Hey Marshians!
(Lol! Readers of Marshy's book are called Marshians)
Author Marshy here, and guess what? I'm back, baby! I know I've been radio silent lately… but last week I was down for the count, so sick I couldn't even think straight, let alone write. It was so horrible!!!!!
But good news: I'm slowly (very slowly) getting better. I promise to make it up to you with new chapters, fresh vibes, and all the feels you love. So don't forget to vote, comment, and share if you enjoy. Your support makes Marshy's world go round ;)
Love you all,
Marshy
"O.M.G, Tiff, is this your sister?" a blonde-haired girl exclaimed, eyes practically popping out of her head. "She looks so much like you! And wow… she's super pretty." Her big green eyes sparkled as they locked on Melanie, a wide grin plastered across her face.
She turned toward the dirty-blonde girl sitting next to her. "Right, Eve? Isn't she gorgeous?"
"Yeah," Eve said, her smile calm.
Melanie blushed shyly at the compliment. "Thanks," she muttered, barely audible.
Tiffany huffed dramatically, flipping her hair. "Pfft. But she isn't as pretty as me, babes. Everyone knows that."
Eve rolled her eyes and shot Tiffany a look. The blondie giggled.
"I'm so happy we got a new member to the group!" the blondie squealed.
Eve arched a brow at her, then glanced at Tiffany.
"So, Tiff, care to introduce?" she asked.
"Oh, right! Of course!" Tiffany said. "Guys, this is Melanie." She gestured dramatically at her sister. "And Melanie, meet Susan." She pointed to the blondie.
Susan beamed, waving energetically.
"Hey, cupcake!"
Melanie waved back shyly, a small, hesitant smile creeping onto her face. Susan radiated sunshine. She was girly, sweet, bubbly, probably the type to knit matching sweaters for everyone. Melanie felt instantly overwhelmed by the cheer.
Tiffany continued, pointing at Eve. "Melly, this is Evelyn."
"Call me Eve," she said, nodding politely.
Melanie noted that Eve was… balanced. Not too girly, not too flashy, just quietly confident and approachable.
Tiffany then motioned to a dark-haired girl buried in her phone. "Melly, that's Heather."
Heather didn't lift her head, not even for a second. To her, Melanie might as well have been invisible. She didn't just ignore Melanie, she radiated 'don't-even-breathe-near-me' energy. Melanie had already made a mental note to avoid her. Those types of girls were trouble, and she didn't want any of it.
"Welcome, Melanie," Susan said cheerfully. "We're so happy to have you here."
Heather finally lifted her head, and shot Susan a look.
"What do you mean 'we,' Susan? You mean you're happy she's here," she said bluntly.
"Heather, why are you being such a bitch!" Tiffany snapped.
"Um, helloo? If anyone's being a bitch right now, it's you, Tiffany," Heather fired back.
"Okay, girls. No fighting," Eve intervened. "Definitely not in front of everyone." She turned to Melanie, whose heart was racing.
She smiled warmly. "Hey, Melanie. Don't mind Heather. She can be… difficult. Not exactly the friendly type, so just… pardon her."
Melanie gave a small nod, though her stomach churned.
Heather finally studied Melanie. Boredom dripped from her gaze, making Melanie's skin prickle.
"Look, whatever your name is—"
"Her name is Melanie," Tiffany snapped, jaw tight.
Heather rolled her eyes, slow and deliberate.
"Whatever. Melanie. Listen carefully: stay out of my way. And stay out of my boyfriend's way. Cross me, and… well, let's just say you won't like it."
Melanie blinked, completely stunned. Seriously?! Her thoughts screamed louder than any words could.
She hadn't even spent a full week in this school, barely enough time to know every Dick and Harry, and yet this random girl was already warning her to stay away from her boyfriend.
Like… be serious.
She didn't even know what the boy looked like. He could walk past her right now and she'd mistake him for the janitor.
"Chill, Heather. We all know you're overprotective of your boyfriend," Susan said. "But Melanie isn't going to steal him. She literally doesn't even know him."
Heather let out a dramatic huff, flipping her hair and returning to her phone.
"Well, they'll eventually meet, and I don't want to take chances, Susan." She shot Melanie a critical look. "New girls like her are usually boyfriend stealers."
"What?!" Tiffany snapped, eyes narrowing. "My sister isn't a boyfriend stealer!"
Melanie nearly choked on her saliva. Boyfriend stealer WHERE? I literally have a boyfriend! A whole boyfriend! Is this girl delusional or just chronically stupid?
"Um… excuse me," Melanie said, clearing her throat. "I already have a boyfriend. I'm not interested in yours."
Susan gasped dramatically. "Oh my! Eve, she spoke!"
Eve resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Of course she can speak, Susan. She isn't dumb," she muttered.
Tiffany had already sat down, and patted the space beside her. "Melanie, come sit here."
Melanie took barely two steps when someone brushed past her at full speed, slamming a shoulder into hers. She stumbled forward, almost face-planting into her food, but luckily caught herself in time. A piercing scream followed.
Melanie looked up to find a perfectly styled girl. From the back view alone, Melanie could already tell she had an attitude.
Is it illegal in this school to say "excuse me"?
The girl screamed again, louder, uncaring that the entire cafeteria was staring.
"Who. Does. That. Bastard. Think. He. IS?!" she snapped angrily.
Eve raised her brow. "Did it work?"
The girl turned, eyes blazing. "If it worked, do you think I'd be HERE?! Screaming?!"
"So… it didn't work," Eve said, sipping her coffee slowly.
Tiffany, however, brightened and said, "Charlotte, meet my twin sister, Melanie." She gestured cheerfully.
Charlotte finally turned. Her eyes swept over Melanie, sharp and judging.
"This is your sister?" she scoffed. "Why does she look so fat?"
Melanie's lips pressed into a thin line.
I'm not FAT!!! She screamed inwardly.
Tiffany had told her she'd love her friends. Right now, Melanie was reconsidering everything. Eve and Susan seemed cool… but the rest? Debatable.
"Charlotte, my sis isn't fat," Tiffany cut in, annoyance creeping in.
Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She flopped into a seat with a heavy sigh.
"As I was saying," Charlotte began, waving her manicured hand, "that guy had the absolute AUDACITY—"
"Charlotte, we told you it wouldn't work," Susan chimed in gently. "You literally ignored us."
Charlotte dragged her fingers through her hair like she wanted to rip it out. "It was WORTH trying!"
Melanie slipped quietly into the seat Tiffany saved for her, keeping her mouth shut as the girls continued.
"Ugh! I fucking hate that guy! Fuck that asshole! That bastard! Shit!" Charlotte cursed and muttered more profanities that made Melanie wince.
"Okay, relax with the language," Heather muttered, though she didn't look up from her phone.
"What happened?" Tiffany asked, lost.
"NOTHING," Charlotte snapped.
Eve sighed. "Charlotte tried flirting with the new guy," she explained. "It went bad."
"Really bad," Susan added.
"Which guy exactly?" Heather asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You know, the new guy who came two weeks ago. Geez… I don't even know what Charlotte sees in him!" Eve groaned softly, burying her face in her hand.
"The muscles," Susan swooned, causing Eve to roll her eyes.
"What happened?" Eve asked Charlotte, finally looking up.
Charlotte let out a long, dramatic sigh. "I already told you guys about my master plan to flirt with him. I finally spotted him in the hallway and went to execute it… and he completely humiliated me in front of everyone. Half the school saw, probably uploaded it to the socials by now! 'Charlotte Got Rejected By The New Guy in School.' Catchy, huh? Ugh!!!"
A slow smirk crept onto Tiffany's face. "Aww, sorry Charlotte it didn't work out. Looks like your charm doesn't work on every guy, huh?"
Charlotte snapped, eyes blazing. "Excuse me? My charm works on every guy."
"Well, I didn't see it work on this one today," Tiffany shot back, flipping her hair with an exaggerated tsk.
Charlotte gritted her teeth. Tiffany, however, just smiled slowly, deadly calm.
Melanie's eyes darted between them, nervous energy crackling through her. If looks could kill, Tiffany would already be dead. But… who exactly was this guy they were arguing over?!
Charlotte flung her head back and laughed. "So, Tiffany… are you implying your charm could work on him?"
Tiffany nodded confidently. "Yup. No guy can resist me. If I flirted with the new hot guy, he'd fall head over heels."
Heather huffed, annoyed. Eve just dragged a hand down her face. "Not this again."
Charlotte's lips curled into a snarl. "You must be joking. If I couldn't get him, what makes you think you could?"
"Because I have excellent flirting skills. Yours are just… poor," Tiffany said smugly.
Charlotte's smirk turned devilish. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but your skills suck. If you were actually good at flirting, you'd have gotten Chase. You're not the goddess you think you are, Tiffany."
Tiffany glared back. "Charlotte, believe it or not, I'm prettier and sexier than you. Every guy would admit it."
Before Charlotte could retort, Eve slammed her hand down. "Enough, girls! Seriously! A guy who's been here TWO WEEKS already broke a student's nose. He fights constantly. Why are you fighting over him?"
"Oh, look! There he is!" Susan squealed, pointing, and the girls' heads snapped toward him.
Melanie turned too, curiosity twisting in her stomach. Who was this guy causing all the drama?
When her eyes finally landed on the guy sitting alone at the far end of the hall, she froze. Her eyes flew wide. Her jaw almost dropped.
Oh. My. Chocolate. This cannot be happening.
It was him. The guy she'd argued with in the admin office.
"This is the guy?" Melanie blurted, shock all over her face.
"Yup. Isn't he hot?" Susan gushed.
"Oh my… he's ridiculously hot," Tiffany squealed. "I have to talk to him right now!" She tried to stand, but Heather grabbed her wrist, dragging her down to the seat.
"Do you really want to repeat Charlotte's humiliation?" Heather asked, deadpan.
"Pfft, Charlotte just lacks the skills," Tiffany said, blinking slowly, eyes full of mischief.
Eve groaned. "Tiffany… this is the guy who broke someone's nose in two weeks! Are you serious?"
"What's even his name?" Susan asked, leaning in.
"Drexter, I think," Heather said. "I overheard someone mention it when I was passing by."
"Drexter…" Tiffany purred dreamily.
Charlotte rolled her eyes and hissed.
"Tiff, he might look hot, but he's chaos. Pure chaos," Eve spoke.
While the girls continued their discussion, Melanie's eyes stayed locked on him.
Drexter
It was almost like he sensed someone staring. He raised his head, and their eyes met. He scowled quickly.
Melanie's heart did a somersault. Her cheeks flamed pink. She turned away immediately, then stole another glance. He was still scowling at her.
Drexter. She rolled the name on the tip of her tongue.
It sounded like trouble. Extreme trouble. A walking chaos, a whole circus of it, and she was going to stay far away from him, at all costs.