Empyrean

For the Community

        "Ralph got pulled out of school today." Megan said blankly, staring down at her sandwich. My head shot up from tearing into macaroni and cheese. 

        "Seriously?" 

        "Yeah. Got called out during History. Jane told me." she said, propping her cheek against her hand. Her fingers fiddled with her shiny black hair like she does when she's nervous or thinking. I had noticed Ralph hadn't been at his usual lunch table, a couple rows away from ours. But I had discarded the thought immediately, like you usually do when noticing little things about people you're not close to. 

        "Do you think they took him downtown?" Susie asked, leaning forward. I glanced around the cafeteria. Now that I knew what I was looking for, there was a tension hanging in the air all throughout the room, as people's eyes kept flicking to Ralph's seat, despite the light chatter. We were all thinking of the possibilities. "You know, to the labs?"

        "Maybe. I hope not." Megan said. She poked at her sandwich, her almond eyes narrowing in thought. The bland, white lights reflected off of her round cheeks. 

        "Why?" Daniella said, sniffing and flicking blonde hair out of her eyes, "If he did get sent downtown, to the labs, than it's for the good of the community."

        "No, no, that's not what I meant." Megan replied hurriedly, as her fingers twisted faster and faster through the strands of her ponytail. "I just... I don't want Ralph to get hurt." I wanted to say something comforting, but my mind couldn't fasten around the right thing to say. 

        "It'll be okay." I said, in a lame attempt, "Ralph's tough. He can handle himself." Megan cast a thankful glance in my direction, but I could tell she didn't buy it. Truth be told, if Ralph, the star football  player and A+ student was being pulled out of school, things weren't looking good for him. It was his type of teenager that scientists in the Community were so eager to poke around with, like they were bugs under magnifying glasses. Hopefully, Ralph would come back to school in a couple of days with maybe much better eyesight or quicker math skills. But if things went wrong, as they often did in the Community, than there was a good chance we'd never see him again. 

        "He might have just gone home because he wasn't feeling well." Susie offered. 

        "No. He was called down by the principal." Megan said, her shoulders slumping. I hated to see her so defeated. Her face seemed to always be naturally smiling, her coffee-colored cheeks lit up with laughter. Her optimism was one of the things I liked most about her. But she's a feeler. If somebody was having a hard time, Megan was having a hard time.

        "For the good of the Community." Daniella repeated, puffing out her thick, dark lips and sitting up straighter. She glared at us all in turn, and primly stuck a lettuce leaf in her mouth, daring us to contradict her. I made a sloppy face in her direction, making her flinch in distaste. Sadly enough, the only reason she sat at our table was because everybody else loathed her. I'm not saying we didn't, but Megan and Susie were too nice to turn somebody away. Not to mention the two of them are flat-out scared of Daniella. 

        "It's a shame if that stuff really does happen to Ralph." Megan sighed, "He was nice. And not necessarily unattractive." I laughed, half sincerely and half trying to lighten the mood. The laugh brought a slight smile from Megan, which is a success in my book. 

        "We'll be late to class." Daniella said. She grabbed her tray and left, her ridiculously straight hair swishing behind her. Susie let out a sigh, and massaged her head. 

        "Ugh, she's a piece of work." she said, "And incredibly sincere, don't you think?"

        "Unfortunately she's right, though. We will be late to class." Megan said, standing up.