| Scene 2 �So the folks are on a break again?� Jayde draped her arm around Mackenzie�s shoulders and pressed their cheeks together. Nobody even bothered to look at them anymore when they behaved so familiar. It tortured Mackenzie, but at the same time, she valued Jayde�s careless caressing. Jayde continued to chatter idly as they walked down the hallway together for lunch, Jayde�s arm around Mackenzie�s shoulders, Mackenzie�s arm locked around Jayde�s waist. So this is what it feels like to be loved� Marcus smiled at their approach, but clicked his tongue in disapproval. People were bound to get the wrong impression if those two continued gallivanting about that way. Besides, he couldn�t stand the thought of losing Mackenzie to his own sister; that would be too much to bear. He wanted to make Mackenzie his own, though how still remained a question that lingered in the foreground of his mind. The two girls disentangled themselves. Marcus�s reproachful looks had done the trick, at least this time. Mackenzie came up to Marcus, and locking arms with him, asked him what they should do after school, now that her tyrannical mother was not about to meddle in her affairs. �Daddy�s gone back to working for the paper as a columnist, so the house just seems so very empty. It�s lonely.� Marcus shrugged, pushing back the thoughts that immediately came surging to the surface. Mackenzie took his reaction as one of cold disinterest; she had always been surrounded by people as a child, she hadn�t been raised in isolation. The Hathorne family wasn�t known for their abilities as parents. Jayde and Marcus had what they had affectionately dubbed �long distance parents.� Jayde shook her head at the sight of their awkward silence. Mackenzie�s feelings were easily wounded, especially when it was Marcus who had uttered the sharp remark. He was too pig-headed to realize how much his words hurt her, and she was too shy to admit to the pain. Jayde artfully steered the conversation into clearer waters. The drama club was performing selected scenes from Shakespeare plays, and she had been hopping that both would join her to see it. Mackenzie was bound to accept the invitation- she was always spending time with her- but Marcus always seemed distant when in their company. It was almost as if he was jealous, though of what, Jayde wasn�t sure. All she could hope was that her new friendship could weather the storming of his ego. |