The search was made more difficult by the untidy mess that Cal made in the room.The search was made more difficult by the untidy mess that Cal made in the room. By the time he'd looked in all of the usual places the noise in the adjoining rooms from the other boys as they collected their things had faded. Rafael knew that they were headed outside to the playing fields and he would be lucky to be picked for one of the teams. Then it was silent. Rafael sat down on his unmade bed. He winced slightly as he felt the increased pressure on his buttocks. He was aware of the constant rawness inside him. It felt like it was somewhere near his belly, only deeper inside him. The bruised flesh was still tender though it really didn't bother him much anymore. It was something he had already gotten used to, something he had to put up with when he did 'it' with Cal. "Damn," Rafael swore aloud, "Its gotta be here somewhere." The boy half-closed his eyes and sucked on his bottom lip. He thought hard, trying to remember where he had seen the glove last. He'd had it yesterday, he had to have had it then, because he played 'catcher' in the late afternoon, right before dinner. The boy thought back, trying to retrace his steps, going through everything he could remember doing after he had left the playing field. He'd come back into the dorm through the rear door, with Cal and most of the other boys. They'd stopped in the kitchen for water to drink, instead Mr. |