Fragment from a book

The movie didn’t left a good impression on me. It was some action drama, or so the leaflet said, but at few points throughout the movie I almost passed out. I’m not really into dramas. But Daniel certainly enjoyed it. And to my biggest surprise, so did Marilyn. I couldn’t decide if I should say my honest opinion or just pretend that it was a great choice. I felt as if someone sunk out my whole energy from my body. Not to mention how disinterested I felt while Marilyn and Daniel were discussing the brilliance of the scenario.
‘’Someone’s being unusually quiet. Is it because you are stunned by the movie? ’’ There was a tinge of sarcasm in his voice.
I made a wry face and decided to answer truthfully.
‘’Let’s just say I wouldn’t repeat this experience. ’’
‘’I have an idea! ’’ Marilyn instantly drew the attention back to her.
‘’Why don’t we go and get some drinks and we can show you our secret place? ’’
‘’Your secret place? ’’ His eyebrow shot up. This is escalating pretty quickly.
‘’Don’t ask anything, just follow us, ’’ Marilyn said teasingly and without a response just turned around and started walking away. Meanwhile, Daniel didn’t moved and glimpsed at his wristwatch. The whole thing looked absolutely comical. You see, what Daniel was expected to do in this kind of situation, is to do exactly as she said, don’t say anything and just play along. But it didn’t went as planned.
‘’Actually I should get going home. Still have some homework to finish. ’’
Marilyn turned to us and laughed it off but irritation was all over her face.
‘’I have a strict father. He takes my education very seriously and as a result, I have to take it seriously as well. ’’
As we were walking back home I kept remembering Marilyn’s face and I wondered if it was the first time when I guy refused to spend evening with her. When Daniel took his turn towards home we waited few seconds before we spoke. I was ready to make fun of Marilyn’s fiasco from earlier but I detected anger in her face, which made me shut my mouth.
‘’I’m not even lying, Candy. I thought I will punch his face. ’’
Her hateful tone left me pretty speechless. So she continued talking.
‘’I mean seriously, can you believe him? He needs to do his homework! He’s in company with two gorgeous ladies and has the audacity to reject our invitation? ’’
I could definitely argue with her but there was another problem in my mind.
‘’Enough about Daniel. Better tell me what’s with the whole act. Are we supposed to just always agree with him and pretend we like everything that he does?
Marilyn took a deep sigh, as if that was the most ridiculous question someone ever asked her.
‘’That’s how it goes, silly. Just trust me on this, ok? ’’
What if I don’t want to play by your rules this time, Marilyn, I thought to myself but didn’t said it out loud.

So apparently, when Daniel said his father was strict he didn’t exaggerated. Every Tuesday and Thursday he had to be home for Papa time. Which stands for playing chess, doing crosswords or watching documentaries with his father.
‘’That’s so old fashioned. Like, I had no idea anyone even plays chess anymore. ’’ That was Marilyn’s response when he told us why he cannot hang out with us on those days. At first I thought she would be glad that she doesn’t have to invest all of her time in one guy but I was wrong. She already dumped her other toy, whatever his name was. I could never keep up with remembering their names.
‘’I just told him I had enough of him. There’s so much to gain from one person. ’’
We started hanging out with Daniel quite often and I have to admit, I really enjoyed his company. We would go to the movies, for walks, evening rides along the city, eat a bunch of junk food to the point when its hard to move and share our stories. It was the first time I felt so good with a guy. Not even in a romantic way. The feeling of his presence was simply enough to make me feel joy. There was only one thing that bothered me. That ‘’we’’ included three of us. Wherever Marilyn was, she would always steal the show. And our hang outs were not an exception. I don’t know why, but I could never outshine her. If she was in the spotlight I naturally ended up being in a shadow. Maybe I was just afraid of failing.
‘’Oh my gosh Candy. You are as quiet as a mouse. What’s wrong with you? Are you always like this? No wonder you cannot get a boyfriend. ’’ She laughed one time after a date with Daniel. Little did she know that me and Daniel were having our own time together. Since we both were in the same swimming team we would spend three days per week all by ourselves. I mean, without Marilyn. Sure, it was just bits and pieces before and after the training but it was my time for shining and I loved it. On some rare occasions when Marilyn had something going on in her home and couldn’t meet us after our practise, we would walk together home. To be fair I even forgot about the whole puppet thing. Until one morning in school, when something so out of the blue happened. From the first lesson I had some weird feeling. Other kids glancing our way and whispering. But I just waved it off. But after the second class Daniel told us that there was a rainbow flag sticker on his desk, which haven’t been there before.
‘’Did you got those as well? Is there some kind of homosexuality support event going on in school? ’’
It took me few moments to take his question in and it was followed by realization of how naive Daniel is. Marilyn was more fast than me.
‘’No, there isn’t. ’’ She stopped in her tracks, looked at Daniel and gave him an apologetic look.
He lowered his head.
‘’Look, ’’ Marilyn said, shifting closer to him. ‘’Some idiot probably spread the rumors, and you know how the rumors work. Everyone believes it without a pinch of salt. They are just jealous that we are hanging out with you. Don’t let them get in your head. ’’ She nudged him gently and he responded with a fond smile.