Changing of the Guard
By Maddie Valasek
Part One
"Julian, you better get moving. You don't want to be late on your
first day," Mom yelled out to me.
"I'm just about ready," I answered as I finished tying my shoes. "What
time is it anyway?" I asked. My alarm clock was still packed away in
the moving truck that wouldn't make it to our new house until sometime
that afternoon.
"7:00, sweetheart. Classes start at 8:00. Remember, you have to stop
by the office and give them you transcript and pick up your schedule."
"I remember," I replied as I walked into the kitchen. "You worry too
much, ya know."
"It's my job, I'm a Mom. I'm pretty sure it's written into my contract
somewhere. I went out and got some donuts and juice this morning.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get some real shopping done this afternoon
if the moving truck gets here early enough."
"You should renegotiate your contract. That's a lot of extra work that
you don't really need to do. Don't worry about shopping today. We can
just order pizza while we're getting things sorted out. I'll help with
the shopping tomorrow after school. That is unless you're worried
about my nutritional intake. That's just about the only thing you have
to worry about with me," I joked.
"Sorry, Kiddo, I got into the habit with your sister. Once you start,
you really can't break a habit like that."
"With her, you needed to worry."
My older sister Brandy had been what people call a problem child. She
was four years older than me and a hell of a lot less responsible. She
seemed to go out of her way to get into trouble. She had run off with
her loser boyfriend a year ago. She would occasionally call to let us
know she was still alive. I always felt better after she called. Just
knowing she was still OK helped. Mom would be unusually quiet for the
next few days after her call but she seemed to be doing better. Dad
was still mad at her for running off.
"That's true, but she never would listen to anything your Dad and I
had to say anyway. Speaking of which, he'll be home tomorrow night. He
actually managed to get the whole week off to help us get moved in,"
Mom agreed.
"Wow, a whole week. Who'd he have to kill to swing that?" I asked.
Dad's job kept him traveling a lot. It seems that he was the only guy
who knew how to fix the problems with the companies automation
systems. He wasn't the only guy, of course, just the best. He could
get jobs sorted out twice as quickly as the next guy. He said that it
wasn't the hardware system itself that was broken, it was having to
write new software for it due to all the custom applications. That
ability made him a valuable asset but it was his customer service that
really set him apart from the other guys. He could walk into a
building with a customer screaming blue bloodied murder about how
terrible his company was and walk out with all the bugs worked out and
an order from the customer to upgrade their next five facilities.
He used to have a small area that he worked in. Most of the time he'd
be home by five and the long jobs might keep him until seven. They
were usually very easy jobs that lacked any real challenge, as he
would say, but he wanted to be close to home to be with his family.
Recently he accepted an offer to expand his area, which would allow
him to work on bigger more challenging jobs. He really loved it when
he found a solution to a problem no one else could fix. He'd been
putting that off for a while. Mom and I just about had to force him to
take the new job. I was old enough that I didn't need him to be around
every day and Mom was getting tired of hearing him complain about how
bored he was.
The only drawback was that we had to relocate. It was tough on Mom to
move away from her friends. She was a social being by nature. There
was always a party or get together she and Dad would attend. There was
also the occasion company picnic or Christmas party, too. I had
managed to avoid going to any of those for the last few years. It just
seemed weird to be spending your spare time at work talking about work
and not getting paid for what was essentially work. I wasn't
especially comfortable being around a lot of new people either. For as
social as my parents were, I seemed to have gotten that double
recessive awkward shy gene.
Anyway, Dad had come out here to Skyview a few months ago to start
working and to look for a new place for us. Mom and I would fly out
after Dad had rounded up about a dozen possibilities. It took Dad
about three tries before he found something Mom was satisfied with. I
think it would have been easier on him just to let her do the
shopping.
He really is enjoying his new job. I can't remember him ever being so
excited to go to work. He's quickly earned a good reputation and
demand for him grew. Now he spends three or four days a week traveling
sometimes as much as a week. Mom and I miss him when he's gone but
that just makes the times we do get to see each other that much
better. Ok, that last bit was a little too saccharine but
"He didn't say anything about killing anyone but, he did say something
about taking a hostage," Mom grinned. "You want a ride to school?"
"No, I think I'll walk. It's not too far and I'd like to get some
shots of the area."
"You and that camera. Are you sure we don't need to have it surgically
removed from your eye?"
"No surgery necessary. You're lucky it's digital. Just think of how
much film and processing would cost you," I returned.
"Cost me? I just supply the camera. Everything else is up to you,
remember."
The camera was a gift for my last birthday. I'd been carrying on about
how much I'd like to have one for months. Mom thought I'd get tired of
it after a few weeks and didn't want to spend a lot of money on
something I wouldn't use. I had a habit of getting into something very
intensely at first but then quickly burning myself out. Dad convinced
her that it might be something I would enjoy over the long term. They
were looking at some mid priced SLR's when mom found my digital. The
salesman managed to convince them that the added price was worth not
having to buy film and pay for processing. "Oh yeah, it's lucky for
me, then."
"Before you take off, this is for you," she said tossing me a small
rectangle of plastic.
"A cell phone? Mom, you know I don't like these things," I whined,
"The only people I talk to are you, Dad, Brandy, and Jeff. I can take
all those calls at home."
Jeff was my best and only friend. We used to spend all our time
together. Our moms told us we were more like brothers than friends.
I'd only been gone a week and I already missed him.
"You may not want one but I would like to be able to get a hold of you
when you're out documenting the countryside. You're not always the
easiest person to find."
"I guess I can carry it around then. Just don't expect me to answer on
the first ring," I grumped jokingly.
"Easy, there, Grandpa, I know these new fangled gadgets cramp your
style but, who knows, maybe you'll loosen up and make some friends
that will want to talk to you all the time. Maybe even a girlfriend.
Wouldn't that be new," she teased.
"Boy, you sure know where to hit a guy. That'll leave a mark," I
replied.
"Go on and get out of here. I'll see you after school."
"Ok, Mom. I love you," I called over my shoulder as I walked out of
the house.
My mom's comments had stung a little more than I had let on. I know
she doesn't mean to hurt my feelings or anything. The whole friends
thing is a sore subject with me. It's not that I don't like people or
anything. I just get so tongue tied when I meet someone new. My brain
gets all frazzled and short circuits. I'm a little better with girls
than guys. I don't know why. It's just easier for me to talk to them.
Usually I'm really quiet until I get to know someone. It's not the
best method for making friends. She was right. Maybe I would meet some
people and make a friend or two. I was making a new start and I didn't
have the reputation of being cold and distant freak here.
I felt a little better thinking of the possibilities that lay ahead of
me. I caught sight of a lizard sunning itself on a rock. The lighting
was great so I pulled out my camera and took a few shots. The little
lizard was a great model. I even got a picture of him looking right at
me. It was if he wanted to make sure I got a good shot of him. I
thanked him for his time and continued on my way. I snapped a few more
pics of various other things on the way to school.
I was really trying to check out my new surroundings and see what was
near my house. I passed plenty of gas stations and beauty salons.
There were a few offices and a small grocery store. The one thing that
got my attention was a camera store with a now hiring sign in the
window. I wanted to get a job as quickly as I could so I could replace
my old truck. Dad and I decided that it would be a lot easier to sell
it and buy something new here than trying to move my old one. It was a
decent little truck but I didn't really like the rough ride or lack of
interior room. I was hoping to make some money and get something a
little newer and more comfortable. I made a mental note to check into
the store after school.
I arrived at school with plenty of time to spare. It took me a few
minutes to find the office. The school building itself was an
interesting structure. Thanks to extremely rapid growth, schools were
forced to expand by adding portable buildings to keep up with the
ever-growing population. Skyview High was apparently experiencing it's
own growing pains. There were more portable buildings than permanent
structures. Unfortunately, all those additions made for a maze like
arrangement of identical looking walkways and alleys. I was wondering
if I shouldn't be dropping breadcrumbs or something. I asked three
different students before I got clear enough directions to the office.
The office staff was friendly and efficient. They had all my paperwork
sorted out and my schedule completed after only a few minutes. I
somehow managed to have a coherent conversation with one of the
student aides. Her name was Heather and she was a sophomore like me.
She started telling me a little about some of my teachers.
"Most of the teachers here are pretty good. You'll have to watch out
for Mrs. Danbury. She's the advanced algebra and pre-calculus teacher.
She really doesn't do much teaching. She'll pretty much just give you
some work out of the text book and spend the rest of class looking
busy," she said.
"Oh joy," I replied sarcastically, "At least I'm not taking pre-cal. I
guess I can't avoid the algebra though."
"Not if you want that advanced diploma."
"Anyone else I need to worry about?"
"No, but Coach West is great. He's the chemistry and physics teacher.
He's always coming up with some crazy experiment to show us. Last
semester he laid on a bed of nails and had some of his students break
cinderblocks on his chest."
"That should keep things interesting," I commented.
"OK, you should be all set, Julian, we have block scheduling here.
That just means you have four classes one day then three the next with
a free period. It just keeps rotating like that," she said handing me
my schedule, "It is Julian right?"
"Everyone usually just calls me Jules."
"All right then. I guess I'll be seeing you around, Jules."
"Thanks, Heather, It was nice meeting you." I said as I left the
office. My first class was going to be journalism. I was hoping to
work on the school newspaper or yearbook. I had been able to talk with
the instructor, Mr. Cooper, on our last trip out when Mom had decided
she liked the house. She wanted to take a look at the school and make
sure it was a relatively safe place. I wanted to get a look around
myself so I tagged along.
I had been looking around the newspaper staff room when I met him. He
thought I was a student trying to cut class and wasn't exactly
friendly. After I explained to him why I was there he softened a bit
we started talking about photography. He said he wasn't really
enthused about his current photographer and wanted to see some of my
stuff. I agreed to bring some by if Mom actually settled on the house
and I became an actual student.
Class had started by the time I found my way back to the classroom. I
got the obligatory stare at the new guy thing from everyone as I
walked in the door. If that doesn't make you self-conscious, nothing
will.
"Hello, Jules. I see your Mom decided on that house. Glad to have you
here with us," Mr. Cooper welcomed me. "Just find a seat anywhere you
want."
I picked the nearest seat and settled in. He then turned the class
loose to finish a group assignment they were working on. After making
sure everyone was busy he came to check on me.
"These guys are just finishing up a project. Not much for you to do
today. I have some photography jobs that need someone but I'd like to
see some of your work first. Do you have anything on you?" he asked.
"Sure, here you go," I answered handing him a small binder of some of
my favorite shots.
That was the first time I'd actually shown anyone other than my family
anything I'd done. I was really nervous. I didn't know if they were
good or not. I've only had positive comments before but you know how
biased family can be. He flipped through most of the pages pausing a
few times to take a better look.
"Your composition is good. There's plenty of variety in here, too.
Landscapes, buildings, people, cars, and wildlife, both still and
action, too, it shows you have range. I've had a lot of photographers
that could take wonderful action shots but couldn't get a decent shot
of someone standing still to save their souls. The exposure's off a
little in some of them but nothing terrible. That'll get better with
practice. Overall, I think you can handle most of what I need. You
feeling up to it?"
I was relieved to hear his positive remarks. It was like a validation
of all the time I've spent behind the lens. "I'm definitely up for
it," I answered.
"Great, there are a few extra curricular activities we need to get
some coverage on. Tom's in charge of the assignments, though. Hey, Tom
come here for a minute," Mr. Cooper called to one of the groups near a
light table.
"What's up, Cap'n?" Tom asked.
"Tom, this is Jules. He's going to be helping out with your
photography projects. Here's some of his stuff," Mr. Cooper said
handing him my album. Tom mimicked Mr. Cooper and flipped through it.
"Hey, these aren't bad. It's a hell of a lot better than Kevin's last
candid student body shots."
"Be nice, Tom, Kevin is an excellent sports photographer. Well, he's
good with basketball and football," Mr. Cooper admonished.
"Yeah, you're right. So what are you wanting him to cover?"
"Tom, you're the editor. It's your call."
"Aye, Aye Cap'n," Tom joked with a salute, "I still don't have
anything on the color guard or one act play. That sounds like a good
place to start. We'll see what he can do with those."
"Sounds good to me. I'll turn him over to you, then," Mr. Cooper said.
"Tom will fill you in on what he's looking for and give you scheduling
information," he told me and then left to do whatever it is teachers
do when they aren't teaching.
"OK, Jules, we're looking for a group shot of each and some candids.
You've got a digital so we won't have to worry about developing. Shoot
as much as you want between now and Friday. I'd like to take a look at
what you have before we get to close to deadline. Any questions?" Tom
asked me.
"Yes, I've never heard of either of those. What are they? I can guess
what one act play is but what is color guard?" I asked.
"It's hard to explain and I don't understand it myself. It's the first
year we're doing it here. They just hired the new instructor so you
can ask her when you get there. Any other questions?"
"How about when they meet and where? I'm new here so I really don't
have any idea on the schedules," I returned.
"Hmm... let me check," he said as he claimed a file off his desk.
"Looks like the one act rehearses after school everyday in the theater
arts building. That's the metal building around the back of the main
building. It's not a portable. Just follow the covered walkway and
you'll find it. The color guard meets twice a week on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. I don't have a location for them. I think they move around
a lot. I'll find out where they'll be meeting next and find you later.
You can take care of one act if I don't find you today. Fair enough?"
"Works for me. Here's my schedule for the rest of the day," I answered
copying down my schedule for him.
"Great, I look forward to seeing what you'll get."
With everyone else working on group projects, I spent the rest of
class by myself. That didn't particularly bother me. I'm used to it. I
took some time to clean my camera and straighten up my camera bag. I
can be a little disorganized. I still had a few minutes to kill so I
snapped a few shots of my classmates at work. I may have mentioned it,
but I really am a shutterbug. Mr. Cooper noticed what I was doing and
gave me a knowing smile that only another shutterbug could give.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Algebra was pretty dull.
Heather was right about Mrs. Danbury. I had a feeling I was going to
learn more from my book than I was going to learn from her. There
should be some law against teachers just assigning work out of a book.
The last classes of the day were world history and English. I ended up
taking about ten pages of notes in history. My hand was really
starting to hurt towards the end. English was relatively painless. We
only had a short reading assignment then spent the rest of class
discussing it.
The last bell rang and I hadn't heard from Tom. I dropped my books off
in my locker and headed toward the theater arts building. I made it to
the rear entrance at the same time as a beautiful girl with long black
hair. I held the door open for her as she walked through.
"Thanks, I'd forgotten that guys do that," she said.
"Kids, these days," I joked shaking my head, "They just don't have
good manners anymore."
She laughed, "You must be new around here. None of the guys around
here would have done that."
"That's not good. It's not like it takes a lot of effort or anything."
"You would think it does the way some guys act, I'm Tess Andrews, by
the way."
"Hello, Tess, I'm Julian, Julian McCloud. Most people call me Jules,
though."
"Hi, Jules, you done for the day?" Tess asked.
"Actually, no, I'm headed for the theater arts building. I'm working
on the school newspaper and I'd like to see if it's ok for me to get
some pictures of one act play."
"My aren't you mister manners. First you hold doors for us girls and
then you're actually going to ask if it's OK for you to take pictures.
Kevin never asks. He seems to think having that camera gives him the
right to interrupt rehearsal and practices whenever he wants. Are you
sure you're not an alien or something?"
"Not last time I checked. My Mom and Dad just made sure to teach me to
be respectful of others," I answered chuckling. "Do you know who's in
charge of the play? I'm not really sure whom I should talk to, Tom
didn't exactly give me a lot of information."
"That would be Rebecca, she's the director. Come on, I'll introduce
you to her."
I followed Tess down the walkway and toward a medium-sized metal
building. I thought it was a maintenance building at first. The only
thing that proclaimed it wasn't was a small plaque next to the door
that read "Theater Arts". I would have had a hard time finding it if I
hadn't been with Tess.
"Oh man, I should have a map or something. They certainly didn't make
things easy to find around here," I commented.
"I know. I was so confused when I first started going here, too. Don't
worry, you'll get used to it," she assured me.
"That or I'll just wander around with a blank lost look on my face."
"I'll keep an eye out for you then," Tess laughed. She led me through
the doors then toward the rear of the building.
"Just a warning, Becca likes to act like a real serious bitch
sometimes. She's really not like that once you get to know her. When
we get to her just follow my lead and be your sweet self. We should be
able to get through her front pretty easily."
We came to another door, this time marked stage. Inside was a girl
with flaming red hair berating some helpless freshman for not hitting
their mark on time. Tess held her hand up signaling me to stop. She
took another three steps toward the commotion then stopped herself.
She patiently waited until calm was restored then stepped up to Miss
Firestorm.
"Are you finished terrorizing that poor little freshman yet?" Tess
asked.
"For now. He's a tough little nut; most of the others have run off
already. If he makes it another week I might just respect him," the
redhead grinned mischievously.
"You can be a real bitch sometimes, ya know?"
"Yep, I know. It's fun you should try it sometime."
"Not me, I'm sweet, remember?"
"Oh yeah, so sweet you melt in the rain. So, what can I do for you?"
"Just an introduction." Tess motioned for me to come over. "Becca,
this is Jules. Seems Mr. Cooper finally found someone to replace
Kevin. He's not like the other guys, so be nice."
Becca gave Tess a funny look. I got the feeling she was wondering what
Tess meant. She shrugged her shoulders and looked at me. "So that jerk
Kevin finally got replaced. It's about time."
"Jules, would you like to ask Becca something?" Tess asked me.
"Becca, would it be OK with you if I got a few shots for the yearbook
and paper? I don't want to get in the way. I can come back later if
you're busy," I asked as sweetly as I could.
"Well aren't you just adorable. Tess, I think you just lost the title
of Skyview's sweetest," Becca teased.
"Well, if I have to lose it, I'm glad it's to someone who deserves
it," Tess joined in.
I was turning red with embarrassment. I could feel the heat building
in my face. I tried to will myself to cool down but it was too late.
The two girls noticed and burst into giggles. I was half a second away
running out of the door when Becca managed to gain control of her
self. "Sorry, Jules, I've never seen anyone turn that red that fast.
I'm sorry if we embarrassed you."
"That's OK, Becca, I'm just not used to that sort of thing," I
replied.
"Oh come on. I bet you got a lot of that at your old school," Tess
commented.
"Actually, I was a bit of an outcast. No one really noticed me." I
wondered why I was telling them that. It seemed weird to be offering
up something so personal so quickly. It's not like we were friends or
anything but I felt some kind of connection with them. I couldn't
quite tell what it was but it felt like we'd know each other much
longer than we actually had.
"That's terrible. It's their loss then," Becca responded. "Feel free
to hang out as long as you want. I've got to get back to work and Tess
needs to get to guard rehearsal."
"Wait a minute. Did you say guard, as in, color guard?" I asked.
"Let me guess, you've been assigned that, too," Tess guessed.
"Yes, is that a bad thing?"
"No, it's just that they always start off the new guys with one act
and guard. It's like if they screw up it's only guard or it's only one
act. No one cares about those," Becca growled.
"Easy there, Becca. Don't kill Jules. He's just the messenger," Tess
tried to calm her.
"Yes, please don't kill me. This one act play and color guard stuff is
new to me. I'd really like to find out what it is all about before I
get killed."
With that Becca seemed to soften a little. I could see she still
wasn't happy but she wasn't going to be taking her anger out on me.
"You're right, Tess. I shouldn't be angry with Jules. You better get
going or you'll be late."
"I know, but Mrs. V. will be cool as long as I tell her I was helping
a new student. I need to get moving though."
"Hey Tess, before you go, is it OK if I come to your next practice or
rehearsal or whatever it is?"
"We'd love to have you come and see us. I'm not sure when our next
rehearsal is though."
"OK, thanks. Maybe I can find you tomorrow and find out then?"
"Why don't you just hang around here until rehearsals are finished. We
usually end around the same time and you need to get pictures of one
act anyway. The three of us can go and get something to eat and get to
know each other better. You up for it Tess?" Becca asked.
"Sounds good to me. How about you Jules?" Tess asked.
"Let me call Mom and check to see if the moving truck has made it yet.
If it hasn't I probably have a few hours to kill," I answered. I
pulled out my recently acquired cell phone and dialed Mom's phone.
"Hey there, Kiddo, I didn't expect you to use that thing so soon.
Everything OK?" Mom asked. Moms always worry.
"Everything is fine. I'm just working on some journalism stuff. Did
the truck get there yet?"
"Unfortunately, no. They called a little while ago and said it will be
late tonight before they'll be here. Are you going to be long there?
Since I have time, I'm going shopping. I can wait for you if you won't
be too long."
"Actually, that's kinda what I was calling about. I'll be here about
an hour or so taking pictures of this play. Then I need to talk to
someone else about a time for me to get some shots of the color guard
here. I've been invited to go and get something to eat with them if
that's OK?"
"Making friends already? I'm proud of you. I can handle shopping on my
own. You go ahead and have fun. I do want details when we get home
though."
I could almost feel her smiling through the phone. "OK, thanks Mom. I
should be home around seven."
"I probably won't. I wish I had gotten you a key made before now. I'll
just leave mine in the flowerpot on the porch. Be careful it's
supposed to rain here shortly."
"OK Mom. I will. Love you," I said and hung up. "Looks like I'm free
for the afternoon."
"Great, I've got to go. See you guys in about an hour," Tess said then
left to get to her rehearsal.
I spent the next hour trying to get the shots I needed while staying
out of everyone's way. Becca only yelled at me once and that was
because I was standing on something they needed. I took about two
dozen shots then sat down and watched the last ten minutes of
rehearsal. Everyone was working really hard. I didn't realize that so
much effort went into putting on a play. Becca would occasionally have
to reprimand someone but overall it was impressive.
About an hour later things were starting to wind down. "OK everyone.
That was a great rehearsal. I really appreciate all the effort you
guys have given. Let's get everything put away then we can all get out
of here," Becca addressed her cast and crew.
"Need any help?" I asked.
"Sure, why don't you help me get all these loose wires and cords
rolled up," she said pointing to a serpents nest of wires covering the
floor. "Did you get everything you needed?"
I reached down and started winding up a long orange extension cord, "I
think I got most of what is needed. I'd like to get a group shot
sometime if that's OK. I think it would be cool to get one with
everyone in costume, too."
"I can round everyone up for a group shot now if you want. You'll have
to wait on the costumes though. We're still sorting those out."
"That would be great, it should only take a few minutes."
"No problem. Everyone, Jules here needs a group picture. It'll only
take a minute if we all cooperate," she called to the others. They
assembled quickly and I got my group shot.
"Thanks, everyone. You guys have been really great to work with. I've
got everything I needed." They responded with thank yous and your
welcomes then finished getting the stage cleaned up. Within five
minutes everyone was gone and it was just me and Becca.
"Tess should be here soon unless her rehearsal runs long," she said. A
phone started ringing just as she finished. It was Becca's. "Hi ya,
Tess. All finished?"
"Pretty much. We're just getting everything cleaned up. I should be
there in a few minutes or so. Jules didn't get into trouble did he?"
Tess asked.
"No, he was great. He did an excellent job of staying out of the way.
I almost forgot he was here."
"I'm glad it worked out. Gotta go, Mrs. V. is calling," Tess said then
hung up.
Becca hit the end button and told me Tess was running a little late.
"That's no problem. It gives me a chance to ask you about this one act
play stuff," I assured her.
"What would you like to know?" she asked.
"Why are you doing it? I mean do you present it to the school or
something?"
"It's actually a competition. All the schools get together and get
judged by how well each group does. The best move on to the next
level. They do that all the way to the state level just like football
or basketball. A lot of colleges attend those competitions looking for
recruits. Sometimes they even give scholarships to the winners. It's
really a big thing but most people have never even heard of it."
"Wow, I didn't know. Now I see why you guys are working so hard. Hey,
I have an idea. If you don't mind, I'd love to come to one of the
competitions and get a better idea of what it's all about. Maybe I can
even convince Mr. Cooper to let me write a story on it."
"Sounds good to me. I suppose I could get you in as a crewmember. That
is if you don't mind helping out."
"As long as I don't have to do any heavy lifting," I joked.
"No heavy lifting, huh? What, don't want to break a nail?" She
returned.
"Nope, I'm just lazy," I said and self-consciously looked at my nails.
"Oh, I know, you can help Tess with costumes and make-up."
"Tess is in one act, too? I thought she was in color guard."
"She is but that's only two days a week, the rest of the time she's in
here with me. There are not a lot of people who want to do this stuff
so we're a little shorthanded. She wanted to help. She couldn't be an
actress not being here everyday but she really wanted to be part of
it. She's a really good friend that way so I made her costumer
designer. She's really pretty good at it, too."
"Wow, you girls are busy aren't you?"
"It keeps us out of trouble. So what do you think?"
"I can live with that. I am pretty much free after school anyway. I'd
love to help out."
Tess walked in just as we finished our little conversation. Becca gave
her a rapid-fire rundown on our plan. The two of them went into hyper
overdrive on the details. Why is it that girls talk so fast when they
get together? Is that something that they learn or all girls just born
with it?
"Come on guys, I'm starved," Tess commented.
"Where do you want to go?" asked Becca.
"Any ideas, Jules?"
"Sorry, I'm new around here. I don't know what's close," I answered.
"How about Sub Hub, Tess?"
"That's a good idea. I haven't had one in weeks," Tess replied.
"You're driving, though."
I followed the girls out to the parking lot. I wondered what kind of
car Becca would drive. I thought she would be in a nice little fuel-
efficient import. I was partly right. She did drive an import but it
wasn't little nor fuel-efficient. I was led to a large black Range
Rover. It wasn't a new model but it looked like it was just driven off
the showroom floor. The exterior was spotless and polished to a
mirror-like finish. I couldn't see so much as a rock chip anywhere on
it. There were no signs of wear on the inside either.
"How in the heck do you keep this thing in such great shape?" I asked
Becca.
"My grandfather bought it new in 1990. He pretty much was obsessive
about maintenance and upkeep. He gave it to me on my sixteenth
birthday in as good as shape as any new vehicle. His only condition
was that I keep it as good as shape as possible. He even taught me how
to change the oil and do some other routine care," she answered.
"Wow, that's impressive. Both with him keeping it up that well and you
being willing to learn all the routine maintenance."
"Hey, that almost sounds like a chauvinist remark," she stated.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. Most of the girls I have known
wouldn't even know what oil is much less how to change it. I really
meant it as a compliment."
"I know, I was just giving you a hard time," she said with that
devilish grin of hers. I got a feeling I was going to be seeing a lot
of it in the future. I really didn't think that was going to be a
problem.
We talked more about One Act and Colorguard on the way to the Sub Hub.
I found out that this was the first year that the Colorguard had an
instructor that actually knew what she was doing. Tess was excited
about having her but said Mr. Crown, the band director, was making
things more difficult than they necessarily should be. There was the
usual money issue but he wanted control of everything from music and
costumes to length and number of rehearsals.
"Most of the other schools in our district practice four or five times
a week. He only let's us have one day a week for flags and another for
rifles and sabers. We all want to do more but he won't let us. He also
won't let us do any fundraisers. I understand he wants to keep costs
down but I don't think we're getting fair shot," Tess explained.
"Maybe he's just trying to get things setup this year and will be a
little more lenient next year," I said playing devil's advocate.
"I guess but it makes us feel like we aren't important enough this
year. Oh well, it's not like anyone ever paid attention to us before,
either."
Becca and I could tell that Tess was starting to get depressed so we
changed the subject to One Act and we started discussing my role. We
were debating on if I was going to have an active role or more of an
honorary position. Becca was angling for an active member so she could
get some work out of me while Tess was arguing for an honorary
position so I could concentrate on writing a story good enough to get
some notice. Talk about pressure!
We arrived at The Sub Hub rather quickly and carried our conversation
inside. Our debate was derailed for a little while as we tried to
decide on our sandwiches. With about a hundred different choices, that
turned out to be more difficult than you would think. Not only do you
have a choice between chicken, beef, turkey, sausage, and just about
anything else you could want on a sandwich but you also have to decide
how you want it cooked. There is roasted, toasted, grilled, baked,
stuffed, barbequed, and fried just to name a few. Geez, that place was
almost as bad as those super trendy coffee houses. The three of us
were quickly discussing the virtues of each type. We each decided on
our sandwiches. I went with the roasted chicken on honey oat bread.
Tess went with a veggie lovers and Becca went with baked chicken.
The guy making the sandwiches looked a Becca and asked, "How in the
heck do you girls keep up with each other? I was tempted to try and
record that conversation and play it back in slow motion just so I
could hear what you were saying."
"I guess we've just gotten used to each other," she answered.
Becca and Tess went to fill drinks and find a table while I was left
to pay with the funds we had pooled together. My stomach was grumbling
as I waited for the cashier to return our change.
"Here you go, Miss. I hope you and your friends enjoy your meal," he
said handing me a handful of coins. I thanked him and took three steps
before my brain registered his comment.
"Did he just call me Miss?" I thought to myself, "Maybe it's time to
cut my hair." I made my way over to the girls and dispersed our
sandwiches.
I was still thinking about my hair when Tess made a comment about it.
"You've got great hair, Jules, what made you decide to wear it long?"
"I decided to let it grow after I saw Antonio Banderas in Desperado. I
just thought he looked so cool with his long black hair. Granted, I
can't kick ass like he did in the movie but I can at least attempt the
hair bit. I wish someone would have told me how much effort it takes
to make it look good," I answered.
"Girls learn that pretty early on. We just get used to it and don't
even notice how much effort goes into it. By the time we're in high
school most of us have developed a routine that uses more products
than we'd like to admit," commented Becca.
"Tell me about it. When I was packing up for the move I realized I was
using almost as many hair care products as my sister and mother. With
my short hair, I pretty much was just a wash with whatever shampoo Mom
had bought. Maybe I'd occasionally use conditioner. I think I actually
used the same bottle of store brand conditioner for a whole year at
one point. That pretty much covered my hair care. When I was done with
my shower I'd towel dry then use a brush to try and tame it.
Now that my hair is longer, my routine has changed a bit. I still
start with just washing but now I have to use a daily moisturizing
name brand shampoo. Then I added a daily conditioner but soon found
out I still needed more help for my dry hair and switched to a daily
moisturizing version. You would have thought that would have covered
it. Nope, still way dry. Now I have a weekly deep fortifying
treatment, as well. My shower time has doubled.
I still towel dry but the scrubbing motion previously used has been
banished along with my brush. Turns out that you shouldn't use a brush
on wet hair. A wide-toothed comb has replaced my well-used brush.
Notice I said wide toothed. Seems that a fine-toothed comb isn't much
better than a brush.
They were both trying really hard to keep from giggling. Tess was the
first to break. Becca's resolve crumbled mere seconds later. I tried
asking what was so funny but they were in the middle of a full on
giggle fit. Anyone who has been around teenage girls for more than
five minutes knows exactly what I'm talking about. There was no point
in pushing for answers until it had past. After about two minutes,
they had regained control of themselves and I was finally able to
discover the source of their amusements.
"Sorry Jules, we just never thought we'd hear a guy say those things.
It just seemed so funny to be listening to those words coming from a
male. You were so cute, too. You just kept going like you have that
conversation everyday," Tess smiled.
"What was so strange about that? Are guys not supposed to talk about
their hair care?" I asked.
"It's not they they're not allowed. They just don't normally discuss
it," Becca tried to explain.
"Think of it like this, when was the last time you heard a group of
guys standing around a locker room discussing whether or not to use
the regular shampoo or the extra moisturizing?" Tess offered.
"I see your point. That is kind of funny. I guess I just never thought
of it being weird," I agreed.
"It's not weird. It's actually refreshing to meet a guy who doesn't
have to be Mr. Macho Masculine all the time," Tess said.
"You're not gay are you? I mean I've seen Queer Eye and they don't
mind talking about hair," Becca asked, "Ever think about kissing a
football player after winning the big game?"
"Why did you do that? Why? Why? Why? Now I have the mental picture of
some big dumb sweaty jock trying to kiss me. Yuck, I think I'm going
to go erase my brain now," I answered jokingly. I did have the
unfortunate mental image though. "No, Becca I'm not gay. I definitely
prefer women."
"I thought so but I had to ask. You may not be super masculine but
you're not exactly feminine either. You're actually kind of in
between," she replied.
"I think I'll take that as a compliment."
"It is. I promise. So what kind of girl do you like, then?" she asked.
"Hmm... I'd have to say feisty redheads. They just drive me crazy," I
answered with mock seriousness. Becca turned red then got a very
worried look on her face.
"Umm... Jules... I... uhh...," she stumbled.
"Relax, Becca, I'm just kidding," I said and she visibly relaxed.
"You're a snot!" she exclaimed. Tess let out a little laugh at her
friends expense. "That wasn't funny, Tess!"
"It was from here," Tess returned.
Becca gave an exasperated sigh and said, "Oh you two, I give up."
We talked for a while longer. I had just returned from my third refill
when Tess spoke up, "Well party kids, it's about time to wrap things
up here. I've got two tests that I need to study for. It's time for me
to get home."
"What time is it?" Becca asked.
"A little before seven," I answered.
"I guess I should be getting home, too. I've got a ton of homework to
do."
"Sounds good to me. I need to get those pics I took checked and
printed," I added.
We agreed to meet again after rehearsal the next day. Becca was going
to drop Tess off at her car back at school. She asked if I wanted a
ride home as well. I told her to just drop me with Tess. I had
something I wanted to do and I'd walk home after that. We cleaned up
our mess and returned to Becca's Rover. We spent the return trip
talking about One Act play again. We finally decided that I would help
out with the play as often as I could as long as could still write my
story. I didn't want to remind them that I had to get permission from
Tom and Mr. Cooper first. They were way too excited.
Becca dropped us back at school next to a decent little silver Ford
Ranger. Tess unlocked the door and dropped her stuff inside. "Are you
sure you don't want a ride?" she asked.
"Nah, walking helps me keep my girlish figure," I joked.
"So that's your secret. I was wondering how you stayed so thin," she
smiled, "maybe I should try the walking workout."
"Like you need it. You look great, if you don't mind me saying."
"No, I don't mind and thank you very much. I gotta go. I'll see you
tomorrow."
I waved goodbye and started on my way home. It only took me a few
minutes to get to the camera store. Unfortunately, they closed at six.
I made plans to get there earlier the next day. I thought about the
events of the day as I walked home. Somehow, a shy antisocial guy
managed to make friends with not one but two beautiful girls. I had
some fun conversations and generally enjoyed myself. That was
something new for me. I made it home just as Mom was returning from
her shopping trip.
"Hi, Mom, have fun at the store?" I asked.
"I always enjoy spending money. I may have gone a little overboard
this time. I hope your Dad won't be too upset," she smiled.
"He probably won't even notice. I thought you were going to be late?"
"I was going to do some other shopping but I spent too much on this
stuff."
I looked in the back of her PT Cruiser and it was full. The back seat
was full as well as the passenger front seat.
"If that's a little, I'd hate to see way overboard. Did you leave
anything at the store?"
"I think there might be some cans of creamed spinach but that's about
it."
"Let me put my stuff inside and I'll help unload this stuff."
"OK, you can tell me about your new friends while we get everything
put away. I want details, too."
It took me a good ten minutes to get everything out of the car. You'd
be amazed at how much stuff can fit inside a PT cruiser. Mom had
started getting things put away as I brought the last few bags in. I
hadn't told her about Becca and Tess yet and I could tell she was
dying with curiosity. I decided I'd help put everything away while I
filled her in on my day.
Almost an hour later I finished telling her everything I could
remember. I even told her about the guy at Sub Hub calling me Miss.
She looked at me for a few seconds then said something I didn't
expect, "I could see where he might say that."
"Mom!" I exclaimed.
"Well, you do have the long hair and your face is very pretty for a
guy."
"Mom!" I repeated.
"Well you do. I wouldn't expect you to be mistaken for a girl by
yourself but if I saw you with a group of girls and you were talking
really fast like you just were, I could definitely see how someone
could make that mistake."
"When was I talking fast?"
"You always talk really fast when you get excited about something. How
many times have I told you to slow down when you talk about some new
piece of photography equipment? Remember the lighting set up your Dad
bought you right after he accepted the new job? You were so excited
and you were trying to tell me how it worked. I couldn't make out half
of what you said."
I thought about what she had said for a minute. A lot of memories of
her telling me to slow down came spilling out, "Oh man, I just
remember the sandwich guy asking how girls managed to talk that fast.
I didn't think I was included at the time but I bet I was now."
"Don't worry, you probably just learned to do that to keep up with
your sister and me," she said trying to console me.
"I guess," I replied not sounding convinced as we finished getting all
the stuff Mom bought into place. The day had started to catch up with
me, "I'm beat. I'm going to go get a shower then get some homework
done before bed." I got my shower and just barely finished printing my
photos before my vision started to get fuzzy. I decided to call it a
day and get some sleep.
I woke up the next morning with the early morning sun peeking through
my window and the last wisps of dreamland clinging to my mind. Have
you ever had a dream that seemed so real that you couldn't tell if you
were awake or sleeping? I dreamed that I woke up a girl. I remember
going into the bathroom, seeing my reflection and freaking out a
little.
I ran into the kitchen to my Mom. She had just finished pouring
herself a cup of coffee. I was rambling on about something being
wrong. I guess I was talking in hyper speed again because she asked me
to calm down and go get dressed for school.
"Mom, do you see anything different about me?" I asked. I couldn't
believe that she didn't notice her son had changed into her daughter.
"Well, your breasts might be a little bigger," she said looking a
little confused.
"Breasts! I'm not supposed to have any," I stated.
"Julia, they were bound to start growing. Most girls your age would be
happy right now. You need to go get ready for school, now hurry or
you'll be late."
My jaw hit the floor. My mother had just called me Julia. Julia's a
girl's name. What in the hell was going on? I felt like Alice tumbling
down the rabbit hole. I didn't know what to do. Then I flashed over
(why does that flash thing feel normal in a dream? You would think
that would alert you to the fact that you're dreaming.) to me in my
room getting dressed. I picked out a pair of boot cut low rise jeans,
form fitting white button down blouse and a pair of brown ankle length
boots with matching belt. After getting my clothes sorted out, I sat
down at my vanity, which doesn't exist, and started doing my makeup.
It was weird to watch as my hand applied everything without any
direction from my brain.
When I finished I looked like any other girl my age. I wasn't drop
dead gorgeous or anything but I was attractive in a strange sort of
way. The thing that struck me was that I wasn't freaking out about it.
I should have been totally buggin' out. Part of my brain was screaming
you're a guy, this isn't right, and the other half was saying hey,
this is kind of nice. I got this weird warm comfortable feeling. It
was that feeling that clouded my brain as I was dragging myself out of
dreamland.
My head finally cleared the last bit of fogginess out and I fully
returned to reality. A vague feeling of strangeness was all that
managed to remain. I dragged myself out of bed and started to get
dressed. I did check myself over and didn't find anything that wasn't
there the night before. A quick look into my still empty closet
revealed no white shirt, low cut jeans or boots of any color. I wasn't
sure whether I was happy or disappointed. Maybe it was a mixture of
both.
I looked out my window and was very happy to see the moving truck had
made it in sometime the night before. I was down to my last change of
clean clothes in my travel bag and wasn't looking forward to washing
any clothes until the weekend. I pulled out what I had left and got
dressed in my usual baggy jeans and t-shirt. A few minutes in front of
the bathroom mirror to get my hair sorted, wash my face, and to brush
my teeth got me ready to face the day. I decided to leave my hair down
until I was ready to leave for school. I'd love to have it down all
day but school dress code required me to wear it up. I don't
understand why though. Girls can leave their hair down even though
it's longer than mine. Don't ask me, I didn't write the rules.
I made my way to the kitchen doing my best to stay out of the way of
the guys bringing the furniture in. I almost managed to get to the
kitchen without any problems. I did stay out of the way through the
living room but I didn't check the kitchen before I walked through the
doorway, right into the biggest guy on the moving crew, knocking
myself on my butt.