The once solitary table at the back of the cafeteria, where Mathew sat alone, was now bustling with the presence of five new individuals. Among them, the most striking was the lively and chatty Jess.
Where'd these guys come from? Mathew thought as he looked at them. They were definitely… interesting characters, in his opinion. At least Cece seemed to be the normal one of the bunch. There's something about them that's familiar. I just can't place it...
"So, how do you like Los Angeles? While it may not be as large of the city as Chicago, it has its charm." Jess said as she stabbed her salad repeatedly. Her focus is solely on the conversation and not her food.
"It's nice here. The people are a lot nicer, and it's a lot warmer. Back home, I'd wear a few jackets to stay warm." Mathew smiled as he ate another piece of chicken.
"Okay, I have to know. As a fellow Chicagoan. Where do you land on deep-dish pizza? In your opinion, is there really cheese in the deep-dish pizzas? Because from what I can see, it's just a sea of sauce." Nick said with a completely serious look.
"Nick. I've told you the cheese under the sauce." Schmidt sighed in exasperation.
"Lies! It's nothing but tomato sauce! It might as well be soup!" Nick's voice rose as he slammed his hand on the table. Schmidt, his patience wearing thin, growled and grabbed Nick's shirt.
"The cheese is under the sauce!"
"Stop lying!"
"Okay, I'm just going to say it." Cece sighed and placed her fork down. She was doing her best to ignore her two friends as they fought one another with their flailing limbs. "Are you and Natalia friends?"
"Damn, girl. You could have worked your way there." Winston muttered as he eyed Mathew's lunch. Seeing this, Mathew pushed his lunch out and motioned for Winston to take some.
"You know what? You're alright." Winston said to Mathew as he dug in.
"I'm sensing that Natalia has a bad reputation here. But to answer your question, I just met her this morning. Or, well, bumped into her." Mathew said. Cece furrowed her brow and nodded.
"A bad reputation is an understatement. That girl is a walking disaster." Schmidt leaned in, his face still red from Nick's smack. "Natalia, despite being a smoking hottie, has a history of getting into fights and shouting matches. She's nothing but trouble."
"Trouble? She's vicious!" Nick placed a hand on Schmidt's shoulder and pointed at Mathew. Their fight was completely forgotten. "Just last week, after school, I forgot my backpack in class. This class happened to be on the other side of the school, so I took a shortcut around the back of the gym. You know what I found? I found Natalia standing over two knocked-out guys with an evil smile on her face! Evil! Those guys were twice her size! She's vicious!"
"Nick, are you sure that's what you saw? I mean, there was that one time you thought the custodian was a secret agent sent by the government." Jess said as Nick looked over his shoulder to see an older man with greying hair moping a freshly made mess.
"I'll prove it to you all one day. One day…"
"Well, well. Can't a guy go to the bathroom for a few minutes and not be abandoned?" Ernie Tagliaboo said as he walked over to the table with his hands on his hips. His eyes then settled on Mathew. "Who dis?"
"I'm Mathew."
"Ernie, but you can call me Coach."
"Uh, sure?" Mathew nodded. "Why do they call you-"
"Moving on! Yes, being around Natalia is bad news, Mathew. It's why everyone is avoiding you. They don't know where you stand, and they don't want to get involved with Natalia." Cece said as Coach sat down beside Winston. He then began to eat Mathew's lunch as well, much to his chagrin. "It's best if you stay away from her. At least that way, you'll be able to make friends here."
"While I hate to say it, Cece is right. I tried to talk to Natalia once, and she almost bit my head off." Jess said in disappointment. "She's a little scary."
"Still crazy hot, tho." Coach said with Schmidt nodding beside him.
Mathew looked at everyone as they nodded in agreement. Frowning, Mathew couldn't help but feel bothered by the situation. Despite everything he heard and the rumors floating around, he couldn't help but find the situation revolving around Natalia to be ridiculous.
She's the school's black sheep. Mathew thought somberly. That explains why she doesn't seem to have any friends here. That's rough.
Before Mathew could respond, the school bell rang in the cafeteria. Everyone began to stand up to head to class. Placing his Tupperware away, Mathew took out his schedule to see if he couldn't figure out where his next class was. Jess, being the nosy person she is, leaned in and examined his classes. Due to her closeness, Mathew was able to pick up the smell of apples in her hair.
"Oh! I have Biology next, too! Come on, I'll take you there!" Jess's eyes sparkled with excitement as she grabbed Mathew's arm and began pulling him behind her.
"Ah, okay?" Mathew said, his voice betraying his surprise as he let himself be pulled by Jess.
Nick watched them go with a frown. Walking up on his sides, Schmidt and Wilson placed comforting hands on each of his shoulders while Coach looked back and forth between Nick and Jess.
Schmidt sighed, patting his best friend's shoulder. "Tough break, Buddy."
"He's new and interesting. It'll be hard to compete with that." Wilson nodded. "She's like Ferguson when he gets a new toy."
"You got your work cut out for you, Nick, my boy." Coach patted Nick's back.
"He's not all that…" Nick said weakly.
"Maybe. But it doesn't help that he's also super cute." Cece turned to all three boys and waved goodbye. As she walked away, an amused smile grew on her face. "Later."
"…aw man."
••o••o••o••
The last school bell rang, signifying the end of the day's classes. Mathew sighed in relief as he discreetly slid his English book and textbooks into his Infinity Backpack. It helped that he was placed at the back of the class.
[Your Intelligence has improved by 1 point!]
Smiling at the notification, Mathew stood up with his bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the classroom. Once in the hallway, he noticed that he wasn't being seen with suspicion. A few passing students even waved and smiled at him.
"It seems that having Jess and her group come up to me helped relieve some of the suspicions about me," Mathew muttered as he exited the school building. Now out in the open, he looked around at the mass of students heading home. Either by bus, car, bicycle, or walking. "Teenagers are so fickle."
Turning his head, Mathew saw a familiar face within the crowds. Alex was looking around the dozens of students with a hopeful expression. Striding through the crows with quick footwork, Mathew walked up behind Alex. "What are we looking for, Window Buddy?"
"Kya!" Alex jumped and dropped the books in her hands. Mathew's right hand shot out and grabbed the textbook before it fell on the ground. "Mathew! Don't sneak up on me!"
"Sorry. Sorry." Mathew chuckled lightly as Alex glared at him. But her eyes lacked any heat. "Palisades is a big school. I was wondering when I would run into you."
"You were… looking for me?"
Mathew nodded, causing Alex to smile with a blush on her cheeks. "I'm guessing you're waiting for your ride?"
"Yeah, my Dad is picking me up today," Alex said as she and Mathew walked over to the carpool area. "How about you? Are your parents coming for you?"
"No. They're both gonna be pretty busy today with their new jobs. But I'm fine. I biked here," Mathew watched as Phil's vehicle began to pull in. Alex frowned at seeing her father; she had hoped that she and Mathew would have more time together.
"Oh… well, if you ever get tired of biking to school. I'm sure my parents won't mind if you ride with me." Alex watched her father wave at her as he came to a stop. Mathew looked at her reluctant face and smiled. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a soft squeeze.
"Listen, I'm a bit behind on a few things. Would you mind helping me out?" Mathew waved at Phil as a few cars behind him began honking at him.
"Really? You don't mind if a freshman helps you study?"
Mathew grinned and shook his head. "Normally, I would. But I'm having Alex Dunphy help me. Don't think I didn't see all those trophies in that awards cabinet in your house."
"O-oh. Okay then." Alex nodded and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "How does six o'clock sound?"
"Works for me."