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MidReal Story
The Bari Sax
Scenario:A boy who plays the bari sax
Create my version of this story
Cameron Brooks
witty, and conflicted. Cameron struggles with his feelings for his best friend, Jake, while navigating the complexities of high school life. His relationships with Jake and Emily are central to his journey. He grapples with his identity and the challenges of being openly gay in a small town.
Emily Martinez
caring, and encouraging. Emily helps Cameron through difficult times and provides a safe space for him to express himself freely. Her friendship with Cameron highlights her ability to connect deeply with others.
Jake Thompson
loyal, and oblivious. Jake is the object of Cameron's unrequited love but remains unaware of it. His friendship with Cameron is strong despite their differing interests in music and sports. Jake's presence in Cameron's life adds depth to their dynamic.
My life was flawless.
I mean, I couldn’t imagine a better one.
Sure, there were some things I wanted—things I prayed for and dreamed about—but those things were probably unattainable.
And though my heart ached for them, I knew I should be grateful for what I had.
I had the best best friend.
Like, the absolute best.
He didn’t even know he was my best friend.
He probably thought we were just friends, which was okay.
I wasn’t going to risk our friendship by telling him how I really felt.
I was cool with unrequited love—as long as he kept being my best friend and didn’t find out how I truly felt about him.
I mean, who wouldn’t want a six-foot-tall, gorgeous best friend?
He was talented, loyal, funny—as far as I was concerned, perfect—and everyone in school agreed with me.
Girls were always throwing themselves at him.
Though, if I were being honest, he was a bit of a player.
Sometimes when we hung out—which was most Fridays after football games—I’d catch him staring at Emily Martinez’s backside as she walked away from our little group.
Emily was my other best friend—my other half—and I loved her to death.
She wasn’t as cool as Jake, but she was my partner in crime when it came to music.
We were both in the band.
I played the baritone sax, and she played the trumpet.
We were first chairs in our sections, and we always sat together on the bus during away games.
Like now.
We were sitting in the bleachers, watching Jake play football.
It was the fourth quarter, and our team was winning by a touchdown.
Jake’s team was on their twenty-yard line, and he was calling a timeout.
He was talking to his quarterback, who was nodding at whatever Jake was saying.
Jake patted him on the back and jogged off the field.
He looked up at me, and I smiled.
He grinned back, then turned to his coach, who was yelling at him about something.
I didn’t know what he said to his coach, but the man nodded and patted him on the shoulder.
Jake ran back onto the field, and I gripped Emily’s hand as he lined up behind his quarterback.
The ball snapped into play, and Jake took off around the left end of the line.
He dodged a defender and sprinted down the sideline toward the end zone.
Emily squeezed my hand as he crossed into the end zone for a touchdown.
The crowd erupted into cheers as Jake threw his arms up in celebration. My stomach twisted into knots as I watched him celebrate with his teammates.
I knew what I had to do after this game, and it made me sick to my stomach.
I’d been dreading this moment for weeks—months even—but I couldn’t put it off any longer.
Emily squeezed my hand again as if she knew what I was thinking about doing after this game.
She probably did know because she knew me better than anyone else did… except for Jake.
After a few minutes of celebrating with his teammates, Jake jogged off the field again, grinning from ear to ear.
The scoreboard changed to reflect his touchdown, and our team won by two touchdowns instead of one.
The crowd cheered again as our team celebrated their win on the field while Jake’s team walked slowly off theirs, dejected and disappointed over their loss.
Emily and I stood up from our seats in the bleachers and headed down to wait for Jake by his truck in the parking lot. We got there before he did because we had to walk less than half a block from the stadium to where we’d parked our cars earlier that day before we’d gone into town for lunch before the game started.
I took a deep breath, knowing that tonight would change everything.
Jake came out of the locker room a few minutes later, still flushed from the game and grinning from ear to ear.
Emily gave me a quick hug before she walked off to her car, leaving us alone by Jake’s truck.
My heart pounded in my chest as I watched her walk away, feeling like I was about to throw up.
I was so nervous that my hands were shaking.
"Hey," Jake said, tossing his gear into the back of his truck.
He slammed the tailgate closed and turned to look at me, leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest.
His expression was open and relaxed.
The parking lot had cleared out significantly since Emily had left, and I swallowed hard as I looked around at the empty spaces surrounding us.
I knew I had to do this before I lost my nerve, so I took a deep breath and spoke.
"Can we talk?"
I asked, my voice shaking more than I’d meant it to.
Jake frowned slightly, but he nodded and pushed off from the tailgate of his truck.
"Sure. What’s up?"
I swallowed again and looked him straight in the eyes—like Emily had always told me to do when talking to people.
I didn’t know if it worked, but it made me feel more confident. "You know how long we’ve been friends, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me curiously.
"Yeah," I replied quickly.
"We’ve known each other since we were kids."
He nodded, looking thoughtful for a second before he spoke again.
"Yeah. You’re right. We have."
I nodded back at him, my hands starting to shake even harder now that I’d started talking to him about this.
I clenched them into fists and kept going before I lost my nerve again.
"We’ve been friends for a really long time," I repeated slowly.
"And you know how much you mean to me."
Jake’s eyebrows furrowed together slightly as he looked at me like he was trying to figure out what I was saying—or where this conversation was going—but he nodded again anyway.
"Yeah," he said softly.
"I do."
I took another deep breath and kept talking because I knew if I stopped now, I might not be able to go on.
"You’re my best friend," I told him quietly, looking him straight in the eyes like Emily had always told me to do when talking to people. "You mean…"
He paused, looking confused for a moment before understanding dawned across his face.
