In A Song

September 1st

I grab a faded blue tray. "...And then, Mr. Folger jumped out at us. I screamed a little."

Collin laughs. "Sounds like he's an exciting teacher."

I know, I'm talking to Collin normally, without blushing or feeling nervous or anything. I'm shocked, too. But truly, I'm just telling him about Mr. Folger, since Collin has him for fifth period. And it's not really anything I should be nervous about.

I passed by Collin on the way to French, my only other class without either Artie, Aria, and Thom, along with math. Turns out, we have that class together. We became friends when Mrs. LaVonne paired us up to recite verbs. I found out he didn't have anyone to hang out with at lunch, so I invited him to come eat with my group. Let's hope this goes well, since I remember Artie's reaction to Collin.

I survey the long minibar with food. It looks so much better then my old school's, whose burgers tasted like warm cat food. I smell the buttery burger from here. It looks really good, and supermegafoxyawesomehot, but I choose a salad with a Vitamin Water. Trying to be ladylike and healthier was my goal for freshman year.

I spot my group at a table far away, next to a beautiful mosaic of a ship on roaring waves. "Hey guys!" I say cheerfully, plopping my tray down and sitting next to Thom, who has his laptop out. "What's up?"

"Thom's pissed 'cause he still can't download Minecraft," Aria informs me.

"I see." I begin digging into my salad. "Where's Artie?"

"Retrieving his lunch from his locker," Thom says, eyes focused on the screen.

Collin puts his tray down in front of me. Aria's eyes go wide. She shoots me a glance before saying, "Hey" to him.

Collin waves.

"Oh, guys, this is Collin Brown. I invited him to eat with us today," I say with a mouth full of Romaine.

"I'm Aria Winters," Aria says. "This is Thom Lovett." She gestures to Thom.

Thom looks up. "Hi, whoever you are."

Artie comes and sits down next to me. "Hey." He grins, but his smile fades a little when he sees Collin. "What's he doing here?"

I glare at him. "I invited him. Don't be mean."

"Okay, jeez," he replies, still smiling but with a little less enthusiasm.

I face Collin. "As I was saying, Mr. Folger made us write down the variations of theatre or something. You're probably gonna do the same thing."

"Ah." Collin nods and begins digging into his burger. I feel a surge of sadness, the same pain I get when I think about Sara. Salads aren't as good. That burger looks really good.

Collin just stares at me a bit with his beautiful blue eyes. Our gazes lock, and I feel myself blushing and giggling.

"So!" Artie says loudly, obviously to ruin the goddamn moment. "What electives did you take?"

In my mind, I shoot him in the face with a BB gun eight times, but I soon forgive him. "Chorus, Acting, and Guitar."

"You?" Artie asks Collin.

"Uh, Acting, Guitar," Collin says, numbering them on his fingers. "And Stage Tech."

I see Artie wince. There might be a possibility they have the same class period. I smile evilly in my mind. Payback to Artie for being such a butthead.

"Aha!" Thom yells. I jump and Aria says, "Did it download?"

"Yes!" Thom leans over and hugs her across the table. I smile and murmur, "Awwwww."