Edd got ready for the school day as he had may others, setting his beanie on top of his shortly cut hair. While many speculations had occurred over the years as to why he wore the beanie from horrific scarring to early baldness, the truth was rather mundane. He was born with poliosis, a condition which caused him to have a patch of colorless white hair about the size of a fist on the right side of his head. When he was younger he was self conscious about it leading to him always wearing a hat, though now most of his friends knew about it and he wore them out of habit.
He grabbed his book sack and made his way downstairs and out the door, saying goodbye to his parents as he went. As soon as he did the cold fall air hit him making him glad for the ingrained usage of the warm knit hat. He made his way over to Eddy's house where he went through the usual routine of rushing his two best friends who were much more laid back in regards to time management. Eventually he got the three of them into Eddy's car since it was his week to drive them to school. Since it was their junior year the three of them each had a car and they took turns carpooling the other two to save on gas money.
The three amigos parted ways after the first bell of the day rang since they each had different schedules except for their electives which they shared and PE. Eddy and Ed took the regular classes while Double D was placed in honors and AP classes. Edd was bored throughout most of English and Chemistry as he had read the chapters that were discussing the previous night unlike most of the other students leading the teachers to have to go at a slower pace to make sure everybody was on track. That's one thing that Edd disliked about the honors classes he took, the students were smart and used to understanding the material on their first attempt so they would wait to learn it until they were in class and bog down the lecture.
He found himself halfheartedly listening, and adding a few additions in the margins of the notes he had taken the previous night. Soon enough the bell rang signaling the changing of classes and he got up ready to head out the door. Before he left however his Chemistry teacher stopped him.
"Hey Eddward, wait around for a bit I need to talk to you about something."
Weary about another congratulatory speech from his teachers that would drag on and leave him rushing to his next class he asked, "Mrs. Wells could it possibly wait until tomorrow? I have Coach Gunner next and the gym is all the way across the school."
"Oh don't worry I'll write you a note saying that I needed your help after class. I realize that you are having no difficulty with this course as shown by your homework and tests. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping out one of my students from my regular classes that is having difficulty with the material. Now I know that you must be busy so I'll make it worth your while, if you agree to tutor her after school I will let you skip out on doing your homework for the rest of the year at full credit. You are smart and I can tell by the way that you word your answers that you consider it tedious and unnecessary."
He didn't really feel like teaching some person that he didn't even know chemistry outside of school hours but he figured that with the time that he would save by not having to do the very basic though lengthy homework assignments would be worth it, "Sure thing."
His teacher smiled at his answer and thanked him before she wrote down the note for his PE coach and another with the troubled student's contact information on it. He shoved the second note into his pocket without glancing at it not wanting to waste time since even with the note Coach Gunner wouldn't give him any extra time to change into his gym clothes. After finishing PE the three Eds headed out to their lunch period sitting together at one of the tables in the quad.
Ed was going on about a new special edition blu-ray that he had gotten of some rare 80's horror movie and how they special effects looked even better now than when they re-released it in theatres a few years back. It was in the midst of his rant about the redness of the blood that Edd remember the note he had been given regarding the person that he would be tutoring in his pocket still unread. He unfolded it and read the name to see who would be the lucky girl to spend her afternoons nose deep in Chemistry books with a tutor that frankly would rather not be there but was stunned by the irony of whose name was there. Marie Kanker
...
Since he and the other Eds fled their homes following their final attempt at a scam Edd had mended the bridges that had been burned with the other kids from the cul-de-sac. They matured and with that their friendships grew and understandings were made. Over time they all became friendly and cordial with one another, of course some being better friends than other but still they were all at least acquaintances.
Yet over all that time the Kankers were still what could be considered the outsiders of the group. What had once been fear turned to resentment and distaste for them. Every now and then one of the sisters would join in on a conversation or event with the other teens and though there was no outright hostility there was a palpable tension and clear feeling of disinterest towards them. As a result the Kankers, though still in close proximity to the cul-de-sac, rarely interacted with the students from it instead choosing to hang out with different groups in and out of school.
It was under these circumstances that Edd called Marie that night, talking to her for the first time in over a year beyond the usual hello as they passed each other in the hallway.
It took five rings until she picked up the phone sounding annoyed and confused, "Yeah who is this?"
Not expecting the gruffness with which she answered it took Edd a second to compose himself, "Um hello there Marie... This is Eddward."
Recognizing the voice her next words were in a much friendlier though rushed tone, "Oh hey Double D. I'm sorry I guess that I didn't remember that I gave you my number. What's up?"
"Well uh... you didn't exactly give me your number. Mrs. Wells did, she gave it to me when I agreed to tutor you in Chemistry."
There was a slight sadness when she said, "Oh... I'm sorry to waste your time but I told her and she should have told you. Money is kind of tight around the house right now and I can't afford to pay anyone for tutoring, that's kind of why I asked the teacher for help."
Hearing the embarrassment in her voice from not being able to afford the simple luxury of a tutor and not wanting to cause her any more he quickly cut in, "That is quite alright Marie. You see she gave me a deal where if I tutor you I don't have to do any of the future homework assignments since I'll already be helping you with yours. So you see if I help you, you end up helping out me and everyone walks away happy."
"Oh... she hadn't mentioned that to me. Well in that case it would be selfish of me not to study with you. Um Double D... I kind of have a shift at the cafe where I work in twenty minutes so can we finish talking about this at another time? I know you are doing me a solid but I really can't be late again," she said explaining why she sounded rushed.
"Of course, go and do your thing. What time will you be getting off, I might be able to call you then to schedule?"
"Well I'm closing tonight so I won't be done until close to midnight. I can text you and if you don't respond I'll just assume that you are asleep."
"Good lord Marie that is late to be working on a school night," he said shocked that she would be up that late and then have to get up for Wednesday morning's classes not long after.
"Well I've got to do what I've got to do Eddward. Anyways I've gotta go, thanks for calling," she said before ending their conversation.
With the call over Edd lay down on his bed with his head full of thoughts. He was always appreciative of what he had but he rarely saw the difficulties first hand that others faced. He had a car paid for by his parents and a debit card which always had money transferred to it by them as well. Yet here was Marie having to work insane hours along with her school work just to get by. And she didn't even have enough money left over to afford a tutor that she really needed.
Edd began to understand the events of his childhood a bit more clearly now. Without the rose colored glasses of nostalgia that he usually wore he saw three lower class girls who realized that they were different and tried to use that to force friendships. They went about many things the wrong way but it was for understandable reasons. For the first time the wall came crashing down around Edd and he not only felt pity for the Kanker sisters, but he also felt guilty for they way that he and the others had treated them in the years since as they tried to make amends. Well not any more, Edd was forgetting all of the issues that they had in the past and was going to start over with Marie and treat her with the friendliness and respect that she deserved.