white boys (river phoenix)

31

Chapter Thirty One

    October came up faster than was expected, and Robin was sort of blindsided by autumn's heavy-hitting arrival. Talk of homecoming was buzzing, meanwhile, Robin wasn't exactly planning to go. It was in a week, which wasn't enough time to get a dress. Besides, no one had asked her, and she wasn't the type to go by herself. It wasn't that she would feel left out as she had a few friends to dance with, but she would rather not hinder them. If she were back in Georgia, it would have been different, because Jesus would have asked her to go to the homecoming at his school, and she'd be around all her friends, since none of them attended her all-white school.

    She hadn't spoken to Jesus in a while, or Ariella for that matter. In fact, she'd sort of forgotten about Jesus, since she'd been so wrapped up in boy troubles that didn't involve him. Ariella was, as always, at the back of her mind, but they hadn't called each other for a few weeks, and now, Robin was getting an inkling that she should call Ariella, to check in with her and see how her life was going.

    So, as she leaned on the couch, she reached forward to grab the telephone off the hook on the living room counter. But, just as she outstretched her hand, the phone began to ring. She furrowed her brows, wondering who could be calling her, and then put the phone to her ear,

    "Hello?"

    "Robin, it's me," River's quivering voice said on the other line.

    "Hey," Robin's lips slowly turned up into a smile, and River chuckled breathily,

    "Hey. So, you're not busy or anything, are you?"

Robin examined her nails from afar, looking them up and down,

    "No... why do you ask?"

    "Okay, meet me at the beach we went to after Stacey's party in an hour. Dress nicely," River rushed out the words, and Robin sat up, paying more attention.

    "What? Why?" Robin asked, unable to say River's smirk and glimmering eyes.

    "Just-- do it, alright?"

    "River..." Robin sighed, and he got excited again,

    "You'll be there, right?" River asked.

He sounded so hopeful, teetering on desperate, and Robin could hear the plea in his voice. This was yet another one of the reasons she stayed away from white boys- they always wanted to explore, they were too spontaneous. But she figured if she was going to be around River, she might as well get used to his spontaneity on an everyday basis. She exhaled, giving up,

"Fine."

"Remember to dress pretty, like you always do."

"Oh, River, haven't you always been quite the charmer?" Robin questioned him sarcastically, smirking.

"Not until I met you. See you in the unraveling hour, my darling," River drawled, and he hung up.

Next, Robin called Ariella's home phone, but was met with the voice mail that her mother had made: "Hola, lo siento pero no estamos en la casa ahora. Vamos a te llamaremos pronto. Que tengas un buen dia. Adios." Then, Ariella's perky voice after her mother spoke: "Hello, sorry but we are not in the house right now. We will call you soon. Have a blessed day. Goodbye."

    Robin made a face, not used to receiving the voice message. Then again, Ariella's family was always busy. So, when came the beep, she left a message.

"Uh, hey Ari. It's your girl. We haven't talked in awhile. I miss you. I really need to update you on a few things. Don't tell Jesus I called, please. Bye, love you."