Robert, Robbie, Bob

In 1957 Robert felt unloved after being dispatched at age seventeen to a British-style boarding school outside of Boston, where he was bullied and humiliated by his callous classmates for a seemingly endless year. In his second year at the preppy school, Robert was relieved another young man was the victim of choice for his former tormenters. Robert sought solace in his studies and scorned seeking out any indication of warmth from his classmates.

His solitary comfort was disturbed when Freddy, one of his previously bullying classmates, requested Robert tutor him in algebra as Robert aced the class Freddy was flunking. Robert was annoyed when Freddy used a hated nickname, ¿Robbie,¿ while addressing him during the tutoring session. The diminutive appellation both reminded him of his dismissive father and the abusive treatment throughout his grim first year at the school.

Tutoring devolved into sexual harassment, leaving Robert angry at both Freddy and himself, vowing never to let his desire for intimacy overcome his instinctive distrust. The situation worsened on Freddy¿s second request for a tutorial session. He brought along a friend, Corbin, another of the clique who bullied Robert the first year. The pair collaborated to maneuver Robert into objectionable sexual situations thwarted only by the return home of Robert¿s roommate, Kurt, who surprisingly sympathized with Robert before briskly ejecting Freddy and Corbin from the room.

Dettagli