Smooth Sailing

November 22, 1963

November 22, 1963

Most Americans who were alive when John F. Kennedy was shot remember exactly what they were doing when they heard the news, and Lorraine was no exception.

When she woke up that morning, Lorraine was convinced that it would be a great day, and nothing could possibly go wrong. Edward had called her the night before to tell her that he was coming back to Clearwater Lake from Madison for Thanksgiving break, and she couldn't wait to see him. When her alarm clock went off, Lorraine jumped out of bed, quickly got ready for school, and ran out the door. She knew that Edward wouldn't arrive home until ten o'clock, but she couldn't wait to see her boyfriend. There were no words to describe how much she had missed him over the last few months.

Despite the fact that she was a senior, Lorraine still had to take the bus to school. She had complained to her mother many times, but Mom insisted that she needed the car to get to work, so Lorraine was stuck riding the bus with all of the underclassmen at East Clearwater Lake High School. It was still better than it was last year, before the school had split into two. Last year, she couldn't stand to be on the bus - it was far too crowded, and Lorraine could hardly breathe when she was sandwiched between three of her classmates.

The bus ride itself was uneventful. Lorraine didn't have a ton of friends at East Clearwater Lake - most of her closest friends still lived on the reservation. Peggy Wilburn insisted on sitting next to Lorraine and chatting incessantly about the Beach Boys throughout the bus ride, but Lorraine wasn't paying much attention to her. She stared out the window and dreamed of Edward, wishing that she didn't have to wait until after school to see him.

When the bus arrived at East Clearwater Lake High School, Lorraine hopped off of the bus and went into the school. She quickly stopped at her locker to drop off her sweater and then headed to history class. However, Lorraine didn't pay much attention in class. She nearly fell asleep during her teacher's lecture, and she only paid attention when the Mrs. Horlacher asked her when the Aroostook War began.

"I don't know," Lorraine admitted.

Peggy Wilburn, of course, immediately raised her hand and answered, "It ended in 1838."

"Very good, Peggy," Mrs. Horlacher said. "Lorraine, please make sure that you're paying attention during class."

"I am paying attention," Lorraine insisted, but all she wanted was to think about was Edward. Memorizing the date of the start of the Aroostook War frankly wasn't a priority for Lorraine when her boyfriend was coming.

Lorraine thought about Edward through English, math, and French, and when lunch came around, Peggy and a few of her friends decided to sit with Lorraine. "Hi Lorraine," Peggy said. "Are you and Edward Morrison still going steady?"

Lorraine nodded and said, "He's coming home today for Thanksgiving break."

"That's nice," Peggy said. "Are you going to go see him?"

"Not until after school," Lorraine said. "I'd like to see him sooner." She looked toward the clock and said, "He's probably home now."

"You could see him now if you wanted to," Peggy said.

"How?" Lorraine asked. She wanted to see Edward more than anything, but she didn't see how she could get out of going to class. It was one of those things that she just had to do.

"You could ditch," Peggy suggested.

"Peggy, there are so many problems with that plan," Lorraine said. "I'm going to get caught, and even if I did cut class without getting caught, I wouldn't be able to see Edward. He lives too far away - I can't walk all the way to the lake from East Clearwater Lake."