I was three days short of my tenth birthday when I had my very first sexual experience. It happened in the summer of 1989, a long time ago -- that is if you measure in terms of years. I lived in a small New England town called Passamaquoddy. It had around 3,400 people, but to me, it was the entire world.

Billy Muskevich was the craziest friend I ever had. He was not given much of a chance in life. His dad was born to fits of rage. Once, he held Billy's ear to a hotplate and almost burnt it off.

Jeff Skinner was the token human of the gang and my best friend. He came from a mean family and everyone assumed that he would turn out mean, even Jeff himself.

Rom Vacco, the pessimist of the gang, was hurrying into our clubhouse. He seemed relatively hyped up. "You won't believe this!" he was saying. "I was under the house..." 

We immediately understood what Rom meant; at the beginning of the school year, he filled a gallon Thermos with breastmilk and buried it underneath his house. He drew a map so he could find it again. Some time later, his drunk dad accidentally spilled beer on the map and had to throw it away. Rom has been trying to find that Thermos for nine months now. Nine months, dude. You did not know whether to laugh or cry. 

Anyway, he was digging for the Thermos when he heard someone turn on a shower. Rom singled out both his parents as the shower was not his. He followed the sound and found that it was coming from his next-door neighbor, Mindy Burke. She was preparing to take a shower. We followed the Mindy Burke situation rather closely because the girl was our age. I recall my younger sister Phoebe sleeping over at her house once. When Mindy got out of the shower, she called for her mother, who, to Rom's surprise and ours, was one of the teachers at our school.

"You mean Ms. Burke, who covers all grade levels, kindergarten to 5th?" Billy exclaimed. "We're gonna be in her class in September. Then in June, we'll be free!"

"Hell, Rom. If she caught you spying on her daughter like that, she would've killed you!" barked Jeff.

"I had a feeling that Ms. Burke was a single mom." I murmured. "She has the character that would make your heart melt, as if she was my mom."

"Yeah. And what's more interesting is that she's dating a single dad!"

"Son or daughter?"

"Son. 7 years old, comb-over, blue eyes, and his name's Simon."

"Sounds like someone Phoebe could meet."

"That gives me a great idea. One of us should meet Mindy, whoever does can tell us what she's like."

Jeff got out some sticks. "Draw straws?"

"Sure."

We drew straws, of which I had the biggest. The rest congratulated me. I was tempted to celebrate with them, but I didn't, especially with the situation back home. The August before, my mom and dad began moving across the street into a freshly-constructed "custom dwelling," as it was called. Mom and I moved into the new house right away, while Dad and Phoebe stayed in the old house until he and Mom could find someone to sell it to. Dad was usually out for most of the day, which meant Mom had to watch over Phoebe. Thus, she left me alone. That was how I liked it.

The next morning, after my breakfast, I set off to meet the daughter of Ms. Anne Burke. Her house was three blocks from mine.

When I got there and knocked on the door, Ms. Burke opened it.

"Is Mindy here?" I asked.

"Look in the treehouse," she responded.

At the Burkes' house, those who knocked on the door usually wanted Ms. Burke. If you wanted Mindy, the first place to look was in her treehouse. And sure enough, there she was, as if she was expecting me.

"Oh, hello," she greeted. "Aren't you Phoebe's brother?"

"Yes," I responded. "My name's Morton. Morton Fox."

"Morton...a rather salty name, isn't it?" 

We both giggled. As I sat with her in that treehouse, something passed between us. It was as if we both had some common desire.

"Phoebe told me about you."

"Well, I learned of you from Rom. He was digging for a Thermos full of breastmilk when he happened to catch his eye on you."

She gasped. "Was I in the shower?"

"Y-Yes," I nervously replied, clearly thinking that I blew it.

To my surprise, Mindy was not insulted. Instead, she said, "So that means he saw me naked. Right?" 

I nodded. The common desire we had was starting to grow, and without saying anything, we scooted closer and closer. I, too, have been seen naked before, usually by Mom, Dad or Phoebe in the shower. But this time, it was somewhat different. We both actually felt like showing our naked bodies to one another.

I reached for my shirt and pulled it off. The sight of my nipples called Mindy to take her shirt off. Then, she saw an erection in my pants. She slowly slid them off as I slid off her skirt. We were down to our underwear. Now we seemed beckoning to each other. We pulled each other's socks and shoes off before finally shedding our underwear. Now we were stark naked, with a stiff boy penis between my legs and a wet girl vulva between hers.

The desire grew even larger, with Mindy laying back in a prone position. We knew what was going to be next. I wedged my penis firmly into her labia; the start of three minutes that would permanently change our lives. I was pushing in and out of Mindy, who pushed back. We were gazing into each other's eyes and thrusted to the same rhythm. For three minutes, we were entrapped in ecstacy, with everything around us seemingly dissolving, and a vivid sensation emerged from our core, spreading throughout our bodies and eventually bursting color back into the world.

When we were finished, we found ourselves to be new selves; just three minutes ago, we were just cubs, but now that we have had our first orgasm, we were now young man and young woman. Our throbbing bits and pieces were smothered in a mixture of my thick semen and her vaginal fluids. The desire had finally withered, leaving us satisfied. We put our clothes back on and I showed her to my place, and although plenty a fruitful thought still lingered in our heads, we barely spoke. I later showed her to the gang and told them about our adventure. 

Then, on my tenth birthday, I was given a most extraordinary gift: Mindy and Ms. Burke moving into my old house with her new husband and his son, Simon. Just like I guaranteed my love for Mindy, Simon immediately invited Phoebe over for an adventure of their own. That was three minutes they will never forget. As for the gang, well, we eventually saw less and less of Billy and Rom before they inevitably became just two more photos in the scrapbook. It happens sometimes. Friends just randomly appear and disappear from your life at Weeping Angel speed. 

I have heard that Rom got married out of high school, had four kids and is now a forklift operator at the arsenal lumberyard. Billy tried several times to enroll in the Armed Forces but his hair and his ear kept him out. Last I have heard, he spent some time behind bars and is now doing odd jobs not just in Passamaquoddy but throughout eastern New England.

"See you in school?" Jeff asked Mindy and I before heading home.

I smiled. "Fifth grade."

"I hope you make it," Mindy murmured.

"So do I."

Jeff did make it. He signed up for junior high and high school classes with Mindy and myself and although the work was hard, it paid off in the end. He would later move to Los Angeles, attend UCLA-Berkeley and become a doctor. Just last week, he was at a café when he saw two men get in an argument. One of them pulled out a gun. Jeffrey, whose primary goal as a doctor was to maintain peace, tried to break the argument up. He was shot in the chest. He died almost instantly. Although I have not seen him in more than ten years, I know that I will miss him forever.

I never had any friends later in life like the ones I had when I was a cub. Jesus, does anyone?