“Oh, right. Seems like he’s into you.”
“Maybe.” I suspect it’s more that he enjoys the attention they’re getting due to our presence at their table.
At the moment, people are talking about Ryan and me, Lila and me. The lesbian rumor seems to be dying out, at least. Soon, somebody will get drunk or pregnant, crash a car or steal one, and then that’ll be the new focus. It can’t come soon enough for me. I head over, smiling, and the girls, at least, seem truly happy to see me. I introduce Shane to Kimmy, Mel, and Shanna. He’s polite, but I see he’s feeling a bit WTF about the whole thing. As he said, his master plan was to lay low, write songs, and get out of school unnoticed. Between Dylan Smith and me, that’s becoming impossible. I can’t control Dylan, but I’m not letting him pick on Shane anymore if there’s anything I can do about it. And I do have one card to play but I’d rather not, unless he forces me to it. We’ll see.
I set lunch on the table, daring him to protest when I portion out his half. Today it’s apple raisin salad, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks, and two brownies. He doesn’t protest in front of the sophomores; they’re talking about a movie they’re seeing this weekend. When Lila joins us a few minutes later, followed by Tara and Kenny, Shane’s mouth quirks into an adorable smile.
I see why he’s amused. Our table doesn’t have a single free seat, and it’s heretical in that it has freshmen, sophomores, and juniors all mixed up. We don’t have any seniors; we’re not that cool, but we’re the most integrated of the lunch crowd. By comparison, Ryan’s table looks a little sparse.
“I’m Lila,” she says, taking a bite of what passes for an enchilada in this school.
Oops. I should probably have done that myself. If I’m honest, maybe I didn’t want to because she’s pretty striking. I’m happy when he doesn’t seem wowed; he’s low-level friendly, nothing else. Let’s see, Shane met Tara and Kenny at Green World, so that’s handled. Part of me wishes I had him to myself, but this is better. The more people know who he is, the less likely the jocks can get away with harassing him.
“I’m pretty excited about the cleanup tonight,” Tara says.
By looking at her, you’d never guess; you’d think she’s afraid to get her hands dirty. Her nails are always perfectly manicured, and you can tell her family has money, so I find her participation in Green World fascinating. Past experience with rich kids tells me most of them are spoiled and don’t care about giving back. Today, her designer outfit is pristine; she’s spent hours on her personal grooming. Tara is pretty, but she wears more makeup than she needs. I saw her without it once, and her mahogany skin is flawless.
Kenny, on the other hand, is a total gamer geek. All of his clothing has the logo of some game franchise, and he never goes without his Mario hat. He’s also got a crush on Tara the size of Texas, which explains his interest in the environment.
“What cleanup?” Theo asks.
I glance at Shane. This is a chance to evangelize, but he might think I’m weird. Then I remember that he’s already been to one of our meetings. It’s not like this information will surprise him, so I explain the purpose of the group. By the time I finish, the sophomores look interested.
Mel asks, “Is it something that would help on a college app?”
“Absolutely.” I’m smiling.
“What time today and where?” Kimmy wants to know.
Wow, did I just recruit four new members? The flyers I posted at the start of school got defaced and torn up. Until now, I’d considered ditching tonight’s cleanup, though it was my idea. Frowning, I abandon that plan; it’s chicken, and as long as there are other people around, there will be a buffer between Ryan and me. I can do this. I will do this.
“I can help,” Lila says unexpectedly.