Honey DippED

"Uh-oh." Nazz paused from refreshing her make-up to listen to the din erupting outside the bathroom. The Kankers' unmistakable voices volleyed in the hallway.

"Marie! Come here!"

"No!"

"Marie!"

"No! Do it yourself for once!"

"Dammit, Marie!"

"NO!"

Marie burst through the bathroom door, slammed it and locked it. A clatter of fists banged against it.

"Open this door!"

"Drop dead, Lee!"

"Oh, big tough Marie on the other side of a locked door…"

"Yeah? Well, big tough Lee still can't kick it down, so HA-HA!"

Marie turned sharply from the door and scowled at Nazz upon realizing she wasn't alone. Her face softened after a moment.

"S'cuse me, Princess. I gotta' take a break."

Nazz grinned nervously. "No worries."

Marie stalked past Nazz and perched on the other end of the bathroom counter. She reclined against the mirror for a moment and took a slow deep breath. Then she dug into her pockets for a pack of cigarettes and tapped them against the counter.

"Smoke?"

"Ah… No, I-I don't," Nazz whispered nervously.

"You mind?"

Nazz knew better than to answer in the affirmative. She shook her head.

"Good."

Marie produced a lighter from another pocket and lit the end of her cancer stick. She closed her eyes and dragged on it, but she looked like she was taking more air in through her nose than from the cigarette. She coughed. It was obvious Marie was still getting used to the habit.

Seeing Marie absorbed with the cigarette, Nazz tried to edge for the bathroom door. Marie glanced at her.

"You might want to hang out for a sec. Lee'll hit anything that comes through that door."

"Oh," Nazz looked around nervously. "Right."

The break bell sounded in the hallway. It was obvious she wasn't going to make it to class.

Marie coughed and gestured at the counter with her cigarette. "Have a seat."

Nazz obediently set her books down and tucked herself onto the opposite end of the counter. Even as uncomfortable as the situation was, she still managed to look cute.

"So, what's your story?"

"Huh?" Nazz looked quizzically at Marie.

"How come you're in here? Nobody uses this bathroom."

"Um…" Marie's statement was precisely the reason Nazz liked that bathroom. No boys tried to sneak in when she used it. "It's never crowded."

"Yeah." Marie flicked her ashes into the sink. "No teachers, either. You could do whatever you want in here."

Marie took another semi-drag and stared off into space for a minute. "Dating anybody?"

"No. Not really."

"What about that one guy?"

"Who?"

"What's his name? Keith or whatever?"

"Kevin?" Nazz blushed and tittered. "We're not going out."

"I see you with him all the time. I just figured, you know."

"No. We're just friends."

"Do you like him?"

Nazz thought for a moment. "He's okay, I guess. I don't know. I can't really picture us dating."

"You don't like jocks?"

"Well…" Nazz shook her head. "He's not very complicated."

"Yeah." Marie took another pull on her cigarette. "So, you like brainy guys?"

"I don't know. I guess so."

Marie looked at her squarely. "Like Double-D?"

"Um… I really," Nazz shook visibly. "I'm not really into any guy that goes here."

"Diplomatic," Marie smirked. "You can tell the truth, you know. It's just us."

Marie coughed again.

Nazz peered at her, "Do you really like those things?"

Marie glanced at her and studied the cigarette for a moment. She eventually grimaced. "Nah. Not really. Mom smokes when she's pissed."

"Oh," Nazz let her guard down a bit. "How come you're mad? If I can ask?"

"My sister's an idiot." Marie paused for a moment, then continued with malaise. "She keeps makin' me spy on Eddy and do stuff to him. I don't even like him. Then she's always on my back about crap and I'm sick of it. If she cares so much about something, she can do it herself. I got my own stuff I wanna' do."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Something else."

"Like with Double-D?"

"Pbththt." Marie rolled her eyes. "You know what?" Marie adjusted her position on the counter and angled her self more toward Nazz. "I'm bored with all of them. I mean, it's the same thing all the time. We surprise them. We kiss 'em till our lips are numb and they run away home. Then the next day, Lee's all like, 'C'mon, we gotta' get 'em again. C'mon, let's go spy on 'em. Let's get our love on!' I mean WHATEVER. Seriously."

Marie stubbed her cigarette out on the sink. "Don't ever have sisters. They're a pain in the ass."

Nazz giggled. "You don't have to do what they want all the time, do you?"

Marie sighed. "It's really pathetic, but I don't know what else there is. Lee bosses us around and we always hang out with her. She's so boring. I'd love to have some other friends." Marie paused and sighed. "But, I guess I've pretty much screwed myself around here, eh?"

"Oh, I don't know," Nazz thought for a moment. "You could hang out with me."

Marie leered at her. "Serious?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"What about your friends?"

"What about them?"

"Well, you know… I have a reputation."

Nazz waved it off. "I'll deal with them. Don't worry about it. Come over to my house later and we'll find something fun to do." Nazz caught herself. "That is… If you want to."

Marie grinned. "You got it, Babe." Marie jumped off the counter. "Wanna' see if my stupid sister left?"

"Sure." Nazz picked up her books and started walking toward the door.

"Hold up," Marie put her hand on Nazz's shoulder. "Let me go first. I can take her if I have to."

__________

End of Part One.

All characters in this story are property of Danny Antonucci, AKA Cartoon and Cartoon Network.