The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [142]
But she did care. On the drive home from school that afternoon, she cried hysterically to her mother—the first time she had cried all year. (“It’s not just because you’re white,” Regan repeated Delilah’s words. “Oh, what, because you’re gay, too?” her mother replied.)
Regan hated that her colleagues were petty and immature. She was tired of being picked on. When she got home, she did what she considered to be the professional thing to do: She called the head of the English department to ask that her class be able to go on the field trip even if she couldn’t chaperone.
Over the next few days, gossip spread among teachers that Regan was “trying to cause trouble,” and that she had “tattled.” Eventually Regan’s entire class was kicked off of the field trip list. “I seem to be the scapegoat of the department this year. Fine. Whatever. But I don’t see why people have to make this so difficult, knowing I’m leaving at the end of the year. People are just taking their misery out on me. If that’s what makes them feel better, so be it,” Regan said later. “I don’t start trouble; that’s just not who I am. So I hate having people start trouble with me. Why am I the person who everyone is against when I’m the nicest person in the department?”
Even Regan’s faculty evaluation, which she had received recently, included a personal dig. The ratings of her teaching were good. Regan’s only “Needs Improvement” was in the category about her appropriateness with faculty and students. “My administrator wrote that I shared too much about my personal life with my students, and that I need to learn to use more discretion—which was a direct reference to my telling the kids that I’m gay,” Regan said. “I really wanted to demand an explanation as to why that isn’t appropriate, and yet Mandy and Wyatt could tell all of their students that they were dating, but I didn’t want to argue. I’m just so over it.”
At this point during the year, Regan and I agreed that because she hadn’t been able to find a GSA cosponsor and her job security seemed at risk, we would let the challenge die. Not even the Diversity Committee would touch gay issues. Instead Regan focused her efforts on working outside of James Johnson to promote LGBT tolerance. She started a blog and web community as a safe space in which twentysomething lesbians could interact. Within days, grateful emails from blog readers flooded her inbox.
ELI, VIRGINIA | THE NERD
Eli rejoiced when Kim—a girl from his lunch table whom he liked talking to—and a few of her friends invited him to play board games with them in the library on early-release days. Eli laughed more often than usual with this group, even though he couldn’t help thinking, I should really be doing schoolwork right now, while in the midst of a game.
During a game of Apples to Apples, Kim was having a side conversation with a friend. “Watch,” she said, smiling. “Eli, when did you turn in your college apps?”
“October,” he said.
“See?” Kim said to her friend. “When did you finish your gov vocab?” The homework was due at the end of the week.
“Two weeks ago,” Eli replied.
“See! He’s such a nerd. And he worries too much.”
“Yeah, you are kind of OCD,” said another friend.
Eli didn’t mind the ribbing. The board games in the library were the only social events he’d attended in months.
ELI WAS BOTH EXCITED and anxious to walk into the auditorium for his last high school competition. He had higher expectations than usual. Strattville had not boasted any successful Academic Bowl teams in recent memory, but this year the team was decent—and was entering this final round with more points than most of its opponents.
Eli scanned the posters draping the five tables onstage. His heart sank. Not