Posing as Popular | On Hold

Chapter 5

Lydia made sure to stay by Mei's side after History. She felt bad, since she was probably supposed to sit with Marcy and Mei clearly wanted to go find her friends, but it was the only possible way into Mei's lunch table. After all, she couldn't exactly tell Lydia no, could she?

"Cara! Cara! Are you sitting with us?" Lydia turned around and groaned inwardly. Marcy!

"Um, why don't you go sit with them?" Mei suggested. Double groan. Maybe Mei could say no after all.

"Er, uh." Lydia tried to think of a reasonable answer, but she was no good in stressful situations. "Well, she's not really in any of my classes, and you are, so maybe it would be better if I just sat with you." Lydia tried to think of something else to say. "And, um, I wanted to talk about...camp! Yeah, camp. It was fun, wasn't it? And, uh, I want to make more friends too! You know?"

Lydia watched as Marcy shook her head and said something to her friends. They started down the hall. Thank goodness. Mei shrugged reluctantly.

"Okay, I guess you can sit with us then. But, um," she lowered her voice. "Seriously. Don't make Chaise mad. She's an Aries with a heart of a Leo, she likes to be queen."

"Oh, thanks," Lydia said gratefully. "I'll keep that in mind. How should I make up with her?"

"Get her something pricey," Mei suggested. "As I said before, a total Leo. Oh, and shower her with compliments. You'll be back on her good side in no time."

"Wow, thanks a lot," Lydia replied. Mei seemed like a really nice girl. She couldn't believe that someone would be trying to kill her.

"Mei! Are you coming to lunch? Hey, who's that?"

The two girls looked up, startled, and saw a tall brunette heading their way.

"Admire my friends and you'll gain trust fast," Mei hissed, then put on a big smile for the girl.

"Oh hey Adrianna, this is, uh,"

"Cara," Lydia supplied. "I'm new. Marcy's my guide, but Mei's in all my classes so she offered to show me around, right?"

"Something like that," Mei muttered.

"Oh hi! I'm Adrianna, welcome to Chestnut High! Who have you met?"

"Um, Marcy, Mei, and Chaise so far."

"Oh yeah, Chaise was in my last class. She told me all about you," Adrianna gushed. Lydia grimaced.

"All?"

"Yup." Adrianna opened the door to the sheek cafe-style lunchroom. "Come on in. Mei can show you the food stuff, I bring my own."

"I'm going to go fix my gloss in the bathroom first," Mei told Adrianna. "Cara, come with me. You need a dab of gloss as well."
"I don't really wear-" Lydia started, but Mei grabbed her arm and dragged her to the bathroom. After a quick stall-check, she spoke.

"Okay, Adrianna is totally fake-nice. She knows how Chaise thinks of you. She's a pretty nice girl but she will tell the others in our group about you, so be careful. Jess is fierce. She will treat you fine but if the other girls start liking you more than her, she will play dirty. Alisa plants tricks on anyone not in our group. Earn her trust fast and you'll be okay. Everyone else is pretty much safe. Oh, wait, Erica is a sweetheart in front of the teachers, but her dark side comes out fast. And remember, you're only sitting with us because you already have a connection. I usually don't invite girls the first day I meet them, so don't go bringing random girls to my table. Got it?"

"Of course," Lydia cried. "Thank you so much for-"

"Shut up and let's get out of here," Mei said strictly, but there was a small smile playing on her face. Lydia grinned and followed her into the cafe. Mission accomplished.