Changing ideologies

rough draft

Here's a really rough draft of an idea I've been toying with it. It's a one-shot and not completely accurate. I just wondered about the interactions Larina would have in the very beginning; they've both changed so much. 

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"Darling, please don't cry." A girl called out. Her voice was thick with an accent and it hailed from above Lizzy Grant's head. 

Lizzy shook her head furiously in response to the stranger. If she stopped crying, she'd have nothing else to distract her! She'd gather enough courage to return to her group and she was far too embarrassed to do that. She hoped to prolong the inevitable option. She wanted to sit under the bridge and raise the waves of the lake beside her with her tears.

"S'his loss, babe. He should've tapped out sooner!" She said after awhile. Her playful tone implied she had meant to use the phrase for comfort, but Lizzy cried harder.

"Leave me alone," Lizzy demanded.

"No, I meant it like... Wait! No, isn't that what Americans say? For sex? I mean, like, you're better than that boy."

Lizzy finally lifted her head from atop her knees she had tightly hugged to her chest. "Tap out means to quit," she explained softly after a long silence.

The voice grew louder; the girl slid further down the hill. She was approaching the one in mourning bit by bit.

"But... No. Rappers say that a lot because they want sex, no?"

Lizzy laughed. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. She turned her head to see a girl with a wild mane of dark brown hair. She wore black jeans and a large, old dusty coat that most likely belonged to her father. It was fitted for a man with broad shoulders. The coat on her slumped down her seemingly slim stature and rested loosely around her.

Her skin was dark because she spent all her break under the sun; it could only be that, Lizzy determined, because the underside of her eyes were pale. Most likely from wearing sunglasses all day. Behind her hung a small keyboard. It was kept up by a thin string.

In summary, this girl seemed to be the exact opposite of Lizzy, who'd be scolded relentlessly for sitting on the grass in her school uniform. She knew that once she would go back to the hotel, the field trip chaperone would scream in horror at the sight of her ruffled hair.

Lizzy looked over her once more. Once  the local had slid down the hill to the flat floor beside the lake and under the shade of the stone bridge, Lizzy pointed out that "it's going to break if you wear it like that. Keyboards aren't like guitars."

"No shit, babe."

Lizzy continued, pushing her blonde hair back. "...Even then, I don't think that's the look you're going for."

"Look?" The other inquired in her thick accent.

"Yes. Look." Lizzy paused. "Like Elvis! He had that sort of... look, but um..." Another pause. "Do you know Elvis?" The local gaze fell towards the scrapes on Lizzy's knees. The local began to come off as nosy to Liz.

"I'm Elvis?"

"You're... Elvis? Elvis Presley," she replied. Her tone wavered as if these were questions rather than statements. "Does that ring a bell?"

There was a long silence. "Actually, my name's Marina," the other said at last.

A laugh nonetheless. "Lizzy Grant."

"Well, Liz, I'll have you know," Marina said as she slid her keyboard to her lap. "I want to be famous."

"You actually play?" Lizzy asked, surprised.

"No, this is just something fits my look," Marina answered sarcastically.

Lizzy laughed and said, "That's funny... Could you maybe, um.. Play something for me?"

Marina grinned toothily. Her white teeth highlighted her tanned skin. After showing Lizzy the rough draft to a song about horoscopes and her first heartbreak, Marina decided it was getting pretty late for someone like Lizzy to be out and about.

"C'mon, I'll walk you home," She offered. Something warm weighed Lizzy down. It made her stomach heavy but her head light. When this wild girl with starlit eyes offered her dirt and ink encrusted hand, she took it.

And the two teenagers walked all the way back to the hotel hosting her school's student body and teaching staff. On the way, Lizzy explained how her school chose her and a handful of others to visit Wales and that the reason she was crying was because her roommates had been teasing and tormenting her.

"Bitches," Marina responded, surprising her. Lizzy laughed.

"Bitches," She echoed. The word tasted foreign in her mouth. She was sure her new friend knew she hadn't used the word much before because beside her, Marina beamed. 

Where Lizzy found her innocence a burden, Marina found it incredibly charming.

With the hotel now in their sights, Marina gave her the low-down on the actual look she's going for. "I want to look like a boy," she said quickly. "Rubbish, I know, but... I just don't understand the connection between recognition and my body. I want to be a musician, I don't want to be a model."

"Hmmmm, but.. I feel like body can make someone more... captivating. Your music can make them stay. I think you should cherish your body. I mean, Romeo fell in love at the sight of Juliet."

Marina laughed for the first time since their introduction and Lizzy's eyes brightened noticeably. 

How lovely and melodic everything Marina displayed for her. 

Marina nudged her and Lizzy grinned wider.

"Idiot."

Lizzy thanked Marina for walking her back to the hotel. She wished her safety on her travel back home. Before the sun could even kiss the horizon, she was shaken from her sleep, packed her bags, and left Wales with the rest of the student body. 

Unfortunately, she never saw Marina again.