Robin, Boy Virgin: Original Series

I walked into the band room. Music Composition was my last class of the day, and yet I'd still have to stick around afterward because of stupid jazz band. At least the majority of my day was over. And, bonus, none of the popular people would be caught dead in jazz band.

Anyway, I love Music Composition: it's my favourite class. The front section of the band room is this long suit that has brand new Macs, but we're waiting a million years for the new music production software to arrive. In the meantime, I hung out in my practice room, experimenting on the tinny half upright piano and strumming my life away on the guitar.

Off the main part of the band room were small, asymmetrical practice rooms. In each room is an older generation Mac computer and a desk. There are about 10 other kids, total, in my class, and they share the rooms. I get a practice room to myself, the room with the piano, and I love it.

So naturally I was surprised and a little protective when someone opened the door to my practice room as I was tuning a guitar.

"Hey. Uh, Mr. Giraldi told me you'd share this practice room with me," the girl who invaded my room said, closing the door behind her. Her dark hair and black jacket lead me to believe this was the new girl.

I wished that I could have gotten a better look at her earlier, so I wouldn't have been so surprised now. She was tall, nearly as tall as me, and she was... sexy. There was really no other word to describe her overall look. She was not really pretty, she looked too rough around the edges to be pretty. She had defined cheekbones, sharp and not soft, and the clear beginnings of dark circles under her crisp, near-black blue eyes. And like every sexy woman, this girl exuded confidence.

I was, of course, totally and thoroughly intimidated by her.

"I'm Cora," she said and held out her hand. I lifted my right hand from the body of my guitar.

"Robin," I said and shook her head.

"... Robin? What's your last name?" Cora asked, tilting her head a little and narrowing her eyes. I frantically began tearing through my memory, trying desperately to remember if we'd met before and I'd forgotten her. But how that could have been possible, I do not know.

"Um, Svetson," I said, stalling. Cora's expression cleared.

"You're the virgin," she realized, shaking her finger lazily at me. A small grin spread crookedly on her mouth and her eyes suddenly shone.

"How to lose friends and alienate people," I responded darkly, looking away from her shining gaze and occupying myself with the guitar.

"Hey, it's cool. I didn't mean anything nasty by it," she said. She made herself comfortable in the only other chair in the room. I was sitting in front of the computer, and so she had settled near the piano. Out of the corner of my lowered eyes I saw her cross her legs and lean back in the chair. "I'm kind of impressed. Whatever happened for that fact to slip out must have been big. People aren't gossiping about me," she said and then pressed down a low F key on the piano.

"Oh don't worry. They are," I assured her, playing an A minor chord on the guitar.

"Really? What are they saying?" she sounded amused. I glanced up at her. She was grinning slyly at me.

"Um. Well you're from California and you got kicked out of your old school for doing drugs and you ran away from California because you stole a car," I informed her. She laughed.

"That's not bad. I think I'll leave that in circulation," she chuckled, plunking on a C# key on the piano repeatedly. "So what happened with you? How'd they find out you're still playing the v-card?" \

"It's... stupid. None of your business," I muttered.

"Oh come on, Robin. Boy Wonder," she coaxed. Her calling me Robin, Boy Wonder wasn't persuading me. "Either you can tell me or I'll just assume it's something way more awful than it."

"The stupid Health class teacher read out my name on this stupid question I'd written concerning intercourse." Shit, did I just say intercourse again?

"Ouch. That's embarrassing," she said. "Intercourse... is a touchy subject." I could hear the teasing in her voice.

"Yeah well. It's just... annoying," I muttered irately. Why couldn't I have written down 'how do you orchestrate a three way?' or 'how much sex is too much sex?'.

"Hmm, I might have guessed," Cora said, leaning forward, placing her elbows on her knees. Her face was closer to mine and I could smell her hair. It smelled faintly like shampoo.

"Guessed what?" I asked darkly, weary of where this was headed.

"You kind of look like a virgin." She smiled.

"Super. That's what I was going for when I woke up this morning: a naïve, incompetent loser," I said dripping in sarcasm, but my heart was pounding in my chest and wildly betraying to myself how much I did care, despite my tone. This sexy, scary girl was holding up to the light the most embarrassing point about me and I couldn't escape from it, or her, in this tiny room.

"No," Cora chuckled. "You just look kind of innocent." Now, at least, she sounded more thoughtful than teasing. But still.

"That's much better," I lied and then sighed unhappily. I put the guitar down on the ground and lay my head on the desk, folding my arms around my head.

"What's wrong, Boy Wonder? Or should I say, Boy Virgin?" Cora teased. I could picture that crooked grin on her face.

"I just want this to go away. People need to shut up about my being a virgin. Like, I fuckin' get it, okay, it's lame, I'm lame. If I could just... ugh this is a nightmare," I grunted into my arm. Why wouldn't she just leave me alone?

"Wait a second," she said suddenly, "This isn't just about people talking about you. You're actually embarrassed about the simple fact that you're a virgin, aren't you?" she demanded. I didn't say anything. Maybe this actually was a nightmare, and any second I'd wake up in a cold sweat, but blessedly alone-

"Hey!" Cora slapped my knee to get my full attention. I jumped at the slap and looked up at her.

"What's wrong with being a virgin?" she demanded, challenging me.

"Well... I'm a guy."

"So?" She sat up straight, away from me, and folded her arms across her chest.

"This is high school?" I went on, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"... So?" she continued to press.

"So," I said, annoyed, "shouldn't... I should have more experience by now." The moment it came out of my mouth, I realized how dumb it sounded. How "nothing" that opinion was, and barely a second of scrutiny crumbled it like a wafer cookie.

"Whatever. You haven't had sex yet. I haven't been to Europe yet. Your classmates don't live on their own yet. Doesn't mean it won't happen. Doesn't mean that it should have happened already. It's not a big deal," Cora said firmly, uncrossing her arms and leaning back in her chair again, and looking away from me..

Here's the thing. I know that in this dictatorship of high school, where sexual prowess and cool clothes and cars and money are everything, being a virgin does matter. It matters a lot, for this specific reason that other people can make your life hell over it. But I could tell that Cora really believed what she said. And what she had said, coupled with my realization about how stupid my own judgment against myself was, I felt a lot better.

I didn't know what to say to her. I felt relieved, safe again in my practice room. I wanted to thank her or something, but I wasn't sure what I would be her thanking for. For making me feel better? For making me realize my own stupidity? For having a solid opinion herself?

"So... what is it, though? Are you like really religious or something?" Cora asked, the teasing creeping back into her voice again.

"No," I said defensively. Because she'd created this safety between us, she didn't seem so dangerous to me that I couldn't stand up for myself. I heard words come tumbling out of my mouth. "I guess I'm the last guy ever who thinks that you should wait until you're in love to have sex. Just because I don't try to sleep with every stupid skank I meet doesn't mean I'm weird or religious," I ranted.

Cora raised her eyebrows at me.

"I didn't mean to say you're stupid," I backtracked, rolling my eyes at my tactlessness. She raised her eyebrows even more.

"Or that I'd sleep with you. I mean-" I stopped talking and bit down on my lip hard.

"I'm still a skank though, right?" Cora checked. I looked at her. She was smiling knowingly at me.

"... I'm sorry."

She waved her hand and looked away from me. "It's okay to be angry. Anyway, I admire you for your convictions. You're wrong about the part about it not being weird. It's a little weird," she said.

I sighed. "Yeah well. Being a little weird right now is getting me crucified," I said tiredly, picking at a guitar string. It twanged quietly at me.

"I like you, Boy Virgin. I mean, you're weird, and I think you're really missing out-" Cora chuckled. I looked up at her sharply. "But I like you. You're alright," she said.

I wanted to take the spotlight off of me. I didn't want to be under her sly gaze and teasing comments anymore. Cora made me nervous.

"So, is there any truth to the gossip about you?" I asked bluntly.

Cora leaned forward on her knees again, coming closer to my face. "Can you keep a secret? I mean, if it's not concerning your sex life?" she grinned.

"Yes."

"Seriously, don't let this get out. I like the drama of the gossip now, it makes me seem far more interesting than I actually am."

I nodded my promise.

"My parents split up. I moved here with my mom, my dad still lives in California," Cora said.

Sexy, scary Cora... she was secretly almost as normal (or abnormal, depending on how you looked at it) as me.