There's a Playground

“Wendy, wake up. We need to get you registered for school. Now.”

“…Do I have to go to school today, Mom?” I grumbled, my voice coming out in a slight crackle as I glared at her. We’d been living in Vegas for the last three days. It was a Tuesday and, apparently, I was supposed to be going to school today. Ugh. So not looking forward to that.

“I’ll drive you. Get up and get ready, please,” she ordered and I nodded, sighing as I willed my eyes open more.

I sighed, nodding and dragging my sorry ass out of bed, crawling off of it and over to my window. My blinds were open, the early-morning sun streaming through. I was really surprised that I’d slept this late…but Max had a party last night again and, considering the fact that my window was right next to his and his friends all pooled out of the house around two, I didn’t sleep a whole lot.

For all that I cared about the fucker still, I was really pissed off.

In the last three days, Max had come over almost every day to talk for a little bit. I learned he was in the “popular” crowd at school and Ronnie had been his best friend since twelve. That little factor hurt me, though I should have known that I would get replaced eventually. But still… It was also the fact that I didn’t think Ronnie liked me very much. No idea why, but he just didn’t seem like he did. I also learned that Max played the bass and he and his friends all had a band together. He told me he’d let me know when their next practice was so that I could check them out.

Not sure how I felt about that one, considering the fact that I had a feeling that pot smoking was included in those band practices.

Sighing, I pulled them shut, bringing privacy to my room before I walked over to my dresser, yawning slightly. I stripped from the boy shorts and the tank top that I slept in, standing in my underwear as I pulled open my drawers to change into something decent.

I grabbed a black tank top, tossing that over my torso after switching out bras. I grabbed a brown cincher and wrapped it around me, lacing it up below my breasts before folding the flap with the buttons over it and fastening those. The straps sat slightly over the straps of my shirt, but that was kind of the point of it. Next came a pair of dark brown cords. I pulled them over my legs and sighed as I saw that there was still quite a bit of fabric pooling around my feet onto the floor. Lovely. Sighing, I pulled on a pair of black socks before finding my black VANs and slipping them on my feet.

I moved down the hall slightly to the bathroom. I heard my mother bustling about in the living room and I smiled as I grabbed my two rings and slipped them onto my fingers. My gold ring with a rhinestone-studded star went on the ring finger of my right hand, while the gold ring that looked like three bands had just been melted together went on the pointer finger of my left. I grabbed a necklace, too, dark gold chain with black ribbon wove in the upper half of it. While on the lower half, a collection of random bits and pieces dangled. There were clock pieces, old brass keys, and various other little tidbits of randomness. Clasping that around my neck, I grabbed the stick of eyeliner that I used and applied a rather thick coat of the stuff around my eyes.

I brushed through my hair, parting it and braiding two braids into it, leaving the shorter pieces of my bangs out to frame my face.

“Wendy! You ready yet!?” My mother called from the kitchen and I sighed, rolling my eyes as I left the bathroom.

“Yeah, Mom! Let’s go!” I replied, sighing as she appeared around a corner, a black tote bag filled with various school shit in her hands. I thanked her quietly, smiling as I slung the bag over my shoulder and wrapped my arms around myself before making my way out of the house and out to the car.

“Wednesday!” A voice called and I turned to see Max heading out of his house at the same time. For once, Ronnie wasn’t with him.

“Hey Max…” I called back, my voice quieter than his. He grinned as he cut through our grassless yard to hug me. I returned it rather awkwardly.

“You actually going to school today?” he asked me. I nodded wordlessly, looking around him to see my mom locking up the house. He turned, following my gaze and smiling at my mom as she turned around. “Hey, Kat!” Oh god. He did not just use that stupid nickname his mom had for mine. I sighed, looking up at him as my mom looked between us, utterly confused.

“Maxwell?” she asked, confusion written all over her face as she walked over to us. He nodded with a grin and she smirked, taking in all that was my old friend. “Well then. You’ve certainly changed.”

Yeah, I should probably mention that when Max came over to talk, my mom was generally asleep and I was usually outside. I still hadn’t told her that Max lived next door.

“Yeah, well… It’s been nine years,” he replied, nodding. “Almost to the day.” With that addition, I realized that it had almost been nine years since the divorce and us moving to Denver. Max smiled back and me and I couldn’t help but to smile back. How the hell had he managed to remember that?

“Yeah. Wednesday, let’s go,” Mom said, moving around to the driver’s side.

“You’re getting a ride to school?” he asked me and I nodded, turning to open the car door. “Why? It’s just up the street…”

“I have to register and everything like that. Mom wants to come along,” I informed him, nodding and slipping into the passenger seat as he shrugged and waved a good bye to me.

“See you at school, then.” With that, he closed my door for me and taking off down the sidewalk again.

“Is that our neighbor that’s always smoking pot?” My mother asked and I smirked, nodding quietly. “Figures. God that boy has changed. And not for the better… Vegas…”

“I know, Mom. Vegas does that to people. Don’t worry about me, I’m not going to start partying anytime soon. You know how awkward I am with people…”

----

School was hell. I couldn’t find anything and, despite my being a senior, no one would fucking help me. Figures. That’s what I get for moving back to fucking Vegas.

Sighing, I shoved my way through a collection of scantily-clad cheerleaders on my way to my first class. I’d managed to get to school early enough to get all my schedule shit figured out before the first bell. Go me.

“Move it, Freshman.” One of them growled at me in a bubble-headed voice. It was less than menacing, but all the same. I sighed, frowning up at the taller girl. She was taller than my five feet and six inches by about three inches. But that was because of her four inch heels.

I wanted to tell her that I wasn’t a freshman. I was a seventeen year old senior who had just moved here. But did I get the chance to do so? Of course not…

“Wendy! There you are!” Max called and the girls around me immediately began flipping and curling their hair around their fingers. They giggled like a bunch of fucking retards…

“Hey, Max…” I mumbled, smiling as the girls parted and he wrapped me up in his arms. I returned the hug, smiling and blush slightly as he let me go.

I could feel all of the bimbos’ eyes boring into my back angrily.

“Maxie…” A girl whined, platinum blonde hair waving as she came out of the crowd and looped her arms around Max’s waist.

“Hey, Madison. I didn’t see you. Sorry, babe,” he said and wrapped his arms around her to hug the whore back as she kissed him.

Ew. He was dating that slut? Gross…

“This is Wendy. She just moved back here from Denver,” Max announced when he and Slut-Face stopped eating face.

“It’s Wednesday, actually…” I muttered, folding my arms around my chest to hug myself. Max looked at me and made an ‘oh’ sound before he began opening his mouth to say more.

“Max! Get your ass over here!” Ronnie’s voice called somewhere down the hall. “And leave the skank behind!” I was glad for that little addition as Madison growled again, whining to herself about how much of a dick Ronnie was.

I’d give her that, but I was really liking Ronnie for not liking Madison at this point.

“Love you, Maxie.” She whined and I rolled my eyes as I began shoving my way through the whores. I ignored their grumbles and growls of calling me a stupid freshman.

“She’s a senior, by the way,” Max said as he followed me.

After the sluts were gone, Max’s arm looped around my shoulders. “What classes did they put you into?” he asked as he led me to a group of boys. I noticed Ronnie as one of them and when he saw me, he grinned and waved enthusiastically.

What the fuck was wrong with that kid?

I handed over my schedule, smiling nervously back at Ronnie and waving at him slightly.

“Oh cool! You have English with me! And you’ve got Art History with Bryan and Craig. And Psych with Craig. And…”

“Dude, Max, who’s this?” We’d reached the group of guys and I looked up a rather tall boy with lots of curly black hair and a pair of aviators over his eyes. Alright, kid looked a lot like Slash.

“This is Wend…er…Wednesday…”

“Call me Wendy…”

“But…”

“I don’t want sluts calling me Wendy…” I said, looking up at him and sighing. Shouldn’t that be obvious by now?

“Oh. Well, this is Wendy. She was my best friend up till I was eight. She moved back Friday.” He said, squeezing my shoulders. I smiled shyly, swallowing my nerves as I waved slightly.

“Hey, Wendy.” A chorus of voices met me and I smiled at that. At least I was relatively welcome in this crowd of Max’s friends…

“This is Robert, Bryan, Omar, Craig, and of course you know Ronnie,” Max explained, pointing to the boys in turn.

Robert was the Slash look-a-like.

Bryan was on the darker side with bleach blonde hair that stuck out on all sides. He was cute in a childish way.

Omar was…well, buff. Heavier set than the rest of them, he had black hair with a couple blotches of blonde in it randomly. One thing was for certain. He looked a lot rougher on the outside than he probably was…

Craig, on the other hand, was not taller than me. He was around my height and had black hair that swooped off to one side, neat and well-groomed. He smiled warmly at me and I liked him already.

As for Ronnie, was moving onto my other side to wrap an arm loosely around my waist. I frowned, stepping away from him and swallowing the hard lump that had formed in my throat when he did that. It was more out of nervousness than anything…

“Ronnie, god. You’re such a whore…” Max muttered and I sighed, looking down at my feet awkwardly. Ronnie laughed and I felt a blush creep into my cheeks.

“Don’t lie to yourself, Maxwell. You’re not any better than I am.” I watched, completely surprised and confused with a slight frown on my face as Ronnie wrapped an arm lazily around my friend.

“I have a girlfriend, Ronnie.”

“A girlfriend who is a complete and total slut-faced skank.” More words from Ronnie that I was liking more and more by the second. I smirked as they continued on. Craig poked my arm and I turned to look over at him, smiling shyly again.

“What do you have first?”

“English…” Craig nodded and took my schedule from Max’s outstretched hand. He was gesturing at me while saying something along the lines of Ronnie not being allowed to fuck me. I blushed, frowning and swatting at my old friend’s hand.

I wonder if Max can still be considered my friend…