Ch. 8
(Marceline's point of view)
The next few days went by fast then I could believe. Mid-terms were just around the corner along with the school festival afterward. We finally got the club up and running. Us five and Simon, who was never there, needed to plan our play. Heather recommended Romeo and Juliet. I started laughing. There's only one guy here. Unless she was expecting me to dress up as a dude. The nerve of some people! However, Finn had his own idea...
"I... I think I have an idea." Finn told everyone.
"Should I get the popcorn?" Bonnie whispered to me.
I elbowed her gut, "Let's hear it Finn. Your the leader of the club after all." I told him.
"Well... I've been having this dream... I was an adventurer that would travel around helping people." I flinched, "In that dream I remember a princess named Bonnibel and a vampire named Marceline." Finn told us.
"Hold on, " Bonnibel ran out of the room, came back mouth full of water and spit it onto the floor, "What!?" Bonnie yelled.
"Bonnie that was a bit over the top don't you think?" I asked pointing at the puddle on the floor.
"Anyways, continue Finn." Clara told him.
"Simon's also in it too as a crazy ice king." he finished.
"Hm. What kind of world is it." Heather asked.
"Its a post apocalyptic world. I am the sole human in this world inhabited by weird creatures. Bonnibel is the candy princess made of bubblegum. Marceline is the vampire queen that enjoys having fun through mischievous means." Finn told us.
"Soooo, what will we be?" Clara asked pointing at herself and Heather.
"You can be multiple minor characters. That way your on stage as much as me, Marceline, and Bonnibel." Finn told her.
"I'm cool with that." Clara answered.
"Me too." Heather said with a happy nod.
I looked at Heather, 'Should I tell everyone? Or should I let her be the one. I'll talk to her in private.' I thought to myself.
Simon came into the room, "Hey everybody. Seems you started without me." he said to us.
"Your late, again. I bet Marceline has a better attendance then you." Bonnibel said.
"I'm going to kill you for saying that." I fumed.
"H-hey! Your attendance is way better now isn't it!?" Bonnibel argued while backing up.
"Your lucky people are watching." I whispered angrily.
"Hey hey, calm down everyone. We need to discuss what we're doing on the..." Simon started.
"We already decided. Its a special play that Finn came up with." Clara interrupted.
"If you came here on time you'd know what it was." Heather added rudely.
"I'm sorry! I have papers to grade and other responsibilities!" he said trying to defend himself.
We explained to him what we have so far. He seemed to like the idea. We didn't have any idea on what will happen but I'm sure we'll figure it out. Soon everyone was left but I stopped Heather from leaving.
"Heather... is there anything you want to tell me?" I asked.
"No. What do you mean?" she asked.
I smacked my forehead, "Ok, lets try the blunt approach. A while back I followed you home. It was a mess. Weeds were growing all over, your backyard was more so the same. Not only that, I saw you crying in your house and heard you say something about your parents." she flinched, "They're dead aren't they?" I asked.
Her eyes started to water but she wiped them away, "Yes... they are," she answered as calm as she could.
"You know you can tell us anything, maybe we can help fix your house," I suggested.
"You guys have done enough for me by just being my friends. Before I joined this club I had no one." she told me.
"No one? Then how do you live in that house?" I asked.
"My legal guardian works for the government much like my parents did. After they died, the government took care of me but I never really saw anyone. They'd just drop off money and supplies. Electricity was always available but I never saw anyone." She told me.
"Oh... But you should at least tell everyone." I told her.
"No. They've done enough by just being my friends. I don't want them to worry about me." she told me.
"What makes you think I won't tell them?" I asked.
"Because your my friend and I know you'll respect my decision." she answered with a sincere smile.
"Sigh. Fine but you need to tell them eventually. They should at least know." I told her.
She looked away, "Ok. I'll think about it but no promises." she answered.
I gave her a pat on the back and left with her. She's my friend and she's right, I should respect her decision but... is it alright that I could be the only one who knows? I couldn't answer that question. Instead me and her hung out all day. I wanted us to be close friends, someone she could always trust. She deserves a friend like that. I could imagine the loneliness she must've felt. How many years was she alone? She's a super genius all the teachers said. She's even skipping her junior year and becoming a Senior next year. Its great to be smart but what's the point if your left alone with no one? On the other hand you can be like me who has a friend but is a complete moron. Hm... I went back home and found Jake awake watching tv. Everyone else was asleep and so I went to my room. I opened the door and I swear sitting on the bed was that girl. I just sat there looking at me like... like she was waiting for me. I was so stunned I couldn't move. I couldn't even blink! Then Jake patted my shoulder.
"Hey, are you ok?" He asked.
"huh," I blinked and she was gone.
"You were just standing there when I was going to my room. Everything ok?" he asked with genuine concern.
"Yeah... I'm fine." I told him.
He just shrugged and went to his room. I walked over to my bed and laid on it. My mind was fuzzy as I tried to fall asleep. Luckily, my dreams weren't nightmares as I got a nice sleep. Next morning, I got up feeling strangely refreshed. It was the weekend and I was able to sleep in. Finn came into the room smiling with a tray of food. It was for me. How sweet of him to do this for me. I couldn't help but blush as he put it on my lap. He left without saying a single word to me. I guess bringing me breakfast was a hi all in itself. I smiled and started eating it happily. Today might be a good day. I finished eating my breakfast with was just pancakes with bacon. It was simple but still delicious. I left with Finn to go to the park and meet up with the rest of the gang. Us five were starting to become close friends. Heather seemed to be enjoying herself greatly until a man wearing a brown jacket and a brown hat started approaching us. She freaked out and ran away.
"Heather wait!" he yelled.
"Huh, how do you know Heather?" Finn asked.
"I'm her legal guardian," he answered.
'Uh oh,' I thought to myself.
"Her legal guardian? Do you know her parents?" Clara asked.
I started to get nervous, "Her parents? You mean she hasn't told you yet?" he asked.
"Told us what?" Bonnibel asked.
"Her parents died years ago." he told them.
Well crap. The cats out of the bag. At least I can't be blamed. Our group was silent as the shock set in. The man continued though.
"Her parents were on a plane heading to England when it was hit by lightning. No one survived." he told us.
"That's awful." I said, might as well act like I never knew about this.
"Why are you trying to talk to her?" Clara asked suspiciously.
he sighed and took off his hat to scratch his head, "We found something important for her." he answered.
"Well, if its so important you can talk to her in our club's room. That way she has us to keep her calm since we're her friends." Finn told him.
"Leave it to Finn to want to help everyone." I said mostly to myself.
"Can I trust you to tell her to please meet me there then?" he asked.
"We don't know where she lives." Bonnibel told him.
"Here, this is the address. Thank you for your assistance." he gave us a piece of paper and left.
We went straight to her house and everyone was shocked at its condition. I sighed as Clara walked around looking at all the weeds. I walked to the door and rung the doorbell.
"Who... who is it?" I heard Heather ask.
"Heather its us. We need to talk." Finn told her.
"Marceline, you told them!" I heard her yell.
"I didn't! It was the guy that you ran away from!" I yelled.
"You knew!?" Bonnibel asked angrily.
"I promised not to tell anyone Bonnie!" I said trying to defend myself.
"But I thought I was your best friend!" she yelled.
"Well, you thought wrong." I answered rudely.
"Your unbelievable!" She yelled back.
"Oh yeah? At least I'm not a pervert!" I screamed.
Heather opened the door, "You guys might as well hear the whole story. Come on in," she said moving out of the way.
"Are you mad at me?" I asked her.
She sound her head, "No. Don't worry Marceline." she told me with a half hearted smile.
We entered the house and it was amazing compared to outside. Nothing was damaged and all her furniture was in perfect condition. She must work hard to keep the inside of her house nice. She had red couched with green carpets in her library. It had a lit fireplace as she tended to the flames.
"Your house looks so nice. I guess you keep your house so tidy that you don't have time for yard work." Clara told her.
She looked at us with a smile, "Not at all. Its a tactic I'm using." she told us.
"What do you mean?" Finn asked.
"By making my yards look like trash, robbers are far less likely to invade my home thinking it doesn't contain anything valuable." she answered.
"You read that in a book didn't you." Bonnibel said.
"Mm hm. Now." she sat on her other couch, "Growing up I had no friends. I only had my parents. I was too shy to make friends with people in my school. My parents worked for the government. They were researching on happiness for some reason. What happiness meant and how it was achieved. True happiness. I never understand this when I was young. Eventually my tenth birthday was coming, usually I'd ask for a lot of books but... I read a book saying normal girls wanted toys. I asked for a teddy bear. Something so simple and my dad smiled happily when he heard this. Soon my birthday approached and they had a meeting they couldn't miss. They were going to give a speech on what true happiness is and what it does. I begged them not to go, my birthday was on the day of their flight. I kicked and screamed at them but they just pet my head. They promised me that they'd celebrate my birthday when they came back. My dad also promised me that he'd give me my present when they returned. I still remember watching them leave. That government guy was watching over me while they were gone. Eventually he had to leave and I decided to watch the news. My eyes started to water as the reporter talked about how the plane my parents were on fell into the ocean. I couldn't believe it. I ran straight into my room and locked the door. I don't know how long I cried. Days maybe. I believed that my parents never died and that this was all a lie. I even begged the lord saying I'd never whine and always be a good girl. I promised that I'd study hard and never fail. That man returned a week after the news told me about the plane. I refused to let him in and told him to go away. He did as I asked and left but then... My 11th birthday came around and it was one year since the incident. I couldn't stop feeling depressed as I watched the flames in this fireplace. Eventually I grabbed a log and started burning the house. I sat in the middle of it crying that I wanted my parents. Eventually the fire department came in long with that man and saved me. It took three years but I fixed this place up. However, I was still lonely because I had no friends. That man came around even few days to deliver money and food. I couldn't trust him though. I didn't even know who he was. But that's the whole story." she finished.
"Wow. But he's a nice guy. He wants to talk to you about something though." Finn told her.
"Yeah..." she said sadly.
"Don't worry Heather, we'll be there for you. No matter what." Clara told her trying to give her confidence.
"Ok. I'll go," she said.
That was easy. Maybe she's done running away now that she has friends. Maybe that's all she needed. Friends... I guess that's something everyone needs. I wonder how this meeting will go.