ROBIN’S REALITY CHECK
by Latanya West

“Halle! Grab a pencil. We’ll ace the project for sure with this …” I’d finally gotten Halle on the phone after trying for hours.

“You don’t have to yell, Robin,” she told me. 

I ignored this.  Halle had been a little weird lately.

“Halle,” I said, my eye wandering back to the television where Tyra Banks was announcing America’s Next Top Model. “Listen!  I’m missing the show.”

“STOP yelling at me,” Halle said, her voice raising an octave.

Whoa.  She’d gotten mad at me before, but, this time, I didn’t think I’d done anything.  I waited.

“Robin,” she continued, “Not everyone wants straight A’s. Who cares about straight A’s?!” 

“You’re kidding.  Right?” I said.

“Relax already.  Halle! Do this, do that!  I’m done, Rob. I’m working with Serena and Brooke this time.  At least they know how to have fun,” Halle announced.

“Oh.” I said.  Nothing intelligent came out.  Halle wouldn’t do that to me. Serena and Brooke? The fifth grade soccer snobs?  Those foo foo team captains picked me last, every time. 

“Gotta go, Rob. Bye.”  She hung up. My mind did a triple take.  Did I just get dissed by my best friend?

Since fifth grade, it’s been the same.  Halle is the keyboarding speed queen.  That’s been our thing.  I have the big ideas and she puts them on paper.  What just happened?

That night I had the worst nightmare of my life.  I dreamt I was in science class.  I saw Halle at her desk near the bookcase. On the wall above her a huge clock chimed like a choo choo train chugging loudly about the room. Huge creepy capital letters, A B C D, filled the clock face.  The big hand pointed to the lone number twelve. The little hand pointed to the F.  F o’clock? 

My stomach twisted in spasms as my eyes traveled further along the classroom walls. Stapled to the bulletin boards like mock newspaper headlines, gray-white posters screamed out in red lettering ‘Robin Gets an F!’  ‘Robin Fails To Get Into College!’ ‘University Scholarships Impossibility for Rob!’  Then, Halle, Brooke and Serena pointed long mocking fingers at me and cracked up laughing.  It was awful.

At school the next day, I combed the cafeteria and the quad.  No Halle.  In fourth period I scribbled down the project outline, narrowly evading Mr. Holmes’ eagle eyes. 

The next period?  Science.  A shudder ran up my spine.  I headed to class in a cold sweat, with last night’s dream devouring my mind.  When I got there, I couldn’t help it.  I glanced at the clock. 

1:00 p.m.  Pleasantly normal. 

Halle, Serena and Brooke were already at their desks, loudly ignoring me.  I swallowed the knot in my throat and found my seat.

Just before the bell, Mrs. Waters made her dreaded announcement.  “Drop your project outlines on my desk as you leave. Late outlines will be marked down.” 

I pulled the scribbled mess from my binder and cringed.  I dropped it on Mrs. Waters’ desk and rushed for the exit.   This was not how it was supposed to go.

Stepping into the hall, I spotted the threesome headed to the quad.

“Halle! Wait up!” They walked alongside each other like a happy-go-lucky gang of pals.  

“What’s up, Robin?” Serena and Brooke said in unison, sounding like parrots begging for crackers.

“Can I talk to you alone, please,” I said to Halle, motioning to the bench just outside the corridor.

She stood there a moment, thinking. Then she turned to Serena and Brooke. “I’ll catch up with you guys in a minute,” she told them.

“We’ll save you a seat,” Brooke said with a smirk.  The whole thing felt weirder by the second.

“Halle, what’s up?” I said when they were gone.  “I had to write the outline in fourth period.  I couldn’t find you all day.  I didn’t know if I should put your name on it.  Did you even turn one in?”

“Rob, listen, will you please?” Halle’s face was a frown. “Remember when you got mad at me last year for going to the junior varsity game instead of doing homework with you?”

“Yeah.”  I stood there, trying to figure her out.  “We still got an A, didn’t we?”

“But we could’ve turned it in early. Gotten an A plus!”

“You see!  There, right there.  Seventh grade could have been a blast but you always had your head stuck in a book! You didn’t go to one game last year.  Or choir – and you love to sing!” Halle said, batting her brown curls out of her eyes.

“So? I got a 4.0. Hard work pays off, Halle!”

Halle’s hands went immediately to her hips. “You’ve been saying that since fourth grade! You sound like your dad!”

True.  I’d never thought of it like that, but it was true.

“Rob,” she said, “do you have to study all the time?” 

Her question floated around up there in the air for a while.  Neither of us said anything.

“I Gotta go.”  Halle looked toward the quad.

“Okay.”  I traced the lines on the linoleum with my foot, thinking…hesitating.  This was hard. “Halle, I’m… I’m sorry,” I finally said.  “Are we still partners?”

She shook her head slowly.  “Not this time.  But …” She paused, a small grin emerging on her face. “I MIGHT type your next paper.  You on a computer is scary.”

We both managed to laugh then.  The truth hurts, but it can still be funny.

She turned and walked outside.   I missed her already and wanted her back with me more than I even wanted an A. 

That was a week ago.  Turns out, I got a B on my outline.  To my amazement, I actually survived. 

We didn’t talk for one whole week.  But she called yesterday and asked me to go to the game next Friday.  I’d made plans to study but…I don’t know…the game would be a lot of fun...plus, I still have the rest of the weekend to study.  Maybe my paper can wait until Saturday.

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