History Notes

The Last Tuesday

Aralin Mosley

Three weeks. That’s all it had been since I moved to Texas from New Jersey. It was right after football season ended when my mom popped the news of us moving. It seems that she’s found a new boyfriend down south and we’re moving in with him in Richford. Of course she tried covering this fact up by saying she was doing it for me. That I needed to get to know my biological father better but I know better then that, she hates my dad.

It’s not so bad here, better then what all my friends were saying about me having to live on a ranch and go on a cattle drive every month but I still miss all my old friends and I can’t say I’ve made any good ones at Roosevelt High except for maybe Mrs. Addison who drools over my art and Mr. Devonport who forces me to read script after script in theatre, but who are they?!

“I called your dad, Lin,” said my mom as we pulled up into the drive of my school. “He wants you to come stay with him this weekend.”

“Are you sure he wants me to come over or did you coax him into saying yes so you can spend the weekend with Francisco?” I couldn’t help it. She did this to me the first week we came here but just dumped me off at our Aunt Rena’s house where I had to help her clean every inch of the house for a Tupperware party.

“No, not this time.” She got an embarrassed look on her overly made up face and I knew I had gotten my point across. “He really wants to see you again.”

“Alright,” I was talking to her through the rolled down window outside the car now, wind causing the wind to slap me in the face.

“He’ll be picking you up from school Friday and I’ll pick you up from school Monday.”

“Okay, bye now,”

“Bye sweetie, have a good day. Make right choices!” I knew that was coming but I continued to walk pretending that I didn’t know who she was.

The school was semi empty. I always showed up before everyone else because my mom had to go to work early. Roosevelt High was built deep into a hill giving it a look that it went under ground. Trees dotted the front holding SAVE THE TREES signs from the Tree Huggers Club while a few Student Council members hung up signs about Basketball tryouts and other events coming up that I would not be attending.

It’s not that I didn’t want to attend them, but when you’re the new girl and no one has said more then ‘Hey are you new?’ or ‘Where you from?’ it’s not exactly your first choice to attend things like the Christmas Light Dance or try out for a team who won’t even talk to you. Which was sad because besides art and theatre I schooled seniors at basketball…but…

“I’ve never seen you here in the mornings. Do you always come this early?” Jaclyn Ortiz, one of the cheerleaders, said to me that morning right before I got to pill my banana. I only knew her because we had physics together and she was my temporary lab partner until Emily Collins returned from being sick. We talked a lot then and I kind of got to know her but what would’ve made my meeting Jaclyn better is if Coach Reeves, our physics teacher, hadn’t of forced her to be my partner. Maybe then I’d believe her a little more.

Jaclyn looked like your straight out the book kind of cheerleader. She was practically a toothpick with perfect tan skin, figure, and name brand clothes to match but minus the snobby attitude we all think they have. Her hair was wore in a high ponytail held by black and gold ribbons that matched the cheerleading shirt she wore.

It was ironic that she was talking to me let alone noticed that I don’t always sit here in the mornings. I mean she was Cheerleader. Why would she be talking to me? But deep inside I was actually stoked that she did. She was the most popular and what better way of getting lots of new friends then hanging out with a popular cheerleader?

“Yeah I usually get here this early but most of the time I go to Mrs. Addison’s room to work on things.” I answered her question with a shrug hoping that the enthusiasm I felt didn’t show through.

“I didn’t know you had Mrs. Addison. I totally suck in art.” She took a seat beside me on the large stairs pulling a breakfast biscuit from Cardinal’s Diner from her backpack. “When I had to take it sophomore year, they asked me if I wanted to do theatre for my art credit instead. I guess I really screwed up.”

I laughed at this. “How do you manage to screw up coloring?”

“You color outside the lines.” She said through biscuit and I just nodded in agreement. “Not to be rude, but what was your name again?”

“It’s okay, I don’t think I ever told you. I’m Lin, and you’re Jaclyn right?”

She nods sipping her orange juice that seemed to have just materialized out of the air into her hand. “Are you trying out for basketball I hear you’re quit the athlete.”

Okay hold the phone. If it wasn’t strange enough for her to be talking to me, then I guess this took the cake. I turned away from her face hoping she didn’t catch my shocked mortified look that I had on my face and to my surprise she just laughed.

“I know. I bet that sounded really stalkerish or something.” You bet it did. “You didn’t think that you could just come here as a new girl from the North and not be observed 24-7. My friend Jessica Parker has talked non-stop about you and how you take the court in PE. She hopes you try out for the team.”

“I’m flattered but I don’t think I will. I hardly know anyone and-“

“Nonsense, Aralin, stick with me and you’ll know everyone in the school before the weekend.”

“How do you know my full name?”

Jaclyn just laughed getting up from the stairs as a couple other cheerleaders made their way up the path. “Lab partner. Kind of had to.” And like that she walked away.

History Notes

As usually I’m running late to PE and instead of leaving my project in art I dashed out of the room with it trying my hardest not to get it messed up. I can see other students looking at the huge poster board size picture of my old urban school with shocked, confused, and lame glances. Like the two weeks before I hear people ask about me, the new girl, and where I’m from and other things like that. It was getting to a point where I wanted to turn around and scream to the school who I was but why make myself anymore weird then they already my think I was.

The gym door wasn’t too far down the hallway and I really thought I made it with no accidents until I flew face first onto the hallway floor skidding on the smooth freshly waxed floor with a curse loud enough my old friends back in Jersey could’ve heard it. Sitting up I notice the charcoal I had used to draw the picture had smeared onto my white shirt yet receiving another curse.

“Well that sucks.” Said someone and I looked up to see Jaclyn and another girl standing there with their arms crossed. I have to say they looked like super heroes standing like that.

“You okay?” asked Jaclyn offering me a hand. I always came this way to gym and I never saw Jaclyn in this hall until today.

“Yeah, but my drawings not. I worked for hours to get this right.”

The other girl picked up my drawing eyeing it in amazement then handed it to me. “What is it, or what was it?”

“It was a picture of my old school.” I sighed rolling it up. “But it’s ruined now.

The tall girl shrugged. “Lin, this is Jessica. The one that talks about you.” she pauses catching my uneasy wince. “In a good way.”

“Oh you’re Jessica,” I say, “You’re the one who came and told my PE class about basketball try outs.”

“Mhm,” she nodded with a straight face. Jessica was a senior a grade above Jaclyn. She was biracial being mixed black and white and stood much taller then either of us which was expected of her for being a basketball player. She had this serious look to her face that you could never tell if she was honestly mad or just concentrating. “I’m really hoping you try out. I’m sure coach’ll put you on varsity.”

“Why are you guys not in class?” I ask ignoring Jessica’s statement.

“Free period and Jess doesn’t have to be here until ten anyways.” Answered Jaclyn shifting her weight to one side looking at me up and down. “You and Jess seem the same size.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve got nasty tar crap all over your shirt.” I looked down at my shirt with an embarrassed smile. “You should change.”

“Why my clothes? She could fit into yours.” Jessica protested.

“All I have are cheerleading shirts.” Jaclyn whined.

“They’d fit her better.”

“I don’t think she’ll want to be known as a cheerleader for a day.”

“You’re known as one everyday and I don’t see you complaining.”

“Because I earned my rights.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Hey, it’s fine, I’ll just wear my jacket for the rest of the day. It’s okay.” I laughed at their friendly banter. Jessica just looked away from Jaclyn with a playful sneer while the cheerleader stuck out her lip in defeat.

“Fine with me,” Jessica shrugged.

“No, come on!”

The basketball locker room was in the competition gym across campus where all the major school sports had their stuff. The smell of sweat, cleaner, and rubber flowed through the locker room. Gold lockers lined the walls and black showers dripped water from leaky facets. Jessica stuck her key into her lock opening the long locker exposing a small wardrobe of shirts and other garments.

“Pick what you want.” She sighed sitting on one of the benches across from Jaclyn.

I nodded and started going through the few shirts while the other two just sat there in silence. I really hoped they’d start talking to each other or something but when they didn’t I picked a random shirt and headed over to the restroom to change feeling like I had infiltrated on their friendship time. Whatever that is.

Slipping off my charcoal stained shirt I could hear them from the locker room talking.

“She’s pretty good from what I’ve seen,” I heard Jessica start in that haughty voice of hers. “Her shooting and dribbling is kind of weak but she has great speed and good defense. Hopefully she tries out.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jaclyn said with a shrug I could tell from the lack of enthusiasm.

“What’s gotten into you, Jac, you haven’t really been yourself for a few weeks now. What’s up?”

“To tell you the truth, Jess, I really don’t know.” There was a gloomy tone to the cheerleaders voice and I could tell she was really confused about something. “Lately I’ve just felt…I don’t know. Just ever since…”

“Ever since…” said Jessica urging her on but when Jaclyn said nothing I thought I should break the tension.

Retuning to them I gave an uncomfortable look. “Better?” I asked.

Jaclyn nodded forcing a smile onto her face as she did so and I could see Jessica roll her eyes by the cheerleader’s sudden change of attitude. “A little big but it’s alright.”

“Lin, what are you?” Jessica asked suddenly. “I mean you can tell I’m mixed with black and white but what are you?”

“Jessica Davis.” Jaclyn scolded her and the jock just rolled her eyes.

“Oh, um, my mom’s mixed black and white but my dads Vietnamese.” I shrugged stuffing my old shirt into my bag.

“So why don’t you have some Asian last name?”

“Honestly, Jess,” Jaclyn shook her head.

“No it’s okay,” I said to her and she just shook her head. “It was Pham until my parents got divorced. Then my mom used her maiden name and made me change mine to hers also.”

Jaclyn opened her mouth to say something when the bell rung. So much for PE I guess. Jessica relocked her locker swiping up her bag while Jaclyn did the same. The three of us exited the locker room in silence as we walked back to the main building going our separate ways. But the conversation the other two had never left my mind. Why wasn’t Jaclyn acting normal? So un-normal that Jessica could tell she wasn’t. Whatever it is, I’m sure I have no business in it anyways. They were just being nice to me because I was the new girl.