"How were religious and ethnic minorities treated in the various empires?"
"In the Americas, Africans were considered inferior because they were slaves. They rarely had any personal rights and were used as labor. The Natives of the Americas were viewed as savages, which frequently led to conflicts. The Christian missionaries viewed any religious beliefs other than their own as a cult and attempted to convert anyone who didn't follow their beliefs."
My smirk was all the confirmation Julie needed before glancing down at the pile of note cards in her lap. "What effect did American food crops have on Afro-Eurasians?"
"Plants became more widely used and the population increased due to the enriched diet." Her quick nod told me I was correct, as if I didn't already know that, and I glanced down at the next card. "How did labor systems develop between the discovery of the Americas and the American revolution."
"You're not going to trip me up that easily," Julie laughed. "The need for laborers to work the sugar and tobacco plantations gave rise to indentured servants; people who were given passage to the new world in exchange for a set number of years of labor. As a greater need for labor arose, slaves were forced to migrate to the Americas from Africa. How did the pre-existing elites react to the changes?"
"Many of them lost their social standing as power shifted to smaller family units who were wealthy and well-connected." I looked down at the note cards again and rolled my eyes. "Why did we choose to take AP world history in the first place, and why did we think we needed another review?"
"Because we needed one more social studies credit and Sociology is what the jocks take for an easy pass," she laughed. "Not to mention it will give us both enough elective credits to shave a year off our undergrad studies. I think we're both ready to ace the test tomorrow, unless they throw in something we never covered."
Julie's glance drew my attention to the clock. "Quarter after five...We already finished our calculus and science homework, so I guess we can cut off a bit early, unless you needed help with your English paper."
I glanced back and smiled at our running joke. English was the last subject either of us would need help on. We were only in the class because it was required for graduation and our school didn't offer anything more advanced. English was one of the few subjects we didn't have any teacher in the school willing to take-on college level courses.
"I still can't believe he gave us a week for a writing assignment that only took two days. I know they have to allow enough time for the students who didn't do the reading over the summer, but it's still ridiculous. Most of them just skim the book and fake it anyway."
"Ugh, don't get me started," Julie grunted. "I have most of the wrestling team in my class, and they were all complaining that a week wasn't enough time. Like one week of practice is going to make a difference in the district tournament this weekend. Since we're finished with the studying, what would you like to do with the next hour?"
I just shrugged and smiled at her. "I'll admit the first thing I think of is sex, but I enjoy everything we do together. You helped me remember how much fun it was being girly, although I don't think I'll make myself up before school again."
"Scott's a jerk, and I happen to know his social calendar suddenly became very empty about the time your brother made him apologize." She leaned back against the headboard and held out her arms. It was all the invitation I needed to curl up in her lap. "His whole bad boy image went right out the window, along with the few girls who had any interest in him because of it. You could hear all of this stuff firsthand if you actually joined me for lunch."
I shook my head as I squeezed into her a bit tighter. "My mom figured us out over the course of breakfast, just off how we were looking at each other. The girls at school aren't that perceptive, but I know it would come out if we started spending more time together there. I know what it feels like to have everyone in school thinking you're some kind of freak, and I wouldn't do that to you."
"Bruce told me what elementary school was like for you," she replied. "But nobody thinks you're a freak, Tilly. Well, maybe a few of the mouth-breathers, but their opinions don't count anyway. When you're a world-famous architect, they'll be sweeping floors at the lumber yard."
I smiled up at her and shook my head. "You remember that big assembly we have the first week of every year, where they go over the district's zero tolerance for bullies policy? Who do you think is the source of that policy? Nobody says anything anymore, but I can still see it when they look at me. I've learned to ignore it, and I'm sure you could as well, but I love you too much to let you go through that."
"I know it's probably worse than I'm seeing, but is it really that bad," she asked. "You've never mentioned it before now. I can understand why you don't like talking about it, but I'm curious."
"It's not as bad as it used to be," I explained, sighing quietly. "Most people have gotten past my being different and tend to ignore me or just see me as Bruce's kid sister. Him being so popular has helped me out a lot. I guess the only ones who really give me any problems anymore are Debbie and her groupies, but you know how quickly they could ruin your reputation."
Julie just rolled her eyes when I mentioned our head cheerleader and local gossip queen. She'd seen how well my brother played and had latched on to him early in our freshman year, thinking his rising popularity would carry her along as well. It had taken him all of two weeks to realize how shallow she was and grow tired of her endless gossip. She was one of the few girls he'd broken it off with.
"I wouldn't worry much about Debbie's opinion, especially considering what her future holds. Blond hair, big breasts, and a willingness to spread your legs for any jock will make you popular in high school, but it doesn't mean much in the real world. Her grades were barely good enough to keep herself on the cheer leading squad, so college isn't really an option for her. Ten years from now she'll probably have three kids and be married to the guy sweeping floors at the lumber yard."
The picture of her as an overweight housewife living in the trailer park with three kids and a drunk husband brought a smile to my face. "Probably, but that wouldn't keep her from spreading rumors about you. Besides, I kind of like being your little secret. Watching some random guy get nowhere with you for the thousandth time and knowing I have you, it makes me feel special. I've never gotten to feel that before."
"You've missed out on a lot of things," she sighed as she started stroking my hair. "It makes me wish I'd tried harder to get close to you. You were always so guarded, but I could understand why. Bruce kept telling me you'd open up eventually, but I guess I'd given up on that happening before we went away to college. If I'd known you were attracted to me, I probably would have pushed a bit harder."
"I don't think it would have helped. Every time a girl was nice to me, it was because she wanted to sleep with my brother," I explained. "I know you guys went out occasionally when he was between girlfriends, but I would have assumed you were just being nice to me to get closer to him. The concept that someone would be nice to me because they actually wanted to be my friend was just too foreign. Even now, if someone talks to me about anything other than school work I assume they're just trying to look good for my brother."
