| Maria had to work right after school but she desperately needed a cigarette first. She looked around to see that Liz wasn't lurking around somewhere spying on her and ran around the corner of the school building where the "tough" kids hung out. Maria approached the nearest group of three guys, one of whom was just finishing up a sale to another student. "Hey, can you hook me up?" Maria called. The guy looked at her between wisps of hair that hid his eyes. He was dressed all in black as well; it was "their" colour. Maria knew it and wore it just so everyone would assume she was a part of that group. "How many you want?" the guy mumbled. "Five," Maria said, holding out a handful of change. The teen took the money from her hand, pausing look at it, giving the impression of counting it. Maria knew full well that he had the I.Q. of a cactus and she probably could have slipped him half of his asking price and still gotten what she wanted. It was the right amount though anyway, she wanted to be considered part of this group and she wasn't about to go pissing off their cigarette supplier � a very important man in this circle. He handed her the cigarettes and she asked him for a light, which was produced by one of the other guys. Just then the third called out, "Hey Mikey, nice jeans. Was there a sale at Goodwill?" The three guys burst into childish laughter and Maria looked over her shoulder to see who the object of their ridicule was. She saw a tall boy with brooding features walking around the corner of the school, obviously ignoring the insults from the guys she was with. She looked back at them, pondering the effects of putting them in their place, but then decided against it and ran after the tall boy, inhaling on her cigarette as she ran. "Hey, wait up," she called, hurrying to catch up to the retreating figure. He didn't stop so she sped up her pace and pulled abreast of him, "Whoa, Mikey, where's the fire?" The boy looked down at the small girl beside him but didn't stop walking. She was keeping up with him, puffing away on her cigarette, and he couldn�t figure out for the life of him what she could possibly want. They walked along in silence for a minute, heading toward the exit of the parking lot. "Those things will kill you," he finally said. "It talks," Maria replied, her voice sarcastic but her eyes smiling. The boy looked down at her again, "Did you want something?" "Maria," she said, holding out her hand to him. "Michael," he replied, ignoring her hand. Maria threw her half-smoked cigarette ahead of her on the ground, crushing it out with her next step in a practiced movement. "So, Mikey, you go to school here?" "It's Michael, and no, I just hang around the classes for kicks." Maria nodded, taking in his sarcasm, "Well, how come I haven't seen you around before?" He shrugged, "I guess you weren't looking." She had to smile at that, he wasn't exactly the type of boy she would have noticed last year. He looked� what was the word� hard, she thought. He was tough, but it seemed like a front; an act he was putting on to hide a core that was hardened from years of some painful source. No, she probably wouldn't have noticed him before, but this year was different, she was different, and she was looking for something, no someone, different in her life. They reached the corner of Birch and Main, and Maria slowed as they crossed the street. "Well this is me," she said, pointing down Birch Street towards her house. Michael nodded and gestured further down Main, "I'm this way." Maria started to walk backwards down her street, not taking her eyes off of the boy for a second. "Well, see 'ya Mikey," she called, turning around to run down the street before he could correct her again. Michael Guerin shook his head at the retreating girl, what was her deal? He turned to walk down Main Street. He knew who she was, but only by name. He also knew that she didn't look like that the last time he had seen her and he had to admit that he was intrigued, if only a little. TBC |
| Part 2 |
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