Chapter 4
It was 11:30 a.m. when the sound of the school bell signaling lunch period filled the halls of Peach Creek Junior High. Double Dee did not given much thought to Marie's drawings since he had placed her notebook back into his book bag the previous night, and was currently walking through the halls with his two best friends. Ed was currently silent, as he had discovered a new obsession; his mother had forced him to clean his room the previous night, allowing him to discover the whereabouts of a handheld gaming system, a gift which he had received last Christmas that was thought to have been lost. As Ed walked the hall next to his friends, never taking his eyes off of the game screen, Eddy decided to strike up conversation.
"So who should I introduce to the old Eddy magic to on Friday night?" said Eddy rather quietly, he turned towards Double Dee, "How bout that new chick in bio that sits in front of us, she's got a pretty nice rack!
"A nice rack, please." said Double Dee softly as he stared at Eddy with a sarcastic expression, "Eddy, you do realize that your attempts to attract the opposite sex based solely on the size of their mammary glands are completely immoral!"
"I can tell you never stopped to check out chicks!" yelled Eddy after which he laughed rather loudly, "Besides, chicks like compliments, especially on their looks!"
"Women adore romance Eddy," said Double Dee, "Kindness, courtesy, respect and decency are the keys to unlocking the doors into the hearts of the female sex."
"Like you know!" yelled Eddy as he pointed into Double Dee's face, "You ain't even had a girlfriend yet!"
Eddy laughed heavily.
"And I suppose you have Eddy?" asked Double Dee as he glared into Eddy's face.
"Hey, I ain't saying I ever had a steady girlfriend, but I've been around," said Eddy as he placed his arm around Double Dee's shoulder, "Just stick close to me, and I'll let ya in on a few pointers."
At this point a group of girls who were traveling the opposite way down the hallway approached the boys. Eddy was sure to shoot the girls a grin as well as wink. The attempt to woo the girls failed, as they all stared back with disgusted expressions, even whispering phrases such as "what a loser," under their breath as they walked past.
Eddy groaned under his breath as he continued his way down the hallway
"Bravo Eddy," said Double Dee, "Your acts of courtship really managed to sweep those young women off of their feet."
"Ah whatever," said Eddy, "They just ain't ready for Eddy McGee!"
The boys had finally reached the hallway junction.
"Alright, let's get in there before all of the pepperoni goes," said Eddy, "Come on boys!"
"On the contrary Eddy," said Double Dee, "I will be unable to join you today for our lunch period. Today happens to be the day of the first meeting of the new and improved, Peach Creek Junior High Safety Club, guaranteed to be much more organized that it was last winter."
"C'mon Double Dee, not that stupid club again!" said Eddy.
"You'll be thanking me for a safer winter experience!" said Double Dee as he began walking towards the classroom where he held his club. Eddy and Ed turned to begin their journey towards the lunchroom.
"Whatever Sock Head," said Eddy, "Catch'ya on the flip side!"
"Farewell gentlemen!" yelled Double Dee, "I will see you this afternoon!"
Double Dee removed a clipboard out of his back pack as he walked. He began going through the checklist, being sure that everything was prepared for his important meeting, smiling as his pen checked off each bullet point.
Double Dee was so immersed in his work that he had forgotten to observe his surroundings. It didn't take long for the absent minded adolescent to reach the door leading into the girls bathroom, where he managed to accidently bump into a student emerging from the door. The impact caused he and the student in question to plummet to the floor; his hands had let go of his clip board in addition to his pen to brace his body for the impact. He quickly regained his senses and rose off of the ground. He turned around to see if the student he had accidentally knocked down needed any assistance.
Double Dee's eyes widened as he laid eyes on the individual that he was least enthusiastic to accidentally run into, Marie Kanker. Marie quickly regained her composure and picked up some of her belongings that had fallen on the floor. She rose to her feet and stared into Double Dee's eyes with an expression of annoyance. Double Dee was quite nervous and sweating heavily, as he knew that being alone with Marie was never a good thing. He decided to attempt to ease the situation with a few kind words.
"He…hello Marie," said Double Dee rather nervously, "I apologize wholeheartedly for causing a collision with my absent mindedness. Are you alright?"
Marie brushed her shirt off and glared at Double Dee.
"I'm fine." said Marie rather softly as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Thank goodness," said Double Dee.
Double Dee stared into Marie's exposed green eye, an eye that had usually terrified him to wits end. For some reason, he was not experiencing as much fear as he usually did, granted he was standing less than 8 feet in front of a young woman who had spent the last year and a half stalking him. Double Dee was also surprised that Marie's facial expression was rather calm and collected, strikingly different from the usual malicious and amorous grin she was known to display.
At that moment, Double Dees thoughts were brought back to the sketches that Marie had drawn in her notebook. He turned toward the blue-haired young woman standing in front of him. There was something about Marie's green eyes that seemed to convey deep concealed emotions, just as she had portrayed in her drawings.
Double Dee quickly dismissed his thoughts and opened his backpack.
"Before I forget, I happen to have something that you might be looking for." said Double Dee as he reached into his backpack.
Double Dee pulled out Maries black notebook and held it out to her. Her eyes widened with excitement.
"My sketchbook!" yelled Marie as she yanked the book from Double Dee's grasp and pulled the book into her chest, crossing her arms as she held onto it, "I've been looking everywhere for this!"
"I took possession of it with the intent to deliver it to you at a later time. I hope you don't mind." said Double Dee.
Marie looked into Double Dees eyes with an expression that he had never seen before. Her face was glowing, and it seemed as if she was trying as hard as she could to hold back a genuine smile.
"I don't mind at all," said Marie in a soft tone of voice, she paused for a second, after which she continued, "So even though I am always mean to you and beat you and your friends up all of the time, you still wanted to give this back to me?"
Double Dee paused for a few seconds as he looked towards the floor nervously.
"Well, it wasn't in my heart to pass over anyone's lost possessions, as I know from personal experience that losing a personal belonging can be quite unnerving." said Double Dee.
Marie stared at Double Dee with a surprised expression before glancing towards the floor out of embarrassment. For the first time, Double Dee witnessed Marie's cheeks turn a fiery red due to some other emotion besides anger.
"That was really nice of you Double Dee," said Marie in a soft gentle voice.
Double Dee was quite surprised at Marie's stunning display of kindness. He almost could not believe that he was speaking to the same girl. The two teenagers stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, after which Marie's brash attitude suddenly returned.
"You better not have looked at it!" yelled Marie rather aggressively as she gave Double Dee an angry facial expression.
"Absolutely not!" yelled Double Dee nervously. He was currently sweating bullets as he hoped that Marie did not discover that he had indeed glanced at her private sketches, "I take pride in respecting the personal space of others."
Marie calmed down, and began staring at her notebook, blushing ever so slightly. After a few minutes of awkwardness, Double Dee checked his watch. He had spent more time that he had planned in the hallway, and would be late for his meeting if he dawdled any longer.
"Please excuse my abrupt exit, Marie," said Double Dee as he adjusted his backpack, "But I really must be going, I have important business to attend to. Farewell and have a nice day!"
Double Dee turned around and began dashing down the hallway, with his fists lifted to his chest and elbows flared out as he always did as he ran. Marie spent a few moments watching Double Dee make his way down the hallway with a rather somber expression on her face, breaking her stare only when Double Dee turned into the cross hall. Marie stood leaning against the wall for a few seconds before finally uttering a few words to herself.
"Goodbye Double Dee," said Marie under her breath as her eyes watered slightly. She turned around and began making her way down the hallway towards the cafeteria.