Author's notes: the chapter is mini-sized today because I'm in the middle of my senior's exams.
C0rrupt3dSpy dogspirit1: I know Lana doesn't cuss like an Italian sailor in canon. I just wanted to put my own spin on the characters to make them distinct and make their dialogue more interesting. But I can definitely see how her edgy personality would turn off some people.
Speaking of edgy, it's kind of funny how much darker this story would've turned out. Apparently, I need to sanitise it with more the anti-edge sanitiser.
As the final period's bell rang, the end of another school day was concluded and with it came the hurried rush of Maggie's schoolmates off their seats, completely ignoring Mr Bolhofner's speech about the preparation they must make for the mid-term exams a month from now.
Maggie, being the wallflower she is, hastily pushed back her own seat and all but ran out of the classroom. Only for a hand to snake itself around her hips.
"Smile for the camera!" An obnoxious voice cheered next to her ear followed by a snapping sound.
Maggie grimaced and pushed the girl off her.
"Go away, Sarah. I don't think I can handle you right now." Maggie said with a grimace while still making her way out of the class.
The blonde girl clearly didn't get the message as she kept following Maggie out of the class like a lost puppy; jumping from one side of the emo girl to the other.
"Hey- snrk Hey, Maggie. Do you ever get jealous?" Sarah asked while trying to muffle her laughs.
"...Jealous?" Maggie said, throwing a glance her way and raising an eyebrow under her bangs.
"Yeah! Like this!" Sarah said before raising her hand and poking Maggie's side.
"What the- DON'T TOUCH ME!" Maggie shouted and slapped the blondie's hand away.
"Just what the hell is your deal today!?" Maggie said, gnashing her teeth and putting a distance between herself and the other girl who was laughing.
"Aw come on M. You know how err... touchy I'm. I can't help it. Sorry, okay?" Sarah replied with hands raised in surrender.
Maggie kept staring at her with some frustration but eventually nodded slightly and kept on walking.
"So. What are you doing after school?" Sarah said, closing the distance between her and Maggie.
"...Purple." Maggie muttered.
"What was that?"
"I said, I'll convince mum to let me dye my hair purple." Maggie said with a slightly embarrassed tone.
"Ohhh you're still on with that? I genuinely thought it was a phase." Sarah said.
"No, it's who I really am." Maggie said with all conviction she could muster.
She turned her head around to look at Sarah who was hiding her mouth under the palm of her hand and wheezing.
"...Why are you laughing?" Maggie slowly crossed her arms over her chest.
"Nothing snrk it's nothing." Sarah said, shaking slightly from laughter.
Maggie kept staring at her unconvinced.
"Do you want to know what I will be doing after school?" Sarah asked, finally getting rid of her chuckle fever.
"..Don't care," Maggie said, turning her head away from the aforementioned girl.
"Well, I'm glad you asked. Girl Jordan is throwing a slumber party because she bought a 'New pool', If you could call this swamp pond one, and everyone is going. Mollie, Kat, Paige and even that sissy Chandler. I won't miss this chance to flex my superiority over them. And I might get some nice action with Cristina. She told me last night she missed her dommy mommy if you get what I'm hinting at." Sarah explained and wiggled her eyebrows.
"I do. And I wish I didn't. You're a trash bag, you know that? You already are aiming for a boy but you still go out and do stuff like...this!" Maggie said in exasperation.
"You're too much of a prude, Maggie. Love, Live and let go. You only live once. I'll not waste my life following social norms put by archaic people who didn't know how to have fun. I'm too much of a passionate girl for that." Sarah said matter of factly.
Silence stretched between the two girls. It was broken by Maggie suddenly speaking.
"...Not everyone is going." Maggie said, her hands nervously gripping the 3DS In her pocket.
"Huh?" Sarah asked.
"Lincoln…" Maggie said, her breath involuntarily hitching. "...I saw him leaving a while ago. Mollie was hovering around him too. Though he didn't really look like he wanted to be anywhere near her."
"Say fucking what now." Sarah growled out, her laid back personality shifting in the blink of an eye.
"Yeah...Clyde isn't going to. I don't think he came to school today. Liam was actually the one who asked me about him." Maggie said, unconsciously distancing herself from the other girl.
Maggie knew Sarah wouldn't hit her but the threat of her flipping out and harming Maggie while low was never zero.
"Mollie…that bitch. I set her up with Andrew and that's how she pays me back? She'll regret it, I swear she'll regret it." Sarah said to herself harshly with shaking fists.
"Shouldn't you be asking the more important questions right now though? Like where is Lincoln now? I'm pretty sure he has to collect his other sisters before he leaves." Maggie said.
Sarah pondered for a bit and then nodded.
"You do have a point. Search for this van with these license plates." Sarah said while pulling out some photos from her pocket of the vanzilla.
"Uh, do I really want to ask how you took those?" Maggie asked.
"I did it using a camera. Duh." Sarah replied while looking at her with half-lidded eyes.
"Let me rephrase that. When did you get the chance to take photos of the Louds' van? Also, don't you think this comes out as a bit stalker-ish?" Maggie asked again. She knew she was treading on a thin line but she couldn't help but be curious.
"Just- just go and do it, okay? I'm going to give you something nice in return. I'll go search the other way." Sarah said, her cheeks twinging red in embarrassment.
Maggie slowly nodded and went the other way off towards the parking lot.
This is going to take a while.
"Lynn?"
"Mhmm."
"Lana?"
"Aye aye captain."
Lincoln looked up from his clipboard and stared blankly at the blonde tomboy before focusing on it again while slowly shaking his head.
"Lola?"
"I'm here."
"...Lisa?"
"Present."
"Um, Lucy?... Where's Lucy?"
"She kinda forgot her maths copybook in class and is searching with Haiku for it." Lana said again.
"Oh….does she want any help?" Lincoln asked while frowning a bit.
"Nah. Actually, I offered some and she told me that she's gonna do it alone. She even told me to not bother with her and that she'll come back with the rest of her emo gang." Lana replied while looking at him with an unreadable expression.
"I guess we'll just have to wait. She better come back soon-ish though. Standing still for so long ain't good for my muscles." Lynn said while cranking her neck.
"...I meant she'll come home by herself. Not here. We can leave now." Lana said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.
"Did our brooding female sibling inform you of another reason as to why she wouldn't be joining us today? I find it a bit ludicrous that her losing one of her school equipment would warrant her to stay behind." Lisa asked with her usual lisp, not looking away from her tablet.
Lana just shook her head.
"I see." Lisa simply said; somehow feeling Lana's negative gesture
"Urgh! If she expects us to be so stupid as to believe that then she has got another thing coming. Lincoln drive us back home. Now." Lola said with clenched fists.
"I'll go see what's up with her." Lincoln quietly murmured before moving.
"What? No! Lincoln-" her protests fell on deaf ears.
Just as he left, Maggie came and looked around. Not finding Lincoln, she shrugged and left to report back to her friend.