Title: Why Can’t Dating Be Like Pizza?
Series: Pizza Chronicles, Book Five
Author: Andy V. Roamer
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 11/08/2022
Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 52500
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, contemporary, young adult, family-drama, high school, interracial, gay, friendship, immigrant family
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Description
RV is now a junior. It’s the most important year of high school, as his guidance counselor makes clear, pushing him to improve his grades, get more active socially, and show colleges why they should accept him over other candidates.
RV has other things on his mind though. He met Luke, who shows him a whole new world of romance, movie making, and fun, but RV’s friends and family pull him in other directions.
His old crush Bobby isn’t around much, and RV has to accept that he and Bobby are no longer an item, though he still has some feelings for him. But when Luke makes an unexpected announcement, RV learns that dating has painful downs as well as joyful ups.
Why Can’t Dating Be Like Pizza?
Andy V. Roamer © 2022
All Rights Reserved
Why did I sign up for all these difficult classes? Why didn’t I check out my teachers more carefully? Oh, Mr. Aniso. Boy, do I miss you!
I can deal with Miss Wagstaff and her screeching in Latin class, since I’m used to it from last year. And Sergeant Felucci in Algebra 2. I’m used to him from last year too. As long as I stay under his radar, maybe I’ll pass. Luckily, my friend Mark is in my class. He’s a wiz with all those Xs and Ys, so he’ll be able to help me out.
But then there’s US History, my first AP class. Our teacher is Miss Daly. It’s her first year at Latin School. Is that the new breed they’re hiring? She’s a big woman, about ten feet tall. And solid. Could be a linebacker for the New England Patriots. She loves looking down at us sternly as we walk into class, staring at us through those granny glasses that are halfway down her nose.
She already told us she’s opinionated and said she expects us to be opinionated too. Says it’s especially important for us to have opinions on the US Constitution. “It’s the foundation of this country, and the foundation of its history, good or bad,” she reminded us this morning. “When you finish my class, I will expect you to talk and write intelligently about the Constitution’s seven articles and twenty-seven amendments. I will want you to explain why the Constitution came into being. What each article meant in 1788 when the Constitution was ratified. And how the amendments have expanded or changed things. In addition, and most important, I will want you to discuss what the Constitution means for us today.”
She looked around the room after she said that. Just stared, not moving a muscle. Those glasses had moved down a bit, almost to the tip of her nose. She didn’t ask us if we agreed or if we had any questions. She just kept staring, not saying anything. She assumed, I suppose, that we absorbed every word she said and emblazoned each one on our hearts.
Okay. So this won’t be a warm and fuzzy experience. You could say US history isn’t a warm and fuzzy experience either. It means I’ll just have to suck it up and go with it.
But right after history was my other AP class, English. I thought it would be a piece of cake, since I’ve always been good at reading and writing. Well, maybe not a piece of cake, but certainly not too excruciating. Maybe even enjoyable.
Wrong! I didn’t count on our teacher, Mr. Hannigan. I wonder if he’s married to Miss Daly. They’d go so well together. He’s a giant like she is and has a booming voice. He, too, likes to wear those stupid-looking glasses halfway down his nose and stands there looking down at us as we file into class. Except he’s bald, unlike Miss Daly. I guess I should be thankful for that. Wouldn’t want to look at her bald.
Clasping his hands behind his back, Hannigan started walking back and forth in front of the room as soon as we sat down. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, his voice booming at us. “What did you learn from the essay you read last night?” Hannigan had wasted no time in giving us an assignment on the first day of class.
No one said anything.
He stopped for a second and looked at us. “Well?” Again silence. He resumed pacing back and forth. “You know, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to remind you that this is AP English. AP stands for advanced placement. It means you have been deemed intelligent and mature enough to study at a college level. So, you are expected to act like you’re in college. In college, students are expected to speak up and speak intelligently.” He stopped and whirled around to face us. “So, are we agreed on this, ladies and gentlemen? Or do you want me to call you boys and girls?”
There were a few murmurs of “ladies and gentlemen.”
Hannigan started pacing again. “Good, ladies and gentlemen. I’m glad we’re agreed. So let me ask you one more time. What did you learn from last night’s essay?”
A few of us got brave enough to respond.
“It’s about the importance of the novel.”
“Why we read novels.”
“Why novels still exist.”
“It talks about what a novel is.”
He nodded. “Yes, ladies and gentlemen. These are important questions. We will be asking ourselves these questions as we examine the development of the American novel from its beginnings until the twentieth century. I will expect you to understand the background on how and why these novels were written. Speak cogently on how they influenced the culture at the time. And most important, give me your reasoned opinions on how these novels, even though they were written a hundred fifty, two hundred years ago, still reflect our culture today.”
More opinions expected from me. I’ll have opinions coming out of my ears. What did Molloy say about my teachers? I’m supposed to cozy up to them? I’d rather hug a baboon. Molloy was right. This year is going to make or break me.
Hannigan spent the rest of the class going around the room, asking each person to talk about the books they read over the summer. He asked a lot of questions. Did he enjoy listening to all the “ums” and “ahhs” as everyone fumbled and stumbled trying to remember what they read?
Luckily, he didn’t get to me before class ended. Not that I should feel lucky for too long.
“Don’t feel bad if I didn’t get to you today, ladies and gentlemen,” he said as we prepared to leave. “You will have your turn in the coming days.” I can’t wait.
When I stepped out of the classroom, I saw Mr. Aniso coming down the hallway. I smiled. So great to finally see a teacher who makes me feel better. If only I had him in class again. I suppose I should feel lucky I had him freshman year, when I was a newbie. Life was hard enough outside of school, so to have a teacher who has become a friend, a real friend, has been a blessing. Yeah, I’ll say it again. A blessing.
Mr. Aniso greeted me warmly as he always does.
“Hi, Mr. Aniso,” I said. “Good to see you. How are you?”
“I’m fine,” Mr. Aniso answered.
“Ready to introduce another newbie class to the joys of Latin?” I laughed. I love the fact I can joke and tease with Mr. Aniso.
He nodded and smiled again. But there was something behind that smile today I didn’t like. Something like sadness.
He turned the conversation to me, asking how I was doing. I told him things were going okay. I made another joke, telling him with the classes I had signed up for I wasn’t sure things were going to continue okay.
“When I’m out your way, let’s have a slice at Joe’s,” Mr. Aniso said. “And really catch up.”
“Sure,” I answered. “That would be good.”
Saying he was late for a class, Mr. Aniso hurried off, the sad look still there behind his smile.
I tried to put the conversation with Mr. Aniso out of my mind for the rest of the afternoon. But the look on his face lingered. I’ve seen that sad look on him before, but always when he was talking about the past. I hope his expression was not because of something that’s going on with him right now.
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Andy V. Roamer grew up in the Boston area and moved to New York City after college. He worked in book publishing for many years, starting out in the children’s and YA books division and then wearing many other hats. “The Pizza Chronicles” are his novels about RV, the teenage son of immigrants from Lithuania in Eastern Europe, as RV tries to negotiate his demanding high school, his budding sexuality, and new relationships. He has written an adult novel, Confessions of a Gay Curmudgeon, under the pen name Andy V. Ambrose. To relax, Andy loves to ride his bike, read, watch foreign and independent movies, and travel.
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