Chapter 3

It was around 5:45 p.m. when the winter sun had finally disappeared completely over the western horizon. The golden rays of the sun had vanished, and were replaced by the soft, cream colored glow of the full moon. The cul-de-sac was quite peaceful, as all of the students had fled indoors to escape the frigid February air.

The school day was quite uneventful for Double Dee, who had just entered the bathroom for his evening shower. He had been looking forward to a warm shower since the afternoon, due to his friends forcing him to participate in a game of tackle football. Needless to say, Double Dee ended up being helplessly tackled to the ground several times. Along with his clothes, which had been tarnished by numerous grass stains, his skin was covered with the remnants of muddy soil, a prospect which especially alarmed Double Dee.

As Double Dee scrubbed the lipstick stains that were drawn on his abdomen during the "Kanker attack", he couldn't help but think about the events that had transpired that morning. As much as he and his friends had tried to logically reason with the Kanker sisters in the past, their attempts had been to no avail. Even though he and his friends had made peace with the rest of the children of the cul-de-sac, they were still the number-one targets for bullying by the Kanker sisters. It seemed as if all hope of ever ridding themselves of the evil girls had disappeared.

After 10 minutes, Double Dee finally closed the diverter valve of his shower, and stepped out of the tub to towel himself. He slid into his pajamas, after which he returned to his room with the intent of working on a biology essay that was due on Friday.

Double Dee took a seat behind his desk and began sifting through his books with a smile on his face, enthusiastic to begin his research. After removing three of his notebooks from his bag, he came across a certain book that did not belong; he had almost forgotten that he had retrieved Marie's notebook that she had accidently left on the schools marble floor. He stared intently at the black cover of the spiral bound book that he was holding in his hands; the property of the girl who's shrill voice sent shivers down his spine. On the front cover Marie's signature stood out against the black background in red ink. In addition to Marie's name, there was a message in blue ink situated in the middle of the front cover:

KEEP OUT! THAT MEANS YOU MAY!

Double Dee placed the notebook down on his desk, his eyes still on the cover. Although he had no interest in what was contained on the pages within, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sensation of curiosity. His hand began reaching for the edge of the cover, with the intent of taking a peek inside.

"Do I dare?" said Double Dee to himself as he pulled his hand away. Double Dee typically avoided invading the personal space of others, and the note that Marie had written on the front of her book had explicitly stated that no one but she is to view its contents. Although Marie had spent much of her time devising plans to humiliate and /or torture Double Dee, in addition to kissing him without his permission, he knew that he needed to respect her wishes, as she was a fellow human being. Despite the fact that Double Dee held honor and respect in the highest regard, his curiosity managed to get the best of him. He reluctantly reached for the edge of the cover and opened the book to the first page.

Double Dee's eyes widened as the first page came into view. Drawn on the white paper was a highly detailed sketch of what appeared a large heart. The heart was semi-deformed, sagging slightly to the left. The most shocking aspect of the drawing was the fact that a large dagger had pierced the heart vertically through its, center spilling blood as it did so out of the bottom of the heart. Below the photograph was a caption:

Welcome to my world…

Although the drawing intended to express depressing emotions, Double Dee couldn't help but smile at the amount of detail that had been placed into the sketch. He did not consider himself an artist, but appreciated the subtle nuances, such as shading, highlighting and attention to detail, that were contained in the sketch he was staring at.

After a few moments of observing the drawing, Double Dee turned the page to find another sketch, one that was even more detailed than the last. Marie herself was the subject of the sketch. She had drawn herself in a fetal position, her knees were bent to her chest and her arms were wrapped around her legs. Her head hung towards the floor, allowing the bangs of her hair to droop due to the force of gravity. Marie was dressed in what appeared to be her usual black tank top and shorts that extended halfway down her thighs. Her feet were completely bare. This sketch had yet another caption written underneath it, in large red letters.

Worthless….

Double Dee was amazed that Marie had been able to draw herself with so much realism that at first glance he had mistook the pencil sketch for a black- and-white photograph. Although Double Dee was astounded at the amount of detail that Marie had placed into the drawing, he couldn't help but feel saddened that Marie had drawn herself in such a depressing state. He was even more saddened by the word that Marie had used to describe herself "worthless".

Double Dee contemplated the drawing for a few moments. Was there something that he didn't know about Marie? Did the girl that spent a year and a half chasing him around the neighborhood, beating up and torturing he and his friends without any qualms, actually have feelings?

Double Dee quickly dismissed his thoughts and turned through a few more pages of the book. After passing a few more depressing drawings, Double Dee stopped when he saw a familiar face. Staring back at him was a highly detailed sketch of him smiling with hearts of varying sizes floating around his face. Marie had added a caption to this photograph, just as she had for the previous two. However, the words that she added were quite positive:

My Hero…..

Double Dee stared at the cryptic words with confusion, wondering what they could possibly mean. After a few moments, he decided to continue delving further into the book. As Double Dee turned through the next few pages, he discovered even more drawings of him in differing positions. Double Dee had known that he had always been Marie's Ed-of-choice, but he was quite surprised to find as many sketches as he did of his likeness.

Double Dee had finally reached the last page, which contained the most notable sketch of all. The sketch consisted of Marie standing on the ground, with her arms wrapped around Double Dee's neck. Double Dee in turn, had hands on her hips, embracing her lovingly. The couple was sharing a kiss, under what appeared to be a moonlight sky, and both appeared as if they were lost in the moment. Double Dee stared intently at the sketch for a few seconds before noticing yet another caption that was superimposed over the starry sky:

Only in my dreams….

Double Dee was quite bewildered by all of the material that he had just laid eyes on. First and foremost, he was quite astonished that Marie was capable of producing the outstanding sketches that were contained within the notebook. He had never imagined Marie to have any talents or passions of any sort, aside from torturing he and his friends.

Although the details of the drawings surprised Double Dee, he was really surprised by the subject manner. Double Dee generally tried the best he could to see the good in all people, even when they had deliberately wronged him. In the year and a half that Double Dee had known her, he had never stopped to think what could be behind the blue hair and nasty attitude of Marie Kanker. Being the kind hearted person he was, Double Dee couldn't help but feel sorry for Marie. After viewing her depressing drawings, he concluded that they must have been an outlet to express hidden internal emotions. He began to truly question if and what kind of emotions Marie had kept hidden beneath the aggressive exterior she had created for herself.

Double Dee wrestled his thoughts for a few moments before finally closing the book. He calmly and gently placed Marie's sketchbook back into his backpack with the intent to return it to her tomorrow afternoon. Double Dee tried his best to shake the confusing thoughts of Marie out of his head, as he opened his biology textbook with the intent to begin work on his essay.