Chapter Text
It was a normal Tuesday morning in Elmore Junior High. The children were chatty. The lunchroom was smelly. But most importantly, she was walking down the hall during the third period transition, as she always did. Her name was Rachel Wilson, the elder sister of the school’s most hated jock, Tobias Wilson—-and Rob had had the biggest crush on the rainbow lass for as long as he could remember. He had joined the school in the 3rd grade after being forced outta homeschooling by the state. From the first time he laid eye on Rachel, he was dangerously smitten by her. Her skin was such a rich, teal blue, and her poofy ombréd hair framed her so perfectly. She always seemed to be wearing a berry scented perfume that literally smelled like the clouds of heaven, or at least to Rob it did. She wasn’t the nicest girl in Elmore, but she was so intriguing. So beautiful . Rob watched her from his locker in a lovesick daze, a soft blush warm on his face. He closed his locker and leaned against it for a while— before doing something that surprised even himself.
“ Hey Rachel!” The words were out before he could stop them. Shoot! Why did I say that?!?
Regret burned in his throat as the girl stopped chatting with her friend, looking annoyed(?) in his direction.
“ Uh, Hey?” She flipped her hair with an attitude, and Rob caught another whiff of her perfume. His heart beat fast in his chest.
“ Sooooo- What’s uP??”
She one-upped the cyclops; how beautiful and full her lashes were.
“ Um school, what else would be up?”
Rob gave a nervous laugh that came out way more dramatic than he intended.
“ Hahaha yeah school! Gotta get that ‘edjamacation’ if you know what I’m sayin’!”
The girl said nothing, looking unimpressed. A sweat broke out on Rob’s forehead.
“ Right. AnYhoW I couldn’t help but notice you walk this way everyday and curiosity is gonna swallow me whole—- which class are you going to??”
Rachel was quiet for a moment before saying:
“ You watch me walk down the hallway everyday..?”
Rob’s eye grew wide.
“ No nono!! I mean yes— but not like that!!
I just use my single view point to ritualistically observe this hellhole and it’s very flawed morals. It’s got nothing to do with you, really.”
Rachel stared unamused at Rob’s wide, toothy smile.
“ I’m going to English.” Rob perked up.
“ Ah, English: a grave for politics! I’ve always wondered, would the subject ‘English’ be called ‘Spanish’ when taught in Spain?”
Rachel said nothing, looking unmoved, unamused, unimpressed .
Then, a look of disgust crossed her face.
“ I’m guessing you just came from gym class.” She ignored the question with a curve to her lip.
Rob wiped his forehead only to find beads of sweat on his fingertips. He hadn’t even noticed how flustered he was becoming.
“ No, I just finished algebra. Math always makes me sweaty.” He lied as anxiety marked wet down his face.
Rachel looked on, repulsed.
“ Whatever. Later, Nerd Boy.”
She walked away cautiously, her friend following shortly behind as the two snickered amongst one another.
But Rob looked on, his t shirt now soaked and a starry look in his eye.
“ Nerd Boy,” He breathed.
~
" Fine, you can come. But you all have to bring
A DATE! " With that, most of Elmore's lowerclassmen were off in a panicked dash. Rob was listening from his locker and had to run as the students came barreling towards him. He screamed and took off before they could trample him. But he was so excited. Rachel was having a party. And he was invited!
Rob was not a very sociable young fellow. He was friendly, enthusiastic and a pleasure to be around--- but Rob was never able to make many friends. He was a nice kid, but he certainly didn't make much of an impact. So with the rules of the party being all attendees had to find a date, Rob knew his options were very thin. His friends were limited to Leslie, Teri, Carmen, Alan, and Molly. Upon asking Leslie, he said he had already agreed to go with Teri. Carmen was seen skipping down the halls, hand in hand with Banana Joe, so that left him with two options.
" Sorry Rob, Alan and I were gonna go together." Molly shrugged as they played each other in a game of badminton during gym class.
" Perfect." Rob moaned as he hit the birdie with a slightly unnecessary force. Molly missed it, looking up with concern.
" What's the matter?" She pouted.
Rob sighed." I won't be able to go to Rachel's party. This might be the only time she invites me to anything and I'm gonna miss it." He slumped down on the ground beside the net.
Molly put her bat aside, seeing how disappointed her friend was.
" There's gotta be someone else you can ask?" She suggested.
" No one else is gonna say yes. No one else knows me too well; it'll just be weird."
Molly frowned. She had been Rob's friend since the fifth grade and knew good and well about his massive crush. Then suddenly, an idea came to her.
" Why don't you ask Rachel to be your date?"
Rob paused, giving such a look .
" Not funny." He grumbled from his spot on the floor.
" I'm serious. This cycle has gone on for too long!"
Rob's eye widened at the thought.
" I can't do that! She doesn't even know me." He panicked.
" Then she can get to know you! And what's not to love: you're smart, kind, and you've got a full head of hair!" The dino grinned optimistically. Rob quickly rose to his feet and brushed off his shorts.
" That's crazy!"
But after the bell for the end of gym had rung, he began to wonder if the idea was so crazy after all. He was a friendly guy. And Rachel called him Nerd Boy.
Nerd Boy: how his heart quaked at the rememberance of those two blessed words.
By fifth period, the cyclops had convinced himself to do something unthinkable. He was going to ask Rachel.
Rob scanned the hallways for the rainbow lass. He didn't have too much time to find her since class would start soon. He was starting to second guess himself when he spotted her exiting the computer lab. Now was his chance.
Rob caught up to Rachel fast, walking alongside her as she eyed him in confusion.
" Hi Rachel!" He greeted cheerily.
Rachel clutched her belongings and kept her gaze forward.
" Oh; it's Nerd Boy. So you do watch where I go everyday."
Rob paused.
" No no, of course not!"
" Right. What do you want?"
Rob cleared his throat.“ I uh heard about the party.” Rachel grunted.
“ Sure you did. I’m sure all of elementary has caught the news by now.”
“ Hm?” Rob cocked his head in confusion.
“ Stupid ‘Tobaby’ wants to blackmail me ? Well I’ll get him right back! You’re probably gonna ask if we have peekaboo there or something.”
Rob did one of those unintentionally dramatic laughs again.
“ Haha; funny. No, I wasn’t going to ask that.” The two walked together in awkward silence for a while.
“ Well??” Rachel pressed, sounding annoyed. It only made Rob more nervous.
“ Well I wanted to ask..” oh my god I’m actually gonna do it…
Rachel rolled her eyes.” Come on Nerd Boy I haven’t got all day.”
“ Do you..have a date for tonight?”
Rachel stopped walking.” No. Why?”
Rob felt his face get hot. His hands were shaky and starting to tingle.
“ D-Do you… need a date for tonight??”
Silence .
Then finally, she broke it.
“ No, I don’t. I’m a high schooler. I don’t need to bring a date.”
Rob avoided eye contact as he felt his blush spreading. To his dismay, Rachel went on.
“ I just said that because I know all the babies still think the opposite gender has cooties. More than likely, none of them will find dates, so none of them will be able to come. It’s genius; I think you’re rubbing off on me, Nerd Boy!”
Rob laughed nervously, but her words stung. He felt so stupid.
“ All the nasty underclassmen out, all the upperclassmen in. A date pact: that’s so fifth grade! I want my real friends at this party— the young adults. And on the topic of dates, this will single out all the real boys.” Rob was crushed.
“Hey, I’ll catch you later, I’ve really gotta get to class.” He shuffled away before she could say another word. School was a blur after that. Rob felt so stupid for really believing Rachel had invited him to her party. He felt so stupid for trying to ask her to be his date. She didn’t even know him! He had really taken the bait. He’d never be anything more to Rachel than a nasty underclassmen.
The cyclops was walking home after school with his head hanging down. He couldn’t wait to take a bath and maybe eat some dinner while watching Netflix to forget this whole thing.
“ Hey Rob!” It was Molly’s voice. The boy looked up to see her in the back seat of her mother’s car. He smiled and waved.
“ Hop in, Mom says she’ll give you a ride.” He didn’t trip on that gesture. The faster the better. He slid into the seat beside Molly and buckled himself in before greeting her mother.
“ So, what did she say?” The girl whispered immediately, excitement in her voice. Way to bring it up . Rob hung his head, letting his hair cover his face.
“ Let’s not talk about it, ok?” He mumbled quietly. Molly’s smile melted. She could see her friend was pretty upset and could really use a talk. Then suddenly (again), she had an idea.
“ Hey, would you like to come over to my house today? We can hang out before the party.”
“ I don’t know.” Rob said without looking up. He really just wanted to get the party as far away from him as possible.
“ Come on, it’ll be fun! Alan’s coming over, and we’re having pasta tonight. What do you say Mom, can he come over?”
Her mother smiled in the rear view mirror.
“ It’s alright with me, as long as your dad’s ok with it, Rob.”
Rob sighed. Part of him wanted to hang out with Molly and Alan. He knew if Riverdale wouldn’t cure his depression, he’d be drowning in it for the rest of the night. A hangout could do him some good. After a quick phone call, Rob agreed.
“ She really said that?” Alan gawked in disbelief.
The three friends were upstairs in Molly’s bedroom recalling the day’s events. Rob nodded, a tug on his heartstrings.
“ Wow, she really doesn’t want anyone under the age of 14 at this party. And that blows man, I’m so sorry.” The balloon said, referring to his friend's crush. Rob shrugged.” It’s ok. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. Hope you both still have fun tonight anyways.” The cyclops said, hurt still audible in his raspy voice.
“ You know what?” The boys looked over to Molly who was perked up on her bed.
“ Why don’t we all go together?”
“ What?” Alan and Rob said in unison. Molly hopped off her mattress.” The three of us can be each other’s date!” When neither of the boys said anything, she went on.
“ Who cares if Rachel doesn’t want us at this party; she still invited us! And this is still a party! We won’t be twelve forever, so let’s live it up while we still can!” She held Rob’s face between her hands, squishing his cheeks together. She looked him dead in the eye and said:
“ Rob, if Rachel can’t appreciate your smarts and full head of hair, then we can. Can’t we, Alan?”
She hugged the cyclops tightly and Alan soon joined in.
“ Absolutely!” He beamed with his helium voice, wrapping a string around the pair. Rob smiled in the embrace. What would he do without them?
After dinner, the three held up on that promise and arrived at the party as a polygamist relationship. And party they sure did. By the end of the night, Rob had forgotten all about Rachel.
~
The library was mostly empty. Just how Rob liked it. He was one of the few middle schoolers who enjoyed spending recess diving into a good book. There was one he had been getting into lately: The Simulation Hypothesis by Rizwan Virk. It was a theory about how all breathing creatures were essentially living in one giant Matrix, a video game per se. It had always been an intriguing thought to him, so naturally this book was a good fit ( he refused to take it home however, for he knew he’d end up binge reading the entire thing in one night— then what would he be left with for recess!?). The boy found the book in the same section of the same shelf he had placed it last. He took his usual seat in the beanbag chair closest to the window and opened a small container of watermelon cubes. Food was not permitted in the library, but the librarian didn’t even blink an eye whenever she saw him. The perks of being a good kid . Rob opened to his book mark and began getting into it. He was on the chapter about references in the media being tied to government knowledge when he looked up. He wished he hadn’t. Sitting at a computer table was the girl with the rich teal skin. With the poofy, ombréd hair that framed her so perfectly. Rob’s heart fluttered in his chest. He watched her for a moment, as much as he fought not to. She seemed hard at work, looking frantically through a thick packet before typing furiously into her computer, then scribbling something down into a book. He couldn’t help but notice the way she looked when so deep in thought. The way she softly bit down on her lips as she read. The adorable fashion in which she tucked her hair behind her ears as she wrote— Rob shook his head and tried to focus back down at his book. He knew the truth: Rachel would never feel the same way about him. He needed to dispose of these feelings before he got himself hurt.
He spent the next few minutes trying to focus back on the words. But he just couldn’t— and it wasn’t because of any depth perception either. Focus was not about to get any easier.
“ Pssssst!”
A chill traveled up the cyclop’s spine. He tucked his face deep into the story pages, daring not to look up again. Was she calling out to him? Of course she wasn’t, why would she!?—
“ Psst hey! Hey you!”
Rob slumped deeper into his chair, butterflies dancing so harshly in his stomach it almost made him sick. Why would Rachel be calling him?
“ Hey! Rob!”
The boy’s face flushed. She was definitely calling out to him. Still he didn’t look up. Maybe a different Rob?
“ You, HeY! NerD BoY!”
Rob held his breath promptly, sweat forming on his forehead. He hated that she made his body react like that. He tried to fight it, he really did. But he couldn’t. He looked up.
Rachel was looking dead at him. She smiled brightly in his attention, almost desperately. She motioned the boy over; he rose hesitantly, walking over to the rainbow lass.
“ Nerd Boy, thank goodness you’re here!”
Rob stared down at her, rubbing through his greasy blonde hair. He chuckled nervously.
“ Rachel, hey! I’m actually always here at this time.”
Rachel flipped through that packet of her’s once again, looking frustrated(?) as she glared cluelessly into the pages.
“ Whatever! I need your help, like, right now!”
Rob’s eye opened wide.
“ Oh, right now? Okay.”
“ You’re good at chemistry, right? This paper is due next period and stupid Elgoog won’t give me all the answers!”
Rob blushed.
“ Yeah, I’d say I’m pretty-“
“ Sit down!”
“ Oh okay.”
The boy sat down quickly at her command, watching as she moved all her work towards him.
“ Explain this foreign language to me!”
Rob looked closely at the equations at the top of the paper, skipping over the directions (directions always wasted his time). It took a few seconds for him to process the work.
“ Oh, these look like chemical reactions. In any enzymatic equation, the number of atoms compounded in each element present in the reactants must be the same as the quantity of atoms of each element in the product(s).” Rachel stared at Rob blankly.
“ Um, English please?”
Rob chuckled.
“ Sorry. That means any reaction or equation expresses a chemical change.”
Rachel rolled her eyes.
“ Okay? And??”
Rob thought of how to simplify for a moment.
“ Um ok: so with this equation for example, we are tryna figure out how the elements of hydrogen and oxygen combine to make water. If the diametric sign combines with the other symbol, we would rewrite the formula to represent the molecular change."
Rachel pressed a finger to her chin for but a second.
“ So basically, we just smash two thingamabobs together and get the drinking stuff??” the rainbow lass questioned.
" Essentially. Just a tad bit more complicated than that." Rob shot back with a smile. Rachel bit her lip.
“ So, like a trade— the numbers move over and mix to make what you want!” Rob hummed.
“ Exactly.”
And with that, Rob was spending the lunch period helping Rachel with her homework.
When she had asked questions like,
" Hydrochloric acid plus sodium make?” The cyclops would shoot back with an answer like,
“ That combo would equate to a sodium chloride and hydrogen gas mix.” The two worked hand in hand like that for a little while, Rob blushing every time their fingers ould accidentally brush one another. His mind wandered back to that day in the hallways..
“ More than likely, none of them will find dates, so none of them will be able to come. It’s genius; I think you’re rubbing off on me, Nerd Boy!”
He couldn’t help it, he was tripping over this girl. She thought he was a genius. And you couldn’t be a genius and a nasty underclassmen at the same time, right ? It took a few more hand brushes and chemistry equations, but Rob finally gathered the courage to say:
“ Hope I’m not being pushy, but why did you wait last minute to start?”
The boy wanted to slap himself in the face. He cringed hard— he could never seem to say anything right. Bad at relationships, bad at conversations— bad at everything! Rachel glared, seeming fairly offended.
“ The same reason why you haven’t had a girlfriend yet.”
Ouch. Well that hurt. Rob pushed his lips together into a tight smile, mumbling an awkward,
“ Ok,” before they continued.
They worked and worked, Rob’s explanations helping Rachel the best they could. Until they couldn’t anymore.
The girl suddenly flushed, grabbing tufts of her hair in frustration.
“ Ugh: I’m never gonna finish this paper in time!”
Rob looked at the girl as she panicked, her eyes growing watery just as she covered them with her hands.” All this equations and adding and compound crap— it’s all too hard!! I’m gonna flunk again for the term and then my parents will kill me and I’ll never get that new Ephone!” She began to whimper, almost childishly. Now Rob was panicked.
“ Hey hey, please don’t cry!” Rachel continued, palms clasped tightly over her little red face. Rob looked around, frantic.
“ Hey listen, I’ll do your assignment for you, the best I can.” Rachel seemed unfazed by the gesture, but Rob took the paper anyways. He looked over at the clock. Only ten minutes left before the next period. The boy snatched up Rachel’s pencil and got right to work. The equations were actually really easy; he flew past a quarter of the packet in under a minute. He kept glancing back at the time to see what remained of it; minutes were shaved off faster than one could blink. Rob was so focused he hadn’t even noticed that Rachel had ended her pity party and was now looking on in anxious amazement. It was only when she said a desperate: “ Are you almost done? Only a few seconds left,” that he realized.
“ Almost there,” the cyclops mumbled in concentration, nearing the end of the assignment.
Suddenly, the paper was snatched from him, his pencil marking a long streak across the sheet as it was swiped. Rob turned, confused.
Rachel was cradling her assignment, a smug grin on her lips.
“ I can’t believe it! Maybe now I’ll even get a laptop before next year! I can’t wait to rub all these right answers in Christine’s face!”
Without a second to lose, the rainbow lass collected her belongings and disappeared from the library just in time for the bell.
Rob sat dumbfounded in his chair, hand hovering in the same position. The hallways flooded with children, snapping him back to reality. He collected his watermelon snack and book, having lost his place in his haste to help Rachel, but it hardly mattered. It warmed his heart to see how happy she had been when she left.
I hope they get her the shiniest Ephone on the shelf. Rob thought with glee.
That glee dissolved when his stomach growled lowly. He moaned at the thought of trying to sneak food in Miss Simians class. Hunger hung over the cyclops’ head as he lost himself in the sea of children.
~
Rob watched as rain drops clawed down the windows of the school. He mentally cheered for a drop on the left to reach the rim faster than it’s right counterpart. It did. The teen smiled to himself as the water dissolved into a platform. The race was over. He sighed as he tuned back into his surroundings. Hell (school)
Today hadn’t been the best for the cyclops. It had been pouring in Elmore nonstop for the past week. Rob hated taking the bus, so his dad usually gave him a ride to school. Sometimes he couldn’t however because of the on-call job he had. Those were the days Rob had to walk. He usually didn’t mind walking- it was therapeutic to stop and appreciate the sun and the trees and the fresh blooms in the grass. Just his dad had been on-call for the past week. And it had been raining for the past week. And Rob had had to walk to school for the past week. That morning he had woken up feeling horrible. He felt like he would puke any second, and had the mother of all migraines. The boy had truly wanted to stay home, but he didn’t want his father to get a call from the school saying he hadn’t bothered turning up. So he had to tough it out. And it had been the longest day ever. Rob sighed as he put in the combination for his locker. He’d forgotten his geography book and the teacher had given him hell for it— but at least she had the heart enough to let him go get it. Rob was shutting his locker when he heard soft snickering behind him. He clutched his geography book tightly in his hands and side glanced as he made his way back to class. He stopped when he saw her.
Rachel Wilson. In the flesh. Again.
His heart sped up instantly when he saw her. She was snickering and mumbling to a friend near the water fountain, hidden in plain sight by the brick corridors that guarded it.
Keeping walking. Keep walking you’re already late for class!
He ducked into the shelter with a swift shuffle before he could even stop himself. Rachel’s friend shrieked at his sudden appearance.
“ Ahh an eighth grader !” Rachel threw her hand over the girl’s lips.
“ Can It Christine, you’ll get us busted ya Dingus!” Her focus shifted to Rob, annoyance evident on her face.
“ Nerd Boy; will you ever stop following me?”
She spoke quietly. Rob flushed a deep pink.
“ Rachel, what are you doing?” He matched her low tone.
“ Tell the eighth grader, why don’t ya? He’ll definitely tattle on us!” Christine exclaimed from under Rachel’s grip.
“ She’s right. Why don’t you just mind your own business? Don’t you have a class to get back to?” Rob put his hands up defensively.
“ I won’t tattle on you guys! I just.. don’t want you to get in trouble. And.. wouldn’t you have a class right now too?”
Rachel blushed, an uncommon gesture.
“ It’s none of your business, Nerd Boy! Why do you care so much anyways?”
Rob twiddled his thumbs together, practically as red as a tomato.
“ ..What about the new Ephone your parents were gonna get you for being so good in school?” He said without looking up. Rachel rolled her eyes.
“ They’re still gonna get it for me as long as I’m still good. That might be ruined, however, if a certain little someone decides to snitch on me today.”
“ I won’t!” Rob nearly shouted.
“ Rachel, I think a certain little someone likes you.” Christine had this smug grin on her face as she pointed to the bright red tint that burned angrily on Rob’s face. He turned away, embarrassed. Rachel narrowed her gaze, clearing her throat.
“ If you must know, a boy is gonna take me away from this torture and to a movie.”
Rob looked up, horrified.
“ You’re skipping !? Wait,..a boy?” His voice trembled.
“ Yeah. You don’t know him, he goes to a different high school. His name is Ray. He’s cute and tall and strong and way older than you so get off of my case already, alright ?!”
Rob’s head started to hurt again and his stomach churned slowly. He knew he would eventually get himself hurt, he just hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
“ I’m sorry,” he closed his eye tightly to combat the migraine.
Just then a teacher burst out from her classroom. All three students panicked, diving behind the structure for cover. Rob had just barely seen her before he hid. It was that old biology teacher that had been around longer than even Miss. Simian had.
And she. Did not. Play.
“ I know I heard someone out here!” Her aged, raspy voice made them all quiver.
“ Whoever you are, you are lucky; you’ve caught me on one of my bad days! Now come out here and face me before I make you!”
They dared not to speak, not to even breathe.
Yet somehow, the trio could hear her footsteps— and they were headed straight towards them! Rob’s mind raced in horror. No! Nononono !! He couldn’t get in trouble! He couldn’t let Rachel get in trouble!! He had a choice to make, and fast!....
The cyclops then jumped out of his hiding spot, practically bumping into the elder woman. He towered over her, all 5’10 of him.
“ You caught me.” He confessed innocently.
The teacher eyed him, furious.
“ Robert Johnson; I’m surprised at you. Thanks to your skipping, you’ve managed to disrupt all fourteen of my students during their quarterly exams!”
Rob ran his fingers through his hair shamefully.
“ Sorry.” He said weakly.
“ What on earth do you think you’re doing?” She growled.
“ I was just..”
He mindfully turned back to look at Rachel and Christine ( but mostly Rachel). She looked so scared. The cyclops held his breath before blurting:
“ I was going to see a movie.”
The teacher scowled with her brow raised. Rob knew he was making things worse for himself, but he couldn’t stop it.
“ I was gonna come back at the end of this period I swear!” She said nothing and Rob cringed.
“ I certainly didn’t expect something so stupid to come from you. Clearly you’re looking for some attention, so let’s have it your way: detention !”
Rob’s mouth hung open in shock. He felt sudden anger built up inside of him. Anger at the fact that he had even come feeling the way he did. Anger that he had taken the blame. And anger that some high school punk had taken his Rachel. All that fury came out in two loud words.
“ That’s bullshit!”
The entire world seemed to go quiet as he watched her wrinkled face contort. He looked on, terrified
“ Shit.” He said again.
...
Rob fought tears and kept his head down. He was an honors student and had never gotten into any real trouble before. His French had landed him the rest of the day in detention and the next one suspended. He kept hearing the snickers of the regular detention thugs behind him, calling him a wous and a baby, but he hardly paid attention. He only brought his head up to look at the clock. Finally the bell for the end of school rang. Rob gathered his belongings as fast as he could and ducked out of the classroom, a group of mocking laughter in the distance.
He left the school, a dark hoodie trying desperately to block out the cold rain— it only seeped through and wet his hair. Rob arrived home a bit later than usual, shivering and soaking wet. His head hurt so badly, and he shut his eye with his back pressed against the door. He couldn’t wait to hop in bed and not wake up until later the next day. Those dreams were quickly crushed.
“ Rob.”
It was the sound of his father's voice, ringing in strong from the kitchen. The teen moaned before dragging himself to the room. His father was sitting down at the kitchen table finalizing construction sketches from work. Rob set his heavy backpack aside.
“ You’re late.” He insisted, not looking up.
“ Sorry, I walked a little slower.”
The two sat in silence before his father spoke.
“ How was school?”
A lump formed in Rob’s throat as he remembered the events from that day. His father wasn’t too strict a man, but he certainly didn’t tolerate any bull crap from anybody. Besides, Rob had never been in trouble, so there was no telling what he would do.
“ It was.. okay.” He pressed out nervously.
His father looked up at him, a shallow glare to his red eye.
“ Really?”
Rob gulped before shrugging.
His father softly put his pencil down and pressed his fingertips together in front of his face.
“ Is there anything you want to tell me about today?”
Another shrug.
More silence.
“ Sit down Robert, I want to talk to you.”
Shoot they already called him. Doesn’t matter if I turned up or not.
Rob sank into one of the dining chairs, unaware of what would happen next.
“ You turned how old this year?”
“ Thirteen sir.” He bit down on his lip.
“ That’s right. One three. You’re becoming a man now. Do you know what men do, Rob?”
He shrugged.
“ Men take on responsibilities. Men work hard. Men have respect and men do not lie. You wanna try telling me again how school was?”
When he was preparing to shrug for the fourth time, his father slammed the table, causing him to jump.
“ What do you think I’m running, a circus?!”
“ I-I didn’t-“
“ We skip class now, don’t we?? Not only that, we also think it’s cool to yell profanities at our elders. You might think you’re grown, but real grown ups know how to have respect! ”
Rob shrank. His father rarely yelled at him.
“ I’m sorry. I was tryna help someone and-“
“ If you lie to me one more time, Rob,” His father’s tone was low and dangerous.
It was silent for what seemed like forever until his father said:
“ You are too old and too smart to be playing games like this.”
Rob closed his eye with shame and pain.
“ I did not raise you like this. God knows Lilian didn’t either. Very disappointing, to have you lie to my face. Go to your room, right now.” He batted Rob off without even looking at him.
Rob walked quickly up the stairs, guilt taking over. He was pissed at Rachel, pissed at how the whole day had turned out. He almost felt like crying, but he was so cold and dizzy. He really just wanted to curl up in bed. When he finally got there, he tucked up tightly in the sheets and fell into a deep, uncomfortable slumber. He woke up three hours later with sweat pouring down his face, shivering madly. He stumbled down the stairs moments later and got violently sick in the bathroom. His father heard the loud retching and came in to help, holding Rob’s hair back and rubbing circles into his back. He then cautiously aided him back upstairs.
“ You alright, Kid?”
Rob barely squeaked out a soft “ yeh”; the room was spinning like mad. His father then left and returned with a bucket for the bedside and a thermometer. It turned out Rob had a fever of 103 degrees and wouldn’t be able to go to school the next day anyways. He spent the next two days in bed, deep in thought.
Ray.
How he now hated that name.
~
Out of school suspension came and went rather fast. Before Rob knew it, he was back in class as though the whole thing had never happened. He disclosed to Molly all that had happened the days before.
“ What did your dad say?”
Rob sighed.” More like ‘what did my dad scream’ . I’ve never seen him so angry.”
“ I wish you had called. I would’ve brought you soup or something.” Molly mumbled thoughtfully.
“ It would’ve ended up in the drain anyways. I couldn’t even keep my own voice down.”
Molly winced.
“ Eww, gross!” The two friends then burst out laughing.
“ But really Rob you shouldn’t let anyone get you into trouble.” The dino said seriously after they’d stopped laughing.
“ I know you have the hots for Rachel, but she’s not very nice to you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
It wasn’t long before school let out. Kids poured out excitedly from the exit, Rob mixed amongst them. He was thankful the weather was as nice as it was since he’d be walking today. He was walking down the steps when he saw that mocking figure sitting on the stairs.
Rachel.
He gripped his backpack tighter and scoffed coldly under his breath. Nope. Not this time. His heartbeat did speed up, but it felt different this time . He would not let himself get hurt . Rob kept his head down as he walked. But as the cyclops approached, he discovered something.
Her shoulders rose and fell in dramatic movements. He heard her whimper as he finally passed her.
Rachel was crying.
Rob walked faster, having a death grip on his backpack straps. Not this time .
But he couldn’t go much farther after that. His conscience burned. He just couldn’t leave her alone, sobbing like that. He growled to himself as he turned back.
“ Hey.” He put a hand on her knee.
Rachel looked up. Her face was red and her large eyes were filled with tears. Rob felt himself soften as "old" feelings came rushing back in.
“ Oh my gosh, are you okay?”
Rachel sniffled as she tried to wipe her tears away, but they just kept coming.
“ I’m fine, don’t worry.” But she very clearly was not fine and Rob knew it. His heart ached as he sat down beside her despite the flood of children behind them. Luckily, they all went around.
" It seems like something's wrong." Rob watched as she fought her emotions, tears flooding her face as she desperately tried to clear them.
" Don't worry." She said it more sternly this time around, but her voice trembled with sorrow. The rainbow lass finally gave in.
" Ray broke up with me at the movies two days ago." She blurted throwing her hands up in defeat.
" Oh." Rob froze. He didn't know whether to feel sorry for her or happy that this little boyfriend was out of the picture. He felt twisted for even thinking such a thing; not like he had a chance with her in turn.
" I'm so sorry." He really meant it too.
Rachel sobbed even harder into her lap, Rob eventually placing an awkward hand on her shoulder.
" Why did he break up with you?"
Rachel paused, turning to face the middle schooler head on. Her eyes were still bloodshot, tears were still free falling from her face when she said it.
" He said I was forgettable."
Rob sat shocked.
" That's horrible!" He furrowed his brow.
" He's right. There is nothing special about me. I don't stand out from other girls. I'm not smart and am good for nothing but gossip. I'm just a lowdown, good-for-nothing, big fat forgettable brat.” Her lip quivered.
" He's wrong! You're not forgettable, Rachel. You're outspoken and honest and absolutely beauti-
If he can't see all of that, then shame on him, he's missing out on a very special girl!”
Rob couldn’t believe he’d said all that. He was starting to sound like Molly. Instead of the usual look of disgust Rachel would normally give him, she smiled. It didn’t last long; she turned away, sneering to herself.
" I wish I had never gone to the stupid movies with that jerk. I would have taken the two day break you were blessed with anyday.”
Rob crossed his long, thin arms.
" I wouldn't call my father preparing to disown me and living on soda crackers a two day break."
Rachel laughed and Rob smiled. He rose to his feet and extended a hand to help her up. The rainbow lass wiped her tears one last time. Then she did something rare. She pulled Rob into a tight hug. His eye grew wide with wonder: she smelled like candy, her hair silky smooth. Her grip was heavenly and soft, yet hefty with emotion as she squeezed the boy with all her strength.
“ Thanks for listening to me.” Rachel whispered into Rob’s hair with a quiet sniff. And just like that, she let go. He stumbled in awe, his face flushed to the point of no return.
“ Anytime .” He barely squeaked out. Rachel turned to gather her stuff.
“ See you on Monday?” She called as she started walking to her bus. Rob stood still, looking on.
“ See you Monday.”