Life Is Real

Life Is Real (2)

Marvin was her stuffed duck. She won him while playing Whack-A-Mole at a carnival when she was seven, and had always kept him on her bed, reserving one half of it exclusively for him. He had remained nameless until Gwyneth finished her first year of homeschool, and she needed someone to talk to. She chose to name him Marvin because she always imagined him to have a dull, monotonous voice - like that of Marvin the Paranoid Android.

Marvin was an absolute card, though. He had the funniest jokes (granted, he stole most of them from The Simpsons), and was extremely smart. Gwyneth and Marvin had similar music and literature tastes, and they both knew everything about each other. Marvin always listened to Gwyneth’s problems and consoled her when needed, and Gwyneth always took Marvin wherever he wanted to go.

She sat down on her bed and stared at Marvin for a few moments, before finally suggesting, “Rudy’s?”

Marvin nodded, and they quickly left for their outing.

***

Rudy’s was their favorite place to go for good food and great music. It was situated near a lake that looked absolutely gorgeous as the sun was setting, and the air was always cool with a slight breeze blowing. The tables were out on the deck so the eaters could look at the scenery, and a lounge area was inside near the kitchens. This area was typically empty when it wasn’t winter and when there wasn’t a baseball game on. Music played inside and outside, music that coincidentally was always something that Gwyneth and Marvin wanted to hear.

Gwyneth and Marvin took their seats in their usual table, the one in the corner of the deck beneath the trees. There was a rope ladder nearby that led to a tree house, which they occasionally visited to chat and drink their frozen lemonade. A waiter that very closely resembled Zac Efron took their orders - linguine seasoned with garlic and butter for Gwyneth, and toast with marmite for Marvin - and they sipped on their iced coffee as they waited for their food to arrive.

“So,” Marvin started, leaning back from his straw, “why are we here? We only come here on a weekday if you have something you need to talk about.”

“I’m going to high school next month.” Gwyneth said monotonously.

“You already told me you passed eighth grade, Gwyneth.” Marvin sipped on his coffee.

“No, I’m actually attending high school. My parents ‘surprised’ me by enrolling me into Michael C. Bridges High School this coming school year.”

Marvin stopped sipping on his coffee. He knew. He understood why Gwyneth was troubled.

Gwyneth breathed, and tears started to stream down her face. She shook her head, and tossed Marvin across her bedroom. She couldn’t even talk to him right now; she was just too troubled by this news.

She shoved a pillow into her face to absorb her tears. Flashbacks of the first two weeks of sixth grade entered her mind. The feeling of not being accepted, rejection, and loneliness consumed her mind. This was what she was forced to feel then, and what she will most likely face once again.

She had just entered the point in her life when she was beginning to be extremely careful of her actions. Wendy had moved just two months earlier, and Gwyneth knew she would never be able to make a friend like her again, or at least here.

Maybe it was because she was just different. Not different in the way that she was now; she hadn’t become this sort of different until over a year ago. She was different in more of a conformed way then, but she still wanted to be different.

Maybe it was the way she had chosen to act in public. The way she acted like a crazy, rampant idiot at times could have put people off. Wendy never minded; she always acted that way too. But she always seemed to have more friends than Gwyneth ever did, though.