Juliana

3. Be good to the girl

As soon as I opened the garage door that led into the house, I heard my dad call out my name from the living room area.

I plopped my keys in the key basket and kicked my shoes off.

"Sam," I called over my shoulder. "Put my shoes away."

"What?! I'm not your slave, Robbie. Put your own crap away."

"I bought you fast food on the way home and drove you to church using gas that I paid for. You owe me. Plus, Mom and Dad are probably getting ready to yell at me because we're late getting home."

"Robert James! Get in here!" Dad hollered from the den once again.

I smirked at him and told him once again to put my shoes away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sam grab my shoes off the kitchen floor and toss them in the hall closet before going up the stairs. Satisfied that I had won the battle, I walked into the den.

"You better sit tight, Son; this is going to be a long talk." Dad stood up from his brown leather recliner and crossed his arms.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Just because I'm like ten minutes later than usual from church? I stopped and got Sam and me some food. What's y'all's big deal?"

"That is actually the least of problems that your father and I are concerned with, Robert." Mom gave me the eye.

What the heck had I done?! I mean, I had done pretty well in school so far. Why were my parents so angry with me all of the sudden? My thoughts raced.

"Our problem has to deal with your recent objectification of women, Sir. We were told by someone who has chosen to dub herself as The Protector Of Women Everywhere that you talked to a certain girl as if she was an object here recently." My father said sternly.

I groaned and slumped down in the couch even further. This was going to be a long night.

"Despite what you think, Robert, girls were not placed here, on this Earth, for your visual gratification." He continued.

"They are human beings that deserve to be respected. That girl is someone's daughter, but most importantly, she is a daughter of God." Mom piped up. "Would you want someone thinking of your daughter like that?"

"You guys are being ridiculous." I shook my head, raising my voice, "I can't help the fact the first thing I notice about a girl is her body. It's how I think." I argued back.

"I was your age once too, Robert. I understand where you're coming from. However, I find it completely inexcusable for you to think of and treat a girl in such a way. You have to learn to fight that temptation. I can assure you sir that there is more to a girl than her body." Dad raised his voice a little, but it was still firm.

"We went over these rules, expectations, and the consequences for breaking those when you first wanted to start dating, Robert. Do we need to go over them again?" Mom jumped into the conversation.

"No ma'am. I understand."

"Okay then." Mom paused. "You should already know what you're expected to do for objectifying Juliana."

"I have to apologize to her." I mumbled.

"Exactly, so I suggest you call her tonight and apologize, and then apologize again at school tomorrow." Dad said sternly.

It didn't sound optional; I was going to have to apologize to Juliana for my behavior.

"But I don't know her number?"

"Find a way to get it, Son. You're smart." Dad said.

***

I knocked on the front door of the Clawson household. After brainstorming for about a half an hour or so, I reasoned with myself that if anyone was going to have Juliana's number, it was going to be Ruth. She had always had a way of snagging someone's number the first time she met them; I just hoped she had done the same thing that she usually did with Juliana. I needed that phone number.

And whatdyaknow? Ruth was the person who answered the door.

"He-" She cut me off.

" Psh. I'mtotallynotTheProtectorOfWomenEverywhere. Who do you think you are that you could give me that high of an honor?" She rested one of her hands on her hips. The other was busy swinging the door back and forth.

I just laughed. "I'm not here to get angry about you telling my parents about what happened at church; I was just wondering if you have Juliana's number?"

"As a matter of fact, I do! But why do you want it buddy? Want it so you can just send her objectifying text messages? Huh, huh? Do ya?"

"I need it so I can call her to apologize for how I acted earlier."

"Hm." She stroked her chin like she was some great philosopher. "I suppose I shall give it to you, but I'm warning you! You burn me by mistreating the person on the other end of this phone number, I will hunt you down and kill you with my super-ninja powers! I'll be watching you, Patterson Boy Numero Uno! Don't do me wrong!"

She jotted the number down quickly on a piece of scrap paper. I folded the piece of paper, tucked it in my front pocket, and walked back to my house.

"I'm back!" I called out loud enough for my parent to hear before practically running up the stairs to my room. I shut the door to my room behind me and plopped down on my unmade bed.

After staring at the white ceiling for a few minutes, I took the piece of paper out of my front jean pocket and dialed the number into my phone. I saved the number in my contacts as Juliana, and then I held the phone up to my ear.

Bringggg... bringgggg..... bringgggg..... bringgggg.... bringgggg

After the fifth ring, she finally picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I could hear the confusion in her voice.

"Hey, Juliana. It's me... Robbie."

"Oh, hey." She said. "Why exactly are you calling me, and how'd you manage to get my phone number?"

"I got your number from Ruth, and I'm calling to apologize for not treating you right earlier tonight. I'm sorry that I didn't treat you with the respect that you deserve."

"It's okay. I understand how teenage guys can be sometimes. It's not all your fault. Your hormones take part in it too. Just try not to do it again."

"Alright. I'll try not to."

There was a slight lull in the conversation.

"So, we cool?" I asked her, trying to jump-start the conversation into an actual conversation again.

"As cool as two AP Chem lab partners can be." She giggled.

"Good." I caught myself smiling a little.

"I gotta get some sleep, Robbie. I'll see you at school tomorrow, m'kay?"

"Yeah. See ya then." I paused for a brief second. "Bye, Juliana. Sweet dreams."

"Same to you, Robbie." She said, and then the line disconnected.

I rolled over on my side and put my phone on charge. I set my alarm for the next morning and cut the lamp off.