IT'S COMPLICATED -- MARCUS BAKER

Screw You, Virginia Miller - 2

(A/N): Outfit for school above! Or comment alternatives!

"Virginia, Y/n, I should warn you. We keep a, uh, rigorous pace in AP English. The AP students take this very seriously. So, if my class proves to be too much for you, I suggest you do yourself a favor and move down to regular English, OK? I'd hate to see you bite off more than you could chew. Uh, we cover all the greats. Steinbeck, Salinger, Miller, Homer, Fitzgerald, Shakespeare, of course. Um... 16 books total. OK?"

Ginny tells him her nick name and I figure it's my turn to speak. "I took AP literature in in 8th grade and have already read all of your supposed 'greats.' I think I'll be alright. Don't underestimate me again please." I roll my eyes when he scoffed and took a seat next to Virginia. She smiled and leaned over, "Sav, why are you always confronting people?" It's fun?

"Welcome back, AP English. Hiding in the back there, you will find our new students, Virginia and Y/n Miller. I trust you will make them feel welcome." Ginny again relays her nickname and the teacher keeps speaking. "I know it's our first day back from summer vacation, but I thought it was an excellent opportunity for a pop quiz. Those of you who didn't do the summer reading of The Crucible are in for a world of pain. Uh, don't worry, Virginia and Y/n, I don't expect you to have read it. Oh. Yes, you have a question?" I was gonna say something, but I guess Ginny decided to take a page out of my book. "There are 16 books on this syllabus." What a burn...?

"Yes. Like I said, you can always drop down..." She continued, "Fourteen of them are written by men, 15 were written by white people, and I'll guess the one Black author
will crop up for Black History Month. Am I right?" I laughed and kicked my feet up on the desk, pulling out some gum to chew. "Excuse me?" He looked a little angry. How cute. "I'm very serious about my education, Mr. Gitten. I'm worried I might internalize
an ideology that the main viewpoint, the viewpoint worth studying in class,
the viewpoint of the greats, is only that of the white male, thus eradicating my voice as immaterial. And finally, I'm worried I won't be stimulated intellectually. Also, I have read The Crucible, and I'm confident I can take the quiz today." 

"Honestly, ditto, one. And two, why is it exactly that you think Fitzgerald is one of the greats? The Great Gatsby, The Beautiful and the Damned, and many of his other works are a collection of stolen letters and journal entries from his wife, Zelda. Do you support plagiarism at this school?" I crossed my legs on the desk and he essentially foamed at the mouth. "Well, I don't know how things were done at your last school, but here, we don't tolerate political outbursts and grandstanding at the expense of your peers' class time. Yes, Maxine? Hi. I'm, like, also super concerned about my subconscious digestion of the superiority of the white male perspective. Also, I have period cramps, so can I go to the nurse?" I laughed again and we took out our pencils to take the pop quiz silently.

"That was bitchin!" I gave my sister a squeeze and walked down the hallway with her, a girl following. "You're new, right? Just moved in across the street?" I see the boy from yesterday speaking to me, at the locker next to mine. ginny is still walking further away. "It's Monday, isn't it?" He smirks, "What cultural wasteland are you from? Never heard of the band Wednesday?" I shook my head "They don't exist. I made 'em up. Grabbed the first shirt I saw this morning." I smiled and put my belongings in my locker, in anticipation of lunch. "I met your mom last night. She can be very friendly." 

"Did you hook up with her or something? Why'd you phrase the sentence like that?" His eyes widened and he shook his head. "She asked me for weed. She wasn't that friendly." I heard a voice behind me add, "Yeah, well, she can also be kind of a bitch."  Ginny was behind me and the girl with weird color lipstick on flicked her hands at him, "Marcus, be gone." He saluted, "See you around, beautiful. Bye neighbor." I bit my lip, as I didn't want him to see me smile when he'd said that. He looked like he said that to a lot of girls. "Sorry about Marcus. He's an asshole." Ginny, wanting to fit in, doubled in on her description, "Yeah, total asshole." What a suck up. "Yeah. He's my twin brother." Ginny looked surprised; duh, they look like siblings. "Oh, I'm sorry. I..."