Chapter 9: Robin Rottling
Manic Monday came rolling in like the western winds during drought. Stephanie dragged herself out of bed with a frown on her face. Today she had to see Amelia and Nate go at it like two members of an endangered species.
"Stephanie!" A single friendly voice was heard.
Shutting her locker, Stephanie looked for whoever spoke to her.
Tiffany bounced down the hall expressionless, carrying her books like a newborn baby. She stopped at her friend's side and faced her with hope.
"How are you feeling, Steph?"
"Fine," Steph lied. "I'm going to pretend nothing ever happened. Things will be normal today as they were before prom night."
Tiffany smiled. "I knew you'd be the same Stephanie. I have to dart off to English class, so I hope you have a great day. I'll catch you later!"
"See ya."
Stephanie sat down in her Math class. She felt out of place and very uncomfortable. Her heart pounded in her ears, palms sweated slightly. Nathaniel soon walked in with one of his buddies. They sat in their usual seats right behind Stephanie. The presence felt beyond abnormal like something from a sci-fi movie. Stephanie played the helpless girl who'd soon become the aliens' dinner.
"Our team is going to pound the Gashton Gaters next week." Nathan shouted to his friend Derek.
Derek replied with just as much excitement. "Totally! I'm gonna smash their brains in with my slam dunks. No one can beat me."
"No one 'cept maybe Kyle Barns and his fist if you get him mad enough. Last year he practically chased you down the court just for stealing the ball from one of his goon friends. imagine if you steal it from him? You'll die in mid-dunk."
Stephanie listened to the back-and-forth banter from Nathan's new friend.
He never used to talk to jocks so . . .enthusiastically, Stephanie pondered. Maybe he's doing this to successfully ignore me. I wish he'd talk to me.
"Hello." A stranger entered the room and smiled.
Pinky's eyes lifted slowly while her head stayed down. She took in the stranger's appearance and quickly calculated him as a new student. But, why so late in the year?
"Class," Mrs. Conners entered the class. She put her briefcase on her desk and announced, "This is our new transfer student, Robin Rottling. He's just transfered from . . . Where did you say you transfered from again?"
The male spotted a Gashton High Gaters t-shirt from the back of the room. He said, "I'm from Gashton High School." The voice held a certain familiar accent. "I transfered here because I recently moved and my school is too far from where I live now to board the bus or ask a parent to bring me. So, I'm here now, ready to graduate this year."
"Thank you for that sparkling introduction," Mrs. Conners smirked. "You may sit down now."
Robin Rottling spotted the only vacant seat next to a pink-haired girl. He sat down. With one hand, he brushed off some lint from his dark purple polo and rested the other hand on his dark blue pant leg.
Mrs. Conners spoke up once again, "Let's get to work now."
Stephanie peeked at the black-haired transfer student. Her attention strayed from school work. Perhaps this new student could be a new friend; A way to get even with Nathaniel and show him just how easy it is for her to flirt with guys.
"Hi," Stephanie whispered to Robin. "Just to let you know, this class sucks."
Robbie had to remind himself of who he was playing. He had never heard Stephanie swear before, and was quite attracted to the idea of her rebel side. Quickly, Robbie adjusted his shirt once more and smiled.
"I guess. My class after this should be a hoot. I have Physical Education." Robin wiped the smile from his face.
Stephanie grinned, "So do I. I'll have to show you how mean I am on the basketball court."
Robbie knew Stephanie would take a liking to Robin, but never expected the immediate response. It excited him. His plan was destined to be successful.
"Please take out your books," Mrs. Conners ordered, "and turn to page two-hundred nine. We'll continue with my lecture on the calculus chain rule and how to understand it more thoroughly."
Stephanie sighed. Math was her worst subject, yet she was somehow accepted in Calculus for her senior year. To the right of her, Robin shook nervously. Stephanie wanted to ask him if everything was alright, but guessed he was just nervous from the sudden transfer.
"Can anyone tell me where to use the chain rule in this problem?" Asked Mrs. Conners.
The classroom remained still as a mountain.
Mrs. Conners smirked and said, "Stephanie? Can you tell me?"
The pink in Stephanie's cheeks darkened. She shook her head.
"People! This work is crucial to your future." Mrs. Conners' voice boomed over the students' heads. "If you want to graduate, pay attention and learn this stuff! It's not going anywhere. The Calculus final is in a few weeks and I don't plan on making it easy. Now, can anyone enlighten me with the answer?"
A few hands shot in the air. Stephanie slumped in her chair as if she'd been pulled by an unseen black hole. Robin poked her. Steph's attention remained unatainable. He poked her again.
"I don't want to talk right now." Stephanie whispered.
Robin raised his hand.
Stephanie glanced at him.
Mrs. Conners called on him. "Yes, Mr. Rottling?"
"I was wondering where I'll be using calculus in my life." He blurted.
Stephanie's eyes widened.
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Conners sneered.
Robin continued talking, "Earlier you said we need to learn this, but I see no reason to. I don't understand any of it, and never want to. I've gone all my life without needing this subject. Why is it so important?"
There was no problem with Robin's question because it wasn't rude, but honest. His tone of voice held no aggression. The teacher looked at Robin as if she were pondering a punishment.
"Nice tongue, Mr. Rottling. Though it's your first day, you think it's wise to be wise. I think not. Next time you question your learning criteria with such pompous attitude, you'll be assigned twice as much homework as the rest of the class." Mrs. Conners continued with her lesson, ignoring Robin completely.
Stephanie raised an eyebrow. She whispered to Robin, "Why would you do that?"
"It's called stalling, Stephanie."
With five minutes left of class, Steph saw what Robbie meant. The more the teacher became distracted with scolding students, the more time wasted.
The bell rang prominently, sending students into a mental state much like Pavlov's dogs. They left the classroom and flooded each hall of the school. Robin stayed by Stephanie's side, paranoia biting at his side. His hand quickly dropping after reaching to her hand for guidance. Robin was a lost child in the big city, following the only sanity he knew. Little did he know, sanity was a double-edged sword that could cut into its very opposite. Its trickery could cause even criminals to think their lifestyle was acceptable.
Stephanie felt like talking to Robin, but wanted to keep to herself and her swirling thoughts. The agony of seeing Nate crash through the croud of students towards a glowing figure made Stephanie's heart leap into her throat. Amelia stood at her open locker, peering into a mirror with puckered lips. Her fire-brick lipstick blinded Stephanie even from her far distance. Robin slowed down so he wouldn't pass Steph. When they stopped completely, he gazed at the mysterious woman who pecked Nate's cheek with her barbaric lips.
"You ok?" Robin asked Stephanie, who appeared waxlike.
She whimpered, "....yeah..."
Amelia, Nate's lighthouse, brought him in with an intoxicating beam. Their tongues danced in front of everyone passing by. With tilted heads, Nate took the chance to peek at Stephanie. She saw this. The chunks rose.
Slamming through the bathroom door, Stephanie didn't give one sweet shit who she hit. Her body akwardly threw itself into a stall and doubled over. The stall wasn't shut.
"Oh my God!" Lily ran to her co-cheerleader's side. She put a gentle hand on Stephanie's back.
"I'm fine, leave me be." Steph shifted her head and saw her friend.
Lily questioned with shaking hands, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Steph said. She stood and flushed the toilet. "Just a bad reaction."
The two left the stall. Stephanie glanced at herself in the mirror and wiped her mouth with her wrist. She turned the faucet on and scrubbed her hands once . . . twice . . . three times.
"Geez, Steph, you really like to be clean."
Stephanie scrubbed harder.
Lily shut the faucet. "Can you tell me what's wrong now?"
"I saw Nate kiss Amelia. They were making out in the halld and he gave me a look like now you know I really don't like you anymore."
"He's going out with Amelia now. They went on a double with Paul and I Sunday night. They really hit it off at prom. In fact, they got my car steamed up! So wait," Lily frowned and asked, "what did you have a bad reaction to?"
Stephanie sighed. Lily wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but her high spot in social class kept her strung on with the rest of them.
Another lump rose in Stephanie's throat. This time she closed the stall door.