Brooke Adams and Tyler Sorenson sat shoulder-to-shoulder on a wooden bleacher within their high school's gymnasium, each of the seniors staring at their cell phones and occasionally tapping them with practiced thumbs. It was the afternoon work-out for the girls' volleyball team and on the far side of the large gym bouncing balls echoed loudly as the boys' basketball team began their warm-ups as well. Many students were scattered around the bleachers and gymnasium floor, athletes and spectators both.
Tyler studied her phone intently, "Jenny Anderson just posted something about a rave on Saturday, downtown in the warehouse district. It's eighteen-plus. Wanna go?"
"Oh goody," Brooke was sarcastic, "Trance music and date-rape. Sounds like fun."
"I like trance music," Tyler said, unoffended by Brooke's all-too common sarcasm, "And I haven't been dancing in like, forever."
Brooke swiped a few times on her phone's face, "Sure, let's go. Maybe we can score some ecstasy."
Tyler glanced aside at her best friend, "You want to do ecstasy?"
Brooke seemed casual, "My cousin said she tried some at college and that it was
awesome
."
One of the Volleyball coaches, a middle-aged woman in drab sweats, blew her whistle signaling the beginning of practice. Tyler stuffed her phone into the duffle bag beside her and zipped it shut as she rose from the bleacher, "Whatever. Are you going to hang out?"
Brooke nodded, "Yeah. I'll give you a ride home."
Tyler reached to clasp her hair into a ponytail, "Cool. Thanks, hon."
"No problem, babe," Brooke replied, still mesmerized by her phone as Tyler trotted out to the gym floor.
The two girls had grown-up together in Crystal, Minnesota; a middle-class suburban neighborhood of Minneapolis. Their houses were just three blocks apart and they had known one another since before grade school, when they attended the same daycare as toddlers. For as long as either of them could remember they had been best friends - as inseparable as twin sisters. But for all they had in common, they certainly had their differences.
Tyler was fit and athletic, 5'9" with long, straight black hair, blue eyes, and a tanned body toned from exercise. She preferred a sporty, functional wardrobe and often wore her hair clasped into a ponytail in the style of Ariana Grande - one of her favorite pop music artists. Tyler enjoyed sports, dancing, and could usually be found during the early morning hours jogging through the streets of Crystal.
When volleyball practice began, Tyler stripped off a light track jacket and was wearing a pair of blue sweats with white leg stripes, a white sports bra, and black Nikes.
Brooke was slightly shorter, 5'8", with golden blonde hair that she liked to curl into meticulously styled ringlets. They framed her heart-shaped face and fell just past the shoulders. Brooke had green eyes, tan skin, and a slender frame with soft curves in all the right places. Brooke had no interest in sports, though she often supported her best friend by attending Tyler's games and practices, but was more interested in fashion, celebrity gossip, and shopping.
She was wearing a salmon-colored above-the-knee skirt, a clinging white buttoned blouse, and strappy heels. Brooke wore far more make-up than Tyler, who barely wore any, and loved jewelry of all kinds.
As Brooke continued to hypnotize herself with her phone, one of the boys from the basketball team lost control of his ball and it bounced in Brooke's direction. Rob was an African-American boy with a head shaved bald and a toned muscular body, wearing baggy shorts and a tee-shirt. While retrieving his ball, Rob got an eyeful of Brooke's bare crossed legs as she sat on the front bleacher.
Rob plopped himself onto the bleacher beside Brooke, "Hey, beautiful," he greeted her with a charming smile and leaned against her.
"Ew," Brooke recoiled playfully with a giggle, "You're all sweaty!"
"I'd like to see
you
all sweaty," Rob spun the basketball on his finger, "If you know what I mean."
Brooke snorted, "Keep dreaming, mister."
"Aw, you're cold - you're cold. But you won't be able to resist my charms forever."
"And where are these charms of yours, hmm?" Brooke played hard-to-get, "I've yet to see them."
Rob enjoyed the flirtatious games he and Brooke often played, "Are you going to the rave this weekend? Maybe I can show you then."
"Tyler mentioned there was a rave. Any chance you could help me score some ecstasy while we're there?"
"I might know a guy," Rob smiled at the prospect of Brooke on ecstasy, "Hit me up on text when you and Tyler get there. I'll see if I can hook you up."
"JOHNSON!" the boys' basketball coach suddenly yelled towards Rob, "This isn't social hour, goddammit. Get your ass back here before I have you running laps!"
"Looks like you gotta go," Brooke's smile reached her eyes, "See you Saturday night?"
Rob stood and began deftly dribbling his ball, "Looking forward to it, beautiful."
Brooke rolled her eyes at his obvious advances before glancing towards the volleyball action. She spotted and Tyler jump high to spike a ball over the net. She clapped in support of her friend and cheered loudly, "Woo-hoo! Give 'em hell, girl!"
=======
After practice, Brooke drove the two high school seniors home in her Ford crossover SUV. Its interior was littered with sunglass cases, make-up containers, school notebooks, gossip magazines, and empty soft-drink bottles. The heavy bass of a pop song thudded from rear speakers and Brooke's hand tapped along to the beat against her steering wheel.
"Rob totally hit on me again during your practice," Brooke grinned.
Tyler's face was lit from the glow of her phone, "Do you want to go out with him?"
"Yeah, right," Brooke laughed out a scoff, "Can you imagine my dad's reaction? 'Hi, Daddy. Meet my new boyfriend. Oh, by the way - he's black'."
"I don't get why your dad is such a racist. I mean, it's 2018 for fuck's sake. Shouldn't humanity be more enlightened by now?"
"I don't know if he's racist," Brooke mused, "I think he's just stuck in the days when inter-racial relationships were still taboo, you know? Like, the only the only guy a white Lutheran girl should date is a white Lutheran boy."