Manuela: popular, junior who single-handedly rules the school, stop being
friends with Emma after she started dating Cody, hopes to become a dancer,
dyed her hair blonde, brown eyes, Colombian
Marco: skater, senior, hopelessly in love with Manuela, gave up popularity for something he loved more, best friends with Cody, Liberty, and Mona, dark hair and dark eyes, Dominican
Hazel: popular, senior, trying to get over reoccurring feels about Jimmy, Manuela's closet friend, layered brown hair, dark eyes, wants to be a model or movie producer someday, Somalian
Jimmy: popular, senior, always tries to prove that he's black, has broken up with Ashley for good, hides his sensitive side, wishes that his family was around, dark hair, dark eyes, African American father, Caucasian mother
Terri: semi-popular, senior, sick of being the token chubby girl, the only one that Ashley confides in, has been crushing on Cody for a while, dyed reddish brown hair and blue eyes, Caucasian
Cody: skater, senior, uses drugs and alcohol to escape his non-existent family life, misses his little sister Ashley and his mother, won't allow himself to feel anything real, is a shadow of the person he once was, curly brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian
Liberty: skater that takes ballet too, against her will, junior, has been Marco's best friend since everyone abandoned him when he thought he was gay, has deeper feelings for him and hates Manuela because he cares for her like he'd never care for Liberty, light brown curly hair, dark brown eyes, Puerto Rican mother, Italian father
Ashley: popular, senior, has one mission before high school is over- get Jimmy back, involved in every school activity, has gone for the 'Hazel Aguilera' look since leaving goth behind, bleached blonde hair, wears brown contacts, Caucasian
Mona: semi-popular, sophomore, is the support system for everyone, encourages Liberty to tell Marco how she feels, really into designing things and art, really into having fun as long as it doesn't involve drugs or alcohol, doesn't hate anyone but is strongly against Ashley, Terri, and Sean, dark brown almost black hair, brown eyes, Native American
Chapter Three: What More Can I Say?
"Liberty?" Manuela asked, not believing her eyes. One of the most dorky people EVER was taking dance at her studio. The nerve.
"Yeah. Manuela ... imagine that. I didn't know you danced here." Liberty lied, pulling off her jeans, revealing pink tights.
"I didn't know you danced."
"Yeah, well, be prepared to be the second best dancer here." Liberty challenged, only realizing how hard ballet was when they started doing extensions and back attitudes, not to mention all those allegro progressions.
"The second best dancer, right?" Manuela grinned as class ended. Liberty had completely fallen behind in class and she was already planning out an excuse to skip her nest ballet class.
"I totally need to get an A in English Hazel." Manuela sighed, applying a pale pink nail polish to her toes.
"I know. You've told me about a million times today." Hazel sat up in her bed, closing her magazine. When Manuela got needy like this, there was no need to try and do anything else but help her. "How's your project going?"
"I really wouldn't know. Marco took it home ... I think." She answered, remembering the she was paired with a complete freak.
"Oh, I forgot that stalker dude was your partner." Hazel laughed. "Beats having Jimmy. He has more PMS than I do."
"Jimmy? Humph. I'd take him over Marco. The worst part about it is that he thinks that he can just come up to me in the hallway and give me his number."
"Are you going to call him?" Hazel wondered, tuned into the conversation one hundred percent.
"Not a chance in this world. I really don't want to go over to his house today OR tomorrow. It's already seven anyway." Manuela explained.
"So? Just call him up. You need that A if you want that car. To tell the truth, I am sick of chauffeuring you and Jimmy around. I have a life of my own too you know."
"I know I've been a burden major to you Tina, but when I get my car I'll repay you. I swear." Manny finished polishing her toes. She started to pick out an outfit for the next day.
"Yeah. That's exactly why you need to get off the phone with me and call Marco ... NOW!!"
"I know. I'll do it, okay?" Manuela and Hazel had a short conversation, mostly about her dance class. She didn't even think to ask Hazel what was going on before she picked up the phone and dialed Marco's number. Manny didn't even need the paper. She had memorized it in hopes of getting that car she wanted.
"Hello?" A tired voice answered.
"... Is Marco there?"
"Manny, is that you?" He asked, his voice perking up instantly.
"Get it right. It's Manuela and I'm calling about our project and only about our project." She told him.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah and I'm coming over in ten. Got it?" Manuela hung up the phone, not even waiting for an answer. What to wear? She was going to make sure and wear something really cute so that it would be easier to convince Marco to do the project all by himself. It had been done before -- never on a skater boy ... but anything was possible.
"Cody, dude she's coming over." Marco told his friend that was still sitting in the exact spot that he had been in since he sat down.
"Who?"
"Manuela, my love." Marco sighed.
"Dude. Chill out. You sound like an idiot." Cody laughed. "Just how much of my weed have you been smoking?"
"None of it. I told you I gave it up." Marco admitted. "We're working on a school project together and she's coming over."
"And you think that means something? Dude, she's not interested in you. You're just so desperate..." Cody's voice trailed off. "Hey, I'll talk to you later." He mumbled, sounding even more high than before.
"Whatever." Marco mumbled, making sure that he smelled okay and that he didn't look too dorky. After all, Manny was coming over.
Manuela rang the bell to Marco's house, looking around. What a dump, she thought to herself, wondering how she was going to make it through this night. "Hey." A girl who looked about my age greeted me.
"Hello." I smiled, attempting to be polite.
"What do you want?"
"Umm. I'm here to see your brother." Manuela explained, wincing at the fact that she was going over to Marco's house and asking Marco for help.
"How you know Marco's my brother?" The girl challenged, putting her hand on her hip.
"Veronica, stop giving her a hard time. Let her in." Manuela heard Marco's voice and started to perk up. This Veronica girl was really tom- boyish and probably wouldn't hesitate to start something with Manuela.
"You're lucky that Marco heard me talking to you. Come in." Veronica moved to the side, barely making room for Manuela.
"Hey Manny." Manuela looked back, noticing that the girl was still there.
"What's up?"
"Nothin much. Do you ... want something to drink?" He asked, pointing to the kitchen.
"Coke. Diet." Manuela sat back into the navy blue couch, unable to get comfortable because Veronica was giving her a death stare.
"Mira chica. You hurt my brother in any way and I'll hunt you down and kick your butt, easily." Veronica snorted. "He's really into you and even if you don't like him you better fake it for your own sake. Got it?" Manuela nodded, trembling with fear. If she was on her own grounds with her own people, she'd tell Veronica off, but now was not the time or place for it.
Marco returned, noticing that Manuela looked very uncomfortable. "Did Ronni say anything to you?"
"She's just being an older sister ... let's just get on with this project already. I so have somewhere else to be." She yawned, paying close attention to Marco's reaction. He didn't even seem phased by her sudden change of mood. Weird ...
"So, do like this... we're almost done." Marco demonstrated, holding back his urge to touch Manuela's soft, delicate hands, if even for a moment. She was perfect in every way regardless of what everyone else thought. "No, no ese ... asi." Marco corrected her.
"It would help if you didn't stare at me like that. If just annoys the heck outta me okay? So don't do it ..."
"Okay." Marco whispered quietly.
"And while you're at it, stop speaking all this Spanish garbage. I have no idea what you're talking about." Manuela admitted, pulling her hair to one side and playing with it. Marco stopped all movements and watched her. "Stop gawking at me!" She yelled, snapping him out of his trance.
"Sorry, don't you see that I'm trying?" Marco questioned her as everything became still. He had no idea how she was going to react to his semi-outburst.
"Don't you realize how embarrassing it is to have someone stare at you all the time? It's not even like I like you or anything ... we're not on the same page Marco and we may never be. Understand?" She tried to explain, getting tired of holding her tongue and being so sweet to him.
"Sure." Marco cleared his throat. "Who are you going to the Homecoming Dance with?" She shrugged.
"I haven't really thought about it yet."
"If you still need a date the day of or something, I'd take you." He offered.
"I'd rather- No way it's going to happen Marco. And now, if you'll excuse me I think it's about time for me to go." Manuela haughtily got up and made her way to the door. Marco followed.
"Don't you want to stay for dinner?"
"Heck no. I thought I made it perfectly clear that there will be no talking to you, no looking at you unless it involves a school project, k?" She cocked her head to the side, trying to ignore the fact that this guy genuinely liked her. He wasn't doing this for status. He wanted her.
As Manuela started to daze off, Marco's mother opened the door, bringing in three of his other siblings and knocking Manuela in the shoulder. "Are you okay?" Marco asked as she nodded. "Mom, this is Manuela."
"Hola ... I didn't hit you when I was coming in, did I? Lo siento." She said all at once. "Is she staying for dinner?" Ms. Perez questioned her son. "Tu estas apuntalando, no?"
"Are you staying?" Marco whispered to Manuela since she had no idea what Ms. Perez as saying.
"Umm, thanks Ms. ... Marco's mom, but it's really late and I should be going home. My mom might get worried."
"Absurdo. Llama y pregunta.
"She wants you to call your mother and get permission to stay." Marco translated.
"Do I have a choice?" He shook his head as he showed her the way to the nearest phone. Manuela dialed the number and got permission to stay. Marco smiled. This was always how he wanted it to be. "You tell anyone about this and I swear your ass is vapor." Manuela got in Marco's face. He laughed.
"What? I can't ever take you seriously. A 4'10 girl threatening to kick my ass?" Marco smiled.
"You're lucky that I don't do it now." Manuela responded, half- kidding, half-serious.
"That's only because Veronica's around."
"True. Maybe I'll just get Sean and Jimmy to do it for me." Manuela spun on her heel, making her way back to the living room. She hadn't really known much about Marco, except at one point in his life he thought he was gay- That was short-lived. And, that he gave up popularity for skateboarding. What was so special about a board with wheels anyway?
(A/N: I hear what you guys are saying about me changing the characters, but everyone still has a part of their personality for the show and I'm not going to write some boring story about Degrassi just to stay true to the characters. Furthermore, I started this idea before Marco found out he was gay on the show, therefore he's going to be straight in this story.)
Marco: skater, senior, hopelessly in love with Manuela, gave up popularity for something he loved more, best friends with Cody, Liberty, and Mona, dark hair and dark eyes, Dominican
Hazel: popular, senior, trying to get over reoccurring feels about Jimmy, Manuela's closet friend, layered brown hair, dark eyes, wants to be a model or movie producer someday, Somalian
Jimmy: popular, senior, always tries to prove that he's black, has broken up with Ashley for good, hides his sensitive side, wishes that his family was around, dark hair, dark eyes, African American father, Caucasian mother
Terri: semi-popular, senior, sick of being the token chubby girl, the only one that Ashley confides in, has been crushing on Cody for a while, dyed reddish brown hair and blue eyes, Caucasian
Cody: skater, senior, uses drugs and alcohol to escape his non-existent family life, misses his little sister Ashley and his mother, won't allow himself to feel anything real, is a shadow of the person he once was, curly brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian
Liberty: skater that takes ballet too, against her will, junior, has been Marco's best friend since everyone abandoned him when he thought he was gay, has deeper feelings for him and hates Manuela because he cares for her like he'd never care for Liberty, light brown curly hair, dark brown eyes, Puerto Rican mother, Italian father
Ashley: popular, senior, has one mission before high school is over- get Jimmy back, involved in every school activity, has gone for the 'Hazel Aguilera' look since leaving goth behind, bleached blonde hair, wears brown contacts, Caucasian
Mona: semi-popular, sophomore, is the support system for everyone, encourages Liberty to tell Marco how she feels, really into designing things and art, really into having fun as long as it doesn't involve drugs or alcohol, doesn't hate anyone but is strongly against Ashley, Terri, and Sean, dark brown almost black hair, brown eyes, Native American
Chapter Three: What More Can I Say?
"Liberty?" Manuela asked, not believing her eyes. One of the most dorky people EVER was taking dance at her studio. The nerve.
"Yeah. Manuela ... imagine that. I didn't know you danced here." Liberty lied, pulling off her jeans, revealing pink tights.
"I didn't know you danced."
"Yeah, well, be prepared to be the second best dancer here." Liberty challenged, only realizing how hard ballet was when they started doing extensions and back attitudes, not to mention all those allegro progressions.
"The second best dancer, right?" Manuela grinned as class ended. Liberty had completely fallen behind in class and she was already planning out an excuse to skip her nest ballet class.
"I totally need to get an A in English Hazel." Manuela sighed, applying a pale pink nail polish to her toes.
"I know. You've told me about a million times today." Hazel sat up in her bed, closing her magazine. When Manuela got needy like this, there was no need to try and do anything else but help her. "How's your project going?"
"I really wouldn't know. Marco took it home ... I think." She answered, remembering the she was paired with a complete freak.
"Oh, I forgot that stalker dude was your partner." Hazel laughed. "Beats having Jimmy. He has more PMS than I do."
"Jimmy? Humph. I'd take him over Marco. The worst part about it is that he thinks that he can just come up to me in the hallway and give me his number."
"Are you going to call him?" Hazel wondered, tuned into the conversation one hundred percent.
"Not a chance in this world. I really don't want to go over to his house today OR tomorrow. It's already seven anyway." Manuela explained.
"So? Just call him up. You need that A if you want that car. To tell the truth, I am sick of chauffeuring you and Jimmy around. I have a life of my own too you know."
"I know I've been a burden major to you Tina, but when I get my car I'll repay you. I swear." Manny finished polishing her toes. She started to pick out an outfit for the next day.
"Yeah. That's exactly why you need to get off the phone with me and call Marco ... NOW!!"
"I know. I'll do it, okay?" Manuela and Hazel had a short conversation, mostly about her dance class. She didn't even think to ask Hazel what was going on before she picked up the phone and dialed Marco's number. Manny didn't even need the paper. She had memorized it in hopes of getting that car she wanted.
"Hello?" A tired voice answered.
"... Is Marco there?"
"Manny, is that you?" He asked, his voice perking up instantly.
"Get it right. It's Manuela and I'm calling about our project and only about our project." She told him.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah and I'm coming over in ten. Got it?" Manuela hung up the phone, not even waiting for an answer. What to wear? She was going to make sure and wear something really cute so that it would be easier to convince Marco to do the project all by himself. It had been done before -- never on a skater boy ... but anything was possible.
"Cody, dude she's coming over." Marco told his friend that was still sitting in the exact spot that he had been in since he sat down.
"Who?"
"Manuela, my love." Marco sighed.
"Dude. Chill out. You sound like an idiot." Cody laughed. "Just how much of my weed have you been smoking?"
"None of it. I told you I gave it up." Marco admitted. "We're working on a school project together and she's coming over."
"And you think that means something? Dude, she's not interested in you. You're just so desperate..." Cody's voice trailed off. "Hey, I'll talk to you later." He mumbled, sounding even more high than before.
"Whatever." Marco mumbled, making sure that he smelled okay and that he didn't look too dorky. After all, Manny was coming over.
Manuela rang the bell to Marco's house, looking around. What a dump, she thought to herself, wondering how she was going to make it through this night. "Hey." A girl who looked about my age greeted me.
"Hello." I smiled, attempting to be polite.
"What do you want?"
"Umm. I'm here to see your brother." Manuela explained, wincing at the fact that she was going over to Marco's house and asking Marco for help.
"How you know Marco's my brother?" The girl challenged, putting her hand on her hip.
"Veronica, stop giving her a hard time. Let her in." Manuela heard Marco's voice and started to perk up. This Veronica girl was really tom- boyish and probably wouldn't hesitate to start something with Manuela.
"You're lucky that Marco heard me talking to you. Come in." Veronica moved to the side, barely making room for Manuela.
"Hey Manny." Manuela looked back, noticing that the girl was still there.
"What's up?"
"Nothin much. Do you ... want something to drink?" He asked, pointing to the kitchen.
"Coke. Diet." Manuela sat back into the navy blue couch, unable to get comfortable because Veronica was giving her a death stare.
"Mira chica. You hurt my brother in any way and I'll hunt you down and kick your butt, easily." Veronica snorted. "He's really into you and even if you don't like him you better fake it for your own sake. Got it?" Manuela nodded, trembling with fear. If she was on her own grounds with her own people, she'd tell Veronica off, but now was not the time or place for it.
Marco returned, noticing that Manuela looked very uncomfortable. "Did Ronni say anything to you?"
"She's just being an older sister ... let's just get on with this project already. I so have somewhere else to be." She yawned, paying close attention to Marco's reaction. He didn't even seem phased by her sudden change of mood. Weird ...
"So, do like this... we're almost done." Marco demonstrated, holding back his urge to touch Manuela's soft, delicate hands, if even for a moment. She was perfect in every way regardless of what everyone else thought. "No, no ese ... asi." Marco corrected her.
"It would help if you didn't stare at me like that. If just annoys the heck outta me okay? So don't do it ..."
"Okay." Marco whispered quietly.
"And while you're at it, stop speaking all this Spanish garbage. I have no idea what you're talking about." Manuela admitted, pulling her hair to one side and playing with it. Marco stopped all movements and watched her. "Stop gawking at me!" She yelled, snapping him out of his trance.
"Sorry, don't you see that I'm trying?" Marco questioned her as everything became still. He had no idea how she was going to react to his semi-outburst.
"Don't you realize how embarrassing it is to have someone stare at you all the time? It's not even like I like you or anything ... we're not on the same page Marco and we may never be. Understand?" She tried to explain, getting tired of holding her tongue and being so sweet to him.
"Sure." Marco cleared his throat. "Who are you going to the Homecoming Dance with?" She shrugged.
"I haven't really thought about it yet."
"If you still need a date the day of or something, I'd take you." He offered.
"I'd rather- No way it's going to happen Marco. And now, if you'll excuse me I think it's about time for me to go." Manuela haughtily got up and made her way to the door. Marco followed.
"Don't you want to stay for dinner?"
"Heck no. I thought I made it perfectly clear that there will be no talking to you, no looking at you unless it involves a school project, k?" She cocked her head to the side, trying to ignore the fact that this guy genuinely liked her. He wasn't doing this for status. He wanted her.
As Manuela started to daze off, Marco's mother opened the door, bringing in three of his other siblings and knocking Manuela in the shoulder. "Are you okay?" Marco asked as she nodded. "Mom, this is Manuela."
"Hola ... I didn't hit you when I was coming in, did I? Lo siento." She said all at once. "Is she staying for dinner?" Ms. Perez questioned her son. "Tu estas apuntalando, no?"
"Are you staying?" Marco whispered to Manuela since she had no idea what Ms. Perez as saying.
"Umm, thanks Ms. ... Marco's mom, but it's really late and I should be going home. My mom might get worried."
"Absurdo. Llama y pregunta.
"She wants you to call your mother and get permission to stay." Marco translated.
"Do I have a choice?" He shook his head as he showed her the way to the nearest phone. Manuela dialed the number and got permission to stay. Marco smiled. This was always how he wanted it to be. "You tell anyone about this and I swear your ass is vapor." Manuela got in Marco's face. He laughed.
"What? I can't ever take you seriously. A 4'10 girl threatening to kick my ass?" Marco smiled.
"You're lucky that I don't do it now." Manuela responded, half- kidding, half-serious.
"That's only because Veronica's around."
"True. Maybe I'll just get Sean and Jimmy to do it for me." Manuela spun on her heel, making her way back to the living room. She hadn't really known much about Marco, except at one point in his life he thought he was gay- That was short-lived. And, that he gave up popularity for skateboarding. What was so special about a board with wheels anyway?
(A/N: I hear what you guys are saying about me changing the characters, but everyone still has a part of their personality for the show and I'm not going to write some boring story about Degrassi just to stay true to the characters. Furthermore, I started this idea before Marco found out he was gay on the show, therefore he's going to be straight in this story.)