The Explorer's Apprentice

2:Knives

Hello everyone, and thank you for reading my new chapter!!:) Just a heads up: I have also edited the previous chapter a bit, just so it makes more sense and flows more nicely with this chapter. Hope you enjoy!:)

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 That night at eight, Louise was supposed to call. And Marley made sure she would be home to answer the phone, even if it meant leaving Alison to go to the closest art store alone.

                “Oh, that’s alright,” Alison had said sincerely. “We can go after school sometime this week.”

               Apparently it’s a small business, too. And Marley loves small, family-run businesses more than any chain. Owning a product from a place like this makes her feel unique and original--two of her most favorite things to be. 

 8:09...

              She drums her fingers on top of her computer slowly and at a constant pace. She can’t seem to find a comfortable position in her chair. The empty inbox of Marley’s email makes her scowl. Not even a message? Seriously?

                Unlike Marley, which is usually the case with her best friend, Louise is never late for anything. And the last words Marley heard from her ring in her ears like a Sunday church bell: “Just make sure you’re home and I’ll call you, every night at eight, your time. Sound good? Don’t you dare forget about me, either! Forget the time difference. That’ll always be our chat time.”

                Marley’s sure there has to be a logical explanation for this, and feels like some sort of a lunatic when she checks the time every thirty seconds. Give her a break, she thinks, the girl is only human.

                She gets up and starts to go through her bags. Clothes pile up in her closet, her bed, the floor. It's as if she's been robbed. Eventhough Marley always had a love of clothing, she was never the neatest person around, and her entire wardrobe has already been teased into a growing mess. However, regardless of the disarray, she quickly finds her black-and-white striped, sequined top, white shorts, and her silver hoop earrings.

8:23...

                Then she remembers the long, silver necklace her mother had gifted to her, with its series of pearls enclosed by silver wire. It matches her outfit perfectly, and Marley swears, it even smells of her mother. She’ll find much comfort in wearing it.  It will give Marley that last ounce of confidence she needs on her first day at a new school.

8:32...

Now for hair! Marley glances at herself in the mirror and brings a hand to her firey locks, wondering if she should pin it up for once. She's always liked her hair. She thought it's frizziness was fun and different, maybe even a little bit weird, and this was good enough for her. Fun and different and a little weird. Just like me.

 Despite this, Marley knew that beauty was never her strong-suit. She’s not something that would frighten the horses, but she’s certainly not supermodel material either. She’s…somewhat pretty, at most. Her auburn curls are her best feature, but besides that, her gray eyes, long nose, and slightly lopsided smile have a way of seeming horribly ordinary to her.

                Not to mention that she’s always been a bit on the tall side.

                Marley tries to content herself with being the smart one. Or even the artistic one, though her art is pretty amateur, so that could be pushing it. Beauty, she thinks, can be saved for someone else. Someone who’s five feet tall with bright blue eyes and a perfectly straight, pretty grin.