RODRICK'S RULES

Crossland & the White Van

Roxanna:
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I was only a few days into my junior year at Crossland High School and things were already a hot mess. After the chemistry lab incident, I had lost Jerkshire's trust for what would be the foreseeable future, but that's not all that didn't go as planned. 

In Trig, I got seated all the way in the back of the class which was not gonna slide with my ADHD. In English, we were assigned essays on the summer reading which I didn't even know existed (so much for switching to AP Lang!). While in history, journalism, and Spanish, my old and balding history teacher droned on in monotonous lectures, I knew no one in my journalism class, and my Spanish class has heavy with work and strict on deadlines--including the homework for the first week.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention--the day after I stayed to clean the chemistry lab, my bus arrived early to school. I was walking up the stairs to the entrance of the school when the sound of tires screeching cut through the air as a white van whipped around the corner and into the junior parking lot. This van was without a doubt the van which had cut off my bus the first day of school. Though, more importantly, the driver at the helm of the wheel was none other than the delinquent king himself, Rodrick Heffley. 

This discovery made suffering through chemistry all the more irritating. Though, I wouldn't have much suffering left, seeing as it was finally Friday. 

Thank god! 

I could walk into chemistry knowing that the end of the day meant freedom and escape from Jerkshire's eagle-eye. Hearing the warning bell sound, I shuffled into the classroom behind a few other people. To my surprise, Rodrick was already seated at the lab table, spiral notebook AND pencil out for class. Wait, Rodrick owns school supplies??

Quietly, I walked down the aisle of desks to our lab table, dropping my backpack on the floor before scooching into my seat. I stole a glance at Rodrick who stared attentively at the front of the room. This was weird.

Soon Mr. Jerkshire began to explain the lesson plan for today. Since we had started studying the types of bonds this week, Jerkshire was giving us his version of a "fun" Friday activity. He'd given us these little, wooden pegs along with different colored spherical balls with holes in them. Each different colored ball had a specific number of holes in them, where you'd insert the wood pegs and attach other balls to create a model of an ionic or covalent bond. 

I had to admit, it wasn't the worst Friday activity, and Jerkshire was in a decent mood--I guess it was the first week of school for him too.

It only took me a few minutes to create the first couple basic bonds, and I was starting to get the hang of the process. Next to me, Rodrick was fiddling around with the pegs, still working on his first few models. Even though I was focused on my work, I had this weird feeling like he was staring at me. Though before I could check if my prediction was correct, Rodrick spoke up. 

"Hey, like, is there some reason you're so quiet...because I thought we were supposed to work together on stuff?"

I kept fidgeting with the pegs in front of me. "Um, well, it is an individual assignment."

It's like I could sense his eyebrows furrowing without even looking at him. "What's your deal? You've been acting tense all week."

Are you actually kidding me?! I shot him an icy glance, the anger rising in my chest. "I wonder why? Oh, well, maybe it's because the other day you ditched me to clean up the mess you made."

Rodrick scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you seriously still mad about that?"

I couldn't believe this. How could he not understand how much of a jerk he'd been. This was ridiculous. "Ya. Ya, I am. So I'd really like it if you'd stop talking to me and just leave me alone!" I turned away, angrily shoving pegs into balls. 

Rodrick left me alone for the rest of the class after that. Thankfully, my other classes were pretty light on work too, so I didn't have much homework except for Spanish. Yes! This gave me time after school to go to the record store, something I'd been waiting to do all week.

My summer job at the Shoe Hut had been decent, but if I wanted a car before the time I graduated, I'd have to be making more than minimum wage.

Since I was a kid, I'd loved going to Vick's Vinyls. My dad and I would spend Saturdays sifting through the collections of cassettes, CDs, and records, listing off our favorite songs as we went. Now, they were hiring for a cashier position with a $9 pay and--get this--tips! 

Vick's was on Main Street, so only a few blocks from the school. My mom was still at work, so I decided to walk the short distance. Vick's sat in the heart of town in a quaint brick building with huge glass windows. Inside, there were rows of records, CDs, tapes, and more, and there was even a section for books and movies. 

Secretly, the books were my favorite part because for each book to took, you got to replace it with one of your choosing. It was almost like each book carried a separate story from itself, telling the history of each person whose hands it had passed through.

Walking up to the front counter, I recognized the young woman standing behind it. The girl was tatted up with some colorful streaks through her blond hair and studs crowding both of her earlobes. 

I smiled, catching her eye. "Hey, Casey!"

"Hey, Roxy!"

Casey was Vick's Daughter--yes, Vick as in "Vick's Vinyls"--she was around five or six years older than me, but it felt like we were the same age. Ever since I'd been going to Vick's with my dad as a kid, Casey and I had been friends just as Vick and my dad were. 

"So Roxy, what can I help you with?" Casey shot me one of her bright, pearly smiles.

"Well, I was hoping to apply for the new cashier position. As you know, I already have retail experience and great persuasive skills. Also, I've probably listened to almost every record in this entire story, so you wouldn't have to worry about me not being able to give customers advice. Oh, I also brought my resume!"

Casey waved her hands around, giggling a little as she spoke. "Woah there! No need to sell me, you've definitely got the job."

"Seriously!!" I practically jumped up and down, I was so ecstatic.

"I mean you're way better than anyone else who's applied, and frankly, you are way overqualified," she laughed, reaching over the counter to pat me on the shoulder.

Then, a curious look crossed her face, and she shot a finger up, signaling that she'd be back in a minute. I tapped my fingers on the counter as I waited. Within 30 seconds, Casey shot back out of the storage room, bright blue shirt in hand. 

"As a new employee, you must have a proper uniform." She plopped the shirt on the counter.

My eyes lit up as I grabbed the electric blue "Vick's Vinyls" tee from her hands. "Ahhh! You don't understand, I've wanted one of these since I was in second grade!!"

Casey grinned at my over-enthusiasm. "I'm just glad you're finally part of the team."

I couldn't contain my excitement any longer. The quicker I got going on the job, the better. "So when do I start!" 

Crossing her arms, Casey leaned over the counter towards me. "You can start by helping our first customer of the afternoon. Here they come now!" Grabbing my shoulders, Casey twisted me around to face the door.

My smile quickly turned to a frown and then to a grimace as a boy with a black "Loded Diper" t-shirt and messy hair came walking through the door. 

Mother. F*cking. Heffley.