partners
What did Greaseball think she was doing? She leant against the rough, brick wall awkwardly, with one hand on her hip, looking like an idiot as Dinah stood next to her. Yes, she was standing next to Dinah, alone for that matter, just the two of them, standing. She wondered if she should say something, something that would make her seem cool. Cool? No Greaseball was already cool, she knew that- so why had she become so suddenly self-concious about what Dinah thought of her. She was staring at Dinah, who was solely focused on finishing off the ice cream she had suggested they buy from the General Store. Was it really Greaseball’s fault if she couldn’t help but notice how pretty she looked in the afternoon sunlight, with her hair falling over her face and her lips- no, Greaseball needed to stop this now. What did she think she was doing?
It came as a surprise to both of them when they had been assigned as partners in a research task for their science class. Usually, the teacher would let them choose, or pair up whoever was sitting next to each other. And so, when despite the two never talking to each other, and sitting on opposite sides of the room, they were stuck together whether they liked it or not. Lucky for Greaseball, she did like it, a lot. She did not make this obvious however, loudly complaining about why she couldn’t be partners Blue Lightning, or Golden Eagle, and why she had to get stuck with the most annoying girl in the class. Dinah also seemed to have her complaints, however much quieter than hers, instead whispering to her friends and receiving their condolences for whatever she was about to go through.
It was Dinah who had made the suggestion for her to come over to hers so they could make a start on their research, a small sort of peace offering on her part. Though secretly thrilled, Greaseball once again chose to act reluctant to the suggestion but eventually agreed as if she had not been willing from the start. She began to realize she didn’t actually know a whole lot about Dinah. She’d seen her at school or around the town with her friends of course, but she didn’t actually know what area of the town she lived in, and she’d also never seen her parents at any of the school events.
They’d so far spent the afternoon making awkward conversation, so Dinah’s suggestion of going to the General Store acted as a reprieve. Their town was small, with only a post-office, a dingy diner and a bottle shop in the main street. So, the General store acted as a sort of hub, which meant thankfully there’d be a lot of people there. It sold a number of miscellaneous items, your standard basic groceries, toothpaste and band aids, dishwashing liquid and sponges, as well as a decent variety of snacks that came at affordable prices. Slick and her brothers had been there at the time, which gave Greaseball the chance to have a very intense staring contest with her friend. This quickly become her giving ‘help me’ eyes in reference to Dinah’s presence, before having to leave the store once again.
Dinah had just finished her ice cream when she finally spoke, “We should probably go back to my house and actually start, shouldn’t we?” Greaseball couldn’t help but notice there was something about the way Dinah spoke that was, uneasy, maybe even nervous. Was it possible that- no, that wouldn’t make sense. She was probably just intimidated by Greaseball, that was surely the case, wasn’t it? She nodded at her, following close behind as she led her to her house. As they walked, Greaseball realized that Dinah must live on the opposite side of the town from her, where there were smaller houses with stone paved courts, rather than front yards. They eventually arrived at a house that was much smaller than Greaseball’s, with maybe one or two bedrooms at a max. The gate had broken hinge that squeaked like dying cat when opened, the contents of the flower bed had seemingly been dried up and possibly trampled on. She knew she was staring like an idiot, but what else could she do as Dinah awkwardly fumbled around looking for her house key? Make conversation? She didn’t think so.
Dinah’s house was nothing like she had expected. Especially since she seemed so well kept, her clothes were always clean and her stuff was always well taken care of, it didn’t make sense. As they entered the house, Greaseball couldn’t help but pick up an odd scent, cigarette smoke, and she found herself scrunching up her nose. Dinah noticed it quickly, feeling rather embarrassed, “Sorry about the smell, it- it doesn’t seem to come out no matter how many candles we burn”. She attempted to mask her embarrassment with a weak laugh as she avoided Greaseball’s eye contact as she led her the kitchen.
The room was sparse, the kitchen table looking stained, covered in what looked like old newspapers and magazines. “You can put your books down on the table if you want.” Dinah said as she quickly attempted to shove the papers to the side, in the process knocking a pack of cigarettes of the table. She picked them up quickly, muttering to herself, “Ashley left her cigarettes here again, seriously?”
“Who’s Ashley?” Greaseball’s voice rang heavy in the room as Dinah snapped her head back up quickly, almost a bit alarmed by her question.
“Oh she’s my sister’s- well-, you see my sister, look she’s her girlfriend, ok?” Dinah’s face flushed pink with embarrassment as she spoke. She wasn’t ashamed by her sister’s relationship, in fact she quite liked Ashley apart from her constant smoking of course. But she wasn’t sure how Greaseball would react, would she make fun of her for having a lesbian sister? Would she ask if she was a lesbian too? She dreaded that question more than anything, because the fact was that, she actually was. Greaseball just shrugged, “Ok.” Ok? That was it? No other questions, no mean jokes, was Greaseball feeling alright? Dinah could have been sure that she would have at least laughed.
Mentally, Greaseball’s mind had gone into an emergency shutdown. Her girlfriend, her? Could this mean that Dinah could also like girls? No, of course not, that would be stupid. She wasn’t dumb enough to assume that gayness was somehow a genetic thing. Besides, Dinah was way too girly to be like that. But maybe she could be? Maybe she felt the same way Greaseball did? Maybe- maybe she was just making this all up in her head. Dinah was a real person, not some made up girl in her head.