Numerical Apocalypse

three

Lena nearly choked on her juice. "He what?"

I covered my mouth with my hand. "He got a love note."

"And automatically associated it with you??" Lena slammed her juice carton down on the table. "Ew."

"Well, he said Savannah told him it was me. I'm starting to wonder if she orchestrated this whole thing." I set my hands on the table and laid my head down on them.

"It certainly wouldn't surprise me." Lena snorted.

"You said my name?" Savannah appeared from thin air, batting her eyelashes.

"Yeah, Jake said you put a note in his locker." I twisted what I'd heard to see if I'd get a reaction.

She didn't disappoint. "What?" Her cheeks flushed her number rising to a 10. "Ew, no, I thought it was you!"

She turned angrily to Ella, who widened her eyes.

"Go get Jake and tell him it was Alexandra," She whispered. I barely managed to catch her words before Ella stalked away.

Lena slurped her juice. "Alex did what?"

"She-"

"Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" The new kid- Theodore- broke in.

Savannah stopped short, her mouth partially open. She stayed like that for a second, looking like a goldfish.

He shrugged, eyeing Savannah like she had two heads. "All the other tables are full."

Lena nodded eagerly and pushed her lunch to the side. "Yeah, absolutely."

I watched Savannah and her fluctuating number. "Do you need anything else?"

"Oh, no." Quick as a wink, she switched personalities, smiling sweetly at Theodore. "There's room at our table, if you want."

Theodore frowned. "Uh, you were just really rude to Alex and Lena and now you expect me to-"

Savannah blinked, batting her eyelashes again.

"Never mind." Theodore set his tray down and slid into the seat across from me. "You look like you have enough people at your table. I won't intrude."

"Oh, but," Savannah started.

I looked up at her. "That's code for 'maybe another day, please leave me alone'."

Theodore nodded, smirking. "Sorry."

He didn't sound sorry at all.

In my pocket, my phone buzzed.

He knows my name!!!!! Lena sent.

I glared at her across the table and turned my phone to silent.

Theodore watched our glances go back and forth. "So, uh, the weather's..... cold." He said awkwardly.

Lenna bobbed her head enthusiastically. "Yeah, this morning I had to put on an extra pair of socks."

I glanced at the number over Theodore's head.

Still 20.

Man, what is up with this guy?

He noticed me looking in his direction while Lena droned on about her socks. "Something wrong?"

I shook my head, then changed my mind. "Well, yeah, but it's complicated."

"Oh."

"-So i just decided to wear the striped socks, which are thicker, but they didn't go with my outfit, so I had to- hey, are you guys even listening?" Lena raised an eyebrow.