It's Called Being Sassy

Allergic

Artie rolls up to Marcy. "What are you doing?"

"Do you like fireworks?" She asks instead.

"Are you going to release fireworks indoors?"

"Is school really indoors?"

"I feel like we're playing a game on Whose Line is it Anyway?."

"You would have lost."

"Come on, girl. What are you up to?"

"Why?" She fiddles with a remote.

"We're friends, aren't we? Can't friends take an interest in each other's lives?"

"Don't you have two girlfriends to ignore?"

"You're a tough nut to crack."

She raises a brow.

"Come on. Just tell me." He urges.

"I'd rather just show you." She presses a button on the remote and twenty lockers up and down the hall burst open and fireworks go off.

People start screaming and running.

Artie is surprised. He somehow didn't expect that. "You're going to be in a heap of trouble, ma'am."

She shrugs and gets off the locker she's leaning on to walk down the hall.

He follows her. "So you like fireworks?"

"Used to. Too loud now." She goes to the choir room and picks up a guitar.

"You play guitar?" He follows her to the edge of the steps.

She sits in the second row and starts strumming. "Yep."

"Any good?"

She starts playing for real and sings a darkly brooding rendition of The Letter.

"Are you okay?" He frowns.

"You don't have to pretend to care what's going on with me." She plays a different song. "I'm a big girl. I can handle dilemmas alone."

"So it's a dilemma?"

"Artie." She looks at him.

"Marcy. Tell me." He looks her in the eye to let her know she can trust him.

"Alright, RT. Let's see if you can keep up."

"RT?"

"A play on Artie."

He grins. "Girl, you know I like you! You're enough to take me from my women!"

She winks at him. "I'm always the other woman."

"Hey! You can be my musical mistress!"

"What?!"

"MJ is my musical wife. Our voices go together but you got that somethin special that can lead me astray!"

"That sounds janky as fuck."

"But you're interested." He grins, nodding.

She twists her lips. "Yeah, I guess."

"So come on, BT. Tell me what's got that pretty mouth turned down."

She sighs. "I don't feel good."

"What's wrong?"

"Everything. Everything is shit and although I'm physically in a good place, I'm not there mentally."

"You've been through some shit." He realizes. "That takes time to wade through. When I landed in this chair, everyone thought I should be happy to be alive but I wasn't. It took me a while to be."