Marianne by Elizabeth Hammer (best books to read in life TXT) 📕

Ivan was standing near Marianne, and he leaned in close. “Either you’re a great judge of character, or you know her already,” he whispered.

Whoops. Guess she wasn’t hiding her thoughts as well as she thought. Marianne coughed. “We might have had some classes together last year.”

Vanessa squirmed in her chair, unzipping her surf-style sweater and taking it off with conscious ceremony. Wowzers. If Marianne’s memory was correct, then Vanessa was wearing a pushup. The daddy-issues-ensemble was obviously meant for Pa-trick, and the second he finished racking the last ball, Vanessa was on him. She leaned forward, revealing more of the tramp-stamp above her jeans. “Patrick, why didn’t you show up at the barbecue yesterday? You said you’d be there in the evening, and we were all waiting for you.”

Yesterday evening? Marianne smiled. Patrick was a bit busy yesterday, tending to garage murals and Marianne’s fat lip.

“I planned on going,” said Patrick, wandering closer to the tables. “But there was all this drama going on when I got home.”

“No way,” said Vanessa, obviously comforted that he had a good excuse. “What drama?”

“Well…” Patrick smiled crookedly, indicating how great this story would be.

No. He wouldn’t. That was private! Marianne tried to catch his eye, but he wasn’t looking at her. She was already blushing.

“It was unreal,” he said. “You see, my niece’s friend Lori asked her other friend Heather if she liked her other friend Andy, and—”

Marianne burst out laughing.

Patrick smiled and beckoned to her. “Has everyone met Marianne?”

Marianne went to stand by him, and he put his hand on her shoulder. Then he slid his hand down to rest on her hip.

Oh my. She was tingling all over.

“Hi,” said Vanessa, not quite looking Marianne in the face.

“Hi.” Marianne waved, and all the unfamiliar girls waved back.

“So, Marianne,” said Vanessa, trying but failing to put on a friendlier face. “Are you from around here?”

“Yeah, she is,” said Ivan, before Marianne could speak. “You guys went to high school together.”

“Really?” Vanessa squinted at Marianne. “Oh, yeah,” she said, smiling. “You were that shy Chemistry girl. You used to help me and my friends with our labs.”

“That’s the one,” said Marianne.

“Sorry,” said Vanessa, not sounding sorry at all. “I didn’t recognize you. You used to dress more, well…” She trailed off, letting the silence give the insult for her. And it was a pretty good insult, too. Marianne was a flat out goober in high school, no question.

“She used to dress more what, exactly?” said Ivan, facing Vanessa head on and crossing his arms. “You didn’t finish your sentence.”

Marianne bit her lip to hide her smile. How cute was this? He was defending her.

“I was just telling the truth.” Vanessa put her hands up. “No offense.”

“Well, go ahead then,” said Ivan. “Share with us all your incredible fashion secrets. I’m on pins and needles.”

Patrick tightened his grip on Marianne, and she felt him trying not to laugh.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Bite me, Ivan.”

“Don’t mind her,” said Hector, putting a comforting hand on Ivan’s shoulder. “She’s just jealous because she’s looking rather haggish tonight.”

Patrick leaned down to Marianne’s ear. “That was my line,” he whispered, pointing proudly to himself.

“This is bad.” Marianne grimaced, trying to keep herself calm even though his hand still on her hip. “They shouldn’t be doing this for me; I didn’t care about what she said.”

“It’s fine.” Patrick shook his head. “They always treat her like this. She kinda likes it, I think.”

“Yeah?” said Marianne. “So is it cool if I join in, then?”

“Don’t you dare,” he said, pinching her. “She’s a bit sensitive about you, if you haven’t noticed.”

Marianne rolled her eyes. “Nice try, kid. I’m not the one she’s sensitive about.”

“Yeah, well…” Patrick cleared his throat. “You wanna get out of here?”

Marianne nodded.

They were through the arcade and almost to the doors when Patrick remembered that he’d forgotten to pay for their share of the pool table. “Won’t they cover for you?” asked Marianne.

“They would,” he said. “If they ever had any money.”

“I’ll wait here,” said Marianne. “Vanessa started foaming at the mouth when she saw us sneaking off.”

Patrick walked away, and Marianne wandered over to the prize counter. Vanessa’s arrival had ended the snarky game between them, and Marianne was getting nervous for the first time. Was this a real date now?

An employee appeared on the other side of the counter. “Can I help you?”

“No, thanks. Just looking.” Marianne returned her attention to the little plastic prizes. Patrick had put his arm around her, and he didn’t seem to be playing a part then. How was she supposed to act? Should she start teasing him again? Ugh, this was the worst feeling in the world. She really, really wanted this to be a real date, but was she actually supposed to believe that he’d changed his mind about her overnight? And even if he did really like her, the question still remained: Why? Why the heck would he like Marianne of all people? Maybe she should play sick and just go home…

“Are you okay? You look confused.”

Marianne looked up, startled to find that the girl hadn’t left. “Yes, sorry. I was just lost in thought.”

The girl nodded sagely. “What’s his name?”

“No.” laughed Marianne. “I was thinking more about myself, actually.”

“Let’s hear it,” said the girl, leaning her arms on the glass counter. “I’m bored.” Her name tag said Amy.

Marianne fixed her bangs and stared at the girl. Why not? “Amy, do you watch talk shows?”

“Love ‘em,” she said.

“Excellent,” said Marianne. “So, you know how dysfunctional people always end up with other dysfunctional people?”

Amy bit her lip ring and closed her eyes. “I know all about that, yeah,” she nodded.

“So, let’s say there’s a normal, healthy guy.” Marianne cleared her throat. “But this guy chooses a girl who’s not as... as normal as he is. Why would he do that? Does that mean that he’s not actually as perfect as he seems?”

Amy nodded fervently. “Absolutely, yes.”

“What?” whimpered Marianne. Why was she talking