Tuesday, September 6, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
Teachers' Lounge, Lunch Time

"Derek Harper has a sister?" Mr. Collins, the biology teacher, asked Mrs. Haynes. She nodded as she took a sip of her chamomile tea. He scratched his head as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He placed the coffee pot back on the hot plate stove, then picked up his cup and walked over to the table where Mrs. Haynes was sitting. "The new girl that's in my 3rd period class with the dimples, braids, beads and slight Southern accent is Derek's sister?" he asked.

"Yes, Leo," Mrs. Haynes said with a smile, "that's Cecelia Harper, Derek Harper's little sister." She took a bite of her turkey and Swiss sandwich while Mr. Collins scratched his head again. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Good grief! For such a smart man, Leo can be dense sometimes," she thought. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before asking, "Well…well where did she come from?"

Mrs. Haynes paused mid bite as she looked at Leo with amusement. He sputtered a couple of times. "That's not what I meant, Lonnie, and you damn well know it!" She laid her sandwich down on the paper plate and chuckled. "Just checking, Leo. Just checking." Coach Harkins and Miss Wells, 11th grade English teacher, both walked in on the tail end of Mrs. Haynes' comment. "What are you two talking about?" Miss Wells asked as she sat down next to Mrs. Haynes, placing her sack lunch and soda on the table in front of her. Coach Harkins headed to the coffee pot.

"Derek Harper's alleged sister," Mr. Collins replied. "Oh, Leo, stop being so dramatic," Mrs. Haynes said teasingly. Miss Wells nodded her head in understanding. "So, that's what has the kids all abuzz today," she said. "What do you know about her, Lonnie?" Mrs. Haynes shrugged. "Only what their mother told Mr. Clayton," she replied, "and that wasn't very much. She told him that something happened to Cecelia when she was 10, so the mother sent her to live with relatives in North Carolina."

"Derek's been in my homeroom class since 9th grade," Miss Wells said. "He never mentioned or even hinted that he had a sister. He just talked about his cousins. I wonder why he never said anything about her." Coach Harkins sat down and said, "Hmmph. She probably did something to embarrass Derek and the family."

Mrs. Haynes tilted her head to one side. "Karl, what could a 10 year old girl possibly do to embarrass her whole family?" she asked. Coach Harkins shrugged. "Anything," he said. "Get pregnant. Kill someone. Run away from home and become a prostitute. Anything." She sighed heavily. "It's so good to know that you're such a positive and upbeat person, Karl," Mrs. Haynes said sarcastically. He shrugged. "Well, you asked. I answered."

Mrs. Haynes shook her head and bit her tongue. "Lord, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick this man in the shins," she thought to herself. "Has anyone looked at her school records yet?" Miss Wells asked, trying to keep the peace. "I looked at them last week," Mrs. Haynes said. "There's nothing unusual in there. She had been here in the New York school system since kindergarten before transferring to North Carolina. The records from there show she's a very good student, As and Bs with an occasional C every now and then. No history of outrageous behavior or disciplinary problems."

Coach Harkins scoffed. "That means nothing. I still say there's something wrong with her. Otherwise, there wouldn't be all this mystery surrounding her," he said. Mrs. Haynes and Miss Wells both rolled their eyes. "Well, there can't be too much wrong with Cecelia Harper," Mrs. Haynes said. "Otherwise, Bobby Goren wouldn't have made a point of speaking to her after homeroom this morning."

Miss Wells raised her eyebrows. "Bobby Goren? Mr. Tall, Dark and Moody himself spoke to a girl FIRST before she chased after him?" she asked. Mrs. Haynes smiled and nodded, sipping on her tea. "Wow. I'm impressed." "So was I," Mrs. Haynes said. "Cecelia was absolutely speechless. I think I smell love in the air."

"Oh, brother," Mr. Collins said. "Bobby Goren speaks to a girl first and you automatically assume he's head over heels in love. That's so unfair to him." "I agree," Coach Harkins said. "Oh, you hush up, Leo," Miss Wells said playfully. "I'm a hopeless romantic. Don't you dare destroy my delusions." All four teachers laughed as they continued talking about other school related things.

Tuesday, September 6, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
Cafeteria, Lunch Time

"Hey, Lewis!" Bobby said loudly over the crowd. "Wait up." Lewis stopped in front of the lunch line door to wait for his friend. He stepped aside to let the other kids go through. "Bobby, hurry up! I'm starving over here!" Lewis said. Bobby laughed as he caught up with him. "Lewis, I've seen how much you eat at breakfast time. You can't possibly be starving." "Ah, shut up! I'm a growing boy." "Oh, yeah. You're a growing boy alright. You're growing wide instead of up."

Lewis nudged Bobby in the arm before giving him a little push towards the door. "Just for that crack, you're buying my lunch today," he said. Bobby sighed. "Are you broke? Again?" he asked as he picked up 2 trays, handing one of them to Lewis. Lewis shook his head. "Nope. I actually got 5 dollars in my pocket. But you seem to forget that you owe me from last week when we went to Tony O's Pizza Place and I paid for everything."

Bobby looked at Lewis skeptically. "I thought I paid for everything at Tony O's," he said. Lewis shook his head again. "Nope. You paid for everything at Pauley's Pizzeria. And that was right after school let out for the summer. You owe me," he said. "Okay, okay, okay! Sheesh. Don't get your panties in a twist, man!" Bobby said playfully.

Lewis looked at the bowl of chocolate pudding he had just placed on his tray. "Bobby, if you weren't my friend and if I wasn't going to eat this pudding, I'd throw it at you," he said. Bobby looked down at him, then rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'd like to see you try," he said. "Order already."

"Bobby! Lewis! Over here!" a young girl with long brown hair and glasses said as the 2 friends emerged out of the lunch line. Bobby turned his head and saw the girl waving at him. He and Lewis turned and headed in her direction. As they were walking along, a few girls waved and spoke to them. A couple of girls winked at Bobby, who just smiled and blushed. When they reached the table where the brown haired girl was sitting, Lewis said to Bobby, "Man, when I grow up, I wanna be just like you."

Bobby shook his head. "Some of them don't see me," he said to Lewis. "They see Frank." He turned his attention to the brown haired girl and said, "Hey, Mattie." Matilda Jensen, or Mattie as she was known to her friends, was the school's newspaper editor and photographer. She had recently been selected to be on the yearbook committee. "Hey, yourself," she said. "What's shaking, Lewis?" she asked. Lewis shrugged. "Not much, Mattie."

"Oh, my goodness," a female voice said from behind Bobby and Lewis. "Mutt and Jeff have decided to grace us with their presence. I am honored," she continued in a sarcastic tone. "Hey, Tricia," Bobby said with heavy sigh. Tricia Baker sat down across from Bobby, next to her cousin Mattie. "Lewis, aren't you going to speak to me today?" Tricia asked.

Lewis and Bobby found Tricia to be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but she was likeable once people got passed the sarcastic attitude (if they managed to make it pass the sarcasm). Bobby and Lewis did know one thing for sure about Tricia and Mattie: if they were ever in a jam, they'd be the ones to come to their rescue.

Lewis pasted a big fake smile on his face and said, "Hello, Tricia." She laughed. "You really need to stop making that face, Lewis, or you'll scare somebody," she said. Tricia noticed that Bobby and Lewis each had 3 cheeseburgers and French fries on their plates. She made a face. "Ugh! You two aren't seriously going to eat all that red meat, are you? Think of all the poor cows that died, giving their lives to feed you."

"YOU think about them, Tricia," Lewis said. "I'm going to eat. Just because you've become a vegetarian now doesn't mean I'm going to become one any time soon." Tricia poked out her bottom lip. "I thought you guys were my friends. That you would support any cause I'm into," she said. "Tricia, we are your friends," Bobby said. "But if your cause is going to interfere with my stomach and my eating habits, you can forget it."

"Hmmph!" Tricia said. Mattie waved a dismissive hand. "Forget about the meat versus veggies war. Have you heard the latest news that's going around the school?" she asked. "About some new girl who is suppose to be Derek Harper's sister." "Who hasn't heard about that?" Tricia said. "It's all I've been hearing about since first period. Who is she? What does she look like?" "Do you think she'll give me an interview?" Mattie asked. Lewis groaned. "Ah, geez, Louise! Rona Barrett and Nancy Drew have come out of hiding now! That's just great!" he complained. "Give the poor girl a break."

"Her name is Cecelia Harper, but she goes by CeCe," Bobby said. "If you want to know what she looks like, there she is." He pointed towards the lunch line door, which CeCe had walked out of. Mattie, Tricia and Lewis all turned their heads in the direction Bobby was pointing. CeCe was looking around for a place to sit when she spotted an empty table in the corner. So she headed towards it. "She just turned 16 and she likes to draw," Bobby continued saying.

"That's her?" Mattie asked. "Mattie, we saw her when we came into the building. Remember?" Tricia said. Mattie nodded. "Yeah, I remember, Trish. I thought she looked kinda funny with the beads in her head." Lewis looked at Bobby. "How do you know all of that about her?" he asked. Mattie and Tricia turned to look Bobby as well. He shrugged and said, "She's in my homeroom class. Mrs. Haynes made her get up in front of the class and introduce herself."

Mattie reached over and pinched the back of Bobby's hand. "You've already met her and didn't tell me?!" she asked. "I'm the newspaper editor. I need to know these things!" Bobby rubbed the spot where she had pinched him. "Ouch! Stop doing that, Mattie!' he said.

"Bobby, go over there and ask her to sit with us," Tricia said. He gave her a leery look. "I'm not gonna ask her to sit with us if the only thing you two want to do is ask a bunch of nosy questions." Mattie and Tricia pretended to look hurt. "We would never do anything like that," Mattie said. "We're not like some of the gossipy kids around here," Tricia said. "Oh, give me a break," Lewis said, his mouth crammed full of food. "Both of you like to gossip more than anybody I know."

Bobby tuned out the debate between Mattie, Tricia and Lewis. He watched CeCe sit down at the table. He wondered how her first day at this school was going. "She's probably having a shitty day like I did when I got here and people found out I was Frank's brother," he thought to himself. He sighed as heavily as he made up his mind to go talk to her. "Listen, guys," he said, "I'm gonna ask her to sit with us, but you have to promise me you won't ask a bunch of questions and scare her."

Tricia and Mattie both crossed their hearts. "I'll keep my journalist mind under control for as long as I can," Mattie said. Bobby looked at Lewis. "What?" Lewis asked, his mouth still crammed with food. "Never mind, Lewis," Bobby said, shaking his head as he stood up and walked towards CeCe.

CeCe had her hamburger in one hand and a pencil in the other, doodling in her sketchbook when a large shadow fell across her page. "Hey, CeCe." She looked up to see Bobby standing there, looking down at her with a smile, his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets. "Hi," she said shyly. CeCe and Bobby just looked at each other, smiling, an awkward silence settling over them. "Oh, Lord! He must think I'm some kind of idiot," she thought to herself. "Gosh, she's beautiful," he thought to himself.

"I…I'm Bobby Goren. I'm in your homeroom class," he said to break the silence. CeCe nodded. "I remember," she said. He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb and said, "My friends and I would like for you to sit with us. If…if you want to." She leaned to the side a little to look pass Bobby. She saw Mattie, Tricia and Lewis smiling and waving at her. She smiled at them before sitting up straight in her chair.

CeCe looked at Bobby with wide eyes. "Y'all want ME to sit with you?" she asked. Bobby smiled and nodded. "Sure, we do," he said. He was confused by the look of terror that crossed CeCe's face. "Is something wrong?" She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Uh, no. Everything's fine," she replied softly. Bobby said, "So, you wanna sit with us?"

"Cecelia-a-a Ro-o-o-se Harper!" a male voice shouted. Bobby turned towards the voice. CeCe groaned. "God, why is he yelling my whole name?" she muttered under her breath, putting down her hamburger and pencil. Walking towards them was Derek Harper.

Derek was 6 foot 1½ inches tall, medium brown skin and slim. He was co-captain of the school's basketball team, walked with a confident swagger like John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever," and played small forward just like his idol, Julius "Dr. J." Erving. He did sport an Afro like Dr. J had for a while, but he got tired of it, choosing to keep his hair cut close instead.

Derek was one of the most popular kids in the school and a star athlete. Many college scouts had come out to see him in action. He wanted to go the same college as Dr. J had attended, but when the University of North Carolina came knocking on his door, Derek couldn't resist. He would be eligible to sign with them as soon as the basketball season started.

"What's going on, CeCe?" Derek asked as he approached his sister with open arms. CeCe smiled as she stood up and hugged her brother. She stepped away from him and shook her head, the beads making a slight clinking noise. "Not much," she said. Derek turned to look at Bobby. "Whatcha know good, Bean?" he said, putting his hand up for a high five.

"Nothing, man," Bobby said as he gave Derek a high five. A puzzled look crossed CeCe's face. "Bean?" she asked. Derek put his arm around her shoulders. "You see how tall this fool is?" he said. "He's as tall as the beanstalk from 'Jack and the Beanstalk.'" "Oh," she said. "Besides, you gotta watch out for this guy," Derek said. "He leaves a trail of broken hearts just like his brother."

CeCe looked at Bobby, feeling a little deflated at this bit of news about Bobby. He shook his head. "Don't listen to him, CeCe. He's making up stuff." "Uh huh. Sure I am," Derek said with a wink. "Then why are you over here talking to CeCe?" "I was asking her if she wanted to sit with me and my friends," Bobby explained. Derek scoffed. "She ain't got to hang with y'all. She's got me and my friends to hang with. Get your stuff, CeCe."

CeCe did as she was told, gathering up her sketchbook and purse while Derek picked up her tray. He carried it in one hand and put an arm around her shoulders. "See ya at practice, Bean," Derek said over his shoulder, heading towards his table. "See ya, Derek," Bobby replied. CeCe looked back at him longingly, wishing she had jumped at the opportunity to take Bobby up on his offer. She silently mouthed "I'm sorry." Bobby shrugged, giving her a small smile. "It's okay," he silently mouthed back.

When Derek and CeCe reached his table, a light skinned girl walked up to them. She stood in front of CeCe with her hands on her hips. "Derek, who is THIS you got your arm around?!" she asked, looking CeCe up and down with a sneer. He removed his arm from around CeCe's shoulders. CeCe took a step back, the girl walking even closer. "Cool out, Veronica," Derek said as put his arm up between the girls. "This is my sister, CeCe."

Veronica frowned. "Debbie, is this the country bumpkin you was talking about that's in your homeroom?" she asked, looking over her shoulder. "Yeah, that's her," one of the girls replied. Veronica turned her attention back to CeCe, looking her up and down again. CeCe felt as if she had been hit in the stomach. She wondered what in the world she had done to these people to have them talking badly about her to her face.

"Wait just a minute," Derek said as he put CeCe's tray down on the table. "How you gonna call somebody country when your ass just moved from some country town in Georgia 2 years ago?" Veronica put her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "I didn't use those words; Debbie did," she said sweetly. Derek grunted as Veronica batted her eyelashes. "Girl, if you wasn't so fine, I'd be mad at you," he said, leaning down and giving her a quick kiss.

CeCe mentally groaned. "Ugh! Where did Derek find this girl?" she thought. Veronica stepped away from Derek to sit down. She squealed when he grabbed a handful of her butt and squeezed. "This is my sister, CeCe," he said to everyone at the table. She shook herself out of her thoughts and waved. "Hi," she said softly. Derek introduced everyone that was sitting around the table. She sat down where Derek had placed her tray while he went to sit next to Veronica.

CeCe sat there quietly and ate her lunch while everyone talked to each other, occasionally asking her a question or two. She glanced over to where Bobby was sitting. She blushed and ducked her head as she caught him looking at her. She looked back at him and smiled. He smiled back. "Maybe I'll get to sit with Bobby tomorrow," she thought as she started to eat again.

Tuesday, September 6, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
Miss Wells' 5th Period English Class

"Okay, everyone," Miss Wells said as she walked into the room. "I want you all to stand up and line up against the wall. I'm going to place you in assigned seats alphabetically." The kids groaned and grumbled as they stood. "Yes, I know. Life is soooo unfair," Miss Wells said. "But we learn to deal with it." She opened her roll book and stood next to the first desk. "Adair," she called, pointing at the desk.

"Goren," Miss Wells called. Bobby pushed himself off the wall and headed towards his assigned seat. "Harper." Miss Wells' eyebrows shot up in surprise. She slowly turned to look at CeCe as she approached her desk. "Welcome to Hudson-Brooklyn, Cecelia," Miss Wells said. "Thank you," CeCe said.

Bobby turned around and smiled at CeCe when she sat down. She blushed, smiled and ducked her head. Miss Wells was flabbergasted as she caught the brief exchange between her 2 students. "Oh my goodness! Lonnie was right! Bobby Goren IS making a…a pass at her!" Miss Wells wasn't the only one to notice Bobby smile at CeCe. Several of the other students saw it, too. A few hushed whispers could be heard around the room.

Miss Wells loudly cleared her throat to quiet the students down. "Cecelia, do you want to change seats with Bobby? That way you can see me and the board more clearly?" she asked. It just dawned on her that CeCe was shorter than Bobby and that he might be blocking her view. "No, ma'am," CeCe said. "I can see the board just fine. I sometimes sat behind a tall kid in my classes at my old school." "Okay," she said as she continued to call the students names.

"I'm glad to see you all back this year," Miss Wells after she had finished assigning the students to their desks. "We're going to have a wonderful year together. This semester we're going to be studying 'Romeo and Juliet.'" A few sarcastic 'YAYs' could be heard around the room. She laughed. "It's nice to see that some of you are excited," she said playfully.

"As we are studying this play, I want everyone to pay close attention to the 1st 6 sections in Act 2, Scene 2. I want the guys to memorize Romeo's part; the young ladies to memorize Juliet's part." The students started to grumble. Miss Wells clapped her hands to quiet them. "I'm not finished yet," she said with a laugh. "I'm going to partner you all up, young man with a young lady. You will get up in front of your peers and act out this scene."

The kids started protesting as this bit of information sunk into their brains. Miss Wells held up her hands. "I knew you all would feel this way," she said loudly. "That's why I decided to make this interesting." They quieted down enough to hear what Miss Wells was about to say.

"On the day you get up in front of the class to say your lines, there will be 3 judges who will choose the best Romeo and Juliet from each class. Then they will judge those 6 sets of Romeos and Juliets. The winners from the 2nd round of judging will win a pizza party for their class."

A triumphant look crossed Miss Wells' face as the students started talking excitedly amongst themselves. She smiled and picked up her roll book again to begin calling names. She said, "This weekend, I want you all to go out and get a copy of the play. Make sure you and your partner study TOGETHER to win this prize. We'll start studying on Monday."

Miss Wells flipped open her book to the list of partners she already had made out. "Bobby Goren and Cecelia Harper," she called. Bobby turned around and looked at CeCe. She smiled shyly at him. Everyone was too excited about the pizza party to realize that Bobby and CeCe were partners just yet.

Bobby smiled and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Romeo," he said. CeCe laughed lightly, shaking his hand. "Hi, I'm Juliet." Miss Wells kept on calling names as she watched Bobby and CeCe. "Oh, my!" she thought to herself. "This is going to be a very interesting assignment."