CHAPTER TWO 002. Lunch room politics KIDS IN AMERICA - KIM WILDE
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FIVE GIRLS, ANDTWO boys, made up their lunch table. If you were to go from one end to another, you'd start with Tammy and Addie Thompson, who'd sat next to each other every third lunch since fifth grade. While Tammy was infinitely more comfortable with her own friends instead of Addie's, over the summer she'd become an unofficial addition to the hierarchy in her sisters absence. Just that week she'd been invited to sit with them for three out of five days - a record for Tammy, which was only partly due to the quiet reform of her sister.
In all honesty, most people liked Tammy's presence. She would bounce and riff and find the hollowed out insides of good music in the phrases of her speech, until everything she talked about was accompanied with a sound that resembled the great American girl next door. She would tap her feet as she hummed some tune in an attempt to improve her range, whilst simultaneously smiling increadibly for the table to see. She would sing, on occasion, and laugh with a sound that rivalled the tune of Wham's greatest hits. As she ate, she let her headphones dangle at her side, and engaged in the conversation frivolously to stop the dreaded silence that never normally haunted the group's table.
The girls, at least, were thankful that somebody had taken the mantle from her sister.
Sitting next to the sisters, was Tommy. Addie leaned against his chucky letterman jacket - which successfully hid his rather boney arms - for the majority of her lunch period. Not out of fondness; Addie found their seating arrangement much easier than the many conversations about reciprocated affection the two would be forced to endure if she gave him no special treatment. It was often that way between the two. Nobody noticed her grimace before a kiss, or how forced their interactions were both in and out of high school; not to mention that she willingly let the boy lie about their sex life.
Adelade Thompson was no virgin, but she wasn't nearly as experienced as she let on.
Finally, Penelope's well maintained hair finished off their row of seats. She lived up to her reputation well ( with four pregnancy scares in one year, it was hard to imagine her not living up to any standard ). Penelope spoke of others a lot; of jealousy, failure, annoyances with classmates, and if there were any plans, alcohol and weed were their skeleton.
Across from her was Emma, whose perm was already beginning to fall into messy curls around her rounder face. She was always rather joyful, and above all else, the backbone of the group when it came to Heather's death. Her lips never entirely hid her front two teeth when she wasn't smiling; the girl was well loved in Hawkins High the same way Chrissy Cunningham was. That was why the two often sat together, although this particular lunch was Chrissy's bi-weekly meeting with the school councillor ( not that the whole table knew that ).
