Ch. 2 - School
Early morning air blew through the large house where Marshall Lee had been sleeping peacefully, until the piercing sound of an alarm clock tore the poor teen away from his own world of wonderment and dreams. Slamming an open hand haphazardly onto his clock, Marshall lifted (or rather rolled) himself out of bed and onto the dark hardwood floor. Grunt loudly and letting out his typical "Fu-uck," Marshall picked himself up and stretched his arms over his head. Clad in nothing but his briefs, he trudged downstairs to his kitchen to make himself some breakfast before his big day. Great. 2 months of alone time are now over, and I'm once again back to this shitty routine. Marshall sighed to himself as he cracked a few eggs into a bowl and began mixing. After he set the mixture into a pan he left it on the stove as he trudged back upstairs to get dressed. He brushed his hair and threw on some generic black skinny jeans, along with a one-size-too-big flannel, which clung loosely to his thin frame. He topped off his look with two skull earrings placed into his lobes. He looked himself once over in the mirror and figured he looked at least presentable, even with strands of black hair weaving their way into his face. Who would he be trying to impress? A faint smell of smoke brought Marshall back to his reality and he turned and bolted back downstairs in an attempt to salvage his burning eggs.
~'~
Marshall weaved between cars on his way to school, as he always does, receiving and returning many middle fingers as he tore across the roads. He finally pulled his cycle into the gates of his school and into his new parking spot, killing the engine and removing the helmet. With a flick of his hair, he was off into the halls of this godforsaken jail of education, as he likes to call it. His dark eyes shifted amongst the crowd of students gathering in the halls and courtyards, analyzing new faces and doing his best to recognize old ones. While making eye contact with a particularly cute girl near some lockers, Marshall Lee slammed hard into the large boy in front of him. After regaining his balance, Marshall Lee scowled and set off towards the guy who he'd hit.
"Hey man, learn to watch where you-," Marshall was cut off as he pulled the boy around, recognizing him to be a certain blonde guy chatting it up with a smaller boy.
"Hey, Marshall! Haven't seen you all summer! How's it been?" Jake smiled as he grabbed Marshall playfully into a headlock, messing up his hair like he was another sibling. Jake was a senior this year, and it was quite evident from his looks. He was big, broad, and bearded. Jake was one of the only people Marshall knew in school that could rock a full beard. Comparing the two side by side was like putting a poodle next to a grizzly.
"Easy Jake, I want to live through this year!" Marshall laughed, lightly fighting against Jake's hold. After a moment he set Marshall free, and the two boys shared some light conversation before Marshall called over the other blonde. "Finn, my dude! What's up?" Marshall raised a fist to the younger sibling, who smiled and returned the gesture. Finn was a sophomore this year, two years under his brother, but with just as fierce a personality. He could be a little goofy at times, but he was still a friendly kid.
"Hey Marshall, been a while. How was your summer?" Finn asked excitedly.
"You know me, man. Just doing what I do best," Marshall responded with a wink.
"Getting chicks or playing guitar?" Finn asked jokingly, knowing Marshall Lee's reputation as the resident heartthrob.
"Easy man, just the second bit. You know I'm not just some tail chaser," Marshall punched Finn's arm playfully, smirking. "This summer I just took some time for myself. What about you two? You and the beast over here get into any more adventures?"
"You bet man! Me and the bro took a trip all over Europe! It was totally math, dude," Finn began ranting. Finn may not be as big as his brother, but he certainly had the energy to match. That much showed through as he recalled the events of his trip. Many hand movements were used, and many sounds were made that Marshall didn't know humans could make. After several minutes Marshall knew he had to get out lest he be trapped with Finn until the end of days.
"Hey, would you look at the time, I got to get going. Class and all that, peace!" Marshall quickly wrapped up that conversation while looking at his bare wrist, giving the illusion of urgency. Marshall continued on through the halls, hands in his pockets and music in his ear buds. He nodded to several people as he meandered through the large campus, taking his time to make it to his first class. This year was math with Mr. King. Apparently, rumor had it that this guy was somewhat of a lunatic; talking to himself and mumbling strange things under his breath. As Marshall wandered into class at the chime of the final bell, he knew why. This guy is crazy old! Marshall laughed to himself. He could be my granddad's granddad.
"And who might you be young man?" Mr. King questioned Marshall Lee as he walked in, his old face getting a little too close for Marshall's comfort.
"Hey Mr. King, I'm Marshall Lee," Marshall responded, taking a step back. Mr. King stared him dead in the eyes for what seemed like one creepy eternity before ushering him to take his seat. Sighing, Marshall trudged to the back of the room and plopped down into one of the empty desks in the back of the room. Mr. King began with his lessons, not bothering to deal with "any syllabus nonsense until the end of class", as he put it. Marshall and the class groaned, preferring to get useless knowledge now rather than beginning any algebra crap. As the class went on, Marshall doodled on his notebook pages and drifted in and out of consciousness at various times. A loud slam on Marshall's desk roused him quickly from his sleep, and Marshall shot up in his desk looking around frantically before making eye contact with a yet again much too close Mr. King standing in front of him, a wrinkled hand on his desk.
"Marshall, since you seem to be enjoying class so much, how about you tell me the value of 'x' for this example problem we've been working on?" Mr. King hissed angrily in the poor teen's face. Marshall looked around the room, trying to catch someone's eyes for help. After a moment, Marshall's eyes locked with a girl a few seats away with the most peculiar hat. She mouthed '4' silently, and Marshall relayed the answer to the teacher.
"It's uhh, 4?" Marshall tried not to sound like he had no idea what was happening, even though he so obviously did not have any idea.
"Hmmm… You are correct Marshall. This time," Mr. King said menacingly, returning to the board to continue with the problem. Marshall looked back over at the girl who had helped him out. Fionna. Marshall recalled in his head. He caught her gaze again and mouthed a quick "thanks", flashing his killer smile. She just smirked and shrugged before turning her attention back to the teacher. The last part of the class passed without incident, though it took all of Marshall's mental strength to keep himself awake. As the bell rang and everyone flooded out of the room, Marshall was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Marshall turned to see Fionna, one again saving Marshall's skin by holding up his worn down pencil.
"Great work in there, Einstein. Am I going to have to follow you around today and save your butt?" Fionna handed over the utensil with a large grin on her face, her blue eyes locked onto Marshall's darker orbs.
"I-uh… Thanks Fionna. I had no idea you were in there for a bit," Marshall stuttered out before composing himself and returning her smile. "What's up next for you?"
"Well, it looks like art with one Mrs. Trunks?" Fionna stated while going over her schedule.
"Me too. I hear she's nice though. Wanna walk with me?" Marshall offered. Fionna gave a light nod, following Marshall to the art building. After some generic talk about class etiquette and expectations, the class was instructed to simply free draw whatever they wanted in their sketch books. Marshall made mostly doodles mixed with some song lyrics of his, not really taking much of it too seriously. He looked over Fionna's shoulders, amazed by what he saw. In the short amount of time he'd taken on his own smaller creations, she had produced what looked like a masterpiece in his eyes. It was a backdrop mostly, of some fantasy realm surrounded by waterfalls and floating islands all centered on a main castle. His eyebrows rose as he gazed over it, making Fionna giggle lightly as he gawked over her art. Marshall composed himself and looked at her. "That's awesome Fionna," he said with a smile. "I could never draw like that."
"I love drawing. I've always done it, ever since I can remember anyway. I'm sure you'll get there right?" Fionna responded in a friendly tone.
"Maybe. I prefer the art of music," Marshall laughed lightly and returned to his own work. Class wrapped up pretty soon, and the two parted ways for their next classes. Marshall had English for 3rd period, which mostly went over a list of books that they'll be reading and what will be expected on papers they turn in. Marshall went to lunch afterward, catching glances from Finn and Jake as he walked through the cafeteria to the exit doors in the far back. There was a spot in the back of the school past the cafeteria with a lone bench and some stone steps that seemed to once have been a part of the school, but have since been long removed. Marshall accidentally discovered it in trying to get away from a certain few people in his freshman year. Since then, Marshall has used it as his private oasis away from school yet still at school. He put his backpack on the bench and continued over to the stone steps, laying down on them and looking up at the afternoon sky. Several birch trees lined the area, their red leaves casting a light shade over Marshall as he looked up at the sky. Only a few wispy clouds were present on the blue vastness above him. Marshall closed his eyes and let the breeze run over him; let the sounds of the world grow louder. Marshall came here as an escape. From what had varied over the years, but today it was simply from the triviality of the school systems or "school shit" as Marshall often told himself. Today had been similar to his usual school days except for one factor; Fionna. He thought of her and her name again. This girl seemed friendly enough, though he hardly knew anything about her. But Marshall didn't care; He just wanted to get through all of this. Life, school, all of it. Marshall Lee heard the chimes of the school bell tolling once more, so he got up and gathered his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He looked back once more at his sanctuary before turning back to the doors of school.
"Fuck," Marshall Lee sighs as he pushes through the doors.
AN: So i'm back with another chapter, whoo! This one is a lot longer, I hope you all enjoy. I want to try and keep them around this length so as to get as much across as possible. I'll be continuing the school day, i just figurede ending it at near 2,000 words was sufficient. Anyway, review as you see fit. Themes mentioned in the summary will come, but for now i want to stick with fluff and introductions. Leave a review or PM me with questions, comments, whatever!
~Akai
