by C. R. Marcum
“What, I’m naturally perky. I can’t help it, its kinda who I am.” Paisley said with a huge smile.
“Yeah, I know.” Raylynn said smiling back.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you at lunch.” Paisley said as she stopped in front of her first period class.
“Yeah, I’ll see ya then.” Raylynn said as she left in search of her class.
Paisley
Paisley walked into her first period class, and surveyed the room quickly looking for the best seat. She chose one in the middle row, so as not to be mistaken for a teacher’s pet, but close enough that she could still take amazing notes. AP classes were going to be hard enough but doing it without notes would be next to impossible.
Paisley took her seat and pulled out her notebook and her favorite pen and waited anxiously for the rest of the students to wander in. She had been doodling when she heard a voice that sounded a bit familiar.
“Hey, don’t I know you?” the way to cute guy said as he took the seat next to her.
“Um, you look familiar, but I’m not sure where I know you from.” Paisley said as she looked him over.
“OH Yeah, you came into the coffee shop a lot this summer.”
“OHHHH, ok yeah that’s it.” Paisley said with sweet smile. “You were the one that gave me free coffee, like a lot.” She giggled.
“Yep, that would be me. I’m Ty by the way.” Ty said with a slightly cocky grin.
“Nice to officially meet you Ty, I’m Paisley.” She reached out her hand and shook Ty’s before looking back down at her paper.
“Whatcha drawing?” Ty asked as he looked over her shoulder.
“Nothing really, just kinda doodling.” Paisley said with a shrug.
“Yeah, I do that too when I’m bored, or nervous, or pissed, actually I do that more than I thought.”
Paisley couldn’t help but giggle at the look Ty was giving. It was like he was just realizing something about himself that was shocking.
“Well, here I was thinking I wouldn’t know anybody, and you show up, and we have something in common too…” Paisley let her voice trail off. She didn’t want Ty to think she was flirting with him.
“OMG, did we just become best friends?” Ty said in his best girlie voice.
Paisley shook her head and laughed.
“Please, don’t ever use that voice again…” Paisley said still laughing.
“Why not?” Ty asked batting his eyelashes and making the duck lips.
“Omg, why do you sound like a southern belle?”
“I don’t really know. It just kinda came out like that I guess.” Ty said laughing.
As more and more students filed in, Paisley felt relieved that she kind of knew at least someone in this class. She just hoped that the rest of her classes would follow suit.
“Hey, let me see your schedule.” Paisley said just as the teacher walked in and closed the door.
“Sure, here.” Ty said as he slipped it to her.
Paisley looked at the schedule and seen that she and Ty were both in mostly AP classes. They shared first, third, fourth, lunch and seventh, eighth and ninth periods. That meant that the only two periods she would be alone for were second and sixth. Somehow, knowing that she had at least one friendly face in most of her classes helped to calm her nerves. With a smile, Paisley drew different smiley faces next to all the classes that they shared. She was even excited to introduce Raylynn to Ty at lunch. With that last thought, she passed Ty back his schedule and turned her focus on her teacher.
After an extremely long 45 minutes of going over the syllabus for the semester, the bell rang. Paisley put her notebook and syllabus in the proper place in her bag and stood.
“So, we have a few classes together huh?” Ty asked as he shouldered his bag.
“Yeah, we even have lunch together. I’ll introduce you to my cousin at lunch, you’ll probably like her. I mean, she’s a little dark and mysterious, but I swear she’s great. She just moved here from Chicago, so, ya know she doesn’t really know anyone…I think you’ll like her.” Paisley said as they walked towards their next classes.
“Sure, that sounds good. I can’t wait to meet her.” Ty said as he walked with Paisley.
“Okay, well this is me. I’ll see you next period Ty.” Paisley said with a smile as she walked into her class just as the warning bell started to ring. She heard a faint “SHIT” and running right before the door closed. She let out a little giggle and found her seat.
Raylynn
First period went by excruciatingly slow. Raylynn’s teacher was an old, large, bald man who kind of reminded her of an actor she had seen in a movie not too long ago. She was so relieved when the bell rang and she could get out of there. Raylynn pulled out her schedule to get the room number of her next class. As she stood in the hallway, she could feel the eyes on her from every direction. She looked up and saw some guy in a letterman’s jacket lick his lips and wink at her. Fuck you she thought as she flipped him off with a smile on her face. All she could hear was laughter as she walked down the hall and made her way to her next class.
Raylynn sat in the middle row of her AP Bio class. She plugged her headphones in and turned on her music while she waited for the rest of the students to file in. The warning bell had just rang, so it wouldn’t be long. Raylynn noticed that as the others came in she was stared at, and nobody even came close to her. Her go fuck yourself face was on full display. She smiled inwardly as she listened to the lyrics of her favorite song.
‘The bleeding never stops as you activate the siren, fading away cause I’m tired of all the lyin’
With the music still blaring in her ears, Raylynn noticed that the seats to her left and right were empty. In fact, they were the only seats empty. She switched off the music when Mrs. Neal closed the door and made her way to the front of the class.
“Alright, class. I will be passing out the syllabus please take one and pass it back.” She said as she handed out the thousand-page packets.
The door to the classroom was yanked open and a flustered looking boy walked in. As he surveyed the class, his eyes fell on the only open seat. He rushed in and plopped down to Raylynn’s right side. She could hear him muttering ‘Shit, shit, shit’ as he riffled through his bag looking for something.
“You wouldn’t happen to have an extra highlighter, would you? I think I left mine in first period.” He asked as he looked at Raylynn.
“Yeah, I have one, not sure I wanna let you borrow it though.” Raylynn whispered back.
“Why not? C’mon, I promise you will get it back.” He begged.
“I don’t even know you, and you are asking to borrow something as personal as a highlighter. It just seems so intimate you know.” Raylynn said with a smirk as she handed him her pink one.
“Awe, how’d you know pink was my favorite color?” He asked in a whisper.
“Seriously? Are you gay or something?” Raylynn asked.
“No! I’m not gay, I was just joking. In fact, I was late because I was walking this knockout to her next class.” He said as seriously as he could manage in a whisper.
“Oh, so first day of school and you already have a girlfriend…you’re one of those fuckboys, aren’t you?” Raylynn asked in a hushed tone.
“No, I’m a one-woman kind of man. My name’s Ty by the way.”
“Raylynn.” She said as she looked him over. “So, this girl, you said she’s a knockout huh.”
“Yeah, she’s the epitome of perfection. I used to give her free coffee every time she would come into the coffee shop. I hoped she would notice me, but she never really seemed to, and then when I walked into class, she was sitting there looking like a goddess and I was lucky enough to grab the seat next to her. I made her laugh and I swear it was like hearing angels. I swear, I’d do pretty much whatever it takes to hear her laugh again.” Ty said remembering Paisley.
“She sounds kinda dense. I mean you gave her free coffee every time she came in and she didn’t reali
ze that you were flirting…” Raylynn smirked.
“Well, I didn’t really talk to her; I kinda froze when she would come in. So, really the only thing I said was have a great day, or it’s on the house. Not really flirting words.” Ty said defensively.
“Still, I mean c’mon, if some good-looking guy gave me free coffee every time I saw him, I think I would notice him.” Raylynn smirked
“Awe, you think I’m good looking. That’s so sweet.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” Raylynn said with an eye roll.
The rest of the period went much the same way, Raylynn and Ty traded sarcasm so easily that Raylynn thought that if nothing else, second period would be easier to sit through. When the bell rang the two walked out together still bantering back and forth. It was almost like they had been friends forever. Raylynn could still feel the eyes of everyone else on her, but Ty didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that people were staring at them.
“Maybe I’ll see you at lunch.” Ty said as they approached his next class.
“Don’t get your hopes up.” Raylynn said with a smile as she turned and walked away.
The next few periods crept by at a snail’s pace. Raylynn barely listened to the teachers ramble on about how great senior year would be. The teachers’ words were being drowned out by the whispers of people making observations about her. The guys were being typical guys whispering about her body and what they would do to her. And the girls seemed disgusted by her appearance. Raylynn just turned her music up louder and waited for the bells.
Lunchtime rolled around and Raylynn felt as if she could finally relax a little. She could still see the stares and hear the whispers, but Paisley would be there soon. She walked through the line and grabbed a tray of food and found a table. She sat reading a book waiting for Paisley to show up.
Raylynn could hear her, long before she saw her come walking up to the table.
“Coop, I want you to meet someone.” Paisley said pulling Raylynn’s attention from the book. “This is T…”
“Oh, hey Ty.” Raylynn said cutting Paisley off before she could finish her sentence.
“Hey.” Ty said as he sat down next to Paisley.
“Wait, you two know each other?” Paisley asked a bit of shock in her voice.
“Yeah, we have second period together.” Ty said with a serious look aimed at Raylynn.
Raylynn smiled at the realization, Paisley was the goddess that Ty had been talking about, the one who had made him late for class.
“Yea, Ty was forced to sit by me because he was late.” Raylynn said knowing it would embarrass Ty just enough.
“You were late? I’m sorry, Ty. You shouldn’t have walked me to class. I feel awful now.” Paisley said with a look of regret.
“It’s fine, not like I missed anything. It kinda worked out though, ‘cause I met Raylynn. She let me use her highlighter. She even guessed my favorite color.” Ty said pulling out the syllabus covered in pink highlights.
Paisley giggled at the sight and Raylynn could almost see Ty’s heart swell. It was nice to see that someone else understood how amazing Paisley was.
As lunch passed by Raylynn picked at her food and listened to Ty and Paisley talk about the upcoming tryouts. Paisley seemed excited about going out for cheer, and Raylynn had no doubts that she would make it. Ty was completely absorbed in Paisley and Raylynn decided in that moment that she would tease him about it at every turn.
The bell rang as lunch ended. Ty, Paisley and Raylynn dumped their trays, Raylynn’s still full, and walked through the cafeteria towards the hallway.
“Well, off to Drama I go!” Paisley said barely containing her excitement.
“Have fun, I’m off to choir.” Raylynn said in an even tone.
“Really? Me too.” Ty said with a sideways glance at her.
“Well, you guys have fun; I’ll see you in seventh.” Paisley said as she bounced down the hall and out of sight.
Ty turned to Raylynn. “Please, please, please don’t say anything to her. I had no idea that you were her cousin. You can’t say a word. I am begging you.” He pleaded.
“I’ll think about it.” Raylynn said with a smile.
“Seriously, I will literally drop to my knees and beg.”
“Just don’t piss me off, and you should be fine.” Raylynn quipped as they made their way into the classroom.
The next few periods continued in much the same way. The three of them shared the last three periods of the day, which Raylynn was happy about. Paisley claimed the seat between Ty and Raylynn. Paisley seemed content in sharing her time with the two of them. Raylynn couldn’t really explain it, but she felt normal when she was with them, and Ty was quickly making himself comfortable with the girls. He didn’t seem to care that the two of them were like night and day. In fact, it didn’t seem like he even noticed. The three of them fell into an easy friendship almost immediately.
The last bell of the day finally rang and the three of them gathered their things to leave. They all walked out of the building together laughing about the English teacher’s obvious toupee. As they approached the parking lot Raylynn noticed Ty scanning the lot for something.
“Where’d you park Ty?” Paisley asked as she searched her bag for her keys.
“Actually, my brother’s friend is picking me up.” Ty replied with downcast eyes.
“Oh, ok. Well, I guess we will see you tomorrow then.” Paisley answered back as she finally located her keys.
“Yea, you guys go ahead, I’ll just wait here for my ride.” Ty replied a bit quieter than he had been.
“No silly. We can wait with you.” Paisley said sweetly.
Ty swallowed hard and the look that came to his face was instantly recognizable to Raylynn. In fact, she wore it a lot herself. Embarrassment. Ty was embarrassed by something, what Raylynn didn’t know.
A voice called out, pulling Raylynn from her thoughts.
“TY! Stop playing with your little girlfriends and get your ass in the car! We gotta go!” The voice called.
Raylynn followed Ty’s gaze towards the sound of the voice.
“There’s my ride, I gotta go. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Ty said as he turned to leave.
“Wait; let me see your phone really quick.” Paisley said with her hand outstretched.
Ty handed Paisley his phone with a smirk on his face.
“Tyler Joseph Winston! Don’t make me come up there!” the guy in the car teased.
“Give him a damn minute would ya, he’s getting a hottie’s phone number. Something I bet you’ve never done.” Raylynn yelled to the guy in the car.
“Jax, cut it out man, I’m on my way.” Ty said as he took his phone back from Paisley. He started to walk away but before he took two steps Raylynn grabbed him by his bag.
“Not so fast, let me see it.” She said as she took his phone. She could see the guy in the car staring at her with one of those Are you kidding me? looks on his face. She finished inputting her number and handed Ty back his phone. With a quick smile Ty turned and headed towards the waiting car.
“Make that TWO numbers.” She yelled at the guy in the car before turning to Paisley. “Let’s go.” She said grabbing Paisley by the hand and heading towards the car.
“You are nuts.” Paisley said with a shake of her head.
“Yeah, maybe just a little.” Raylynn said with a smile. “Can we go home now?” She asked as they climbed in the car.
Paisley stared at her for just a second before letting out a laugh. She put the car in drive and they headed home, giggling the whole way.
3.
The weeks passed quickly. The bond between the girls and Ty became stronger. Together, they were a family. School was great, and Paisley not only made the cheer squad, but was cast in the lead of the upcoming drama performance. Life was okay for them when they were together. Raylynn could be normal when they were all together, but when she was alone, she felt it. The nightmares were getting worse, and she fe
lt like she could break at any moment. She needed control, and she knew how to get it.
August faded quickly into September, and September gave way to October. Football season had started, and Paisley was in full spirit.
“Wake Up, Wake UP, Wake Up!” Paisley exclaimed as she bounced happily on Raylynn’s bed. “It’s your birthday!”
“Pais, how many times have I told you that if you are going to wake me up at least bring me coffee?” Raylynn asked groggily as she gave in to the urgent bouncing that was Paisley.
“Umm, probably like three or four times a week at least.” Paisley said matter-of-factly
“Paisley Jo Marler, are you doing meth while I’m sleeping?” Raylynn asked as she laughed.
“NO, I wouldn’t ever do meth, I’m just naturally perky.” Paisley said while still bouncing on the bed.
“Fine, I’ll get up if it will make you stop!” Raylynn said exasperated.
“Fine, but if you aren’t up, dressed and downstairs in ten minutes, so help me you will regret it.” Paisley said with a smile as she removed herself from Raylynn’s bed.
“Okay Pais, I’ll be down in twenty.” Raylynn said in a whisper.
“Ten minutes Coop, don’t make me come back up here.” Paisley said.
She closed the door just as Raylynn threw her pillow. It hit the door and bounced off, landing at the foot of the bed. With a sigh, she rolled over to see a fresh cup of coffee sitting on her bedside table. Next to it, a note that read
Ten Minutes Raylynn Grace,
Don’t make me come drag you out.
Happy Birthday!
Oh, and make sure you’re ready for the day,
I promise you won’t want to go back upstairs.
Xoxo
Pais
Raylynn laughed out loud, took a drink of coffee and got ready for the day. She threw on her favorite t-shirt and a pair of leggings. After putting on her shoes, she threw her long hair up into a messy bun and grabbed her bag. She was out of the room in nine minutes flat. She had learned one thing in the few months she had been there, and that was not to test Paisley. She might be little, but she had her ways.
