Girlfriend On Mars

1. "ass lickers"

One

'Ass lickers'

Gazing down at the sun-bathed soccer girls, Jen sighed, chewing on her bottom lip distractedly. Another year, she thought, letting her eyes roam over the girls in shorts stretching beside the pitch. But she hoped it was only another year. She knew all her days absent and fighting and such would have only led to what happened. It was expected. Jen Archer had been held back another year, on her final year of high school, and she wasn't friends with anyone at all- not even a few months in. No one liked her either, they all steered clear of her like her lack of academic skill was contagious.

Jen didn't care though. She was already well aware of the places that would allow her alone time at breaks and lunches. Her favourite spot was the bleachers, where she had an open view of the soccer pitch. Teachers usually came around and told her to move as the bleachers weren't open to students during school hours, but after a while they began to ignore Jen Archer, just allowing her to read quietly as she wasn't disrupting anyone. And that's what she did, she read and occasionally looked up to watch the soccer girls' practice—to watch girls prance around in small shorts.

Jen thought most of the team were suck-up bitches anyway, they all just wanted to be close to the two treasures of Bank Rock. Mya Gash and Marley Rhodes. Mya Gash was obviously born to be popular and worshipped with her perfectly unscathed chestnut locks and round, green eyes. She was kind and was basically good at everything, she won most competitive games the school held- academic and sport-based.

But it was Rhodes that interested Jen, she felt drawn to her character, compelled to know her. She wasn't ugly at all, moderately cute, but she wasn't perfect. She had good grades, but she wasn't as friendly as Gash was, she was very reserved and aloof from what Jen had seen. She was all smiles and no talk. Her light blonde hair was medium-length and usually quite unruly, flowing wildly. Her features were defined and full of tiny freckles, soft and feminine. Unlike most the girls on the soccer team who were tomboyish in their looks, her style was old-fashioned and very flowery; skirts and blouses, cardigans and floral-patterned clothing. Her real name was Marlene but apparently, she hated being called her full name so the whole school just called her Marley. She was the captain of the soccer team and was loved dearly by the majority of her year, with her line of admirers growing by the day despite her never seeming to show an interest in love. She was timid and kind of awkward, but she seemed very nice, nonetheless.

Even from the year above, Jen knew how admired she was- being a big deal in Jen's previous grade too. Everyone knew her and the 'clique' she was a part of. But it was just the way she presented herself that made her stand out from the rest of the robots. She looked more like someone her group of friends would target. Despite her noticeable, old timely looks though, she was a golden girl, a clean record and amazing grades. It looked like she'd be offered the best college deal at the end of the year, even over Mya Gash's performance.

Jen Archer was an observer. Though she had out of school friends, she preferred to watch over others rather than join in discussions. She had to stay out of trouble that year anyway as she'd had been given her final warning, she was on thin ice from the start of the year due to her poor grades and all the trouble that had built up on her report. It was important that she finished the year with passes, or she'd be kicked or forced to repeat.

Jen glanced down at the pitch again, where Marley was moving swiftly behind one of her team members. She slid her foot between their legs fluidly and in a split second, she was sprinting off down the field with the ball. The way she moved was graceful, which surprised Jen because she would have guessed her to be goofy and clumsy with her movements. But on the pitch, Marley Rhodes was concentrated, and she moved beautifully. She interested Jen. She'd never crossed her path though; she'd never spoken a word to her—just knew of her.