Girlfriend On Mars

2. "Getting hit with a shoe"

Two.

"Getting hit with a shoe." 

As soon as the studded shoe came in contact with Marley's head, she regretted not paying attention. She went reeling backwards, hand hovering over her forehead- which was aching terribly already. All the girls were gawking at her, faces drained of colour. She didn't make much of a fuss though, just bowed her head slightly and stayed quiet. She had been watching that Jen Archer, the one who got held back, who always watched the girls play at lunches. Marley thought she was scary, sharp in the face and completely icy. She knew that no one in their year spoke with her or wanted to be associated with her. Marley had heard she was a fighter and general bad influence. She steered clear from those kinds of people.

The girl who threw the shoe, a lanky newcomer called Jamie Doggett, was fussing and looking frankly quite terrified.

"Oh, God. Marley, are you alright? I wasn't looking where I was throwing. I'm so clumsy I—" She gushed, swaying on her heels nervously.

"Jamie, it's okay. I'm fine." The blonde said politely, trying to keep her composure.

Mya stepped through the group of their teammates and stifled a laugh, staring forward at Marley. It was embarrassing for her; all the fuss and attention. Mya pulled her away from the group a little and said:

"Need me to take you to the nurse?" She offered, eyebrows raised.

The taller girl shook her head and held up her hand. "No, no, I can go. I'll see you later."

She hurried off the field, knowing all eyes were on her, and into the school building, trying to hide her sore forehead. But the hallways were for some reason completely packed, heaving with students trying to look at something. Lisa O'Donelly's yelling could be heard at the end of the hallway and Marley made the decision to turn away from the commotion, moving down the corridor in the opposite direction.

She didn't like to hang too much around Lisa anyway, she understood Lisa was a bully and someone who enjoyed causing trouble. Marley felt shallow for thinking so, but she cared about her appearance and only really associated herself with well-behaved and clever people. That's why she stayed at distance from people like Lisa O'Donelly and Jen Archer. The difference between the two though was that Lisa had friends, lots of them, and Jen had nobody- she was a complete outcast, a self-inflicted one.

Marley knocked quietly on the office door before stepping inside. There was no one in there, just a neatly cleaned office area but no teachers or nurse. There were a few beds lined up with curtains pulled around and a desk at the front. She gingerly took a seat on the edge of one of the beds, poking at the growing bump on her forehead and wincing. It was painful, but not too bad, she just wanted a compress to stop the swelling. She had no idea where they were kept so she couldn't just go and help herself, she felt weary about waiting around unsupervised. She felt like she was breaking a few rules.

The door opened again abruptly, and Jen Archer stepped inside, scanning the area. Then her eyes met Marley's and she grinned widely, surprising the younger girl tremendously. Marley was overly intimidated already. Jen's whole left eye was red and darkening in colour. Marley figured she'd been the one in the fight in the corridor, but Jen looked completely nonchalant and indifferent.

She relaxed into the nurse's office chair and continued to stare at Marley, making her wriggle in her place. The blonde couldn't pin what was so scary about her, it was just her whole aura most likely. It seemed mean and cold, like she wouldn't talk easily. She had dark, lengthy hair that fell past her shoulders and thin, striking features. Her eyes were narrow and faintly upturned, similar in hue to Marley's—a light blue but sharper. She was slim and well-built too like she played sports, but she wasn't in any clubs.