Scary Mary (2 page)

“
I know it’s sort of hard to find your way
around a new place. Mary, why don’t you show Cyrus where his class
is?”

“
Do I have to?”

He chuckled and shook her shoulder. It was a
little harder than good-naturedly. “Now Mary, I know you’re eager
to get back to class, but surely, you can spare five seconds to
show Cyrus to his classroom.”

She wanted to argue, but she had the definite
suspicion that Mr. Landa would not let go of her shoulder unless
she agreed. In fact, if she refused, he could very well drag her
back into his office, so they could talk more.

“
Sure, it’s no trouble.”

“
Mary, what class are you going to?” asked
Mrs. Higgins.

“
Mr. James’ chemistry class, room 36.” Out
of the corner of her eye, Mary saw the new guy glance over to take
a better look at her. She would’ve told him not to bother. He
wouldn’t be impressed with what he saw.

Her hair was black and couldn’t decide to be
straight or curly so settled on being a black nimbus glob on top of
her head. Nothing about her could decide to be one way or the
other. Her hazel eyes were constantly changing from green to brown,
and her body fluctuated from scrawny to plump every few months.

She was dressed in her first day of school
finest: a pair of ragged jeans,
Doc Martens
, and an old,
torn, black T-shirt. Her wardrobe just screamed dysfunctional
youth. It wasn’t exactly like she tried to look dysfunctional. It
was just stuff from the
Gap
or
Old Navy
gave her
hives, and she couldn’t afford it.

“
Here, Mary.” Mrs. Higgins handed her the
hall pass. “Cy’s going to room 18.”

“
Thanks.” She pocketed the pass and pulled
her book bag onto her shoulder. Cyrus was a strange name for a boy.
He was probably named after a rich uncle. She walked out of the
office with the guy trailing behind her. Once they were down the
hall, she glanced back to see if he were gone. She’d figured he’d
ditch her as soon as they were out of the guidance office, but he
was still back there. This mildly annoyed her. Didn’t he know that
she only said sure to get out of there? She wasn’t a tour guide.
She was the most frightening girl in school--that exempted her from
showing guys where their rooms were, pep rallies, school dances,
and yearbook signings. At her glance, he took a few quick steps to
catch up. She slanted her eyes at him. He was NOT about to speak to
her. That was another thing she was exempt from: empty, stupid,
hall chatter.

He evidently didn’t know of all her many
exemptions due to her rarefied status. “Hey,” he said.

She quickened her pace.

He lengthened his steps to keep up. “What year
are you?”

“
A junior,” she muttered. Room 18 was
visible at the end of the hall. She increased her pace.

“
I’m a junior too.” She smirked at how
breathy his voice had become from their almost jog down the
hall.

“
Fascinating. This is your stop.” She
wheeled around and jerked her thumb at the door.

“
Thanks. I guess I’ll see you
around?”

“
Yeah, sure, whatever.” She was already
turning away. Glad that she was rid of the guy.

“
Are you this unfriendly to everybody, or
is it just my lucky day?”

“
Your lucky day. I’m usually scary,” she
said as she walked away.

Chapter 2

Classmates

Mary was putting books away in her locker when a
freshman came up to her while his buddies hung back in a snickering
knot. With smirking confidence, he asked her if she were a witch.
He was a fourteen year old pipsqueak with pimples. It pissed her
off that even lower classmen thought they could take shots at her.
She slammed her locker shut, which made the pipsqueak jump. When
she turned around, she gave him a slow up and down look. He began
to fidget. “Yeah, you want to join the coven?”

The freshman shook his head. Mary moved closer
and whispered, “Well, we meet every Saturday in the graveyard two
blocks over if you want to stop by. It’s BYOB though, you
know-Bring Your Own Blood.” Horrified, the freshman began backing
away. Mary followed him.

“
Cow’s blood will do, but we prefer human.
You know because it’s stronger. Cows are just dumb beasts, chewing
their cud and making milk, but humans, especially virgins, have so
much more in their blood. All their thoughts and desires spice it.
Virgins are the best because they have all that pent up frustration
and need added in.” Mary narrowed her eyes. “Yes, virgins have the
best blood. Are you a virgin?” The guy’s eyes about popped out of
his head. He stammered a no and fled. His friends called out after
him, but he kept going. A small wicked smile crossed her face as
she hoisted her book bag and began shoving her way through the hall
to her fifth period class. Mr. Landa should be pleased; she hadn’t
threatened to shrink the idiot’s head.

She got to fifth period American History just as
the bell rang. When she made her way to a seat in the far corner, a
group of guys shivered and went “Oooohhhhh” in a fake scared
manner. She rolled her eyes.

Mr. Holt came in and told everyone to settle
down. He introduced himself and the class. A student got up and
began collecting his things. Mary already knew why.

“
What’s up?” one of his buddies asked
him.

“
Wrong class,” he mumbled.

Another boy heard him. “Wrong class!” he crowed.
Everyone laughed the blushing student out of the classroom.

Once everyone settled back down, Mr. Holt took
roll. When he reached the end, he asked, “Is there anyone here whom
I haven’t called?”

The boy, who’d made fun of the other student,
raised his hand. Mr. Holt looked for his name, and then flipped to
the next period’s roll. “You’re in here sixth period, son. I
suggest you come back then.” Everyone started laughing at him now.
Mary closed her eyes in disgust.

These were supposed to be her peers?

When class finally started, Mr. Holt had
everyone fill out note cards with their schedules on them. The
teachers had them do this in every class. This was their subtle
attempt to get the brain-deads to read their schedules. Too bad it
was too subtle.

Mary snapped out of her dazed attentiveness with
the bell. Finally, last class, and it was English. Mary liked
English, but she seemed to be in an alarming minority. She knew she
would have to put up with even more groaning and whining.

She had just settled into a seat in the back
when the bell rang. As Mrs. Myers was closing the door, a foot
jammed it. She opened the door to allow the student to slip in, and
Mary found herself again staring at Cy.

“
Sorry for being late. I’m new and still
learning the layout,” he said a little breathlessly.

“
All right, you get a pass, and welcome to
Eastern Snyder. Now take a seat,” Mrs. Myers told him. He smiled
and thanked her. He scanned the class, and his eyes lit up when he
saw Mary. He started back toward her.

Vicky Butler, otherwise known as Hicky, shot up
from her seat on the other side of the room and waved to him. “Cy,
come sit by me.”

He smiled at Vicky but shook his head. He
continued making his way back toward Mary. Mary’s eyes widened. She
couldn’t believe that he was choosing her over the cheerleader.
Vicky was the most popular girl in their grade. She threw the best
parties, knew all the right people, wore the best clothes, had a
brand new Mercedes, and as her nickname suggested, wasn’t afraid to
‘show’ her love. She was the reigning queen of the Shiny people,
and she was a cruel queen. All the juiciest rumors were born on her
lips. She ruled the school’s upper crust with an iron fist, which
she wasn’t afraid to sock someone with if they displeased her. Mary
hated her with all of her dysfunctional being, but she also
accepted the fact that Vicky was queen. No one would deny her
anything, except Cy it would seem.

Mary could only stare as he sat down beside her.
The entire class had fallen into a stunned silence at Cy’s choice.
Vicky’s mouth actually gaped.

Taking advantage of the unexpected hush, Mrs.
Myers began class. She handed out note cards and gave the
instructions everyone had heard all day. They were to fill them out
with their names, schedules, extracurricular activities, and
anything else that was of interest. Cy leaned over. “Hey, do you
have a pen I could borrow?”

Mary dug into her bag and pulled one out.
“Thanks,” he said. He sneaked a peek at her note card. Her
information barely filled two lines. “Kind of bare isn’t it?”

“
I like being mysterious.”

He chuckled and began filling out his note card.
Mary tried to steal a glance at it, but couldn’t read a thing. His
handwriting was really small, like teeny tiny. She wondered if he
used a magnifying glass to study. Some snickering from the front
drew her attention. Vicky and her gaggle were whispering to each
other and were glancing back at them. Mary’s face became rigid.

“
Seems we’re drawing some attention,” Cy
said. He hadn’t looked up from his microscopic writing. Maybe he
had freakishly good eyesight?

Mary slid down in her chair to be less visible.
“I wouldn’t say ‘we’. Normally, they don’t spare me a second
glance.”

“
You’re lucky. I had the misfortune of
chatting with Miss Butler during lunch and had to vacate. I could
feel my IQ dropping from osmosis.” The comment earned a smile from
her. He grinned back.

“
Do you have a question, Cy?” Mrs. Myers
asked, peering at the two of them in the back. Mary was caught
off-guard by the sudden attention, and quickly tried to hide her
guilt by bending down as if to pick up something.

“
Um, no, Mrs. Myers,” he said. He glanced
down with a glare at Mary. She bit the inside of her cheeks to hold
back her grinning.

As she straightened back up in her seat, he
whispered out the corner of his mouth, “It’s the first day of
school, and you’re already getting me into trouble.”

“
That’s what you get for sitting by me,”
she whispered back.

“
I’ll remember that next time,” he
mock-grumbled.

When the last bell rang, Vicky came straight
over to talk to Cy. She sidled up to him and slipped her arm into
his. “Cy, I’m really annoyed with you for not sitting with me.”

Cy smiled but smoothly slipped her arm off his
by pulling his backpack up onto that shoulder. He also took a step
back from her. “Don’t be, Vicky. I just prefer sitting in the back.
I don’t like the idea of other people behind me that I can’t see.
It ruins my concentration.” Vicky stepped back, sensing the
physical rebuff but then began to smile.

“
Oh, so you were looking at me?” She began
twirling her hair around her finger. Mary fled. The situation was
getting way too much like Beverly Hills whatever the zip code for
her taste, and she would rather destroy her television than watch
that drivel. Cy looked like he wanted to leave with her, but he was
trapped by Vicky. Mary felt bad for ditching him, but when Vicky
was involved, it was every reject for herself.

Chapter 3

After School Activities

“
So, describe this guy to me
again?”

Mary groaned and flopped onto her back on the
bench. Why had she mentioned Cy?

From school, Mary had come straight to the park
to meet up with Rachel Pillar, her best friend. Rachel always
skipped the first day of school. She said it started the year off
on the right foot, but even though she disdained from going to the
first day of classes, she still wanted to know what everyone had
worn, how people had changed, and if anyone had gotten any
interesting piercings or tattoos. Mary had made the mistake of
mentioning Cy.

“
He looked normal, but not overly
preppie,” she said. Mary knew that she should never have mentioned
him to Rachel. She may have been her best friend, but Rachel could
get annoyingly obsessed over the smallest little things, and her
full attention was now on Cy, and Mary didn’t feel right picking
him apart to the atomic level.

Rachel sat planted on the ground, dissecting
dandelions while Mary lounged on her back watching clouds. At the
other end of the park, young mothers watched their children play on
the jungle gym.

Rachel decided to give the topic a rest for a
while and asked, “Did Landa call you in today?”

Mary rolled her eyes and nodded. “Uh huh, he
gave me this spiel about how he was hurt that I didn’t talk to him
over the summer.”

“
Now that man seriously needs to get a
life,” Rachel said. She threw her ravaged flower to the
ground.

Mary sighed. “Tell me about it.”

“
So what’d you tell him?” her friend asked
with a knowing smile.

“
The usual. I drank pig’s blood and
partied with bikers.”

"I bet he was jealous.”

“
Yeah, but I’m getting tired of that
shtick. I need to come up with some new material.”

“
How about you become a Bible beater? You
could rave that everyone is going to burn in the fires of Hell, the
four horsemen have been sighted, and Armageddon is upon us!”
Rachel’s voice had slowly risen with every word until she sounded
like she was raving. Several of the young mothers looked across the
park at the two girls.

Mary smiled at her. “Maybe I should start
sending you in for me. You’re more inventive.”

“
Nah, you’re more believable.” She threw
another dissected dandelion away. Her fingers had turned green from
her dissecting. Mary doubted that Rachel wouldn’t be any less
‘believable’. She’d made dysfunctional into an art form. Her hair
was a new color every week. Her ears were pierced a combined total
of eleven times plus her right nostril. She was an avid shopper of
the Good Will. If there were a psychedelic, mushroom-patterned,
polyester dress, Rachel would be wearing it proudly the next day,
but her father was a well-to-do lawyer, and no one wanted to earn
his wrath by suggesting his daughter was unbalanced, which she
was—but just a little. That’s why Mary liked her.