𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑 - marcus baker

nine

I lay in my bed, waiting for something to happen.  It was so quiet and it felt like I was the only person awake.  I've been up for a few minutes, but haven't had any reason to get out of bed. Sadie was dead asleep, so I decided not to bug her. 

I eventually got out of bed, despite my body begging me not to, and got ready for the day.

Once I was ready, I checked the mirror to make sure I looked decent before walking out of the room, making sure to lock the door behind me.

I walked to the cafeteria to get breakfast.   After I grabbed my plate of food, I walked toward the only people that I knew: Sadie's parents.

"Good morning, Aylin.  Where's Sadie?" her dad asked as I sat down in front of them.

"She's asleep.  I thought she could use a late morning," I smiled at him.

"Well, she isn't the early bird type," her mom laughed.

I laughed with her, mostly out of nervousness.  I have never really spoken with them and the way Sadie talks about them makes them seem like extremely strict parents.  And, if I recall correctly, they aren't too fond of my parents, though I'm not exactly sure why.  They kept their negative opinions to themselves, call them 'fake' if you will. Especially since they talk to my parents kindly.

"Good morning, folks.  I'm afraid I have to steal Aylin for a second," a voice announced from beside me.

Marcus had come to the rescue.

I gladly grabbed my plate and followed him to a table with his friends.

"Where's Sadie?" the boy she had walked off with last night asked me as I sat down.

"Asleep," I smiled at him before turning to Marcus, who was sitting down beside me. 

Marcus didn't have a plate of food in front of him, so he stared at mine.

"You know it's free right? You can walk over there and grab all of the food you want."

He looked away from my plate only to look at me, smirk, and take a hashbrown from my plate.  He smiled widely as he ate my food. 

I gently slap his arm before moving my plate closer to me, in an attempt to properly guard it.  

"So, Aylin.  Got any plans today?" One of Marcus' friends interrupted Marcus' heinous crime.

"Uh, not that I can think of.  I still have to ask Sadie, though," I responded honestly. 

"We're going to the pool in a while if you want to come," he smiled widely," Sadie should come too."

"Yeah, I'll let her know.  Thanks," I smiled back before reaching for my fork to eat my food.

We all carried a conversation about how school ended and we were finally going to be seniors.  We were all generally excited about it.

When I finished my food, I made my way to the trash cans and threw the paper plate away.  

"Aylin," Marcus stood up as I neared the table.

"Yeah?"

"My mom wants to see you.  I told her you're here and she got so excited," he said nervously.

I mean, I do leave great impressions with parents.

"Okay," I smiled at him, "When?"

"Now?"

I chuckled and walked beside him toward his parent's room.   

Things between us were still awkward, even throughout the things that have been happening recently.  I knew he recognized the thickness in the air too, he just woudn't own up to what he's done.

He used his card to unlock the door.  

"Linnie!" his mom yelled as she signed my name. 

Marcus and I chuckled at her excitement.

"Hi, Ellen," I signed back, keeping in mind that Marcus' dad was here too. 

Now, I am in no way fluent in sign language, but thanks to Marcus, I know a few words. I can probably tell someone where the rice is in a grocery store and that's it.

Ellen pulled me into a bear hug, making me laugh.

"Are your parents here? I'd love to speak with them!"

"No, I actually came with a friend," I smiled at her as she let me go.

"Oh, okay.  How have you been?  Ever since you stopped coming over, I haven't had a friend to go craft shopping with," she frowned.

"I've been fine, and if it makes you feel any better, I haven't gone craft shopping either," I attempted to comfort her, though this wasn't a serious matter.

"Great! When we get back, we can go shopping!" 

I laugh and agree to do so. 

"Okay, Mom, why don't we let Aylin get back to her friend, yeah?" Marcus interrupted. 

After a bit of convincing, she decided to let me go.  Marcus walked me back to my room after letting me know what time he and his friends were going to the pool.

Short answer: The rest of the day.

"Well, well, well," Sadie said as soon as I closed the door behind me, "Look who has come crawling back to the den."

I laughed as I covered my mouth, trying to muffle it a bit.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You looked like you needed the sleep."

I lay on my bed as I explained what had happened today.  She only seemed halfway interested until I mentioned Marcus' friends.  The second I mentioned them, her head swung toward me.

"We're going!" she exclaimed after I explained the plans the boys had made.

She immediately ran to her bag.  She rummaged for a few seconds before pulling out her bikini. 

Sadie wasn't one to dress up, even for the pool.  Normally, she wore gym shorts and a bikini top, but almost never wore both parts.  

She ran to the restroom to change, and eventually, she was rushing me to change too.

I took my swimsuit and followed the instructions Sadie was yelling at me.

"Hurry up! Come on, we have to go get towels! Change faster!"

When something she wanted was on the line, she was very aggressive.

I walked out and she made me take a mirror selfie with her.

"We're hot," she smiled at the picture as she posted it on her story.

-

Author's Note:
Hi guys! So, I was thinking about the maturity of the characters and the way I'm writing them, and I decided to tweak them a bit.  I only changed their ages by a year.  Earlier in the book, I mentioned they were in the summer break between grade 10 and 11, but I edited it so that they are between 11 and 12! 

Sorry if this causes any confusion! This was just to update so that any readers who read those chapters before the edit are now up to date.  Thanks for reading!! :)

-aresunn