Beyond The Rift

Chapter 35: Cafeteria Hijinks

The day goes on longer than usual for Cameron. Typically, he would take a nap and wait for lunch to come so he could converse with Heather, and then wait even more for school to end. Today, though, Cameron couldn't look forward to talking with Heather, meaning he didn't have anyone or anything to get him through the day. Due to this inconvenience, the teacher seemed to talk slower, more questions seemed to be directed towards him, and many other annoyances seemed to occur more often than usual.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity to Cameron, the lunch bell finally rings. Slowly moving from his seat, Cameron heads to the lunch room as he knows that he is going to sit alone. He knows that he is going to sit alone in a room full of people, people who have many friends that they can converse with at any time of the day. Cameron envies that, having many people to rely on and trust, he wished he could have what the others have... Finding a seat in the corner of the cafeteria, Cameron sits down and starts to eat.

Not along after sitting down though, Cameron notices a small group forming near him. Knowing not to get involved in whatever is going on, Cameron decides to just observe the disturbance. He can't see much, of course, due to all of the people surrounding whatever is going on, but he can see enough. What Cameron gathers from what he sees doesn't surprise him in the slightest, the jocks of the school have gone over to where Abigail, the new girl, is sitting. It seems like one of the them is trying to hit on her by trying to put his arm over her shoulder and most likely sweet talk her, and it seems like she is having none of it.

Whenever the dude tries to make a move, Abigail would just subtly shift away or raise her arm to push him away. The jock attempts this maneuver several more times, doing the same thing each time, before getting frustrated. He can't seem to understand why his approach isn't working, most likely because he has done this before with other chicks. Apparently not knowing what else to do, he goes in to hug Abigail. Why, Cameron doesn't know... But that move is something that will hurt his masculinity for a while.

As the jock attempts to move closer, Abigail makes a jerk reaction and kicks him right in the pride. A yelp emits through the cafeteria, causing everyone to stop talking and look to see where it came from. What the room sees is a man clutching his pride and joy and slowly sink to the floor. After a few moments of stunned silence, a snicker comes from somewhere, then another is heard, and soon everyone is laughing, some even rolling on the floor. Knowing that their friend's respect amongst the rest of the class is tanking by the second, and not wanting to be involved with him, the group surrounding Abigail quickly disperses, leaving an emotionally scarred and physically pained teen reconsidering his approach on life.