“NICK” she screamed down the hall trying to get his attention, “Hello?? Nick, Come here!” He spun around and started to walk towards her.
“What’s up?” he said with no enthusiasm, a typical boy.
“I need to talk to you urgently.” She took his arm and pulled him into an alcove that occurred before the entrance their classroom. Marley looked around to make sure no one was around and whispered “Why is Rory trying to find out who I am?”
“I don’t know, I guess he wants to know who you are?” He spoke with confusion in his voice. “Why does it matter Marley… Do you like him?” Nick smiled and started to laugh hysterically.
“NO I don’t like him, I mean I don’t know him so I guess I don’t like him.” She said confusing herself more then she confused him. “I don’t know, it’s complicated.”
“AH HA you do like him!” Nick said with a wide grin on his face. “Well.. I guess I’ll have to tell him won’t I?” At that instant his devilish smile got bigger as he sensed the nervousness in her eyes. But before she could stop him he was half way down the hallway yelling Rory’s beautiful name.
“Oh my god” she cried as she snuck behind one of the blue classroom dividers, “This is a total nightmare.” Marley stuck her reddened by embarrassment face out the side of the divider and searched for Nick’s familiar face. “Oh my god he’s talking to him, oh my god he’s probably telling him everything” she whispered to herself not realizing someone was standing right behind her.
“Uh why are you talking to yourself?” a familiar voice asked as Marley spun around trying to find out who the question was asked by.
“HAILEY, thank god its you” Marley yelled with happiness in her voice as she ran up to hug her.
“Who else would it be silly?” Hailey smiled and gave her friend a hug in return. Marley instantly released Hailey and grabbed her “I am in deep trouble, will you help me please please please?” She pleaded more than she ever has in her life.
“Sure I guess, what’s up?”
Marley waved her over to look where Nick and Rory were. “You see them?”
“Yes I see them, I’m not blind retard.” Hailey replied with a sarcastic laugh.
“No time for jokes, I need you to go over there and ease drop. Come back and tell me what they are saying.”
Hailey turned to her and grinned bigger than the Grinch does when he hears something sly and revolting. “My specialty” she turned and leaped away to where the two boys stood.
“She likes me???” Rory asked in shock “She doesn’t even know me dude, this girls a total creep.”
Nick began hysterically laughing “You like Mel anyway right?” the words barely broke through his laughter.
“Yea I do” he said with a smile “But Nick this chick’s a total nut, do you think she’s going to like kill herself when she hears I don’t like her?”
“No Rory I’m sure she’ll be fine” Nick said reassuringly “Not every girl wants to kill themselves if you don’t like them.”
“Except for that other nut Cassandra” Rory laughed thinking about how Cassandra obsessed over him in the 3rd grade. “She was in love with me.”
Nick rolled his eyes “Yea dude totally in love” and he walked away to try and avoid anymore talk about how many girls are “in love” with him.

“I feel like an idiot..” Marley looked down at her pillow after hearing what Rory said about her.
“It’s not your fault, who wouldn’t fall for him?” Hailey put her hand in the popcorn bowl and handed a bunch of popcorn to Marley. “Here eat this, it always makes me feel better.” This coming from the girl who doesn’t have a sad or worried bone in her body does not make her feel any better.
“No thanks I’m not in the mood tonight.” As she laid her head on the pillow she glanced across the room at the computer. “Hey Hailey?”
“Hey Ali?” Hailey snapped back in her usual sarcastic tone.
“Do you think I could get on the computer?”
“Go ahead” she said/chomped on her favorite snack food. Marley hopped up, sat down at the computer and typed her 5 letter password into AIM. Before she could even get a glimpse of who was on she got an IM.
Sportsstar23: Hey
Uh, what do you want? Marley spun around in the chair to see if Hailey saw what just happened. Nope, she was too interested in the MTV’s newest music videos. She exited out of the white box deciding she wasn’t going to reply to that jerk.
“What are you doing?” Hailey said breathing down her neck “why didn’t you reply to him?”
How did she see that? “He’s a jerk, don’t you remember what he said?” Marley replied calmly trying to convince her and Hailey that her choice was the right one.
“Yes.. I do remember but he went out of his way to say hi so he obv wants to talk to you.” She strutted away with confidence that she convinced Marley to reply. And guess what, she did.
Braceface123:Hi..
Sportsstar23:Whats up?
Braceface123:Nothing
Sportsstar23:Same
Marley turned to face Hailey “He’s being nice…” her voice trailed off with confusion.
Hailey shrugged and went back to her TV. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
Braceface123:I thought I was a creep..
Braceface123:So why are you talking to me
He began to type and took what seemed to feel like a life time.
Sportsstar23:I just think it’s weird that you like me
Braceface123:So you call me a creep
Sportsstar23:Yea but I’m sorry I didn’t mean it and didn’t think you’d find out..
Marley began to smile after reading his last message over and over again. “He didn’t mean it Hail! He said he was sorry” she screamed in Hailey’s direction. But she was fast asleep with popcorn covering the bed.
Sportsstar23:But I gotta go, il ttyl
“He’ll talk to me later…” Marley whispered with a smile spread across her pretty face.
Braceface123:Ok ttyl