School in Cincinnati, and the only kid I know really well is Ben Olsen, who has blue or green or red or purple hair.
Well, shut me up! That’s the school I go to! Did you get in a fight with Ben on the first day of school?
That was me! But don’t think I’m some kind of troublemaker. It had been a really bad morning, and Ben’s nose got introduced to my fist before I met the rest of him. I think he’s a pretty cool dude.
I heard about that, and I know Ben. I think I may have even seen you in the hall. You’re always by yourself.
I told you I have this dream, this fear of being alone.
So why don’t you make friends?
It’s hard being the new kid in the middle of the year. It’s even harder when you’re different.
What do you mean different? You got two heads or something?
No, I mean, there’s lots of Anglo kids at our school. And lots of black kids. But I’m probably the only Hispanic kid in the whole school.
Does that bother you?
A little. Probably more than a little. At my old school, it was about eighty percent Hispanic.
I feel you. I’d hate to have to move to another city and state. I’ve known most of the kids here since elementary school.
Yeah, that’s the way it was at my old school too. My friend Diego and I went to kindergarten together.
That’s rough. But most of the kids at Jefferson are pretty friendly. Give us a chance. You gotta reach out.
Not all of them are friendly. And some have already reached out and almost touched me. You ever heard of The Family?
The Devildogs? They been sweatin’ you?
Yeah, real sweat. They don’t like the fact I’m new or that I’m Hispanic.
What did they do?
Just threatened me in the bathroom, but I know what they can do if they want to. I came here partly because of the gangs at home.
Well, those of us who don’t do gangs will watch your back. Hey, when’s your lunch bell?
I have first lunch.
Me too. I hate that. It’s so early in the morning, I’m never very hungry. You want to meet at lunch tomorrow? Maybe I can introduce you to my friends.
Bet! And I won’t wear anything purple!
Good idea. What do you look like?
I’ll be the tall, good-looking guy with thebottle of hot sauce in his hand. I’ll meet you at that table in the back near the pop machine.
Hey, I don’t even know your name.
Julio. Julio Montague. And you, my African Queen, what’s your name?
My name is Romiette Cappelle. I’ll be wearing an orange sweater and a big smile. (I’ll probably have on shoes and jeans too—didn’t want you to get the wrong idea!) You’re the new guy—it will be easy to spot you. See you soon.
Peaceout.
13.
Romiette’s Journal
So they were all wrong. He wasn’t a psychopath or a pervert. He was just a dude, a really good-looking one—wow—who needed somebody to be a friend. Today I had lunch with Julio. Destiny and I have the same lunch bell, so we usually see each other at lunch. But she was absent today with a cold, so I headed to the lunchroom alone. I just wasn’t prepared for what happened. When I first saw him, I sucked in my breath and forgot to exhale. He looked so much better than any of the boys around here. He has really dreamy eyes, but of course, who notices such things? I’ve never really paid much attention to what boys look like. But Julio was different. He was funny and friendly and so easy to talk to. And so easy to look at!
He was standing there, up on top of the table, dressed in a jeans jacket and a Texas Rangers T-shirt, holding a bottle of hot sauce in one hand and a red rose in the other. Heseemed to know exactly who I was, because he jumped off the table just as I approached and bowed low and handed me the rose. He said he brought the rose because the hot sauce was too great a treasure and he couldn’t give it up. We talked about school (he hates it—at least here), cold weather (he hates it), snow (he hates it), and Texas (he loves it).
We hit it off so good. We talked so much and laughed so hard
Well, shut me up! That’s the school I go to! Did you get in a fight with Ben on the first day of school?
That was me! But don’t think I’m some kind of troublemaker. It had been a really bad morning, and Ben’s nose got introduced to my fist before I met the rest of him. I think he’s a pretty cool dude.
I heard about that, and I know Ben. I think I may have even seen you in the hall. You’re always by yourself.
I told you I have this dream, this fear of being alone.
So why don’t you make friends?
It’s hard being the new kid in the middle of the year. It’s even harder when you’re different.
What do you mean different? You got two heads or something?
No, I mean, there’s lots of Anglo kids at our school. And lots of black kids. But I’m probably the only Hispanic kid in the whole school.
Does that bother you?
A little. Probably more than a little. At my old school, it was about eighty percent Hispanic.
I feel you. I’d hate to have to move to another city and state. I’ve known most of the kids here since elementary school.
Yeah, that’s the way it was at my old school too. My friend Diego and I went to kindergarten together.
That’s rough. But most of the kids at Jefferson are pretty friendly. Give us a chance. You gotta reach out.
Not all of them are friendly. And some have already reached out and almost touched me. You ever heard of The Family?
The Devildogs? They been sweatin’ you?
Yeah, real sweat. They don’t like the fact I’m new or that I’m Hispanic.
What did they do?
Just threatened me in the bathroom, but I know what they can do if they want to. I came here partly because of the gangs at home.
Well, those of us who don’t do gangs will watch your back. Hey, when’s your lunch bell?
I have first lunch.
Me too. I hate that. It’s so early in the morning, I’m never very hungry. You want to meet at lunch tomorrow? Maybe I can introduce you to my friends.
Bet! And I won’t wear anything purple!
Good idea. What do you look like?
I’ll be the tall, good-looking guy with thebottle of hot sauce in his hand. I’ll meet you at that table in the back near the pop machine.
Hey, I don’t even know your name.
Julio. Julio Montague. And you, my African Queen, what’s your name?
My name is Romiette Cappelle. I’ll be wearing an orange sweater and a big smile. (I’ll probably have on shoes and jeans too—didn’t want you to get the wrong idea!) You’re the new guy—it will be easy to spot you. See you soon.
Peaceout.
13.
Romiette’s Journal
So they were all wrong. He wasn’t a psychopath or a pervert. He was just a dude, a really good-looking one—wow—who needed somebody to be a friend. Today I had lunch with Julio. Destiny and I have the same lunch bell, so we usually see each other at lunch. But she was absent today with a cold, so I headed to the lunchroom alone. I just wasn’t prepared for what happened. When I first saw him, I sucked in my breath and forgot to exhale. He looked so much better than any of the boys around here. He has really dreamy eyes, but of course, who notices such things? I’ve never really paid much attention to what boys look like. But Julio was different. He was funny and friendly and so easy to talk to. And so easy to look at!
He was standing there, up on top of the table, dressed in a jeans jacket and a Texas Rangers T-shirt, holding a bottle of hot sauce in one hand and a red rose in the other. Heseemed to know exactly who I was, because he jumped off the table just as I approached and bowed low and handed me the rose. He said he brought the rose because the hot sauce was too great a treasure and he couldn’t give it up. We talked about school (he hates it—at least here), cold weather (he hates it), snow (he hates it), and Texas (he loves it).
We hit it off so good. We talked so much and laughed so hard
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