Chapter three

Chapter 3

More Secrets…?

   It has been two weeks already since the letter had shown up in our front doorway. And since then, mom and dad had been seriously discussing it, the whole time. I wondered why their keeping the secret away from me. Did they think that I would hate them if they told me? When are they going to let me know? Is there any chance that I’ll know about it one day? And, for a second I wondered was their secret that terrible? 

   I heard a knock on my door. “Marilyn?” Before I could answer, dad walked into my room. “Getting ready for school, huh?”

   “Yeah…” I nodded. I didn’t feel like talking. I was concentrated on how to bring up the story about the envelope.

  He sat down next to me on my bed. “I just came in to let you know… to do your best in high school. I know there might be times when you’re having trouble understanding something…but, it’s totally okay. It’s natural for you to get lost because you’re a learner, Marilyn.” He patted my head gently. “And if there’s anything you want to know…you can always ask.” He said. There was a look on his face that seemed to tell that he was truly worried. He gave me a quick kiss on my forehead then stood up. As he was just on the verge of leaving my room, I called out.

   “Dad…?”

He turned to face me. “Yes sweetie? What’s the matter?”

I hesitated for a second. “Well…there is something bothering me. But, I don’t if you’ll answer me…”

   “I’ll try to give you an answer if I can, dear. So, what is it that’s bothering you? Is it about school?”

   “No, it isn’t dad. It’s about something else…” I bit my lip.

   “So? Will you tell me?”

   I exhaled before I spoke. “Erm…remember how Todd picked up an envelope the other day?” He didn’t say anything and just nodded his head slowly. I twisted the ends of my hair. “Well…I just thought that it was probably…you know…about me?” I felt my heart drumming rapidly in my chest. What will his answer be? Will he answer me…or not?

   “Marilyn…?”

   “Yes, dad…?”

   “This…I can’t tell you. I’m sorry honey.”

   I became silent for a second or two before a tiny, “oh” sounded out of my throat.

   “I’m very sorry. I really wished I could’ve answered you…” he whispered. “I really am…”

   “Well…you could’ve! It’s not like you can’t, right-?”

   “The truth is I can’t, Marilyn.”

   “Why…?”

   “I don’t know. All I know is that, at least not now. Only when the time is right… that’s what it said.”

   “But, when…?” I agitatedly asked.

   Dad gave out a sigh. “Look, I can’t answer to any of your questions. I’m only allowed to do that when the time comes. And that too, I don’t know. That’s all there is to it.” With that he left without another word.

   I can’t believe it! I had brought up the courage to ask him that, and this is the answer I get? When the time comes? Are you even kidding me?  Sometimes being direct wouldn’t give you the answers to your questions. In the midst of anger burning inside me, I was beginning to need something to cool me off, and fast. So, I rose up from my bed and went to splash cold water on my face. I looked at my face in my bathroom mirror and it felt like the world had stopped spinning. My mouth was hanging wide open in shock as I stared down at my reflection.

OH MY GOD, I mouthed.  

   My face was stained with mascara sliding down my cheeks. My eyeliner was encrusted so badly that it made a huge dark circle around my eyes. My lipstick was smudged too, and strangely I somehow had managed to get some of it on my nose as well. Just when I had finished doing my makeup…

   I sighed before rummaging through my makeup purse for the second time, and that’s when I felt my fingers brush against something cold. Peculiarly, I dug it out and held it in the air in front of me. It was a charm bracelet given to me by Mark as a gift on my 15^th birthday last year. I was also told that it was for good luck. I slipped it on my thin wrist, and touched my favourite charm: the four clover leaf. It was small and silver and it shined brilliantly. It matched perfectly on my almost-tan skin. I stood up and went to check my reflection in the mirror for the second time. Today, I had chosen to wear a black hoodie, a pink t-shirt that read Miss Cool Gal, blue skinny jeans and gold Gucci flats that I had bought from The Bay on last spring’s sale, a few months ago. For my jewelry, I picked out a small gold earring and a silver necklace with a charm that had a shape of a heart. Next, I did my makeup. My eyes were lined, like usual, with eyeliner, mascara on my lashes and pink glittery, raspberry scented lip gloss to add a nice touch to my lips. Finally, for the finishing touches I had put my hair up in a low ponytail and a braid decorated elegantly at the side of my head. I looked perfect, as always.

   As I reached to grab my purse, I heard a soft knock on my door.

   “Come in.” I answered. Mom entered my room, closing the door slowly behind her. She turned to face me.

   “You’ve dressed up really good today. Is there a good reason?” Mom smiled as she spoke. She had on a light pink robe that had little images of a teddy bear.

   “Oh…well no reason at all.”I did wear nice clothes but, it’s true that today I looked exceptionally more beautiful than any other day.

   “I see…you have a boyfriend, Marilyn?”

My eyes grew wide for a second at her all-of-a-sudden question. Usually, when you dress up good on an everyday base, it’s for your boyfriend or to attract the guy you’re interested in. for me, it was just a normal thing. Cause I love fashion and perfectness.

   “No mom! Of course not for that! I don’t even have a crush!” I blushed embarrassingly. To say this in front of my mom was totally uncomfortable. I had many people ask me if I did. Which, I actually didn’t know if I did. But, of course I wouldn’t even tell anyone that. So, my answer had always been “no”.

   “You’re telling the truth, are you?”

   “Yes.” I nodded.”Of course...”

    I could see her relax a bit. “Oh thank god! I was about to faint!” then she laughed a little. “Well, you get to school, Marilyn.” she said before leaving.

   That was weird. Why had she asked if I had a boyfriend? It seemed very strange cause from three years being in high school, she’d never asked this till today. I looked at the time on my iPhone. It read 7:55 a.m. that meant if I didn’t hurry up I’ll surely be late for school.

   When I reached the school grounds, the bell hadn’t still rung yet. But, only a few seconds later it did, which saved off a few seconds for me to do any last minute checkups, before I went to class.

   I was standing near my locker when I saw Mark stop in the middle of the hallway. His eyes were slightly wide and his lips formed a small “o”. Then his lips formed a smile and he walked slowly towards me.

   “Hey Marilyn. You look beautiful.” he complimented.

   “Thanks.” I blushed. “Do I always look?”

   Before he can answer my question I heard a female voice call him. I turned to the direction of where it came from. It was Meena Patel. Her long black hair was neatly braided, and her eyes were lined dark with eyeliner. She wore black skinny jeans and a patterned tee. Two thin traditional golden rings lined her thin fingers. She waved at us with a smile on her face. “Hey guys!” she beamed.

   “Meena, you look lovely as usual!” I gave her a quick hug.

   “Thank you! You, too!  You look stunning!”

   I smiled. Meena and I are best friends. There was many times where we’d sit and talk for hours during pajama parties. Then, there’d be Meena’s dad coming in and saying to us “sleep or else the sea witch will punish you!” we’d all just laugh and shoo him away.

   She turned to Mark. “Mark…what do you have first period?”

   “I have…”he held up a finger. “Wait…let me check.”

   “No prob.” Meena brought her braid in front, and checked the tips for any split ends. That’s when I noticed something I hadn’t before. Meena’s cheeks were flushed, and there seemed to be a tiny whisper of a smile lingering there. For some reason, my heart throbbed a tiny bit. And I didn’t know why…

   “So…I’ve got math…first period.” He raised his eyebrows in confusion. “But…why do you ask?”

   Meena’s cheeks were flushed even more. “I…I just had to know…” with that, without even saying “bye” she turned to walk away, her braid swinging behind her wake.      

   The bell had rung and it was time to attend my first period class, science. Mrs. Bones, our science teacher, is probably in her late 20’s. I guessed she is about 28 years old. She is very beautiful. Her blond straight hair was tied up into a messy bun. Her face is lightly tanned and her blue eyes match the colour of the ocean blue. She’s slim and tall but, not too tall either. When she walks, she seems to be walking on air as if she were floating. Good morning everyone!” she smiled at our class.

   “Good morning, Mrs. Bones.” We all said in harmony.

   “Good to hear you’re all excited to learn more!” there were a chorus of moans. “Aw… C’mon! Admit it. You guys love science and just find it really fascinating!” she teased. There were a few whispers like “me too!” and “I love science “before she continued.  “Okay I’ll pass out your worksheets that I’ve corrected from last week.”

   “Mrs. Bones!” a girl called out.

The class turned to the direction the voice had come from. “No calling out in class! Raise your hands.”

   “Sorry Mrs.” She rose her hands in the air.

   “Yes Meena. What is it, dear?”

   “Can I go to my locker, please?” she asked. I could tell her cheeks were a little flushed. “I forgot my binder.”

She probably forgot it on purpose, I thought. And there it was…her excuse to see Mark, but, why?  Have I guessed right?

   “Yes, you may.”

   My mind quickly searched for an excuse as my eyes wandered to Meena who was about to leave. I raised my hand in the air.  “Erm…Mrs. Bones?” I gripped my pencil firmly in my hand.

   “Yes, Marilyn. How can I help you this time? Did you too, forget your binder in your locker?” she looked at me a little cynical.

   “Er…No. I needed to go to the bathroom.” Then I added, “Please?”

She licked her lips. “Okay, just don’t take your time though, because I need to start the class and you’ll then miss out.”

“Mm-hm.” I swiftly, grabbing the hall pass, speed-walked out the classroom and down the hallway. I spotted Meena turn to a corner down the hall and discretely I did the same. She then stopped at a room that read rm216. That was no mistake. This was Mark’s class. What was she doing here? Then taking a deep breath she knocked. The door opened after a minute or two and the teacher-Mrs. Brown- stood there at the class entrance.

   “Yes…Meena? Came to see your-” she didn’t finish her sentence and instead she gave her a wink.

Meena smiled, tossing her braid in front.

   “Wait here okay? I’ll let him know that you wish to speak with him.” she went back into the classroom. Meena poked her head in the classroom for a second before she removed it.

   What was that? She wanted to speak with Mark, about what? Me? Is that it? I slowly took a peek from behind the wall, just in time to see Mark standing there.

   “Mark, can you meet me during lunch today?” she asked. “I really need to discuss something important with you.”

What?

   “Discuss something important?”

   “Yeah, please?”

Please say no!

  “Why? Can’t you just tell me now?” he asked.  “What’s so important?”

   “I can’t tell you now or here. Anybody can hear us!” she looked down the hall, for anyone. Before she would notice me I quickly pulled my head back. “No one should know about this other than us.” she shook her head quickly. “It doesn’t matter…you’ll just have to wait. I’ll tell you everything during lunch, okay?”

Please say no. Please say no-…    

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “Fine... Whatever.”

   During lunch time I looked everywhere for Mark and Meena but, I couldn’t spot them anywhere in the school cafeteria or near the school grounds. The only place they could’ve been to, is the restaurants nearby. Something made me feel both sad and irritated, and I knew absolutely why. Both of my friends were hiding a secret from me, just like my parents were.

   “Humph!” I stormed angrily into the school hallways and turned around a corner bumping into something hard. Or I think someone.

   “Owww!” the voice belonged to a girl.

   “Oh! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” I rubbed my forehead.

   “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.” She said. It was Christina Sanders, my best friend. “But, that totally hurt. Are you okay?”   

   “Yeah, I’m good.” I smiled. “I just hope I didn’t get any bruise on my forehead.”

“Nope, not a single bruise.” She said reassuringly. She put her dirty blond hair back and squint her blue eyes. “But, you don’t seem okay. I mean…you sort of look like you’re angry.”

   “I do?”

She nodded. “Is there something bothering you?”

   “Wow. You can really tell, eh?” I laughed a little.

   “Yup…I could tell from your expressions. You’re very readable Marilyn.”Then she looked around her. There a bunch of students roaming around the hall. “Let’s go to the bathroom. We could talk there.”

   “Sure.” We entered the girl’s bathroom and to our surprise, there were a few girls with their iPod’s out playing “Sorry” by Justin Beiber. Some were either dancing to it or singing. “I think we should just go someplace else.” I rolled eyes.

   “I mean c’mon! The bathroom isn’t a place where you can just jam in there whenever you like!” She said tossing her hair over her shoulders. I laughed, and did the same, and then doubled in laughter. We walked silently across the pavement to sit on a bench that was placed near the school wall. “So tell me. What’s wrong?”

   I sighed. My family’s been keeping a secret from me lately. They wouldn’t even share. “Actually it’s nothing.”

   “Marilyn…I know it’s not nothing. I could tell!” she grabbed my hands in hers. “Tell me Marilyn.”

I shook my head. “I’m grateful that you’re worried for me but, to be honest it doesn’t make matters any better, or anything. So it’s better for me to just…”

   “But, at least it’ll make you feel better after you’ve spoken to me. Wouldn’t it?” she insisted.

   “It’s true…but, I just can’t say it out loud. I’ve already done that.” I’ve told my secret to Mark and, he’s shut with one, too. 

    I entered into my third period class, after lunch. Right now, I had English class with Mrs. Medley. Her frizzy white-blond hair hung behind her shoulders rather heavily and untidy and, her makeup less face seemed to glow with excitement. Her brown eyes-magnified behind huge black, thick rimmed glasses- searched out the class while she called out our names for attendance.

   “Peterson Molise?” she called.

  “Here, Mrs.” He answered raising his pencil in the air.

  “James Spall?”

   “Here…” he called out.

   “Luigi Amatucci?”

   “Present.” He raised his hand. Everyone snickered. Luigi looked around in confusion and then noticed the look on Mrs. Medley’s face. She shook her head. “Luigi you already had your name called out.”

    “Oh…I” he looked down embarrassed.

   “You’re the Event Planner, right?”

   “Yeah…” Luigi replied.

   “Is there anything happening for Halloween? I suppose it is next week on Friday.”

   “Er…well we’ve decided on having a Halloween Dance Party. But, we’re not sure about the details and the rest.” He said.

   “Ooh a Halloween Dance Party.” She nodded. The rest of the class cheered at the news while some of the students whistled loudly. “Settle down everyone!”

   “She seems to have us look back and forth at them, like as if she was having a private conversation.” I whispered to Christina, who laughed rolling her eyes.

   I shut my locker door and turned around and came face to face with someone I totally didn’t want to neither talk nor see.

Mark Polymor. What was he doing here?

   “Marilyn-“he began, but was abruptly interrupted by Meena. Strangely, I was relieved for the disruption. Good. Escape time.

   I turned on my heel and walked away down the hall and out of the school, my ponytail swinging angrily. I guessed that’s the only thing that let out my anger. That showed it.

Good, I thought.

   That evening I got a message from Mark.

Ding! Ding!

     Mark.P: HEY. WHTZ THE MATTER?! U LOOKED SO MAD! L                                                                  

    WROTE AT 4:50 P.M

I ignored the message and decided to take a shower to get my mind off of things. Half an hour later my phone buzzed again for the second time.

Ding! Ding!   

 Mark.P: CAN U PLZ TELL ME WHY’RE SO MAD?

     WROTE AT 5:20 P.M

Then the messages kept coming.

Ding! Ding!

     Mark.P: R U MAD AT ME?

                    WAT DID I DO? TELL ME

      WROTE AT 5:23 P.M

Ding! Ding!

      Mark.P: OK. I THOT ‘BOUT IT… U MAD

                    CUZ WE COULDN’T TALK?

     WROTE AT 5:24 P.M

Ding! Ding!

      Mark.P: MARILYN U THERE??

     WROTE AT 5:26 P.M

   That was it. There wasn’t another message from Mark. Even though I knew he wasn’t going to text me again, I still had the phone in my hand, for reasons that even I didn’t know myself. I looked at the time on my iPhone’s screen, it read: 5:33p.m. Is he going to text me any minute? Will he? Then I heard my iPhone buzz. I hastily looked at my screen and a tiny gasp escaped my throat.   

     Lovzsweet: WE NEED TO TALK

     WROTE AT 5:55P.M

What?! Meena wanted to talk? Was this got to do with what she and Mark had talked about at lunch? I stood up from my bed and started to pace and suddenly, I paused. Wait…could it be that they texted each other just now? Is that why Mark didn’t text me?  

   I hesitated before typing.

     Live2perfection: WHEN??   

Ding! Ding!

     Lovzsweet: WAT ‘BOUT NOW?

Why now? Was she kidding me? Was it that urgent?

     Live2perfection: Y NOW? CAN’T U JST TXT ME?

Ding! Ding!

     Lovzsweet: I CAN’T. NOT ON PHONE.

My heart raced as I thought about my answer.

     Live2perfection: OK. I’M COMING AT UR PLACE.

                                    I’LL B THERE IN 15 MINS.

Ding! Ding!

     Lovzsweet: CAN’T WAIT!

What? She can’t wait for what? She can’t wait to talk to me about her and Mark? That she needs me to stay away from him?

   I got dressed as quickly as I could, and went down stairs. I was about to wear my shoes, when dad appeared dressed in his grey knitted cardigan. I guessed it was grandma had knitted for him for his Christmas present last year.

   “Hey, dad.” I said trying to put up an innocent smile.

Dad’s eyebrows narrowed and the crease lines appeared in the middle. “Where are you going? Dinner’s ready and it’s-“

   “6:17p.m. I know. I’ve got to meet up with my friend-“

   “Who is it?”

   “Meena…”

   “You can’t take long. “

   “I won’t take long, dad.” I smiled before shutting the door silently behind me. I could still hear mom’s voice carry out.

   I walked on, in the dark night. I could see the stars shine serenely. There really wasn’t anyone out. Many homes had already hung up their decorations for Halloween. We still had to hang our decorations. There was a week left before the Halloween Dance Party. Halloween…maybe Meena wanted to talk about that? That she’s going to be Mark’s date for the Halloween Dance?

   I turned to a corner and walked up to a house that was fully lit up, and rang the doorbell. Footsteps slapped across the floor and stopped in front of the door. A second later the lock was turned and the door was yanked open to reveal an older version of Meena.

   “Hello! Come in! Come in!” she said ushering me inside. “Meena’s waiting in her room.” I guessed that she was her mom.

   “Thank you, Mrs. Patel.” I smiled. I removed my shoes and entered. The house was gigantic. I smelt a mixture of Indian spices in the air. I crept up the stairs and found a room with a sign that read “Meena’s room”. I knocked gently and, after a few seconds I heard a voice yell, “Come in!”

   I opened the door slowly and music blasted loudly over the speakers that were set beside her laptop. I hadn’t heard any music playing when I had knocked on the door. Weird…

   “Hey, Marilyn!” a voice shouted over the loud music. “Come sit down!”

   Meena sat on the floor with a Lays BBQ chips bag opened up and settled on the middle of the rug. There was a huge pot with butter flavored popcorn, cans of sprite and coco cola which sat on a tray. “Hi.” I said as I sat down, carefully tucking my skirt behind me.

   “Hey.” I heard another voice now. I turned to the voice and gasped.

   “Mark?” He was there, too? So were Christina Sanders, Luigi Amatucci and James Brooke. Why was everyone here if she wanted to talk to me?

   “I thought you wanted to talk to me?” I shouted. The next song that now played was “Work” by Rihanna.

   “I didn’t want to spoil my plan, I mean my secret!”

What secret? Did she want to announce about her and Mark in front of us all but, not just me? Did she plan to throw me off in front of them?

   “Does anyone want cake?” Meena asked as she sliced a vanilla cake.

   “Yeah, I’d like a slice.” James spoke.

   “I want cake, too.” I heard Mark say.

Wait a minute. There’s cake, too? Does that mean she’s celebrating their now “boyfriend and girlfriend” thing?!  I glanced at Mark as he took the cake slice from Meena, and as he quickly gave her a wink. Meena punched his shoulder giggling slightly. Wow. Now were they really flirting? This was getting on my nerves. Without thinking twice I blurted out, “I had enough. I’m leaving!”

   “What?” I heard Meena say.

   “Marilyn?” Mark asked confused.

   Before I knew it tears had happened to roll out of my eyes and I happened to be looking angrily at Mark and Meena. They both stared back at me confused. I stormed out of her room not bothering to say ‘good bye’. I stormed out into the cold, dark night. The cool breeze swept through my hair and it felt chilly on my wet cheeks.

   Meena didn’t want to talk. She wanted to make a fool out of me. She did this on purpose, just so that I could get jealous of her and, to let me know that Mark is hers now. I and Mark are just friends. Nothing more….

   I know it’s true but, just hearing me say this hurt me so much that even more tears had begun to spill down my cheeks. I didn’t know then…but, I know now.

   I’m in love with Mark Polymor…

Chapter two

Chapter 2

Rock, Paper N’ Scissors!

   Last night I couldn’t sleep well and so when I took in my face in my mirror on my dresser, I couldn’t help but laugh a little. My eyes were puffy and looked slightly swollen. My brown hair which usually has a beautiful wave in it was now nothing more than something that resembled thread when it would get all tangled. My face felt slightly heavy cause of the dried tears. This was going to be hard trying to get me fixed in perfectness.

   I strolled across my room to my cupboard where I kept my clothes. I scanned for my favourite blouse. It was white with golden studs that ornamented near the collar giving it a fabulous look. Next, I grabbed my ripped denim shorts, and black tights. When I was finished dressing up I walked over to my closet and looked for my All-star red coloured converse shoes.

Perfect. Looking fabulous is what a girl needs to overcome her problems.

   I strode over to my dresser and rustled through my makeup and decided to line my eyes with some black eyeliner, a little coat of mascara to the top and bottom lashes, a bit of colour to the cheeks with pink blush and lastly I brushed on some strawberry scented red gloss for some colour to my lips. I took in myself in the mirror before grabbing my backpack, that was settled in the corner of my room near a chair, which I liked to use on my spare times reading my favourite novels from the bookshelf near it.

  

    It was Monday, and the weather was quite beautiful. I shivered a little in my light sweater. Today was a little colder than last week. But, for some reason the cold hadn’t bothered my thoughts right now. What had occupied my mind was that in a few minutes I’ll be facing a test which I had totally forgotten to study for last night. And that was something I knew I sucked at.

    I walked into the school hallways right after the first bell. I thought that, that way I could get a little time before hand to study for my history test, which unfortunately I had I has first period. As I was about to turn my lock I felt a gentle tap on my left shoulder and immediately turned to look, and came face to face with Mark Polymor. Mark was tall, tan and had dark hair and golden brown eyes. His skinny arms were slightly muscular but, lean. When he smiled there’d be two cute dimples on both sides. As usual, he dressed well. He wore a dark blue sweater with a hoodie and a beige khaki shorts. Didn’t he shiver in those?

   “Hey Marilyn.” He smiled and a dimple formed on his right cheek. “How was your weekend? Go anywhere?”

   “Oh! Mark…” I got my locker open and dug for my history binder. “Hey…my weekend was okay. Nothing special but, something had come up. How was your weekend?”  

   “What came up?” he asked.

   I bit my lip. I didn’t really want to remember what had happened last night and I really didn’t want to share with anyone either. But, this was Mark.

   “Is it good or bad?” Mark pressed. “Look…I’m not going to tell anyone so you can tell me. I promise I won’t tell anyone. I promise Marilyn.”

   I turned so that I could now face him. I trusted Mark. I didn’t need to worry at all. I knew he could keep a secret. “It isn’t good or bad. I mean…I don’t know. My little brother Todd found an envelope near our entrance doorway and I didn’t feel like even knowing what it contained. But, when I was up in my room I heard them talking quietly downstairs.” Mark didn’t say anything and, just nodded his head. I continued. “At dinner, I noticed mom and dad were giving each other looks but, from what I know, besides me, Todd is also kept from knowing about what the envelope contained.”

   I looked up to see Mark thinking quietly about what I just told him now. “Marilyn…you said that your parents were arguing silently during dinner, right?”

   “Yes.” I nodded.

   “But, what I don’t understand is that they could’ve taken your opinion for whatever this was. And if it was something that’d gotta do with you, shouldn’t they let you know?” He seemed a little angry and perplexed at the same time. For some reason that made me sort of feel strangely calmer. Cause, I wasn’t the only one to feel that way. To tell you the truth, I really wanted to know what that letter had said about me…but, I was scared to know, too.

*

    I hadn’t gotten the chance to concentrate during my history test and probably had gotten a 30%. Getting a 30% or below 3x in a row lead to a meeting with the principal, your subjects teacher and your parents as well. And that wasn’t something I was ready to face. I wasn’t ready to see my parents right now.

I was absolutely not ready.

   It was already 12:05p.m and that meant lunch break. I sat there staring at my lunch bought from the school’s cafeteria. A turkey sandwich with salad sat on a paper plate and beside that was a raisin muffin and a boxed orange juice. I usually didn’t mind the food cause it wasn’t like it was horrible but, right now I just didn’t think a turkey sandwich was with me this time.

   “Feeling like you’ve lost your appetite, huh?” A familiar voice said.

I looked up to see Mark standing there. “Where’s your lunch?”

He shrugged. “I saw you from far and you seemed to look disappointed.”

   “Yeah…?” I didn’t think I was that transparent. Unlike my parents, they keep their feelings locked in pretty well. You’ll think when you see them that there’s nothing ever bothering them in their lives. And right now at times like this I wished it would do the same for me. “Am I that readable?”

   “Yeah, you could say that. You know I’ve got money…if you want we can go out and get something to eat?” He offered. “I mean if you-“

   “Of course Mark!  I’d love to get something because, right now…” I pointed to the turkey sandwich on my paper plate. “…I don’t think I’ll lift ever lift my mood by eating this.”

   I rose up and grabbed the sandwich. “What shall I do with it?” I searched the cafeteria and then my eyes landed on a group of girls quietly talking among themselves. I walked over to them and waved the sandwich in the air. “Anyone want it?” I asked. A girl with two red pig tails with freckles raised her hand.

    “Um y-you can give it to me.” She squeaked.  

I placed the sandwich on the table in front of her. “Then it’s all yours.”

   “Thank you…”

When we got out of the school grounds, it was warm, not cold as it was in the morning. The weather was as if it was reflecting my mood today. We walked a little before Mark spoke up. “Where do you wanna go?”

   “I don’t know. Anywhere’s good.” I said simply.

   “No.”

   “Hm..?”I turned to my right. “What?”

   “No, you choose. I’m paying.” Mark replied.

I smiled. There were many places with good food that I really wanted to try but, I couldn’t choose which one.

   “I have an idea.” I said thoughtfully.

Mark stopped and turned to face me, with a playful smile on his lips. “And what’s this idea if I may ask?”

   “What if we both closed our eyes and point at a restaurant, then play rock, paper and scissors to make the decision?”

   His eyebrows shot up as he nodded his head. “Marilyn! That’s a great idea!”

   “Isn’t it!” I cheered. “Umm…who’s gonna start?”

   “You can.”

   “You’re sure?”

   “Positive. Go”

   “Okay then, I’ll start.” I closed my eyes and moved my arm from left to right and then paused. I opened my eyes and saw that my finger had pointed to a restaurant called Indian Home Cuisine. It was an Indian restaurant which I never really been to.

   “Ooh an Indian Restaurant!” Mark imitated an Indian gesture by placing both of his hands near his forehead and shaking his head side to side. “Namaste je…”

I laughed a little before he continued.  “Okay, my turn.” Mark pretended to get magic out of his hands and then turned his arm right and left.  His hand pointed at an Italian restaurant called Pizza 24/7.

   “Mmm…Pizza. I’m already starving even more. So who do you think is gonna win? You or me…?”

   “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll win this. I’m not good with this game!”

   “I’m warning you Marilyn Hudson. I’m not called Mark Rock’n Scissors for no reason!” He laughed.

   I smiled. “Okay, then I’ll try my hardest.”

   “Well…good luck to you then!”

We both stretched out our hands and chanted. “Rock, paper, scissors…shoot!” Marks’s hand showed “paper”. I looked at my hand and did a little gasp. My had “rock”. He was right. Mark was good at rock, paper and scissors! I guess I had no luck winning against him.

   “I got a point.” He held up his left hand to show four fingers. “Four more points and then I win!”

   “Well…we’ll see about that Mr.Rock’n scissors!” I laughed. 

   “You wanna bet?”

   “Sure.” I said. “If I win…I want you to do my homework for a week. How ‘bout it…?”

He grinned. “Sounds good…then…if I’ll win you’ll take a silly picture and post it everywhere!”

   “A silly picture?” I asked raising my eyebrow in question.

   “Yeah…”

   “Then the deal’s on Mr. Polymor!” I grinned.

For some reason the person who had won in Rock, paper and scissors was me. I guess its beginner’s luck? Mark seemed to look normal. And then maybe it could’ve his doing. I didn’t know why he’d done that by playing it wrong just so that I can win against him.

  

   We entered into Indian Home Cuisine Restaurant and the smell of various Indian spices wafted through my nose. A few waitresses walked around with what they call thali (a platter that serves an assortment of dips along with your choice of bread) and began to zigzag through the tables to give it to their diners. Walls were decorated with fine-looking paintings and the floors were lined with plants in golden vases. The lights on the chandelier were dim giving the place a warm look. At the counter there was an assortment of desserts. I didn’t know any of the names though, but I could tell they all probably tasted good.

   A waitress who had her hair tied up approached us. “Here’s the menu. When you’re done choosing we’ll come to take your order and serve-at the latest-in 10 minutes.” When she spoke she had an accent. “Please wait patiently.” She smiled and then walked to do the same with the other customers who came into the restaurant. I looked at their menu. It was maroon and was bordered with elegant golden traditional designs on the front. The dishes along with the names had a description which was written in gold cursive font. It was hard for me to choose since everything looked soo good.

   “What are you taking?” Mark asked looking up from his menu.

   “I have no idea what I want. There’s just so much to choose from!” I sighed.

   “Yeah, exactly! I’m having a hard time choosing, too!” he shook his hair. “Man this looks good…”

   “Which one does?”

   “That daal soup…”

   “Oh! Look at the one that says masala chai! I really wanna try that one day!”

  “Yeah, I and check out the falooda drink! That is a must!”

The waitress who talked to us earlier came by to our table. “May I have your orders?” she asked with a clipboard in her hand.

   “Um…I want the special offer.” He pointed on his menu.

   “And you miss?” she turned her head to face me.

   “Er…” I still didn’t know what to choose so panicking, I pointed at a random item on their menu. “This.”

   “Thank you. Please wait patiently.” She gave us a quick smile before disappearing. In about ten minutes, like the women said, we were served with hot steaming food under our noses.

   “Mmmm…” I took in the dishes on my platter. There was an Indian bread called naan, and to go with it there was, what they called it aloo shaak (potato curry). For the beverages I ordered a can of sprite. “Everything looks so good! Yours looks good, too!” Mark had ordered the special offer and it contained: one naan, two poori, palak paneer and chickpea curry and two veggie samosas to go, as an after dinner snack. “Yeah, it does. Wanna have some of this and that?” He pointed to where the palak paneer and chickpea curry.

   “No thanks. I’m okay with what I took. You enjoy your lunch.”I replied.

   “You’re sure Marilyn?”He urged  

   “Yeah…”

As I was about to dig in, he put a spoonful of his food into my plate. “Here…”

I reached in to give him some from mine, too.

   “It didn’t matter. I was just fine with what I ordered.”

   “But, I wasn’t. I couldn’t let myself have more choices of food.  Look how many choices of food you have in your plate now!” he said.

   “Well…thanks a lot Mark.”I smiled. He’d even given me one of his poori and samosa.

   “Bon appetite!” 

                                                                             *

   The next day, during history Mrs. Goldie returned our history tests. I gulped. I was about to find a note of 30% on my history test, which meant a meeting with my school Principal Mrs. Goldie and my parents. And I still didn’t want that. Last night, my family hadn’t brought up about the envelope and that still got me mad. How long were they planning to hide this from me? I was begging to get a little impatient.

   Mrs. Goldie spoke breaking the silence in the air. “As you all know it is a rule in our school to have a meeting with you and your parents it you’ve got a 30% or below 3x in a row in your tests on any subjects.” I could see her eyes glance over to me when she mentioned this. “Most of you have gotten below 90% and there’s a few of you who’ve got above 90%. I’m very impressed.”

   She continued to hand out the rest of our tests. A girl named Camellia Jones called out bragging. “I got 85%!”

   Another girl at the back with tons of ear piercings and pitch black hair- which was definitely dyed black because its seemed sort of blue to me-and with a pixie cut yelled out her mark without shame. “I got 45%! Ha! At least I didn’t get 30%!”  

 

    I rolled my eyes. She didn’t need to be proud of a mark below 60%! You had to get 60% above to pass. And she didn’t. I couldn’t blame her though, because I got lower marks in history.

   “What did you get Xing Lee?” Jake McNeill asked to an Asian boy sitting right next to him. 

   He looked at his mark on his paper, and then slowly he turned around to see if there was anyone listening. His eyes landed on me. He looked away and whispered in the guy’s ear. “I got 99% on my test.”

He had thought I couldn’t hear him but, I was somehow able to between all the noises everyone was making.

   He turned around to face me. “Did you ‘ear me?”

   “Er…yeah but, I won’t tell anyone.” I smiled to reassure him.

   “Okay, good. Thanks…er…-?”

   “It’s Marilyn Hudson.”

   Mrs. Goldie came to me next. She put my test facing downwards as usual. And that meant-bad mark. For the students with good grades, she would place their test facing upwards. Slowly I turned my test just a tiny bit so that I could take a peek at my mark. My throat brought out a tiny squeak. There written in a red pen was a number I didn’t want to see.

   30%

And I knew perfectly well what that meant. A meeting after school with the school principal-Mrs. Silvie, Mrs. Goldie, -my history teacher and my parents.

   The bell had rung to indicate the end of the school day. As I stood to tuck in my chair I saw someone staring at me from the door way of my class. Mark Polymor. . He wore black skinny jeans and a dark shirt that fitted perfectly on his lean but toned abs. On his feet he had on his favourite Adidas high tops. He waved his hands motioning for me to come over. Just when I was about to walk over to him I heard Mrs. Goldie’s voice calling out my name. Great…

   “I’m sorry Mark. I think I’m in trouble.” I whispered to him. He stared at me intently.

   “You’re in trouble? You…?” He shook his head. “Marilyn…you never get in trouble! This probably has got to-“

   “Sorry but, I need to talk to Marilyn Hudson. You can see each other later tomorrow.” Mrs. Goldie said sternly.

   He sighed. “Well…see you tomorrow Marilyn.” He stared at me a little before leaving.

   “Yeah…” I said even though he was already gone out of earshot.

That evening instead of being in my cozy bedroom or sitting in my chair in the corner of my room by the window, I was stuck for two hours in the stuffy little Principal’s office. How nice. The school principal, Mrs. Silvie sat behind her desk as Mrs. Goldie stood beside her right. Mom and dad sat in chairs in front of the principal’s desk. I sat in the chair in the corner that was used by the students who were in trouble. And without doubt, I felt like that, too.

   “I’m glad to have you here Mr. Hudson and Mrs. Hudson.”The principal spoke.

   “We’re glad to meet you Mrs. Silvie.” Dad shook the principal’s hand. Mom merely nodded giving her wide smile like always. Then she eyed me closely. “Your daughter Marilyn has gotten 30% on her history test three times in a row. That’s why you’re here. To discuss why Marilyn’s grades are low.”   

    “I would like to say some words.” Mrs. Goldie offered, looking from my parents to me. “Marilyn seems to be in a daze for quite some time now.  She doesn’t focus in class either. She needs to let us know if there’s anything.” Mrs. Goldie turned to me. “What is there that’s bothering you? Can you tell us?”

   What was there to even talk about? It was true that the mysterious letter took up most of my thoughts and that it didn’t let my mind focus or study for my history test. But, of course, I couldn’t bring this up. Not in front of my parents.

   “I wasn’t feeling well lately. That’s what got me distracted. I’m sorry.” I lied.

   “Sweetie if you weren’t feeling well you should’ve told either me or your mom. That way we’d know. If there’s anything that’s bothering you, we’re here for you okay honey bun-bun?” Dad’s soothing words warmed my heart immediately. He always knew how to make you feel better.

   “Okay dad. I’ll let you know…” I said.

The meeting hadn’t lasted long than I expected. So when we returned home it was only quarter to five. Which meant only 4:45pm? Todd was at home already from his soccer club. As soon as we entered our home mom started lecturing me.

   “Marilyn! Have you ever thought how much you make me and your father worry? We’re doing so much to help you in your education! Getting lower grades isn’t an exception!”Mom shouted.  

 Clearly mom had hid her emotions during the meeting.

   “Jessica calm down.” Dad soothed mom.

   “No Ben! You don’t understand! She has to be aware of her life in the future! She can’t jus-“

   “I know Jess…I know. But, isn’t her future already better enough?”

   “How is it better?”

   “The letter-“

   “WOW! There are many things like that but, this is about her Ben?!

 It’s about Marilyn!” Mom seemed to be avoiding dad now.

   “Mom…? Dad…? What’s going on?” I asked looking from mom who stood with her hand on her forehead to dad who stood beside our couch his arms crossed and shaking his head lightly. 

   “It’s nothing dear.” Dad replied. “Just go to your room. Todd, the same goes for you, too. Your mother and I need to talk in private”

   “But, Dad I need to know what’s go-“

   “Now, Marilyn.”

I huffed angrily as I turned away to leave and stomped up to my room, shutting the door behind me. Seconds later, Todd came up to my room and knocked. “Marilyn? Can I come in?”

   “No.”

   “Why? I’m coming in.”

   “I said no.”

   “Please? I wanna know what were mom and dad arguing about! … Marilyn?”

   “I said go away!” I shouted throwing a pillow at the door.

Everything had happened so quickly that it had token quite a while for everything to settle in. What were they arguing about? What was dad about to say? And what’s about the letter? Why were they arguing about it? Why are they discussing my future anyway? All these questions piling up one by one and still, not a single answer to them.           

   Not only that, I was beginning to get a little more impatient…