One For The Road

Chapter Three

Finding a place to sit in the cafeteria was even harder on the second day than it had been on the first.

You see, on the first day, there are always still a handful of people who miss the first day because of vacation. I felt as if the whole school did feel fuller today, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. Plus, I was a part of a mixed lunch. I had people from all four grades in this lunch hour, which hadn't been much of a problem before, but today the freshmen seemed to have a better idea of who would fit into what cliques. There were more people at each table, and not as many scattered randomly so I could take a seat and eat in peace.

"You look lost."

I turned to see Heidi standing behind me. In the back of my mind, I processed the fact that I was standing in the middle of a school cafeteria, blankly looking from one table to another.

"Not lost," I said with a shrug. "Just... analyzing."

"If you can't find a place to sit, you can sit with my group of friends," she offered. "There aren't many of us."

"Where do you sit?"

"Follow me."

She weaved through the tables and people with such skill, and I had to fight to keep up with her. She knew her way around much better than I did.

She led me to a table in the corner of the cafeteria. Four people were seated around the table, and all of them grinned as Heidi approached. Just was sitting at the table, and I recognized the others from my chemistry class.

"Who's this?" asked a boy with brunette hair and crystal blue eyes.

"This is Chase," Heidi replied, taking a seat at the table. I sat next to her. "He's in our chem class," she continued, "and he's pretty nice."

"I'm not nice," I countered immediately. A blonde girl snickered.

"Anyways," Heidi continued as if I hadn't said anything, "I think he'll be sitting with us for the rest of the year, at least."

She began introducing me to her small group of friends. I already knew Just, but she introduced me to Dan, the boy with brown hair and blue eyes. The blonde girl was named Gabby, who had one brown eye and one deep blue eye. When I pointed it out, she said, "I take great pride in the uniqueness of my situation," which I thought was pretty cool. There was also Chris, someone with purple hair and a kind smile.

"It's dyed," Dan assured me about Chris's hair. "He does it for the aesthetic."

Chris snorted.

"Well, would you look at that," a voice said from behind us. "It's the gay sitting with the other gays."

I turned to see Jacob, and though I was disappointed, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. This would be a tough year, huh?

"Sorry, but I don't think he's sitting with you, so I don't know what you're talking about," Gabby said sweetly.

"You think you're so funny." He stared at her coldly. "And you think you're so cool, but you're sitting with a group of people who can't even fend for themselves. Stop being cringey. You aren't cool."

In one fluid motion, he reached over and snatched Heidi's lunch tray from the table, tipping its contents onto the floor with a clatter. "Oops," he gasped mockingly as he dropped he tray on top. "Guess you won't have to eat anything today, fatty. Maybe it's better for you." Heidi's eyes shine with tears that she was clearly trying to hold back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled. "What makes you think picking on innocent people is okay?"

"It's not like they can fight back," he snorted, as if the answer were obvious. "They're weak little animals."

"Weak little animals," I repeated lowly. Was he serious?

"Chase," Just said in a hushed tone. "Ignore him. He's trying to get under your skin."

I knew that. And somewhere, in the back of my head, a little voice was telling me no, don't let it get to you, just sit there and eat your lunch. Don't engage.

Don't engage.

"And what about you? I bet you're just as weak."

Don't engage.

"Are you like Heidi? Do you have a brother who bullies you to no end because you're too weak to fight back, and you deserve it?"

Heidi let out a strangled sob as she turned back to the table, where Gabby immediately pulled her into a hug, glaring daggers at Jacob.

Don't engage.

"Or are you like Dan, who still cries about his sister because he's a little whiny baby?"

"Take that back," Chris growled. "Take it back right now."

Don't. Engage.

"What's your problem, Chase? Huh? You're just as screwed over as the rest of these losers." He looked at everyone at the table in turn. "The world would be better off without you."

I could tell that hit everyone at the table like a ton of bricks, and I could also tell that what he'd said wasn't true. This seemed like a great group of people, and he had absolutely no business going around telling people things like that. The worse part was that they all seemed to believe him.

"At least I have the public decency to not tell awful lies," I muttered lowly. I could feel my fangs poking at my lip and my tongue, my eyes narrowing. "What makes you think you can go around talking to people like that? You don't even know them that well."

"And you know them?" He actually laughed. "Trust me, you'll see how bad they are in time."

"You dirtwipe. How about you actually clean up Heidi's lunch now? Because with that mindset, you're not going to end up going anywhere in life. May as well start preparing for your janitorial job now."

I don't know who threw the first punch, but I do know that we both ended up in the principal's office with bloody noses and black eyes.

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oof sorry about not updating for like two weeks