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Marlon stumbled through the doors and outside the school, trying to avoid jostling anyone by accident. He had come close to falling asleep during his last period; his mother had had some of her friends over for a 'low-key' party, and it had to have been at least 5 before they had even turned off the music. He of course had been banished to his room the entire time, but as long as there was plenty to read and plenty to watch, he didn't really care. But the resulting lack of sleep had made him nothing short of a zombie the entire day.

So much in fact that he almost didn't see Eolande as he drew near her; he stopped short as his feet began walking on grass, and looking up he spotted her right away, not even far enough a way to shout at. "Hey, Eolande."

Marlon couldn't even force himself to mock-frown at the nickname Eolande had given him. He needed to find one for her sometime. Hadn't he tried a few out on her before? What were they? Hadn't one been something to do with cigarattes? Ciggy? Yeah, maybe that was it. Still, at least her word was a real one.

Smiling and willing himself to banish his tiredness, he caught Eolande's eye and nodded. "Sure; that'd be great! I don't really have much to go home to at the moment, and I want to try that Wii system out. Oh, make sure the straps work, because.....well I know why they made those, and I can easily imagine my clumsy-a** self hurling the controller through a two-thousand dollar TV."

"Oh." Marlon looked slightly uncomfortable. Perhaps he should have hinted at a smaller amount; he only knew that their TV at home was one of the best because it was something his folks had insisted on; so many modeling DVDs to review from shoots, and his mother insisted on being able to zoom in and count the pores on her face if need be (and it was, often).

His eyes widened when he saw the helmet, his scowl quickly dissolving into the beginnings of a smile that he had to bite his lip to keep from becoming a full-blown one. "Oh come on; keep this up and I'm getting you a whip for your birthday. And it won't be from a circus or a Halloween costume shop!" Hoping that she heard the jest in his voice, he settled down and did his best to look dignified with a fishy helmet.

Still trying to look at least a little bit huffy, Marlon at least found the ride enjoyable. It sure beat walking home or even worse, having his folks come and get him. His father always drove; he wasn't even sure his mother knew how to drive, but Herick always insisted on chauffeuring her around like a movie star. He had wondered more than once that if his mother actually were one, and his father really was her chauffeur, would he ever get treated equally fabulous instead of coming home with an earful of how grateful he should be and how much of a burden he was on his poor beautiful mother (unspokenly the risk he was being to their poor, fluctuating bank account).

He opened his mouth in surprise at the question, then closed it just in time as a bug pinged off his chin. "Well......I don't mind, and you know I won't try anything, but your Dad wouldn't mind or anything?" He knew that Herick would probably just wave him off and tell him that he wasn't bailing Marlon out of jail if he did something idiotic, but he figured Macie might spend the night reading some section of one of her child's books; something sappy, like 'What to do if your little lost sheep impregnates a ewe.' Who WRITES that crap, anyway?

Breathing out a small sigh of relief, Marlon nodded and was silent as they rode the rest of the way. He knew from past talks that the relationship between his friend and her dad was......rocky to say the least, but he felt it wouldn't be quite right without making sure first. And now that he had a cell phone, he could call the house and let them know that he wouldn't be coming home that night. At least he knew he wouldn't be disrupting anything; his mother had special meals to help maintain her figure, and Herick ate whatever he wanted, out of sight of his wife to keep her from the temptation. So it was hardly a family affair.

Climbing down, Marlon followed Eolande into her townhouse, looking around with interest. It was definitely smaller than his place, but it had a cozy, lived-in feel. Much of his house had places that were kept pristine, but nothing was ever really DONE in them. It didn't make much sense to him to have a big beautiful kitchen with gleaming appliances and then every night have something specially made out of the freezer, where the only thing used was the microwave or the oven to heat it up. Where was the mess, the sticky cookie-dough prints on the counters, the random globs of gooey icing that made the countertop look like an abstract painting? Had he ever actually made cookies with his mother?

"Okay," Marlon forces his mind back down to Earth and nodded, walking over to the indicated cabinet and pulling out the Wii system. He grinned as he held the controllers, picturing how the games would look on the ginormous TV back home. There may not be many pores to look at on the MII characters, but the standard games would sure look awesome. As he set the system up, he made a mental note to check his parents' schedule; maybe he could talk Eolande into bringing her Wii over to his place when his folks had an all-nighter and they could have a little fun feeling like movie stars in their own retreat.

When he had finished setting up and the TV was merrily showing the starting-up picture, Marlon took the time to walk to the kitchen and pull out his cell phone. It was a bulky thing with no camera, and it hurt his cheek when he held it up to his face, but he figured it suited its purpose just fine. Flicking it open, he dialed his home number and waited for the machine. To his surprise, the third ring was cut off, and his mother's tinny,high-pitched "Hello?" filled his ears.

"Hi Mom, it's me."
"Marly! Hello sweetheart! How come you aren't home from school yet?" In the background he could hear the rumbling voice of Herick, sounding, as usual, like a bear that had stepped in deer scat. "Is that him? You calling from jail, boy?!" His face turning red, Marlon tried to ignore him and spoke directly to his mother. "I decided to stay over at a friend's house for the night. I hope you don't mi-" His mother's voice cut in. "Oh honey that's WONDERFUL! A friend at last! What's his name and what's he into? Cars, sports, all that silly boy stuff? Or is he the more bookish type? Oh you MUST being him over sometime! We'll have a little party!"

Wondering how he was going to tell his mother that his friend was a girl, Marlon shifted uneasily as his mother rambled. Finally, he could hear Herick in the background. "Grab your coat, dear; we'll be late for the party at the Roberts!"
"Okay dear! Listen Marly, you have a good time and we'll see you tomorrow, or sometime. Hugs!" After hearing her blowing a noisy kiss that he imagined had gotten slobber all over the phone, Marlon clicked his own phone shut, face still red. Luckily just then, he heard Eolande coming down the stairs, and willed the redness to vanish from his cheeks.

He had just enough time to return to the living room before he saw his friend practically bound down the stairs with the blue box. Blinking in surprise, he reached out and took the box. "Th-thank you." Opening it carefully, he gasped when he saw the IPod gleaming inside like a holy grail for anyone who knew what music was. "Oh wow. Thanks!"

"You.....you didn't have to do that. But it's really awesome; thank you!" He was certain he could load songs onto it with the computer at home. He was so surprised by it though; he thought friends always exchanged things like trading cards and school lunches, but an Ipod? How in the world had she gotten something so generous? Of course, he knew it would be rude to ask such a thing, so he settled for just looking at it and running his fingers lightly over the headphone cord.

Grinning, he looked up and gave Eolande a wink. "Are you sure you didn't stuff it with songs like Under the Sea and I'm a Little Fish?" Chuckling, he walked over to place the box carefully into his backpack, turning a bit red at Eolande's question. "Yeah, I called them and told them. Mom was.......really happy that I had a friend to stay over with."