The girls trudged into the locker-room, their bodies covered in sweat. They all sent off into the rows and rows of lockers, retrieving their things and getting dressed for lunch and the last two periods of the day. Marina took care not to move her muscles in the wrong way, since they still burned from the excessive conditioning her gym teacher had subjected her to. Anna pulled her hair out of the high ponytail she had positioned it in and ran a brush through her honey blond hair, bringing it to satisfactory perfection. Aelita pulled on her boots and folded up her gym clothes into a neat stack before shutting her locker close and meeting up with her new friends. They met up with the boys and went to lunch, finding William and Yumi chatting.
"How was class?" Yumi asked.
"Blah" Marina was the first to respond, despite only catching onto the last word.
William laughed, and Ulrich smirked. "It gets worse" Jeremy informed her.
"Great" she rolled her eyes.
"I loved Biology, it was just so much fun!" Anna said, sarcasm coated on heavy like Sissi's makeup.
"Yeah, that's a subject I'll never take again" Marina murmured.
"Don't Freshmen take it?" Odd asked.
"Yeah, but my school had a weird program, so I basically skipped enough to not have to take earth science in eight grade and that left Biology next on the list" she said like I was no big deal. After all, Jeremy and Aelita had done the very same thing with their Biology classes.
"Hey, can I sit here" a whiny voice asked, grating on Marina's rather sensitive ears. She looked behind her and saw a girl at least two inches taller that her, with long black hair pulled into a gold glitter-ridden ribbon, and a blue and gold cheerleader uniform.
"Sure Sissi" Yumi said with slight hesitation, trying to be polite.
"So, what were you talking about?" she asked.
"Biology and how it turns out Marina is a genius" Odd said simply, gesturing to a confused Marina.
"Really" she looked at Marina expectantly, waiting to hear something genious-like.
"Er… Hello?"Marina muttered to the starring girl, feeling uncomfortable.
"Say something smart" Sissi encouraged.
"Does she have any idea I don't speak French that well? 'Cause I don't think the air in her head has made the connection" Sissi looked at the strange girl expectantly still, not speaking any English herself.
"Wow, Sissi, she has to be smart if she's realized you're an airhead without even talking to you!" Odd barked.
Blood rushed up Sissi's neck and pooled into her cheeks, overflowing to the rest of her face, and Marina couldn't help but laugh, and have it contagiously catch onto the others, until Sissi was beet red and the vein in her head was becoming rather visible to the naked eye. The girl in front of her had somehow made fun of her, and she not how to respond other than to stamp her feet and flee.
"You… you…!" She began, but nothing came to mind.
"She doesn't speak much French, save your breath" Ulrich warned her in whisper.
Sissi said the only word in English she really knew, and when she did, it rolled off Marina like she had some sort of shield that not even a mega-tank could penetrate. Sissi than stomped away like she should have done in the first place. Everyone turned to the scene, wondering why Sissi had said what she had said, and who it was directed towards. Yumi's face wasn't hot with anger and nobody seemed offended, but seven members were looking at a certain brunet girl with shocked expressions, and the room burst into gossip.
"Interesting girl, very sweet," Marina said with a cheery voice laced in kind sarcasm. "Really, who is she?"
"Sissi, cheerleader—obviously—likes hair, makeup, and is Ulrich's number one fan" Marina's face contorted into an apologetic look to Ulrich. Ulrich had caught onto nothing really, but he knew what Odd would throw in after his name, so he understood what the look was for. He shrugged, and took a bite of his lunch.
"Well, I've had a very interesting day, I think I'll go find somewhere to be, other than under the cheerleader's "icy" glare" Marina said, curling her fingers for added sarcasm to 'icy'.
"Bye" They bid her off with a wave, and she disappeared onto the campus.
Not too long after, the ending Lunch bell called students to class. Marina and Anna had a history class in English, and so did the others, because for some reason, ninth grade students had the same flow of classes, each grade did. And after their boring classes, Marina, Odd, and Anna went to the Chorus room, Ulrich and Yumi went to their martial arts mastery class, Jeremy, Aelita, and William to ceramics. Afterwards, they all met up at the vending machines, their pick on where to study together.
"So, I personally think the school is interesting and boring at the same time, opinions" Marina said as she bought a green tea.
"I don't care for it, Chorus and Art are the only fun classes" Odd said.
"yup yup" Anna agreed.
"Ulrich, class good? Bad?" Marina said in her awkward French.
Ulrich stuck out his tong, and they all laughed. Their homework wasn't too bad, Marina managed to finish all her French, Odd actually practiced vocabulary for their Biology test on the following Monday with Anna, Jeremy even through a sour gummy worm at Odd. When they finished, Marina went to her dorm to chat with her brother, Anna went to go watch some TV in the student union with Odd and William, Yumi called her parents, and Jeremy went with Aelita on a walk.
"Aelita, what's on your mind?" Jeremy asked, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
"Nothing" Aelita said in a very soft voice.
"Well, can I make it better anyways?" Jeremy asked.
Aelita stopped and turned to Jeremy, looking up into his light blue eyes. He took the free hand not intertwined with Aelita's and tucked a burgundy stand of hair behind her ear, before leaning down and kissing her softly. When they parted, only Aelita was blushing. She wrapped her arms around Jeremy's back and pulled in close, allowing his arms to rest comfortingly along her back.
"It's just, my father missed out on a huge thing, watching me start high school, isn't that every father's nightmare?" she looked down and bit the corner of her lip, fighting tears that threatened to reveal how truly upset she was.
"No, it's watching his baby girl get married, but he gave his life to free us all, forever" he tilted her chin up. "and I will always be here for you, no matter what"
Aelita smiled and got up on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek.
Marina sat on her bunk, I-pod playing one of her many songs, IMing her brother Tyler.
(bold Tyler, italics Marina)
How is every one?
Good, how's school?
boring and interesting all at once
Fun fun
YEAH!(note sarcasm)
XD Have you picked up on the French yet?
A little. Wana here what happened at lunch?
Of course, who'd you make cry today?
haha, now shut up. This girl walked up to sit at my friend's table, and Odd said something to make her stare at me (that I was some genius it turns out) and she kept expecting me to say something smart. After a while of hearing her speak French to me, i turned to Odd and asked if she had air for brains, cause she didn't seem to get I didn't speak it. And Odd said something about me being so smart that i'd made the connection before even really talking to her.
wow
yeah, so, when she found out I only spoke english, she cussed me out and stomped away.
ha, i miss you
me to.
G2G, school, bye!
Bye!
Marina closed her laptop and put it away before dosing off—she still felt jetlagged.
When dinner came around, the group met up and ate dinner peacefully. Afterwards, they went to the student union to have some hot chocolate and sip it by the fireplace. Afterwards, everyone went their separate ways.
Marina was walking to the girls showers when her phone started playing to the song "Hey Stephen" by Taylor Swift. She pulled it out and read her text from Cody.
At Lunch, how are you? I miss you—he wrote
She smiled and texted back. "Good, miss you to, how was your game?"
Great, we won 21 to 13—he responded
That's amazing, how'd your arm pull out?—she asked.
Great, not a problem—was his answer
Cool, I got to shower and get to bed before they come at me with cerfew rules, I'll text you went I can, set your phone for silent just in case—she wrote back
A minute later, just before she opened the door to the girl's showers, she phone beeped to the signal of her ending text.
Ok—it said
She showered quickly and rushed to her room in her pajamas. When she climbed ono her bunk, she pulled out her cell phone and sent a text to Cody.
Okay, I'm ready, ask anything—she wrote
Do you have any roommates?—was his first question.
Yeah, 3, Anna, Aelita, and Yumi, Anna and Aelita are in my grade and Yumi is a sophomore—she texted.
Cool, any new friends—her phone read.
Yeah, along with my roommates, there some guys, Odd, Ulrich, Jeremy and William, I hang out with them a lot—she told him.
Cool. Hey, did you get my package yet?—he sent her.
Package?—was her short response.
Yeah, while I was in San Francisco, I saw something, and I thought of you—she read. Smiling, she responded with: Cool, mail usually arrives to us first period, so maybe I'll get it tomorrow.
I miss you—was next
I miss you too, Cody. I had a dream about us last night, the two times we almost kissed --she smiled on memory, and thought of his smile when he read it.
Well, when you come back for Thanksgiving, I'll give you a proper kiss—he wrote her.
Actually, I'll be back in a couple weeks for a long weekend, France has a national holiday or something—she wrote.
Cool… hey, Mr. Brandon is giving out a pop quiz, sorry love, I must go—she sighed.
Okay, can't wait for our first real kiss!—she sent him. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the door opened and Anna walked in.
"Hey, you're jumpy, what up?" she asked.
"Nothing, my boyfriend and I've been texting, but he had to go" she explained. Then, she muttered to herself: "stupid pop quizzes"
"So, have you guys kissed" Anna asked, ready for dish mode.
"No" Marina sighed.
"Why not? He is your boyfriend, isn't he?" she cocked her eyebrow in expectation.
"Yes… maybe… I don't know, we have tried to kiss, and we weren't real couply before I left, but the day I last saw him, he asked me not to fall for some French guy, and when I come back, we will kiss" Marina's words were flying out of her mouth so fast, she was surprised Anna understood.
"You're boyfriend-girlfriend, definitely. Why didn't you kiss yet?" Anna climbed up onto her bunk, and faced a not sitting up Marina.
"Well, when we almost kissed the first time, my letter from France came, so I forgot. We didn't bring it up until when I last saw him, I was going to leave for the airport in two days, and he had to be at a football game" she explained.
"Football player, nice catch" Anna commented.
"Anyway, he asked for me not to fall in love with someone else—like that'd ever happen—and we almost kissed again, and my big brother interrupted, twice, then his dad honked the horn, and he had to leave" Marina took a deep breath in. "So now, when I go home for holiday break, I'm going to kiss him and it will be so good and I'm not going to let anyone interrupt me, nobody."
Anna smiled. "Awe, I remember my first kiss" she said as Aelita walked in with Yumi close behind.
"What about kissing?" Yumi asked.
"Oh, Marina's gonna get her first kiss when she goes home for her holiday in a couple weeks, and I'm telling her about mine" Anna explained.
"Ooh, dish" Yumi said as she sat down on Aelita's bed and patted it. Marina and Anna jumped. Marina took a spot on the floor, while Aelita and Anna sat at Yumi's sides.
"Well, it was the fourth grade, it was this cute guy, Jesse, well, it was afterschool, and my mom hadn't picked me up, so he and I were sitting on the swings. We were talking about our sappy older siblings already dating, and he leaned in, and he kissed me. His lips tasted like the apple he had for lunch, and his hair smelt like grass on cold mornings, when the dew has just set in"
"Awe" Yumi and Aelita said, picturing an innocent little blond girl with long wavy hair kissing a nine year old boy.
"Well, mine was something in itself." Yumi said, blushing as she said so. "William and I were walking in the park, talking about music, we sat down by a tree, he tucked my hair behind my ear and told me my eyes were so warm he could be in the arctic and he'd be okay, so long as he could look me in the eyes."
"Wow, that's a keeper right there" Marina commented.
"Hmm… them, he cupped my face in her hand and stroked my cheek and his lips met mine, and we kissed, and it was soft, like touching velvet" Yumi's eyes went warm and bright with memory.
"Hmm… Mine, well… Jeremy and I were at a dance last year, and it was to this American song, fix you"
"Coldplay, nice" Marina said.
"Well, I told him he'd done that and more for me just before the song ended, and he blushed, and somehow… our lips met, and I felt like I was meeting him all over again"
"Wow…" Marina murmured, wondering if her first kiss story would be so spectacular.
"Hey, it's nearly ten, we should get to bed" Yumi commented.
"Yeah" Anna agreed, before climbing up the ladder onto her bunk. The other's settled into bed and dreamed happy dreams.