Lost and Found

Chapter 9 | New Friends

Chatter fills the hallway as students are ready for their lunch break. Ash walks beside her with one of his friends whose name she forgot. His friend's dreadlocks are bound together at the back of his head. He wears some kind of blue sports team shirt, which she doesn't recognise. But to be fair, the chance she recognises any sports team shirt is slim.

Her eyes are darting around. Robin didn't have the same class before lunch break, but Julia wanted to have lunch together. She's kind and smart. A perfect friend. Although, last time, Robin walked out on her during the lunch break. Which reminds her; she still needs to ask Robin about Ash.

Robin is the quiet girl, and if she knows one thing about quiet girls, it is that they know a lot about other people. And the reason Julia knows this is because once, Julia was the quiet girl. Most of her classmates didn't even realise how much she knew about them, but when she went to high school, Julia decided to try to be more open to people. Make more friends. Which she did, and she hopes she can do it again.

Ash touches her arm. "Who are you looking for?"

"Robin. We usually have lunch together... and with usually I mean that one time yesterday."

"You can sit with us." Something Ash is saying all day.

Julia nods while biting down on her lip. People stare and whisper. If they want to know who she is, they could ask. Yes, she's new, but not some weird stranger. Stranger Danger is the weird stranger, and everybody seems to like him.

They walk into the cafeteria. Other students sit in groups as they eat their lunch. They're talking, joking, and laughing with each other. Enjoying the break from filling their heads with all kinds of information and learning.

Clinging to the straps of her backpack, she looks around. In the middle of the cafeteria sits Cecil, with her two friends and some other people she doesn't know yet. Cecil always makes it her priority to ignore Julia's existence, so let's hope Ash isn't planning on sitting with her.

Julia's eyes fall on Mason and Jake standing in the line at the food station. Jake holds up an apple and kisses it. Mason shakes his head, pushing him along. How she would love to know what Jake had said to make Mason smile.

Ash's friend mumbles something to Ash, and fist-bumps him before walking over to Cecil's table.

Julia scans the cafeteria. There are some other kids she recognises from class, but there's no Robin. Maybe she's eating lunch outside again? The weather is awesome, and she wouldn't mind sitting outside herself.

"Do you need something?" Ash gestures with his head to the food station, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"No, I brought my own lunch."

Ash rests his hand on her back, and a shiver runs down her spine. There's a strangers hand on her back. We're just friends, we're just friends, she repeats in her head.

He leads her to a table where three boys and two girls are sitting. "Yo, this is Julia. She's new," Ash introduces her. Julia waves at the people at the table. "Julia, these peeps are Jackson, Kyle, and Maddix. They're in my team. And these beautiful ladies are Ava and Hailey."

Ash pulls out a chair for Julia and gestures for her to sit down. She obliges while Ash's friends stare at her. Without saying anything, Ash walks away.

Oh, okay, bye? Julia blinks. She stares after him as he gets in line by the food station, leaving her alone with his friends. A nervous smile creeps up her face.

Kyle leans in, looking past Jackson. "Nice to meet you, Julia. It's great to put a face to the name."

Wait, someone talked about her? Before she can ask, everyone's attention turns to Mason and Jake, stopping at their table. She bends down to her backpack and takes out her lunchbox. Please don't notice me, she hopes in a foolish attempt.