An International Phenomenon

[Mitsuko2*]

'Well it ain't my car hun, but I've got no probs with you coming along, you can sit on my lap if Jordan over there takes up to much space,'

'What a gentleman! He'll be perfect to make this wreched existance of mine a little easier. Like Lavvy does.' She thought and smiled for real this time. 'But if Lien says no... well lets not think about that.'

[Chase*]

Lien got that feeling, the one where someone detects something so fake in a person that it makes you literally want to puke it out even though you're not the one acting in such a manner. The trunk door was still open, and she had bent down again almost convulsively and tried not to choke on her bile.

No doubt she really did not take a liking to Mariavel since meeting her only moments before.

Lien snapped up quickly and tried to smile politely at the blonde as she stepped back from the trunk. Maybe she was letting her annoyance show a little more than it should have, because the slam of the trunk door made her jump a few inches off the ground.

Actors in, actors out, stage left, right up, down. That's what this game of ditching school became for that moment. And she didn't like it anymore. The boy who had carried Jordan to the car eyed Mariavel quickly, but it was too fast for Lien to tell whether it was to check her out or ogle her assests. Either way, time was running out and chances are she would be late if they didn't get things taken care of.


"This isn't some joy ride, not anymore at least. There isn't any more time for going out, I'm really sorry. Take a raincheck maybe?"

With that she piled into the passenger's seat and pressed the automatic lock. Her smile still strained, her eyes pleaded with Jack to hit the road.

"I guess... we can worry about where he lives after he's sobered up a bit, right? Can you stay for rehearsal?"

[Minase*]

Inside, Jack was laughing. What a delightfully apt performance by Lien, she had set him up with a perfect shot at the bimbo. How could her reaction have possibly been more beneficial to him, how could she have better played into his hands? He cared not how, because he did not believe it possible. She had left him alone with the bimbo andshe had offended both he and the bimbo, giving him both the opurtunity to begin putting the movements upon the bimbo, and a target of abuse around which he could formulate his movements, namely, her (Lien). Jack figured it would not do to refer to the bimbo thusly out loud, and decided it would do best to learn her name before they began getting too close, and it became uncomfortable to ask.

As the locks clicked, so began the whirring of cogs within the mind of the scheming Jack. He turned to the bimbo, his eyebrows lifted in a look of feigned shock at the behaviour of Lien,

'Well, I think if that doesn't answer our question!'

He maintained his humorous imitation of shock for a few seconds longer, until he was comfortable the bimbo was focusing her attention upon him, when he suddenly burst out into a cheeky smile, lowered one eyebrow and tilted his head a little, thus completing the effect his desired: a perfect flirting face. He one hand into his pocket, and threw his jacket over his shoulder, holding it with the other. One foot forward, one leg back, chest thrown out: a perfect flirting pose. The effect complete, Jack continued,

'Very polite! Well nevermind, you and me can hang out anyway, who needs a car, I mean it's not like there's anywhere worth going in this shit-hole town anyway, we'll come up with something...though I'm gonna need your name hun.'

This was Jack at his most sadistic. His interest in mariavel had nothing to do with her as a person, and if he had his way with her he would never wish to see her again, that was certain. It wasn't that he was bad as such, not at all, he was fiercely good, but he didn't realise when he was doing something like this. In his head he really liked Mariavel, he convinced himself of this, and pushed Liz right out of mind. Unfortunately, he didn't know himself well enough to realise the truth of the matter, he was just being cruel. Unitentionally or otherwise, he was being cruel. This was the dark side of Jack, the hidden side, the side most people wouldn't believe existed. The only one that knew the extent to which this side could dominate, and thereby drag Jack down a path of maliciousness, was sitting, pretending to ignore him, by the window of her English class.

And still the kid babbled on about pathetic fallacy.

[Mitsuko2*]

"This isn't some joy ride, not anymore at least. There isn't any more time for going out, I'm really sorry. Take a raincheck maybe?"

Mariavel respected Lien's decision, they didn't exactly get off on the right foot.

'Well, I think if that doesn't answer our question!'

He was right, lien and jack had jumped into the car and drove off in a rush. She was a little sad that she had stopped him from going though.

'Very polite! Well nevermind, you and me can hang out anyway, who needs a car, I mean it's not like there's anywhere worth going in this shit-hole town anyway, we'll come up with something...though I'm gonna need your name hun.'

He was flirting with her, she could tell. He had that flirting pose on.

'Then again, he is kinda cute'

"Well my name is Mariavel, nice to meet you! I'm sorry but, what is your name?" she asked in a somewhat flirtatious voice, not enough for him to notice though. "I'm sorry that I stopped you from going with your friends." she said apoligetically with her head bowed down.

[Minase*]

Jack sniggered derisively,

'They ain't my friends love, I barely know their names either to be honest. Truth is I'm so bored I would hang around with anyone, luckily for me though I managed to find someone actually worth the effort.'

If it wasn't such a cheesy thing to do, Jack would have tossed in a wink at this point but he wanted to remain aloof, and therefore he deemed this unacceptable. Instead he kept his face passive and looked dead into Mariavels eyes.

'My names Jack, kinda boring really, where does your name come from I've honestly never heard of anyone called Mariavel - am I even pronouncing that right? - kinda complex. Anyway yeah, it's good to meet you.'

The cheesiness of this last line became apparent to Jack a little to late, so he decided to save himself by pretending it had been intended for comedic effect. He put out his hands as if to shake hers and adjusted his facial features to appear serious and business-like. He then waited to see if she would get the joke, if not he was a little screwed, becuase he frequently made errors that required the use of comedy in order to rid himself of any embarasment that might come from them, and if Mariavel didn't apreciate his humour he was going to find wooing her a dificult task.

Whilst Jack's conscious mind focused on the technical side of winning-over Mariavel, his subconscious caused his heart to pang slighly. Jack ignored this message from his true feelings. They were telling him to stop now, telling him it was unfair on this girl, whom he was, though he didn't realise it, starting to genuinely develop certain sentiments towards as he noticed something beneath her bimbonic outer shell. They were telling him to stop now, telling him it was unfair on Elizabeth, who despite her behaviour clearly still felt for him, and he shouldn't punish her for the mistakes he made in the past. They were telling him to stop now, telling him it was unfair on himself, he was a good person, and if he took this any further he could end up causing serious harm to those undeserving of such pain, which he wouldn't be able to bare.

Whether Jack ignored, couldn't hear, or didn't understand these messages, the result remained the same, he did not stop.

[Mitsuko2*]

Mariavel giggled a bit. he really was funny and really nice too. Not many people were nice to her. It felt good.

"you know what I think? we should ditch this place and go have some fun! I hear there's an amusement park that just opened, wanna go?" Mariavel really hoped he'd say yes.

[Minase*]

Jack had not banked on such a response from this girl. By her look, he saw her as a possible easy ride and he wouldn't have been surprised if she had simply pulled him off into some bushes starting pulling off his trousers there and then. At the same time, sometimes girls that gave off such a look were really just prudent teases, and it also wouldn't have shocked Jack if she had simple given him a flick and a wave and marched off in the other direction. Mariavels suggestion betrayed all his conceoptions of her. The idea of going to an amusement park seemed so childlike, so innocent, that Jack had to do a retake in his mind. It seemed to him that he had got the measure of this girl entirely wrong.

Mariavel confused Jack. This was his downfall, for with curiosity comes genuine feeling. He wanted to learn more about this girl, and his interest was most likely to exceed itself and evolve into something else, attraction. From attraction he would then progress to satisfaction, as he began to build a relationship with the girl and feel genuine achievement from unraveling her mystery. The way was set, and Jack was at the very start, still with enough time to turn back.

He looked over his shoulder, he looked down the path again.

There's always a third way

'Oh, hun I'd love to but I'm low on funds, not to mention if we get seen somewhere like that in school hours we aren't likely to hear the end of it. Honestly, I'd like to do it some time, really I would, but for now maybe we could just take it a little easy huh, no need to go rushing off the moment we meet.'

He smiled to placate her. He wasn't going to dive in right away, this was already starting to become a little more complicated than he had planned, but at the same time he wasn't going to blow the girl off, no chance.

[Mitsuko2*]

"Oh... ya, your... your right. I'm sorry. So... uh... I guess we could just walk around." she said sadly.

'Oh how stupid of me! I should have never even asked. He probobly thinks I'm just a kid now.' she thought as she crossed her arms and kept a small smile on.

[Minase*]

Jack noted the tone of dismay in Mariavel's voice. It made him feel bad, to have so obviously hurt her feelings.

This girl entirely betrayed any of the prior judgements he had made about her, and all of a sudden the idea of using her, which had, essentially, been his original plan, seemed entirely out of the question.

She was almost childlike in her attitude, she seemed so naive that Jack sensed in his heart a pang of what he could only interpret as pity. There was something behind this girl's state of mind, something that made her the way she was, and it was something Jack wanted to know more about. His curiousity dictated his actions now, instructing his every move, it drove him to attempt to reach a state of higher relations with this girl, but no longer did he have any physical intentions towards her.

A girl with the body of a lap-dancer, dressed like an easy-ride, who talks like a little girl, who will invte a boy to an amusement parks and can have her feelings so obviously hurt by such a simple rejection as the boy suggesting he'd rather do it some other time. Her fragility, her naivety, what was the riddle behind the almost bi-polar Mariavel? Jack wanted to know,

'Yeah, hanging out her would be way cooler than an amusement park, thats all just about annoyingly loud noises and little kids dropping their sweets all over the place and bawling there eyes out till they get more whilst their parents howl at eachother about trvial bullshit no one cares about but they seem to think the world should be told of. Here is much better, just me and you, we could get to know eachother a lot better, I mean I really know nothing about you hun, nothing at all, except your name which I'm probably pronouncing wrong anyway (chuckle), we got a bit of time before this lesson ends, lets just talk till then huh?'

[Mitsuko2*]

'wow... he, he's so nce. I... I think I'm falling in love. He's handsom, and smart, and really nice. I want to know more about this boy. He makes me feel good inside.' Mariavel thought, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Um, okay so... what do you want to know? I want to lern about you too." she said and smiled. She was finding a new friend, and quite possibly a new crush.

[Buko]

"Let's just get this drunk guy home, before Jack D-D(he made sure to make these sound like real D's a hard thing to do for one not skilled in the art of fake stuttering) Aniels gets pissed at us, eh?" he smiled at Lien tenderly "And then you and your dancer friends can get into your leotards and the hot blonde spic-esque chick can sit on my lap and talk about whatever pops up.", Jack said with a grin on his face before starting up the car.

[OnceForgotten*]

"OH OH, were halfway there, OH OH, liiiivin on a praaayer, take my hand, we'll make it I sweaaayeaar, OOOH OH, living on a prayer."

Jordan bellowed out the lyrics, strangely on key even in his semi incoherant state. He was swaying his head back and forth, his eyes closed as he sang. He also continually smacked the roof of the car with his left hand, perhaps to make as much noise as possible.

"Hey jjacolakolak, turn up the damn radeo !!"

"Leeeeien, why didnt you sit by meeee?"

Jordan grabbed Lein's head and lovingly shook it back and forth.

"The strands in your eyes, that color them wonderfuul, stop me and steal my breath, and emeralds for mountans, thrust towards the sky, never revealing there death,

NOw TEEELLLL ME, THAT WEEE BELONG TOGETHEEER, dress it up, WITH THE TRAPPINGS OF LOOOVE, ILL BE CAPTIVATED, I'm HAAANGING FROM YOUR LIPS, INSTEAD OF THE GALLLOWS, OF HEARTACHE, that hangs from aboove."

[Chase*]

"Jesus. Christ. This. Seems like a bad idea now," Lien says as her head hits the headrest about five more times as Jordan is singing.

She clutches the door on the car, hoping he doesn't pull her back there with him in that state. It's an awkward situation indeed, but she decided to put a little humor in it either way.

"At least he's singing your favorite song, am I right?" she asks Jack after pulling her head away from Jordan's hands.

[Minase*]

A short yet at the same time substantial period had elapsed since Jack and Mariavel had began talking. Though in truth it was only a matter of minutes, the two had learnt much about each other, enough to make the moment very meaningful to them, and also the English lesson which had driven Jack to the grounds in the first place was now well and truly over, having run-over several minutes on account of…well Elizabeth soon put a stop to the ramblings (‘pathetic fallacy blah-blah-blah’) of her much less than respected peer, and the class got out eventually.

As the class dispersed in the hallway, Elizabeth did not walk on to her next destination alone, but was joined by the young Thai boy who had sat beside her in the classroom. At first she had only shown interest in him to frustrate the jealous Jack, but since then they had done a lot of talking (or she had talked, he had mostly smiled, whilst he seemed to have more than an adequate grasp of the English language he didn’t seem to have the intelligence to capitalise on that grasp, in fact Liz couldn’t help but get the sense that he wouldn’t be much better conversation if they were speaking Thai) and she had found him to be intriguing, and worth spending time with when out of earshot of Jack (but of course, in full view of all his friends). He was nice, in the way that only those truly devoid of any determinable intellect can be, like a Labrador puppy or child too young to have yet learnt any cruelty, Adam and Eve before their temptation, totally oblivious to anything but merely existing, in a state of perpetual harmony. By contrast to the intelligent but overcomplicated Jack he was a breath of fresh air for Liz, something entirely new.

She had learnt little about him, but had tried her very hardest to pry as much from him as possible. So far all she had was his name (Panom), his hometown (Nang Baa), and the knowledge that his mother (Ning) had moved him to the US to give him an easy life, which strangely he seemed to resent. Liz, seeing it as a touchy subject (the only one that could sway him from continually beaming at her) moved on from this line of inquiry rapidly.

As the two walked the hallways together many heads turned, not every head, but a lot for sure. The students in possession of these heads were themselves confused, as they watched the often restricted, self-reliant Liz, rarely seen with anybody outside of her personally circle of activists (or Jack) walking down the hall behaving in such an open manner towards the only student more restricted than her, who, and this really surprised some people, could speak English after all. Whispers ran as background music to the two as they strolled past door after door, heading, oddly enough, in the same direction.

Liz did not have a lesson now, and whilst Panom did it was unlikely he would be noticed missing. Panom never spoke inside of class, and very rarely outside of it. He had no skills or talents in any lessons. He was not bright, he was not an artist or a craftsman and has no particular interest in any sporting venture the school had to offer, despite his mother insisting at every parents evening that back home he had been an avid sportsman. Prying Panom from his perpetual state of apathy was a task many had undertaken and none had succeeded, until, it seemed, today.

Whilst these two students became acquainted for the first time, another two were also becoming more informed of each other. Jack and Mariavel had walked right round the school and ended up outside the rear exits, where they had each taken a seat on a dumpster to relax their legs.

From their elevated vantage point, they had the advantage over another two students who were now exiting the school building together, and were able to get a good look at them without being spotted themselves. Jack emitted a low grunt, as something inside his chest lunged into his throat then dived down even more forcefully into his gut where it exploded into a shower of butterflies that remained for a long time after the event had passed. The two were Elizabeth and that kid from English.

Jack looked at Mariavel, there was no way he could confront the two before her, and there was no way he could ignore them either. He was worried the exasperation showed on his face, so he quickly regrouped and began talking to her again-

“Check out those two, you know either of them?”

He figured there would be a loophole in his predicament if he drew the conversation to Liz and the boy.

[Mitsuko2*]

Mariavel had spent the last twenty or so minutes learning about jack and telling him about herself, leaving out the more... hurtful details. They had ended up sitting on a dumpster near the exit to the school.

Mariavel was really begining to like this Jack. She was totally crushiung on him. She thought of him as an escape from her horribble reality.

“Check out those two, you know either of them?”

"Well ya. That's Panom the new student from Thiland I belive, and the girl is Elizabeth. She and I are in the same math class."

When Mariavel turned to look at Jack her heart sank. He was looking at Liz. looking at her with those eyes. The eyes of love.

Somehow she pulled herself together. "You wanna go and talk to them?"