ECPM Ch. 01: The Scentless Apprentice

"Well, Good Morning, Rosalind." He says to her, who glances back at him.

"Morning." Mark shakes his head.

"Hey, I want to say I'm sor." He pauses mid-sentence and thinks about what Autumn said yesterday about apologizing. "You know what I was going to say? I'm sorry, but you know what fuck that. Where the hell is my apology for all the times you and your goon squad shit on me for no other reason than finding you pretty." He pauses for a second, maybe even a minute, to let her respond. "No response, huh? Man, you what fuck this shit."

"I'm Sorry." She says, gripping her Chanel jeans.

"What. Did you say?"

"I'm sorry, okay."

"Oh," Mark says, sitting back in his chair. "I never thought Queen Rosalind of the Rodriguez royal family would ever apologize. Does this mean we are friends now?"

"Jesus, stop asking all these questions," Rosalind says as the bus stops at the train station. They both exit the bus and make their way to the train platform. Mark looks over at Rosalind, who looks back at him, not with her usual disgusted face but with an unsure one.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"No."

"Great, so why exactly are you here all sudden? Did you? Is there like a ghost trying to show you the error of your ways or something?"

"JAJAJA," she mocks. "Again, with all these questions."

"I thought you went to a prestigious university with your boyfriend and friends."

"Things change, now I'm here, with you. Aren't I lucky?"

"You know, I probably wouldn't say this in high school for fear of being destroyed by your boyfriend and the entire sports division of Keyville."

"Be careful. I just apologized to you."

"Rosalind." Mark sighs. "You are far too..." Mark makes eye contact with her as the train pulls in. "You are way too beautiful to be a bitch all the time." Rosa reacts as if she was hit with a stiff right to the face. Mark quickly boards the train, and she follows behind him to ensure they stick together. She doesn't say anything and stares at the packed train as it passes neighborhood and neighborhood to get to the school. The train was packed today, so they had to stand. Rosalind pushes close to him as more people board. Mark could smell her perfume. This time, it was different again. He tries to place it with a hint of morning dew, flowers, and citrus. Mark thinks to himself damn, she smells good.

The pair arrive at school. Walking, they see a gaggle of people in the break room. Some of Emma's seniors are having a mini-going away for her before she leaves tomorrow.

"What is the fuss about?" Rosalind pauses. "Emmalyn." Mark gives her the side eye.

"Well, Ems is leaving tomorrow for Japan; she won the top student award and is gonna study board for a year."

"Her?"

"Yup."

"Hmph." Rosa pushes out. Emma sees Mark staring in from the break room and walks out to the hallway.

"Mark." She says, pulling him into a hug and staring daggers at Rosalind behind him.

"Hey, Ems, I see they managed to surprise you."

"Did you know? They have peanut butter chocolate cake."

"I may have talked with Miss Majors about some stuff."

"Ahh, you jerk. I hate surprises."

"I know."

Rosalind clears her throat. "Hello, Emmalyn."

"Rosa," Emma says, staring back at her like she is getting ready for a fight.

"Mark tells me you are going away for a year to Japan."

"Yup."

"Splendid, I've been about ten times. I'm sure you will find something there to quell your appetite."

"Hmmmm, right," Emma says, rolling her eyes.

"I'm surprised you would leave your little sidekick alone."

"Mark is always a phone call away, and if I find out you did some crazy shit to him while I'm gone, I will be here in an Atlanta second to."

"Okay," Mark says, cutting her off. "Rosa's class is almost about to start."

"Good call, Marky Mark." Seeing Emma almost is like it turned a switch in Rosa. It was like the meeting of oil and water in a cup. "Good Luck, Emmalyn."

"Yeah, you too," Emma says, smiling as Rosalind walks down the hall to the classroom. "I hope you joke on a dick, bitch." Emma says, dropping her smile and flicking her off. She turns to look at Mark, who is smiling at her. "What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Well, you better get to class as well. Miss Zenith hates when people are late."

"I know, trust me; she walked in right behind me last time."

"Hah, did she give you shit?"

"Oh yeah, with her thick ass ascent."

"I think it's sexy," Emma says

"I mean, I'm not gonna disagree."

"Well. I will see you tonight, right?"

"Yup, tonight."

"Bet."

"Bet," Mark says as Emma walks towards the school exit for the last time in a long time mind. He shakes it off and walks to class. They arrive earlier than expected with few students in class--Rosalind is already at her desk on her phone.

"Mister Morgan, can I have a word with you?" Miss Zenith says, looking up from her computer.

"Of course, Miss Zenith," Mark says, walking over to her desk. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, there is nothing wrong. I want to say many teachers here are smitten with your work. I didn't realize you were friends with Emmalyn."

"Ems, yeah, she and I go way back. I will miss her while she is gone, but I'm excited for her."

"Emma is very talented, but I've seen the designs you helped her with, and I must say I am impressed."

"Thank you. I'm always looking for ways to get better. If you have any recommendation for me."

"If you are free next Monday afternoon, I can give you some in the student lounge."

"Awesome, that would be Awesome. Especially from someone as talented as you."

"You are family with my work?"

"Of course!" Mark says with an excited smile. Miss Zenith blushes and smiles.

"Well, have you ever heard of Kahil Gibran?"

"No, but I know a song by a band I like with the same name."

"Really, well, you should look him up. He is one of my favorites."

"Cool, I will definitely do that."

"What is the name of this band you listen to?" Mark's eyes get big, and he turns to avoid eye contact.

"Oh, they are called the Star. StarFuckers (STRFKR)."

"Oh my. I'm sure Kahil Gibran would probably be fond of them as well. As Emma would say, perhaps real recognizes real."

"Something like that," Mark says, smiling.

"One last thing." Miss Zenith says with a sterner look on her face. She points over at Rosalind, who appears to be having a word with another student." That girl, is she your girlfriend?"

"Rosa? No, I don't think I'm here type."

"Funny, she has been staring over here since I called you. Either way, that's good to hear she would be a rotten muse." She says, crossing her hands out.

Mark laughs. "She can be pretty rotten." Miss Zenith smiles at him and then looks at the clock.

"Well, I believe it is time to start class."

"Right, uh, nice talk," Mark says, backing away and walking towards his seat. He looks up to see Rosalind giving him the come-hither finger. "What's up."

"I move to get reception in the forsaken dead zone we call a class, and this maniac took my seat."

"Your seat." said a student with a Drake view TV shirt and brunette curly hair with patchy facial hair. "This ain't kindergarten, sweetheart. We can sit wherever we want to."

Rosa gives him the look Mark has seen before throughout high school. The look of you just made the list. She leans into Mark and whispers in his ear. "Kick his ass, please."

"Excuse Me?"

"Come on, get to it." Rosa waved her arm in the boy's direction.

"I'm not gonna fight this guy for a fucking seat Rosa, just take mine."

"That's not the point, and where would you sit?" Mark looks around the room and sees the open chair that students sit on in the corner of the room next to the air conditioning on the other side.

"Shit, I guess over there."

"No, that's no. That's not the point I wanted to sit next..." Rosa pauses and then sighs in frustration. Mark shakes his head and looks over the student in the Rosalind-claimed chair.

"Hey, dude. If I give you 10 dollars for the seat?"

"Make it a twenty?"

"Twenty." He looks back at Rosa, who has an annoyed look on her face. "Alright."

"Sure thing, man, you got a deal?"

"Yeah," Mark says, handing the man the money. The student gets up smiling and looking in Rosalind's direction.

"Nice doing business with ya." He presents the seat to Rosalind as he walks away. "Seats all yours, mamacita." Rosa sighs and looks in Mark's direction as she sits down.

"All that muscle you have now, and you don't even use it."

"I'm an art student," Mark replies, sitting down as class starts. It goes by quickly for Mark but not so much for Rosa and everyone else. As he hung on Miss Zenith, every word, like it, she was playing a song of time. They both excited the class, and Mark made his way to the train station.

"God, I'm hungry but unfortunately only have money to buy groceries." Rosalind remarks, which makes Mark give her a side-eye expression.

"Excuse me, aren't you like rich."

"It's Complicated."

"What is complicated about being rich? You either or not."

"Like is not so black and white, Mark Morgan."

"Are you gaslighting me? Is this Rosalind Rodriguez, a day in the light of the poor."

"Are you mocking me?" She says, cutting her eyes with her hands on her stomach. Mark closes his eyes.

"Look, I can get you a sandwich from Dean's Sandwich shop."

"Do they do lettuce wraps?" Rosalind says, perking up.

"Oh, bullshit, you are not watching for carbs..." Mark says, cutting himself off. "Yes, they do lettuce wrap. You coming?"

"If you insist."

"I'm going to leave you out here in front of the public library so the Jehovah's Witnesses can get you."

"Don't be a savage."

After a short order, they sit at the restaurant table adorned with local art.

"Soo, you gonna tell me how the richest girl in Keyville and the next town over can't even afford a cheeseburger."

"This is not a cheeseburger."

"It was a joke.."

"It's complicated."

"I see, so you're going through a mysterious girl phase. Awesome." Mark says, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"If you must know, it got horrible for me over there."

"These tears run dry," Mark says, sipping his water. "Was it grades?"

"Partly, it turns out people who I thought cared about me, well they didn't. I got played by my ex-boyfriend."

"Cheated on you?"

"I wish it was that simple."

"They got me drunk." Mark stops eating his sandwich and places it down to give her his full attention. Hoping the story is going in the direction he is thinking.

"Oh god, Rosa did. They."

"They took recorded me having sex with him. Lindsay, if you can remember, is now dating Rand. They leaked the video online, and I became the whore of the school. My grades slipped, and I hate to admit that I even started to have thoughts. I needed to get out of that situation, and my parents, mainly my father, weren't thrilled about the whole situation. Apparently, he hated all my friends and how I acted all around. He felt I needed a reality check."

"Jesus, Rosa, that's fucked."

"Mark, have you ever felt like taking your own like before?" Mark stares at her and looks away, processing the question.

"I mean, yeah, a couple of times."

"Really?" Rosa says, taken aback.

"Yeah."

"Oh, it was me, wasn't it?"

"I would be lying if I said you didn't play a part."

"I just thought it was harmless jokes."

"Rosalind, I could snap at you right now. You and your ex-friends made my life and a bunch of others a living hell. You made us feel small. All of you made a couple of kids leave the school permanently."

"Well, perhaps those...students are soft. What I went through is much, much more severe."

"Bitch I hope your lettuce has listeria," Mark says, storming out of the sandwich shop and shaking his head in frustration. When he thought he was getting somewhere with Rosalind, she reminded him of the same stuck-up person she was in high school.

Mark would usually go to work today, but he asked for the day off for Emma. He had to shake off all the drama he just had with Rosalind. Mark thought the best way of doing this was by going to the gym. But before he could do that, he checked his mail for the cologne. As he approaches the mailboxes, he sees Bonita checking hers as well.

"Hey Mark, Looking good today."

"Hey, Bonita, you look beautiful today as well."

"Oh, my well, thank you. Do you like my outfit?" She says, twirling around in her orange mini-dress.

"Yeah, it's. It's great."

"Thank you. I got a date tonight with my boo, I don't want to keep Trevor waiting." She says, walking up to Mark and hugging him. The smell of honey and oranges evades his nose. "See ya handsome."

"Right." Mark says, waving and smiling at her." Okay, I can see it now," he says, opening the mailbox to see a package waiting for him. The little box for Vector Products has a sharp green V on it. He hurries home to open it inside his room. It has an Oval shape with a gold spray top, and the liquid inside is a light blue. He brings it to his nose and smells it.

"Oh, whoa. This thing smells fucking amazing." Mark says, observing the bottle and the size. "Way bigger than I thought for an experimental cologne." He places it on the table and notices a small piece of paper inside the box.

He pulls it out and briefly sees some of the exact phrasing in the email. He flips it over and sees a picture diagram of where to spray the cologne on the body.

"Oh, cool. For max effect, huh." He notices the back is folded, and there is more rhetoric inside.

"A warning label? Warning: this cologne will not show its full effects until someone is sexually attracted to you. Wait, what?" The subsequent two sentences were smudged, so Mark skipped ahead. In theory, you can apply this cologne without worries of being mauled daily. Because that was a primary concern for me being mauled." Mark says, shaking his head. He continues. "The stronger the attraction, the better the scent... Damn, again, it's smudged, whatever." He looks over at the clock.

"Okay, Ems should be here in three and a half hours. Let me get a workout in quick, then I will make dinner and wash up." Mark says to himself as he gets dressed to work. He arrives at the empty gym and gets a good hour of workout before returning to the apartment to cook dinner.

"Well, look who it is, Mr. Gonna get buff for the summer."

"Em. How did you?"

"Your roommate was leaving, and he let me in."

"Dave?"

"No, the other one, he was wearing too much cologne, though."

"Did he smell like a little brother?"

"The cologne smelled great. It was just too much, you know," Emma says, squinting her eyes and shrugging her shoulder.

"Son of a... Nevermind. What are you doing here so early?"

"Early?" Emma says, smiling. "Dude, I'm going to be gone for a year without my best friend, who I have seen that much of all these three days. It seems like I have been replaced." She says, rolling her eyes.

"Stop." I'm going to get dinner started.

"You mean to tell me it's not ready for me already."

"I know."

"I'm kidding, and I prefer to help you make it. I gotta make sure you're not sneaking broccoli in my spaghetti."

"You have trust issues."

"I do not. Besides, I think I made great strides at cooking this summer break."

"You did. You did not gonna lie."

"So, you can start it, and I can watch over it til you get done showering."

"Okay, bet. Just let me get the Dutch oven out real quick." Mark says, bending over as Emma slaps him on the butt.

"Ouch, that's sexual harassment," Mark says, putting the pot on the stove.

"Oh, whatever, I'm adorable. Is this the pot you burrowed from Autumn?"

"Yeah, I better return it to her after this, or she might kill me."

"She is so hot."

"I'm starting to think you might like girls."

"Real recognize real Mark."

"Nig, you know Miss Zenith quoted that to me in class."

"Hah, I bet she did. How was class today."

"Miss Zenith and I talked, and she said she would give me private lessons on Monday afternoon."

"You're a dawg, and don't corrupt my Zelda. She is an innocent woman."

"I doubt it anything like that."

"You would be surprised what it's like being best friends with Rosa."

"I rather not." He says, placing the ground beef and sausage in the greased-up pan.

"That bad? What is she even doing here? Wait, you don't have social media."

"Neither do you." Marks says, cutting up some onions and garlic.

"Yeah, but that's recent due to the media class I took last semester."

"Is it about the videos being leaked online?"

"Yeah, that's it, so that's why she is here, waiting for the heat to die down, I see."

"She's a bitch, I don't wish that on my worst. She is my worst enemy. Who am I kidding, but still."

"It sucks, not gonna lie."

"I'm trying not to be too much of a bitch when it comes to it. Because I remember."

"Hey, I want you to know. I really do thank you for."

"You don't have to think me for that idiot. I. You don't have to think about that."

"I know you say that, and I just want you to know I'm grateful to have you in my life. After everything with school, my parents, and just me being me."

"I like you being you."

"Thanks." He says, placing the onions, garlic, and seasoning in the pot.

"You should get in the shower. I can take it from here."

"You sure?"

"Yes, you stank."

"Ouch."

"Truth hurts." She says, waving him off to the bathroom. Mark obliges and walks towards the bathroom. He is turning the shower on and then looking at himself in the mirror.

"You got this." He says to himself in a low voice. "You gonna rock her world, blow her back out." He says, shaking his head in agreement while taking off his clothes. "You gonna make her squirt and cum all over your dick. Yeah." He says, walking in the shower. "She will never forget this night." He says, letting the water hit the top of his head. "But what if she doesn't want to do it.?" Mark stares up at the ceiling, with the doubt creeping in like a black cloud creeping off the walls surrounding him.

"God? Oh, this is stupid?" He shakes his head. "Look, I, whatever happens tonight. Please let us still be friends. Ems is probably the most important person in my life. Outside of Dave, she might be all I have, and I don't want her to do anything she doesn't want to do, and I don't." Mark turned off the shower and grabbed his towel to dry himself. He walks in front of the mirror and places his hands on the bathroom sink. Looking at the bottle of PheroMoans.

"You done in there?" Emma screams from the kitchen.

"I'm Cumming."

"Really? Jacking off in the bathroom."

"Shut up." He screams. "Shut up," he says lowly, looking at himself in the mirror. He grabs the cologne and applies it as directed. He gets dressed in some sweats and a nicely snug black shirt.

"If Ems likes me, I will be for me. Not posing as someone else." Mark says while getting dressed and walking out to the kitchen. "I'm coming out. I hope you didn't burn the meat."

"Only meats that gonna get burned is yours if you fuck Rosa," Emma says, waving the plastic wand in his face. "I added the tomato paste and opened the can of crushed tomatoes.

"Good shit Ems."

"Don't patronize me. Thank you." She says, throwing the cans of tomatoes in the pot."

"So, you ready for Japan? What's the first thing you gonna do besides the whole existing thing."

"Existing thing? I don't know, honestly. You know I hate doing things alone, so that would be new."

"Let me finish this; you can hang on the side."

"Finally. What would you do if you went to Japan?" She says, leaning on the kitchen counter.

"Shiddd, maybe see Shibuya crossing, get some authentic Ramen, oooh, Sushi conveyor belt, or get to a legit arcade," Mark says, perking up in excitement as Emma smiles at him.