Grayscale

-Chapter 3-

Thank you guys for continuing to read my story! This chapter is dedicated to Julie for being the first friendly person I was able to meet on Wattpad. And she's a talented writer as well. I hope you enjoy this so far.

<3

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"So, how was the new girl?" Kaya bumps me in the shoulder. Ever since I told her that I had first period with Sierra, Kaya had been texting me non-stop throughout the whole day. "Spill. I know you had her first period because you told me, but you decided to stay silent after that for unknown reasons. Is she bratty like expected? Snotty, stiff, high-strung?"

"No, Kaya. She is perfectly nice, and also extremely talkative."

"She wasn't talkative in the morning when people were asking her questions." Kaya sniffs. "She's just not polite then. Politeness is an essential quality," Kaya rambles on as she tries to find flaws in Sierra's character. "I bet she's not even smart or anything worth making friends with. She's probably an airhead."

I ignore Kaya and sit on the cool cement ground under the huge oak tree where we usually sit. The shade provides me great relief from the pulsing heat of the sun that insists on pounding its relentless heat upon everybody, overbearing and overstaying its welcome, much like Kaya is right now. I greet Jasper, hoping he'll refresh me with new conversation. I give a quick jerk of my head towards Kaya and widen my eyes, hoping he'll get what I mean. Thankfully, Jasper reads situations like it's an open book.

"Marley! Guess you are a peasant again today."

"What? No!" I protest, genuinely upset. "I was a peasant yesterday." Jasper smiles smugly from the bench. We referred to me as a peasant when I had to sit on the ground, staring up at the people who sat on the benches. "That's not fair. I totally forgot, plus there's no more space on the bench. It's dominated by you and other people." By other people, I mean Drake and his group of rowdy, annoying friends who I do not ever attempt to speak to, lest I risk my IQ becoming lowered.

"Marley Aspen?"

I look up to find the source of the voice. It's Sierra. "Hi, Sierra Ryder. You can just call me Marley, and I'll just call you Sierra."

"I know." Sierra replies. "But I like saying your full name." Her gaze goes distant again, the smile on her lips wavering like an mirage of water in a scorching desert. She blinks, clearing whatever was on her mind, her smile growing wider than ever. "May I borrow you for a moment?" Kaya snickers as I nod in agreement. I stand up to walk with her, trying to keep up with her fast pace.

"I like you, Marley. You're a smart, sweet girl. But most of all, you seem honest. I like people to be honest to me, and I reciprocate it. My whole life, I've never lied. Even when I was little. Being honest got me in a lot of trouble, and it was hard not to tell a simple lie, but I'd rather die than lie. You see, it's better to be brutally honest than a liar trying to please someone. There's no such thing as a white lie. When you lie, you're stealing someones right to the truth, even if it's just your opinion. To me, a liar is equal to a murderer."

"That's amazing," I say. "But what if someone asked you something you wanted to keep secret? What would you do then?"

Sierra laughs. "I don't have to tell everyone everything they ask me. I'm not Ella from Ella Enchanted. I can just tell them I'd rather not say. It's not lying because I'm telling them honestly I don't want to tell them."

"Right." I flush, embarassed. Obviously. I mentally slap myself for being stupid. "I'm not honest like you. I do tell lies, but I try to be honest." I ramble, trying to cover my absent-mindedness.

"I observed long ago that the majority of the human population does not tell the truth. Just like any political figure, and you're bound to find a lie buried somewhere." Sierra stares at something behind me. "Does your friend over there like me?" She questions. I follow my eyes to where she's looking at. Kaya sees us watching and smiles sweetly at Sierra and moves her hands in a friendly wave. "She seems nice enough, but people are two-faced liars. You never know."

I almost say 'I didn't know' as a half-truth, but I remember Sierra's deep hatred for lies. "Kaya? She doesn't really like you. She thinks you're ... uptight."

"Maybe I do give off that aura. I had a feeling she didn't like me." Sierra says. I look back at Kaya, who is still smiling and waving, her hands and fingers becoming a big blur floating in the air. Kaya's arms falls down, hanging limp from her shoulder when she sees the guilty expression on my face and Sierra, who had turned her back and walked away. I head back to Kaya, whose eyes are narrowing suspciously.

"Did you tell Sierra that I disliked her? Never mind, I know you did. At least, I think you did."

"Maybe." I reply. "You shouldn't be so quick to judge." Kaya wrinkles her nose in annoyance. I put down the brown, paper sack I was clinging onto. Reaching inside, I pull out my ham and cheese sandwhich. I only half-listen as Kaya continues ranting about how she wasn't judging, just guessing, and she was open to being friends with Sierra.

"In fact, I want to be friends with her." Kaya announces with determination. Her voice fades into the sound of a cassette tape played too many times again. Jasper glances sympathetically at me, but his eyes quickly revert back to Kaya as he pretends to listen to her. I sink my teeth into the soft skin of the sandwich and swallow, barely chewing. The food goes down like a rock down my throat, and it lodges itself in my stomach like a fifty pound brick, weighing me down, a heavy anchor as I watch the disappearing back of Sierra and the constant, flurrying movement of Kaya's mouth.