Science Partners. [PinkGinger/Houdini]

[PinkGinger]

Maggie got up from her desk as the final bell of the day rang. With a soft sigh she gathered her books and walked out of the class room and moved through the crowded hall to her locker. Maggie didn't stand out in the crowed. She was slim, of medium height, with long chestnut hair, hazel eyes and pale skin. The school uniform didn't help, except to make her blend in even further with the white shirts and blue bottoms. She held her books in front of her with one arm around them. She used her free hand to open her locker when she finally reached it. After turning the lock to the correct numbers and opening her locker Maggie pulled out a black messenger bag. She put some of the books she was holding into her locker and then put a few in her bag and closed the locker. Now she had to go meet her science partner. Of course her partner was the same girl that had bullied her since grade school. The girl who's homework she'd done for years. The girl she just couldn't say no to. She figured the only reason they were partners was so that Maggie could do the whole project. It would be done perfectly and they would get their As and Maggie would wait for the next stack of homework.

Maggie wasn't always so helpless. She had several friends, her own opinions and hobbies, but she had always done what the other girl commanded. But lately Maggie realized that she didn't always hate it. Even now, as she walked to the commons area, Maggie felt butterflies of excitement in her stomach. It made her feel like a stranger to herself. It didn't make since that she would want to see someone who had never said a kind word to or about her. But she almost looked forward to seeing the pretty face to receive the next task or harsh name or whatever new torture was planned for her. Her friends scolded her for letting the other girl walk all over her like that. Maggie would always tell them that it was fine, it was easier to just do it.

As Maggie walked into the loud busy commons room she craned her neck looking for the right face. She turned around on her toes, searching for her science partner.

 

[Houdini]

Kristen made her way through the hallways, looking through all the faces that passed by for one familiar face. Kristen was a tall girl, about 5'9", with highlighted blond hair falling just below her shoulders. She always wore her white button-up uniform shirt a bit on the tight side, accentuating her medium size breasts, and enjoyed the attention this usually caused the boys to give her. She had an average size figure, not too thin, but not overweight, but if it wasn't the breasts that the boys usually noticed, it was her face. Her high cheekbones, soft nose, and crystal blue eyes gave her the look of a classic beauty. Kristen usually didn't wear much makeup, if any at all, she was a bit of a tomboy in that sense. She could be a little bit full of herself, and knew it well.

As she made her way through the masses, she spotted the girl she was searching for in the distance. She saw Maggie closing her
locker, but Maggie didn't see her coming. They were supposed to go back to Kristen's house and work on a project that afternoon. Maggie and she had been in the same schools since kindergarten, and they usually seemed to partner up for homework and projects. It was true that Maggie generally ended up doing the bulk of the work, but Kristen generally made some kind of excuse for that. After all, no matter who Maggie worked with, she would probably want to do most of the work. She was one of the smartest kids in school, and probably wouldn't get as good of a grade if anyone else worked on it. Besides, Kristen reasoned in her mind, "she gets to hang out with me. Isn't that payback enough?" There was, however, something beyond that lately. Kristen seemed to be enjoying their arrangement a little more. There was something fun, exciting about the control she had, and that Maggie seemed to let her have.

As she approached undetected, she shoved Maggie a little bit from behind. Kristen viewed this kind of this thing as mere joking around, even thought she knew that Maggie didn't always appreciate it. "Hey there, partner," she said with a grin, as she pushed the smaller girl. "You ready to work on that project?"

 

[PinkGinger]

Maggie stumbled when Kristen pushed her. She regained her balance quickly and turned to face the other girl. Her eyes met Kristen's for just a second before she turned them down to the floor. Except from a distance Maggie couldn't look Kristen in the face for very long. She though of her as very beautiful, and more intimidating because of it. "Um... I guess I'm ready to go when you are." Maggie assumed that Kristen would want to talk to her friends like the other students did after school. She didn't want to wait, but she would if Kristen wanted her to.

Her left hand fidgeted nervously in the pocket of her messenger bag. Maggie was anxious to get going. If she was going to be around Kristen for an extended period of time she preferred it to be in private. Maggie found Kristen to be much easier to deal with when she was alone. Maggie guessed that it was because she didn't have friends to show off for. That was just fine, she wasn't sure she wanted Kristen to be nice to her. Maggie waited for instructions from Kristen, her eyes fixed on the floor between them.

 

[Houdini]

Kristen looked on as Maggie stumbled, giggling a little bit at Maggie's awkwardness. There was something about Maggie, that shy awkwardness, that was comforting to be around. It wasn't that it made Kristen feel better about herself. But there was something to the fact that she had a form of control over such an intelligent girl, that she liked. As Maggie started at the floor, Kristen responded "Well, I have to go see a couple of other girls for a minute. Nobody that you really are friends with. But I wanted to find you first."

Kristen reached over and brushed some of Maggie's brown hair off her shoulder, replacing it with her hand. She nudged Maggie down the hallway by her shoulder for a moment before letting go of the shoulder. "Come on, you come with me, then we'll go," she said, leading the way.

 

[PinkGinger]

Part of Maggie craved her subservience to Kristen. And part of that subservience was humiliation. As much as she dreaded being around those other girls she knew she would go. It had always seemed to Maggie that once Kristen had an audience she would be meaner. Maggie took it and tried to ignore the part of herself that enjoyed the insults.

Maggie's eyes drifted up to Kristen's face and she was pushed forward. She didn't resist at all. When Kristen took the lead Maggie hurried to keep up with her. She dodged around the crowds of students. She was moving along keeping close to the other girl. It wasn't long before they could see Kristen's friends waiting for her. They smiled and waved to her. Maggie put up her defenses and braced herself for some harsh words.

 

[Houdini]

Kristen edged up next to Sonia and Michelle, two of the more popular girls in school. "Hey Kristen," they called out, almost in unison, each giving Kristen a cheery hug when she approached. "Hi," Sonia said to Maggie, forced politeness tinging her voice. Michelle didn't even acknowledge Maggie. "Can you believe that Michelle hooked up with Chase last night?" Sonia said to Kristen, gesturing to her friend, eager to share the latest news with Kristen. Kirsten opened up her mouth in exaggerated shock at her friend. "Oh my God," she exclaimed. "You know Chase and I were an item for, like, a week last school year. He's disgusting." They giggled some more, before Kristen looked back over at the quiet Maggie. "This one of course, wouldn't know anything about that kind of thing," she commented, all the girls sharing a giggle at Maggie's expense.

"No, I'm just kidding," Kristen continued. "What was the name of the guy you're with again?" she asked, knowing there was none. When she thought about it, she wasn't with anyone herself, but it didn't stop her from slinging the insults. "I think she mentioned the last action she had was with her finger," Michelle said with a laugh, as if Maggie wasn't even there. "C'mon!," Kristen scolded her friend with a little bit of a giggle. "That's my science partner you're talking about." Kristen liked the exclusive right to say anything disparaging about Maggie. For whatever reason, it got on her nerves a little bit if anyone else did it. "We have to get going anyway, right?" she said in Maggie's general direction. "We're heading over my place to get some schoolwork done," she told her friends in parting, as she turned away from their little circle.