ʜ ᴏ ʟ ʏ

7.

The talk of the school wasn't very hard to catch on to. From exiting the mouths of speaking students and into listening ears, to the school talk of the teachers. Mid terms. A packet crammed full of information learned throughout the year that required you to pass. Usually Bonnibel would have no problem acing the mid term but due to her coming so late in the school year, she had yet to absorb all the information learned. So inside her room she sat, hunched over at the desk with her head buried deep within a math text book. Just a few minutes ago the girl sat in the lunch room with Phobe at her side. Upon all the chatter and noises, Bonnibel took it upon herself to sneak off to the room to study. Though the act could jeopardize her secrets from getting to her uncle, passing was more important now. So she worked, one hand grasping the thin paper inbetween her fingers and the other jotting down notes on the white sheet. She could really use a smoke. And to her disliking due to her lack of focus, her mind grazed the thought of Marceline. There were still yet so many things she wanted to know about the girl that she's learned over the past week. How did she get cigarettes inside of school? Why does she have a set of faculty keys? Where does she always disappear off to? At the moment, she didn't know,her mind instantly going back to studying. It had been about 30 minutes and her eyes practically glued down to the paper with an intensive stare, not taking notice to the door creaking open and a figure stepping in. With curious eyes, Marceline emerged above Bonnibel, eyeing the papers in the girls grasp. "Studying?" The voice immediately startled the girl in the seat, her head whipping around and facing the culprit. Realising it was just Marceline, Bonnibel turned in her chair and went back to the books. "Yeah. You should be to, mid terms are almost here." She spoke, earning a sneer from Marceline, who had sprawled against her bed. "I never stick around for those." Marceline said, causing curiosity to fill the seated girl. "Where do you go then?" Questioned Bonnibel. Marceline held her mouth shut for a few before muttering "somewhere" and letting the silence consume them. With Marceline laying still on the bed and eyeing the ceiling, the tranquillity in the room was much comfortable. Bonnibel found it weird that a girl she fought with just a week ago was growing to become one of her friends. It wasn't just her that thought that too, for Marceline had sampled it also. For more than 2 years Marceline had been alone at the school. No friends, no acquaintances, no anybody, and she planned on it staying that way. And it probably would've if it weren't for Bonnibel, the girl that never faltered to attempt friendship. It was pretty weird Bonnibel even spoke to her in the first place, but she was glad she did. Now after being alone for some time, Marceline was open to the idea of having Bonnibel for a friend. "Hey." Ushered Marceline, pulling Bonnibel's attention from the book and to her. "Lets hangout. Like right now." For a second Bonnibel took to the idea, but turned back around to face her work. "Im sorry Marceline but I got to study for finals." Bonnibel said. Marceline had heard excuses plenty of times but she wasn't going to give up just yet. "Oh come onn" she dragged. "We have 40 minutes of lunch left." Bonnibel remained quiet in her seat. "Look, I get it. Finals are stressing you out, you need a break." Marceline pegged, Bonnibel still focusing on her work in silence. "I'll have you back before lunch is over." Hesitating for a bit, Bonnibel spun on her chair and faced Marceline. "Fine." The deal was sold.

It was gorgeous outside weather that evening. The brittle grass developed a more lush green look from the dew drops, the sun trembled down on the earth behind the lumps of clouds, and the tree danced high above from the winds. And through the grass feild out back, Bonnibel trudged behind the lead of Marceline. "Won't they notice were gone?" Asked Bonnibel, the caw of the crows almost overlapping her voice. Taking a second to wipe the sweat that drizzled down her face, Marceline gave Bonnibel a quick glance before speaking."No not really. They do role call during lunch on random days but not today. I saw their calender." It always seemed like Bonnie could never go a second around Marceline without her curiosity arising. Maybe she was just a very curious girl. "You seem to know alot about this school huh?" She declared, the duo growing closer and closer to the fence that traped them within the school yard. "Once you've been here for so long you start to know stuff. Stuff that no one else knows much about but only you saw." She said. Bonnibel felt the urge to go deeper but once arriving at the fence, her sentence was cut short. Gripping the thin metal lines between her fingers, Marceline pulled open part of the already snipped fence. "You see?" Bonnibel spoke while crawling through the open space. "There's so many things that you do that makes me question how." She ranted, Marceline soon joining her on the other side of the fence. "Well." She shrugged her shoulders. "Ask on." And while strolling by her side under the protection of the trees, Bonnibel questioned. "How did you get the cigarettes?" "I stole them from Ms. Lopez's purse. Its easy, she couldn't report them stolen because they're banned in the school and she would get in trouble." The scene made alot more sense to Bonnibel. Marceline was alot more smarter than she seemed. "How did you get the set of keys." Oh those?" Marceline spoke about it as if it was nothing. "The janitor gets really sleepy after his lunch break. I snagged em off his belt loop while he slept." Marceline didn't seize to astonish Bonnibel with her tales, continuing to explain how she even smuggled contraband items inside of the school. Bonnibel was so distracted by the story that she didn't realize after all the walking through the towering woods, they had arrived at their destination. "We're here, loser." Her fingers snapped jokingly at the face of Bonninel who faced her. And turning ahead of her, her eyes were captured by the scenery infront of her. Still murky water that was cradled by the sand, stones and truffled grass on the outer barrier. To distracted by the scenery, Bonnibel didn't take notice to Marceline, who removed her top from her head. It was only when she saw her that Marceline was fully out of her uniform and stripped down to her undergarments. The sight of her bare skin threw off the gazing Bonnibel for a second, her mouth already parting to ask a question. "What are you doing?" She asked, holding a smile off her face. "Swimming. " spoke Marceline as she set her clothes down on a heavy stone. "What? You thought we were just gonna stare at the water for 30 minutes?" Bonnibel didn't know what she thought, but it was certainly not this. "Its to hot to sit." And without hesitation, Marceline slowly submerged into the cool water, sinking under and coming up a few seconds later a new girl. Her darkened hair was now damp and her face contained a smile at the earth bound girl with crossed arms. "Oh come on." Chimed Marceline, swimming close to the shore and staring at the girl above. "Join me ms. Bonnibel." She joked. As much as Bonnibel wanted to enter the creek, she couldn't risk getting in trouble again, especially when the bruises were almost completely healed from her face. Almost as if Marceline had read her mind, the girl began persuading. "Just trust me on this one. We'll be dry before we get back." Bonnibel could feel herself giving in. "And besides." Spoke Marceline, floating calmly against the water on her back with a grin. "I kinda owe you this for like, beating you up. Ya know?" A chuckle escaped Bonnibel's mouth immediately, her mind finally settling on the idea of having fun at a place as such. "Oh what the hell." Her top and skirt were soon upon the big stone and into the creek she jumped. The cool water fled her pores and eased her sunburnt skin, her body coming back to the surface for a gasp of air. "See? Its not that bad. Except for the leaches maybe." Those five words caused Bonnibel to stop in the act and quickly face Marceline, who burst out laughing after a second or two. "Im just kidding, there's no leaches here." She laughed, earning a splash of water to the face. Bonnibel didn't speak it aloud but she was very glad about Marceline coming out of her shell. Who knew someone as such could actually be as cool as they first came off. "This reminds me of home" her words formed from the blue, drifting from her mouth and to the ears of Bonnibel. "How so?" Bonnie asked. Floating on her back in a ceek under the trickling glaze of sun, Marceline thought back to days at such. "My house had a creek out back. Everyday after school I would come home and dress in these ugly bathing suits my dad bought for me." She snickered. "And then I would go out and swim in the creek and catch frogs and tadpoles. My dad used to hate it." That was one thing Bonninel didn't hear much about. Her dad. "Whats the deal between you and your dad?" Uttered Bonnibel, laying still on the water and allowing her feet to propel her furhter out. For a second she was quiet, summoning up her relationship with her father. "He's a asshole." Her tone was very blunt. "He always wanted me to be something im not my whole life. A worker in the family bussiness, a humble house wife to some prick husband, just everything I dont wanna be. When he found out about my ex girlfriend the summer before my freshman year he told her parents and had her sent out to live with her grandparents, me here. I've just been here eversince. He rarely comes to visit every few months." The silence soon crept up between them once more. Not a bad one, no not at all, more like a comforting silence. "Family sucks." Were the only words she could think of, and Marceline agreed.

The walk back to school was silent, a very good one. Only the sound of the earth under their shoes and the nature around them. Bonnibel had to admit, the most fun at the school she had included Marceline. Fist fights, cigarettes and venting in the bathroom, creek swims during lunch, everything that kept her mimd off why she was actually here. And she was plenty grateful. "Thanks again, Marceline. I had fun." Consoled Bonnibel. "Its cool." Was all that left Marceline before holding open the slab of fence for Bonnibel to slip through and then herself. And just as they entered through the fence, the bell released a cry heard all across campus, signaling the end of lunch and the start of class. Stopping in her tracks, Marceline held her hand and waved. "See you later Bonnibel." And slipping away after a reply. Bonnibel watched the girl disaper in the other direction toward her class and went on her way.

Bonus:

Seated next to her, Phobe couldn't help but pick up the curious smell of the girl settled near to her. Like a mix of old tap water and dog. "Dude you reek." The words plummeted from her mouth, Bonnibel staring off in the distance with a smile. "Yeah. I do."