No part of Alexander Luthor, Clark observes, ever seems to be
completely put together. No matter how often he gets told that his uniform is a
disgrace to Excelsior Academy, no matter that he's by far the richest kid at the
school, day after day Lex saunters into class looking like he got dressed in
fewer than 30 seconds. And to Clark, for whom 3 seconds provides ample time to
button his cuffs and delint his blazer, Lex's perpetual state of dishabille
presents itself as an intriguing little point of obsession.
Because he's a nerd (Mom calls it being thorough), Clark writes his observations
down on the back inside cover of his history notebook. And because he's
disorganized (Dad calls it lazy), the observations look more like free verse
poetry than point-form data:
Monday: his collar is outside his blazer all the way from the right collar
point to the nape of his neck. fingers smudgy with ink. he licks the ink away a
little every time he turns a page in the text.
Tuesday: white socks but you have to watch to see them because his cuffs are
coming down on these pants. right cuff is loose. he forgot his blazer in his
room he says.
Wednesday: his tie is loose and instead of tightening it he throws the ends over
his shoulder. i think he caught me watching him. he's got green gum in his
mouth.
Thursday: i hear he got detention for forgetting his blazer and today he's
almost perfect. it's a game to find the missing piece and i find it at the same
time as mr. rhodes kills off napoleon -- he is wearing his dress shirt inside
out. the places where the buttons should be look like dimples in white skin. he
sees me.
Friday he doesn't get a chance to log Lex's appearance, because on the way to
class on Friday Lex pins Clark against the wall in the bathroom and drops to his
knees while opening Clark's fly. Clark barely has time to get what's happening
before Lex swallows him whole, licking and bobbing his head and pulling Clark's
shirt tails apart for better access. After Clark comes (was it too fast? he
doesn't know) Lex stands up again and lets Clark bite a small red mark into the
skin just inside the top button of his shirt.. "We'll be tardy," Lex says,
suddenly concerned, and disappears.
Friday: got detention for coming to class with my shirt
untucked and half-buttoned. lex got it too because he opened his collar to show
off the hickey i gave him.
i hope lex is always messy because of me.