The next school day after the county fair was always considered the longest of the entire year. Most of the student would stay out past curfew and celebrate together with a few rebellious hours of dancing and drinking, except a select few who usually went immediately home afterward. One of them was Marley, who, after accepting a date offer from the one and only Ryder Lynn, nearly made a beeline for her mother and returned home for a long night's rest. While she was wide awake and ready, most everyone could have passed as the walking dead.
Marley stood silently at her locker, gazing her eyes over the assortment of advanced placement books that lined the back of it. She slicked her hair back into her usual high ponytail, letting the tips of her hair rest on her shoulders. There was only a few more minutes until home room started, and while she would normally be already sitting in her desk reading one of her many library books, she stood with her nose buried into her locker. Marley could hear even more whispers behind her than usual, unaware of the real reason for the gossip about her. She felt nervous that the students were starting to spread more rumors about her family life, but avoided any eavesdropping on their conversations. It wasn't until she heard a soft pop behind her, making her jump a little bit to see a little blonde standing beside her.
Kitty Ann never wasted a breath on someone like Marley; she was always too busy giggling with her cheerleading friends or sipping milkshakes with one of the athletic boys. For some odd reason she was standing in front of her now, popping her bright pink bubble gum and twirling a strand of her golden hair between her fingertips. The two of them were polar opposites in almost every way imaginable. Kitty Ann was always fond of adding to her extensive sweater and skirt collection, while Marley preferred to stay at home and listen to the radio. The only similarity between them was that they were both very bright students, especially in the advanced chemistry class that they shared together. The only interaction that they had up to that point was Kitty Ann forcing everybody to swear that they wouldn't tell a soul about the blonde being placed in that class.
She leaned one shoulder against the locker next to Marley's, blowing another bubble with her bazooka gum before speaking. "You are Marley Rose, correct?" She asked, cocking her head slightly. All Marley could do in that moment was nod shyly, still in awe that someone like Kitty Ann wanted to speak to someone like her. "Swell, then that means you're the one who's going dancing with Ryder on Friday?" She said smirking at her slightly, "Everybody had heard about you two." She explained, scrunching her nose slightly.
The whispers were about her and Ryder, not her family after all. That thought made a weight come off of Marley's shoulders, until a little bit of confusion washed over her. "How could people have heard about that, already?" The brunette said, hunching her shoulders over and looking around to the many stares that were coming toward her from almost every direction. She could tell that many groups were starting to gather around the two girls in order to secretly listen in on their conversation, trying to discover the true facts from Marley herself.
Pressing her back against the row of lockers, Kitty Ann just shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. "Word like that spreads like wildfire around here." She said loudly, cueing all of the listeners around them to disperse to their home rooms. As they all did so, she returned her gaze back to Marley, "Besides, it's not every day that the Ryder Lynn asks someone like you out to dancing. It's the biggest news that has spread around here since he asked me to be steady with him, but that was weeks ago." She chuckled, trying to mask her sly jabs with her bubbly smile.
Marley was a smart girl, and she quickly picked up on what she was hinting at. "Someone like me?" She asked, picking up one of her books from her locker, just in case she had to make a quick get away from the girl. "I'm not sure what you mean by that." Of course, Marley completely understood what she was aiming toward; it would just satisfy her to hear it out of the girl's own mouth.
A defensive glimmer sparkled in the girl's eyes for a moment, but a smile stayed plastered on her face. It didn't take long for the air around them to get a little colder and tenser. "By someone like you, I mean," She silently chuckled, flicking her ponytail off of her shoulder, "Someone who isn't his type." She said matter of factly. She leaned forward, dropping her voice to a whisper. "You see, he's a doll dizzy. Once he's done with you, or once you show him how much of a fuddy-duddy you really are, he'll drop you faster than yesterday's newspaper. Then he'll find a new play mate." She shook her head, almost as if she pitied Marley.
It took a moment for Marley to respond to that, slightly shocked at how blunt Kitty Ann really was. "I-I don't care. We're just going dancing, as friends." She said, smiling slightly and dropping her gaze to the floor.
She took a step forward, giving Marley a look that she couldn't quite understand. She placed her hand lightly on the girl's locker door, "That's not what he told me," She muttered, "He said that was planning on charming you into doing the dirty, then 'losing' your number." It took Marley aback for a moment, she'd known that Ryder could be a little bit of a fat head sometimes, but she didn't think that he'd be that mean to her. When Marley started to shake her head in disbelief, Kitty Ann let out a loud laugh. "You actually thought that he'd ask you out without expecting anything else in return? That's not the bet that he made." She said before covering her mouth with her palm, a look of fake surprise on her face. "I've said too much already, see you around." She gave Marley one last wave before skipping off.
If the girl was sure of one thing now, it was that Ryder Lynn was just a hard boiled skirt chaser. Marley hugged her book tight to her chest as she walked down the halls, deep in thought about what she just heard. She was having a full on war inside her head, debating on whether or not she should even go through with this 'date'. She shook her head, walking into her home room just as the bell rang. This day was sure going to be a long one, Marley thought as she slid into her desk.