Big Girl Boots

Seven

"You ready for lunch?" I asked Coda, placing my hands on my hips. The rhinestones on either side seam of my jeans dug into my palms and I moved them to my pockets instead.

She shrugged and slammed her locker shut with a sullen expression.

I gave her a look through slightly narrowed eyes and debated whether or not I wanted to get into it with my best friend right now. While the issue needed to be addressed soon, my stomach growled obnoxiously and I decided to just drop it and wait until dinner when Kellan and mama Callie could back me up if things got bad. Not that I really expected our friendship to blow up, but Coda seemed pretty pissed at me (and the world in general, excluding Wyatt).

Kellan appeared before I could say anything dumb and dropped his heavy backpack to the ground with a grunt. "You guys ready?"

I nodded, turning on my heel to point us in the direction of the cafeteria.

We had class all the way upstairs right before lunch which meant we typically ended up at the end of the line. By the time we shuffled over with our red plastic trays of sloppy joes and carrot sticks, Dustie and Wayne were already halfway through their meals. I acknowledged the siblings with a nod and plopped down to Dustie's right. Kellan took a seat on Wayne's left, leaving the chair in between the two of us open for Coda.

"The food any good?" I asked, picking up the questionable sandwich on the tray in front of me.

Dustie shrugged and tore off another bite of hers. Wayne glanced up and spoke in his quiet, measured voice. "They're okay."

Nodding, I took a bite of my own and we sat in silence.

It was obvious that neither of the Gibbs siblings really wanted to be at Fairview High School, not that I could blame them; I felt the same way. During the handful of days they'd sat with us, quiet and sullen seemed to be the only emotions they possessed. Attitudes aside, I'd gotten to know them somewhat in the meantime.

Dustie was a junior like the three of us and her little brother was a sophomore. They'd grown up in a rodeo family, but that was a much as I knew when it came to their home lives. What I had come to learn was that Dustie struggled just as much as I did in school. Being in the same grade, we had mostly similar classes but her electives placed us in opposite hours. By the sly but disdainful look Coda was shooting her from over top of the messy sandwich in her hands, I figured she thanked her lucky stars for that on a daily basis.

Always one to wear her heart on her sleeve, my best friend didn't do a very good job at hiding her dislike for the new kids. From the standoffish way Dustie treated her, I figured it didn't go unnoticed.

Even though she hadn't said anything yet, I could tell that Dustie wasn't one to back down from a challenge. Wayne, on the other hand, was the total opposite. From what I'd seen, the hazel-eyed underclassmen had a quiet way about him. He made every possible effort to stay unnoticed in our tiny school, which was not an easy feat. Kellan and I had found that out on our first day when the principal requested that each new kid introduce themselves to the entire school.

I swallowed most of a mouthful, rolling a piece of gristle on the roof of my mouth with disgust. "Are any of you guys understanding science?"

Coda silently shook her head, keeping her eyes trained on the table, and Kellan replied with an amused smile. "Nope, but we might if we actually paid attention instead of throwing paper at Turner."

I rolled my eyes and turned to Dustie. "Are you?"

Her nose wrinkled like she'd just smelled something nasty and she pushed the food in her mouth to one side. "No, and I hate that class. It doesn't make any fucking sense and the teacher's useless."