November 15th, 1972
Mounds View High School
11:56 a.m.
"Miss Brooks! Is there something outside of that window that is more interesting than Shakespeare?"
Julia snapped out of her daze, looking up at her English teacher. He was a short, stocky man with a perpetually red face, which Julia thought came from the fact that he was always angry. She thought about his question and decided it was likely rhetorical.
"Sorry, Mr. Knight," she mumbled. She had been staring out the window, her chin resting on her hand and her elbow resting on her desk. She wasn't even sure that her copy of Hamlet was open to the correct page. She just hoped she hadn't been drooling, but she was bored enough that it seemed possible.
"Please, enlighten us on what's more captivating than Ophelia's descent into madness?" Mr. Knight inquired. Julia felt heat rising up her neck as the class all turned to stare at her.
Robbie thought it was an unfair question to direct at his best friend, but Mr. Knight probably didn't realize that, like Ophelia, Julia had lost her dad. It was just coming up on the first anniversary of his death. In all fairness, Julia probably hadn't been paying enough attention to realize what she had in common with the female lead of Hamlet.
"Watching the dead leaves fall off the trees," Julia finally answered flatly. Giggles could be heard around the classroom. Mr. Knight's face turned an even more vibrant shade of red, which his students had previously thought impossible.
"Excuse me, Miss Brooks? I'm going to give you a chance to correct your answer," he fumed.
"I said, watching the dead leaves fall off the trees is more interesting than this class," she said just as nonchalantly. She swore his face was purple.
Julia could've guessed what he was going to say before he said it.
"Detention, Miss Brooks. After school."
Julia just sighed under her breath, nodding her head as Mr. Knight continued to drone on about Hamlet. It wasn't exactly anything new to spend her afternoon in detention. It seemed like hours before the bell rang, sending the students flying to lunch. Julia gathered her things, seeing Robbie waiting for her by the classroom door.
"Ugh, does he hate me or what?" Julia groaned as soon as they were out of the classroom.
"He hates everyone," Robbie assured her. He was known to be one of the tougher freshman teachers, and Julia was exactly the kind of student that a teacher liked to make an example out of.
"Why do I even need to know about Shakespeare?" She scoffed.
"At the very least to graduate," Robbie reminded her. Julia looked at him as if she knew something he didn't, but Robbie didn't prod. He picked up his pace in the sea of students rushing to the cafeteria. "Hurry up, I'm hungry."
The rest of the day seemed to drag for Julia. It was a cold, gray day and all she could think about was Thanksgiving break.
"Want to walk home together? Practice usually gets out around the same time as detention," Robbie offered as they walked to their lockers at the end of the school day.
"Yes, please," Julia grinned. "Wanna come over for dinner so my aunt and uncle don't yell at me? They won't do it in front of you."
"No, that's your battle," Robbie laughed. Just then, a couple of the upperclassmen on the hockey team walked by, giving Robbie a nod. The tallest boy in the middle looked to the girl at his teammate's side, checking her out quickly. He smiled at Julia, who returned it shyly. Once the boys had gone, she looked to Robbie eagerly.
"Did Roger Patterson just smile at me?" She asked with wide eyes. Robbie grinned, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Are you blushing over the fact that he smiled at you?" Robbie teased.
"He's like the cutest, most popular guy in our school," Julia insisted, as if Robbie had forgotten who they were talking about.
"Well, then it must be love," Robbie joked with an eye roll. "I gotta go. I'll meet you after practice."
"Have a good practice!" Julia called as she made her way to the detention room.
"Have a good detention!" Robbie called back as he headed to the locker room to get ready for practice. He was still a little nervous around his new teammates. He had made the varsity team, and he was the only freshman that did. He couldn't help but feel a little smaller than everyone around him, but he was determined to show everyone that he deserved to be on varsity. He walked into the locker room, trying to convey the right balance of confidence and humility. He made his way to his stall to start getting ready for practice, taking no notice of the three senior boys he had just seen talking quietly amongst themselves.
"Hey, McClanahan," Roger Patterson called from across the locker room. Robbie looked up, trying to hide his surprise. The seniors didn't usually talk to him. "Who was your friend?"
"Oh, that's Julie Brooks," Robbie answered cautiously. Roger's smirk didn't make Robbie feel good.
"Julie Brooks? Is she your girlfriend?" Roger inquired.
"No, just my best friend," Robbie told him. Roger exchanged grins with the guys on either side of him.
"Good to know."
Robbie tried not to think about the exchange with Roger during practice, but it made his skin crawl. Julia was like a sister to him, and something about Roger's expression made Robbie think he wouldn't want Roger anywhere near her. Maybe Julia wouldn't even like Roger, although that was unlikely based on her reaction to a smile. Maybe he wouldn't like Julia, but Robbie feared that Roger wasn't particularly worried about liking her as much as using her. It wasn't unusual to hear his older teammates having particularly raunchy conversations, but it made Robbie feel nauseous when it involved his friend.
Practice went by faster for Robbie than detention did for Julia. She was sitting at her desk, pretending to read Hamlet and watching the seconds tick by on the clock. She didn't want to go home and listen to her aunt and uncle be disappointed in her, yet again. It was no secret that she wasn't doing well. Her grades, which had never been stellar, were dropping. She had gotten detention five times this semester, whereas semesters past had maybe resulted in one detention. She really despised being at school. The only reason she tried at all in school was Robbie. She couldn't imagine trying to get through the day without him if she got sent off to remedial school. The clock indicated that Julia had twenty minutes left of detention, but she was sure that she would perish long before her release.
"Who are you gonna ask to snowball?" One of Robbie's teammates asked someone else. Robbie hadn't given much thought to the school dance that was coming up. He had kind of assumed that he would go if Julia roped him into it, but he had no desire to go otherwise. He didn't listen to his teammates' answers, until he heard Roger speak up.
"I think I might have to ask Julie Brooks," he grinned, looking at his friends. His friends chuckled, before Tom Johnson, one of the guys who had been with Roger in the hall, decided to give his input.
"You're moving onto freshmen now? Is that because all the other girls in school know all about your bullshit?" He laughed. Roger was known as a womanizer around school.
"I mean, partially. But also, you saw her. She's hot for a freshman. Plus, she looks like she'd be an easy bang. All wide-eyed and innocent," Roger said smugly. A few of the guys laughed obnoxiously. Robbie tried to keep his mouth shut, until Roger asked him: "Think your friend will put out, McClanahan?"
"No, I really don't," Robbie snapped with a glare. A chorus of 'oooh's came from the team, and Roger raised his eyebrows, looking amused.
"Why so defensive? You said you're just friends with her. Unless that's not all you want to be," Roger teased.
"You asked a question, and I answered. Don't treat my friend like one of your little toys until you get bored," Robbie asserted, his heart pounding. Roger was the captain of the hockey team, and Robbie was a lowly freshman attempting to stand up to him. He hoped he didn't look as scared as he felt. Roger crossed the locker room in a few slow strides, standing in front of Robbie with his arms crossed.
"Are you gonna stop me, freshman?" Roger asked quietly. He still looked amused, but there was an undeniable threat in his words.
"Without a doubt," Robbie said with as much courage as he could muster. He really didn't want this to come to blows, but he had a feeling it's exactly where it would go.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't take your little friend to Lookout Point this weekend. There's nothing like a cherry at Lookout Point," Roger sneered. Lookout Point was well known as the spot where people parked their car to have sex. Robbie thought of several answers: she was fourteen, she had never dated anyone, she would think Roger cared about her only for him to dump her when he got what he wanted, she was still fragile from losing her dad. He knew none of those would matter to Roger.
Before he knew it, Robbie was punching him in the jaw. Everyone was shocked, but no one was as shocked as Robbie. He never lost control. Roger turned slowly to Robbie, holding his face and glowering.
"Oh, you're a dead man, McClanahan," Roger warned as he lunged at Robbie.
The fight started quickly, but it was broken up just as quickly. Everyone knew that fighting amongst the team would result in punishment for all of them, so they didn't allow it to go on for more than a few seconds. Robbie was secretly thankful for this. His adrenaline had allowed him to get a few good hits in, but Roger was simply bigger and stronger than him. Robbie could feel that he would have a black eye, but he knew Roger looked worse.
No one said anything as the boys stood a few feet from each other. Eventually, Roger's face turned softer.
"Not a bad punch, freshman," he acknowledged with a nod. He wiped at the little bit of blood coming from his nose. "I'll leave her alone. But if you ever pull some shit like that again, I'll end your hockey career before it starts."
Robbie just nodded, trying to keep his hands from shaking as he started to get changed. His mind raced with ideas that he might be in trouble, but it didn't seem like any consequences were going to come from the fight besides his bruised face. The team slowly returned to normal conversations, acting like nothing had happened. Now, Robbie only had to hope that no one would go blabbing to Julia. He could hear her now reprimanding Robbie about fighting her battles for her. He also thought it was best that she didn't hear the things that had been said about her.
As soon as he was ready, he left the locker room and kept his eyes open for Julia. He saw her walking down the hallway toward the locker room entrance and he nearly jogged down to meet her.
"Ready to go?" He asked her, barely slowing down as he walked past her. She turned quickly on her heels, increasing her speed to keep up with him.
"Uh, yeah, why are we speeding?" She asked, looking over at him. She frowned, looking at his face. "Are you getting a black eye?"
"My mom's making meatloaf, I don't wanna be late for dinner," Robbie told her as they walked out into the cold Minnesota air.
"You ignored my other question," Julia pointed out sassily.
"I collided with someone at practice," Robbie shrugged. He avoided eye contact when he told her. He never liked to lie, especially not to his best friend, but he couldn't tell her about the fight without explaining why. Julia stared at him for a long moment, thinking about calling him out. He had never been a good liar. She finally decided to let him keep whatever secret he considered so important. She didn't ask him again, and Robbie didn't tell her about the altercation on her behalf.