More or Less Grown-up Affairs

Chapter 2

As Baldhart walked into the cafeteria, her eyes nervously scanned the room. As she was grabbing her french toast sticks, she saw a hand waving in the air out of the corner of her eye.

"Baldhart," her roommate, Kensie, yelled across the whole cafeteria, causing multiple people to look up from their food. "Over here!" Baldhart smiled as she made her way to Kensie's table, glad she was already making friends. "Good morning! I hope you're not upset that I didn't wake you up. I wasn't sure if you'd rather sleep in or not." Kensie said as Baldhart took a seat across from her.

Kensie was wearing blue shorts and a yellow shirt with a yellow flower on the left breast. Her hair was pulled into a half up, half down style with a bun on top of her head.

"It's fine. As long as I don't have to sit alone, I don't mind you letting me sleep." Baldhart said, picking up one of her french toast sticks. Kensie winced as the boy sitting next to her kicked her leg under the table.

"This is Calvin. He's one of my best friends." Kensie says, glaring at him while tossing her long, blonde hair over her shoulder.

Baldhart looked up from her french toast sticks. Her heart skipped a beat as she made eye contact with the most beautiful set of brown eyes she had ever seen. Time stopped as she stared into his eyes. It was like they were the only two people in the world. Nothing mattered except the two of them. Her eyes scanned his face. He had a few freckles scattered across his nose. His red hair was shaved along the sides, but the hair on the top of his head came down to the top of his ears. He wasn't very tall, but he was a whole head taller than she was.

Calvin tried to look away from her, he really did, but there was just something about her that wouldn't let him. Her long, blonde hair was pulled up perfectly in two beautiful, high pigtails. Her big, green eyes stared into his with so much intensity, he couldn't help but stare back. She was beautiful.

Kensie watched the two's strange interaction with confusion. Her eyes darted between her friends at a dizzying speed as she watched them fall in love.

Calvin and Baldhart were ripped from each other's admiring gaze as a hand slammed onto the table between them. Baldhart looked at the table to see a set of perfectly done, hot pink nails, with white on the ring finger. Her eyes traveled from the hand to the arm, and eventually the side of a girl's face. She looked much older than the two first graders Baldhart was sitting with. Behind this mystery girl, were three other girls.

"Hohmann," the mystery girl said to Kensie with an English accent. "Are you talking to a new student?" The cafeteria went silent. She squinted her blue eyes and threw her black hair over her shoulder. Kensie looked at her lap in shame.

"N-no! She's not new! There's no new-" Calvin started.

"Shut it." the girl glared at Calvin causing him to flinch. The girl moved her gaze to Kensie.

"She's my roommate. I didn't want her to sit alone." Kensie whispered, her happy-go-lucky mood gone. The girl grinned, but it was a dark, scary grin.

"You know the rules, right?" She asked. Kensie nodded, refusing to look up. Calvin looked at Kensie with big, scared eyes. "Let's go, then." Kensie stood up, wiping her eyes as she followed the mystery girl into the hall. Baldhart watched, confused by what the girl said.

"Calvin, what was that all about?" She asked.

"You'll quickly find that schools in Germany are different from here." Calvin said, standing up and leaving the room. Baldhart was quick to follow him.

"Why can't she talk to me?" She asked him, but Calvin just kept walking. She tried to follow him, but he walked into the bathroom. As the door closed behind him, Baldhart stared in defeat. Suddenly, the door opened. Calvin walked out, grabbed her hand (her heart fluttered), and pulled her into the bathroom.