CHAPTER ONE
Marley Rose had a plan. This year, her sophomore year, things would be different. She'd get even better grades, become more social, and try to figure out the mysterious secret that Ryder had been keeping from her all summer. Her plan was going to work and she was sure that this year would definitely be different from freshman year; including the fact that she refused to let Kitty bully her anymore. The old Marley was gone and the new and improved Marley was in. The brunette was ready to tackle anything that life threw at her. Her first day back at WMHS was tomorrow and after getting her supplies, picking out her outfit, and rearranging her sheet music, Marley realized she had nothing else to do. She was anxious…oh, so incredibly anxious. Despite her plan, Marley was still terrified. She usually was. First days for anything always made her anxious. She needed to clear her head. Shoving her feet into a pair of Sparreys, Marley grabbed her sweater and shuffled out of her room and down the hall to the kitchen where her mother sat peeling carrots. Quietly, Marley watched as a sense of guilt overcame her. People always made fun of her—it wasn't her Mama's fault that she was on the heavier side; all Marley wanted was people to notice that.
Coming into full view, Marley entered the kitchen and walked over to the pantry where she grabbed a granola bar, although not really planning on eating it. "Mama, I'm going for a bit of a walk," she said gently, a soft smile on the sweet girls face.
The older woman looked up at her and smiled. "Okay, peaches. Just be careful around those railroad tracks, you hear?"
Marley smiled at her and nodding, giving her mother a kiss on the head before leaving her one-story home behind. The sky was a soft candy pink, giving the slightly grey sky a twinge of color as she headed toward the East side of town, toward the railroad tracks. Despite the warm air, a chill ran along Marley's arms, her breath catching slightly in her throat. She was on hyper alert, knowing the possibility of Kitty jumping up out of the blue to pelt her with eggs or call her some more mean names. She had a tendency to do that. Shaking those thoughts out of her head, Marley pulled her iPod out of her pocket, plugging her earphones into her ears and letting the sweet sound of New York State of Mind fill her head as soft, summer grass crunched beneath her feet.
As she walked, the world seemed to stretch on forever. Soon, she left behind the small West side of Brennan, South Carolina and found herself nearer to the East side. Every time she came near here she always had a strange sense of having an out-of-body experience. Just beyond those railroad tracks was a whole different society. It was the exact same town, sure, only separated by a two four-foot-eight inch tracks. Marley always wondered what it would be like to mix with the African-Americans, see how they handled every day things and if they looked at things through a different perspective, but she had always been too afraid to venture past the tracks. It was like a giant force shield was keeping her at bay even though her body wanted to cross.
It was a good thing, she supposed, considering that if she ventured that far she'd probably get shot. The African-Americans never took too kindly to the whites. Understandable, considering how segregated the town was. As she neared a small meadow that rested just along the edges of the West Side and East side, Marley sat on the damp grass and laid on her back, staring at the sky. She watched as it changed from the candy pink to candy-corn orange to amethyst purple until it was finally black. One thing she loved about Brennan was that it always had clear skies at night. No matter the weather or season, the skies were always so clear and she had had her father teach her every constellation he knew until he passed away many years ago. As she located Cassiopeia, a bitter smile spread across her lips. It was the last constellation her father taught her. Marley always tried to push those depressing thoughts out of her head, but they always came back.
Soon the melodic voice of Billy Joel faded away as her iPod skipped ahead to her Adele playlist. Chasing Pavements soon began to blast in her ear and the brunette cringed. She would be singing this song in church on Sunday and she was nervous. All her life, Kitty had beaten Marley at everything and anything. It wasn't until freshman year that Marley finally gathered the courage to audition for her church's choir group—and got lead soloist. Up until that point, Marley and Kitty had been pretty civil with each other—not friends, but definitely not enemies—and when Marley unknowingly stole Kitty's spot as lead soloist, she might as well have painted a target on her back. Marley wanted to quit, wanted to quit desperately, but her Mama wouldn't let her. You have magic in your throat, Marley Rose, her mother's voice rang in her head. And if you let one blonde belle stop you from doing what you love, how will you ever reach your dreams?
Marley hated it when her mother was right—but loved it all the same. She needed it and Marley had no idea what she would do if she ever lost her as well. All Marley needed to focus on right now was memorizing the lyrics and harmonies in her solo and calming the nerves in her stomach for tomorrow. It would be the first time she would be seeing Kitty since last year. Kitty seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth this past summer and truth be told, it scared her out of her mind.
The sound of rustling brought Marley out of her thoughts and she sat up, pulling her earbuds out, listening intently. Had she been hearing things? Was it just her imagination? As she was ready to return to her position of daydreaming, the rustling resumed and Marley was on her feet in an instant, her heart beating fast in her chest. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Marley tried to urge her feet to run, but they wouldn't move. She couldn't budge; and as the rustling grew louder, so did the sound of her beating heart. "Who g-goes there!" Marley called out, mentally cursing herself at the sound of her voice quaking. So much for trying to pull off an intimidating front.
There was no response; only more rustling.
"I-I've got a taser! You don't want to come near me!" Marley said, not even trying to stop the shaking of her voice as she lied through her teeth. Her only hope was that it was too dark for the guy to see whether or not she actually had a taser.
But then the sound of laughter filled the night sky and as she squinted, Marley could make out a figure walking out of the shadows. "Jesus, Mars! You make this way too easy on me."
Irritation filled Marley immediately. "Honestly, Ryder! You really need to stop sneaking up on me like that."
Coming into the moonlight, Marley could now see the mischievous twinkle in Ryder's bright blue eyes. "Oh, come on! You and I both know it's hilarious."
Marley frowned. "Not for me."
"Perk up, buttercup," Ryder said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leading her in the direction of the West side of town. "Tomorrow is a new day—and the first day of our sophomore year. Can't get much more exciting than that, can you?"
Marley groaned, wrapping one arm around Ryder's waist and resting her head against his shoulder. "No need to remind me," she muttered, dreading the day.
Ryder squeezed her tighter against him. "Just ignore Kitty. She can't do anything if you act like it's nothing."
Marley knew that Ryder was right. Ryder was always right about this sort of thing, but it was a lot harder than it seemed. Ryder was one of the populars and it was a wonder that they were even still friends to this day. Ryder should definitely be a part of Kitty's group but because of his friendship with Marley, things were quite different. People still loved him and almost everyone said hi to him when he walked down the halls, but Marley always got the sense that she was dragging him down. He could be having the high school career that everybody wanted—and she was ruining it for him. A wave of guilt crashed over Marley as Ryder led her back into town. Consumed in her own thoughts she didn't even realize it when Ryder dropped her off at home, leaving her standing alone on her front porch underneath the white moonlight.
Monday came way too soon. With her alarm blaring at six A.M. and the birds chirping outside of her window, Marley was definitely not ready for school. Jumping out of bed, the brunette ran to the shower and flew through her morning routine faster than she ever thought could be possible. Soon she was standing in front of her bathroom mirror, her hair wrapped around a curling wand as she tried to calm the butterflies that never seemed to stop. She could get through this—she knew that she could. She was going to walk in there and people would stare at her in awe just like they did in the movies. She got her braces off, no more glasses, and she even grew her hair out and got it styled professionally. Her mother said she was trying too hard—that people would like her for her—but a part of Marley couldn't seem to listen. She just wanted to fit in—and was that such a bad thing?
By the time seven o clock rolled around, Marley stood, staring at the finished product in her mirror. Wearing a white sweater over a pair of dark skinny jeans, Sperrys on her feet, and a headband in her hair, Marley felt ready. Smiling at herself in the mirror, the girl felt a newfound strength in her. Plus, with Ryder by her side, Kitty couldn't touch her—right? All she had to do was stick to Ryder. Kitty never did anything with Ryder around—maybe because the blonde was crushing on him, but who knows—and Marley made sure to take all honors classes this year. Kitty wasn't smart enough to take those, or, at least, wasn't the type to try in the classes so it had to work out. It was all a part of the plan after all. It was foolproof.
Her house was empty, save for herself, and Marley figured her mother probably left while she was showering. Grabbing some Poptarts from the pantry, blueberry of course, the brunette allowed the warm, August sun to warm her skin as she began her trek to WMHS. It was a long walk, but considering that Marley didn't get her license for another few months, she was perfectly fine dealing with the extra exercise. Soon, the poorer side of West Brennan turned into the wealthier side of West Brennan and before she knew it, Marley was swept up in a body of students entering the school. Freshman scurried this way and that, trying to find their lockers and classes before the bell rang lest they want a senior to show them the wrong way; sophomores easily glided down the halls, feeling like they knew this place like the back of their hand; and juniors and seniors strutted around, acting as if they owned the place. But Marley? She didn't feel as she expected.
People still bumped into her, pushed her into the wall, and called her Muffin Top. People didn't notice any change in Marley and what good is a change if nobody can see it? As a lump slowly started to form in her throat, the brunette kept her head down and headed in the direction of her locker, hoping that Ryder would already be there and she could escape Kitty that morning. Ryder never came to school on time, but every once in a while she managed to catch him on a good day where he showed up just as she did and they walked into school together, silently sending Kitty a message to stay in her kennel until Ryder left. However, much to her dismay, the only person waiting for her at her locker was Kitty—who currently had her tongue shoved down someone else's throat.
Marley's stomach turned over at the thought of confrontation and hesitantly walked up to the couple who obviously did not understand the rule of "No PDA in school hallways." Shuffling her feet, Marley managed not to bump into anybody else until she was standing right beside Kitty and her boy of the week. Deciding to take the cowardly route, Marley cleared her throat hoping to get their attention. Nothing. She did it again, only louder this time, to be met with the same response. "Kitty," she said hesitantly. "You're standing in front of my locker." Nothing. Again. "Kitty, can you move?" A beat. "Please?" Nothing still.
"Marley Rose!" she heard someone shout. Turning around, Marley saw a bright head bobbing its way through the hallway down toward her until Mrs. Pillsbury, the guidance counselor, was standing right in front of her. "There you are!" exclaimed the redheaded woman. "I need to speak with you about your schedule for this year." Then, noticing the scene behind them, added, "Kitty; Dylan, how many times this year will I have to let you know about PDA?"
Even with her head down, Marley could still feel the cruel smirk Kitty was throwing her way. Quietly, Marley followed Mrs. Pillsbury to her office and plopped herself down in one of the ever uncomfortable chairs that she owned. At the moment she didn't even care about her schedule—it didn't matter. Right now she just had to figure out what illness she could use to convince both her mother and Principal Figgins that she needed to be sent home. While Marley waited an agonizing ten minutes for Mrs. Pillsbury to organize the top of her desk, she watched students pass in the hallway until she found the exact person she was looking for: Ryder. Marley debated whether or not to gain his attention until she realized he wasn't paying attention; he was currently talking to some blonde in a cheerleader's uniform but it was nearly impossible to tell who it was. Kitty? Brittany? Someone else?
Although before she could find out, Mrs. Pillsbury was calling her attention back to her. "Now, Marley, as I said we are here to discuss your schedule for this year."
"Is everything all right?" Marley asked, her brow furrowing.
The redhead hesitated. "Well, it depends on how you look at the situation of course. You know how you signed up for that new course this year? Oh, what was it… Oh, yes! The History of Classic Rock?" Marley nodded, glad that Mr. Schuster had taken her idea to heart. "Well, it seems that the class had been completely filled and there is no room for you."
Marley felt her heart drop. "But what about—"
Mrs. Pillsbury held up a hand, stopping her. "Now, don't worry. There's another option. You can still take the class, starting at three-ten, at the school…just on the East side of town."
Marley felt her jaw drop. "W-wait… You're saying I have to take the class at…at…"
"At William McKinley High School for African-Americans."
"But Mrs. Pillsbury! Do you realize the danger in sending me there? I could get shot or something!"
"Now, calm down, Marley," she said, sliding a brochure over toward the girl on her desk that was titled What To Do When You're Forced To Be Surrounded By Black People. "You don't have to take the class, but I don't want you to discourage the opportunity just because you won't have any friends in your class." Mrs. Pillsbury paused. "You'll think about it won't you."
Marley found herself nodding, despite the fact she didn't want to. This was definitely not part of the plan.