Beanie Head and Blue Hair
3,500 words in this chapter!
12 PM sharp, Marie sits behind the trailer, scrubbing away at her and May's clothes in a plastic tub filled with soapy water. The sun reflec- wait. It's foggy today. Average day in the autumn season of Peach Creek. The wind is nice and steady, keeping a consistent flow. Marie likes the wind. But not when her hands are wet, and her hair keeps covering both eyes.
Out of nowhere, a ladybug lands on Marie's left wrist.
Marie looked at the insect. All she saw was a red little blob. Her mood slightly brightened. It gave her the strength to continue this tedious work.
"Cute little bug." She thought to herself as she smiled.
Then it flew away.
In the halls of Peach Creek High School, on Monday morning. Marie was walking, trying to get to class. Earlier, she was reminded by May of what she had to do. That was what was on her mind most of the time, if she finds Edd, she'll bring it up.
Oh, there he is, standing by his locker. Marie began to walk up to Edd, the impact of her foot and the school tiles created an audible clap heard through the halls occupied by just a few other students.
Edd finishes scrubbing around his locker, all surfaces smooth and shiny, all items organized, and the equipment required for his next class taken out and put in his bag.
He then turned towards the slight tint of blue he caught in the corner of his eyes. Turning left, there's Marie.
"Greetations- Marie." said Edd, spoken at the same time Marie uttered her words.
"Hey, Edd- Greetations?" said Marie, as she raised her eyebrows.
"Apologies. I-I mixed up greetings and salutations. I'm blurry, lack of sleep, is the reason I suppose." said Edd, trying to explain himself as he closed the locker shut, locking it.
"Ohh? Rebel Edd? Ah, I guess Mondays affect the best of geniuses." said Marie. She asked herself a rhetorical question. Why did she sound like a minion meme?
Edd slightly chuckled as he turned to look at Marie.
"Why were you up last night, anyway?" asked Marie, continuing as she places her hands on her hips.
"I was awake discussing with Ed and Eddy about Halloween." said Edd.
"Is that so? What are you three gonna do for Halloween?" asked Marie, tilting her head.
"We'd dress up. Characteristic of the twelfth graders we are." said Edd with a hint of sarcasm as he gave a small smirk.
Marie chuckled in response.
"Yeah? What are you guys gonna be?" asked Marie.
"Ed says he has a surprise. Eddy-" said Edd before he was cut off by Marie.
"Eddy should dress up as a minion." said Marie, laughing to herself, looking down at the ground.
Edd laughed, returning the gesture.
"You're witty! That is exactly what I told Eddy! He was furious." said Edd as he looked at Marie.
"He wanted to be Jordan Belfort, Leonardo DiCaprio. From the film Wolf of Wall Street." said Edd.
Marie slightly chuckled before continuing.
"Pssht." huffed Marie, as she then continued.
"You just complimented yourself, you narcissist!" said Marie in a friendly tone with a smile as she covered her mouth.
"Hm? How?" asked Edd as he raised an eyebrow.
"You called me witty for doing the exact same thing you did." said Marie, as she dropped her hand, shifting to cross them and lean against the lockers.
"Oh, you're right." said Edd after he recalled, his eyes darting away as if he were thinking for a split second.
"Well, you agree, of course." said Edd as he returned his gaze to Marie, accompanied by a smirk.
"Oh?" exclaimed Marie.
She never believed Edd to be a bold and confident person. Maybe the conversation was so nice, it made him comfortable enough to show that side of himself. Or he's not the same guy. Frankly, Marie finds both of the explanations-
"Sorry. That was too smug of me." said Edd, looking down at the floor, scratching his head, bringing Marie back down to earth in the middle of her thought.
"Oh, no, it's fine. Just be yourself, Dee." said Marie as she looked back at him.
"Of course." said Edd as he nodded and looked back up.
Hallway chattering and footsteps were the only sound that was in the air between them for a few seconds.
"So what do you wanna be for Halloween?" asked Marie, tilting her head.
"A periodic table is my first option." said Edd.
"Oh. The entire thing?" asked Marie.
"Correct." said Edd.
"Figures. Last year you were like.. a DNA? And the year before that.. Saturn and its moons? And-" said Marie, before being cut off by Edd.
"No, last year I was Jupiter, not Saturn. And the year before, I was a DNA." said Edd.
"Ah, right. Classic Edd." said Marie as she raised her hand to inspect her shining red nails.
"Do you know what DNA stands for?" asked Edd.
"Hell no. Tell me." said Marie as she lowered her hand back to crossing them and looked at Edd, tilting her head.
Even though this stuff appeared at most slightly interesting to her, she was eager to hear it from Edd as she finds him... particularly cute when he yaps on about his nerdy stuff.
"Deoxyribonucleic acid." said Edd as he smiled and looked at Marie.
"Heh." exclaimed Marie.
"You're so smart." said Marie.
"Thank you." said Edd as he nodded.
"I already forgot what you said." said Marie as she twirled her hair with her fingers and chuckled.
Edd reciprocated the action as they share the moment for a few seconds.
"How did you know my costumes from years ago?" asked Edd as he thought back.
"I saw you guys. It's hard to NOT see you three on Halloween, y'know." said Marie, still fidgeting with her hair.
"Of course." said Edd as he slightly smiled and looked at the ground.
"What will you and your sisters dress up as for Halloween? Do you celebrate?" asked Edd as he turned back to Marie.
"We celebrate, yea. But we don't dress up. Me and my sisters we go to the lane, we bring a grill there and we just roast marshmallows and eat them, like camping. It's warm, it's nice." said Marie as she lowered her hand, her eyes looking around the hall as she thought about her words.
"Oh alrighty. Now that I think about it, I have indeed noticed you three at the lane on Halloween before." said Edd.
"Yea. It's nice. We don't do it at the trailer park 'cause people complain about how loud we are." said Marie as she turned back to look at Edd.
"Ah." Edd acknowledged.
Silence ensues for a few seconds, they couldn't think about what to say next, it was a nice conversation, maybe there's something else to talk about...
In Edd's head, he was thinking about the time, talking with Marie has made him lose track of it for a bit. Oh well, he couldn't care less, he knows he'll be at his class on time regardless.
In Marie's head, she's thinking, "Okay, he's KIND of cute. No, I mean, he's cute of course.". It's her type after all. Can't blame her. She believes he sees her as nothing more than an acquaintance. They haven't done anything other than work together. But the conversations were nice, getting to know Edd was nice. Then a question crept up to her, "Would I date him if he liked me?" before she could answer, her thought was abruptly cut by Edd's words, again.
"Alright, Marie. I have enjoyed our exchange. I believe it's time for the both of us to march toward our respective classes now." Edd said, smiling as he looked in the way of his class, gesturing his way.
"R-Right, yea." said Marie as she looked down and realized she had been staring at Edd the entire time.
"See you, Marie." said Edd as he waved and began to walk away.
Damn that smile. That damn gap. So.. cute. Okay, enough. Oh wait. She forgot to ask him about Ed and May.
"Hey-" Marie said out loud before being drowned out by the sound of the bell.
Guess texting is the way. Marie continued processing and debating her thoughts. It's hard for her to deny that he's cute, of course. Maybe that's it, maybe he's just eye candy. Nothing more. Oh man, and his slim body- Okay, enough.
The morning classes go by as usual, same chilly autumn Monday morning, Peach Creek High School students experience every week in October. Marie spent it in conflict with her emotions.
It is now lunchtime. Ed, Edd n' Eddy are together in the halls beside the cafeteria, standing around. It was after their trip to the candy store outside, so Eddy would be standing, waiting for his customers. Of course, the other two Eds would have to tag along as usual.
Eddy is leaning sideways on the wall, facing Ed, counting his candies and money.
Ed is standing between Edd and Eddy. He was engaged in the middle of a conversation with Eddy.
Edd is standing with his back to the wall, next to Ed. Scrolling through something on his phone.
"Dude? You're not being Slenderman for Halloween." said Eddy, as he eyed Ed for a second before bringing it back to the cash and sugars in his hand.
"Why notttt?" Ed whined.
"Because that's for kids!" shouted Eddy as he fiercely looked at Ed.
"But. But we're kids, aren't we, Eddy?" said Ed as he continued pleading his case.
"No! You're 18! We're gonna be adults out in the world in just a few months!" shouted Eddy, looking back down to his hands and continued counting the items.
"Eddy, relax man, no need to shout." said Edd as he briefly turned away from his phone to look at Eddy.
"It's fine. Because I have another surpriseeee!" said Ed with a big goofy smile on his face.
"What is it?" asked Eddy as he turned to look at Ed once again.
"It's a surprise, Eddy. I'm not telling." said Ed as he shook his head.
"Pssht, whatever Ed." said Eddy.
Utensils clashing, the never-ending noise of footsteps, and chattering occupied the air. Another student passes by as he quickly exchanges his money with Eddy and Eddy returns him a candy bar in one swift motion, without a word exchanged between them.
Edd laughed briefly, thinking about what had just happened.
"What's so funny?" Eddy questioned.
"We're seniors, yes. But still celebrating Halloween and you complain about Edd's choice of costume to be childish." said Edd, slightly laughing at the absurdity.
"Whatever, dude. Dress up as Slenderman if you want. No girls want to be with Slenderman." said Eddy.
"You'd be surprised." said Edd.
Edd then gets notified of a message from... Marie Kanker. Huh, we talk quite often.
"hey edd r u there" from Marie, 12:49
"Greetings Marie, yes I am here." typed Edd, 12:49
"y r u so formal with text lol" from Marie, 12:49
"I could flip the narrative and ask why you simplify everything." typed Edd, 12:49
"nerd" from Marie, 12:49
"i save time :P" from Marie, 12:49
"Good argument. Do you need anything?" typed Edd, 12:50
"weird question" from Marie, 12:50
"but" from Marie, 12:50
"what does ed think of may?" from Marie, 12:50
"Ed as in my good friend Ed and May as in your sister?" typed Edd, 12:50
"yes who else" from Marie, 12:50
"I don't have the answer to that. But, he's beside me, I will ask him right this moment." typed Edd, 12:50
Edd turned from his screen and looked at Ed.
"Hey Ed." said Edd.
"Yes, Double D?" Ed responded as he turned around to face Edd.
"What do you think of May Kanker?" asked Edd.
"Scary." said Edd as his shoulders shrank and he crosses his hands to rub them against both of his arms, generating a fabric scratching sound.
"Kankers are scary." said Edd as his eyes went elsewhere from Edd.
"Ah." exclaimed Edd as he returned to his phone.
"Why'd you ask him that outta no where?" Eddy questioned.
"I was curious. What about you? What do you think of Lee?" asked Edd as he turned back to Eddy.
"I- I don't know dude. She hurt us. Her and her sisters, I obviously hate her guts. Even though we don't see each other anymore. Never a word of sorry!" said Eddy as his eyes narrowed more and more as each word came out of his mouth.
"So extreme." said Eddy.
"Huh." Edd exclaimed, as he pondered for a bit, processing Eddy's answer, understanding it.
"Okay." said Edd, as he looked back at his screen.
"Ed finds May to be scary." typed Edd, 12:50
"ok thx" from Marie, 12:51
"Why did you ask?" typed Edd, 12:51
"just curious" from Marie, 12:51
"Understood." typed Edd, 12:51
Edd then switched from his messages tab to continue going through eBay for some periodic table costume. If he doesn't find one, he shall craft it himself.
On second thought, a periodic table may actually be too large for costu-
Notification from Marie Kanker.
"btw edd im sorry" from Marie, 12:53
Marie thought about Ed's response to May, as his text was sent, she felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Marie thought to herself that she and her sisters really were genuinely cruel to the Eds. All for what? Their own selfish pleasure. She and her sisters might've legitimately traumatized Edd and his friends. No amount of words she could say would amount to the regret she wants to express.
"For what?" typed Edd, 12:53
"for what i did to you and your friends back then" from Marie, 12:53
"for beating you down for forcing you to do things you don't want to" from Marie, 12:53
"im really sorry" from Marie, 12:53
"I forgive you Marie." typed Edd, 12:54
She thought to herself, even if she said it a thousand times, it probably wouldn't feel the slightest bit enough.
He thought to himself, he knew she was sorry. He knew she really regretted what she did. He understood that they were just children back then, and Marie had quite a turbulent home life as she lived in the trailer with presumably no father figure. He knew she wasn't the same Marie Kanker who used to create elaborate traps to trick his friends. What remained from that was her ability to conceptualize and engineer those traps. She was brilliantly creative. Edd would be lying if he said in that moment that he didn't admire how fine and intricate her contraptions were.
"you dont have to" from Marie, 12:54
"But I do, Marie. I truly believe you are sorry, it's alright." typed Edd, 12:54
"okay" from Marie, 12:54
She thought to herself, damn, did she really type that out? Was it normal to just send this out of nowhere? No time better than now, she supposes.
The rest of the day went by as usual. Marie spent the entire day thinking to herself, conflicted about her feelings and her actions.
She went home, walking through the slight fog. She kept thinking and thinking.
She would be lying if she said the attraction is purely physical, "He looks cute, that's all he is!", lies. She was interested in getting to know him more, what he likes, what he does, and how he thinks. It fascinated her. And she is trying to accept it at the moment. She is trying to understand why.
Marie reaches the trailer park, she crosses the lane as she goes straight to her trailer, marching through the inconsistently dried dirt and small patches of grass. She reaches her double-story trailer as she steps up the stairs, the wood creaking beneath her. She fumbles through her bag, finding her key and inserting it, opening the door to the trailer.
May, who was watching TV, turned to Marie from their green couch.
"So what did he say?" said May as she muted the TV with the remote, staring at Marie, waiting as she anticipated for an answer.
Marie didn't respond at first. She closed the door behind her, and walked over to sit on the couch, sinking as she set her bags on the floor, gravity tilting them to lean on the sofa. She then lay her head down, closed her eyes, and exhaled.
"So?" said May, she was still staring at her, prepared for an answer.
"He thinks you're scary, May." said Marie
"Ouh... of course he does..." said May with a sad frown on her face, disappointed.
She had her hopes high for the entire weekend until now. She was so excited, eagerly waiting for a positive answer. This moment devastated her.
Dead air for a brief minute as May looks down at her own feet and legs hanging from the couch.
"..So you still like him?" asked Marie, eyes still closed, visibly exhausted.
"Maybe. But I'll move on, maybe." said May as she brought her legs up onto the sofa. She knows she'd likely not. Atleast, not for a while.
"Even if he's not scared of me he'd probably think I'm.. fat or something." said May as she looked down onto the fabric.
"Don't try to reason it May, you're not even that fat." said Marie.
"So I am fat but not that fat?" said May, sneering at Marie.
"No- Ugh, you know I don't mean it like that. You're not fat, May. You're like- uhm. Curvy, I guess." said Marie.
"Oh, gee, thanks Marie!" said May, with obvious sarcasm as she faced away from Marie and crossed her arms.
"Curvy- curvy doesn't even mean fat! Don't get upset about it." said Marie, her eyes still closed at this point.
"You know you mean it!" shouted May as she peeked back to get the words out.
"Calm down! No, I don't, May." said Marie.
Silence occupied the air between them.
"Y'know he'd definitely like ya' if he wasn't scared of ya'." said Marie in the middle of the silence as she brought her arms up to cover her eyes.
May does not reply for a few seconds, she seemed in thought, her eyes darting around the room.
".. Maybe. I guess I'll just have to show him I'm not scary." said May as she turned back to Marie.
She decides not to give up, she feels the period of Marie and Edd getting to know each other was the perfect time for her and Ed.
".. Great. Just... don't be overzealous about it- Overzealous? That's a big word for me. Wow." said Marie, with shock as she lowered her hand opened her eyes.
"What does that even mean?" asked May as she raised one of her eyebrows.
"Overly enthusiastic." replied Marie, looking at May.
"That means, like, too excited right?" asked May, again.
"Yes, May." answered Marie as she nodded and turned back to stare into the ceiling.
"Okay. Okay, I won't be." said May as she lowered her arms.
"How are you even gonna do that anyway." said Marie, turning back to look at May.
"I- I don't know... can you come up with something for me?" said May, pleading.
"Jeez, just. I don't know. Tag along when I go see Edd and maybe he'd be with Ed or something, I guess." said Marie.
She didn't even know if there'd be a next time she'd see Edd. She doubted if she should've said that.
"When you see Edd? And when is that?" asked May.
"I don't know, May, I'll just tell you. Jeez. I'm gonna go shower now, relax." said Marie as she got up and walked upstairs.
Off to shower she went. It was longer than usual, and that was already long. She was practically marinated.
Then she went to lay on the bed, mindlessly scrolling on tumblr, she wasn't focused on anything on her screen. It's not enough to distract her.
Hours later and it's already time for bed.
"Bitch, quit taking up so much space." said Lee, as she faced Marie, knelt up on the bed, pushing Marie.
Marie scooted over. She just lies on her side there, staring at whatever's in front of her.
"... I am so falling for him."
CHAPTER 7 END