DERRICK FOUND REBECCA heading toward English class on Monday morning, making their way through the halls of the school, the lockers adorned with paper Christmas decorations. Along with the talent show at the end of the semester, there was also a contest for the best-decorated locker.
So far, Derrick’s was completely bare. He was too busy with the band and tightening up the songs they planned to play for the talent show to focus on the locker competition. AJ’s locker, in contrast, was adorned with a paper Christmas tree, the trunk made to look like a guitar neck, with tiny glittering guitars hung from the branches. It was excessive, gaudy, and one hundred percent AJ.
Derrick walked a little faster through the hallway, catching up to Rebecca.
“Hey,” he said, coming up beside her.
She turned, though barely acknowledged him.
“I just wanted to apologize for yesterday,” he said. “I didn’t know that my stepdad, um.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I didn’t know that your stepdad is Officer Reynolds.”
“What was that about?” he asked. “Why doesn’t Doug like you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” she sighed.
They walked into their shared classroom just as the tardy bell rang and she sank into her seat, slouching against the plastic back. Derrick wanted to talk to her, to explain that he wanted to be her friend, despite Doug’s words. However, she turned away from him and he took his seat next to AJ’s.
“What’s wrong, bro?” AJ asked, though Derrick waved him off.
Before he could ask another question, Mrs. Rogers began handing out paper packets. “Today we will be studying the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. You’ll be working in pairs.”
Derrick turned to Rebecca as if to invite her to be his partner, but she immediately turned to the girl next to her. He then looked at AJ, who was already scooting his desk close to Derrick's.
“You get to be Juliet,” AJ said with a facetious grin.
“Yeah, whatever,” Derrick replied as he read over the instructions printed on the pages.
“Dude, what’s bothering you?”
Derrick leaned in, glancing quickly toward Rebecca, who was already in mid-conversation with her partner, a nerdy girl named Lyla. In a near-whisper, he said, “It’s Rebecca. Doug doesn’t like her for some reason, and I don’t know why. When he showed up yesterday, she looked like she was in serious trouble, and he told me she’s not welcome at our house. I just don’t get it.”
“Well, it’s probably not her that he has something against,” AJ said. “It’s probably her mom.”
“What’s her mom have to do with it?”
“I’ll explain at lunch,” AJ said. Then, with a hint of hesitation, “Her mom has a bit of a reputation.”
It clicked into place for Derrick. Doug had probably arrested her mother in the past. Small towns have a way of making things stick through generations. Working through the Romeo and Juliet assignment, Derrick thought a lot about those Montagues and Capulets and their children, how they got caught in the crossfire of their families.
♪ ♪ ♪
“So that’s why she lives with her grandma now.” AJ finished the story, taking a bite from his sandwich and washing it down with a swig from the can of Surge.
“That sucks,” was all Derrick could get out.
“Yeah. I mean, she’s been kind of standoffish ever since the seventh grade. I do think she likes you, though.”
“Really?” Derrick asked.
“I mean, I think so. She did come to watch you play yesterday.”
“She came to hear the band,” Derrick countered.
“No way, man,” AJ said. “She was watching you and that’s it. Me and Dustin could've been mannequins.”
Derrick felt that, too, despite feigning ignorance. Across the cafeteria, he spotted Rebecca sitting alone, writing in a notebook. “I’m gonna go talk to her,” he said.
“Good luck,” AJ shrugged.
Derrick stood up from the bench and walked to the table at the end of the large cafeteria where Rebecca sat.
“Hey, can I sit with you?” he asked.
She sighed, closing her spiral notebook. “Sure,” she capitulated.
He sat on the bench next to her, straddling it. She instinctively leaned away from him.
“Look, I don’t know what’s gone on in the past with your family, and your mom or whatever. And, really, I don’t care. You’re cool to me, and I want to be friends with you.”
She sat in silence for a moment, and finally said, “That’s really sweet, but I don’t know if I can hang out with you. I mean, it would just be too awkward.”
“It’s not awkward at all,” he said. “I mean, it wasn’t awkward before. Like I said, I don’t care what’s happened. It’s like Romeo and Juliet. Just because our parents don’t get along or whatever, doesn’t mean that we have to stay away from each other.”
“Oh, so we’re going to fall in love and then kill ourselves?” she asked.
“What? No, I,” Derrick stammered, and then he noticed a slight grin creep across her face. “You’re a smartass, you know that?”
All his worries melted. “We have a new practice space for the band,” he said. “If you’re interested in coming to hear us again.”
“That’s cool,” she said. “Did you guys get shut down for good?”
“Well, we just decided it would be best to find somewhere that we could practice without fear of having the cops called if we got loud. Plus, I’d like for you to hear us again, you know, before the talent show.”
“I’d like that,” she said.
As they talked, AJ eventually made his way over, inviting himself to sit with them after seeing that the coast was clear. The three of them spent the entire lunch period talking about music and the upcoming talent show.
As they talked, the cafeteria doors opened and Haley walked in. Derrick saw her immediately, her radiant beauty undeniable though his heart sank as he took in the rest of the scene. She was with a group of jocks, and Ty was in the middle of them, right next to her.
And they were holding hands.