Two Boys Kissing

The chorus remember how they had to hide their kisses out of fear and shame. However, they knew that one day, if enough of them came together, their love would become less private and less shameful. They marvel at Peter and Neil kissing openly as they leave IHOP, and how they don’t have to worry about what anyone but each other thinks.

Cooper wanders around Walmart, scrolling through messages from men, when a classmate approaches him. The girl, Sloan, tries to be friendly, but Cooper isn’t receptive. She asks what he’s shopping for, and he lies about looking for gas for the grill. She tells him she’ll see him Monday before she leaves, and Cooper returns to aimlessly scrolling through the app.

Avery and Ryan still drift along the river in the canoe. Avery tells Ryan that his hair is pink because gender is arbitrary, and he shouldn’t have to avoid the color pink as a transgender boy because of “stupid, arbitrary shit” (65). Ryan tells him that his hair is blue because he likes blue. The chorus remember how “stupid, arbitrary shit” led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people because intolerance and willful ignorance prevented the United States from taking

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