hot rod★ m. baker

chapter 4~ the rare encounter

After what was possibly the most excruciating English class of her, Mirielle bolted to the door to leave the hell that was Mr. Gitten's room.

Finally, out of view of the classroom Mirielle began to locate her locker.

"One thirty two- one thirty three- one thirty FOUR! Ah hah!" She scanned the wall. "Ok, ok, eleven one to the right, three one to the left and zero five to the right..." she stuck her tongue out and furrowed her brow as she carefully twisted the lock. "And... it worked!" She smiled to herself. "Can't wait to get rid of this damn sweater." She put her sweater and some of her books in her locker and then closed it.

"Hey Stella." A familiar brown haired boy appeared from behind her locker door.

"Holy shit!" She jumped. "Are you stalking me now?" She asked.

"What, can't I just say hello to my next door neighbor?" He smirked.

Mirielle looked down at his shirt. "Its Monday." She rolled her eyes and bluntly stated.

Marcus looked shocked. "What kind of cultural wasteland are you from? You haven't heard of the band Wednesday?" He asked her.

This threw Mirielle off her pedestal; for some reason she felt the need to look cool infront of him. "Uh- I'm from Oregon, the capital of indie music band. If Wednesday were anything special then I would have heard off them by now-" she scoffed.

"Wednesday's not real. I made them up, I just grabbed the first shirt I saw this morning." He looked into her eyes and smiled at her.

Mirielle's grew slightly red with embarrassment. Why did she feel the need to impress this asshole?

"So what were you smoking last night?" He asked her.

"What? Me?" She was shocked as to why he was continuing to speak with her. "Uh- it was just tea... I'm actually trying to quit" she looked at the ground and scratched the right side of her neck, something she only did when she was nervous. "Where were you off to last night?" She asked.

"Ah now you see Stella, that's between me and god." Marcus joked folding his together.

"Funny, Marcus. So you get to ask questions but when I ask them you turn into John the Baptist?" Mirielle rolled her eyes.

"Be gone Marcus!" A familiar voice approached from behind her. It was Maxine from English class.

Marcus recognized who it was. "See ya later neighbor." He saluted with a grin as he walked away.

"Sorry about Marcus he's a total asshole." Max leaned against the lockers replacing where Marcus was standing.

"Yeah, he's an asshole." Mirielle agreed while smiling at the ground.

"Yeah he's my twin brother-" Max continued.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry I said anything!" Mirielle quickly apologized.

"No I'm sorry! I should have strangled him in the womb and done humanity a solid." Max said before walking away. "Are you coming?" She looked back at Mirielle.

"Uh-" Mirielle stammered while catching to Max.

"So where ya from?" Max asked.

"Uh- well I was born in Chicago then moved to Oregon when I was thirteen and then I moved here this year." Mirielle smiled as the pair entered the lunch room.

"So are you straight?" Max quickly asked.

"Umm, I, uh-" Mirielle was caught off guard.

"It's ok if you don't know, Harry Styles doesn't know either and he's like super hot. Ugh why are there no good gays." Max answered for Mirielle. "You're gonna LOVE my friends!" They were now approaching her lunch table. "This is Nora, Abby, Brody, Hunter and Santi" She introduced them to Mirielle. "Guys this is Elle, she's my new friend from Oregon and you have to be nice to her because I love her." Maxine smiled at all of them.

"Um-hey" Mirielle smiled.

"Ugh even the way you say hey is poetic" Max groaned. "Like you could give a speech about blue jeans and I would be hanging on to your every word. WAIT do you speak Spanish? Can you help me with my homework?" Max got really excited. "Oh, I'm sorry, do Latin people hate it when us gringas ask for Spanish help. Look if I'm being an ignorant asshole, I'm sorry, but we literally have more Taco Bell's than Latinos. So why'd you move to Wellsbury?" Max kept going on and on.

"Oh my mom got a new job." Mirielle quietly replied.

"Ohh what does she do now." Max looked at her.

"Ah she a nurse practitioner." Mirielle smiled while looking down at her food.

"Ooooh does she see some gross stuff?Like car accidents? Or Motorcycle accidents? Ya know I saw the grossest motorcycle accident one time! This guys arm was literally four lanes away from him. Know what? My stupid idiot twin is gonna end up the same we because he just got a motorcycle and he can't even drive it because our birthday isn't until December and by the time he can the roads will be all icy and he'll just die instantly-"

"Chill Max!" A boy with olive skin and chocolate brown eyes spoke up.

"Sorry, you probably don't know. I just love all that morbid stuff..." Max trailed on but Mirielle had lost focus on her and moved her eyes over the boy sitting next to her: Santi. Maybe it was the fact there was another Latino kid around or his small dimples that framed his smile perfectly. He caught her looking at him and smiled which made her blush as she looked down at her food. "So, just in case Mr. Shitten has us take another pop quiz. Do you want to hangout at my place to study?" Maxine asked breaking Mirielle from her daze.

"Oh... yeah, that'd be fun." Mirielle smiled.

~~~

"Holy shit! Your room is- is- so freaking cool!" Mirielle gawked at how decorated and whimsical Max's room was.

"Aww, you're so sweet. I know" Maxine giggled.

"Ugh I can't believe that it's only the first day of school and we already have so much English homework" Elle rolled her eyes.

"I know... Mr Gitten is the worst! Like I'm sorry your wife doesn't love you anymore." Max joked.

"Mr. Gitten, more like Mr. Shitten" Elle laughed back.

"Anyways, I'm supposed to secretly ask you if you have a boyfriend? Santi wants to know..." Max grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh-me? Ah, no I never really dated around, never really got the chance to." Mirielle looked from Max.

"So, no to a novio? Got it. Anyways... do you want a soda? My brain needs chemicals to function." Max said while dramatically walking out. After that Mirielle got up and walked around the room: observing and taking it all in. The posters and the doodles on the walls. It was something she never had, her parents always moved her around so she was never able plant roots, she never got to paint the walls or write her name on the door frame.

"Are you stalking me neighbor?" A voice broke her trance. She turned around and saw it was Marcus.

"No, Max invited me" she scoffed and plopped down on the swing chair. Suddenly Marcus started walking up to her and the chair she was sitting in. Then he crouched down so that the pair was at eye level. They were staring in each other's dark eyes. He smelled like cool cologne with a hint of weed, but she didn't mind it, it was a smell she wanted to be around forever. His face was so close to her's that if either one of them moved they would either kiss or break each other's nose. She accidentally looked at his lips. She didn't want to but she cast her gaze upon those beautiful peach lips that could melt her with just a small peck.

He reached his hand right behind her; slightly brushing her waist with the palm of his hand,sending shock waves through her. His hand was digging around behind while he looked at her beautiful face. Her eyes dark and mysterious as the night sky. Her skin, deep and golden as his created by Midas him self. Marcus glanced at her lips and then looked at her with grin before standing up revealing a small bag with some weed in it.

"Marcus what are you doing?" Max entered the room and saw what was in her twin brothers hand. "And why is that in my room?"

"Because no one checks your room!" Marcus spoke back to her.

"Gross, get help. Also can you please leave cause... we're tryna study." Max kindly asked her brother.

Max turned her back and Marcus saluted Elle.