"Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Moore."
Charles Thacher wondered about life beyond Marshall High. All he wanted was acceptance. He found his ticket to both when Danine Stewart entered into his life.
She was a transfer student from the Washington DC area. First name was Christiane—pronounced Christie-Ann—short "n" sound. Teachers insisted by using her first name, which no one really used. Alphabetical order, attendance, and respect were the main rules in Mrs. Moore's third period history class. Stewart and Thacher sat in the same row, only Danine was in front. Her height blocked Corky's view of the chalkboard. They met about three weeks before.
"Excuse me. Would you please move to the side?"
"Oh, of course." She turned around. Immediately, Corky was distracted. She had a very nice smile.
"What's your name?"
"Charles, but everyone calls me Corky."
"I'm Christiane, but everyone calls me by middle name-Danine."
"Nice to meet you." Corky extended his right hand.
"Likewise."
"Christiane, it's fine." Mrs. Moore accepted the late slip. "Have a seat."
She sat in front of Corky, retrieving her notebook, pencil from her backpack. The instructor was writing directions on the board for warm-up.
"Hey, Cork." She whispered.
"What's up, Danine?" The two greeted by hand-slap.
"At the office?"
"Yep. Got two days AFS.—After School Program." She passed the slip to Corky, who chuckled.
"Christiane did not follow directions from the teacher. She used inappropriate language to one of the students, telling him 'to shut the hell up.'"
"That's worth the two days!" Corky and Danine snickered.
You need the answers?" He asked.
"Please?"
Danine adjusted her desk beside Corky's, her notebook opened and the two talking but working on the assignment.
"You didn't have to take the rap alone." Corky whispered.
"Please! The last thing you need is trouble. I can do the two days standing on my head." The two were jotting notes, continued their conversation while completing classwork.
"What are you two doing?" Mrs. Moore heard a chuckle, immediately turned around and noticed the seat adjustment.
"Corky's telling me the assignment, Mrs. Moore." Danine answered. "I missed the first 10 minutes of class."
"The retard's copying answers." A classmate said.
"You can't see our paper from here, Kyle."
The others laughed.
"You're such a freak."
"Oh, yeah? The freak's your Mama!" Danine stood up, walking towards Kyle.
"That's enough, Kyle and Christiane! Go back to your seat…before you both earn a suspension ticket." Mrs. Moore pointed to the board. "It's right there; sit back at your desk and get to work."
"Yes ma'am." Danine answered. She glared at Kyle momentarily, mouthing discontent. Then she turned to Corky, continued working in the back corner.
Danine was not the typical Glenbrook student. In fact, her city-wise attitude often clashed with other peers.
Mrs. Moore kept Danine after class. It was lunchtime. The teacher closed the door, directed her student to a front desk. Corky waited in the hallway but took Mr. Hart's suggestion to leave the hallway and go follow the lunch bell.
"I'm sorry for disrupting your class, Mrs. Moore." Danine began.
"I know that you are very polite and respectable to elders…" Mrs. Moore began. "So I'm giving you a chance to explain that situation with Kyle." She leaned against the front of her desk.
"Kyle bullies Corky all the time." She sighed, continued. "We were in art class, and Kyle mumbled stuff under his breath about him." The room was silent. Danine concluded. "I know what it's like to not fit in."
"I read your student file from St. Stephens in Arlington; flagged. It mentioned some behavioral problems?"
"The file's wrong."
"Really?" Mrs. Moore chuckled, glanced at Danine. "It also says that you're a good student—AP courses…junior college. Or is that a lie?"
"It's a lie if it means I have to transfer to another class." Danine said.
"You and Corky Thacher are good friends?"
"Yes ma'am." Danine answered.
"Why?"
"He's the only one who's shown me the ropes around Glenbrook." Nervously, she looked out the window. "He reminds me of a friend back in D.C." Quickly, Danine shared about Robert, a friend of hers who, she described, as 'one step slower.'
"Rob and I were in classes together until 8th grade. Soon as we started high school, they placed him in 'special classes.' There was nothing wrong with him; he needed more time."
"That explains the flag on your file…" Mrs. Moore had a change of heart.
"Honestly, you're really good for Corky's self-esteem. He's been doing a lot better in class." She admitted. "He seems happier too." The veteran teacher and Danine sat quietly.
"Next time, let me handle that." Mrs. Moore suggested.
"Yes, ma'am."
"I'll speak with Dr. McPherson after school to see if you can get your AFS lifted." The teacher smiled.
"You don't have to, Mrs. Moore."
"Will you apologize to Ms. Stephens, the art teacher?"
"I can do that." She shrugged her shoulders, smiled. "I was wrong for cussing in class. I'm not wrong for defending a friend."
Mrs. Moore signed a transfer pass for Danine, suggested to swing by the art studio during lunch.
"Christiane: stay out of trouble, please?"
"Thanks, Mrs. Moore."
Libby and Drew Thacher heard about Danine during dinnertime—her age, her hometown of Washington, D.C., and even her favorite type of music. They wanted to know more about Corky's new friend at Glenbrook.
"She's 16 and drives a car." Corky said. "Danine has her Washington DC plates on her car!"
"She's a trouble-maker." Becca concluded.
"She's not!" Corky defended his friend.
"She got AFS for the next week…"
"Corky, is that true?" Libby asked.
"No. It was reversed. But I'm the reason she got AFS." Corky stirred his food, pushed the items across the plate. "She was defending me."
"She's in my math class." Becca added. "She is weird."
"Not everybody is like you, Becca."
"Enough, you two!" Drew said. Just when the room became silent, the doorbell chimed. "I'll get the door. You two finish eating."
"Hi. Mr. Thacher?" Drew nodded. "I'm Danine Stewart, a classmate of Corky's. We got our notebooks mixed up by mistake—his biology, my math notebook."