Hello, Sugar. Hello, Star. (bubbline)

New Girl

MARCY

I rolled out of bed on the morning of my first day of school. It was a new school for me, not unusual considering I started almost every year in a new school. My dad moves us around a lot. He claims it's because his job is really demanding, but I think he might just want to travel the world so he can see all sorts of different women. Besides, he won't even tell me what his job is. He changes the subject every time I ask. As far as I'm concerned, my father steals souls for a living.

I dressed as I normally do. I saw no point in fooling this school into thinking I was something I wasn't.

Grey fat strapped tank.

Skinny blue jeans.

Tall brown boots.

I brushed my corse black hair as well as I could, and stared into the mirror. Today was going to be exactly the same as every other school. The same cliques giving me the same weird looks, the same bathroom stall to eat lunch in.

It was always the same.

I sighed and turned away from the mirror. I wanted to try to make things better this time around. I was going to talk to at least one person today. Only one. Maybe more, but at least one.

~

When I arrived at the school, I got pretty much what I was expecting. I endured the whispers and stares all the way to my locker, got my stuff, and stared my walk to first period, before something caught my eye a few lockers away from mine.

Pink hair.

Bright pink, bubblegum pink. And it belonged to a girl. She had pale skin, but not the kind of pale mine was. My skin was ashy, almost gray. Hers glowed, almost pink. Actually, a lot about her was pink. Her hair, the glow of her skin, her sundress, her sandals. She was as pink as I was punk.

Glob, five minutes into the school day and I was already distracted by a girl. This was a bad sign.

~

When I got into first period, I was relieved just to be out of the halls, even if this class was algebra 2.

At least, I was relieved until pink girl sat beside me.

My heart started racing as I saw what she looked like close up. She had a pair of black ray bans balanced on her nose, which was dusted with brown freckles. Her eyes were every color and no color all at once. I quickly turned away before she noticed me staring.

A few minutes later, the teacher came into the classroom and introduced herself. She had short brown hair pulled into a bun and small round glasses. The scraping of her name on the chalkboard scilenced the students.
MRS. PETRIKOV

She pointed to the board.

"My name is Mrs. Petrikov, and obviously I teach algebra 2 here. I will introduce this class and what we will cover this year in a short minute, but first I need to take attendance. When I say your name, please raise your hand and say some form of assurance to me that it's you. If I pronounce your name wrong or you would like to be referred to as something else, please speak up about it. Alright? Alright.

Marceline Abadeer."

I knew it. My name was always called first, because almost all of its letters were fairly solidly at the beginning of the alphabet.

"Here." I called out, with my hand raised up. "And you can call me Marceline or Marcy, I don't care which."

She nodded at me and called out the next name.

"Bonnibelle Bubblegum."

That name was so stupid and hokey that a few people even laughed, but a look from Petrikov shut them up.

Then, pink girl raised her hand up high.

"Here. And you can calk me Bonnibelle or Bonnie, I don't care which."

She looked at me for the last part, and gave me the brightest smile I'd ever seen.

I felt my heart shudder and my cheeks get warm.

Why me?