The Closet Butterfly

LUNCH WITH JASON?

     It's lunch time now and I'm the last to head out the science room. Today was only halfway over and I'm dreading the rest of the year already. I was never good at making friends or even talking to people, but Emily constantly sitting near me and screaming -or as she calls it talking - at other people wasn't helping my social status. I'm sure I've already been marked at that one really weird guy who hangs out with that super mega weird chick.

        Speaking of Emily, I started feeling really bad for her after Math class. Apparently Mr. Larson is the only nice teacher, well so far. The other teachers are very strick and any laughter or smiling of any kind isn't tolerated. Something Emily does constantly is smile and laugh. I overheard some students behind me saying that Emily has some sort of ADD or ADHD...Or maybe she is just super hyper active. Either way the teachers know about it and still act like she does it on purpose. I also heard she has to take medicine for whatever she has. I would ask her about it but I'm too afraid she would kill me, or at least beat me with a stick.

       As soon as I open the double doors to the cafeteria I immediately stop dead in my tracks. There are so many people in here. I don't know why this surprises me. It's a school lunch room of course it's going to have a lot of people. Feeling like there are a million eyes glaring at me I lower my head, my heart racing, my breathing comes in rapid shallow breaths. I want to turn around and run away, leave the school, the city, the state. I just want to run. But I can't.

"Hey new kid, get out the way!" A voice snaps from behind me. I jerk around seeing I've been blocking the door for three other students. My face turns a bright red from embarrassment and I jerk back around, quickly walking over to the lunch line. Only then do I finally look up and see that no one was even paying attention to what I was doing. With shaky breathing and my rapid heart beat I get a small apple and a bottle of water. It's not much but I don't eat a lot anyway. 

       After paying for my small lunch I stand in the middle of the open space wondering where I should sit. Definitely not near anyone, I need some alone time, before I have a panic attack and run out the building crying. Seeing an empty table in the middle of the room I let out a small sigh."It's better than nothing I suppose, I refuse to eat in the bathroom like I did at my last school." I quietly make my way over to the table keeping a nervous watch out for anyone looking at me.

        I sit down at the table and hunch over resting my elbows on the table. I stare at my water and apple that are placed side by side. I know I should be eating more than this, but I honestly don't have an appetite my mother always said I ate like a bird. With my nerves acting up today I really don't think I can hold it down. With a heavy sigh I twist the lid off the cool water and take a few gulps. I cringe slightly as i feel the coldness run down my throat and into my stomach. Lowering my head and biting my bottom lip I think about how today has gone so far. "Embarrass myself before attending my first class. Check. Let a hot guy catch my fawning all over him. Check. Be late for my first class and have every stare at me. Check. Make a friend who actually insane. Check. Fall to my face in history and have even more people stare at me. Check."

"Earth to Damian!" Says a perky voice as they wave their hand in front of my face. "You here with us?" Turning to my side I see Emily standing next to me, holding a tray slam full of food. "No way, can she actually eat all that?"  Before I can say anything she puts one hand on her hip sticking her butt out all sassy like. "Mind if we sit with you?" Blood rushes from my face and I quickly turn pale. "Did she say we?" I turn more seeing the boy I ran into earlier today. Before I can even think of responding he walks around the table and sits down across from me with his own tray piled high with food.

      Emily sits down next to me with her normally huge smile that for some reason terrifies me. Her smile quickly goes away as she notices the boys eyes bouncing between all of our meals " Omg do you not have enough money for some lunch?!" I open my mouth to respond but she cuts me off " Here have some of Jason's! He is already fat enough as it is." She says as she takes some of his cheap school pizza. Hey I'm not fat! I have a lot of muscle!." The boy says flexing his arms and kissing his biceps with a wide smile. I feel my cheeks burning red as the two chat back and forth over who will give me what to eat. 

"I'm not hungry." I say softly my voice barely a whisper. The two stop their chatter and look at me making me lower my head even more.

"Oh.....well .....you sure?" The boy asks concerned.

"Yeah." I reply quickly not looking up at them.

" That's just too bad, you are going to eat this slice of pizza or I will cry and make a huge scene." She says with a very evil smirk.

I look up at her breathing hard. Would she actually make a scene just to make me eat something? No. No way she would do that. As I stare at her not taking the pizza she holds her in her hands her expression becomes even more serious. 

" Do not test me Damian. I will throw the biggest fit you have ever seen so eat the damn pizza!"
Just as she opens her mouth to throw her fit I quickly snatch the slice away, panicking thinking she was about to draw attention to us. She stares me down until I take the first bit. She then smiles successfully and faces her own plate of food. After eating half her own food she slams her hand down on the table making me jump ten feet into the air.

"What is it?" the boy asks wide eyed as I am.

" You never introduced yourself!!" She said point her finger at him then looking at me.

The boy rolls his eyes then sticks his hand out for me to shake. "Hello there! I'm Jason Larson, and if you couldn't figure it out Mr. Larson is my dad."