Gay and Lesbian Theme Views and Mechanics Publisher's Note Editor's Note Review of This Is Not For You Review of Potato Queen Crossword (Solution Posted in March. Printable version in pdf format of journal.) Creative Nonfiction Tunis, Forever By John Champagne Bisexuality 101 By Evelyn McFarland Poetry Blackouts By Steve Rydman Self Loathing By Steve Rydman A Boy Reads YM By Steve Rydman I Finally Found Me By Lucretia Randle Acorn Boy Above the Conclave By James Penha Fiction As If In Time Of War (1985) By Christopher T. Leland General Works Creative Nonfiction Stone Musings #5 By Mike Munsil Ascent Into Being By Holly Mitchell Fiction Come Winter By Sandra M. McDow The End of Stories By Sonia Vora Coal Blood By Tom Bennitt About the Contributors © 2006, River Walk Journal and respective authors and artists. All rights reserved. Do not use or reproduce without permission. River Walk Journal, Inc. Board of Directors Chairman - Elizabeth Ross Vice Chairman - Joseph Koch Secretary/Treasurer - Geri Stock-Ross Editorial Director - Patti Kurtz, DA Literacy Director - Bill Mausteller Policy Director - vacant Advisory Board Chairman - Patti Kurtz, DA Asst. Chairman - Dan Lachenman, PhD Samuel Hazo Christopher Leland Edwin Yoder Joseph Bathanti Journal Staff Publisher - Elizabeth Ross Editor-In-Chief - Joseph Koch Sen. Fiction Editor - Patti Kurtz Sen. Poetry Editor - Neeldhara Misra Sen. Creative Nonfiction Editor - Brenda Coxe Contributing Editor - Robert Dittman Publicity Director (PA) - Geri Stock-Ross For information about submissions, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/submission.html. Questions about promotions, subscribers' services, and advertising should be sent to publisher@riverwalkjournal.org. River Walk Journal, Inc. is a non-profit corporation run entirely by volunteers. For information about volunteer opportunities and internships, visit http://www.riverwalkjournal.org/volunteer.html. |
Bisexuality 101 By Evelyn McFarland It was amusing to sit on the edge of the weekly bullshit session in the dormitory common room. I'd watch Jessica (not her real name), the openly lesbian senior, as she would leap the chasm between trying not to scare the freshmen, and keeping up the playful gibe with her fellow classmates. Jessica was the sort of girl who could enjoy making someone squirm by harmless flirtation, but reserved those games for upper classmen. I smiled a little at the sight of her latest target taking off down the hallway, speechless and crimson-faced. In spite of the fact that I was directly behind her, Jessica noticed my reaction almost immediately, and faced me with a wicked smirk. I could see the wheels turning, and knew she was struggling to keep her personal rule about not corrupting freshmen. "So, do you think it's wrong for women to have sex together?" she continued the playful survey that had sent at least one person out of earshot. "Is that with or without a man in attendance?" was my cool reply. "Without!" "Only if they don't know what a tongue is for." I looked down at the book I had brought as a prop, but kept my eyes on Jessica, her face blurred slightly through my bangs. I knew there was at least one other person still in the room during our little standoff. There was the sound of a poorly stifled laugh a few seconds before I lifted my head, but its source was gone by the time I leveled my gaze on the silent Jessica. "What?" I taunted. "But… How could you… You're just a…" "A freshman?" I finished. "Yes…" Shrugging indifferently, I stood up and started walking toward the hallway that led to my room. Looking back once, I couldn't help laughing a little at the fact that she hadn't moved an inch. "Is it true? Did you really tell Jessica that?" I nodded as I drank coffee in the dining hall the next morning. Andrew (not his real name) was one of the few people I talked with about anything of importance. It was hard to decide if he was just shocked, or also upset that I had revealed something major to someone other than him. "So, when you hit on me, it was just a lie?" his half question, half pout came out slowly. "No. I sincerely wanted to sleep with you, love," I smiled. "But you're like her, right?" I burst out laughing, and took a few moments to regain composure. After lighting one of his cigarettes and taking a long drag, I looked at him and realized he was honestly confused. "You know, there are people out there who swing both ways." Andrew dropped his head, failing at the attempt to hide the blood rushing. The line 'like all intellectuals, he's extremely stupid in matters of the heart' floated through my mind, but I fought it back. That wasn't him. At worst he was just a little naïve. Andrew definitely didn't make the list of men I knew who desperately needed the advice of a lesbian just to find the clitoris. "Just look at it this way. Now you know you can talk to me about women as if I were one of the guys," I smirked. He nodded mutely, and seemed to be a little less ashamed. By the time I left him to go to class, I was thankful I didn't have to endure requests to watch. "I heard you came out" Laughing lowly in the darkness, I stared at the burning ember at the end of my cigarette for a moment before taking a quick drag and putting it out. I rolled over in the bed, laying my head on Corinne's (not her real name) shoulder. "You could say that." "Jessica's going nuts. It's like a witch hunt, the way she's trying to figure out who you're sleeping with." Shared laughter fades, as Corinne and I drift back to the quiet that is almost as good as the ecstasy. I knew she was thinking about how to keep our relationship secret in the lesbian world, while I was thinking the same for the hetero. Corinne could escape the tiny crevice between the two worlds. She was a lesbian. I was considered a traitor by her friends, and a freak by the straight people. Acceptance by either side typically came in the form of lascivious men who wanted to watch while I made it with my girlfriend, or of femi-nazis who wanted to convert me completely. Sighing, I reached my hand over Corinne's body and squeezed tightly. Without a word, I felt her hand wander down my belly, reaching to restart the fire. To hell with both our worlds. |