09.13.2016

Small, yet warm rays of sunlight found their way through her blinds, in just the perfect angle to hit Bonnibel Buchholz's face. Like most mornings she half-opened her eyes and looked at her phone which was laying right next to her.

Uff, could've slept 10 more minutes…

But she knew that getting back to sleep now wouldn't make it any better. Before she would've been able to her alarm would bring her back anyway. So, instead of grumbling at the world, she got up from the sofa which had been her bed since her little brother Neddy had grown out of his old one. She folded the sofa back in its original state so that she had enough space to reach her desk on which her bag was waiting for her. After grabbing everything she needed for the day at school, she tippytoed into the kitchen. Like most mornings, she then set up their water boiler for some tea.

Can't work if I can't stay hydrated, right?

While waiting, she poked around the corner to check if her mothers' shoes were there. And like most mornings, they weren't. At first, it had been hard for Bonnibel to not see her mother as much as she used to, although she knew from the start that Clarabel was working so much only to be able to offer her children a good life. She respected that about her mother, and yet still… Sometimes she wished…

Before she could finish her thought she noticed a small frame standing in the hallway. Seemed like her little brother had woken up before his usual time as well.

"Mom's gone again?" Something about the way he asked that made her furrow for a moment. Was that a silent reproach?

He just woke up, that's probably it. The pink-haired girl concluded.

"Off to work."

"Uh-huh." Neddy nodded, rubbing his still sleepy eyes with both hands. "Can you make me one of your teas as well, Bonnie?"

"Hmm, maybe I can, but do I want to?" She winked at him.

Knowing that his big sister was only kidding, he smiled at her, still dozy. "Pretty please?" Bonnibel was already getting his favorite cup, one with a white wolf on it, out of the shelve before he had finished his sentence.

"Only honest little brothers get a cup of my tea."

Now a little bit more awake, he protested: "I am honest!"

"That so? How many hours did you watch TV yesterday?"

As his eyes grew bigger, he knew he was caught in her trap. "I… Maybe a little bit more than one? But just a little, I swear!"

"Well, honest enough to not deny it at least."

"See!"

"Hm… Okay, you won here is your tea." She gave him the already prepared cup. "But wait a few moments it's still hot."

"I know, I know." He rolled his eyes while blowing into his cup, hoping that it would cool down the drink quicker.

"So Neddy, how was your start in the new school so far? Made a few friends?"

Bonnie didn't expect his brother to evade her eyes all of a sudden. "I… I miss my friends."

His big sister furrowed her eyebrows, waiting for more than that, but as he didn't follow up she said: "You miss them so much? Are the kids in your new school not nice?"

On that, he gave her a smile without looking really all that happy at all. "No… They are nice and all… I-I just miss them I guess." He shrugged, then sipped on his tea and burned his tongue. As he yelled in pain, the pink-haired girl couldn't help but laugh at him her hasty brother.

…

As Bonnibel reached their usual meeting spot the usual group was already waiting for them, and as expected Jake, Finn and Lady had some questions for her.

"What do you mean you don't know her? C'mon, you obviously do."

Finn really didn't want to let that one go, but Bonnie could be stubborn as well.

I really don't need Marceline to tell everyone that I took so much money from her without a good reason. She really didn't want any weird rumors to spread around the school about her. No, not again.

"Listen, before this class began, I didn't even know that this girl existed."

"Sure… I mean it's fine if you don't wanna tell us, it really is, but you don't need to lie to me, Bonnie." Finn said looking straight at her.

For a moment the pink-haired girl could hold the eye-contact, but then she could feel her cheeks burn up a little, out of shame or… something else?

Nope, don't even think about it. He's… He's just a classmate.

She quickly suffocated the thought though.

I can't let him get close to me. It will just hurt in the end.

Then, as Mr. Garb entered the classroom, the last conversations died out as well. Nobody wanted to cause the teacher to explode again. The silence did not go unnoticed by him, and one could see an arrogant smirk crawl over his face. "Good morning everyone. Today will you all will be doing group assignments. Get together in groups of three and tell me who works with who. Quickly!" He commanded in his high pitched voice.

Why does it have to be three… Bonnie thought as she turned around to see that Jake and Lady were already forming a group. Then, Jake looked at her. "Hey, you wanna group up with Finn, so that everyone has at least someone from us?" He asked her.

It was a nice sentiment, really, but thinking about working with Finn together a lot was… not a good idea. Finn was someone you could trust easily, and Bonnibel didn't like to trust anyone except her family. She could feel her stomach cramp a little, as she didn't have a real reason to say no.

"I… I really don't want to steal your little brother from you guys. I'll just look for other people instead."

"It's fine, he's grown up now, you know?"

Finn, who had kept quiet until now, rolled his eyes on that. "With who are you doing the work then, Bonnie?"

"Ehm… I…" A little bit in a panic her eyes started wandering through the class but stopped as she saw a dark gloomy girl sitting there, still alone. "Marceline." Hearing her name, the dark-haired girl looked up in confusion. Taken aback at the sight of Bonnibel, she furrowed her brows but didn't seem to mind the idea too much, for which the pink-haired girl was grateful.

"With her? Are you sure? You guys friends now after she chased you through town?" Finn asked surprised.

"Nothing binds you together like a good chase, right?"

"Sure. Well, I can't stop you." Finn shrugged. He understood very well that she wasn't too eager to join him, so he stopped himself from asking if he could join Marceline and Bonnie then. He couldn't help but taste bitter jealousy in his mouth though.

Noticing his gaze on the black-haired girl, Bonnie felt uncomfortable as well and quickly said: "I just don't want to tear you guys apart. It's fine, right? Or are you saying that the assignment is too hard for you three?"

Hearing this, Finn's usual smile reappeared. "That a challenge?"

"Just an observation."

"Pff, sure." Hearing him chuckle made Bonnibel think that she had somehow saved herself there, so instead of waiting for more trouble, she walked over to her new group member.

Marceline was still sitting alone, wearing a fine black blouse and tight black pants. She didn't really seem to care about finding a group to work with, nor did she greet Bonnie, in fact, she didn't even look up before hearing the other girl greet her. "H-Hey…"

"Hello, pinky."

"I still hate that nickname, princess." For a moment the two looked at each other, each of them ready for an argument, but then Bonnibel sighed and sat down next to Marceline. "Let's not fight for no reason."

Taken aback by that Marceline looked at seatmate for a few seconds more. But then she sighed while shrugging her shoulders. "You're right. So, why me and not the knight?"

"Knight?"

"The blonde tall one that always looks at you all lovey-dovey." She pointed at Finn with her head.

"Stop that, he doesn't… Does he?" She couldn't resist asking, as a cold feeling spread over her back. She really didn't need that kind of attention at the moment, even if Finn was a nice guy, it would just end badly for everyone involved. And she didn't have the energy to deal with that kind of drama.

"Not all the time, but he does." Out of the corner of her eye, Marceline looked at the pink-haired girl again, while resting with her head on her hand. "I'm surprised, I was expecting you to blush or something, not to look absolutely terrified."

"I…" But she was at a loss for words. Marceline wasn't someone Bonnibel could trust at all.

"Don't want to hurt the pretty boy?"

"That's… not it."

"Don't want to hurt yourself then?"

Marceline hitting the nail on the head somehow upset Bonnie, the cold distant feeling now turning in heated irritation. "Why do you care?"

But the black-haired girl just shrugged. "It's understandable to be fair."

"I didn't say you were right."

"You didn't deny it either."

"Well, you are wrong." She said nonchalantly, knowing that her lie was being seen through. "Anyway, we still need one more person."

"Sure, let's just wait. Someone will be-"

"Well, it looks like we got on a group of two." Mr. Garb said loudly. "But seeing you two run like that in the hall made me think you two must be best friends right? So I wouldn't want to push a third wheel into your group. You can manage with just the two of you right?" It wasn't really a question, more of a statement. "Of course your deadline will be the same as everyone else."

Great, I just wanted to avoid trouble, why does it keep following me… Bonnie silently cursed to herself, but the other girl didn't stay as calm.

"That's stupid."

Mr. Garb's eyes grew big, hearing this. "What?! Such words are unacceptable in my classroom!"

"We have to do what the same work everyone else has to do, but with one person less? That's not fair."

"Well, Miss Abadeer you know what isn't fair? Privileges."

Bonnie couldn't help but wince as the girl next to her suddenly jerked up, angrily pointing her finger at the teacher. "That has nothing to do with it! You are just being -" But before she could finish whatever she was about to say, Bonnibel forcefully pulled on her hand. "What?!" Marceline yelled in surprise at the girl sitting next to her.

"Come on Abadeer, just finish what you wanted to say. Give me a reason to get you into trouble, and in the name of God I will."

"Don't give him what he wants." Marceline could hear her whisper. "He is out to get you, for whatever reason."

They looked at each other for a long second, but then the black-haired girl sat down again.

Mr. Garb waited a little bit longer, before giving them a spiteful laugh. "Of course. That's what I thought."

Great, now that's a way to get on that prick's bad side. Bonnibel thought, tipping against her temple in annoyance of the situation. She is right, but can't she just hold her mouth for once. Didn't her mother teach her some self-restrain?

But as everyone was starting to calm down again, Marceline did something surprising. "Sorry about that." The apology was not directed at the grumpy man in front, but at her.

"I-It's fine. He really hates your guts though."

"Never did anything to upset him."

"Well, you did speak your mind."

"Pha, I wish I did." Was that a joke? A joke from the always stiff Marceline?

"You better don't then. Don't want to see you get expelled because of him."

"You worried, pinky?" Marceline gave her a crooked smile. "You can let go of my hand by the way."

"Oh, s-sorry!" Bonnie quickly let go of the hand she was holding, but couldn't help but turn away while harrumphing awkwardly. Why was her face getting so warm? Must've been because of that commotion earlier, right?