Lunchtime...
Rodrigo walked into the lunchtime and headed toward his usual chill stop with his friends. As he continued walking, it didn't take a genius to sense the high tension among the students who were there. Although on the outside it looked like as if everything was normal, with everyone busy clambering away with their utensils, looking at the their phones, or chatting away with their friends, everyone was extremely nervous and anxious. The tension was so high in the lunchroom that the students were worried that any small misstep such as a look, or a simple touch on the shoulder could ignite another huge brawl. No student attempted to make any eye contact unless absolutely necessary.
Last week, another incident occurred where a white female student was 'supposedly' sexually harassed by a group of 'black' students. Despite reporting to the police that the men who attacked her were dressed in black, it was somehow misinterpreted and leaked to the students that she was attacked by a group of black students. In retaliation, a group of random black students were ambushed and beaten by a group of students dressed in white, just outside of school property not long after school was over for the day. There was no evidence, nor even a hint of suspicion from the authorities that those black students were the perpetrators. The incident prompted a furious outcry among parents and students as another incident of discriminatory violence against blacks. The result was a huge increase of complaints from non-white students against white students and even teachers from 'supposedly' racist or discriminatory behaviour and gestures.
Despite the tension, Rodrigo continued to walk until he found his table and sat down to eat. He was happy that at the very least, his group of friends were not affected by these increasing incidents of ethnic, racial and sexual orientation violence and division. Actually, the gang attempted to remain calm and continue on with life as usual.
While the rest of his friends conversed away, Rodrigo just sat quietly and ate his food, but noticed Rhonda's worrying facial expression as she texted away on her cell. After a minute, that facial expression then turned to sadness.
Being rather curious, Rodrigo decided to ask her about it.
"You ok, Rhonda?"
*sigh* "No, I'm not Rodrigo." She responded back sadly. "Michael and Jeremy just broke up. I have been texting them both to find out what happened and try to get them back together."
"Oh, this is a disaster!" She dramatically cried out. "They were such as cute couple. I thought they were meant for each other. They even asked me to be their wedding planner when they got married, Oh! I know it was early, but I had so many ideas for their theme. Now, it's all gone down the drain, all because of these stupid rumours!"
This prompted everyone in the group to stop talking and look at Rhonda. Although there was a silent agreement to not really discuss what had been going on at school within the group, fearing that it might make them to splinter as well, they were curious to see how these rumours claimed their latest victims.
"Why did they break up?" Rodrigo asked her.
"Well apparently, Jeremy doesn't think that Michael understands his position as a gay black person and how more vulnerable he is than someone who is white or straight." She began to explain. "Despite how many times he has tried to explain it to him, Michael always seems to downplay the race card as an issue. Worse, Jeremy got really upset with Michael because he believed that whomever attacked that white girl last week were black, which Jeremy says there is no proof. Anyways, long story short, Jeremy says that these cracks in their relationship got started alongside the increased fighting and violence in this school. So, Jeremy broke up with Michael this morning and now both are really upset about it."
"Oh dear, that's terrible!" Exclaimed a worried Phoebe.
"Whilikers, this is getting out of hand!" Exclaimed a frustrated Stinky.
"I agree with Stinky. I'm every so sure that if things continue this way, things will get much worse." Lila commented.
"This is such a terrible, terrible thing to have happened to our school!" exclaimed a worried Peapod Kid.
"I concur. Things have gotten a lot worse. I'm no longer comfortable walking around the hallway without looking behind me." Eugene added with a worried facial expression.
"I know Eugene. But you got us and we'll always have your back." Gerald reassured him as he gave him a small nudge on his shoulder.
Eugene just gave him a little smile. "Thanks Gerald."
"Oh this is all so frustrating!" Exclaimed Sheena. "I can't stand to watch as my friends and this school succumb to violence and hate!"
"Your other friends have been affected by these rumours too?" Nadine asked Sheena.
"I'm afraid so. Two of them won't talk to each other." Sheena explained.
"So it is safe to assume that practically every kid in this school has been in some ways of form affected by these hateful rumours?" Rodrigo asked.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Hey guys, don't you think we should do something...?" Sid asked.
"We should." said Rodrigo as he instantly got up. "We can't stand by idly and do nothing while our school get infested with such a poisonous environment."
"Um, I was talking about Jeremy and Michael's relationship. You didn't let me finish." Sid clarified himself.
"Oh." said Rodrigo. "But that's not enough, Sid. Our entire school is being affected by this and we need to find out who has been spreading these rumours."
"But what can we do?" Asked Harold. "We're just a bunch of kids with no leads, no evidence and it's not like the police are going to allow us to help them."
"True, but we don't need the police." Said Rodrigo. "We've solved many issues on our own before and we can do it again. Well, not together of course because I only just got here less than a year ago. But we can do solve this mystery together."
"Oh come on, Rodrigo!" exclaimed Harold. "You know that this is bigger than any of us and we've never dealt with anything like this before. This is not just affecting our school, but the entire country. The only difference is that our school up until now, was not really affected by the rest of this crap."
"And besides," Gerald added. "School is almost over. A quarter of the students will be graduating this year, not to mention that most no longer trust each other, so it's not like this student body is going to be eager to help out."
"Can you ask Fuzzy Slippers and see if he perhaps knows anything about who has been spreading these rumours at our school?" Rodrigo asked Gerald.
"I was already ahead of you, Rodrigo." Gerald responded. "Unfortunately, he wasn't able to come up with anything. Whoever is spreading these rumours must be that good that even Fuzzy Slippers doesn't know who he is."
Rodrigo just groaned in frustration.
"It's not like we have been sitting idly, Rodrigo." Said Lorenzo. "Those we know who have been affected by these rumours, we've tried to help them. I was actually able to prevent some of my friends from splitting up. But I can't say the same for other groups. We can't even help some of our friends and fellow students, how can we fix an entire school from these?"
Despite his determination, Rodrigo knew that his friends had good points. Although wishing to add some encouraging words, he stumbled on what to really say to get them motivated. After a few seconds, with nothing to really say, not even able to come up with a plan, he frustratingly sat back down and sighed in defeat.
These guys are serious downers when they want to be. Rodrigo thought.
Noticing his frustrated and sad look on his face, Helga decided to say something encouraging... in her own way at least.
"What are you glooming about, Latino boy?" She asked him. "You heard what Gerald said; a quarter of the students will be graduating this year. That means that a huge chunk of these losers who got suckered into these rumours will no longer be here, so we won't have to deal with those mindless drones who prefer to listen to some idiot spreading false rumours rather than to their own friends. This whole thing will blow over soon. People just need some time apart and to really think just how stupid they were to have believed in these rumours. You'll see. By the time we start the twelve grade, we will be laughing about it."
Rodrigo was a bit taken aback by Helga's optimism. Indeed, ever since the events in March had happened, he couldn't help but realize that Helga had a more positive outlook on things. Although, she tended to drift off a bit to her usual cynical and pessimistic attitude from time to time. But it's a start and Rodrigo was proud of her.
"I hope you're right about that Helga." He remarked.
Yet, despite her sense of optimism, Rodrigo was not sure that it was going to be that easy. A lot of damage had already been done and it will take a long time for things to cool down and heal.
"Me too." Eugene added. "Well, sorry guys, but I gotta run. I'm needed at the theatre to direct another play."
"Same here." Said Park. "I have to go and finish an assignment that is due tomorrow."
"For what class is it?" Peapod Kid asked.
"Physics." Park responded.
"Allow me to help you with that, my friend." Said Peapod Kid with a confident smile on his face. "I'm a bit knowledgeable on the mysterious ways of the atom."
"I have to go too." Said Lorenzo. "I'm suppose to meet up with a friend later today. Thankfully, he hasn't been affected by these rumours."
Everyone then said their goodbyes to their four friends as they left the lunchroom, all except Rodrigo who was too much into his own thoughts to have said his goodbyes. He felt a bit down in knowing that the school that he had come to like for its diversity and open-mindedness had been sliding down the sinkhole in such a short time. Indeed, one the reasons why he and his family left L.A. was due to the amount of racial, homophobic and stereotypical remarks that permeated a good portions of the schools in that city.
What would Arnold have done? He thought to himself.
