Rosie Gadry ran out the front door of her house and charged down the steps before realizing she'd forgotten her lunch and had to turn around and go back in. She couldn't contain her excitement, she hadn't seen her best friends Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker all summer and she was chomping at the bit to once again be reunited with the only two people in Shelby that seemed to understand her. Where normally she spent her vacations at home, working at her father's garage, or fishing and learning to fly with the two boys on Rafe's father's crop duster, this summer had been different.
This summer her father had sent her to spend it with her grandmother Agnes, Knoxville hoping his mother could have a bit of female influence over his daughter. Being a tomboy had come natural to Rosie in her youth, preferring dirty hands and grease covered overalls to bouncing curls and pretty dresses. Being raised by a single father had only solidified it, if not even made it worse. But now his little girl was becoming a young woman and there were things that Alex Gadry just couldn't provide. He'd needed help, particularly as his daughter seemed to getting a bit to close with Rafe McCawley.
The truth was Rosanna had had a bit of a crush on Rafe all of her life. Since he'd come to her rescue on the playground in kindergarten, saving her from a bully. But now, at fourteen years old that small schoolyard crush was becoming something more in her heart. Though she would never admit it out loud for fear of dying from embarrassment, Rosie knew there was only one boy in all of Shelby for her. And she thought if she didn't get to see him soon she word burst from the anticipation she had been holding in since arriving home the night before.
After grabbing her sack lunch for the fridge she set off in a sprint again out of the house. Down the dusty roads of their sleepy little county town. Past her father's mechanic's shop, the Moon Side Diner and the Courthouse. Waving politely to the Mayor, Mister Sullivan as he sat on his front stoop waiting for his own young daughter to head off to school as well. It was wonderful to be home. And even better to be just a few minutes away from seeing Rafe.
It was the first day of ninth grade and the first day at Shelby High for Rosie and her closest friends. Time for a new start and the turning of a page in their lives. Like anyone just about to embark on a life changing event the girl was a ball of nerves the entire walk. Each step closer to her destination filled her even more excitement, causing her tiny feet to move even faster. when the school finally came into view, she sprinted across the green lawn.
Her wavy brown hair was a mess when she came to a stop at the front of the school, her dark eyes scanning the crowd of teens for the faces of her friends, Rafe and Danny. The two boys had been like the other two peas in her pod since she met them in kindergarten and she wasn't about to walk into the building without them. When they were around she felt safer and as though she were with people that understood her. Though everyone else at school teased her for her tomboy like interests, the two boys who were more like brothers than friends to one another, found Rosie great just the way she was. And she could never express how important to her they were.
"Hey, Ro!" Called a voice over the din of the clusters of teenagers gathering around the campus, excitedly sharing tales of their vacations with friends they hadn't seen in months. It was a voice she would recognize anywhere. One she knew better than just about any other.
Rosie spun around quickly to be face to face with Rafe, she wasn't sure how he managed it, but somehow the boy had gotten even better looking over that summer. His sandy hair had darkened slightly and his hazel eyes seemed brighter. The dimple in his chin had deepened and his shoulders seemed more toned and broad than she remembered. Finally back beside her handsome friend, she was all smiles, this was moment she'd been waiting for all summer. She was just about to jump up and hug her companion delighted to see him, until her eyes fell on a slender face with crystal blue eyes and framed in thick black curls.
"Rosie, you know Darlene Chavez, don't you?" Rafe queried with a stupid grin, as he pulled the raven haired girl to his side.
"Yeah, I know her." Rosie grumbled kicking some dirt, causing a dust cloud to encircle the bottom of Darlene's dress. In all the scenarios she had imagined about when she would be reunited with her best friend, this certainly hadn't been one of them. Rafe was supposed to be over joined to see her, and welcome her home with open arms. Darlene was not supposed to be here.
As the dirt that Rosie toed up with the tip of her shoe settled around the skirt of Darlene's clothes, the girl shrieked angrily, "Stop it, Rosanna! This is a brand new dress,"
"Oh sorry."
Rosie looked down at her tiny hands in embarrassment whether out of being shouted at in front of everyone outside of the school, or simply because she'd felt like idiot for thinking finally back in Rafe's presence was going to be far more epic than it was, she didn't know. All she knew was she felt like a fool and certainly had no intention of sticking around watching her crush make eyes at his new girlfriend. So when the pair leaned in to still an innocent kiss, she stalked off hoping she'd run into Danny and his girlfriend Elizabeth Sullivan. Beth may have been a snob, but Rosie would take her over whatever trollop Rafe was dating any day.
By fourth period Rosie was just about ready to drop out of school and join the circus. Danny was off in his own little world with Beth, which wasn't new as the pair only got closer, even though no one in the entire town knew what the beautiful and classy mayor's daughter saw in a shy farm boy like Danny. Still the two were inseparable and had been together for quite sometime at that point, despite their age they showed no sign of separating. Rosie didn't want to interrupt them, as she knew Beth didn't really care for her and only tolerated her because of the boys. She certainly wasn't about to go near Rafe when he had his girlfriend around so as far as potential socializing she was out of ideas.
At lunch time Rosie collected her sack, containing her sandwich and an apple and took it outside to eat alone in the grass. So much for the warm welcome she'd been hoping for, she'd spent her whole summer dreaming about coming home and having Rafe pick her up and spin her around babbling about how much he missed her. But it was just a child like fantasy, she was just a silly little girl who dedicated to much time to following the cute older boy and his best friend around like a lost puppy. She would always be the person he came to when he and Danny couldn't figure out why the car wouldn't start or needed another person to play football with. He didn't even see her as a girl, it was girls like Darlene, pretty, feminine girls that he would fall for.
Those girls were all the same, all with some deep underlying issue that only she could see at first, they would worm their way into Rafe's life with batting lashes and puckered lips. Temporarily turning the quartet of Rafe, Danny, Rosie and Beth into a quintet with their presence. Then suddenly the tragic flaw would be revealed to the world. Rafe would run to her and she'd tell him he could do better than whatever jezebel had broken his heart. She would support him and do her best to cheer him up, eventually resorting to doing something silly and completely undignified to make him laugh. And for a while, she, him and Danny would be three peas in a pod once more, until Rafe ineffably fell head over heels for his next conquest and the process would start all over.
Distancing herself from from her best friend's girl drama for the time being, Rosanna was sitting outside on the grassy lawn near the football field minding her own business. It was still rather warm in Shelby at the end of August when school started in Tennessee, so she was enjoying the last vestiges of Summer while eating her lunch when a shadow fell over her.
"Rafe and I went out all summer while you were away you know." Darlene proclaimed standing over Rosie with her hands on her hips, her face pinched and puckered as if the mere existence of the petite brunette in front of her was somehow a person insult.
"That's nice, Darlene." Rosie answered with her mouth full of bologna and cheese. She had no doubt that the pair had been together probably from the second she left for Knoxville. Rafe was a popular boy and the girls were always looking for a way to get his attention. With her gone and Danny likely busy with Elizabeth Sullivan all vacation, odds were Rafe had plenty of free time to dedicate to his newest paramour. Just because she believed the story though, it didn't mean she wanted to hear it.
The fact that Rosie had all bust shrugged off her statement only seemed to annoy Darlene all the more however. Didn't she realize that the pretty blonde was asserting her ownership of a reason? Was Rosie really going to make her warn her off officially, rather than just taking the hint,"Yuck you really are disgusting Rosanna,, close your mouth when you're chewing. And to think all Rafe did was talk about you all vacation. Not that I can figure out why when he had me."
"Well I wish I could help you Darlene, but I can't figure that boy out anymore than you can."
"Oh stop with the nonsense, you know him better then anyone else, well expect maybe Danny, but I'm the girl in his life now so just stay away from him."
Stay away from him... Rosie hadn't said more than two words to the boy in months. Even that day when they were finally able to social because they were back to school together, they had had no interaction. In fact she had even deliberately come all the way outside to eat her lunch with the soul purpose of avoiding any contact with hazel eyed boy. What more did Darlene want from her? "That's what I was tryin' to do! I've been sittin' out here mindin' my own business, and you came out here to bother me. But maybe I should go talk to him and let him know what kinda person you are."
"You're pathetic. And you know what else you're never gonna have Rafe, not matter how long you follow him around like a lost little puppy dog. He doesn't like grease monkey's with no class. So go ahead and tell him whatever you want, he won't believe you. He loves me,"
Rosie shook her head and stood up attempting to walk away from the drama. It was only the first day of school and this certainly wasn't how she wanted to start the year. Before she could turn around and make her way back into the building Darlene grabbed her shoulder "I'm not done with you yet." She snarled jerking Rosie to a halt. Not her smartest move .
"Hey have either of you seen Darlene, or Ro, any where?" Rafe jogged up behind his best friend in hallway on the way to the cafeteria. While it had been pretty obvious to the young man that his female friend was pointedly avoiding him, Darlene had been attached at his hip all day. There was something strange going at Shelby High School.
"I haven't, have you Beth?" Danny turned his head to the pretty blonde standing close to his side, her hand resting on his arm affectionately.
Beth and Rosie weren't friends, they were hardly more than acquaintances and it certainly wasn't as though she had any reason to keep an eye on the other girls. "No I haven't, she's probably out tuning an engine or playing softball or having some sort of spitting contest or something. Was it my day to babysit," The mayor's daughter scoffed before being stabbed with the daggers shooting from Rafe's eyes. Sometimes she could be quite snobby.
Suddenly there was a ruckus down the corridor and Rafe, Danny and Beth all toward their attention toward it. Several teens were running down the hallway past them, talking excitedly. Everyone seemed to be heading out of the back door and out into the schoolyard. The trio had no idea why exactly, until one of the boys from their class came barreling out of the gymnasium.
"Rafe, Rosanna Gadry is about to beat the tar outa your girlfriend." Johnny Porter panted as he raced past the three friends in a mad dash to get out the football field and witness the action. Maybe he could even put a bet in before it started. The smart money would definitely be on Rosie.
With his deep hazel eyes going wide Rafe yelled "Oh shit!" before hurtling himself in the direction that everyone else was running. Danny and Elizabeth following closely on his heels.
When Rafe, Danny and Beth made it out to the school yard a congregation had already started to form around the wrestling girls. Rafe knew first hand what kind of power one of Rosie's punches contained, he was the one that taught her to fight to begin with, so he hoped she hadn't already killed his girlfriend. He and Danny charge through the crowd, Danny getting Darlene from behind and holding her back and Rafe grabbing Rosie around the waist.
"Put me down!" She screamed trying to kick free of his grasp. Though she was tiny she was rather explosive, a bit like TNT only without the warning labels.
As her small foot narrowly missed his groin as she kicked and wiggled trying to get away, Rafe grimaced. Tossing her over his shoulder, where she could do less damage, he stated, "Not until you promise to calm down." Though they both knew she had no intention of calming down, the girl was just too high strung.
"Alright who started this?" Danny queried with a sigh. He never was one for drama and yelling. Years of physical and emotional abuse from his father had left the boy as quiet and rather shy. Fights, especially those that caused the entire student body to congregate around him and his friends made him very uncomfortable.
"Everybody go back to your lives." Beth commanded shooing the onlookers knowing that crowds made her boyfriend nervous. She may have been snotty and a bit judgmental, but she would do anything for Danny Walker.
"She's a lovely girl." The snide comment came from one of Beth's closest friends Judy Hopper. Another well off young woman, whose father supported Mayor Sullivan as political asset forcing the two girls to spend a lot of time together. But Judy didn't understand Beth's loyalty to Danny or his friends.
Folding her arms over her chest with a sigh, Beth shook her head and countered "Yes she is, isn't she? Ah, but we're afraid she has a homicidal streak."
When the situation settled sightly and the crowd began to disperse, the three friends turned their attention back to the feuding girls. While Danny had released his hold on Darlene, Rosie was not as lucky. "She started it." Both Rosie and Darlene accused in unison.
"Oh boy." Danny sighed again. They weren't going to get to the bottom of anything that way.
"Rafe McCawley you put me down right now." Rosie ordered kicking him again, this time in the side, making the boy wince a little in pair.
"Ro, knock it off." He jostled his shoulders to bounce her around a bit, to get her to settle down. Though it only served to wind the little brunette up more.
"Rafe McCawley!" She snarled slapping him in the back of the head, forcing the boy to reach across himself to grab both of the girl's small hands in his larger one. It was going to be really embarrassing for him to have to explain the copious amount of bruises he was bound to end up with if she kept beating on him.
Though he was still holding Rosie over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Rafe shifted his focus over to his girlfriend. It was true that Darlene was a very feminine and somewhat delicate girl, he had a strong suspicion that it was she that had instigated the problems, even if it was Rosie who had every intention of finishing them, "Why'd you start all this Darlene,"
"Me, why do you assume it was me?" Darlene gasped, her pale blue eyes going wide and doed as she tried to look innocent.
The truth was Rafe had just known. The bond he had with Rosie was simple, but honest. He knew her sometimes better tan she knew her own self. He hadn't needed to hear his childhood friend's rendition of what happened to know she was innocent.
"Cuz if Ro, had," He smacked her behind causing her to yelp and attempt another kick, "she'd tell me. She doesn't lie to me about anything."
That was the sort of friendship the pair had, honest and nonjudgmental. If Rosie had been the one to cause the problems, she would have said so. Even if she had been fearful that picking a fight with his girlfriend would put her at odds with Rafe she would have been truthful with him. Their bond was second only to the one he shared with Danny.
"Oh pooh on you, Rafe McCawley. If you love Rosanna Gadry. so much why don't you just marry her?" Darlene growled, stumping her foot like an indignant child and then stormed off,
They had been outside for several long minutes before anyone spoke. Rafe standing in the grass watching as he his girlfriend stalked back to the main building. Danny giving his buddy's shoulder a squeeze of support. Knowing Rafe he would be seeing someone else in a few days anyway.
"We have to be in class in three minutes," Beth announced looking at her diamond studded gold watch, breaking the silence.
"Right, best not to be late on the first day." Danny agreed causing them to all head back toward the main building. If this day was going to be an indicator of what was to come, it was going to be a long school year.
As the group made their way back into the schoolhouse, Rosie still hanging from Rafe's shoulder declared, "You can put me down now, McCawley,"
"Be quiet you." He laughed as he smacked her hind end playfully.
For the rest of the day Rosie was the talk in every class, not just because she'd been in a fight on her first day but because she'd broken up Rafe and Darlene. The two that were set to be the freshmen classes power couple. Over summer vacation the pair had become very popular around town, especially with the girls around their age. All viewing them as the definition of some fairy tale romance. And nobody was pleased that Rosie had broken them up.
By the end of the day the entire incident had been blown way out of proportion. In one tale Rosie had broken Darlene's nose, just so she wouldn't be as attractive to Rafe as she had been. She was called jealous, a home wrecker and a whole list of other things that just weren't true. Rosie couldn't handle it, everywhere she looked people were giving her dirty looks or whispering behind their hands about her. She was so unnerved all she wanted to do was go home, get into her coveralls and climb under the hood of a car. Her happy place.
When the bell rang to signal the release of the students she nearly turned a somersault, grabbing her books up in her small arms and racing straight of the door without stopping to say goodbye to anyone.
Half way up the road from the school she heard a familiar gait running up quickly in her direction. Not exactly the person she wanted to see right then,in fact she wanted to do nothing more than forget all about that day and his part in it. But there was no point in trying to run a way. His legs were so much longer than her's it wouldn't take much for him to catch up with her.
"Why didn't you wait for us?" A male voice asked as the person fell into step beside of her. His shadow dwarfing hers on the dusty country road.
Rosie's reply came out as a mumble as she kicked a pebble with the toe of her new Mary Janes, "I just wanted to be alone."
"So ya don't want any company walking back,"
"No thanks. That's kinda what alone means, Rafe."
"Ro, get over it, I'm gonna walk with ya anyway." Rafe bumped her hip lightly in a playful manner. They hadn't gotten to talk all summer. She'd avoided him most of the day at school and now she was trying to shrug him off for walking home... Didn't she know she was one of his best friends? Hadn't she missed him as he had missed her?
Rosie was unusually quiet as they made their way through town, heading for their respective homes. Swinging her arms at her sides distractedly she asked, "Where's Beth and Danny?" hoping if she could come up with something to talk about, they could avoid the unpleasant conversation she knew was bound to come up.
"When I told them I was gonna go looking for ya they said they'd let us be alone. So tell me what happened today, Ro? You never just snap like that for no reason... What'd she do to you,"
Inside Rosie was already plotting revenge on Danny for leaving them alone. He was normally such a good buffer in these awkward moments. Clearly the distraction tactic hadn't work and they were going to have it out now, without Danny here to keep them in check,"Darlene was just bein' Darlene."
"Could you be a little more specific, I'm not a mind reader."
"She was just sayin' that she was the girl in your life now, that you didn't need me anymore. I know I shouldn't have let it bother me but ya know, it just did…"
"Oh come on Ro, you know no matter who I'm datin' you're still the girl in my life. Those girls come and go but you've been there before 'em all and you'll be there a long time after them. I'll always need you," He squeezed her hand lightly and offered a lopsided little grin.
"Thanks Rafe."
"No problem. I missed you a whole lot this summer... We had some trouble with one of the dusters and you know, Danny's a good pilot, but he's just not as good of a mechanic as you... But it seems like being with your Granny, did you some good,"
Rosie tried to contain the redness in her cheeks, she hadn't expected Rafe to notice the changes, though she'd hoped he would. He was right while she was with her grandmother she's filled out rather well. Her skin turned to a fine and delicate peaches and cream completion, her eyes got more of a sparkle and her hair grew out a bit giving it beautiful waves. If it wasn't for the overalls and boots she seemed to be wearing more often then not, Rosie would've been a very cute girl. Not Rafe's type, but cute none the less.
Dropping her dark eyes to the ground bashfully the young woman felt a strong blush creeping into her cheeks. Even though she'd known her friend didn't necessarily mean anything by the compliment, she couldn't help but feel giddy that he'd noticed the change in her looks. Granted she was still painfully small, and she didn't believe in things like fancy clothes and make up, at least she didn't look like a little girl anymore. Worried that Rafe would notice the fact she was turning as red as a radish, she quickly cooked up and excuse to run off before the boy said something boneheaded and ruined the great feeling she was having, "I'm going to late for my shift at the garage Rafe, I'll see you tomorrow," She said scurrying off, calling over her shoulder, "And I missed you too!"