Hi, my name is [Dan] - COMPLETED

After 10: The plastics

I was still standing outside the Maths class 5 minutes later when Chris and PJ walked down the corridor towards me.
"There you are!" PJ called to me. I looked up and lifted up my eyebrow in questioning.
"Dan, Dan, my main man!" Chris cheered. "What you doing here?" He slapped his hand against my back, making me recoil from his touch slightly.
"Thought you'd be in the main hall,"PJ said. His calm voice contrasted greatly with Chris's bright one.
"I was, um,  talking to Mr. Pool," I lied.
"We've been looking for you for hours!" Chris exaggerated.
"More like a few minuted," PJ whispered to me.
"My stomach says otherwise," Chris grumbled.
"You - you were looking for me?" I asked shocked. I hadn't expected that, I didn't think anyone would care so much about where I was. They didn't even know me.
"Of course! We're drama buds," Chris hooked his arm through mine, "the clique needs to stick together."
"Yeah," PJ linked my other arm with his but he was more shy about it than Chris. "You made any friends?"
"He has us." Chris tutted at PJ
"You made any other friends?" PJ continued.
"No... not really," I saw my chance, "but there is this one guy I want to ask you about. His name is-"
"No questions!" Chris let go of me and stood in front of me, wagging a finger in front of my face. "Leave all questions until the end or the tour." Chris relinked himself and dragged me to the canteen.
"Just go with it, you get used to him," PJ chuckled.

"Firstly, food!" Chris greedily grabbed a tray.  "Chips bad, chips and curry sauce though! That's on a whole different planet." He told me as he ordered that, before I could interject he had ordered the exact same thing for both PJ and I.
"Do you really get used to him?" I asked PJ with a chuckle.
"It... sure takes some time." He chuckled back and rubbed the back of his neck, he stared at Chris with a small smile. 
"How do you both know each other?" I asked as I grabbed my tray with the food I didn't order on it.
"Childhood friends and neighbours." He paused. "Chris always jokes we're like Peter Parker and Mary Jane."
"Who's Spidey and who's MJ?"
"Ask Chris,  he changes it daily." He laughed and I joined in too.
"I'm surprised you let me into your group so openly," I told him honestly. They seemed extremely close and yet they had welcomed me with open arms.
"Chris is a really nice person, he likes everyone but he took a shine to you immediately. Besides, our group was always missing a Harry."
"Nu uh, I'm not being that pretty rich kid," I objected.
"But you play the part so well," PJ joked and I could finally see why Chris and PJ got along so well. They weren't all that different but PJ was a lot better at being subtle while Chris went over the top.
Speaking of which. I turned to see Chris holding his tray in one hand and out stretching the other to indicate to the rest of the dinner hall.
"This is your new home, Daniel!" He announced.
"Okay, Christopher, but it looks... far from homely."
"Ah! My young sparrow, you haven't met the cliques yet," he used his free hand to wrap around my shoulders. I wondered how he had kept a hold on his tray so well because I nearly dropped my own on the floor.
"The cliques? Let me guess, we're the cool clique right?"
"Correctamundo." Chris bopped me on the nose before letting go of me entirely. "There you have the jocks," he pointed to a table full of people in their gym outfits.
"If you haven't realised, we're in England and those aren't jocks," I pointed out.
"Well they're on the football team. You're totally ruining my mean girls vibe!"
"Oops, carry on."
Chris tried to but it became apparent that English schools were a lot different to American ones. There were only two separate cliques, the populars and... everyone else. No one seemed to be in their own set groups. There were emo kids hanging with the nerds,  the cool Asians hanging with uncool white kids, the first years huddled together with a few of the older years who were probably their siblings. There was no set clique except for the table in the middle. Chris zoned in on that one. We sat on the outskirts of the table.
"That is where the plastics sit." Chris indicated with a fork before stabbing into a few chips.
"Are you really calling them the plastics?" PJ sighed.
"Yes, yes I am." Chris held his chin up high like he was proud of the name despite PJ's less than positive feedback. "There's three of them and they fit the stereotypes."
"Okay, who are the plastics?" I asked. I looked at the popular table and I saw two familiar faces, this didn't look good for me.
"That one there, that's Alfie Deyes. He's not the smartest tool in the box but he is a tool," Chris told me.
"I sit in front of him in maths," I informed them as I remembered him tripping me up, my stomach shifted nervously.
"Did he question the teacher why maths had letters?" PJ asked.
"Only the first thing I heard him say."
"Ooh!" Chris patted my shoulder repeatedly to get my attention. Chris had spotted the second familiar face with the populars. "The hottie walking in, that's Philip Lester."
"He's a plastic?" I asked, not even bothering to cringe at the use of Chris's unironic name given to them.
"Like you wouldn't believe. He was nice once... we used to be friends before he left us for Jessica in year 8." Chris side glanced at PJ.
"Wait, that isn't the guy you wanted to ask us about, right?" PJ asked, he must've noted the way I had been looking at him... why did he have to be so observant? Chris hadn't noticed so why did PJ have to?
"Well, um," I began.
"He's bad news!" PJ cut me off. He looked serious, more serious than usual.
"Hes also totally totally rich because his dad invented Toaster Strudel." Chris nudged into me.
"Chris!" PJ snapped, obviously irritated. "Those aren't even in the UK. Stop quoting mean girls for fuck sake! You can stop now, I think Dan's heard enough." PJ hand clenched his forks handle and his knuckles were turning as white as paper. 
"But he is rich..." Chris trailed off but perked up as PJs face softened the slightest bit. "And we haven't even gotten to the main person! See that girl draping over Phil? That's Jessica Parks."
"I know her..." I stabbed a fork into my food although I felt way too sick to actually eat anything. "She's a ditcher and she'll ruin your life."
"Wow, I couldn't have said it better myself," PJ muttered. "Everyone else on that table are wannabe populars, they hang around because Jessica allows it." He narrowed his eyes at them.
I looked up and couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as Jessica touched Phil's arm. Phil was a popular... a "plastic"... I couldn't allow myself to get mixed up with someone like him.