Author’s Note: This is an excerpt from the first draft of Reunion: Coda‘s Chapter 11, Scene Two, as it appears in the rough draft of my first novel. It’s been revised a couple of times between yesterday and today, and it might be revised and edited again, so this may or may not be how it reads in the published version. For context, I suggest you read the chapter Scenes from a Long Goodbye: June 15, 1983 in Reunion: A Story, the novella that is the first half of my Reunion duology.
South Miami Senior High School, The Cafeteria, Second Lunch Period
“So,” Mark whispered, leaning closer to me, “do you think you guys can pull off the Spring Concert with a new teacher?”
I set down my McArthur Dairy chocolate milk carton and sighed. I’d been in the Dade County Public Schools system for a long time, and I’d seen many teachers come and go over the years. Some left for personal reasons, some for professional ones, some for retirement, and some for death. But I’d never “lost” a teacher before the end of a school year, especially one that taught a course that I loved and excelled at. Mrs. Quincy’s sudden departure from Cobra Country felt like a cold splash on my face – shocking, numbing, and unpleasant.
Still, I clung to the hope that we’d end the school year with a bang, not a whimper. Mrs. Quincy had assured us that the concert was still on, and that we should keep practicing our songs. She had also praised Marty and me for our duet and told us we’d be fine.
“Well,” I said, trying to sound confident, “we haven’t met Mr. Abner yet – he won’t be here till tomorrow. But Mrs. Quincy said the concert is still on the calendar, and she told Marty and me to keep working on our song.” I smiled weakly at Mark, hoping he’d buy it. He was my best friend, but he wasn’t in Mixed Chorus. He didn’t understand how much this concert meant to me. It was my last chance to shine as a Singing Cobra.
Mark held the last bite of his fish sandwich in his hand and looked at me intently. The fish sandwich was one of the few edible things the school cafeteria served. He chewed slowly and swallowed before speaking. “If Mr. Abner is half as good as Mrs. Quincy, it’ll be okay. It won’t be the same, but a decent teacher with good people skills can make a difference.”
I let out a long sigh. Mrs. Quincy was a tough act to follow, indeed. I set down my empty carton of chocolate milk on the tray and pushed it aside. “Marty says she’ll practice with me whenever she can. But with midterms and term papers coming up, we won’t have much time to sing after school. Maybe once or twice a week, tops.” I tried to sound upbeat, but I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
Mark smirked and waggled his right eyebrow. “At least you’ll have more ‘together time’ with her, bucko.”
I shrugged. “Well…maybe.”
Mark patted my shoulder reassuringly. “Hey, don’t worry. As long as the Spring Concert is on, you still have a chance to sing that duet with her. What’s the song again?”
“It’s ‘Somewhere’ from West Side Story. We haven’t figured out who sings what part yet, but I think we’ll nail it on stage. Mrs. Quincy said we sounded great the last time we practiced.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure out the ‘who sings what’ bit. How does that work, exactly? You two sing alternate verses, or what?”
“Yeah, something like that. Sometimes Marty sings the first stanza, then I take the second, or vice versa. We just can’t figure out which version to pick.” I like spending time with her, I thought but didn’t say.
Mark gave me a laser-like stare. “You know what you should do? You should ask her out on a date. It’s almost too late to ask her to the prom, Jim. That’s coming up soon.”
I glared back at him, hoping he would drop it. He knew how I felt about Marty: she was one of the most attractive girls in our class, and I was just a “history nerd” who was insecure about dating, romance, or sex. Kathy Maraschino had burned me in junior high, and I wasn’t ready to risk being rejected or betrayed by another girl.
“Mark, please. Not this again,” I said quietly but firmly. I didn’t want to argue with my best friend, or get in trouble with Mr. Sterling, who was always lurking around the cafeteria.
Mark opened his mouth to say something else, then closed it again.
“Thanks,” I said, hoping he would let it go. “I appreciate your concern, but let’s not talk about Marty. At least, not about asking her out. Okay?”
Mark nodded reluctantly. He looked a bit sad, but he respected my wishes. “I hear you loud and clear, Jim,” he said softly.
I changed the subject and tried to lighten the mood. “So, what about you and Debbie Voss? You’re still going to prom with her, right? She hasn’t changed her mind?”
“What? No way! She’s crazy about me, man. I’m Mark A-for-Adorable Prieto, remember? We’re going to prom together for sure. And we’re going to the movies on Saturday.”
“Nice!” I said enthusiastically. “What movie are you going to see?”
“It’s either Tootsie or E.T.: The Extraterrestrial. I’ve seen E.T. a few times already, but Debbie hasn’t. We’ll see how it goes.”
“Debbie hasn’t seen E.T.? Wow…she must be the only one in school…heck, the whole planet…who hasn’t seen that movie.”
“Look who’s talking!” Mark teased me. “You didn’t see Star Wars until months after it came out! Everyone had seen it a bazillion times by then!”
I laughed and shook my head. Mark always knew how to make me smile.
Mark guffawed good-naturedly. “At least you can still say you saw it in 1977.” He took a deep breath, then added in a more serious tone, “Anyway…I’d rather see Tootsie, but if Debbie says she wants to see E.T. phoning home, I’ll go along with it.”
“Sounds good to me, Mark.”
Mark glanced over his shoulder at the black-framed Lathem clock on the cafeteria wall, then, tray in hands, rose quickly from his chair. “Jeez. Lunch period’s almost over, Jim. We better get our asses to our classes. You gonna practice with Marty after school, or what?”
“Yeah,” I said as I, too got up and grabbed my empty canary yellow tray. “We’re meeting up in the chorus room after the last bell.”
“Okay, bud. I’ll see you around, then.”
“Not if I see you first!”
Mark laughed. “Get going, bud…and good luck with your singing practice.”
A Certain Point of View, Too 
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