For Friendship Or Love

"Incoming!"

"Carrie, I think you caused the robot to short circuit with that one. Look, she isn't moving!"

"Yeah Tina, I gave robot Becky a syntax error!"

It wasn't a syntax error, I just didn't care anymore. I held my head in my hands watching my coke can empty its contents onto my pizza slice because the in crowd chose to have their amusement at my expense, again. This time it was a half eaten brownie thrown at me. I decided last summer I wasn't going to let them bother me. They were cool and I was not. They were perky cheerleaders and blonde prom queens and I was well, average. Average shoulder length brown hair. Average height. Average body. Just plain average Becky. The only things I have are my grades. Next year I was going to the University of Michigan on a mathematics scholarship and they would be lucky to be accepted at a community college. I would be rid of the people who tormented me since the third grade. I smiled relishing the thought.

"Hey look. She smiled! I guess she rebooted!"

The bell rang, signifying the end of my torture for today. I now have five minutes to get to my fourth period history class. Mr. Carlson is a great teacher. He is always giving group projects and making class highly interactive. Today he decided to pair us off for a special project. The class will be a courtroom; prosecuting and defending controversial people from history. I was one of the last students to have their named called and my partner was Andy Sullivan. Normally I don't care who I am matched with, but being paired with my biggest antagonists 6'3", black haired, all muscle, airheaded, jock boyfriend is not how I wanted to spend the next week. I doubt if he even knows who Samuel Mudd was. We agreed to work out of his house because he said he had to watch his kid sister until his mom came home from work.

I arrived at Andy's house right at 3:30. I just sat in my car for a moment and took a couple deep breathes. I was certain I was going to do 100% of this project while he watched TV or socialized on face book. I knocked on the door. To my surprise, a little seven year old girl answered the door. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail and looked nothing like Andy. She also just stared at me. I looked above her to see if anybody else was coming. I saw no one. I looked back at her.

"Does Andy Sullivan live here?"

"Are you Becky Woods?"

"Yes I am."

"What's in the bag?"

"My laptop and a couple of books."

She gave me the biggest smile. "Andy said you were coming and I was to let you in."

"Where is he?"

"He told me to tell you he was getting something from his room, but he's really going to the bathroom."

"Sara, did you just tell on me?" Andy came from around the corner and picked up his sister.

"You told me I shouldn't lie."

"Your right, but you still deserve a good tickling!"

Andy proceeded to tickle Sara mercilessly. She was protesting, but made zero attempts to get out of her big brothers arms. After a couple minutes, he looked up at me.

"Alright Sara, get your homework and go into the living room. I'll be right there."

"Okay."

"Sorry about that. Please come in. Hope you don't mind, I set up a card table in the living room we could use. I figured Sara could watch some cartoons while we work on our project."

"I don't mind as long as there's a plug for my laptop."

"I'm sure I can accommodate that. Is Kool-Aid good for a drink? Sara is only allowed one soda for dinner so I don't drink it in front of her."

"That's fine, thanks."

I made my way into the living room and unpacked everything. My laptop, my history book, and a couple of Lincoln assassination reference books. I was ready to start. Andy came in with three glasses of grape Kool-Aid. He gave one to me, set his down, and gave one to Sara.

"I want you to be careful with this."

"Okay, I will."

"What homework are you doing today?"

"Mrs. Mosca gave us a math sheet. Adding and subtracting."

"Well if you need help, just ask me, or better yet ask Becky. She's going to study math at a big college next year."

Sara looked at me, her swinging carefree from the couch. "You are? Why would you do that? I'm just starting it and already I think it stinks."

I smiled. "Well that's because you're just beginning. It gets easier the more you learn."

Andy chimed in. "Don't listen to her, I think math stinks too."

Sara laughed.

"Hey aren't you supposed to be on my side since we're both girls?"

"Sorry. I've known him longer and he's my best friend."

"You're my best friend too." He gave her a hug. "Now get your homework done and I'll let you pick any movie you want to watch."

"You know which one I'm going to pick, don't you?"

"The one you watched 200 times and know all the words to. It'll be alright."

"Yay!"

Andy turned his attention to me. "Samuel Mudd. I know we're defending him, but I think we should discuss if we believe he is innocent. He did meet with Booth twice before that night."

I sat there stunned. He actually was prepared for the assignment. My shock must have appeared on my face.

"I'm sorry Becky. I saw the Lincoln books and assumed you knew who he was. Do we need to go over his role first?"

I shook my head no and took a drink to compose myself. "No, it's not that. I get the feeling you think he is guilty and I believe he is innocent."

"No way! How do you explain his meeting with Booth in Washington?'

We argued pros and cons until I felt a tugging on my shirt.

"Becky, can you help me with this one?"

"Absolutely, what you do is take this three and make it a two and give this number what you took. Then you..."

"Oh yeah, now I remember. You borrow from this number. Thanks Becky."

I turned right back around and began stating my case again. Andy didn't respond. "Is something wrong?"

Andy leaned in and whispered. "She's never gone up to Carrie like that and she has known her for two years now. It just surprised me. That's all."

"Speaking of surprises, how did you know I was going to study math?"

"You're going to the University of Michigan right?"

"How do you know that?"

"There one of the two dozen teams recruiting me for baseball. They mentioned you and a couple of our classmates that have been accepted to go there, one of their pitches to let me know that I would know some people already."

"Are you going there?"

"I haven't decided yet. Anyways, Booth obviously recruited Mudd."

Andy and I went back to arguing. Sara's movie was now over when I felt another tugging on my shirt.

"I'm hungry."

Andy looked at the clock and hopped up immediately. "Wow, it's already 6:15. Sorry about this, but I didn't think we would be at it this long on the first night. I usually make her dinner around five."

"Let me help. What are we making?"

"Hot dogs, but I got it. You're our guest."

"C'mon, if you don't tell me what I can do, I'll just ask Sara."

Sara smiled.

"Alright, you can grab two pans from that cupboard."

Andy made the hot dogs, Sara grabbed the condiments and set the table, and I made the fries. As we cooked, I couldn't believe how good of a brother he is. His intelligence also surprised me, along with how well he treated me. Andy was courteous, polite, and respectful. Come to think of it, he never did do anything to me. I just assumed he was like the others. Guilty by association. We finally sat down to eat our gourmet meal when the front door slammed.

"Andy, whose car is here?"

It was Carrie. Before Andy could answer, Carrie was in the kitchen. Sara's joyful mood was now gone.

"Why is robot Becky here? I thought she had to be plugged in at night to charge or something."

"We were assigned as partners in Mr. Carlson's class."

"Oh, sorry for you." She leaned down and kissed him.

I got up. "Well I should be going now. My parents are probably getting worried about me. Sorry we didn't get much accomplished."

"Another syntax error, huh, robot Becky?"

Andy responded. "Carrie, stop. Not here."

"What did I say?"

"Anyways Becky, how about we make up the time at lunch tomorrow?"

Barely audible, I replied. "That's fine." With my head held down, I went into the living room to collect my things.

"Why would you invite that loser to sit at our table?"

"I told you, we have a project together and we didn't get much done tonight, so we have to make up the time lost."

"Sara, why don't you go to your room and play so I can help your brother forget about this dumb project."

As I finished packing, Sara wave bye to me as she headed to her room. As I turned the key in the ignition, I started to cry. As I drove away, it became worse. I vowed I wouldn't let them get to me at school. I wasn't prepared for the viciousness of her tongue as a guest in someone's house. I made it home, surprising myself that I made it safely. I rubbed my eyes and thought never again.

The next day my defenses were up. I got my lunch and slowly headed to 'that' table. Andy saw me and waved me over. All the usual suspects were there. I hesitantly sat down, grabbed a pen and notebook and put my bag on the ground next to me.

"Since you think he is innocent, we should use your arguments. Everything I say would just help the prosecution."

I smiled. Carrie leaned in and kissed Andy, then turned and whispered something to Tina. I focused on the task at hand. Lunch was almost over and it proved productive. Andy really knew his stuff. He also really had to use the bathroom. I capped my pen, closed my notebook, and reached for my bag. Where is it? I looked at Carrie and she was sporting a sinister grin. The devil would have been proud.

"Missing something?"

"Carrie, where's my bag?"

"What? I don't know. I thought all you robots had GPS systems for that."

"Carrie, it has my laptop in it. Please give it back."

The bell rang.

"Oh sorry, I have to get to class. Bye robot Becky." She left, closely followed by her clique.

After thirty-five minutes and the help of two lunch ladies, I found my bag covered in ketchup and grease, buried in a garbage can. I now made my way to class.

"I hope you have a good reason for being this late for class."

"I do Mr. Carlson."

"Tell me after class. Right now we're discussing the Lindbergh case."

After class, I told Mr. Carlson what transpired. I'm glad I'm one of his favorite students or I might've got detention. I turned to leave and I ran right into Andy.

"Sorry. I wanted to know what happened. I can't believe she did that."

"I can."

"Well I'm still sorry. Hey just to let you know I have practice tonight. We're going to have to start around 6:30, okay."

"Alright, excuse me I have to get to class."

I arrived right on time and knocked on the door. Sara answered and sported a beaming smile. This time the door flew open and she ran up and hugged me.

"Becky, it's so nice to see you again." She grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. "Thanks for helping with my math yesterday. I got them all right."

"You're welcome Sara. Do you think you can show me where the bathroom is?"

"It's right down the hall. I'll show you."

I set my bag down and followed Sara. She went to grab the handle of the door when it opened. It was Andy, wearing just a towel, and he looked good. He definitely took care of his body. Smooth chest, defined arm muscles, and a complete six pack of abs. As fast as the door opened, it shut.

In a very whining voice, Sara said. "Andy, she has to use the bathroom!"

The door reopened. "Sorry, I'm running behind. I'll be dressed in a minute." He went into his room.

"Thanks Sara."

"For what?"

"For showing me the bathroom, silly."

"You're welcome."

When I came into the living room, Sara ran up to me. "Mom, this is Becky. She's good at math."

"Is that so, I was wondering whose car was here. Hi Becky, I'm Joan Sullivan. Are you here for Andy?"

"Yes ma'am. We were assigned a history project together."

Andy came out. "Hi mom, when did you get home?"

"Just now, and Andy, I don't mind you having company over, but next time let me know ahead of time. Especially when it's a girl I don't know."

"Okay mom." Andy turned to me. "We can study in my room tonight, right down here."

I grabbed my bag and followed and followed Andy.

From behind, Ms. Sullivan called. "Make sure you leave your door open!"

"Alright mom. Don't worry Becky; she'll have Sara spying on us real soon."

"Don't trust you?"

"Let's just say she caught Carrie and me in a less than optimal situation."

"Okay, we'll just leave it at that."

We hit the Mudd case pretty hard. After a couple of hours, we both agreed we needed a break. He went into the kitchen to grab snacks and drinks. I waited and checked out his room. Andy surprisingly had an impressive collection of books. He had everything from Shakespeare to Stephen King. His CD collection was littered with classical and jazz.

"You like classical music?"

I jumped. "You startled me, and yes, I love it."

"Any favorites?"

"Rhapsody in Blue by..."

"Gershwin. I like that too. Here I'll put it in." The music filled the room. "Want a coke?"

"Yes, thank you." I sat on the bed.

He sat down next to me and put a bag of Doritos in between us. "I've been wondering and you if you don't want to answer, its okay, but why do they call you robot Becky?"

"No, it's okay. When I was in third grade, I was in a car accident. I broke both of my arms and they thought I may have fractured a rib. Both arms were in a cast and my ribs were bandaged. When I walked, I hobbled. I wasn't used to the extra weight from the casts. Carrie said I looked like a robot because of the walk and the fact my arms were cast straight. After the casts came off and I was fine, I thought it would stop. They just piled on. Now please, let me ask you something, and if you don't want to answer it's okay, but why are you with Carrie. Yesterday she didn't even say hello. She just came in and told your best friend to go to her room. You seem so nice and she well, with the amount of hairspray she puts on, she definitely has lost some brain cells."

"The only response I have is I love her. She always been good to me and that's what is important."

"Sorry if it felt like I was being critical."

"That's alright."

"Okay, enough of this serious crap. What position do you play?"

We talked the rest of the night about baseball, books, music, future, past, everything and nothing. It was amazing how much we had in common.

"Knock, knock."

"Oh, hi mom."

"It's ten o'clock and it's time for your friend to go home."

"Sorry you got to go. I had a nice night."

"Yeah, it was fun. See you tomorrow."

"Oh, by the way, I got a game tomorrow so we'll have to finish on Friday."

"Okay." I collected my things and left. I got home and went to bed. I thought about everything that was said. I've never opened up to anyone like I did tonight. It was fantastic. My mind then drifted to Andy in his towel, yum. Wait, what am I thinking? He's the boyfriend of my rival. She doesn't deserve him. I only have two days left until our project is done and reality will set in. I have to set myself apart. The only question is how.

The next day I only saw Andy during fourth period. No way was I going into another ambush in the cafeteria. When he saw me walk in, he smiled. I gave a dorky wave. I suck at flirting. After class, we went over a few quick notes, arranged a 3:30 time for tomorrow, and went our separate ways. What a way to knock him off his feet. I really suck at flirting. After school, I decided to go to the library to catch up on my homework. A couple hours past and I was done. On my way to my car, I heard the crack of the bat. I walked over and took a seat on the first row of the bleachers. There weren't many people there. The first pitch I saw, the batter hit a ground ball to shortstop. Andy dove for the ball and threw a bullet to first for the out.

"Do you think you could help me?"

I looked up to notice a slender woman in her mid thirties sitting five feet to my left. "Sure what do you need?"

"I'm Margaret the statistician and my daughter normally helps me, but she couldn't come today."

"I don't know much baseball."

"That's alright. It's all math."

"Math? Really? I can do that."

Margaret showed me how to calculate batting averages, earned run averages, slugging percents, and a myriad of other statistics. We won the game, Andy had three hits, including two homeruns and a walk, and I had a wonderful time doing what I love. With the game over, Andy came up to me.

"I saw you in the middle of third inning. What are you doing here?"

"I stayed after to catch up on homework and when I came out of the library, I heard the game. I came over to see what this baseball thing is about. Did you know there is a great deal of math involved?"

"I guess I don't view it as math. It's just a way to compare player performances."

"Well, the team won, you played great, and I had a blast."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. I can't even get Carrie to come out here once. Listen, I got to pick up Sara from the babysitter and I promised to take her to McDonalds for dinner. Would you like to come?"

"I'd love to, as long as you don't think I'll be in the way of your date with your sister."

"Don't be ridiculous. She'll be in the play area most of the time. Besides, Sara loves you.

I went to McDonalds as he picked up Sara. Ten minutes passed when they walked in.

"Becky!" Sara screamed while running toward me for a hug.

"Hi Sara."

"Andy, did you know she was going to be here?"

"I did. She came to my baseball game."

"Why does she get to go to the game and I can't?"

"I can't watch you and play at the same time."

"Sara, next time I go to see your brother play, I'll take you."

She was ecstatic. During our meal, all that was discussed was how loud she was going to cheer for Andy at the game. Afterward we said our goodbyes. I went home and they stayed so Sara could visit the play area.

The next morning, I pulled up in the high school parking lot and got out of my car. Carrie was waiting.

"So, robot Becky, I hear you like baseball now."

I replied softly. "It was fun."

"Compute this!" Whack. She punched me in the face and I went down to one knee. I looked up and she was walking away. I've never been hit before. I don't know if it was her punch or the ring she was wearing, but the pain I felt was intense. I had to touch my face to make sure my face was still there. The rest of the school day was centered on avoiding Carrie. I am not prepared to fight. I doubt I ever will be. I went to the library for lunch. I took the long routes to the classes I knew I would have seen her in the hall. If I saw her coming, I would duck into a room. Except for the quick hello to Andy in fourth period, I was invisible.

As I pulled up at Andy's house, Sara came running out.

"Becky! Becky!"

"Hello Sara."

"Andy has a game on Monday. Can you take me?"

"Of course I can."

She ran back into the house screaming. "Andy, she said yes! She said yes! She said yes!"

I made my way into the house, smiling the whole way. Andy was waiting.

"Hey Becky, whoa, what happened to your face? The right side is all red."

"Oh, this? It's nothing, just a reaction to some face cream."

We finished our project in short order. No sooner that we said we were done, I felt a tugging on my shirt.

"Becky will you play chutes and ladders with me?"

I wanted to say yes, but now that the project is over I didn't know if Andy wanted me to. I looked up to him with want in my eyes, hoping for him to respond.

"C'mon, all three of us can play it in my room. Sara, why don't you go set it up and we'll be in there in a minute."

Sara responded. "Okay." She then ran down the hall.

"You could've said yes if you wanted."