[ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ]	con•fron•ta•tion n. 1. The act of confronting or the state of being confronted, especially a meeting face to face. 2. Discord or a clash of opinions and ideas I go into the house. My key still works. I walk up the stairs and turn into my old bedroom. Everything was still there: the same bed, the bureau, the picture frames. My parents hadn’t changed a thing, they left everything as I had left it, everything was the same. I was the only thing that was different. I picked up a frame. The one with Katie and I at Six Flags, arms around each other, smiling. We looked happy. It was the weekend before everything changed. “What are you doing after school?” “I’m going to the movies with Katie.” “Katie? You know she’s gay right?” “Yeah, so?” “So aren’t you afraid that she’ll turn you gay too?” “It’s not a disease.” Our conversation was interrupted by our seventh period history professor clearing his throat and asking us if we’d like to share something with the class. We of course shook our heads and tried to pay attention to the lecture. I had always defended Katie. For some reason everyone thought that she was dangerous or perverted when in reality she was a great friend and a lot of fun to hang out with. I never gave a second thought to the fact that she was gay. Other kids were scared of her, some just felt sorry for her, the same way they felt towards the black kids or the Jews. But that’s not the way I was raised. One day after school Katie and I were at my house studying for a biology test. We sat facing each other on my tiny twin bed, our legs intertwining like four strands of spaghetti. Out of the top of my eye I could see her staring up from her books periodically and giving me a funny look.