Ralsei finds out he likes boys

One of the best things about Ralsei's new friends was that they brought him books.

Lots and lots and lots of books. He never knew there were so many. And they brought new ones every day.

Kris and Susie had asked their classmates for recommendations. And so some of the books had notes with personal messages, like a book about bees ("The bees' Knees! --Jockington"), and a joke book ("It gets SNOW funnier than this! --Snowy"), but also a curiously flat and floppy book with lots of pictures---apparently a comic book about demons. It came with the note "verry HOT -tem."

Ralsei hadn't had a lot of books before, but he did have a dictionary that he had read a few times. He guessed that "hot" in this context didn't mean "having a relatively high temperature" but instead "sexually attractive." He didn't really understand what that meant, but maybe he would find out.

He did find out.

The demons in the comic book had rather a lot of muscles, and not a lot of clothing. They always wore underpants, but everything else appeared to be optional.

Ralsei didn't know if it was intentional but they sure ended up in a lot of situations where they were forced to exercise their considerable bulk in a way that displayed it to the reader in intricate detail. Wow.

It was even more engrossing than his previous favorite book, "Apollo Fox and the Crystal Subterfuge." After he finished it he kept sneaking peeks at his favorite pages.

It was a shame that it was borrowed. He would have to give it back.

He grabbed some sheets of paper and a pencil. If he pressed a sheet to the comic book he could just make out the pictures and trace them. He did that to every page.

He pinned the best ones to the wall next to his bed.