(Bakersville Elementary, 1999)
***
“It’s reading time!” Miss Phoebe said, and all the kids groaned in disapproval.
All of them except Emily and Gabriel. This was their favorite time of the week. They got to sit quietly for one hour and read as many books as they liked.
Gabriel had been at Bakersville Elementary for two months now, and they had become inseparable. They had come to be known as the SmartyPants and they were yet to be offended by the nickname. They liked it, actually, being outcasts, because they could be outcasts together.
They had settled into an easy friendship which was made much easier by the fact that they were also neighbors, and their mothers were friends. In those two months, they had spent countless hours at each other’s homes and they had practically become family.
They sat side by side and while the rest of the class chose to spend Reading Time making spitballs and running around the class, they spent theirs doing what they both loved best: reading. It was one of the many things they had in common. Their mothers had found them on many occasions sitting silently in one of their rooms reading comics or storybooks, and they always marveled at how different their children were. At least they weren’t playing dangerous games that would make them get hurt.
Reading Time always seemed to end too soon for the two of them. Miss Phoebe, who walked out of the room every time she announced that it was Reading Time (probably to take a break from the kids) walked back in and all the children who were running around went back to their seats and acted like nothing happened, as if the class being in ruins was not evidence enough of their crimes. Miss Phoebe always ignored this, never asked who did it, and in return, the kids cleaned up after themselves. It was their little arrangement.
They had one more class and a bell announced the end of the day. All the children gathered around to decide who was going to clean the class. Emily and Gabriel stood to leave, but some of the kids stood in their way
“You can’t leave until we decide who cleans the class,” a chubby boy said to them.
“We didn’t make any mess, so we don’t have to clean it,” Gabriel said and Emily nodded in agreement.
“Miss Phoebe doesn’t know that. If the rest of us decided to go and tell her that you also made a mess you wouldn’t have a choice,” the chubby boy responded, looking around the class for support. The other kids nodded. It was always Emily and Gabriel against everyone else.
“Fine,” Emily said, walking back to the crowd, “let’s get this over with.” She just wanted to go home.
“How are we deciding?” Gabriel asked, having no choice but to participate now that Emily had given in.
“Everyone chooses who they think should clean,” a girl said, a mean smile spreading across her face. Emily and Gabriel looked over at each other. They knew exactly what that meant.
“How many people think Emily and Gabriel should clean the class?” the girl asked, and everyone else raised their hands. Of course.
“I guess it’s the two of you today,” the girl said as she picked up her backpack. Everyone else also picked their things and they left the class to Emily and Gabriel.
They couldn’t help but laugh at themselves. It was the only thing they could do. This was what being an outcast meant, at least for them. They had already gotten used to it. Getting picked on, being made fun of. But it didn’t matter to them, because they had each other. It didn’t matter if everyone else made fun of them, they didn’t make fun of each other. They were each other’s safe space. They didn’t have to worry about being called names or being shoved around when they were together.
“Let’s get cleaning, then,” Emily said, placing her backpack on the floor. They went to the back of the class to pick up the cleaning supplies and they got to work collecting trash, removing spitballs, and arranging books. They always made a good team, and they were done in no time. They smiled and high-fived each other when they looked back at their work. They were pleased with themselves. But something seemed to be wrong with Gabriel.
“What’s wrong?” Emily asked, sitting next to him.
“Will it always be like this?” he asked.
“Like what?” Emily asked.
“Will they always pick on us and make fun of us? Are you not tired of it?”
“I may look like I’m okay and we always laugh about it but it bothers me too,” Emily said, “on some days I don’t want to laugh about what’s happening, I want to cry about it.”
“Me too,” Gabriel said, “but what can we do? to stop them from making fun of us?”
“I don’t know,” Emily said, “maybe we should stop reading so much during Reading Time.” Gabriel looked over at her and realized she was serious.
“Maybe,” Gabriel said, “or maybe we should become popular.”
Emily looked over at him. She was shocked. Popular? She hated the word and the thought of it. She wanted to say it but she saw how excited Gabriel had become at the thought of it. She didn’t want to be the one to discourage him. They were each other’s safe space after all.
“I can’t be popular. I’m not cool enough,” Emily said, “but you can be,” she added.
Gabriel looked over at her with genuine interest.
“You really think so?” Gabriel asked.
“I do. you’re smart and funny and you’re good at sports. I think you should try it,” Emily said.
Gabriel was excited. Emily could tell it was something he had been thinking about but didn’t know how to say. He must have thought that Emily wouldn’t agree with him.
He smiled over at her and she smiled back. She was young, but she knew then that things were about to be different.
EMILY***“I didn’t know you took this class,” I said to Harry.Harry was the student body president as well as the most popular person in all of Creswell. He was handsome, and smart and was also a member of the football team. He was expected to be a jerk given that he had all the qualifications, but he had a good reputation. He hadn’t dated anyone in all of Cresswell and all the girls who had tried to make a move on him couldn’t say anything bad about him even if they tried. No one dared to spread rumors about him or tarnish his name, because they knew there was no point. It was simply not true.“I do. I’ve been sitting at the back of the class this whole time,” he said, smiling.I realized something at that moment.“How do you know my name?” I asked and he laughed. I didn’t know that it was funny.“I debated asking you what your name was but I was afraid of sounding like a snob. Plus, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know you,” he said.“How do you know me?” I asked.“Well, you sit at th
GABRIEL***“It’s my first day of classes Mom,” I said to the phone as I put on my left shoe. I had taken to calling her every day so that she didn’t feel as lonely as she was. She was all alone. She was yet to make any new friends and I didn’t want to put her in a position where she had to call me instead of the other way around.“I know you won’t have a hard time catching up, but in case you do, please let me know. I know exactly who to call,” she said.“Really? Who?” I asked, genuinely curious. Who could my mother possibly know that could help me with my studies?“I didn’t want to bring this up until the weekend when we met but I met Terry. They moved here. Emily’s at Cresswell too,” she said.I froze. She confirmed what I knew but was trying to ignore. I had seen her a few more times around the campus and had taken to avoiding her because I knew that that was what she would have wanted. But more than that, I did it because I was also upset with her. She left without saying anythin
Bakersville Elementary, 1999 *** “Can I have lunch here, Miss Phoebe?” Emily said. Miss Phoebe looked sadly over at her and nodded. She had gone to the teacher’s lounge during the lunch break, when everyone else was having lunch in the cafeteria. She had been going for the past week, because she couldn’t eat at the cafeteria anymore. And it was all because of Gabriel. She settled into a seat next to the window and opened her lunchbox. Her mother had packed the green grapes again. She didn’t like them. She always gave them to Gabriel who gave her the red ones instead, the ones he didn’t like but she loved. She wondered if they would ever be friends again. It had all started when Gabriel decided to become one of the popular kids. Emily had supported him even when she knew that it was a bad idea. She knew it would end badly. She just didn’t know that it would end badly for her. The first and most obvious step for Gabriel to become popular was to stop hanging out with Emily. She was
EMILY***“His name is Harry,” I said into the phone, ignoring the fact that Nila looked up from her books when I did.It was not yet time for our weekly phone call but I just had to call Julie and update her on what was going on in my life. It was exciting, after all. I had only ever had one other boyfriend and after things ended the way they did, Julie kept encouraging me to try and like someone else, or, at the very least, to try and not sabotage things when I actually did, but I always did.I was afraid. But there was something about Harry that made me feel brave. Maybe it was the fact that this was a new environment. Maybe it was the fact that even with Gabriel here, I felt like I could start afresh in some areas because at least here my reputation was not tarnished like the way it was back in Bakersville.Knowing people your whole life did have some disadvantages. I smiled as Julie squealed into the phone. I was just as excited as she was. I told him about our interaction in cla
GABRIEL***“You did what?” I shouted over the phone. I would regret it later but I was too shocked to remember that my Mom didn’t like it when people raised their voices at her.“I called Terry. Planned a dinner date with the both of you,” Mom said, and I had to physically stop myself from screaming into the phone.I had hoped that moving to Cresswell wouldn’t mean my Mom and Emily’s Mom getting together, but then, it was just a matter of time before it happened. I guess what I should have hoped for instead was for it to take much longer than it did.“Have you told Emily yet?” I asked, putting on my jacket. I wanted to look for her. Tell her myself. Ask her to come up with an excuse, even. Or come up with one myself, so that we could push the dinner as far as we could.“I got her number from Terry and I texted her, telling her that we’d moved here and that you’re in the same school,” Mom said.“Really? Has she responded?”“Yes. She said you haven’t met yet but she’ll look for you n
EMILY***“Emily, come get the door,” Mom said.I wanted to ignore her but I knew she knew I had heard her. It was only the two of us in the house, after all. I didn’t want to get the door. I didn’t want this day to come. I had been dreading it but that didn’t change things. It was here. Oh well, might as well get it over with.I got up from my bed and made my way downstairs. The only reason I didn’t drag my feet was that Louise was outside. The other party, I didn’t care much for. I took a deep breath then I opened the door.“Hi,” Gabriel said as he made his way past me, making sure to hit my shoulder as he did.He was so full of it. I wanted to roll my eyes but I didn’t. I put on the warmest smile I could muster for Louise.“It’s so good to see you,” she said as she gave me a hug.“It’s good to see you too,” I said and I meant it.I had missed her. She was like my second mother and my friend. I had always been sorry about the way I left things with her. I should have told her I was
(Bakersville Elementary 2001)***“You will be doing your elementary school Science Fair Project in pairs,” Mrs. Berry said. There were mixed reactions in the class. Some people were excited. Others, not so much.Emily was excited. It didn’t matter who she got as a partner, she was excited about doing the science fair project. She already had an idea in mind.“Do we get to choose our partners?” a student asked, and everyone quieted down. This was the most important part. A ‘yes’ from Mrs. Berry meant the world to the elementary school class. it would mean they could choose their crushes. It meant their dreams could come true. Mrs. Berry had the rare and unique chance of being Cupid. Would she take it?The air was thick with anticipation. Everyone was holding their breath. Well, almost everyone. Emily didn’t care much for crushes. She didn’t have one, and she was sure no one had a crush on her as well.“No,” Mrs. Berry said and the class deflated with disappointment.Mrs. Berry smiled
GABRIEL***“I’m so happy for you,” Mom said as she reached her hand across the table to hold Emily’s.Emily had just announced that she was dating Harry. And I hoped she was lying. Besides, it didn’t make sense. The only reason Harry could have been holding Emily’s phone on the day we met was that he was giving her his number, and he’d also told her to call him. If they were dating, they wouldn’t need to tell each other that. Moreso, he wouldn’t need to tell her to call him. He would call her, right? Isn’t that what boyfriends did?I’d only come to this conclusion because I had been thinking about it for the four days that had gone by since it happened. It bothered me that they might have been dating this whole time. But that’s not what bothered me the most. What bothered me was how she acted when I grabbed her wrist. She said she was okay but I doubted it. I was worried for her. What had happened to make her so scared?I had debated texting her, to ask her if she was okay. I knew sh