Locked

Chapter 3

When I get to the cafeteria, I see that, as usual, Lilli hasn't made it to our table yet, so I set my things down at my seat and go get in line.

Lunch today is mac & cheese with sweet potato fries and green beans on the side. It sounds fine, but the artificial cheese it way too sticky, the fries are always either under or overcooked, and the vegetables are always soggy. I get the macaroni anyway, and grab a decent-looking banana and and a chocolate chip muffin to go with it.

As I walk back to my table, I see that Lilli, who always brings a sack lunch, is already there, eating. A closer look also informs me that Toby is sitting next to her. Great. I already have to deal with this guy in English, now he's sitting at our table. Maybe he'll leave soon.

I reach our table, and set my lunch down with a little more force than I intended. "Lilli, may I have a word with you over there, please?" I nod my head over to the corner of the cafeteria as I say the last part of my sentence.

Lilli looks hesitant to come with me. "Umm, ok. Stay here Toby, I'll be right back."

"I'll be eagerly awaiting your return!" he replies with a two-fingered salute and a bit too much enthusiasm.

"Will do," says Lilli, before walking off with me.

I lead Lilli over to the secluded corner. "Seriously? Lunch too?" I ask, and she knows exactly what I'm talking about.

"He had nowhere else to sit! He hasn't met anyone besides us!" She's getting defensive, but I don't care. My point needs to be proven.

"Yeah, but I liked it when it just us at our table. It would've been fine if you'd invited pretty much anyone else, but Toby is totally unlikeable!"

"Seriously?" she says. I nod my head in response. "Ok, name one thing about him that's unlikeable."

I didn't think this would be as hard as it is, but I can't show Lilli that I'm struggling. "He's over-enthusiastic about literally everything, and it's kind of annoying."

"Come on, that's one of his better qualities. It makes him entertaining."

I can't believe Lilli is against me on this. And on Toby's side, of all people. "Fine. He stole my seat on the bus, and you just let him take it!"

I literally see the switch flip on in her head. "That's why you don't like him," she says. "Because he sat by me on the bus this morning."

"That is definitely not it," I say. Now it's my turn to be defensive.

"Oh that is so it and you know it!" she says, playfully poking me in the stomach. Then something in her face changes.

"Or maybe you're just jealous that I got to ask him to eat with us instead of you asking him."

I feign surprise. "Me? Jealous? Why oh why would I ever be jealous?" I say, adding a failed southern accent as the icing on the cake.

Lilli laughs. "Oh come on. Even you have to admit that he's kind of cute."

We both turn to look at him. He's not just cute, like Lilli said. He's not even hot. He's beautiful; his very existence emits a light brighter than a star fallen from heaven. The stark contrast of the bright blue eyes and the dark brown hair mixed with that goofy, lopsided smile make him breathtaking.

I turn back to Lilli, whom I notice has already turned around. "Ok, fine maybe he is 'cute.' But that doesn't mean we have to eat lunch with him."

"No, but we're the only people he knows so far. We should at least let him stay until he makes other friends to sit with."

She, unfortunately, makes a very good point. "Ok. He can stay."

Lilli sighs in relief. "Thank you."

We walk back over to the table and sit down without saying anything to Toby about our little field trip, though, I suspect he's already figured out what went down over there. He flashes us a big, bright smile and asks, "Everything fine and dandy, ladies?"

"Yep," we reply in unison.

We eat in silence for a while, and then Toby asks me how my chemistry class went.
"Good, I guess. We're learning about ionic and covalent bonds, which are pretty easy, given how boring they are." Lilli's point really did get through to me. Toby has no other people to hang out with, so I might as well be nice to him. "How was yours?"

He puts a hand over his heart. "A terrible bore, without you to entertain me," he says dramatically.

I roll my eyes, and when I look back at him, I am struck again by how beautiful he is. Suddenly I want to reach out and touch him, need to reach over the table and touch him. It's like there's some invisible force pulling me toward him. It's difficult but I resist, and return to reality.

I notice that Toby is looking at me funny. At first, I think he caught me staring, but something about the look on his face is different. I wonder, then, if he had the same feeling I just had, that feeling of urgency, of want, of need.

The thought is fleeting, however, because Toby soon blinks it off, and smiles, and we stand up to leave before the bell rings and we get stuck in the crush of people trying to get in and out of the cafeteria doors.

As we walk toward the exit, Lilli catches my eye and flicks her eyebrows up as if to say "what just happened?" I shrug faintly in response, so Toby won't notice our silent conversation. She gives me a look that I instantly recognize as "he likes you," and I roll my eyes in response. But the seed of doubt in my stomach begins to grow and blossom.