Again, I own nothing. Oh, except the O.C. soundtrack - I bought it at Wal-Mart. But copyright-wise, I own nothing. I am simply bowing down to Josh Schwartz's infinite wisdom.
CHAPTER 2: Two at a Time
Anna was sitting down, sipping her strawberry kiwi smoothie and Ramona was paying for her
mango one when the bell above the door clanged.
From her position at the table, Anna saw them first. Summer and Marissa, strolling
into Jamba Juice.
Ramona turned away from the cashier to see a short, tanned girl walk in with the girl
from lunch. The girl with blondie. The Other Girl. She quickly went and sat next to Anna, as
if to ward them off.
The tanned one made a beeline right towards them, the other tagging behind. "Hey
Anna!" Her eyes flicked to Ramona.
"Hi, Summer," said Anna. "Marissa." The other - Marissa - smiled oddly. Summer's
smile, however, was infectious. "This is Ramona," Anna added.
"I'm new," said Ramona. "Boston." She wondered why Summer was being so... well,
nice. If she was a friend of Marissa's - her best friend, judging by their mannerisms and the
way they were talking as they came in...
"Have you seen him?" Summer lowered her voice, taking on a conspiratorial tone, as
if the workers at the counter were straining to hear her every word.
"Yeah, at lunch," Anna said. "But I didn't talk to him."
"Speaking of..." Summer rounded on Marissa. "You're not still sitting with him, are
you?"
Marissa sighed dramatically. Ramona had the sneaking suspicion that Marissa did this
often. "Sum, I sit with Ryan. They're kind of a package deal. He is going to be there too."
Summer glared at her. "Coop! Do you want me to stab this straw in your eye?!" she
hissed, yanking Anna's straw right out of her smoothie. It was then that she remembered the
new girl, whose eyes had gone very round. "I suffer from rage blackouts," she explained
sheepishly. Ramona pushed her chair a little further back.
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The next day at school, Ramona was still pondering the scene at Jamba Juice. It had been a
very weird conversation. The bit with the straw was a little freaky. Ramona shook her head.
Summer scared her just a minute bit. She may've been small physically, but Summer gave off
an intimidating air.
Lost in her thoughts, Ramona stared blankly at the ground as she walked, not really
seeing anything at all. Suddenly a hand grabbed at the back of her shirt, pulling her
backward and causing her to stumble.
She knocked into someone behind her. Spinning around, she saw it was the tall guy
from yesterday. The one whose hair resembled a Q-tip caught in a tornado. "I'm sorry," she
apologized.
The guy smiled (or was he smirking?). "It's okay. You were about to walk into a
column." He gestured to the pillar in front of them. So, that's why someone had grabbed
her. Well, perfect, now she felt stupid. Still, she couldn't keep a grin off her face.
"Thanks," she replied, feeling idiotic. She leaned down to pick up a book she'd
dropped, but he was already there.
"The Great Gatsby?" he questioned.
"Yeah, I saw it in the library here. I've been meaning to read it." She took the book
and put it carefully in her bag.
"Is it any good? I much prefer Catcher in the Rye myself, considering American
authors as a whole, but maybe I should switch it up a little with Fitzgerald? Granted, it's no
Michael Chabon..." He bobbed his head around.
"It's okay. The plot's really good, but he's like a diluted Charles Dickens the way he
writes."
"Oh ye gods."
"I know!"
He glanced at his watch, which, Ramona noticed, was adorned with Wolverine. It was
almost time for the next bell. "You like the X-Men?" she cried.
"If that's a good thing, then yes; if it's not, never."
She laughed. "I like X-Men," she said. "But I'm sorry, Storm is so much better than
Wolverine."
He pretended to look offended. "Storm? Please. Wolverine has twelve-inch claws
protruding out of his knuckles and it's logically impossible to beat that, you just can't -"
The late bell rang; he swore under his breath. That gave them about two minutes to
get to class. But hey, he'd only been late to class once in eleven years. He could afford to
take the chance.
A grin broke out on his face. "Name's Cohen - Seth Cohen."
She laughed. Five minutes and she was liking him more and more. "Ramona
Devreaux. Thanks for saving me from that deadly pillar." She pretended to curtsy.
"Hey, didn't want to salt your game." He bowed in return and walked off.
Salt your game? What the hell did that mean?