The Drifter

C H A P T E R 4 4

C H A P T E R  F O R T Y – F O U R
Robbie Jacobs' Story

I'll tell you right now what my mistake with Robbie was.

I trusted him.

I told you trust was a fickle thing, wasn't it? He trusted me back, of course, as he trusted me first. He initiated the trust between us. I did have to take into account that it was several years ago, but nothing was distinct in my mind about Robbie Jacobs and whether anyone else knew of his story. Especially considering we didn't speak to one another for the rest of high school.

At the end of freshman year, our school had this program where they paired you up with someone that was in a totally different league to you. By which I mean they shared no classes or extra-curriculums with you so there was no reason for you two to have crossed paths before. I was paired with Robbie Jacobs, the awkward boy who was too tall for his age with "freakishly long" (his own words) limbs and glasses he kept pushing up on the bridge of his nose. Now he had filled out his body and purchased contacts.

But back then, Robbie was quiet. He preferred to listen rather than speak which was a contrast to how he ended up being in senior year. Despite having a long-term girlfriend through sophomore year and junior year, he'd flitted between various other girls during senior year, using his charisma to charm them right into bed.

"Hey," I spoke first when we met after being paired up. "This is kind of dumb, isn't it?" I asked which was my attempt to break the ice between us was.

Prepare to get very frustrated at me, okay?

Naivety was my downfall.

Naivety has always been my downfall.

That and not thinking properly. I know that's what you're thinking.

We were sat in Robbie's homeroom next to one another. It was the last day before summer break and for the final hour of the day, we had to sought out our partner with the timetable we had been provided with. Arianna had been partnered with a girl who was not too dissimilar to Robbie in terms of personality. Her name was Marley Lee-Jones. She was also in Robbie's homeroom so they already knew one another.

Actually, Marley was the one Robbie had a long-term relationship with during sophomore and junior year.

Can you see where this is going yet?

But, anyway, she had to meet Arianna in our homeroom so I only saw her as we passed on the way to each other's homeroom. Marley smiled at me sheepishly, adjusting the black bow in her hair that seemed to be her signature trademark during freshman year.

After the last day of freshman year, I never saw her wear the bow again. It made me wonder what it symbolised in her life.

To this day, I still don't know.

"A little," Robbie admitted, a flush creeping up to his cheeks. He must have thought he was offending me because then he quickly rushed out with, "Not that I think you're dumb or anything."

I smiled, though it was partially strained. It seemed odd to me how Robbie and I would become friends, and that was when I arrived at the conclusion that we would just speak for this one hour and nothing more.

How wrong I was, huh?

"It's okay." I paused, hoping Robbie would utter something to fill the silence, but he didn't. "So, tell me something about yourself, Robbie."

He told me he had three brothers and two sisters. He was a family of six children. The thought astounded me initially. How could two parents cope with six children? It was unfathomable for me, but then it got me wondering. If my parents hadn't had died so early, would they have had more children? Would I have been a big sister to a brother? Another sister? Both? More?