Forsaking Lilly

Chapter Twenty Five

My heart was pounding by lunchtime. I had no clue what I would do now that I'd self-ensured that me and Cooper would never talk again. It wasn't intentional, but now it was highly regretted. All during second period, I'd questioned my actions. God knew I wanted the animosity between Cooper and I to go away, but I neglected my chance to dismiss it all. I'd allowed my pride to ruin a great friendship, and now I had to deal with the consequences.

As I walked to lunch, I felt my stomach tensing more and more. I felt more nervous than I had on my date with Marcus. What would I do if I looked up and found Cooper looking directly at me? Not that I expected him to, but if it happened would I be able to function normally? My face heated as I moved towards the American line and grabbed myself a fruit salad.

I didn't stand around and look awkwardly for a table, I immediately started to head for an table. Every step made me feel pitiful, alone, and defeated. I tried to get comfortable in my seat, but I just felt restless. After a moment of staring at it, I popped open the lid to my salad and popped a melon cube in my mouth. The sweet, honey-like, taste of it met my tongue, causing my tastebuds to revel in its presence. Sadly, however, the taste wasn't enough to distract my emotions.

No matter the delights in my mouth, I was still eating alone like a social reject. A weak part of me was so caught up in how I looked, that I almost considered going to eat with Eadie and her skank mob. However, a wiser part of me thought it was best to enjoy the company of silence instead.Crunching on a watermelon chunk, I decided to stick with the wise part.

" Calla, there you are!" I was more than relieved to see Corrie placing her tray of enchiladas on the table and sitting down directly across from me. A smile plastered on her face, she twisted open her bottle of sprite and placed it on the table. " I was looking for you, seeing as you didn't go and sit at the normal table."

I shrugged my shoulders, wondering why she even expected me too. " I thought it would be weird to sit there, seeing as me and Coop aren't...talking." Corried rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

" The guys aren't even in the cafeteria," she sighed, swallowing a bite of enchilada, " Mark and the Twins went down to the woodshop to help the teacher move some of the heavy wood works, and Cooper went home early." He missed health again. I began to wonder if he was doing that to purposely avoid me. I shook my head, not wanting to think too much about it.

" So, how was your second period. You have that class with Eadie, right?"

" Yeah, but nothing really happened. We're rehearsing this play, so me and her didn't interact much."

" Thank god for that," Corrie said, taking a quick swig from her Sprite," what play are you guys doing. Maybe I'll go and see it."

" Oh, one of the students wrote it. It's about a small town and-"

" Mind if I sit here?" Corrie and I looked up at the same time to find Eadie sitting at the table with us. We watched with wide eyes as she bit an apple and chewed happily infront us. We blinked at her, shocked that she had the nerve to come near us.

Corrie was the first to speak up, and she wasn't planning on being kind. " Actually," she started, her arms folding across her chest," I mind a lot. So, why don't you just run back to your little bitch-"

" Great thing I didn't come to talk to you, huh." Eadie said the words with a laugh, and then turned her focus over to me. " I came to speak to Calla, so you can dismiss yourself." I watched as Corrie's face turned beet-red and she opened her mouth to say something possibly vulgar as she raised from her seat.

" Ah, Corrie?" Corrie's eyes darted over to meet mine, and I was able to see how much fury Eadie's words made her feel. Her whole face was twisted into anger and viciousness, which isn't something I thought Corrie was capable of. " Maybe we should hear her out?"  Corrie scoffed and sat back down, but she refused to look over in Eadie's direction.