Grace

October 27, 2016

Since I don't have Julia or any of her friends in my classes, I decided my best shot would be to catch them at dinner. Grace went to the dining hall with them all the time before everything went to shit, so I knew that they would be there for 5:00.

The dining hall was full when I got there, which made the excuse to sit with them less of an excuse and more of a need to find a spot. "Is it cool if I sit here?" I asked once I reached their table.

They agreed immediately, and with way more enthusiasm than I thought they would. I sat down and did my best to ignore the fact that Julia was sitting across from me. I reminded myself that she'll get what's coming to her. Throwing my plate at her would be satisfying for about two seconds, sure, but it would in no way ruin her life or make her at all enticed to give me the answers I need.

So I put on a friendly smile and introduced myself. "I'm Olivia Tanner."

"OMG like the Tanner family in Full House? I loved that show!"—Maia, Julia's best friend. She'll be the hardest to crack, given that they've been friends since elementary school. On the bright side, she appears to be gullible.

Aside from Maia, there are four other girls: Casey, Denise, Taylor, and Chantel. All of them are friendly and open, so I'm hoping that gaining their trust won't be that difficult.

The dinner was actually productive. I learned from an ignored phone call that Maia and her boyfriend have been on and off for years. Casey works with Julia in the school's newspaper. Denise is the smartest of the group. I didn't get much of a read on Taylor and Chantel, but I think I can work with the info I received tonight.

When dinner was coming to its end, Julia, sweet, darling Julia, invited me to the movies with them tonight.

Sounds like fun.