Chosen

Chapter Three - The New Kid In Town

|| Capella ||

It is lunchtime, and I stand in front of the masses of students with my tray of lunch, trying to decide where to sit. I look down on my tray. Neatly arranged on it are a sloppy joe, some tater tots, a salad and a bottle of sparkling water because I'm on a diet. I look back up, scanning the tables for an empty seat, when suddenly I spot it, tucked away in the back corner of the cafeteria. I take a deep breath and start walking over there.

"Hey Capella! I like your hair! Sit with me today!"

"Ella, hey! Do you want to have lunch with us?"

"Hi Ella! Here, have a seat!"

I heave a long sigh. Gosh, I'm so unpopular. No one wants to sit with me.

As I come closer to the table, I notice that someone else is sitting there. Oh well, I guess I'll have to socialise today.

"Anyone sitting here?" I ask.

The person sitting at the table looks up, and with a gasp, I realise that it's the mysterious stranger who sat next to me in AP Chemistry.

"No," he grins slyly. "Sit down. If you want."

I slump into the seat across from him and start eating my salad.

"Salad?" he asks.

"Yes," I reply. "I like salad."

He smiles. "Sorry, I did not get the chance to introduce myself in chem today. My name is Jason."

He sticks out his arm for a handshake. At the same time, I go in for a high five. I'm quirky like that. He smiles as our hands awkwardly touch, then looks at me expectantly.

"Me? Oh, yeah. I'm Cappie- haha, wait, nobody calls me Cappie. I'm Capella- I mean, Ellie- no, Ella. Well, my name is Capella, named after the brightest star in the constellation of Auriga, but my friends- I mean, friend, calls me Ella for short." I blurt.

Jason laughs. The sound was so melodic and graceful, and his contagious smile went all the way up to his green eyes. It didn't suit his bad boy appearance at all.

"Are you new?" I ask. "I've never seen anyone else in Mockingjayville with green eyes before!" That was weird, I thought. I shouldn't have said that.

"Yeah, I moved here a few days ago." He seemed unfazed by my strange observation. "Anyway, you are really smart. You answered all of the questions in chem!" he says.

"Me? Smart? Oh, no... You're probably really smart in your own way!" His eyes widen. "Oh! I didn't mean it in a bad way," I quickly add. "I just meant-"

"No, no, it is fine. I am much better at English than I am at science. I am quite fond of poetry. It is a pity that no more books are around anymore. I would have liked to read one, especially if it was written by a poet." he says.

"Oh! I know just the place! I can show you after school!" I immediately blurt out. My hands clamp over my mouth. Stupid, I think. Nobody should know about my secret library. Not even Casper knows about it. Ever since paper was outlawed at the end of the war, it was illegal to even read a book. These days, we just use tablets. Having a total stranger accompany me to this place was dangerous, and it was foolish of me to have mentioned it.

I opened my mouth to rectify my mistake when Jason's eyes lit up. "Sure," he said. "I'll pick you up at the front entrance. How do you feel about motorbikes?"