Rum and Coke

“How are you?” Ryan asked Ellie the next day at school as he and Mark sat next to Ellie, one on each side of the teenage girl. The boys slowly dug into their meal as they patiently waited for Ellie to answer.

Ellie bit her lip and continued to scribble her thoughts down in the notebook on her lap. “Perfect as I can be.” She replied in an upbeat tone.

The two boys gave each other a knowing look. Ryan shook his head and focused his attention on Ellie.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked slowly as he prepared himself for any kind of extreme action that she might have.

“Talk about what?” she asked as she scratched out a word.

“Um…you know-”

“What the idiot means to say is do you want to talk about Matt?” Mark butted in.

Ellie shrugged as she continued writing in her notebook. “What about him? I haven’t seen or talked to him in months, but, according to his mom, he’ll be home sometime next month. I can't remember the exact date,” she said with a shrug.

The boys exchanged another look and came to a mutual, silent agreement to drop the subject for now.

“What are you doing?” Ryan asked as he scanned the page over Ellie’s shoulder.

“Trying to scrape up what little family history I have. Do you think she’ll go for it?” Ellie replied as she showed her two friends the page.

Ryan grabbed the notebook and read it, “Name: Ellie Marie Patterson, Daughter of Father: Unknown and Mother: Danielle Nicole Patterson. Danielle Nicole Patterson: Daughter of Father: Unknown and Mother: Unknown.” He let out a whistle as he gave the notebook back to Ellie. “Wow, sounds impressive, I wonder if they’ll dish out an F-.”

Mark wrapped his arm around Ellie’s shoulder. Out of habit, she laid her head down on his shoulder. “If they do, it’ll most likely be the first ever in this school. I’ll go down in the history books: Ellie Marie Patterson, the story of an F- student.” She said with a groan as Mark squeezed her shoulders.

“Aweh! But we’ll still love you!” Ryan squealed as he launched himself on top of the two, causing all three of them to topple over in a huge heap on the lawn.

“Ryan!” Ellie giggled as she untangled herself from the human knot. “You’re horrible!”

He pouted his lips at her as he looked through Mark’s arm.

Ellie rolled her eyes and looked across the courtyard, her eyes immediately landed on Mrs. Shirley. “Hey, I gotta jet! See you guys later!” she quickly stood up and bolted to her History teacher. “Mrs. Shirley! Wait Up!”

Mrs. Shirley smiled at Ellie as the girl skidded to a halt in front of her. “How may I help you, Ellie?”

“It’s about the project. You see, according to my mother, the Patterson line just sprang up and started with her.”

The teacher looked confused for a moment. “Would you mind explaining that?”

“Of course! You see, my mother’s side has a big problem with disowning their children. And, well, my mom is completely tight-lipped about my dad- trust me, I’ve asked about my father ever since I could speak. And, don’t tell me to check my birth certificate because it says that my Uncle Kale is the father- no, he’s not biologically related to my mom, he just practically raised me, along with several other guys…and, well, my Uncle Kale is gay, so…yea. My mom made the elaborate story of getting raped and not knowing the guy when I was born, which is obviously false to anyone who knows her. So, you see my conundrum, right?” Ellie said in one breath, only slowing down to a somewhat-normal speed for the last sentence.

“So, what you’re saying is…” Poor woman, she was completely confused.

“I’m saying that I don’t want to fail because my mother is stubborn and emotionally detached.”

“Oh! I see! Hmm, that is a predicament. Come see me after class today and we’ll work this out.”

“Thank you!” Ellie grinned before walking back to two of her best friends and band mates.

“Ellie, I figured out what you could do instead. Here is a list of influential names. Pick one and research their history. You are to compile a family tree of five generations and write a brief essay explaining how their family influences have gotten them to where they are today. I know it’s a lot of work, but you can do it. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Mrs. Shirley smiled at the end of the day.

“Yea, sounds like…fun. See you tomorrow.” Ellie smiled as she took the piece of paper.