Senior Orientation at T.C. Williams High was pretty much like a rodeo. You round up a bunch of people in a tiny, cramped space, namely the auditorium. Marissa Donovan, being the "new kid in town" sat wherever she damn well pleased, not knowing what the hell everyone was talking about. She had come from a place where integrating had been going on for a while already, and she didn't understand the big fuss.

"This is gonna kill me," she muttered.

"Gum?" said the person next to her, brandishing a pack of Juicy Fruit Gum.

"Um, sure," she muttered, taking and unwrapping a stick. By now, she was blocking out the person in the front of the room speaking. "I'm Marissa,"

"Ronnie Bass, but the guys call me Sunshine," he said. "New in town?"

"Is it that obvious?" Marissa asked. "I'm fresh off the West Coast,"

"Same here," Sunshine laughed. He didn't really believe in
coincidences.

"Another foreigner. Where from?"

"Oregon," she said. "You look like a California boy yourself. Am I right?" His eyes wandered quickly. "Whoa, I ain't implying anything, if that's what you're worried about." They both laughed. Marissa glanced at the people around them. "They sure make them different around here-Not bad, but different."

"Nothing compares to West Coast girls," Sunshine replied blankly.

"I bet you had your share of girls back home," Marissa laughed.

"Naw," he laughed, "Can you believe that they thought I looked just like any other guy?"

"Now that you mention it," she laughed, "You do have share a slight resemblance with my ex-boyfriend back west-five of them, actually." She took another glance around. "Looks like the integration isn't going quite so well. I bet they didn't even tell them down at the Berg that this orientation was gonna happen,"

"It's sad if you think about it," Sunshine said. "I mean, how things used to be."

"Used to be?" Marissa said. "What makes you think so much has changed? They're keeping us all away from each other as long as they possibly can. It's just what everyone's used to. This place is just keeping too many people down. I mean, back home, they had a girl's football team. I didn't see anything wrong with it."

"Football?" he said, suddenly even more interested in what she had to say. "Did you play back in Oregon or something?"

"Well, I did for one season, but I wasn't anything great. None of the girls really knew how to play, so it didn't count for much." She shrugged. "So, I take it that you're gonna be one of the jocks around here, then?"

"Jock? That's a pretty strong word-and yet it fits," he laughed. "I ain't gonna be known for my brains around here, and I play football."

"That qualifies for jockhood," Marissa laughed.

"So are you joining track?" he asked, "That's the only serious sport they have for girls in this school."

"I don't think so," Marissa shrugged, "I ain't much for the hurdles and the throwing, but I could do the running. Anything's possible, I guess." Finally, the speaker was ready for a water break, so everybody got up for a quick stretch. Marissa looked quickly at a couple of guys who waved at Sunshine. "Who are they?" she asked eagerly. Sunshine just smiled wryly and waved his hand back at them. "What? Why are you calling them over here?" But it was two late. The two guys had already reached them.

"Guys, this is Marissa. Marissa, you're lucky," Sunshine laughed. "You're about to meet a couple of the guys." He motioned to the taller one. "This here's our captain, Gerry Bertier." They shook hands, then Sunshine directed to the other guy, who wasn't quite as tall, and had slightly longer hair. "This is our linebacker and resident dork, Alan Bosley,"

"Wow," he muttered. "I mean, um, hi. He doesn't mean the part about being a dork."

"I'm sure," Marissa laughed. She abruptly looked past him, somewhere behind his shoulder.

"What do you keep looking at back there?" Alan said, wheeling around.

"There's someone staring over here," she said curiously. It seemed a rather endearing quality that she acted both tough and so sweetly naïve at the same time.

"Ray," Alan muttered under his breath. "Can't keep his eyes in his own space."

"Looks like that friend of yours has his sights set on Marissa," Gerry said. "Tell him to quit gawking. It's making the lady uncomfortable."

"Quit looking at me," Alan said, furrowing his eyebrows. "He's your friend too."

"I think I'll just get going," Marissa said. "See you around."

"Wait," Gerry said, bringing over a blonde haired girl. "One more person. Emma, this is Marissa. You two, go be friends. Paint nails, and do what ever girls do." He gestured for the guys to leave.

"Wow," Marissa giggled. "People around here sure like making friends and all,"

"That's just how Gerry is," Emma laughed. "Always trying to get people to just get along. He's one of those crowd-pleasing types. He's great."

"Can't say I blame him much either," Marissa sighed. "There are some hard times coming up, with the whole integration issue and everything."

"I'm not really sure why we even go through with things like this," Emma said. "All of us here were doing just fine before those uppity race- mixers got themselves involved. I don't see any reason for us to change around here.

"Well, I suppose you all were doing fine up here around Seminary Ridge," Marissa said gently, "But things haven't been great down at the Berg. Anyway, the school board's just doing this so they can keep the national guard off of the town's case."

* * * * *

Marisa was leaving the auditorium and out to her car when someone came and tapped her on the shoulder. She squealed and turned abruptly, only to find herself facing Gerry Bertier. "I don't suppose you'd wanna go meet the rest of the guys?"

"Would I ever!" Marissa laughed. "Just lead the way!"

"Shouldn't you call your parents first or something?" Gerry asked. "Wouldn't want anyone worrying."

"Naw;" Marissa insisted, "It's nothing big. I mean, what my mama doesn't know I'm doing can't cause her a heart attack." She got into her car and followed Gerry to a diner a few blocks away.

"This here's Petey Blue, and Julius," Gerry said. He glanced around. "We were expecting more of ther team to show up, but their families are probably trying to keep 'em in while they can, with all the problems that come with integration."

"I can't blame 'em," Marissa said. "I mean, with the way some people think around here, nobody's safe. Now isn't a very easy time to put yourself out there."

"Enough with this depressing shit," Petey laughed, "Can we get the little lady a salad?" he said to the waitress.

"And a double cheeseburger, a root beer, and a double side of potato salad," she added. A couple of the guys gawked. "What can I say? It's what West Coast girls do-Party Hearty."

"Party, eh?" Petey laughed, "I can dig that."

"Back it up, Romeo," Sunshine laughed, "Give the girl some breathing room. She ain't here to flirt with you."

"One thing to remember about West Coast girls," Marissa laughed, "Almost anything we do is misconstrued as flirting."

Time went by quickly. They talked about nearly everything. They got into a pretty heated conversation about what was happening with the integration.

"You sure you don't need to be going?" Gerry said, looking at the clock. It was already eight o'clock.

"Nobody's home to care if I stay or go," Marissa shrugged.

"Well, it's a school night," Gerry laughed. "Little girls like yourself ought to be heading home."

"Why don't we take this outside and we'll see who's the little girl?" Marissa snapped humorously, rolling up her sleeves.

"Ooh-whee," Alan laughed, pretending to fan himself. "I think we've got a fighter on our hands, boys. Anyone got a camera?"

"What can I say?" Marissa laughed. "I've yet to find someone who can make a lady out of me."

Soon enough, Marissa really did have to go. She pulled her wallet out and was ready to pay when Blue playfully slapped her hand down.

"Nope," he laughed. "Male ego. We've got to pay,"

"Whatever you say," she laughed, putting on her jacket and walking out the door.

* * * * *

"You're late," said Mrs. Hector, a young yet stern looking woman who would have been really pretty, had she not looked so strict and tired. "Not a very good first impression, if I do say so myself, young lady. This isn't acceptable."

"Sorry," panted the girl in the doorway, "I sort of got lost,"

"Yes, yes, that's all well and good. I don't need any excuses. Have a seat," the teacher said impatiently. The girl went to the empty seat in the back of the class. "I do hope that this doesn't become a recurring habit for you, Miss Donovan. Perhaps things were different in Oregon, but here, we do not condone tardiness," When the teacher finally averted her attention, the girl rolled her eyes.

The girl next to her tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, we actually got a class together. Don't mind Mrs. Hector. She's always in a bad mood like that. It's not just you she hates in particular. She's just really bad at being around other people."

"Great to see you, Emma," she replied. "And thanks for the warning, but you've got to see the way her nostrils were flaring all over the place. I really think the wench hates me," They both laughed softly, then someone in the classroom cleared their throat. Emma looked away and at a boy a few rows behind them. He gestured for Emma to look to her left, but whatever was there, Marissa was blocking it. Emma looked back at him, and mouthed her reply, saying she had no idea what he meant. He threw her a crumpled piece of paper.

"Ray says hello," Emma said, looking back at Marissa.

"Who?" Marissa asked, "Sorry, but I haven't the slightest clue who you're talking about," She turned around to see who Emma was looking at, and locked eyes with a boy, half the room's length away. He winked at her, then went back to looking at his paper.

"Oh, that's right," Emma said, nodding, "You two haven't been properly acquainted yet. Well, that's easily fixed. Meet me at lunch and I'll introduce you two,"

"Um, sure," Marissa said, just as the bell rang. Then, she left the room and headed to her next class, where she was actually on time. She sat down in one of the middle rows, far back enough so she wouldn't be seen too often.

"All right-class, I'm Mrs. Roberts-I'll be teaching you all-U.S. History," she said, every few words followed by a small snort. "It's a- pleasure to be meeting-you all this year,"

"Nice to meet you, too, Miss Piggy," she muttered. Sunshine, who happened to be sitting next to her to her laughed. She turned slightly to look at him.

"Sorry," he muttered, "I overheard you talking. I was thinking the exact same thing myself. Sorry if I freaked you out or anything,"

"No problem," she smiled. "Good to catch a familiar face,"

Mrs. Roberts cleared her throat. "Is there something-more important for-you two to-talk about than-what I'm teaching?" she asked. The two of them shook their heads. "So you two-are just such experts that-you don't need to listen?"

"No Ma'am," Marissa said innocently. "I wouldn't even think it,"

"Both of you get up here," she said sternly.

"Ooh," growled some of the guys in the class, "Sunshine got his ass into trouble,"
"Mr. Bass, your father's a colonel," she said, "I'd expect you to know this at least. Recite the Preamble to the Constitution," Ronnie shrugged. "You don't know? How about you, Miss Donovan? The stakes are pretty high as far as you two are concerned. If you can't do this, you both get detention for a week," Ronnie looked at her hopefully. It would DEFINITELY not be a good idea to get a detention on his first day.

"Oh, that's not hard," Marissa said, crossing her arms, "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice to ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and ensure the blessings of our liberty. For ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Mrs. Roberts looked rather disappointed that she couldn't hand out detentions two these two miscreants and sent the two back to their seats, muttering something about delinquent West Coast children and their bad attitudes.

"So you've got to be some kind of Wonder Woman, right?" said someone behind her. She turned around and saw Gerry, with Julius right next to him. "You just saved Sunshine here from getting a detention,"

"No problem," Marissa laughed, "It was my pleasure, especially since I saved my own ass in the process,"

"Well, here I thought you'd gone and played super hero," he said, laughing, "How about you eat lunch with us today? We'll tell you all you need to know about the school and all,"

"Actually, I'm already eating lunch with Emma today. I think she was going to introduce me to some of her friends or something." she said, "Can I get a rain-check on that?"

"Sure," Ronnie said, masking his disappointment. "I guess it can wait until another time,"

"Yeah, hopefully soon," Marissa smiled, "How does tomorrow sound?"

"Almost as good as today," Ronnie smiled. Then, under his breath, he added, "Almost,"

The rest of the class went by without a hitch, and she found out that Emma was, in fact, Gerry's girlfriend. Then, she walked down the stairs and over to the cafeteria entrance, where Emma was waiting.

"What took you so long?" She asked. "Come on, I think Ray's waiting for you outside." she grabbed Marissa by the wrist and brought her just outside the cafeteria. She pulled her along until they reached a guy, sitting under a tree.

"Well, Ray, here she is, just like I promised. Of course, I don't see why you didn't introduce yourself at orientation if you were just staring the whole time anyway." Emma said, laughing almost slyly nudging Marissa forward. She stumbled slightly, and raised and eyebrow at Emma. "This is Marissa. She's even better looking up close, isn't she? Have fun,"

"Have a seat," he said, gesturing to the ground next to him. She sat down, putting down her bag and leaning against the tree trunk with her hands behind her and looking up at the sky. "I'm Ray Budds,"

"So I've heard," she smiled, "I've only been here at T.C. for a day, and I've heard a whole lot about you already. Everyone talks like you're famous or something,"

"Popular, maybe, but famous? I wouldn't go that far," he said cockily. "You know, I think you're really cute,"

"No, I'm Marissa, remember?" she laughed. "I think you're worse with names than I am,"

"Right, how could I forget?" he said smiling. "So, are you doing anything tonight?"

"No, not that I can think of," she replied, turning head away but keeping her eyes vaguely focused on him. This guy definitely didn't waste any time asking a girl out on a date.

"Well, I was thinking about going to the movies tonight," he said casually, "Seeing as you aren't doing anything, I was wondering if you'd want to come along."

"Sure," Marissa smiled. Sure, he was vain, but he really knew how to charm a girl. "I live at number 67, Mortimer Lane. It's the red house. You can't miss it,"

"Mortimer Lane?" he asked, "That's about six blocks away from my place. Anyway, I'll pick you up at around seven, okay?"

"That'd be great," she smiled, "I'll be ready by six-thirty,"

"Great," he smiled, "Where are you going after lunch? I've got Science and History,"

"History? That's what I just came from. I've got Music, Science, and then I have Study Hall." Marissa said, reading the schedule she had written on her palm, which was already slightly smudged. "Damn, how can you remember your schedule so perfectly already?"

"Same way that you can," he said, showing her his right hand, where he had scribbled in his own schedule as well. "Seeing as there's still a little space there, you think I could get your phone number?"

"Sure," she smiled, pulling the pen out from behind her ear. True, it was the cheesiest line she had ever heard, but you had to give a guy credit. She never did give guys much to work with if they were trying to flirt. She took his hand and wrote her name and number in curvy characters in the middle of his palm. "Give me a call when you have time. I'll see you later," She picked up her bag and walked away.

"You're leaving already?" Emma said, once Marissa got back inside, "So what if you were late for class? If you had hung around, you two would have been locking lips in minutes if it was any hint how he was looking at you."

"I'm buying my time," she smiled, "I never do anything that involves lips until I think I've got someone hooked,"

"He may not be hooked quite yet," Emma said, "But he's definitely seen the bait, and he was ready to bite,"

"Enough with the fishing puns," Marissa said. "I'm going to class."

"I'll call you after school," Emma said, "To help you get ready for your big date and everything,"

"You heard everything we said, didn't you?" Marissa asked, narrowing her eyes. "You little sneak," she added with a giggle.

"Of course I heard every word," Emma smiled, "And I wouldn't be surprised if the line's busy when I call,"

* * * * *

"I told you, I don't wear green!" Marissa said over the phone. "I just don't! It makes me look pale,"

"You're not pale," Emma insisted, "You West Coast girls never have to worry about looking too pale. Wear the green,"

"I'm wearing the blue sweater," Marissa retorted. "Or I'm wearing the red one, the black, the white one, or the yellow one. I'm just not wearing the green one,"

"I think you're making a big mistake," Emma said, "I think green is your color. But whatever floats your boat. Just don't wear yellow again. You wore it to school today, so you should at least pick something different,"

"Fine," Marissa surrendered, "I'll wear the red one. You have nothing against red, right?"

"What do you mean by red?" Emma asked, "You mean, like fire engine red?"

"No, like, a really dark shade of red," Marissa said. "I'll be back," Marissa put the phone on her bed and put on the turtleneck sweater. "Okay, I'm back."

"All right, as I was saying, that's not called red," Emma said. "It's called burgundy."

"Honestly, I don't give a hoot what you call the color," Marissa said impatiently, "You could call it purple for all I know, and I'd believe you. I'm not one to dress to impress too often. All that matters is that I'm wearing it, and I'm wearing it with the white skirt,"

"Okay, we agree on the skirt," said Emma, "What time are you getting picked up?"

"Seven o'clock," Marissa said calmly.
"Okay," Emma said, "And what time is it right now? I think my clock's off by a few minutes,"

"It's about six-forty-five," Marissa said, propping the phone up on her shoulder while she brushed her hair. She tied half of it up into a bun, then left the rest alone. There wasn't much she could do, since her hair was straight as a board. "You think I should go wait outside already?"

"No," Emma said urgently , "It makes you look too clingy if you act too anxious about a first date. Wait for him to get there, then wait about ten seconds before answering the door."

"Okay, it sounds like a plan," Marissa laughed. "It'll probably take me ten seconds to get down to the stairs and to the front door anyway,"

"Oh, and another thing I didn't tell you yet," Emma said, "Ray may be a bit on the cocky side sometimes, but his car ain't that great. I mean, it runs and all, but don't expect a limousine or anything,"

"I've been in a limousine," Marissa said, "I hated it. It felt like a hearse,"

"Well," Emma said brightly, "You'll be glad to know that Ray's car is definitely not a hearse." Then, the doorbell rang. "I heard that. Your doorbell's loud. He's early. That's a good sign. I'll talk to you later," Then, she hung up. Marissa put down the receiver, then walked down the stairs to the door. Inhaling one more time, she pulled it open.

"Well, what do you know," Ray laughed, "It looks like you weren't joking when you said you'd be ready at six-thirty. Ready?"

"Yep," Marissa smiled brightly. They both walked outside and over to his car.

Marissa had no clue what Emma had been talking about. Of course, she knew nothing about cars, but this one was gorgeous, and that was good enough. He opened her door for her, then got into his side. About ten seconds into the drive, he switched on the radio. Marissa started humming along quietly to herself.

"I can't hear you," Ray laughed, "Come on, you can sing in here. You can't be that bad,"

"Yes I can," Marissa laughed.

"Aw, just go on, now," he said, "I dare you,"

"You dare me?" Marissa giggled, "I stopped accepting random dares in the fifth grade,"

"Well, this isn't random," he smiled, "You're the one who started humming along and all. Go on, now. I double-dog dare you,"

"No thanks," she smirked, "You'll hear me sing one day or another, but it sure as hell ain't today,"

* * * * *

"I had a good time," Marissa said as they got closer to her house. He parked right outside, and got up to walk her to the door.

"Are you the kind that doesn't kiss on a first date?" he asked. Marissa raised a framed eyebrow at the question.

"Depends on the situation, I guess," she shrugged. Then, a tiny smile crossed her face, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd let me-" he paused, and took the fact that she was still smiling as permission to move closer. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, waiting for any sign of resistance. When she gave none, he put his hands on her sides and pulled her closer. Her arms had no place to go except for on his shoulders.

Marissa pulled back for breath and laughed softly. "I take this as a good sign," Ray laughed too and took off his jacket.

"I want you to have this," he said, handing it to her. She took it from him and slung it over her shoulder.

"Goodnight," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll see you at school," Then, she opened the door and went inside, just to hear the phone ring.

"Hello?" she said, putting Ray's jacket on the coffee table. "Who's this?"

"Hey, it's Ronnie,"

"Hey," she said, "Look, I'm glad you called and everything, but how exactly did you get my phone number?"

"It's listed," he said easily, "Where have you been? I've called three times and you haven't been home,"

"I've just been out," she said, "What's going on?"

"Not much," he said, "I just didn't get a chance to say thanks for saving my hide in History class today,"

"Like I said," Marissa laughed, "It was my pleasure. But I can tell that Miss Piggy hates me for it."

"Well she hates us both, then," he said, "What class do you have right after lunch?"

"Music," she replied.

"You sing?" he asked, "You learn somethin' new every day. Sing something,"

"Nah," Marissa said, "I'm not great,"

"I'll catch you singing one day," he laughed, "I've got to go. I'll see you at school tomorrow,"

"Yeah," Marissa said, "See you tomorrow,"