"Margaret! Margaret!"

I jumped awake at the sound of my Dad's usual morning shouts. I rushed into my uniform and headed to the living room, where my Dad was punching the oven yet again. This time, it flickered on weakly.

"Success!" My dad clapped his hands in rejoice, my mom smiling at his glee. He turned to face me, a grin on his face. "Good mornin', Malcolm!"

"Morning, Dad." I stated. I grabbed the PB&J sandwich from my mom, stuffing it in my backpack.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you!" My mother said. "How was school yesterday?"

"Only word I could use for it is average." I said, thinking about everything that happened that day. But then, an image of Veruca's grinning face placed itself in my thoughts. "Well…It wasn't all bad."

"Oooohhhh, it must be a girl!" My mom giggled, causing me to groan.

"Whatever, Mom." I groaned, walking out of the house and to the bus.

Later, during the lunch period…

I walked through the school to the cafeteria, my uneaten sandwich in hand. I began to reach my class, and started to lift the snack to my mouth, when a pale white hand stole it from my grasp. I turned, only to see…

"Veruca!"

The girl looked at me with judgemental eyes, cautiously holding my sandwich.

"What is this wretched meal?"

"It's PB&J." I reached for it, but she reeled her hand out of the way.

"P, B, and...J?" Veruca tossed the sandwich into the garbage can nearby, causing me to drop my jaw.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?" I began to run to the garbage can, but felt her hand grab my collar and pull me back.

"Don't rummage through garbage, idiot." She stated.

I turned to face her as she said, "I have enough in my lunch for the both of us."
"Wait, what are you trying to say?" I questioned, a confused look on my face.

Veruca looked directly at me, a small hint of red in her cheeks as she said, "You'll have to sit with ME if you want to eat anything." She grabbed my hand and pulled me along behind her. "And I WON'T take no for an answer.

"Um, I mean, I guess, if uh…"

"Stop stammering, it's embarrassing."

I silenced myself after that statement, allowing her to pull me to a lunch table.

Veruca placed me in a seat, then sat directly next to me. She began pulling out an array of elegant-looking foods from her lunch box, placing a well cut piece of meat in front of me, a honey-like glaze over it.

"Eat this."

"O-Okay."

I grabbed it with my hand and began to lift it to my mouth, but Veruca the food out of my hand back onto my tray. She was agitated now, her eyebrows furrowed.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm eating it!"

"Stupid boy." Veruca groaned, tossing a fork in front of me. "Use proper etiquette."

"Oh. Alright." I used the fork to slice off some meat, and placed it in my mouth.

It was the best meat I'd ever eaten. The glaze just added more delicious flavor. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Veruca was staring at me while I ate. I glanced at her, and she blinked in surprise.

"Does it taste good?" She asked me.

I nodded, swallowing the piece. "Best bloody meat I've ever eaten."

"Good. At least you have SOME taste." Veruca said, handing me a napkin. "Wipe the crumbs from your mouth."

I did as she said, still kind of confused. Why is she being so much nicer than she was yesterday?

"Veruca?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you being nice to me?"

Veruca paused, most likely considering how to respond. She finally stated, "Because it's important for gentlemen to have proper etiquette, regardless of where." She placed her hand on mine, saying "And I think you'd look better if you used it."

I paused now, blushing a little. My blush grew deeper as Veruca's hand ran through my hair.

"I like your hair, Malcolm." Veruca said, a smile on her face. She looked me in the eyes, and giggled, "And your eyes."

"T-Thank you." I stuttered.

"You're welcome." Veruca moved her hand from my hair back to my hand as the bell rang.

"Malcolm?"

"Yes, Veruca?"

"Will you walk with me to class?"

I gulped, Veruca's grin piercing my heart with warmth. "S-Sure."

Veruca stood and pulled me along beside her, a judgemental look on her face. I blushed as I felt her soft hand wrap around mine, and blushed harder when I turned and saw her….beautiful face.

I turned and looked around the hall as I heard...Whispers? People were staring at us and muttering to each other.

"Ignore those buffoons." Veruca irritantly stated, surprising me.

"W-Why?"

"Those boys are just jealous that I'm holding hands with you. They're all spoiled rich-boys. But you're not Malcolm." Veruca's tone changed from spiteful to kind as we reached the class. "You're not like all the other rich boys. You don't brag about your wealth. You're a good egg." She smiled, walking her fingers along my chest as she continued to hold my hand. "And very handsome."

Bloody hell, I get it now. She likes me. Possibly even a lot. But….She thinks I'm rich like her. Crap.

"Um, thanks Veruca...I think you're handsome too-I mean pretty!" I blurted, gulping down my anxiety.

"Thank you." Veruca smiled, stepping closer to me.

AHGEEZAHGEEZAHGEEZAHGEEZAHGEEZAHGEEZAHGEEZAHGEEZAHGE-

"Get to class, you two!" The headmaster threatened, pointing a finger at us.

"Yes, sir!" Veruca said, flashing a big grin. "Come, Malcolm!"

I felt myself being pulled into class by Veruca, who grabbed my collar and pulled me behind her. We entered the class, and she put me in my seat with a surprising amount of strength.

"See you later, Malcolm…" She whispered, her bright-white teeth flashing in front of me. As she walked back to her seat, I glanced around the room. The other students were staring at me, with some staring at her. I could hear their mutters of judgement, causing me to groan in slouch in my chair.

Ms. Wilson walked in, an impatient look on her face. She sported an oddly brown skirt with a grey, long-sleeved shirt that matched her glasses. She looked down at a paper on her desk, and cleared her throat.

"Okay students, we'll be having a social experiment for a new 'll be paired with another student, and will have to spend 20 hours with them and learn 20 things about them. Now, I'll write down the pairs on the board now."

Ms. Wilson began writing, multiple names showing. I wasn't paying attention until I saw my name begin to be written. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw who I was paired with.

"Malcolm Sugar and Veruca Salt"

"Ah geez" I muttered, turning to look at Veruca. She was already looking at me, and I swear I could see hearts in her eyes.

000

I walked out of the school, sweating nervously.

"Ahgeezahgeezahgeezahgeezahgeezahgeezahgeezahgeez-"
"Malcolm!"

I turned to see Veruca quickly skip towards me.

"Y-yeah?"
"We need to get started on our project as soon as possible!" She said, a determined look on her face. "Come!"

She grabbed me by my collar and pulled me towards a limo. She shoved me in the backseat as I tried to come up with a response.

"Wait, Veruca-"

"SSSHHHHH!" Veruca placed a finger on my mouth as she sat in the seat next to me. She leaned in close as she whispered, "Just let it happen."

I gulped down my objection as the car pulled off, unsure of what was next for me.