Wingspan(Paranormal, Young Adult) MAJOR EDITING**

12

Kira seemed like the type who liked to mingle, so I wasn't sure if she was legitimately thrilled to have found me. Her red leather satchel was dangling from her arm, the bottom of it just barely grazedthe marble flooring ever so often as it swung back and forth.

I return a small smile. I hope it didn't seem insincere. "Hi."

Kira's smile broadens as she looks at the group of classmates that I had lunch with. Kira glances intently at Mya, Tasha, Brian and finally she locks eyes with Joshua who wore a tight expression. During the entire ordeal, Kiraappeared carefree so I couldn't tell what she was thinking. Either she didn't pick up on the awkward tension at the table or the hostile glares didn't bother her.

Nervous, I sweated it out like the true black sheep I was.

When Kira's stare returns to mine. I didn't see a hint of suspicion or discomfort in her dark eyes. She places her tray in the designated spot behind our table, after emptying the remaining contents into the bin. She then turns toward me.

"We should definitely hang out some time," she says.

I nod at the idea. "Okay, sure," I mumble. I was trying towrap my head around the image of the two of us fraternizing. I hadn't 'hung out' with anyone in a long time so I was a little rusty.

Glowing, Kira winks at me. "I'll see you later." She walks away, completely excluding the invitation from Mya and her gang.

I dismissed the withering glances that were aimed at me, because I wasn't in the mood to pinpoint the problem started after Kira had merged into their territory.

If I let my temper go the backlash would not be pretty. I wouldn't regret it but I had a suspicion that Mya was really trying to be my friend, although I wasn't certain how I felt about that just yet. I was still testing the ground, so to speak.

I wasn't sticking to anyone's side, even though I could tell Brian and his cronies wouldn't hesitate to ostracize me. Even though I wasn't big on drama and I had no inkling of interest to find out why Kira was so "villainous," I still wondered how often Kira picked up such thrilled affections.Her unfazed composure said a lot.

She didn't seem like the type to be affected either way. That's why I was caught off guard when I found myself not hungry anymore. This was a shame because the pizza was good. Why did I care about a girl I didn't plan on getting to know? And how come my heart bled by the rejection that came from Mya and her friends? No matter how I look at it, I wasn't going to get the answer I wanted.

Dispirited, I get up from the table when the bell rings and dump the remainder of my lunch into the trash can. Much like everything else at Starkhouse, even the garbage can was elaborate and expensive looking.

I had just placed my tray down when someone tapped my shoulder.

I turn my head around instinctively and put on a plastic smile.

It was Mya. "Hey," she says. "Sorry about what happened back there." She points her thumb toward Jason and the rest of her crew.

"It wasn't your fault." I shrug.

Mya set her clean tray on top of my oil-stained one. "So. Are we okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, we're good." I laugh, but it was that awkward kind of laughter.

What happened back there was still stressing me out. I never did well in group situations, especially when I was tense and uncomfortable.

I stuck beside Mya as we made our way through the double doors and past the hallway into the quad. I threw my hoodie on and buried my hands into my pockets. I followed the serpentine, cobblestone pathway behind Tasha and two others girls I had just met.