As soon as I was outside of the classroom, I all but growled in frustration. I was hoping that the rest of the teachers wouldn’t decide to judge me before they even had the chance to know me.
I followed Emma’s directions and found the cafeteria easily. I would have to be deaf not to hear the roar of the voices coming from inside it. Even if she hadn’t given me directions, the place was hard to miss. Just like everything else in this school, the cafeteria screamed money. My old cafeteria had been plain, just a room filled with marked-on tables and plastic chairs. This place, however, reminded me of a restaurant more than a high school cafeteria. The tables were all identical in the same polished wood with matching chairs. I looked around, but I didn’t see one chair that was broken or any tables with graffiti on them.
I had to admit that this was a nice change of scenery. The table that Andy and I had claimed back at my old school wobbled from where one of the legs was ready to fall off, and the chairs were all those uncomfortable plastic ones that made your ass hurt after two seconds of sitting in them.
I was one of the last to arrive, so the line for food was almost completely deserted. I moved through it quickly and started looking for an empty table. Hamrick High was a highly selective school, and there were less than three hundred students total, yet there wasn’t a single open table to be seen. I ignored everyone as they stared at me and whispered while I looked for an empty seat. I wanted nothing to do with any of them.
I noticed a table in the far corner of the room that had only two male students sitting at it. They looked like outcasts to me, and I decided that they were the best option I had. They were both watching me as I approached, and they traded glances as I stopped in front of their table.
“Is this seat taken?” I asked as I pulled out a chair and sat down.
The boy sitting across from me shook his head. “No, you can sit there if you want.”
“Thanks,” I said as I looked both of them over.
The one who had spoken up was the typical nerd with glasses and a bad haircut. He was skinny while the other guy was overweight with a bad case of acne. Just as I suspected—outcasts.
I started eating as they continued to stare at me. I had to admit that this school did have at least one perk. The food didn’t taste like ass, like my old school’s did. It was actually kind of good. If there was one thing that I liked above all else, it was food.
“Why are you sitting with us?” the chubby one asked.
I looked up to see him staring at me with a confused look on his face. “What do you mean?”
“It’s just that you’re not like us, and no one ever sits with us.”
I glanced behind me to see the rich brats watching me. “Trust me, I’m just like you.”
“You’re a scholarship kid, aren’t you?” the skinny boy asked. I nodded. “I am.”
“You could fit in with them if you tried.” the chubby one said.
“Don’t want to,” I said before shoving food in my mouth.
Skinny smiled. “I think I like you already.” He held out his hand, and I shook it over the table. “I’m Charles.”
“Jesse.”
Chubby held out his hand, and I shook it as well. What is up with seventeenyear-olds shaking hands?
“I’m Sean.”
“Good to meet you guys,” I said as I wiped my hands on my jeans.
“Likewise. Where are you from?” Sean asked.
“Public. I’m a poor bastard.” I grinned as I watched both of their mouths hang open in shock. “Don’t act so surprised. I’m sure you knew already. I know what this whole school thinks of me.”
“Actually, I haven’t heard any poor bastard comments. I have heard a lot of the girls talking about you though,” Charles said.
“Same here, and we hear everything. No one even pays attention to us, so we hear all the good gossip,” Sean added.
“They can keep talking. I’m not interested in rich bitches.”
I heard someone suck in a deep breath behind me. I turned to see Emma standing behind me with a hurt look in her eyes.
“I’m assuming you heard that?” I asked.
“I came over to see if you wanted to sit with me and my friends, but I think I have my answer.” She turned and stomped off, leaving me to feel like an ass.
I wasn’t sure why I cared that I’d made her feel bad, but I did. I was out of my chair in a flash, hurrying after her, before I even realized what I was doing.
“Emma, wait!” I yelled as I caught up to her.
She had all but run from me, and we had ended up in one of the empty hallways leading away from the cafeteria.
“What?” she asked as she spun around to face me.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” I said, realizing that it was the truth.
I didn’t want to hurt this girl, but I wasn’t sure why I cared.
“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t.”
“Then, why did you run off on me?” I asked skeptically.
“I, uh...I remembered that I needed to grab a book from my locker.” “Couldn’t you do that after lunch?” I asked, calling her out on her lie.
We both jumped as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.