The Difference a Year Makes (Pt. 2)
"Oh Jane," Siobhan said with a laugh, "You always know the right thing to say."
"It's my gift," Jane replied while shutting her locker, "And besides, Gordon's a jackass. You shouldn't let him get to you."
Siobhan nodded before getting a sly look on her face and saying, "And speaking of guys getting to people..."
Jane had just enough time to do a double take before a familiar figure approached them, he leaned on a nearby locker nonchalantly and said, "Hey, what's going on?"
"Not much," Jane answered for the two of them, "Just getting ready for class."
"What about you Evan?" Siobhan asked with a smirk.
"Still waking up," he admitted, "But seeing the two best looking ladies on track is perking me up."
Siobhan giggled while Jane just shook her head.
"Flattery gets you nowhere."
Evan conceded that with a nod, "Yeah, but I can't help but sing your praises, Jane. Oh and you too Chipmunk."
"Hey!"
Both Evan and Jane laughed. "Just yanking your chain Siobhan." Evan assured her.
Siobhan deigned to forgive his transgression, since she hated that dumb nickname (but never gave a thought to changing the hairstyle that inspired it), and said, "Well, I'm sure that seeing you suffer at today's practice will make me feel better."
All of three of them winced in remembered pain, since the first week back in Lawndale High, the head coach of the track team, Ms. Morris had already pulled her favorites from last year to the side and shanghaied them into a rigorous training regimen for next spring.
"We're all going to suffer Siobhan," Evan stated as a matter of fact, "But on the bright side I've heard rumors that Brittany's going to throw a big party at her place."
"...And it'll be busted by the cops." Jane cut in.
"...Good point." Evan conceded.
"Maybe we should have a little shindig of our own?" Siobhan suggested, "Something just for the track team, somewhere that isn't going to result in a night in the drunk tank."
"I think we should all sleep on that." Jane replied just before the warning bell went off, letting everyone know that there were only a few more minutes before the start of classes.
As the three of them walked off for first period, none of them had noticed the arrival of a new girl in an ugly green coat during their conversation, she had fiddled with her newly assigned locker to get the combination memorized and had taped up a small picture of the Hindenburg disaster before shutting it and walked in the opposite direction towards the administration offices, she had a tour group to join.
In the back of Mr. DeMartino's class, Jane Lane found herself impressed with the new girl. What was her name again? Dora? Dara? Daria?
"Daria, right." Jane muttered even as she found her attention drifting again, since Mr. D had told the new girl to stop showing off, she hadn't bothered to speak and the class returned to it's usual, dull stupor.
Jane made a note of what they were reading up on today, intending to ask Tom all about it later and opened her sketch pad and flipped to a blank sheet and made a brief, preliminary sketch of the new girl.
It was done with a piece of charcoal and was more of an impression of her appearance than anything. Everything about the girl from her glasses, to her ugly bulky green coat, down to the combat boots screamed of armor.
Screamed of a person who valued their personal space, to the exclusion of ordinary mortals.
"Hmm... Kind of reminds me of me." Jane mused to herself before adding, "Well, reminds me of the old me."
That thought did give her a moments pause, after all how much really had changed?
"Well," Jane thought to herself, "I still like pizza, Sick Sad World, I love my art, my big brother, and making sarcastic remarks..."
"But..." She added to the thought-process, "Last year I barely gave a damn about my parents, now me and Mom are bonding since she's on the same continent. Not to mention joining Track and having everyone like my commentary on High School and the freaks that inhabit it."
The image of a boy with sea-green eyes and dark-brown locks came to mind.
"...and Tom." Jane added in a small whisper.
Just in time for the bell.
It took her a minute to pack everything away, not having been paying attention meant that she hadn't gotten everything prepped up beforehand. So Jane Lane found herself one of the last to leave the classroom.
She briefly wondered if she should approach the new girl, but found Daria long gone, so she shrugged it off.
"Doubt she'd want my company." Jane concluded.
Then she spotted Jennifer, the one on the track team and said, "Hey!" and began talking.
Forgetting all about the girl in the ugly green coat completely.