"I'm a gay witch." Marty stood with a handful of other boys out behind the gym, school uniforms altered almost to the point of being outside regulation, two of them smoking. "Sure, mate." Anson leaned against the wall with his cig. "Thass cool."

"That's it?" Marty looked surprised. "I thought there'd be more teasing or bullying."

Vern, Anson's buddy, took a drag. "Nah. I mean, whassa point, yeah? We're all just people, yeah?"

Marty nodded. "Yeah, cool."

"Here, mate." Anson held out the cig. "Have a puff."

"No thanks."

Vern looked at him like Marty had dung on his face. "What are you, some kind of poofter?"

Marty looked at both of them. "Um, yeah? Just said that, din I?"

"Oh, right." Vern and Anson looked at each other. "We're gonna need some new way to pressure you."

"Whass the opposite of queer?" Anson asked.

"Well, straight?" Marty said.

"Yeah, but, like, a mean way to say it."

"Uh, breeder?" Marty screwed up his face.

Anson shook his head. "Nah, thass weird."

Everyone offered suggestions. "Straighty?" "Hetero?" "Het?"

Vern nodded. "Sure. You don't want a puff? What are you, some kinda het?"

"Fuck, no," Marty said. He took the cig.