A shadow fell over their table. Mark stood on her other side. A tray sat awkwardly in his hands as he fidgeted from foot to foot. Isaac poked her in the side, a questioning look in his eyes. Luna ignored him. "Have a seat." She smiled at Mark.
He glanced between the two of them. His eyebrows furrowed together and a light blush painted itself on the visible part of his neck. "Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt your alone time."
Luna became puzzled at his words. Why would she and Isaac need alone time? And why would Mark be so embarrassed about interrupting them?
Isaac slammed his hand down onto the table, erupting into a fit of laughter. "He thinks....that we are...a couple!" He wheezed in between laughs.
"Huh?" Luna glanced between Isaac and Mark. Watching Mark's embarrassed fidgeting told her that Isaac was right. She let out her own laughter at the situation. "We're not a couple." She waved a hand up and down herself. "I'm afraid I'm the wrong gender for him."
"Oh." Mark hesitantly sat down beside her. He gently laid the tray down as if he was afraid of breaking it. "Sorry."
Luna shook her head. "It's fine. It's an easy mistake to make for someone who just arrived. Don't worry; you'll learn about everyone, their secrets, and not-so-secret secrets. Though I guess everything isn't so much of a secret." He laughed at her pondering. The tension and nerves drained out of his system as he finally began to relax.
Luna's eyes wandered over to the gymnasium doors. They were large wooden doors with small glass windows cut out in them. The table was situated in the right spot at the right distance for her to peer into those small windows. On the other side was an active gym class. It looked like today's game was basketball but she wasn't interested in knowing what sport was going on. No, what she was interested in was a particular student. A tall, well-toned, tan student with curly blonde hair and eyes so green that they looked like gemstones.
A hand waved itself in her line of sight. "Earth to Luna." She turned an annoyed stare on the person who interrupted her search. "Don't look at me like that. Mark has been trying to get your attention." Isaac pointed a hand at a flustered-looking Mark.
"Sorry. What is it?"
"It's nothing." He whispered. His eyes strayed to the gymnasium doors with a curious expression. "What were you looking at?" He asked in a more normal tone. The momentary unease that had gripped him seemed to be gone.
"Oh, she was trying to spy on her Romeo." Isaac clasped his hands together and started making kissing faces.
She grabbed her biology folder and smacked him with it. "He's not my Romeo nor do I want him to be. That story ends in a tragedy and I don't want that to happen to Adam."
"Adam?"
Isaac laughed and leaned across the table. "He's destined to be the school's number one jock by junior year. He's the outrageously tall, tanned, Greek God-like student that you may have seen wandering the halls. He's also Luna's first and only crush."
"Isaac!" She hissed. She could feel her cheeks burning.
"What? Everyone already knows you like him. Well, except for him himself." Isaac turned his attention back to Mark. "The only smart thing about him is his strategy during sports. Other than that, he has bolts for brains."
"That's not true. His grades this year are at a steady C average." Luna defended him. Sure, those grades weren't very good but they were high enough that he could continue participating in sports. She was secretly amazed by his grades. He played both lacrosse and basketball while still maintaining average grades. She actually wasn't sure if that was considered good or not. She mainly just stuck to academics and avoided sports, so it might actually be easy to do well in both.
"Are you two dating?" Luna wasn't sure but Mark's tone sounded almost deflated.
Isaac barked out laughter, banging his hand against the table. "Dating! She can't even talk to him. She turns all red and flustered and looks like a fish out of water!"
Luna puffed her cheeks out. Isaac was right about his observation and analogy. Even though he was right still didn't mean that it didn't hurt. She was plenty aware of her shortcomings, especially when it came to Adam.
"It would be easier if Carl wasn't always around." It wasn't a complete lie. Carl made sure that Luna had a difficult time getting close to Adam. He even threatened her a couple of times. It was getting to the point that she was suspicious of his feelings toward his best friend.
Mark fell silent after that. Luna also became silent as she continued her search for her crush and Isaac busied himself with copying her homework.
* * *
By the time biology rolled around, Luna found herself looking for Mark. "He's late."
"Who is?" Lyla blew a bubble with her chewing gum.
"Mark." She had invited him to be a part of their group. At the beginning of the year, their teacher had them pair up into groups of four. Her group was the only one with three members; her, Isaac, and Lyla. She was pretty sure Lyla only joined their group to have help with the assignments and because none of her friends were in the same class.
The door opened and Mark walked in with the teacher right behind him. Lyla gave him a curious once-over when he sat down beside her. "You seem different from this morning." She commented in a whisper so that she wouldn't be overheard.
He shrugged his shoulders as he pulled out a notebook. Looking up, he smiled at them. "I signed up for basketball. Since their first practice is tonight and they were short a player they gave me a spot on the team."
His words shocked Luna. She never pegged him as one for sports. "Cool. I can't wait to watch you out there."
"Are students allowed to watch practices?" His expression mirrored the puzzlement in his voice.
"Of course," Lyla said a bit too loudly. The teacher turned toward their group and put a finger to his lips telling them to stop talking.
* * *