IV
Marlene was out of bed with breakfast, restless and grouchy from her extended exile in bed. The storm had been on thursday and today was saturday, she had spent an entire day just lying in bed.
“How do you feel?” James asked her, bravely reaching to rub small circles in her back.
“Like a congealed bowl of week old porridge,” Marlene replied truthfully after smacking the offending hand so hard her own palm stung. “And maybe like some mashed baked beans,”
“Nice,” James winced, rubbing his wrist, backing up to a more respectful distance, “Can I get you anything?”
“Food,” Marlene nodded, vaguely.
“Gotcha,” James huffed, sarcastic, turning too busy with the pots and pans, “I'm guessing no porridge or beans?” Marlene screwed up a face,
“Absolutely not,”
“Mmh. Toast?”
“Nope.”
“Eggs?”
“No.”
“Errmm- sushi?”
“I nearly drowned, that seems rather offensive,”
“Pancakes?”
“Guess.”
“Fruit buns?”
“No.”
“Fruit? Banana?”
Marlene intercepted said banana in its trajectory to her face, lobbing it right back at the grinning offender with another firm “No.”
“Toast it is,” he sighed with defeat, wrangling with the bread bin and popping down the toaster, “Going swimming today?”
“When would I say no?”
“Wow, well, the sarcasm ‘s better at least. I thought seafood was a touchy subject?”
Marlene shrugged, picking at grapes from the fruit bowl infront of her.
“Race starts in two days, gotta get back in the training routine,”
“You’re still going to race? Even after all of this?” Marlene didn't grace such idiocy with an answer. James huffed in defeat. “Fine, but I'm coming too,”
“Oh god, no, I don't need a babysitter- this isn't my first rodeo, James, I didn't even need any cpr,”
“You and I both know you were faking it-”
“The lifeguard was hot though-”
“You were twelve and she was twenty three. You never had a chance with her, also, how do you even fake needing cpr? That seems like a health issue,”
“Whatever, you’re still not coming with me,”
“Yes I am. Mary is there and I’ve got no other way to talk to her, and she’s so fucking cool, Marles, I really wanna be her friend,”
Mary, the summer job dock-hand who established herself immediately, with an ice cold water pistol and a replay of the Mamma Mia peer jump, adapted slightly to the Mamma Mia push all the others in, steal someones ice cream, and push them in too, jump. Needless to say, the McKinnon-Potter household had been an immediate fan.
Aunt Effie had offered her an apprenticeship, fully paid and very real. Unfortunately, Mamma Mia Mary hadn’t half seen it as serious, and then stole Aunt Effie's hat, so that's where the partnership collapsed and the prank wars began. And James Potter really, really was a fan.
“If you wanna sabotage your mum, or if you just wanna be friends, then just do it. Talk to her. Do what you always do, wow her with your comical charms. Pretend you got stung by a jellyfish or something, that's a solid place to start,”
“Nooo, I don't want to trick her, she’s just so good on that skateboard and she’s exactly my kind of cheeky, and I wanna laugh until it hurts with her over greasy fish and chips,”
“Then buy her fish and chips, I don't see what third wheeling’s gonna do,”
“Yeah, well, I,” james spluttered, “...there may also be a certain hot boy that I’m looking at,”
“Oh for God’s sake, another one?”
“Yup,”
“Well, fine, come with, but I’m not making you look cool and if I even suspect I’ve found out who this hot boy is, I’ll trip you up in front of him and laugh,”
“Deal,” James grinned, “You do that anyway, nothing’s changed- here, catch-”
On instinct Marlene caught the toast, clapping it between her hands like a frisbee, butter and jam smearing everywhere as she did. An evil cackle echoed its way out of James.
“Fuck- you-!” she spat, but his crowing form was already racing out the door, coating, triumphant, and Marlene scrambled quickly to follow, shoving toast ungracefully into her mouth as she went. It didn't really matter, the sticky jam would wash off easy in the sea, but she was determined to smear James back before it did.