When I made it to the cafeteria four hours later, Chloe was waiting for me at our usual table. It had enough seats for four people, but we usually sat alone. Unlike me, Chloe did have other friends at school, but none of them were in this lunch period.
I’d technically known Chloe since middle school, but we hadn’t been friends then. I’d been more of a loner, and she’d run in the popular circles. When we ended up at the same high school where neither of us knew many people, we started hanging out and our opposite vibes just worked. Chloe had made many more friends since then, but she still considered me her best friend.
With Chloe’s bubbly personality, wit, and sense of style, she could easily have fit in with the popular crowd at this school. She was a lot like Emery had been, in that way. She even resembled Emery a bit, with her blonde hair and slim build. She could’ve blended right in with the cheerleaders—in fact, those popular cheerleader girls who’d transferred in this year were in this lunch period, and I was sure Chloe would’ve been welcomed at their lunch table—but Chloe was confident enough not to care what others thought of her for hanging out with the school lit nerd, and she said that once she’d gotten to know me, she actually preferred my company. She found my deep knowledge of useless literary trivia fascinating, weird as that was, and she and I got along really well. Honestly, it reminded me a little of those memes about how introverts make friends by getting adopted by extroverts. She’d adopted me, then quickly become my best friend. And for some inexplicable reason, she seemed to like being my best friend.
Go figure.
She spotted me as I made my way through the crowded cafeteria toward her with my armful of textbooks.
“Aubs!” She smiled and waved, then pulled the seat out for me so I could sit down.
I dropped my stack of books on the table. “Hey.”
Chloe studied me. “You’re in your head again, aren’t you?”
“Am I ever not?”
She laughed. “Good point. I hope you packed lunch today, because they’re serving a mystery mush.” She gestured to her tray of cafeteria food with a wince. The food looked like something that might once have been pot roast, over a lumpy mass of something that was probably derived from potatoes. Or at least meant to look like it was.
“Ew,” I said, then opened my lunch bag and pulled out a bowl of fruit salad and a couple of my mom's signature chicken kebabs left from dinner the night before. “I’ll share if you want.”
Chloe smiled, but shook her head. “That’s okay. You know me, I’m adventurous.” She shoveled in a mouthful of the mush, chewed for a moment, then swallowed. “It’s not that bad, really.”
I laughed. “I’ll take your word for it.”
She went back to happily eating her slop, which was such a Chloe thing to do. Nothing ever seemed to phase her, not even my grief. When we lost Emery, Chloe and I hadn’t been close for very long, but she was the first person who showed up. As the police came and went with their questions, Chloe sat by me on my front porch without a word—which was a feat for her, because she usually never stopped talking. That day, she was just there, so I wouldn’t be alone. And she’d been there again for me, whenever I’d needed it, ever since.
She might never know how much that meant to me, but it was one of the many reasons that, other than my parents, Chloe was the person I trusted most in the world.
Chloe had the fork midway to her mouth for another bite of mush when she stopped. “Oh, there’s… Collin? That’s his name, right? Lockley’s brother?”
I followed her stare toward the cafeteria entrance. “Yeah, it’s Collin.” I’d never seen him in this lunch period before. Maybe his schedule had gotten changed.
I watched him scan the room, looking for a seat. My instinct to be kind and offer for him to sit with us was battling hard with my desire not to be scowled at while I ate my chicken. I wasn’t proud of it, but the latter argument was sort of winning.
Chloe glanced over at me. “Should we ask if he—-”
I sighed. “I’m on it.” Because she was right, we should ask if he wanted to sit with us. It’s what I’d hope someone would do for me if they were the only person I knew at a new school. It was what Chloe had done for me.
Collin was already weaving through the crowds, looking for a place to sit.
I caught up to him on the far side of the room, near the senior-year jocks’ table and their crowd of fawning cheerleaders—including the three new ones who had transferred in.
“Collin!” I called just loud enough for him to hear me over the din of lunch conversations. “Wait up.”
He turned. “Aubrey.” He seemed surprised to see me, if not exactly ecstatic.
Our conversation caught the attention of the cheerleaders, and their gazes drifted our way.
“Do you want to come sit with Chloe and me?” I asked him, shifting my feet under the sudden scrutiny of an audience. “We have space.”
Collin studied me for a moment, then shook his head. “No, thanks. I can find my own spot.”
One of the jocks barked a laugh. “Oof! Rejected!” the jock called out—and suddenly everyone was looking at us.
Collin’s expression morphed into a sort of panic that looked like he’d rather be tortured than be seen standing there talking to me.
I felt my face go beet red. “Nevermind. That’s fine.” I backed away as quickly as I could, attempting a swift retreat back to my lunch table where I could return to being invisible—but I tripped over someone’s backpack and nearly face-planted before I caught myself on the table.
A roar of laughter erupted.
Collin lurched forward, like he was going to try to help steady me, but dropped back when he saw I had my footing.
My face flushed burning-hot as I beelined for my table—which no longer had Chloe at it. Where was Chloe?
My hands itched for the pepper spray my dad made me keep in my backpack—not that public humiliation could be pepper sprayed, but panic mode isn’t exactly logical.
Chloe appeared at my side. “Keep your thoughts to yourself, you cretin!” she yelled at the jock behind us, then shot a glare at Collin before putting a hand on my arm. “Forget them, Aubrey.” She tugged me back toward our table.
“Aubrey, wait—” Collin started, trailing after us.
Maybe it was the abject humiliation, but Collin’s dumb face suddenly made me furious. I spun back to look at him. “I was trying to be nice,” I snapped. “Not that you’d understand that.”
He jerked back a little and blinked.
I almost felt bad—my words had shot out with more venom than I intended. Honestly, I hadn’t meant to say it at all.
From Collin’s expression, he hadn’t been prepared for it… but he’d been a jerk to me since the day I met him. If he couldn’t take a little honest criticism, that was on him.
Movement from the cafeteria monitor, Mr. Greel, caught my line of sight. He was ambling toward us, probably trying to decide whether he needed to intervene.
“Come on, Aubs,” Chloe said.
Just as I turned to follow her back to the table, one of the long-time cheerleaders, a girl called Mallory I’d never particularly liked—and who famously changed her nail polish according to the holidays and seasons (this week’s had little spring flowers on them)—stood up and yelled over the crowd. “If you want an upgrade from the nerd, New Boy, you’re welcome to sit by me.”
Her words shocked me enough that I stopped a moment to look back at her. She stared right at Collin with a heavy dose of flirtation.
“Take the upgrade, New Kid!” some guy yelled, and the cafeteria burst out in laughter again.
Whatever shreds of dignity I had remaining shriveled up and died. I flipped back into flight mode, hurrying to get back to my table so I could melt into the floor and pretend I didn’t exist.
“Uh—no. I’m just gonna go sit… over there,” Collin said from behind me, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Your loss,” I heard the girl call after him.
It eased the humiliation a little that he had rejected her offer, too.
But not by much.
“This is lunch, not drama hall. Back to your seats!” Mr. Greel’s gruff voice called out, but Chloe and I were already almost back to our table.
I slipped into my chair as quickly as possible and tried to disappear into it.
Chloe plopped down into her chair with a huff. “What’s with that guy?”
“Mr. Greel?” I mumbled, trying to ignore the lingering eyes of the students at the tables near us.
“No,” Chloe said, jabbing her fork into the pile of mush. “Collin. He lives two doors down from you, and you carpool together! It’s not like he can pretend he doesn’t know you. Why’s he being such a jerk?”
“Who knows,” I said, then opened my fruit salad, determined to pretend the last few minutes had never happened.
“Is he always like that?”
I looked up to see Chloe watching me.
I shrugged. “Yeah. Well—” Our brief encounter outside the car this morning popped into my head. “I mean, usually.” I sighed. “I don’t know what his deal is. Lockley says he’s nice deep down, but all he ever does is scowl at me. This afternoon I actually have to ride home with him alone. Not looking forward to that.”
Chloe’s eyes widened. “Uh—no. I’d give you a ride myself, but I have a dentist appointment right after school.” She paused. “Hey, why don’t you come with me? It’ll be boring, but at least you won’t have to ride with the jerk—oh, shoot!” She interrupted herself, hissing in a breath between her teeth. “I forgot it’s Monday. You’ve got your show. I have to leave right after school, and it might take me a couple of hours. You’d be waiting forever for me to come back to get you. Any chance you could reschedule your show to tomorrow or something? I know your show is important—but maybe just once? I’d hate for you to be stuck alone with that jerk. People will understand that life happens, right?”
For a moment, I actually considered trying to get out of my radio show just to avoid having to ride home with Collin. But then I shook my head. “No. The show’s on a regular schedule, and we’re gaining listeners now. I can’t skip it. Thanks, but I’ll be okay. It’s just a ride home.”
Chloe studied me. “You sure? Collin’s not scary or anything, is he? Like, dangerous?”
A small laugh escaped me. “Not unless you can die from scowls and sarcasm.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Really, I’ll be fine.” I’d never felt threatened by Collin at all; he was just rude. That wasn’t uncommon at this school… or even in this lunch period. I smiled at her. “Thanks for coming to my defense today.”
She smiled back. “Always!” She lowered her voice. “And if things get weird with Collin this afternoon, tell him I know where he lives.”
I laughed. “Now that, I’m sure, will terrify him.”
She grinned at me, then shoved another bite of the mush into her mouth.
It really wasn’t a big deal to ride home with Collin. I knew he wasn’t dangerous—except to my pride and peace of mind—and even I could endure a few minutes of deeply awkward silence on a car ride, which is probably what would happen. But as I glanced up to find Collin in my line of sight at a table in the corner, glaring at his sandwich with an even deeper scowl than usual, I had to admit I still wasn’t looking forward to it.
Oh, well. If he got too annoying on the drive home, I could always pepper spray him.
***
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