The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [72]
“What do you mean?” Regan asked.
“I heard people talking bad about you at your event.” The girl said that most of the students had enjoyed it, but she overheard two teachers complaining that the event was out of control and that Regan was to blame. They were upset that one of the student poems discussed two boys falling in love and another used “the n-word.” They dragged their classes out of the event before it ended.
At lunch, an administrator who had not attended the event sternly told Regan that it had been a disaster. She said Regan would not be permitted to organize another similar event at school. Regan was taken aback. She had never been in trouble at school before and didn’t think either poem was explicit or inappropriate. By the end of the day, a rumor ricocheted around the hallways that Regan might be fired.
The next morning, Regan’s second period students—who had known for weeks that Regan was dating a musician—asked which member of the band was her “S.O.”
One student whispered to another, “I think it’s the girl.”
“Is it the girl?” the other asked Regan. “She thinks it’s the girl.”
Regan paused. The room was quiet. All faces turned toward Regan expectantly. “Yes,” Regan said. “It’s Crystal.”
The class was placated. “It’s okay, Davis, we still love you,” someone said.
“It’s okay,” a girl repeated, “I have a girlfriend too.”
A boy stood up. “Well, since we’re all coming out of the closet, I too have a girlfriend.” The class laughed.
It felt so much better to be open with people, which was Regan’s nature to begin with. Over the next several days, students freely asked her about Crystal. Regan loved being out at school.
DANIELLE, ILLINOIS | THE LONER
Danielle was excited to hear that the snow team season was under way. The snow team was a club that organized trips to a Wisconsin resort every week or two from November to March. The bus left after school on Fridays and brought the students back later that night. Eager to try out her new snowboard, Danielle asked, in succession, Paige, Camille, and Nikki to go on the first trip with her, but none of them agreed. She didn’t bother asking Mona, who wasn’t athletic. Danielle went anyway.
She didn’t mind that she was the only student who had come by herself. On the hills, she spent much of the time falling on her knees and her backside, to the point where she almost cried out from the soreness. Frustrated, she kept getting back up to try again, determined to improve. She loved speed, snow, and extreme sports. (Despite her mother’s protests, Danielle planned to skydive on her eighteenth birthday.) Once her psychology class had taken a test that measured students’ penchant for thrill-seeking. Danielle scored 12 out of 14 points, the highest score in the class.
After three hours of boarding, Danielle took a break. Inside the lodge, students gossiped loudly. Danielle sat down to eat at an empty table by the window. Everyone else was hanging out with a group, and Danielle didn’t want to infringe on people’s space. She tuned out the noise and watched snowboarders and skiers gliding down the black diamonds. When she finished dinner, she went upstairs to explore. In a lounge area with a large window overlooking the slopes, she saw a couple of girls from Stone Mill sitting with guys from another school. Shelby, the snow team president, spotted her. “Danielle, come sit with us!” Hesitantly, Danielle sat at the edge of the table next to the other girl, a sophomore whom she recognized from meetings for the school literary magazine.
“Hey,” said the girl, smiling at Danielle.
“Hey. Does Shelby actually know these people?!” Danielle asked in a low voice, gesturing to the guys.
“No, she just met them and decided to sit with them.”
“Oh.”
“How long have you been snowboarding?” the girl asked.
“I took lessons last year, but this is my third time. You?”
“Three years.”
“Oh.” Danielle tried hard to think of something else to say. I suck at small talk with people my own age, she thought.
Shelby looked over and mentioned an art class