Chapter Eight - MARKUS

The sun had gone down and the only light on the bus came from a movie that played on the wall in front of them. The volume was down, and closed captions appeared on the bottom of the screen. Markus wasn’t paying attention to the movie, though. Gracie had fallen asleep, and her head lay on his shoulder. She breathed deeply, but she didn’t snore. A lock of curly hair had fallen across her nose, and he gently moved it back with the others.

Markus couldn’t believe it. What had she been thinking when she had turned down sitting next to Cameron Taylor? Didn’t she know he had just broken up with his girlfriend and was now looking for someone to take her place? Markus had heard a group of girls talking about it in the hallway outside of Mrs. Krump’s classroom. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. In fact, he preferred to be out of the loop.

But instead of choosing a rise in social status, Gracie had chosen to sit next to Markus. She’d said she preferred it. Was it possible that his feelings for her weren’t completely in vain? His breathing turned shallow at the thought.

Gracie mumbled something in her sleep, then snuggled up a little more against Markus’s chest. She opened her eyes. He froze. Her eyes widened.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she said, bolting upright. “You should have woken me.”

Yeah, there was no way Markus would have done that. That was probably the closest he was going to ever get to Gracie, and he hadn’t been about to cut it short. “I didn’t mind,” he said. “You looked like you could use the rest.”

Gracie groaned and fingered Markus’s shirt. “I drooled on you.”

He looked down and noticed the damp spot for the first time. Was it too much to hope that it never dried? He’d have Gracie’s DNA with him forever.

Okay, that sounded creepy, even to him. Thank goodness he hadn’t said it out loud. He hadn’t, right? Gracie didn’t look like she was ready to run for the hills, so he thought he was safe.

Markus gave a small laugh so she would know he didn’t think her drooling on him was a big deal. “It means you were relaxed and comfortable. I would have been offended if you hadn’t drooled on me.”

Gracie gaped, but then released a long laugh of her own. “Okay, you are officially the coolest guy I’ve ever met.”

Markus raised an eyebrow. “Now you’re just messing with me.”

“I’m not, I swear.” She paused. “Except for one thing…”

Markus’s heart dropped. Of course. There was always that one thing. Except, she didn’t tell him what that one thing was. Instead, Gracie turned her body so she was sideways in her seat. She reached over and her hand hovered just above his hair. Her gaze met his.

“Do you mind?”

Markus’s breath hitched. “Okay.” He didn’t know what he was giving permission for, but he wasn’t about to say no.

Gracie poked at his hair a couple of times, and she giggled. “We’ve been on this bus for hours, and yet your hair is still perfectly in place.”

“It takes a lot of persuasion for it to behave.”

“I can tell. It’s rock hard.” Gracie poked at his hair again. “It’s okay to not be perfect all the time.”

Was she talking about Markus or his hair?

“It’s not bad to want to be in control.” Even as he said it, he realized the irony of the statement, considering he hadn’t been in control of his own life for a long time.

“No, but we can’t control our environment or the people around us. All we have control of is how we react to it.”

Gracie should try telling that to Markus’s dad.

“So, you’re just along for the ride of life?” Markus asked. “That sounds terrifying.”

She nodded. “It can be. But if you embrace the spontaneity of life, you might find that you have more control than you had when you were fighting it.”

Gracie must have seen the doubt Markus still felt, but instead of trying to talk him over to her side, she scooted closer. His heart quickened. Was Gracie about to do what he thought she was? He braced himself, but nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.

Before he had time to react, Gracie attacked him. Markus’s world turned sideways as she forced him in a headlock and proceeded to viciously rub her knuckles over his head.

“What are you doing?” he screeched. Several people turned in their seats to see what was going on.

“It’s called a noogie,” she said. “Haven’t you ever had one before?”

Did she assume that because he was a bit on the awkward, geeky end of things that he must have been bullied with every torture device available?

“My dad used to give these to me every other day when I was little,” she said.

Markus squirmed in her grasp. “You did this for fun?”

Gracie gave a small shrug while still maintaining her hold. “Sure. It was how we showed affection.”

Were those stars in front of his eyes? He was pretty sure he was going to pass out. “Can you please show me a little less affection?”

Gracie released him and sat back. He flinched when she reached forward, but she didn’t put him into another chokehold. Instead, she gently pulled on his hair.

“Much better,” she said.

“What is?”

Gracie dug through her backpack and pulled out a small mirror. She touched a button above their heads and a light turned on that illuminated their seats. “Take a look.”

Markus looked in the mirror. His hair still had a stiffness about it, but instead of lying flat on his head as it usually did, it stood up. There wasn’t much rhyme or reason to it. Not all the strands were parallel to each other. Many of them curved and crossed in front of other strands of hair.

“Wow,” he said, lightly touching it. Gracie had been right, at least about this. Instead of looking like a miniature teacher, he looked, well…cool.

Gracie pumped one fist into the air. “I knew you would like it.”

Markus couldn’t help but laugh at the triumphant grin she wore. “Yes, you were right. It does look much better this way.” Though he’d have to get it lying flat again before his dad saw it. “Was the headlock really necessary, though? Couldn’t you have just fluffed it up a bit?”

“Would you have let me?” Gracie countered.

“Good point.”

Gracie turned so she was facing forward again. “Consider us even.”

“Even? For what? I’ve never done anything remotely like that to you.”

“I was just making up for drooling on you.”

“By then attacking me?”

Gracie grinned. “No, by helping you.”

As much as Markus had not loved being put into a headlock, and definitely didn’t see it as ‘helping,’ he realized now that if Gracie ever wanted to do it again, he’d totally let her. Maybe he’d plaster his hair to his head again the next morning, just to see if she would.

* * * *

“Rise and shine,” a male voice called from the hallway outside the hotel room. Someone’s dad who had come as a chaperon.

Markus turned over in bed, exhausted. What time was it? They hadn’t checked in to the hotel until almost midnight with all the breaks they’d taken, and they had another long day ahead of them. This time, however, they were heading out earlier to avoid another late night.

Markus turned and faced his roommate, who was sleeping in the next bed. Mrs. Krump hadn’t handed them their room assignments until they had gathered in the hotel lobby. Markus had gone through the five stages of grief when she had announced he’d be sharing space with Cameron Taylor. At first, he’d been in denial. He had heard wrong. There was no way fate would be that cruel. He was tired. He was having a nightmare. Anything was more plausible than reality.

It had taken about an hour for Markus to reach acceptance. But there was no denying it now. Cameron Taylor and his ripped abs was getting out of the bed next to him. “Mind if I take the shower first?” Cameron asked.

“Go ahead,” Markus said, though his words squeaked out. He didn’t know why he was so intimidated by Cameron. Well, that wasn’t completely true. He’d been bullied by others like Cameron, though Cameron himself hadn’t ever been mean to Markus. Guilty by association.

They stayed out of each other’s way, and Markus hurried down to breakfast as soon as he had the chance. When Markus entered the small lobby area where the hotel started serving food at 6:00 a.m., he didn’t see anyone he recognized. Was everyone slow getting ready, or was he late?

A hand waved at him from the opposite side of the room, and he saw Gracie sitting by herself at a table.

“Hey,” he said, walking up and dropping his duffel bag down by one of the chairs.

“Hey, yourself,” she said. “How was the night with Cameron?” He liked that she wrinkled her nose when she said Cameron’s name, like she didn’t like the thought of spending the night with him any more than Markus did.

“Fine,” he said. “He doesn’t snore.”

“Lucky you,” Gracie said while buttering a slice of toast. “My roomie does. Like, really bad. As tired as I was, I had to pull out my headphones and listen to classical music to help me get to sleep.”

“Oh, man, I wish there was something I could do to help you. Want me to ask Mrs. Krump if you can trade with someone?”

A strange look passed across Gracie’s face, almost as if she didn’t like the thought of him speaking up on her behalf. “No, thanks. I’ll be fine.”

Markus’s gaze fell to the table. She wanted to help him with little things like his hair, but she wouldn’t let him talk to someone who could help her get a good night’s sleep?

“Do I embarrass you?” He was surprised by his boldness, but he wasn’t good at reading social cues, and if there was something he needed to stop doing, he wanted to know.

Gracie looked equally surprised by his question, and then something akin to shame crossed her features. “No, it’s not you. I just—I don’t want to be that person who is always asking for exceptions, and it looks especially bad if someone is having to do it on my behalf.” She paused, her lips dipping into a frown. “At school lately, I’ve been turning things in late and asking for extensions, which you were so kind to help me with that one day. But I don’t want to be the person who can’t deal with what life has thrown at them, you know? If I can’t deal with the fact that my roommate snores, I’m not going to get very far in life.”

“It’s okay to ask for help, though,” Markus said.

“Says the person who’s probably never needed to ask for help in his life,” Gracie said. The pain that coursed through Markus must have been obvious because she gave a slight shake of her head. “I’m sorry, that came out rude. But you’re so put together and I’m…me.” She shoved the rest of her toast in her mouth.

The rest of their group started filtering in to breakfast, and Markus stood to get his food before a long line formed. Before he left Gracie at the table, though, he met her gaze. “For the record, I’m not put together because I’m super organized or know what the crap I’m doing.” He paused, trying to figure out the best way to put it. “I’m like a giant puzzle, and my dad has the pieces. I’m this way because I don’t have a choice.”