[1] Distraught Malory

(Malory)

The Youth for Animal Rights group meeting ended just minutes ago. I stand at my slightly-dented locker –thanks to Dummy ole’ Davidson- putting textbooks in and taking others out, shoving them into my school bag.

The school is almost completely empty –save for the few students waiting at the entrance door for their parents to arrive. The meeting ran on later than usual today because we had another debate. Being president of the group is tough, tiring work, but I never minded it.

I lazily dunk my hand into my washed-out jeans pocket and find my phone to check the time.

Three-Thirty-Seven.

I would still have enough time to get home, take a relaxing shower, and head to work at Nadine’s Restaurant for my evening shift as a waitress.

Just as I shove my phone back into my pocket and place a textbook between two others, the pitter-pattering of lazy feet in slippers echoes from around the corner.

“Hey, co-star,” says the distressing jumbo chicken wiener.

I pause, just as I’m done fixing the book into the empty space. I slam the door of my locker, fixing my bag over my shoulder and sighing. I don’t even turn to look at him. I would probably go blind. I’d probably turn to stone. Even Medusa would spare me the tragedy.

“Don’t talk to me, twat,” I say to him. I turn on my heel to begin walking away.

“We are going to have to talk, dummy. You heard Bev.”

I roll my eyes and turn to him in disbelief. He’s finishing up patting a damp towel over his wet, jet black hair. It’s so long that it covers his forehead and his cheeks –it’s a miracle anyone could see his face at all. We just had to be unlucky enough to not miss his stupid smirks, though.

“We?” I almost snort. “Who is this ‘we’ you’re speaking of? You and I will talk when we’re reciting scripted lines. All the water from that long swim you just had in the pool must’ve gone through your ears and sunk into your head and finally drowned out all your default knowledge as a homosapien. Allow me to remind you of what you’re missing. We? Doesn’t exist. You and I? Are not friends. My future is important. That’s the only reason why I’m doing this. I don’t like you, you should have drowned in the pool, this conversation is over. Goodbye, Davidson.” I turn to leave once more.

Kyle’s idiotic smartass comments cannon-ball their way into my back as I take a step forward. His tone of sarcasm makes me sick. “Wait- did you actually just call me a homosapien? As in... as in... you’re labelling me under the same species as yourself? What? It must be Christmas.” He gasps. “Or is it my birthday? What happened to pig... or... worm under a blazing desert sun... or...” I turn to him. He takes a deep breath for emphasis before continuing, “...the meticulously fiery remains on an anus-hole after the spontaneously disgusting intervention of the forces of diarrhoea.”

I smirk to myself. Sometimes it really amuses me –the words that come from my mouth.

“Yea well, I’m against animal cruelty. I realised it’d be abuse to say you’re something as dignified as a pig. Humans, on the other hand, well,” I study him from his feet to his hair with a look of disgust plastered over my face, “...considering I’ve been paired with you for something like a play by someone like a principal, I’d say our race as human beings has finally reached peak idiocy. I thought humans were smart. It’s a shame. I’m disappointed. I’m leaving. Goodbye.” I begin to walk off.

Kyle scoffs, ignoring the fact that I was leaving so he could pitch in another stupid comment. “Fine then. I’ll tell the drama teachers to let you adlib every once in a while. This should be fun.”

I slow my steps as I listen to him ramble.

Idiot.

Seriously.

“Paired with the most irritating person on planet Earth,” he spits. “Someone please tell me truly what I’ve done to deserve this honour.”

It’s impossible for us both to forget that only yesterday –the first day of the new school year- we had been paired for what our school knows as the annual April Fest production. Granted, it takes place next year as it’s only September, it was a fashionably distasteful bit of information to have to swallow on the first day of the one school year we –I... was looking forward to.

I don’t reply to him. I walk straight out of the building and wait until I can feel no more of his presence before I mutter my own frustrated comments to myself. “Your hate towards me is just the infancy of my passionate distaste and absolute disgust towards you, Kyle Davidson.”

***

At two in the morning, I find it difficult to sleep again. This time, it’s not because my brain is tied up thinking about school or work or extracurriculars. It’s because of the production. I’m disastrously restless over the matter. I pick up the phone.

Me: I’m seriously so sick of this guy.

Like... he actually has the audacity to test me to this day!

IT’S BEEN FOUR YEARS, GUYS! F O U R. Y E A R S. AND THIS YEAR IS GOING TO BE THE WORST OF THEM ALL.

Stupid production.

I’M going to have to be the leading lady AND RISK CO-STARING WITH THE DISGUSTING DOG THAT IS KYLE DAVIDSON.

Someone help me. Someone please help me.

KittyKaty: Malory

Me: Katy ;-;

KittyKaty: Mal, please go to sleep. It is late. And I am very tired. And my phone is blaring every five seconds because of you and I am unable to take it off because my alarm is what wakes me up and if my alarm does not wake me up it is the sound of my ringtone when my dad calls me at 4:30 in the morning to make sure I’m waking up. And this is not a life or death situation. And I have to be up early if I’m going to get to school on time. You know this. Please go to bed. Stop expecting the worst. I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.

Me: WAIT, KATY!!!!! SERIOUSLY??? :(

KAAAAAAATTTYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Some friends you are

Both of you are snakes

SNAKESSSS.

Olive: MALORY, I WILL PERSONALLY WALK OVER TO YOUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW WITH A TRANQUILIZER IF YOU DO NOT PUT THE PHONE DOWN AND GO TO SLEEP.

All of this over Kyle Davidson. Jeez! You’re being ridiculous.

With that, the conversation ends, and both Katy and Olivia drift off to dreamland. Unfortunately for me, I don’t fall asleep until around half three in the morning –and I need to be up by four a.m. sharp if I’m going to get all my tasks completed for the day.

That’s just how my schedule works; late nights, early mornings.

***

I dig into my bag in search of a pack of peppermint-flavoured gum that I’m sure I’d left in the pocket when I last shoved it during lunch. “Can you believe that guy?” I ask my best friend, Olivia, “It’s like when I was born, Satan asked God for permission to create me an extra special demon to antagonise me throughout my entire school life.”

Olivia is sitting cross-legged on the floor of my room, tapping away at a document on her laptop and more than likely ignoring me. “Olive, seriously, are you even listening to me? What’s that? Literature coursework?” I find the gum and open one wrapped in paper, dunking it into my mouth. Olivia just keeps tapping at the keyboard, angrily, like she’s going to tap it to death.

“Yea,” she says, “Trying to finish my essay on the goddamn novel. It’s so hard for me to read books when they’re suggested by the school. Why don’t they just let us choose what we want to write on? This basic lit makes me snore. I literally almost sleep myself to death after dozing off at the second line.”

I scoff. “If they allowed us to pick our own books, what do you think the boys would choose?”

“Only the boys?” She asks, raising a brow at me.

“Good point,” I say, scratching my head. She begins tapping again. “But why am I so unfortunate to live in the same world at the same time in the same country and go to the same school as Kyle Davidson? Why, Olive?”

She groans, smashing her keyboard with her fingers before clenching her teeth and checking the keys in panic to see if she’d damaged them. “I don’t know, Mal. If I’m being honest, I’d say maybe if you stopped throwing punches at people without thinking first, maybe you would be in less chaotic situations.”

“Hey!” I say, defensively, “At least I can defend myself. I thought you were on my side. How am I going to get out of this now? And ole’ Bev went all out saying I had to do it if I wanted to clear my name. Which I do. I hate my life!” I grab a pillow from beside me on the bed and shove it into my face, allowing myself to fall flat on my back against the mattress. I groan.

Olivia studies me. She bites her lip. She sighs. “I have an idea.”

I immediately sit up with a gasp. “What? You do? Tell me!”

She soaks in my anticipation and I almost scold her but she begins talking right before I can. “Okay well... auditions start next week Monday, right? The signup sheets went up on the notice-board yesterday and they’ll be up until Friday. If I sign up... maybe I can get you out of having the leading role.”

Could I really allow you to do that, though? To sacrifice yourself for me?

Like that?

Best friend or not, it seems like a selfish thing to do.

“But that’s so much responsibility you’d have on yourself. I can’t make you do that... I really can’t.” I tighten my grip on the pillow in my hands and hug it, frowning.

She scoffs and raises a brow at me again. “So you’re saying that you’d rather be the leading lady and co-star to Kyle Davidson and spend all of rehearsals -which go on for months- as just that, having to then perform in front of a large audience together and risk the embarrassment than take the risk of me having the leading role and possibly getting you out of that whole situation? Kyle and I don’t have a war going on between us. I barely talk to him and he’s in my class. We’d find a way to get along... and you’d both be relieved that you won’t have to do the terror of a production together. In fact if I do get the leading role, who knows –both of you may not even have the leads anymore. Even if you get supporting roles, you’ll have to interact less. It’s still a win in my book.”

My best friend is incredibly smart. It’s no wonder she got into the science class. “You’d really, really be willing to do that? For me?”

“Hey.” She says. “Aside from not having a choice of whether I want to be in it or not as a senior drama student, I actually do want to be in the play anyway. If I get the leading role I’ll feel like a true queen. Imagine my face on the posters!” She waves her hand like she’s The Queen and smiles wittily.

I scoff, slightly disappointed. “Oh, so you’re not doing this for me. Okay.”

She studies my indifferent expression. “And also, you’re my best friend. I’d do anything for you.”

I smile at her brightly. “Thanks, Olive. I owe you.”

Then she changes the topic –and I’m ever grateful that she does. Lingering on the thought of her do this for me would make me die of guilt.

“But enough about Davidson,” she says, “I heard the new kid is in your class. Who is he? He’s handsome. Hazel eyes, dirty blonde hair, he’s really, really tall, too. You know the one. Looks like he works out. Stays fit. I haven’t seen him smile yet, but I imagine he smiles like an angel.”

I blink at her in disbelief. “You’re already crushing on him? All the girls in my class are swooning; whether or not he’s in the room. It’s so embarrassing. Seems like one of those cliché popular guys to me. Adrien Evans. In his brief introduction before our first period class he gave us all a little information about his life. I wasn’t going to listen but he’s actually quite an interesting book. Moved from across the country, apparently. Likes sports. Looks like a jock anyway, doesn’t he? Apparently he was supposed to write the final exams last year, but he urgently had to move around the same time–for whatever reason. So he had to repeat the year here. He’s one year older than us even though he’s at our level. It’s only been a few days since school reopened but I’m sure he’ll end up being one of the popular kids.”

“What about his classes? What’s he studying?” Olive asks me.

I smirk at Olivia. “Do you really want to know?”

“Duh!”

I grip tightly to the pillow again saying, “Brace yourself...”, raising it above my head and leaning forward to whisper close to her face. “All of my classes.” And with that, the pillow collides with her face. She gasps. I burst out laughing.

She clutches her chest –dramatically at that- and says, “And here you’re the one saying things are unfortunate?”

I allow myself to laugh before frowning. “It’s unfortunate because I have to be the leading lady in a production where Kyle Davidson is my co-star and I’m in the same eight classes with a guy who I must now dread crossing paths with anywhere because following behind him everywhere is a swarm of teenage girls with raging hormones.”

“Count your blessings, Mal,” Olivia tells me.