small. After giving it an exploratory stroke, Chris pulled the front of Brad’s underwear down. He would usually have tucked it under the balls, but they remained small and undeveloped too, so he shoved them fully down, the boy lifting his butt slightly to accommodate.

“So there’s lots of techniques and ways to hold it and stuff like that,” Chris explained, “But I like it like this!” He grabbed the tiny tool as similarly as he could to his own usual grip, though there was a lot less to work with. He did the best he could anyway and asked gently, “Is this okay?”

“That feels so weird,” Brad gasped, “But so cool!”

“So you start moving your hand like this,” Chris explained as he started stroking delicately. “I expect you’ll do this a lot and you’ll figure out for yourself what feels nice, like… holding it tighter or looser, going fast or slow, that sort of thing!”

“Cool,” Brad said happily. “And you just… do that? For as long as you like?”

“Hmm, I suppose you could, but eventually you’ll want to finish. That’s kinda the best part!” Chris explained, still stroking.

“How do you finish?” Brad asked, pressing himself back against Chris.

“Well, erm…” Chris paused, unsure how best to explain. “I guess eventually it goes from feeling good to feeling REALLY fucking good and it, like, twitches and feels incredible and stuff. When you get older and things… start changing, when you finish, you shoot this white goo called spunk or cum… or semen! But you might still be a long while off from that!”

“Ah wow, awesome!” Brad giggled.

“Why don’t you try it,” Chris suggested, letting go of the boy.

“Like this?” Brad asked as he took hold of himself.

Chris looked down over the boy’s shoulder and asked, “Well does it feel good like that?”

“Yeah,” Brad said, nodding gently.

“Then that’s good. Like I said, try stuff. Experimenting is fun!” Chris encouraged the boy.

Brad shuffled around a little and smirked as he said, “I can feel your boner!”

“Not surprising!” Chris chuckled. “But we’re focusing on you. Keep going!”

Brad sat back and kept stroking, changing things up every now and then like Chris had suggested. “Oh!” he exclaimed after a while. “It’s… starting to feel… different! Do I keep going!”

“Yup,” Chris giggled.

“Unnnh, wow, that… ohhh!” Brad gasped. “I think… I think… unnh!”

Chris looked down again as Brad let go and smiled as he saw the small cock spasming repeatedly, though as expected there was no sign of cum. “Ya did it. Your first wank!” he said proudly.

Brad let his head rest back against Chris’ shoulder, then tilted it up to grin at him. “And you said this happens a lot at Kingswood?” he asked excitedly.

*****

Jamie

“Oh my god, that’s so hot!” Jamie exclaimed as he stared at the naked men going at it on the TV.

Chris had taken a liking to the boy as soon as he started talking about the music he liked. From there he had followed the planned routine of getting him into the suite and showing him the porn channels. Although Chris hadn’t asked directly, he suspected Jamie was either bisexual, or simply too horny to care about the difference between men and women as he had enjoyed both channels with equal fervour.

Sitting there with his hand down his pants, unashamedly playing with himself but not wanting to be on display, Jamie was virtually oblivious to Chris’ presence until he climaxed and slowly came back to his senses.

“Sorry about that,” Jamie giggled. “I get a bit… carried away sometimes!”

Chris nodded and said, “Yeah, I noticed!” As he saw the boy blushing, he decided to cut him a little slack and said, “But I think we all do when we’re doing stuff like that!”

Jamie straightened himself up and sat back on the sofa, looking a little awkward. “I really hope I get into Kingswood,” he said, hoping to move on to another subject. “The way you described it makes it sound way more fun than I thought it’d be!”

“Yeah, it’s the best,” Chris smiled. “I’ve got a big family and I REALLY didn’t wanna leave them, but my mates made settling in there SO easy!”

“I’ve got a pretty big family too,” Jamie said, frowning a little as he nodded. “But… I’d be okay leaving them!”

“You… don’t like them?” Chris asked curiously.

“They just don’t really get me,” Jamie said with a dismissive shrug. As Chris sat looking at him for a moment, he sighed and went on, “They’re all, like… really sporty and they always wanna do things like playing football or running round and that sorta stuff.”

Chris nodded gently and asked, “And what do you like doing?”

“I love reading!” Jamie said, his whole face lighting up. “I’ll read anything, but, like… adventures and fantasy and sci-fi are the best, but I just…” He stopped, shaking his head sadly.

“You like disappearing into another world and seeing other people’s lives?” Chris asked.

Jamie frowned, clearly a little surprised and said, “Yeah, actually. That’s kind of it exactly!”

Chris chuckled and nodded. “I’m the same!” he said happily. “I mean, not the family stuff, my big sister really encourages it and my little brothers make me read to them ALL the time when I’m at home, but I definitely love the books too!”

Jamie grinned broadly. “Most people think it’s kinda nerdy,” he said with a wistful sigh.

“Yeah, well most people can bite me!” Chris insisted bluntly. “Reading’s cool and anyone who says otherwise is just plain stupid.” As Jamie almost bounced with joy at hearing someone be so supportive, Chris added, “And Kingswood has THE biggest library. Well… sort of. It’s a digital library and I kinda miss having actual proper books, but I haven’t found a book yet that they don’t have!”

“THAT’S SO COOL!” Jamie yelped excitedly.

“We have a book club too, so we get to talk about them a lot too!” Chris explained.

“Okay, I’m sold,” Jamie giggled. “Where do I sign up?”

*****

Trent

Chris let out a shuddery moan. To say things with Trent had escalated quickly would be an understatement. As the cousin of an existing Kingswood student, he had already known much of what to expect from the interview and, more importantly, the time spent with his potential mentor after it. He had revealed to Chris immediately that ‘fun’ with boys was definitely something he was open to, in order to ensure he would be considered as Chris’ choice for new enrolee.

With that quickly out of the way, Trent had eagerly offered to demonstrate to Chris the things he had learned from fooling around with his cousin. Both boys had stripped and climbed onto the bed in the suite’s bedroom. Trent had eagerly kissed Chris, who seemed more than happy with it.

“Jamal doesn’t really like kissing,” Trent had explained after breaking their first kiss. “He always prefers to do other things, but I really like it!” From there came more kissing, accompanied by a little touching before Trent had moved down and started sucking on Chris’ dick.

“Damn you’re… good at that,” Chris moaned happily as he watched the boy lapping away at his straining cock. He had held off from any action all day, keeping the focus on the boy’s he was ‘testing’ but as Trent was the last one of the day he figured there was no harm in indulging.

“You wanna suck mine too?” Trent asked, pulling the dick from his mouth for a moment.

“Sure,” Chris grinned, then watched as Trent shuffled round, lifting one leg over as he climbed on top to 69.

“This okay?” Trent asked, looking down and back at Chris, upside-down.

“Oh yeah,” Chris nodded, looking at the small but solid cock hovering over his face. “Definitely works for me!” He lifted his head to take the dick into his mouth, then let out a gentle moan as he felt the younger boy do the same. Having sped through the initial formalities, Chris felt no urgency in concluding their relaxing suck, lying there and happily enjoying the eager but gentle sucking as he let his tongue swirl around the rigid tool in his mouth, his lips massaging the shaft.

“You’re better at that… than Jamal!” Trent panted before resuming the sucking.

Chris let go briefly and said with a giggle, “Well practice makes perfect!”

They both laughed as they continued, their hands gently touching each other, not aiming for anything in particular, just enjoying the feel of it.

Trent pulled off again and gasped, “I’m almost cumming but I don’t actually shoot yet, so just keep going til I pull out!”

Chris hummed his understanding and sped up his tongue movements a little before he felt the small cock pulsating between his lips. He started swirling his tongue rapidly around the head until Trent let out a pained laugh and yanked free of him.

“I’m close too,” Chris reported, “But I DO shoot!”

“Mmm-huh,” Trent hummed but continued sucking.

“Fuck!” Chris grunted as he began to ejaculate into the young boy’s mouth. He panted his way through the orgasm and Trent eventually pulled off. The way the boy looked at him, with his mouth closed and look of mild disgust, he had a feeling the spunk was still inside, the decision to spit or swallow not yet made. Chris quickly sat up and grabbed Trent, pulling him into a kiss.

The boy held back slightly at first, but quickly got the idea and opened his mouth, sharing the load, watered down by saliva, between them as they embraced. They soon parted, both giggling playfully at the cummy kiss.

“That was weird,” Trent frowned, “But fun!” As Chris nodded, the boy added, “But I guess that kinda describes Kingswood, right?”

Chris laughed as he nodded again, licking his own spunk from his lips.

*****

“Just checked in with Mr Everett,” Brian said with a smile as he headed to take a seat beside Chris. He frowned a little and said, “He told me it all went REALLY well, so… what’s with the face?”

Chris sighed and tilted sideways to lean against Brian. Considering how overly-affectionate he was with most people in his life, he had never been overly tactile with his mentor. It wasn’t due to a lack of connection or trust, Chris loved Brian and thought of him like a real big brother, it was simply, how their relationship had developed and it seemed to work so they never questioned it. The rare moments of physical intimacy were usually at times of great distress – of which Chris had experienced worryingly many.

“What’s up?” Brian asked, concerned by the contact as well as the uncharacteristic quietness. He raised his arm to put around Chris, letting him cuddle up a little closer.

“Exactly what I was scared would happen… happened!” Chris sighed.

“And… what was you scared would happen?” Brian asked. Chris had seemed eager and outright positive when he left him earlier, so this felt like a drastic change.

Chris sighed heartily then shook his head a little as he said, “I like them! All of them!”

“Oh no… I’m… sorry for your loss!?” Brian said slightly sarcastically, a little confused.

Chris scowled as he sat up and shoved Brian away. “Shut up, I’m being serious!” he complained.

“I don’t doubt it,” Brian replied casually, “Just… talk me through it, okay!”

“All four of them were SO nice!” Chris said, clearly frustrated. “Declan was just… fucking adorable and he… said this thing. I can’t explain it, but it was cool. Brad was really cute and fun and loves music and I think I’d have a lot of fun teaching him stuff. Jamie was fun and we’ve got stuff in common and he seems like he’s a bit lonely so I’d love to see him come to Kingswood and make friends. Then there’s Trent who’s just… fun to be around and he’s already got a cousin at the school.”

“Hmm, okay, sounds like you’ve got a lot to think about!” Brian said thoughtfully.

“I AM thinking about it. I can’t stop!” Chris said, almost angrily. “I just keep thinking about each of them getting like… a call or an email whatever and being told they didn’t get in and I just keep imagining them looking so sad and it’s honestly making me want to cry and I hate it!” He sounded a little choked up.

“Ah, mate,” Brian said, reaching out to put his arm back around the younger boy.

Chris let out a whimper as he hugged Brian. “I know it’s stupid. It’s not like anyone’s gonna die if I don’t pick them, but… ugh, I dunno!”

Brian let out a gentle sigh and said, “Yeah, I was where you are!”

Chris sat up, looking offended. “You mean you didn’t just pick me right away? Rude!”

Brian chuckled, mussing Chris’ hair playfully. “Actually, that’s kinda my point. I did. I had a feeling right away that I needed to pick you, but that didn’t stop me worrying about upsetting the others.”

Chris hummed thoughtfully.

“It may not come to you right away, but give it some time, you’ll figure out the right choice and from there… the three no’s won’t get any easier, but at least you’ll know you’re doing what feels right!” Brian explained.

“I like when you’re not useless!” Chris said, grinning cheekily.

Brian’s eyes narrowed as he shook his head. “I wonder if it’s too late to pick one of the others!” he joked.