Dammit Dan, You Stole My Hart

Chapter 2 - Daniel's POV

Daniel - 27/05/16, Friday

Lunchtime came around, and the canteen became that place where all the action took place. Conversations. Deals. Meals. It was a fascinating place. It was here that the most obvious kinds of segregation took place.

At the northern end, furthest away from any windows or doors, were the couple tables. The booths were located there too (Yes we had booths. Well somewhat). Privacy was the name of the game there, and nobody really paid attention to the kissing, groping and whatever kinds of things they did there.

Then there was the southern end, the place nearest to the lunch lady's counter, where all the fat people sat. The kind of kids that had such a large build that they couldn't be bothered to walk any further after obtaining their fuel for the remainder of the day. That place was usually a mess - lazy people in our school generally don't clean up after themselves - and so was also, generally avoided.

Next there was the set of tables closest to the doors leading to the school garden was where the jocks always sat. The Canoeing Chicken Drumsticks (Buff upper body with tiny legs) and The Ruggers. It was almost as if they lived in a world of their own, hardly ever participating in class and only ever talking to people of their kind.

So that basically left the centre of the canteen for us normal people. There were quite a few tables, and even here, further segregation took place. Simply put, people only sat around people they knew. Ironically, although it was one of the most visited places in the entire school, it was probably one of the most antisocial too.

I stood there for a few moments, surveying the scene, observing the countless students that were gaming on their phones or reading books, then spotted Eleanor, Kimberly and Andrew at their usual table. Speaking of Kimberly. She was the person sitting right behind me in class. In other words she sat next to Eleanor, and I was always eavesdropping on their conversations.

She was asian, and had a rather queer surname, Tan. Pronounced as ton? Ten? She had yellowish skin and always kept long hair. Not that that made her look any better. I had to give credit to Eleanor for being best friends with someone out of our world.

They were engrossed in their own conversation. I took a step further into the canteen, and then heard a voice emanate from the hallway behind me.

"Dan!"

Shit. Not her. I had two options. Run away like a coward or turn around and face it like a man. Her hand landed on my shoulder. Well, there went option 1. I turned around to face the horror.

"Hi!" Macey said, her voice as enthusiastic as ever when she talked to me. Her clique, which I named the Barbie Girls, consisted of three different people. Two of them flanked her sides and one followed behind her.

"Hi!" I said, replying with the same enthusiasm as her, trying to cover up the irritation in my voice.

"Are you free later for tea or something?" she asked.

I pretended to think about it. "No I have to head home and help my dad."

"Really? Is that the best excuse you can think of?"

"Well, you're going to have to deal with it," I said, turning around. She placed her palm on my shoulder again, spinning me back around. She put her finger on my chest and traced downwards slowly. "Oh I'm dealing with it all right."

I pushed her aside. "Now if you excuse me, I have other things to do." I briskly walked away from her, shuddering.

Many of the guys would definitely want to be me. About a month ago, during some of my usual investigation work, I had discovered that Macey had confessed to having a crush on me, and she definitely wasn't keeping that fact subtle. She was one of the most popular girls in the level, but I didn't find her attractive in any way, so I kept calm about it. It was almost as if she had purposely confessed, knowing that I would find out, knowing that the entire school would find out. Maybe it was some preemptive measure, to ward off other girls.