New Friends (And Enemies)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

   “Have a good day at school, Mary!” Christine called, waving. “Screw you, Christy!” Mary replied, flipping her the bird.
   She didn’t need a baby-sitter. She was thirteen, and just because her parents had never been around didn’t mean she couldn’t take care of herself.
   Mary’s bitter mood was made worse by the annoying neighbor boy, Sean Coul, throwing dirt at her.
   “F you, Coul!” Mary screamed, dusting the dirt off her shirt and picking it out of her hair.
   “Hey,” an unfamiliar voice said from behind Mary. She whirled around.
   “Who are you and what do you want?” she snapped at the boy.
   “My name is Paul Chambers. And I thought I’d warn you — don’t get on his bad side. His sister and two brothers are vicious. From what I saw at your house earlier, your life sucks pretty badly. The Coul quadruplets will make it worse,” the boy answered. “You’re Mary right?”
   “Quadruplets?” Mary screamed in frustration.
   Paul nodded.
   “Welcome to Tremonton, Mary,” Paul shrugged.
   “Oh, this sucks,” Mary muttered angrily.
   “Well, stay off their bad side. If you want, you can hang out with me and my friends. The Couls generally leave my group alone,” Paul offered.
   Mary’s angry demeanor softened. “Is that okay?” she asked.
   Paul smiled. “So you can be nice. And yeah, it’s fine.”
   Mary stuck out her tongue. “I’m a mean person. Get over it or don’t talk to me.”
   “Nah,” Paul laughed. “You’re interesting.”
   “Thanks?” Mary questioned.
   “Sure,” Paul smiled. “Walk to school with me?”
   “Kinda don’t have a choice there, Chambers,” Mary rolled her eyes.
   Paul laughed. “You’re right, you really don’t,” he chuckled. Mary smiled.
   They walked in silence for a few minutes. 
   “My friends are interesting, I should probably warn you now,” Paul said suddenly. Mary raised an eyebrow.
   “Well,” Paul smiled, “there’s Katie. She’s probably the most random, crazy person you’ll ever meet. Then Charcie. She’s really shy, but funny and rather adorable once you get to know her. And then, the strangest of us all, Derek. He’s a skater, and he is almost as random as Katie. He’s hilarious, too — always cracking jokes and being sarcastic. If something he says offends you, tell him, but don’t take it too personally — he’s not too much of a serious guy.”
   Mary nodded. “I think I’ll like Derek,” she said. “He seems a lot like my cousin. His name is Corey — he lives in Rhode Island now.”
   “Cool. And another warning — if Katie seems a little mean and off-standish at first, just let it go. She doesn’t trust easily. She’ll tell you why eventually,” Paul said.
   “Oh, I know where she comes from there,” Mary muttered darkly.
   Paul raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question. Instead, he changed the subject.
   “What kind of music do you listen to?” he asked.
   “Everything.” Mary perked right up, her eyes getting bright. “I love all kinds of music. Everything from classical to gothic metal.”
   “Cool!” Paul cried, punching the air. “Someone like me!”
   Mary laughed, raising her eyebrows. “What?”
   “No one I’ve ever talked too loves all music like me,” he explained, grinning widely at Mary.
   “Well,” Mary giggled, “I do.”
   “That’s awesome,” Paul said. “Favorite band?”
   “Do I have to choose one? That’s so not fair,” Mary complained, pouting. “Fine, top five?” Paul corrected.
   “Hmm…Bullet For My Valentine, Hawthorne Heights, The Spill Canvas, Falling Up, and Skillet,” Mary said, looking thoughtful.
   “Falling Up?” Paul asked, confused. Mary sighed.
   “I swear, I’m the only one on planet Earth that listens to them,” she muttered.
   “I’ll look them up after school today,” Paul promised.
   Mary smiled. “Okay.”
   “Paul!” someone screamed.
   Mary and Paul looked toward where the voice was coming from.
   “Katie!” Paul laughed, shaking his head as the short girl ran toward them. “That’s Katie,” he said. “Notice how…interesting she is.”
   Mary nodded, closing her gaping mouth.
   Katie was only about four foot seven, it looked like. Her black and silver hair was really short in the back, and spiked. She wore a 30 Seconds To Mars t-shirt and skinny jeans that were splotched with black and red marker, and signed by several friends and Gustav Shäfer from Tokio Hotel.
   “Paul!” Katie said again, reaching them and starting to walk backwards as they continued forward.
   “Who’s your friend?” she asked, waving at Mary. “I’m Katie Eliason.”
   “Mary,” Paul answered, but paused.
   “What is your last name?” he asked her.
   “Lapointe,” Mary answered. “Mary Lapointe.”
   “French?” Katie asked in fascination.
   Mary nodded. “I can speak a bit of French. My grandmother never learned a word of English. Bonjour, ma nouvelle copine.”
   “I only know what bonjour means,” Katie laughed. Mary smiled.
   “Bonjour, ma nouvelle copine,” means “Hello, my new friend,”.” Mary explained with a smile.
   “Ooh, cool,” Katie exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across her face.
   “Sure,” Mary shrugged.
   “Do you know if Derek and Charcie are at school today?” Paul asked Katie. Katie nodded.
   “Last time I saw them, Derek was chasing Charcie around — she stole his little “book”,” Katie rolled her eyes, and Paul burst out laughing.
   Mary looked from Paul to Katie, confused.
   Katie realized this and started to explain. “Derek writes — poetry and stories — but he’s really self-conscious about them. He has this little journal that he writes things in all day. He gets really nervous when Charcie steals it.”
   “Why only Charcie?” Mary asked.
   “He likes her,” interjected Paul, before Katie could answer. “And she doesn’t know. Some of his poetry admits that — with her name in it, clear as day.”
   Mary snickered. “That’s brilliant.”
   Katie laughed and nodded. “It gets better — Charcie likes him, too. She’s just so shy, she won’t admit it.”
   Mary laughed. “I’m sure it’s fun to watch that.”
   Katie and Paul nodded furiously. “It’s really cute, honestly,” Katie giggled. “I would tell Derek that Charcie likes him, but Charcie would get so embarrassed, and I don’t want to do that to her.”
   Mary nodded. “That’s be mean,” she agreed.
   “Oh, look,” Paul said, pointing at the school. “There they are.”
   The three kids looked to see Derek and Charcie still running around, Charcie holding Derek’s book high in the air.
   “This could go on for days,” Katie shook her head.
   “One time, it did. Charcie, miraculously, never read it, but she kept the book for three days and teased Derek endlessly with it. Finally, he begged her enough that she gave it back.,” Paul laughed.
   “Oh, she’s brilliant,” Mary giggled. Katie laughed and nodded.
   “I know, right?” she said, smiling.
   “Let’s go faster,” Paul suggested. “I want to ask Derek something.”
   Katie muttered something under her breath.
   “What?” Mary asked as Paul rushed ahead of them.
   “Nothing,” Katie turned red.
   Mary looked at her for a moment, then slowly smiled.
   “Do you…like Paul?” she asked slowly.
   Katie blushed again. “No!” she exclaimed.
   Mary laughed, pointing at the short girl.
   “You so like him.”
   “No, I don’t.”
   “Yeah you do. You’re going so red!”
   “I do not like Paul Chambers!”
   “Yes, yes you do!”
   Katie snarled. “Fine! I like him. Happy?”
   "Very.” Mary smirked, patting Katie on the head.
   “Why don’t you tell him?” Mary asked.
   Katie glared. “He doesn’t like me,” she said in a low voice.
   “How do you know that?” Mary asked, smiling teasingly.
   “I just do.” Katie suddenly turned to Mary, fear dominating her expression.
   “Please don’t tell him! Please, Mary, I’m begging you. Don’t tell him,” she pleaded.
   Mary paused, making Katie start to turn white with fear.
   Figuring she’d scared her new friend enough, she spoke. “I won’t. I promise. I’m not that mean.”
   Katie let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. Thanks, Mary.”
   “Your welcome?” Mary asked. “I wouldn’t have told him anyway. I’m really good at keeping secrets. I’m not one for gossip, really.”
   “That’s good,” Katie smiled. “Come on, I want to go see Derek and Charcie.”
   “Okay,” Mary shrugged and smiled, jogging after the short , strange girl.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
  
   When they reached the school, Katie was literally attacked by a girl who Mary assumed was Charcie.
   “Who’s the newbie?” Charcie asked quietly. “Mary Lapointe,” Katie said, smiling at Mary.
   “This is Charcie Graham,” Katie said, putting an arm around her friend’s shoulders.
   “Nice to meet you, Mary,” Charcie smiled brightly.
   “You too,” Mary nodded, returning her smile.
   “Where did Derek and Paul go?” Katie asked Charcie. “Mrs. Willard’s classroom, I think. Paul needed to ask her something about the festival and Derek got dragged along, of course,” Charcie laughed.
   “To Mrs. Willard’s classroom!” Katie said as she literally charged to the school doors.
   Charcie laughed. “Meet Katie,” she shrugged in answer to Mary’s perplexed but amused expression.
   “Strange,” Mary muttered, following Charcie into the school.
   “Who are your teachers?” Charcie asked.
   “Uh…Mr. Cooper, Ms. Firth, and Mrs. Norton,” Mary said thoughtfully.
   “Oh, cool,” Charcie said. “I have them too.”
   “Cool,” Mary smiled.
   “There’s Mrs. Willard’s,” Charcie pointed. Mary could see Katie through the slim window on the door. She was kind of hard to miss.
   Charcie pushed open the classroom door, motioning for Mary to follow. Slowly, she did, looking around the strange classroom in fascination.
   “Mrs. Willard is the coolest teacher in the school,” Charcie said as they reached Paul, Katie, and Derek.
   “She is,” Katie agreed with her friend, smiling at Mary.
   Mary nodded, looking around the room at the colorful signs and quotes plastered to the wall.
   “Mary has the same classes as I do,” Charcie announced.
   “Good,” Paul said. “Maybe she won’t get into any trouble with the Couls with you around, Charcie.”
   “Oh, shove it Chambers,” Mary stuck out her tongue.
   Paul smirked. “Make me.”
   “Do you want me to make you?” Mary threatened, taking a teasing step toward him. Paul shook his head fearfully, and Mary nodded, trying not to laugh.
   Derek laughed and rolled his eyes. “What, scared of the scrawny newbie, Paul?” he chuckled. Paul went on the defensive.
   “No! I just don’t want to hurt her, getting into a fight,” he muttered.
   “Nah, I think you’re scared. Got a broken wrist?” Derek laughed.
   “I am so not gay! You’re the fag,” Paul snapped, turning red.
   Mary couldn’t help but join in.
   “Hey Paul, I thought you said not to take anything that Derek said seriously?” she asked teasingly, giving Paul a wide grin as he glared at her.
   “Screw you,” he muttered.
   “You’d want to,” Mary retorted. By now, Derek, Charcie and Katie were nearly in hysterics. Derek was leaning against the bookshelf, with tears in his eyes, while Charcie and Katie used each other for support.
   “I hate you guys,” Paul snapped, stalking out of the room.
   All laughing and wiping their eyes, Mary, Derek, Katie and Charcie followed him out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

   “Hey Charcie,” Mary asked quietly as the class did their work, “what time is lunch?”
   “Five, four, two…,” Charcie replied, and just as she said, “One,” the teacher dismissed them for lunch.
   “You’re good,” Mary laughed, grabbing her lunch money.
   “Nah, just been here for too long already,” Charcie smiled. “Hey, mind waiting for me? I gotta use the bathroom.”
   “Sure I’ll wait,” Mary replied, leaning on the wall outside the girl’s bathroom as Charcie went in.
   Mary sighed when she saw Sean Coul coming down the hall toward her. She could see his smirk. And following him were two guys and one girl.
   “Hello, Mary,” Sean sneered. “What do you want, Coul?” Mary asked, trying to stay calm.
   “Why, I just wanted to say hi,” Sean said innocently. Mary rolled her eyes.
   “And I also wanted to introduce my sister and brothers,” he added. “My younger brother by two minutes, Collin, and my older brother by one minute, Ben. And Lisa here, the youngest.”
   “And I care why?” Mary asked, standing at her full height. Which was about three inches taller than Sean, and five above Collin and Ben. Mary couldn’t estimate the distance she stood above Lisa; she towered over the sneering girl.
   “Because,” Sean smiled pleasantly. “Ours are the names that will make your life a living hell.”
   “Oh, don’t bet on it, Coul,” Mary muttered.
   Charcie suddenly reappeared. “Oh, uh, Sean, Collin, Ben, Lisa,” she greeted, going white and looking down.
   “Well, well,” Lisa smirked, “look what the cat dragged in. The worthless little mouse.”
   Mary’s anger sparked.
   “Lisa, why don’t you pick on people your own size? Oh, I know,” Mary laughed bitterly, “there’s no one else that small.”
   “Shut up, you,” Lisa snarled.
   “Make me, little witch,” Mary retorted.
   “Don’t you dare talk to my sister like that you — ” Sean started.
   Charcie interrupted. “Leave us alone, Sean,” she murmured. “Come on, Mary, let’s go. Katie, Paul, and Derek will wonder where we are.”
   Mary clenched her teeth but nodded, allowing Charcie to drag her toward the lunch room.
   “Ooh, they make my blood boil,” Mary muttered.
   “They make a lot of people’s blood boil Mary,” Charcie said, “but you’re going to get in deep crap talking to them like that.”
   “I don’t care,” Mary informed her.
   “That’s the sad thing,” Charcie replied, rolling her eyes.
   “Oh, shut up,” Mary snapped, getting her lunch.
   “Just wait until Paul hears about that episode. He’ll be so mad at you,” Charcie muttered.
   “Great to know,” Mary muttered, paying for her food and spotting Paul, Katie, and Derek.
   She hurried toward their table and sat down next to Katie.
   “What took you so long?” Derek asked,
   Mary jerked her head in Charcie’s direction as Charcie sat down.
   She sighed. “Mary got in a fight with the Couls.”
   Paul glared at Mary.
   “Did you not hear what I told you this morning?” he asked. Mary stuck her tongue out at him.
   “Maybe, maybe not. Why’s it your problem?” she said, sneering.
   “They’ll take you apart, piece by piece, but I guess it’s your choice,” Paul muttered, going back to his food.
   “I can take care of myself,” Mary snapped.
   “I didn’t say you couldn’t,” Paul retorted.
   “You implied it.”
   “No, I didn’t. You just inferred it.”
   “You’re so irritating.”
   “Merci,” Paul smirked.
   “Grrr,” Mary growled under her breath, finishing her food and standing up to dump her tray.
   “Mary,” Paul groaned, following her. “I’m only worried about you, and besides, I was just trying to irk you. Payback for this morning.”
   “Meh.” Mary’s response made Paul roll his eyes.
   “You can be really immature when you want to be,” he said, dumping his tray and stacking it on the table provided.
   “I’m aware. And I’m not being immature right now, I’m being stubborn. So ha,” Mary replied, smiling slightly.
   “Truce?” Paul asked, smiling.
   “Whatever,” Mary shrugged, laughing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*