Marney in the Middle

Chapter 31: Something Old, Something New

I'm still fuming when I stomp out into the hall. How dare he think that my life is any of his damn business. I stop and look around before I head for the outside door . Some fresh air away from this dump should help me calm down. There's no way I want to go back to Herkabe's class this mad – I'll never be able to keep my mouth shut!

Reese and his mother are right outside when I step out of the building. My heart flips several times; great.

"Marney," Lois says, pausing what was obviously an intense session of scolding to look me up and down. She has on her Lucky Aid uniform, which means – lucky for both of us – she shouldn't be here much longer.

I gulp. "Hi, Mrs. Wilkerson."

"Please, call me Lois."

"Right," I nod and force a smile. "Lois." Reese squints at me, but I keep my gaze fixed on her.

She waves her hand dismissively. "Will we be seeing you this week?"

I shake my head, "Huh?"

"To tutor Reese," she clarifies.

Oh, right, that. I allow myself a peek at him. Still squinting.

After what Mr. Luke said, I almost want Reese to hate me if it means being honest with him. It's clearer now more than ever that people don't give him the benefit of the doubt. Ever. They write him off and avoid him like sushi from a gas station. I don't really want to be one of those people. Yet I'm not really, I rationalize. Staying away from him isn't because I think he's bad news for me – it's because I'm bad news for him. I sigh as that familiar queasy feeling returns; he deserves better than Marney – old and new.

"Actually, this week isn't good for me." His shoulders droop slightly as he finally looks elsewhere. "I'm sorry," I mutter. I'm looking at him when I say it, but it's directed at her.

"Oh, no, you can't make any time?"

I bite my lower lip and furrow my brow.

"You just helped him so much last time." Lois looks at me with a despondent expression.

It would be about homework this time. Really, actually about it. And I'd make sure of it. I don't wanna ditch out on him educationally just because I suck – that wouldn't be fair. So, tutoring him wouldn't hurt, right?

"You know what, sure." Lois' smile reaches her eyes as she clasps her hands together under her chin. "I'll make time."

"Excellent." She grips Reese's arm and begins to pull him away, glancing at me over her shoulder long enough to add that she'll call me later.

He gives me one last glance, too.

The way he looks at me hurts my heart.

-------

"Hey," Malcolm says as he pushes himself off the brick wall outside our first class.

"You waited for me?" I can't help the little bit of heat that slips onto my cheeks as I smile at him. It helps ease some of what remained from seeing Reese.

Some but not all.

He shrugs and starts to walk away. "What did that hot shot want?"

I chuckle – Mr. Luke is kind of a hot shot. A real jerk of a hot shot. "Um, it was about my project." He doesn't respond, so I'm not sure if he even remembers. "You know, the one Jessica—"

"I know which one."

"Oh. Ok."

I frown at the back of his brown-haired head, wondering for the first time since the prank happened, well, why it happened. What reason did Frizz-head have to hate me? Was she into Reese and wanted to 'teach me a lesson' or something equally cuckoo?

As we walk down the outside of the building, I see a few people looking at us. A few whisper behind their hands while others simply stare. Straightening out my book bag, I force my gaze forward and fight the urge to glare. A full-on war against the entire student body is well outside the bounds of channeling my inner bitch.

"So, a party, huh?"

I gape at the back of Malcolm's head. "I thought we weren't going to talk about that," I hiss as I catch up to walk beside him.

He shakes his head. "No, not that. I meant your party." I furrow my brow and shrug. "The one in November?"

What—how could he possibly already know about that? I literally just told the girls about it like five seconds ago. He seems to catch onto my confusion.

"It's a small school, Marney. Word travels fast."

"Great," I say in a sarcastic tone. I didn't necessarily want people to know yet.

"Am I invited?"

Studying the pale blue-eyed boy, I mull this over. I could play coy and avoid the answer, or I could tease him about wanting to be involved in something so 'preppy,' or... wait. My mind halts. Why am I even thinking about this? That line of thinking is what got me into the mess in the first place. And it's part of Makeover Marney 1.0's assignment 1. Not assignment 4. And definitely not with Malcolm.

"Well," he presses.

My heart flips as I realize it's been at least fifteen seconds of me staring at him. A rush of heat to my cheeks has me clearing my throat and shoving loose hair left out of my ponytail behind my ear. "It's not actually a party," I say while studying my Converse.

"Then what is it?"

"A dance."

Malcolm groans. I glance up to see him roll his eyes and let his head loll back. "A dance? Like with tuxes and corsages and all that?"

I shrug, "Well, duh. How else do you have a dance?"

"A live DJ, loud music and ecstasy," he replies with a smirk and wag of his eyebrows.

"That's not a dance, Malcolm – that's a rave."

He puts his hands up and makes a look that says 'whatever you say.' I shake my head with a chuckle.

We stop and I realize we're already outside the door to my second class. Another flip; he walked me to my class. I mean, of course he did – where else would we have been going? But still, the realization causes a smile to play across my lips. No one has ever walked me to class before.

"I gotta go," he says. "We can talk more about your rave later."

Malcolm turns and walks away before I can register. Laughing, I yell after him, "It's not a rave; it's a dance!"

He waves a hand over his head without turning around. "Whatever you say."