It's a month later and History class. Marilyn's sitting in her desk,
drawing instead of taking notes.
Not to her surprise, she has no friends... mainly all of the students at DCS were her enemies; her greatest being Sean, Paige, Ellie, Spinner, Ashley, Emma, and Jimmy. Marilyn didn't like Ashley from the beginning, she felt that Ashley wasn't true and Ashley felt that Marilyn was too dark to handle, fake, and depressed. Ellie, being Ashley's best friend, grew to dislike Marilyn too.
Craig, on the other hand, still was in awe about this girl; how she was the definition of mysterious, how no one knew more about her than anyone else... yet she was still the outcast that everyone wanted gone. He sat behind Marilyn in History, trying to get information about her by studying what she wore, how she wrote, and so on.
"Alright, class." The teacher brought his students out of their thoughts, "I've been bluffing you guys with a project for weeks now, and this time I'm serious." There were groans throughout the room as the teacher grabs a pile of note cards off of his desk, "Each of you will get a note card with your subject and partner written on it. You'll have three weeks to work on your presentations before addressing the rest of the class. Keep in mind that this will be worth 40% of your final grade." He walks up and down the isles, handing students their cards.
Trying to hide a smile as he looks at his card, Craig reads the nicely printed 'Marilyn Sterling: Concentration Camps.' He's about to tap Marilyn's shoulder when she turns around.
"Hey... partner."
~*~
After school, Craig races over to Marilyn, who's pulling her BMX bike out of the rack. "Hey, Marilyn!"
Marilyn sits down on her bike and looks at the running Craig, "Yeah?"
"I was wondering" Craig starts when he gets to her, "We only have three weeks to prepare for our [history] presentation, maybe we should get to work soon... there's a lot we need to do."
"Alright, I was thinking the same thing." She moves a strand of hair from her eyes, "When do you want to get started?"
Craig thought for a moment, "This weekend?"
Marilyn nods, "Okay. You need my number don't you?"
"That would prove helpful." Craig smiles.
Marilyn searches through her bag for a pen. Finding one, she takes Craig's arm and writes her cell phone number on the back of his hand, "There you go."
Craig stares down at the numbers on his hand, a tingling sensation running throughout his body, "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
~*~
Craig jogged down the staircase that Saturday afternoon, wearing his fifth outfit of the day. He hugs Angie, who's playing with a slinky at the base of the steps.
"Are we looking good yet?" Joey asks from the kitchen with a smile on his face.
"Well, I want to look nice." Craig remarks, tugging gently on his gray, button up The Clash shirt.
Joey puts a roast in the oven and wipes his hands on a towel hanging from his belt, "But not too nice?"
Craig nods.
Setting the microwave kitchen timer, Joey looks at Craig, "How long do you think you'll be over there?" He tosses a green apple to Craig when he walks over to the breakfast bar.
Shrugging, Craig takes a bite of the apple and speaks when he finishes chewing the piece, "I'm not sure. Depends, really; if she doesn't have a computer, then we might have a while to spend at the library."
"If you have to, you can stay there for dinner, if they'll let you. Just be home by curfew."
"I'm sure I won't be gone longer than three hours."
"But if you are, call me so I don't have to pull my hair out worrying about you... if I had hair."
Craig laughs and eyes the clock, "I better get going." He walks over to the couch and snatches his backpack, runs over to Angie and gives her a hug, and throws the apple back to Joey. Saying his goodbyes, Craig heads out the door.
When he arrives at the Sterling house, Craig knocks on the front door and waits for someone to answer. He doesn't have to wait long before hearing large boots thunder down the staircase, the door is unlocked and swung open. Craig raises his eyes from the porch and sees a tall girl with damp black hair, green eyes, and fair skin. "Is Marilyn here?"
The girl laughs lightly, "Hey, Craig."
"Marilyn?"
She nods, "You came early, I took a shower 20 minutes ago." Marilyn opens the door farther to let him in.
Craig walks inside and notices a woman walk out of the livingroom and towards the door. She's short, tan, and dressed up in a work uniform. He's about to say something to her when the woman speaks.
"I'll be back at two, your father will be back at midnight." She takes a coat off of the rack and puts it on, she then picks up a purse resting on a bench.
"Bye, Mom, I love you." Marilyn says to her mother.
Her mother laughs disbelievingly, "Right." She walks out of the house and shuts the door behind her.
Taking a deep breath, Marilyn looks at Craig, "Do you want anything?"
Craig shakes his head, "... I'm fine."
"Alright then, you get to watch me paint my face." Marilyn chuckles softly and begins to walk up the stairs.
Craig follows Marilyn to her room, not surprised at all by the dungeon like decor. Once again, he was unable to identify the band that was pouring through the stereo speakers.
"Do you mind if I put my make-up on?"
"Not at all, just tell me who's playing on your stereo." Craig stated, turning a light shade of red.
Marilyn sits down at her vanity and opens a jar. "Count two down from the top left corner and then five across." She directs, pointing to a wall plastered with band posters.
Craig does as he's told, "Voidvod?"
Laughing, Marilyn temporarily stops spreading the white [face] paint on her face, "That's four across."
"Oh." Craig blushes more and moves his eyes over to the next poster, "Kittie." He walks over to the bed and sits down, watching Marilyn put on her make-up.
She quickly finishes, adds eye shadow and liner, and sets dark red contacts over her eyes. Letting her hair be, Marilyn stands up and walks over to a large bookcase. "How do you want to do this?" She asks, pulling several books from the bottom shelf.
"I want to do something interesting, definitely; we could use visuals and things like that. I was thinking about slipping a comparison at the end, how the camps are still around in one form or another."
Marilyn listens to Craig as she walks across the large bedroom to him and hands him the books. Heading to her desk, she picks up a laptop and shuts her bedroom door. "Sounds great to me." Walking back over to bed, she sits down upon the queen sized mattress and lowers the volume of the stereo with a remote resting on the quilt.
Craig smiles and sets the books beside him, removes his backpack, and gets out his History book, notebook, and a pencil. He gently plops his backpack on the charcoal carpet and looks through the stack of books by his left thigh, "Were did you get these? This is amazing."
Marilyn opens her laptop and speedily leans back to plug in a wire into the phone jack above one of the bedside tables. "I worked part-time at a book store on Long Island a few summers ago." Sitting back up, she gets onto the internet and types the address for the History Channel, "You never know when you need books like those for school or something else."
Two hours later Craig and Marilyn are laughing; enjoying each other's company and having a good time. Craig looks at the picture he's holding, "Who's that?" He asks, tapping the glass on top of Slade.
"My boyfriend Slade."
Craig could feel his heart drop to his stomach, "Slade?" He hated the way that came out, "How long have you two been together?"
"3 years, since the eighth grade." Marilyn looks at Craig, sensing how uncomfortable he is.
"Oh..." He sets the picture frame back on the desk and looks at a collage above the piece of furniture. There are tons of cut out pictures, all of Marilyn with one other person. There aren't any duplicates, which surprises Craig, he only sees one of each girl or boy in the entire collage... in one picture, Marilyn has her arms around a punk girl her age and she's kissing the girl's cheek. "Friends of yours?"
Marilyn rubs her neck, "In a way... yes."
"What do you mean?" Craig turns around to look at Mariyln, standing somewhat behind him.
"Well..." She begins, but looks at the clock, "What time do you have to be home by?"
Craig looks at his watch, "I guess I should get going. Would you like to come? My uncle Joey's cooking a pot roast, and since your parents are at work..."
"I'd like to, but I'm a vegetarian."
"I can make a mean egg salad." Craig volunteers.
Marilyn smiles softly, "I'm veggan too." She states, "Besides, I have stuff I need to do around here."
Not to her surprise, she has no friends... mainly all of the students at DCS were her enemies; her greatest being Sean, Paige, Ellie, Spinner, Ashley, Emma, and Jimmy. Marilyn didn't like Ashley from the beginning, she felt that Ashley wasn't true and Ashley felt that Marilyn was too dark to handle, fake, and depressed. Ellie, being Ashley's best friend, grew to dislike Marilyn too.
Craig, on the other hand, still was in awe about this girl; how she was the definition of mysterious, how no one knew more about her than anyone else... yet she was still the outcast that everyone wanted gone. He sat behind Marilyn in History, trying to get information about her by studying what she wore, how she wrote, and so on.
"Alright, class." The teacher brought his students out of their thoughts, "I've been bluffing you guys with a project for weeks now, and this time I'm serious." There were groans throughout the room as the teacher grabs a pile of note cards off of his desk, "Each of you will get a note card with your subject and partner written on it. You'll have three weeks to work on your presentations before addressing the rest of the class. Keep in mind that this will be worth 40% of your final grade." He walks up and down the isles, handing students their cards.
Trying to hide a smile as he looks at his card, Craig reads the nicely printed 'Marilyn Sterling: Concentration Camps.' He's about to tap Marilyn's shoulder when she turns around.
"Hey... partner."
~*~
After school, Craig races over to Marilyn, who's pulling her BMX bike out of the rack. "Hey, Marilyn!"
Marilyn sits down on her bike and looks at the running Craig, "Yeah?"
"I was wondering" Craig starts when he gets to her, "We only have three weeks to prepare for our [history] presentation, maybe we should get to work soon... there's a lot we need to do."
"Alright, I was thinking the same thing." She moves a strand of hair from her eyes, "When do you want to get started?"
Craig thought for a moment, "This weekend?"
Marilyn nods, "Okay. You need my number don't you?"
"That would prove helpful." Craig smiles.
Marilyn searches through her bag for a pen. Finding one, she takes Craig's arm and writes her cell phone number on the back of his hand, "There you go."
Craig stares down at the numbers on his hand, a tingling sensation running throughout his body, "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
~*~
Craig jogged down the staircase that Saturday afternoon, wearing his fifth outfit of the day. He hugs Angie, who's playing with a slinky at the base of the steps.
"Are we looking good yet?" Joey asks from the kitchen with a smile on his face.
"Well, I want to look nice." Craig remarks, tugging gently on his gray, button up The Clash shirt.
Joey puts a roast in the oven and wipes his hands on a towel hanging from his belt, "But not too nice?"
Craig nods.
Setting the microwave kitchen timer, Joey looks at Craig, "How long do you think you'll be over there?" He tosses a green apple to Craig when he walks over to the breakfast bar.
Shrugging, Craig takes a bite of the apple and speaks when he finishes chewing the piece, "I'm not sure. Depends, really; if she doesn't have a computer, then we might have a while to spend at the library."
"If you have to, you can stay there for dinner, if they'll let you. Just be home by curfew."
"I'm sure I won't be gone longer than three hours."
"But if you are, call me so I don't have to pull my hair out worrying about you... if I had hair."
Craig laughs and eyes the clock, "I better get going." He walks over to the couch and snatches his backpack, runs over to Angie and gives her a hug, and throws the apple back to Joey. Saying his goodbyes, Craig heads out the door.
When he arrives at the Sterling house, Craig knocks on the front door and waits for someone to answer. He doesn't have to wait long before hearing large boots thunder down the staircase, the door is unlocked and swung open. Craig raises his eyes from the porch and sees a tall girl with damp black hair, green eyes, and fair skin. "Is Marilyn here?"
The girl laughs lightly, "Hey, Craig."
"Marilyn?"
She nods, "You came early, I took a shower 20 minutes ago." Marilyn opens the door farther to let him in.
Craig walks inside and notices a woman walk out of the livingroom and towards the door. She's short, tan, and dressed up in a work uniform. He's about to say something to her when the woman speaks.
"I'll be back at two, your father will be back at midnight." She takes a coat off of the rack and puts it on, she then picks up a purse resting on a bench.
"Bye, Mom, I love you." Marilyn says to her mother.
Her mother laughs disbelievingly, "Right." She walks out of the house and shuts the door behind her.
Taking a deep breath, Marilyn looks at Craig, "Do you want anything?"
Craig shakes his head, "... I'm fine."
"Alright then, you get to watch me paint my face." Marilyn chuckles softly and begins to walk up the stairs.
Craig follows Marilyn to her room, not surprised at all by the dungeon like decor. Once again, he was unable to identify the band that was pouring through the stereo speakers.
"Do you mind if I put my make-up on?"
"Not at all, just tell me who's playing on your stereo." Craig stated, turning a light shade of red.
Marilyn sits down at her vanity and opens a jar. "Count two down from the top left corner and then five across." She directs, pointing to a wall plastered with band posters.
Craig does as he's told, "Voidvod?"
Laughing, Marilyn temporarily stops spreading the white [face] paint on her face, "That's four across."
"Oh." Craig blushes more and moves his eyes over to the next poster, "Kittie." He walks over to the bed and sits down, watching Marilyn put on her make-up.
She quickly finishes, adds eye shadow and liner, and sets dark red contacts over her eyes. Letting her hair be, Marilyn stands up and walks over to a large bookcase. "How do you want to do this?" She asks, pulling several books from the bottom shelf.
"I want to do something interesting, definitely; we could use visuals and things like that. I was thinking about slipping a comparison at the end, how the camps are still around in one form or another."
Marilyn listens to Craig as she walks across the large bedroom to him and hands him the books. Heading to her desk, she picks up a laptop and shuts her bedroom door. "Sounds great to me." Walking back over to bed, she sits down upon the queen sized mattress and lowers the volume of the stereo with a remote resting on the quilt.
Craig smiles and sets the books beside him, removes his backpack, and gets out his History book, notebook, and a pencil. He gently plops his backpack on the charcoal carpet and looks through the stack of books by his left thigh, "Were did you get these? This is amazing."
Marilyn opens her laptop and speedily leans back to plug in a wire into the phone jack above one of the bedside tables. "I worked part-time at a book store on Long Island a few summers ago." Sitting back up, she gets onto the internet and types the address for the History Channel, "You never know when you need books like those for school or something else."
Two hours later Craig and Marilyn are laughing; enjoying each other's company and having a good time. Craig looks at the picture he's holding, "Who's that?" He asks, tapping the glass on top of Slade.
"My boyfriend Slade."
Craig could feel his heart drop to his stomach, "Slade?" He hated the way that came out, "How long have you two been together?"
"3 years, since the eighth grade." Marilyn looks at Craig, sensing how uncomfortable he is.
"Oh..." He sets the picture frame back on the desk and looks at a collage above the piece of furniture. There are tons of cut out pictures, all of Marilyn with one other person. There aren't any duplicates, which surprises Craig, he only sees one of each girl or boy in the entire collage... in one picture, Marilyn has her arms around a punk girl her age and she's kissing the girl's cheek. "Friends of yours?"
Marilyn rubs her neck, "In a way... yes."
"What do you mean?" Craig turns around to look at Mariyln, standing somewhat behind him.
"Well..." She begins, but looks at the clock, "What time do you have to be home by?"
Craig looks at his watch, "I guess I should get going. Would you like to come? My uncle Joey's cooking a pot roast, and since your parents are at work..."
"I'd like to, but I'm a vegetarian."
"I can make a mean egg salad." Craig volunteers.
Marilyn smiles softly, "I'm veggan too." She states, "Besides, I have stuff I need to do around here."