Marissa went back to normal in a relatively amount of time—she had decided
she had spent enough time complaining about how she had once been a real
gymnast, and a real dancer. She put the resentment aside, and pushed
herself to dive right back into her role as cheerleader.
"So you and Ray are officially official?" said Danielle, one of the other girls on the squad. "Like, so official that it's set in stone?"
"Set in stone?" Marissa asked. "Whoa, hold on! I think that sounds a little more serious than what's really going on."
"So you're not really going steady, then?" Danielle said in a hushed whisper.
"Well, I guess we might be," Marissa said quietly. "Then again, maybe not. With him, you never really know what's happening. You just go with what everyone else is saying,"
"You can't be having second thoughts, here. You're already going steady." Danielle said. "Everyone knows about it. So are you guys really serious or not?"
"Well, I don't know," Marissa said, squirming uncomfortably. "Truthfully, let me tell you— I don't want to get caught up in something serious. It's just not for me. I mean, I still wanna have options and everything,"
"Options, eh? You want options? Who else did you have in mind?" Danielle prodded. "Oh, I know!" she squealed.
"Danielle, just keep quiet and get back to practicing," Marissa pleaded, raising her hand to her temple. She really wasn't in the mood for this.
"It's Sunshine! Oh my God!" she said a little too loudly, "You like him? I knew it! Why didn't you just say so."
"Thanks a lot," Marissa muttered, looking over to the field. Ray practically refused to look at her. "Okay, people, let's get started already,"
Throughout practice, Marissa was extra hard on Danielle. Her little outburst had most likely killed any chance of going through with a date. Once again, thanks to Danielle, Marissa was gonna have a Friday night of TV and cold spaghetti.
At the end of practice, not only did Ray avoid Marissa, the feeling was mutual. She pointedly ignored him as well. She was glad she hadn't worn his jacket that day in the first place. She went over to her car—a black Camaro, identical to Gerry's except for the color. Right before she got in, Petey, Gerry, and Blue stopped her.
"I do believe that Ray's a bit upset over your friend's little outburst," Petey said. He was trying to look sympathetic, but Marissa saw right through him. He wanted to laugh so bad—he couldn't hold it in. He collapsed against the side of her car, laughing like a lunatic.
"See, the guy's just the jealous type," Gerry said. "Sunshine, on the other hand—"
"Gerry, Danielle's just a blabbermouth," Marissa said. "You can't really take her seriously."
"Come on, you can't deny," Blue said. "You know the boy's good- looking."
"Good-looking, eh?" Marissa said. "If he's so damn sexy, why don't one of you guys go out with him then?"
"Just give him one date," Gerry insisted.
"One," Marissa said, sighing. "One date, okay? I'm not promising anything else from there."
So everything was in motion for Sunshine and Marissa's date. Marissa was pretty much in the dark when it came to their plans, but she knew it was going to be the next day. "Go figure," she muttered to herself. "An all- day date. A whole day of getting absolutely nothing done. Oh, sure, that's gotta be my idea of a good time,"
She drove home and sat down to the usual—last night's cold spaghetti—and tried to get as much sleep as she could.
Around ten in the morning, the doorbell rang. It took Marissa about ten minutes to open it, since she still had to get dressed, but Sunshine didn't seem to mind. "You know, for something we just thought up last night, word's gotten around pretty fast. Almost everybody's gonna be out today just to try and catch us making out."
"So where are we going?" Marissa asked as they went out to the car.
"You West Coast girls," Sunshine said, clicking his tongue. "Always being so impatient." She socked him on the shoulder. "And violent too," he added. They drove for about an hour, talking about the most random things you could imagine—jelly beans, ice cream, holidays, and everything in between. When they finally stopped, Marissa looked out the window and laughed.
"A carnival?" she squealed. "This is so much better than a movie!" she said. Then she looked up at Sunshine. "Come on! I want to get on the roller coaster!" she grabbed him the hand and they ran over.
"This isn't just a roller coaster," the man at the booth said. "This is the biggest ride in the state." He waved them through. They both seemed excited, but all that changed when the ride stopped right at the top of the first hill.
"Aw shit," Marissa muttered. "This reminds me of this story my cousin told me. Now all we need is a hurricane to hit—" But, quickly as the ride stopped, it started up again.
"Well, that was interesting," Sunshine said, once they were back on the ground. "Let's hit the games—they're probably safer."
"Sounds great." Marissa said. This was actually going perfect. She felt a whole lot more comfortable around Sunshine. It didn't seem like he had already created an image in his mind of what she should be, and just took her for what she was. They had even agreed to go to the games. If a guy was willing to have fun with you, what's better than tat? Of course, agreeing on which game would be a bit more difficult. Luckily, the first game that caught their eye was the football toss. Sunshine won her a stuffed rabbit. "It's so cute!" she laughed. "I'm gonna name it Billy!"
"Billy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "But it's pink,"
"Billie Jean, then," she laughed. They spent the rest of the day winning more stuffed animals than could fit in the back seat of the car. Cramming some of them into her lap, Marissa managed to make them fit. When she finally got Billie Jean to fit under a seat belt, she looked up to find herself staring straight into a pair of blazing blue eyes. Sunshine leaned over and brushed his lips against hers, only for a few seconds, then puled back about an inch. "Wow," Marissa laughed, blushing slightly.
"Aw, come on," Sunshine said, feeling his own face get a little warmer. "You expect me to believe that you and Ray haven't sucked face before?"
"It's not that," she said. "The thing is that girls really hate to admit it, but we still like a guy who holds doors, and defends a girl's honor. stuff like that—"
"The knight in shining armor gig hasn't gotten old yet, then?" Sunshine said.
"I guess not," Marissa laughed. "And those knights in shining armor and white horses waited and courted a girl a while before putting their tongues down her throat. I mean, a girl's happier being treated like a princess—"
"Than being treated like a concubine," Sunshine finished.
"Exactly," Marissa sighed. "Not to embarrass you or anything, but how can you be such a sweet guy and not have a girlfriend? You're just one of those perfect people that every girl wishes she could have."
"Well, now that you mention it, the ladies do love me, don't they?" he laughed cockily.
* * * * *
"Isn't that adorable?" somebody squealed and Marissa and Sunshine walked down the hall, talking animatedly. "He's carrying her books and everything!"
"I'll bet you anything that Ray never did anything that sweet for her," Gerry said as the pair drew closer.
"I don't think he knows the meaning of sweet," Blue muttered. Gerry raised an eyebrow at him "Okay, not really."
"You two," Petey laughed, shaking his head and pooping up in between the two. He put an arm around each of their shoulders. "I gotta say, it took you long enough to get together."
"Together," Sunshine repeated. "Well, not really,"
"Aw, hell," Blue said, rolling his eyes.
"We talked about it, and there's just one little hitch," Marissa said. "We got to talking, and we found out that we're better off as friends. I was thinking about talking it over with—"
"You're gonna go play the pity card with Ray?" Gerry said. "Aw, damn," Just then, the bell rang. "Just think it over a little." The group parted ways, and they broke off into their separate homerooms. Marissa took her usual seat next to Emma, and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Emma," she said. "Do think you could get Ray to meet me back on the field after practice."
"You guys are actually gonna make up?" she asked. "But what about all that stuff people are saying about you and that hippie boy?"
"You mean Sunshine? Look, it's a really long story, and I don't wanna explain it right now," she said impatiently. "It was all just one big mix- up that got way out of hand before I could control it."
"Fine," Emma shrugged. "But if you can't say it to me, how's it gonna be convincing to Ray? Maybe should bounce some ideas off of me first."
"I don't really know what he's gonna think, and it really doesn't matter to me anyway," Marissa said. "But you think you could get him to do it?"
"I'll see what I can do." Emma nodded.
* * * * *
Marissa had been waiting a couple of minutes, sitting on the field, when she decided to lay back and stare up at the moon. She heard the grass rustle next to her. Ray had sat down, and looked up in the same direction.
"Thanks for coming," Marissa said quietly. "I mean, I know you didn't have to. I'm really sorry that I didn't try to talk to you any sooner, but I knew you were really mad about what Danielle said. You gotta know, she just opened her big mouth. It ain't automatically true."
"So you don't really like him?" Ray asked. They still weren't looking at each other.
"Well, no," Marissa shrugged, drumming her fingers absently on the grass. "At least, not the romantic, boyfriend-girlfriend way."
"So you like him as a friend, though?" he asked. "As in, he's still gonna be hanging around you?"
"He won't be hanging around," Marissa retorted. "If anyone's doing the hanging, it's you. You're getting a little too clingy if you ask me." That shut him up for a while.
"So," he asked. "What'd you want me to come out here for?"
"Aw, Ray, come on!" Marissa said, sitting up and placing herself right in front of him. "What do I gotta do, beg?" He shook his head. Marissa smiled slightly, and hugged him, brushing her cheek against his. "You forgive me for not trying to clear this up any faster."
"Of course I do," he said, kissing the top of her head and taking extra time to smell her hair. "You forgive me for avoiding you? I didn't really give you a chance to explain." She pulled back and rested her forehead against his.
"You think I can say no to those eyes?" she laughed.
"You can't say no, eh?" he laughed. "Well, you wanna get back together, then?"
"You bet," she smiled.
Meanwhile, from a distance, Gerry walked away, shaking his head and muttering how stupid of a situation Marissa had gotten herself into.
"So you and Ray are officially official?" said Danielle, one of the other girls on the squad. "Like, so official that it's set in stone?"
"Set in stone?" Marissa asked. "Whoa, hold on! I think that sounds a little more serious than what's really going on."
"So you're not really going steady, then?" Danielle said in a hushed whisper.
"Well, I guess we might be," Marissa said quietly. "Then again, maybe not. With him, you never really know what's happening. You just go with what everyone else is saying,"
"You can't be having second thoughts, here. You're already going steady." Danielle said. "Everyone knows about it. So are you guys really serious or not?"
"Well, I don't know," Marissa said, squirming uncomfortably. "Truthfully, let me tell you— I don't want to get caught up in something serious. It's just not for me. I mean, I still wanna have options and everything,"
"Options, eh? You want options? Who else did you have in mind?" Danielle prodded. "Oh, I know!" she squealed.
"Danielle, just keep quiet and get back to practicing," Marissa pleaded, raising her hand to her temple. She really wasn't in the mood for this.
"It's Sunshine! Oh my God!" she said a little too loudly, "You like him? I knew it! Why didn't you just say so."
"Thanks a lot," Marissa muttered, looking over to the field. Ray practically refused to look at her. "Okay, people, let's get started already,"
Throughout practice, Marissa was extra hard on Danielle. Her little outburst had most likely killed any chance of going through with a date. Once again, thanks to Danielle, Marissa was gonna have a Friday night of TV and cold spaghetti.
At the end of practice, not only did Ray avoid Marissa, the feeling was mutual. She pointedly ignored him as well. She was glad she hadn't worn his jacket that day in the first place. She went over to her car—a black Camaro, identical to Gerry's except for the color. Right before she got in, Petey, Gerry, and Blue stopped her.
"I do believe that Ray's a bit upset over your friend's little outburst," Petey said. He was trying to look sympathetic, but Marissa saw right through him. He wanted to laugh so bad—he couldn't hold it in. He collapsed against the side of her car, laughing like a lunatic.
"See, the guy's just the jealous type," Gerry said. "Sunshine, on the other hand—"
"Gerry, Danielle's just a blabbermouth," Marissa said. "You can't really take her seriously."
"Come on, you can't deny," Blue said. "You know the boy's good- looking."
"Good-looking, eh?" Marissa said. "If he's so damn sexy, why don't one of you guys go out with him then?"
"Just give him one date," Gerry insisted.
"One," Marissa said, sighing. "One date, okay? I'm not promising anything else from there."
So everything was in motion for Sunshine and Marissa's date. Marissa was pretty much in the dark when it came to their plans, but she knew it was going to be the next day. "Go figure," she muttered to herself. "An all- day date. A whole day of getting absolutely nothing done. Oh, sure, that's gotta be my idea of a good time,"
She drove home and sat down to the usual—last night's cold spaghetti—and tried to get as much sleep as she could.
Around ten in the morning, the doorbell rang. It took Marissa about ten minutes to open it, since she still had to get dressed, but Sunshine didn't seem to mind. "You know, for something we just thought up last night, word's gotten around pretty fast. Almost everybody's gonna be out today just to try and catch us making out."
"So where are we going?" Marissa asked as they went out to the car.
"You West Coast girls," Sunshine said, clicking his tongue. "Always being so impatient." She socked him on the shoulder. "And violent too," he added. They drove for about an hour, talking about the most random things you could imagine—jelly beans, ice cream, holidays, and everything in between. When they finally stopped, Marissa looked out the window and laughed.
"A carnival?" she squealed. "This is so much better than a movie!" she said. Then she looked up at Sunshine. "Come on! I want to get on the roller coaster!" she grabbed him the hand and they ran over.
"This isn't just a roller coaster," the man at the booth said. "This is the biggest ride in the state." He waved them through. They both seemed excited, but all that changed when the ride stopped right at the top of the first hill.
"Aw shit," Marissa muttered. "This reminds me of this story my cousin told me. Now all we need is a hurricane to hit—" But, quickly as the ride stopped, it started up again.
"Well, that was interesting," Sunshine said, once they were back on the ground. "Let's hit the games—they're probably safer."
"Sounds great." Marissa said. This was actually going perfect. She felt a whole lot more comfortable around Sunshine. It didn't seem like he had already created an image in his mind of what she should be, and just took her for what she was. They had even agreed to go to the games. If a guy was willing to have fun with you, what's better than tat? Of course, agreeing on which game would be a bit more difficult. Luckily, the first game that caught their eye was the football toss. Sunshine won her a stuffed rabbit. "It's so cute!" she laughed. "I'm gonna name it Billy!"
"Billy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "But it's pink,"
"Billie Jean, then," she laughed. They spent the rest of the day winning more stuffed animals than could fit in the back seat of the car. Cramming some of them into her lap, Marissa managed to make them fit. When she finally got Billie Jean to fit under a seat belt, she looked up to find herself staring straight into a pair of blazing blue eyes. Sunshine leaned over and brushed his lips against hers, only for a few seconds, then puled back about an inch. "Wow," Marissa laughed, blushing slightly.
"Aw, come on," Sunshine said, feeling his own face get a little warmer. "You expect me to believe that you and Ray haven't sucked face before?"
"It's not that," she said. "The thing is that girls really hate to admit it, but we still like a guy who holds doors, and defends a girl's honor. stuff like that—"
"The knight in shining armor gig hasn't gotten old yet, then?" Sunshine said.
"I guess not," Marissa laughed. "And those knights in shining armor and white horses waited and courted a girl a while before putting their tongues down her throat. I mean, a girl's happier being treated like a princess—"
"Than being treated like a concubine," Sunshine finished.
"Exactly," Marissa sighed. "Not to embarrass you or anything, but how can you be such a sweet guy and not have a girlfriend? You're just one of those perfect people that every girl wishes she could have."
"Well, now that you mention it, the ladies do love me, don't they?" he laughed cockily.
* * * * *
"Isn't that adorable?" somebody squealed and Marissa and Sunshine walked down the hall, talking animatedly. "He's carrying her books and everything!"
"I'll bet you anything that Ray never did anything that sweet for her," Gerry said as the pair drew closer.
"I don't think he knows the meaning of sweet," Blue muttered. Gerry raised an eyebrow at him "Okay, not really."
"You two," Petey laughed, shaking his head and pooping up in between the two. He put an arm around each of their shoulders. "I gotta say, it took you long enough to get together."
"Together," Sunshine repeated. "Well, not really,"
"Aw, hell," Blue said, rolling his eyes.
"We talked about it, and there's just one little hitch," Marissa said. "We got to talking, and we found out that we're better off as friends. I was thinking about talking it over with—"
"You're gonna go play the pity card with Ray?" Gerry said. "Aw, damn," Just then, the bell rang. "Just think it over a little." The group parted ways, and they broke off into their separate homerooms. Marissa took her usual seat next to Emma, and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Emma," she said. "Do think you could get Ray to meet me back on the field after practice."
"You guys are actually gonna make up?" she asked. "But what about all that stuff people are saying about you and that hippie boy?"
"You mean Sunshine? Look, it's a really long story, and I don't wanna explain it right now," she said impatiently. "It was all just one big mix- up that got way out of hand before I could control it."
"Fine," Emma shrugged. "But if you can't say it to me, how's it gonna be convincing to Ray? Maybe should bounce some ideas off of me first."
"I don't really know what he's gonna think, and it really doesn't matter to me anyway," Marissa said. "But you think you could get him to do it?"
"I'll see what I can do." Emma nodded.
* * * * *
Marissa had been waiting a couple of minutes, sitting on the field, when she decided to lay back and stare up at the moon. She heard the grass rustle next to her. Ray had sat down, and looked up in the same direction.
"Thanks for coming," Marissa said quietly. "I mean, I know you didn't have to. I'm really sorry that I didn't try to talk to you any sooner, but I knew you were really mad about what Danielle said. You gotta know, she just opened her big mouth. It ain't automatically true."
"So you don't really like him?" Ray asked. They still weren't looking at each other.
"Well, no," Marissa shrugged, drumming her fingers absently on the grass. "At least, not the romantic, boyfriend-girlfriend way."
"So you like him as a friend, though?" he asked. "As in, he's still gonna be hanging around you?"
"He won't be hanging around," Marissa retorted. "If anyone's doing the hanging, it's you. You're getting a little too clingy if you ask me." That shut him up for a while.
"So," he asked. "What'd you want me to come out here for?"
"Aw, Ray, come on!" Marissa said, sitting up and placing herself right in front of him. "What do I gotta do, beg?" He shook his head. Marissa smiled slightly, and hugged him, brushing her cheek against his. "You forgive me for not trying to clear this up any faster."
"Of course I do," he said, kissing the top of her head and taking extra time to smell her hair. "You forgive me for avoiding you? I didn't really give you a chance to explain." She pulled back and rested her forehead against his.
"You think I can say no to those eyes?" she laughed.
"You can't say no, eh?" he laughed. "Well, you wanna get back together, then?"
"You bet," she smiled.
Meanwhile, from a distance, Gerry walked away, shaking his head and muttering how stupid of a situation Marissa had gotten herself into.