" Hey!" A small girl in sweats said to me on way up to lunch. I barely shot her a glance but smiled still. She hurried up to keep up with me and I stopped walking " I'm from your literature class" she held out a greasy palm and I took it " I'm Samantha bridge. And I just wanted to say that your poem back there in class was AMAZING"
" You really think so?" I said, looking right through her and scanning my eyes through the hall. She gushed, eyes wide like diamonds. She walked down the hall and I followed.
" Think so? I know so! It was wonderful!! Epic!!!! like an onstage performance of Romeo and Juliet. And the way you two stared at each other, like you've been in love for like, forever!"
" Been in love? He doesn't even like me" She halted dead in her steps, eyes bulging, mouth dropped and face shocked. I reeled back at the sudden change.
" Alexander has never talked to any girl before, except he's taunting them. And he helped you through an ENTIRE poem. Didn't you notice the way he stared at you? He never stares at ANYONE that way! Not even Kimberly Hills"
" Who's Kimberly Hills?"
" Oh she's the blonde supermodel-gorgeous girl. the one that was smirking at you all through? Well, they haven't come out to say they are an actual couple yet but since she goes around with him a lot, they might be. I've seen him kiss her before you know, by her locker" my heart fell. He was taken? Well, what were you expecting anyway? how could you expect someone that hot single? It's just… wrong.
" So, I'll see you around?" She asked stepping back. I nodded and she grinned.
" It was nice meeting you Miranda Reed"
" Yeah. It was nice meeting you too" I said, staring after her in the distance. I ran my eyes through the filled length of the cafeteria, trying to scout out some sitting space. Bat-bashing jocks filled the entire left, slamming each other with food, a few nerds filled the centre and the weirdos, a clique of girls with thin fake black hair and dark eyes stationed by the left glared long and hard at me. I didn't bristle though because they literally glared at everyone else.
I spied an empty desk just a little way off the backdoor leading to the school fields and I made my way down with my tray, laden with ham and cheese, fries and a bottle of soda.
" Hey Mira!" Someone yelled from behind. I spun round to stare into josh's ever smiling face. He waved at me and thumped a slightly taller and joker boy on the back. " come on over Mira!"
" Yeah come on!" Lucy said, beaming at me from beside a taller lankier girl with big brown curls and soft brown skin. I stared at the empty desk and back at them reluctantly and then walked up to meet them. Josh let out a loud whoop and I sat down, startled.
" Its a pretty small world isn't it?" The coffee boy I'd met from the entrance earlier said and I turned to him, forcing on a smile.
" Its you! Tyler. So nice to see you" He gave me a cute smile, one that deepened his dimples.
" I told you we'd meet again"
I laughed " Yeah you did"
" You know our cutie over here?" Josh said, ruffling Tyler's hair. He punched his arm off and they got into a quick playful scuffle. Lucy rolled her eyes at them and pulled me over to sit in between her and the brunette.
" Boys." She said, smirking at them " You should never sit in between them when they've got food in their faces. Make them burger-crazy" I watched josh shove burger down Tyler's mouth and I chuckled.
" So, anyway" She said, watching me " This is my total prick of a friend" She said, gesturing at the brunette " who fell 'sick' just so I could show you around" She let out a gasp " Thank goodness you saved me from myself just in time. I was SO going to strip right there in that hall from those HIDEOUS clothes!"
" You had to look responsible Lucy." Katya said, sniffing " And to let you go up to him looking like this? Its a pure NO" I stared down at Lucy. She looked different no doubt, with a tight cropped shirt that was completely different from the one I'd seen her in and pink thigh-high shorts with matching pink heels. She seemed cool, too cool to hang out here with us. Whatever 'us' meant.
" Anyway, hi" The brunette said, hugging me. I froze. O…k?
She pulled back, beaming " I'm Katya. Its SO nice to finally meet you" she ran her eyes through me, eyes twinkling " And you're prettier than Lucy described you"
" She bumped into me by the way" Josh said, panting. He plopped down on his seat and let out a loud burp. Lucy grimaced and Katya hid a smile. " On the hallways. We're going for a coffee date later on" He smacked his lips and Lucy held her nose.
" By God Josh could you at least show a little sense of shame? You should totally be kicked out of this table"
" By leg or butt?" He laughed, leaning into Lucy " Though I'd like the latter"
" You perv!" She yelled, kicking him on the legs. He yelped, laughing even harder.
" Hey guys!" An all-too familiar twinkly bell came, ringing through my ears. I spun round to stare right into stacey's bright starry face " You should totally get a hang of the sausages. They suck lesser than everything we eat… OMG!" She yelled so loud, a few people from other tables looked. I cringed and she fell over me in a cloud of huge and squeezes and kisses. " OMG Mira I've been looking all over for you! Where've you been you total ass?"
" In school?" I answered, dazed.
" Ok how the hell do you know her?" Josh asked and Stacey half-glared at him. Pulling up a chair next to me, she placed her hand on my shoulder.
" Mira here is my sister" Everyone gasped. Josh gaped.
" You mean your mom and dad actually fucked to get her?"
" What? No you stupid!" She yelled, tossing a plate at his head " She's my foster sister from Florida"
" I've always wanted to go to Florida" Katya said with a smile.
" You should. Its really nice and sunny in Florida"
" I bet it is" She smiled at me and I smiled back.
" Sorry to ask this but," Lucy leaned close " You're an orphan?"
" Yeah." A hush fell.
" So sorry Mira" Josh said.
" Yeah…"
" No. Its no biggie. They've been dead for like… 12 years now so its fine"
" You're so strong" The boy next to josh said " Hey none of have introduced me yet you brats but I'll do the honors" He did a little bow and Katya giggled " I'm honorably Freddy Jones by the way and its a pleasure" He went down on his knees and took my hand, kissing it " To meet you mademoiselle"
" Oh Freddy you flirt!" Lucy said, laughing at my horror-stricken expression. " You're totally creeping her out"
" Was not my intention" He said, beaming cheekily and making his way back to perch on the desk behind us.
" This is just, great!" Stacey squealed. " You guys know each other so I guess my work's done"
" It didn't even start" Lucy said and Katya laughed. Stacey jabbed her on the arm and lucy rolled her eyes, turning them on me.
" Anyway," She made a face mimicking Freddy " Mademoiselle, here's what you need to know about Charleston's high annoying students. We here are the… neutrals. You see, by neutrals, we mean we're not a clique with lame dress codes like the B&Bs" She rolled her eyes at the small herd of girls dressed in matching pink sheaths. " Ugh that just about makes me puke every other day. And we certainly don't wear super LAME jackets that looks like 'puke gone wrong'" She nodded up a mathletes club with matching bright green jackets, leaning into me " I mean, who wears green on black? Anyway, we ALSO don't have crazy handshakes that leaves our hands all tangled up like the we-biz girl slash puke much?" She nodded at two girls trying to untangle their bracelets from a handshake and the boys laughed. " We're just a hybrid of cool, nerdy and popular. So, you're safe from the visscititudes of clique bondage ok?"
" Yeah sure"
Stacey leaned close " Now, there's a LOT of cliques in school but the one you should most definitely avoid, is the B&Bs" She shot them a glance and I gave them a once-over myself. Then I noticed the blondie, Kimberly hills. She was beautiful, I had to admit. Very beautiful. Tall, olive-skinned with a sleek neatly curved model-like body firmly endowed in the right places. Her hair fell in neat long waves down her back. She was stabbing her fork into her sauce when she caught me staring. She stared daggers back at me and I looked down abruptly.
" The B&Bs are like the Disney version of mean girls, only they're a lot worst. Deadly even. Kimberly once sent a girl to the ICU. Then she got a girl from her crew expelled and somehow, everyone sides her all the time" I looked. She was still staring at me, her lips curled in a threatening smirk. " don't try to get on Kimberly's bad side cause she'll literally bite"
" She can't get on her good side either cause it literally doesn't exist" Lucy added, glaring at Kimberly " she's such a bitch you know. She makes my middle finger twitch upwards each time I see her"
" Just avoid her though. You just got in and yet you're so popular." Katya said, stabbing at her home-made lunch " be careful. She can't do anything to you. Not on our watch"
" Wait, what do you mean by I'm so popular?" Lucy gaped at me, eyes twinkling.
" You mean you haven't heard? You're the new Alex girl now. After that love duet you and Alex pulled in Eng lit today did you really think it was going to stay quiet?" I sat up, heart thumping.
There goes my hopeful invisibility for the rest of the term then! God this can NOT be happening!!
" But it was only a citation. It's not something"
" Look at you" Katya said, beaming and nudging my cheek " so cute. Its everything Mira. Alex never talks to anyone. He's so cocky and full of himself and thinks that every other person's beneath him. And yet you got him to sing you a duet in eng lit. That's a whole lot you know, considering the fact that he's like, EVERY girl's dream here"
" He's SO hot!" Lucy said in a hushed squeal that was so unlike her " too bad he's such a celibate. My hook-up skills are superb and I haven't gotten him to look at me even once"
" I think he's nice though" Stacey said " and he talks to people. I just guess he's not into the whole dating frenzy that's all"
" But he has a girlfriend" I ventured " right?"
" Yeah, well, I won't really say they're a couple. I think Kimberly just forces herself on him that's all"
Katya nodded " I totally agree" Self-conscious, I looked around, my eyes landing sharply on a table so set apart from the rest of the students it seemed like they were under some spotlight. Boys stared and girls giggled over them and I knew I just had to look closely. I did.
And I was dumbfounded.
It was as though angels had literally gotten bored of heaven and landed on that very table. Its occupants, a girl and two boys looked… impossibly too beautiful to be true. there was the tall lanky but heavily muscular one with dark chestnut brown hair with coppery strands sticking out through its ends and then another of shorter build with ash blonde strands falling down his back in long swirly waves. His hair literally fluttered through the air, drawing the sun's shimmery lights through every strand. The girl was small and had a pixie-like expression pasted on her terribly pretty face, one that made her look like she had a permanent but terribly cute pout. She flipped her long dark hair back and cast me one glance before turning to laugh and poke the long-haired blondie in the chest. I watched, mesmerized. Their movements were so fluid, the way they touched things, like they weren't even touching them at all. They had a certain air around them, a certain aura that didn't seem arrogant but different. There was something there. Something that set them apart.
The back door to the cafeteria flew open in one heavy gust of wind that had everyone looking.
Then he walked in.