Chapter 2

In contrast to the tranquility of the AV studio, the school cafeteria was quite abuzz with activity. Prior to homeroom, the cafeteria served breakfast, usually consisting of either instant pancakes and frozen sausage, or mass microwaveable eggs with a side of bacon; typical school cafeteria food. Despite the subpar quality of the food, the opportunity of a free breakfast often drew large crowds of students to the large room, who additionally used the opportunity to fraternize with their friends prior to the start of the school day.

Along the side of the cafeteria, the students had arranged themselves in a single file line, sliding their lunch trays along the chrome counter lining the front of the buffet, awaiting their turn to request their order from the lunch lady.

Marie and May just so happened to be part of this group. Despite their attempts to arrive early, the girls were greeted by around 20 or so students standing before them, having also acted on the idea to arrive minutes prior to the line actual opening.

May was dressed in her typical summer attire, a one piece, emerald green, knee length ranch dress. A brown belt surrounded her waist, secured with a large silver buckle. On her feet were a pair of brown leather cowgirl boots, the color of which matched that of her belt. Her hair was held in two loose, low hanging ponytails, secured by blue bows. As usual, the eccentric girl was smiling happily; her usually pronounced maxillary malocclusion had finally begun to noticeably recede due to the help of her braces, the metallic surfaces of which shined underneath the fluorescent lights of the school hallway.

Marie was dressed in her summer outfit of choice as well. The black haired girl had donned a maroon tunic, boasting a golden graphic of an eight note, reflecting the girls love of music. The tunic was complimented by a pair of green leggings, the bottoms of which were rolled up to the area slightly below her knees, forming a set of improvised capris. On her feet were a pair of white shoes. Around her neck she wore a gold chain, the pendant of which depicted her first name, a gift from Double Dee from around the time the two had first began dating.

Most notably, Marie had adopted a new hair style. In the months since the Christmas season, she had grown her black, spiky textured hair out to shoulder length. Her previous hairstyle, self imposed to hide her exotropic right eye, was no longer necessary; with the help of Double Dee's Christmas gift, Marie was finally able to receive the surgery to correct her eye misalignment, restoring her confidence, as well as her full binocular vision. Despite this however, she decided to keep her signature side-swept bangs for nostalgia reasons, but had added a small, high, short and spiky ponytail, secured by a maroon colored headband, to the rear of her head.

In contrast to May's exuberant demeanor, Marie appeared somewhat annoyed with waiting for the lunch line to open. She reached down towards her jeans, and removed her smart phone from her pocket to check the time.

"Geez," said Marie, "With this crowd, it's going to be September by the time we get our breakfast."

"Hey don't blame me on the wait!" said May, "We could have stopped at the cafe, got coffee and bagels with Lee and Lindsay, and been at the table already but nooooo!"

Marie growled.

"Coffee and bagels are alright," said Marie in an irritated tone, "As for spending more time than needed with Lindsay, I'll pass."

"C'mon Marie," said May with a smile, "It's been six months since she and Lee made up, and your still being a sourpuss about accepting Lindsay as our friend. You know you like her deep down inside!"

"Look I told you before," said Marie, "I'll be nice to her out of respect for Lee, but that doesn't mean we have to be best friends."

"Well she likes you," said May, "I betcha y'all have more in common that you think, just give her a chance!"

Marie sighed as she turned toward her sister.

"You've been talking to Double Dee again, haven't ya?," asked Marie.

"Well yeah, everyday!" said May in an absent-minded manner, "We're in math class together and I'd look pretty ignorant if I didn't talk to my sisters boyfriend!"

Marie rolled her eyes.

"May," said Marie with a smile, "I wish, for one day, I could live life as carefree as you and Ed."

At the sound of Eds name, May adopted a saddened expression.

"It's a shame Ed couldn't make it to breakfast this morning", said May, "My Big Ed absolutely LOVES the school pancakes."

"I would have never guessed, judging by the way you two inhale pancakes at the breakfast table" said Marie in a sarcastic manner, "I guess it's a blessing the boys decided to do their own thing this morning. Now I can enjoy breakfast without being grossed out."

At that point, Marie took notice that the line ahead of her had shifted forward, indicating that the line had finally opened.

"Anyway, looks like the line's open," said Marie, "Thank God, I'm starving."

Meanwhile, the streets of the neighborhood surrounding the school were quite busy; in anticipation of the start of the school day, several yellow school buses and personal vehicles traversed the streets, carrying the students to their final destination. The process of unloading students from the school buses caused somewhat of a traffic jam, just as it did every morning, for personal vehicles were required by law to cease movement as the buses activated their red safety signals.

However, one particular pair of students were uninhibited by the less than satisfactory traffic conditions. The sound of a small two stroke engine filled air as a lavender colored Genuine Buddy scooter traversed down the shoulder of the road, its small size allowing it to squeeze past the larger cars and buses.

The scooter was carrying two individuals, the dynamic duo of Lee Kanker and Lindsay Statorowski. Lindsay had taken her place sitting up front, gripping the handlebars as she swiftly maneuvered the vehicle through traffic; her best friend had taken a seat behind her, holding on to her best friend with a secure grip as the summer breeze ran through her red curls.

In the months since the girls victory over the malicious entity that had plagued their lives for far to long, Lindsay's unjustly inflicted emotional injuries had managed to fully heal. Much to the blonde fashionistas pleasure, her newly found confidence in her body image allowed her the freedom to explore more options regarding her "summer wardrobe". Her summer ensemble consisted of a loose-fitting, pleated sundress in her favorite color of lavender. The dress extended to the area of her knees, and was secured over her shoulders by a pair of white straps. She had exchanged her high heeled boots for a pair of light blue peep toe heels (despite her claim to eliminate high heels as she continued to grow). Her blonde hair remained in it's typical style, consisting of loose waves hanging to the area of her waist, separated from her bangs by a blue head band; however, she had swapped her plain winter head band for one accented with a modest sized bow, similar to the one she had worn as a little girl. In addition, she had donned her favorite staple of all of her summer accessories; a pair of white sunglasses. While the sunglasses were typically kept in a raised position on her forehead as a fashion statement, they had been lowered to conceal her eyes as she piloted the scooter through the streets. A personal radio had been attached to the side paneling underneath the seat, tuned a channel currently broadcasting the tune "Taking Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive. The blonde diva tapped one of her long, well manicured pink fingers to the beat on the handlebars, as a red rubber bracelet displaying the words "Learn About Marfan Syndrome" (adorning her right wrist) flowed in the breeze.

Lee had adopted her typical warm weather ensemble; a light green tank tap, blue denim capris, and a pair of white low top sneakers. Her red curls hung loose as usual, with her signature green head band keeping them from falling in front of her face. Her blue eyes glistened from behind her black rimmed glasses, providing a perfect accent to her freckled face. In the time since she and Lindsay had repaired their friendship, the red head had adopted a brand new pair of accessories; Lindsay, as promised, had given her friend a pair of her famous boisterous golden hoop earrings, allowing her to match her friends look and provide a visual symbol of their unbreakable bond.

In a matter of seconds, Lindsay maneuvered the scooter through the gate leading to the school parking lot and made her way to an empty space on the far side of the lot. After bringing the scooter to a stop, the blonde girl placed the kickstand in the down position, and deactivated the ignition.

Upon secured the scooter in an upright position, Lee hopped off of the rear portion of the seat and took a standing position adjacent to the scooter. As she performed a series of stretches, she decided to initiate a conversation.

"I gotta hand it to ya Liz," said Lee, "This scooter really comes in handy for beating the traffic. We'd still be five blocks back if we decided to take the car."

"Yep," said Lindsay as she lifted her sunglasses up onto her forehead, revealing her beautiful blue chestnut shaped eyes, "The Nova's great for the highway and long distance, but I'll never give up on this little cutie. It's gotten two generations of Tiffany where they needed to be in record time and continues to do so to this day."

At that point, Lindsay de-boarded the scooter and proceeded to open up the under seat compartment. As she retrieved her signature purple handbag, the girls large height difference became readily apparent. The blonde girl eclipsed her redheaded friend by around 10 inches in height, standing at an incredible 6'7", completely dwarfing the already tall 5'9" Lee. Her body proportions were now remarkably similar to her late mother, the only difference being that Lindsay had managed to already eclipse Tiffany by an extra inch.

After securing her handbag, (and a quick adjustment of her eyeliner), Lindsay and her friend began their short trek toward the schools entry doors. As they reached the stairs leading up to the main entrance, Lindsay decided to pose a question.

"By the way LeeLee," said Lindsay, "What's with the big rush to get out of the coffee shop and beat the traffic?"

"No reason," said Lee with a smile as she opened the door, stepping to the side while allowing her best friend to pass before her.

Lindsay rolled her eyes sarcastically as she stepped forward, emitting a slight smile as she did so.

"Puh-lease," said Lindsay, "You are sooooo predictable. You signed us up for spot at the kickoff to summer potluck, didn't ya? I knew you'd be proactive, so I stocked my locker with all our new perfumes yesterday. Just let me grab them and we'll head to homeroom."

"Sure thing," said Lee, "But before ya do, let's head to the lunchroom and catch up with my sisters, I promised we'd meet them there before the morning announcements ."

Lindsay turned towards her friend, staring down into her eyes with a sarcastic expression. The ginger girl ran her fingers through her hair as she gazed upon her friend with a sly smile, attempting to hold back a giggle as she did so.

"You should know by now that I can read you like a book," said Lindsay, "Fine let's go to the cafeteria and find out exactly what kind of surprise the ever so fabulous and crafty LeeLee has in store for me this time."

"Trust me," said Lee as she placed her arm around her friend, walking along side her as she did so, "You won't be disappointed."