Arcade | m.b.

03 | Cutting class & taking names

Norah suddenly butted in, "Oh, I had an Aunt who could do the same thing."

Olive blinked at her, "Great..?"

She then turned back to Ginny.

"I'm from Texas."

Olive then instinctively leaned back and stopped talking from there, the rest were now talking and Olive could blend into the group and remain invisible

She'd reserve energy and not feel obligated to contribute to the conversation, all by simply initiating the question.

Aspen arrived shortly, a tray of all of Olive's favorite foods.

As he scooched over beside her, holding a proud grin, "You owe me 100 bucks~" he whispered gleefully.

"Screw you, Harada."

...

The rest of the day was far from interesting, and to be honest, Olive couldn't care less about whatever the teachers were trying to teach them. She already knew about the topics and even did further research.

So she cut class.

Now strolling the streets of Wellsbury, a cold can of soda in one hand and a bag of chips in the other, Olive entertained herself with mental games. Pretending to be shooting stones on whatever make-shift target her mind generated.

While strolling around, she eventually stops at a quiet street, spotting a familiar mop of hair.

Olive held a grin before walking over to the oblivious teen.

"So you're the type to cut class huh?" Olive started, catching Marcus' attention and taking him by surprise.

"Takes one to know one, I guess," he remarked eyeing her down.

Olive rolled her eyes before taking a seat next to him on the warm pavement, "You could say that, only I was smart enough to bring food with me," she said before offering him her remaining chips which Marcus hesitantly took from her hands.

"I never took you to cut class," Marcus commented. Olive looked at him as if he was kidding.

"Mop head, we have just met and you are already assuming things? Wow," she teased but Marcus couldn't catch on to her sarcasm and took her seriously.

"I didn't mean it I-" Olive erupted in laughter, interrupting him from digging an even bigger hole for himself.

"I was just kidding, Baker," Marcus' eyes widened at the mention of his last name.

"How did you know my last name? Were you stalking me?" he said, a teasing tone now evident in his voice.

For a second, Olive was afraid that he would see through her and notice her 'creepy' habit of observing people. So she brushed it off like it was nothing.

"Well, you're twin loves to talk about how she wishes she murdered you in the womb, so it wasn't hard to figure out," she answered. Marcus didn't seem to understand the connection but he didn't mind anyway.

"I still never caught your name," Marcus said, now walking beside Olive.

Olive turned his way, "I never threw it," she joked.

"Haha..." Marcus laughed sarcastically before pausing, "But really, if we're gonna keep meeting like this, I wanna have a name to call you by."

Olive hummed, considering his words but she only gave him a smirk before replying, "Just give me a nickname, mophead, easy."

He stepped in front of her confused, "You really don't want to give me your name, huh?"

Olive leaned back, crossing her arms as she stared at him straight in the eyes, "It's fun, makes me feel mysterious like one of those indie films."

She walked past him, and walked backward, "Well, go on, mophead, give me a nickname."

Marcus stood there as he stared at her walking backward, thinking what to call her, then walking forward, "How about Clementine?"

Suddenly Olive froze.

She looked at him terrified, "Why that?"

"I don't know, you remind me of the fruit, and calling you orange or tangerine just sounds weird," he answered, catching her unease at the name, "but I guess Clementine just sounds too long."

Olive quickly eased up, "Why are you even hanging out here, don't you have a house?" she brought up.

Marcus chuckled, "What kind of question is that?"

Olive shrugged, "In this heat, I'd rather sit in front of a fan while drinking cold beverages. You, on the other hand, decide to wear black, and sit directly under the heat like a complete psycho."

Marcus further chuckled, "Are you implying for me to go home and drink some soda?"

"No, I'm implying for you to invite me over and offer me free drinks and air conditioning," Olive casually responded.

Marcus shook his head in amusement but stood up anyway, "Alright."

Olive shot up in surprise, "Really? Awesome, let's go!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him before her, "Lead the way, Baker!"

When they both arrive at the Baker's residence, Marcus doesn't know what to do. A girl like Olive was someone he wasn't sure how to be around, she spoke her thoughts unfiltered and acted however she liked which is something Marcus had seen before but definitely not used to.

Olive looks around the kitchen, pointing at the fridge and looking at him as if asking for permission.

Marcus lazily nodded, still in a state of shock that this stranger he met at school was now in his house.

"So, Baker-"

"Marcus, you can call me Marcus." The boy interrupted Olive, giving a glance before shrugging.

"Eh, okay. So Marcus, what grade are you in?" Olive popped open the can of cold soda and let herself sit on the Baker's sofa as if it were hers.

Marcus raised a brow, "That's a very weird question."

Olive raised both hands in surrender, "Look bruv, I need to know the person whose house I broke into."

Marcus chuckled before taking a seat beside her.

"10th, I'm 16."

Olive almost spit out her drink, "No kidding? Man, you youngsters hit puberty differently."

Marcus looked surprised, "Wait, how old are you?"

Then he realized he didn't even know her name or if she was even from the school. Yet he let her in his house, how stupid.

Olive grinned but it diminished once she saw the worry on the poor boy's face.

"16 turning 17, the same year as your sister and it's Olive."

"What?"

"My name, it's Olive. Nice to officially meet ya," The brunette held out a lazy hand and Marcus reluctantly took it.

Marcus couldn't help but simply stand there, watching Olive as she was now flipping through channels on the TV, he was conflicted about whether he should be weirded out by her blunt behavior or impressed that she managed to make him invite her over to his house and drink his drinks and just chill there, all while not introducing herself in the process.

"You're quite the starter, aren't you Baker?" Olive stated, eyes locking with his and Marcus could swear his heart skipped.

"Come on, don't make me feel weird about sitting on your couch, sit," she insisted, patting the space beside her. Marcus blinked before sighing, growing tired at just thinking about the situation he was in, and decided to just give in.

What harm could it do?

03 | end