The Campsite Rule

The Campsite Rule is a story written by shukyou and illustrated by 2013. It ran in Issue 49 at , and is mirrored at .

Summary

A young gay man, barely out of the closet, spends the summer living at his best friend's father's house.

The last time he'd seen Mr. Elson, Antoine had been hiding upstairs in his room with Chris, trying to stay the hell out of the way of Chris' feuding parents. Chris' older sister, Amber, had been old enough to have her learner's permit by then, so she'd gotten good at hightailing it out of there as soon as voices started to rise. But Chris and Antoine had been twelve at the time, so the best they'd gotten in terms of escape was how Antoine's house was all the way across the street. Antoine had gone down the hall to the bathroom, and as he'd passed the window that looked out over the front of the house, he'd seen Mr. Elson with a heavy duffel thrown over his shoulder, stomping down the front walk to the pickup truck out front. That walk had marked -- for Antoine too -- the end of a lot of things.

Connections

The Campsite Rule is mostly unconnected to other stories. While it technically occurs in the Whitniverse, that connectivity is not a major part of it.

Author's Notes

Available at http://ladysisyphus.livejournal.com/869019.html.