Intolerant: Queer Superheroes Cancelled
How the Silver Champion Got Cancelled: a short story
The afternoon light through the kitchen window caught Orel as he bent to stir something on the stovetop, making his dark skin glow. Charles leaned on the kitchen island to watch him, and jumped at a sudden jangle in his pocket.
Charles picked up the ringing phone. “Hello?”
“Is this the Silver Champion? This is William Nelson, principal of Lakeside Elementary School.”
“Oh yes.” Charles smiled. “We’re looking forward to meeting your students tomorrow, Principal Nelson.”
“I’m sorry, Mr… Champion.” Nelson’s voice was cautious. “We’ve had to cancel the meet the superheroes assembly. Some of the parents had… concerns.”
Charles frowned. “Concerns? About what? Spitfire and I have been doing these school visits for years.”
Orel turned around and came to stand across from Charles, a question in his dark eyes.
“That’s true, but…” Nelson hesitated, then continued, “That was before they knew you were…”
“Queer?” Charles supplied. A sick feeling began to grow in his gut. He met Orel’s eyes across the kitchen island, took the phone down from his ear, and put it on speaker. “Are you saying we’re no longer welcome because we’re queer?”
Nelson sighed. “I’m truly sorry. They don’t want their children to learn about gender and sexuality at this age.”
Orel leaned over closer to the phone. “What kind of message does that send the children, Principal Nelson? That LGBTQ+ people are so disgusting and awful we’re literally unspeakable.”
Nelson sputtered. “That’s not… no. They just don’t want their children influenced by someone like you. I’m sorry, but my hands are tied.”
Charles spoke through gritted teeth. “Someone like me? You mean because I’m gay and trans.”
“Principal Nelson,” Orel put in, resting his hands on the countertop and leaning forward, “you do know that we don’t recruit children, right? I grew up in a very straight family, and I never met another gay person until I was in university. I was gay all along.”
“I know,” Nelson said, his voice apologetic. “If it were up to me, you’d be welcome here. Unfortunately, it is not up to me. I’m sorry.”
🏳⚧🏳🌈
“Hey, um, Mr Silver Champion… sir?”
Charles handed the cat he’d just saved from a tree to its grateful person and then turned toward the newcomer’s voice. A teenager in an oversized hoodie hunched under his regard, and Charles smiled. “Hi there. What can I do for you?”
The teen shoved the hood back off close-cropped blue hair and met Charles’ eyes, defiant and nervous. “I’m Casey, and I’m in seventh grade at Lakeside. I heard that they cancelled your visit, and I, uh… we, that is, the GSA, we’re planning a protest.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Casey.” In a lot of ways, this kid reminded Charles of himself as a teenager. Though Charles had never dyed his hair, he’d had a closetful of baggy hoodies. “What can I do to help?”
“Well…” The kid rubbed at an eyebrow piercing. “Would you be able to come? Your presence would, um, be…”
“Inspiring?” Orel asked as he arrived.
Casey’s eyes lit up. “Spitfire! Would you come too? Having you both there would be… so cool.”
“I don’t know.” Orel looked from the kid to Charles. “We aren’t welcome on the school property.”
“That’s okay; you can stand just off-campus.” Casey was nearly bouncing in place now, looking back and forth between Charles and Orel. “Or, you know, I mean, you don’t have to come. If you don’t want to.”
Charles exchanged a glance with Orel. “If you think our presence will help, we’d be happy to be there. But you guys are in charge, okay?”
🏳⚧🏳🌈
Pride flags snapped in the breeze behind where Silver Champion and Spitfire stood just outside the school grounds. Their silver and orange capes joined the flags, whipping in the breeze. Casey ran up and offered them flags, and Charles selected a trans flag. Orel chose a rainbow flag and they exchanged grins.
Across the field, a news van pulled up in front of the school, then another. Charles took a deep breath as the reporters piled out and started setting up their cameras and equipment. This was far from the first time he’d faced reporters, but this was different. This was so much more important than a pet stuck in a tree or a bank robber.
This was personal.
More about superheroes Charles and Orel:
Esther learned to read when she was four years old, and began writing shortly thereafter. She is a queer Christian poet, crafting with words to create art and music.
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