chapter 7

after an hour of heart break, the ear piercing bell rung, signaling for lunch time. I was starving from skipping breakfast. Until I feasted my eyes upon the green and brown slop served in the cafeteria.

“ green or brown vitamins?” said the unenthusiastic lunch man with a uni brow.

“excuse me?”

“green or brown?!” he said irritably again.

I paused. “um... green I guess.”

he scooped up a blob of steaming jello and splat in onto my tin lunch plate.

“thanks.”

he ignored me. “NEXT!”

I scanned the cafeteria for Paul. No where in sight. Probably skipping to lock lips with Juliet the jerk.

“there’s a table.” said Ruth pointing to a round table over by the garbage cans with a few geeky loners sitting spread out from each other.

“fine.”

the geeks stared at us through their glasses and tangled hair but said nothing.

I cleared my throat. “mind if we sit here?”

they looked at each other. “why not?” said a girl with black hair and makeup. She played with a ring in her nose connected by a tiny chain to her ear lobe.

“thanks. I like your piercing.”

she grinned. “did it myself. Should have seen it, blood every where.” she snatched a green bean off my plate with her black painted nails. “say, you look like you should be sitting with Juliet and her followers. Not with a bunch of misfits.”

I scoffed. “i wouldn't sit there if I got an invitation handed to me.”

“right.” her hand fist bumped mine. “ So, you have a name?”

“ Daina and Ruth.”

she nodded. “cool. I'm Hope but my teachers call me Hopeless.”

“ schools not your walk in the park?”

“ man, I’d rather be sleeping right now.”

“ I could cheer for that.”

she raised her paper cup full of energy water. “cheers!”

I lifted mine up to and touched it to hers.

Juliet strolled by. “Losers...” she sang.

“ B***h walking!” hollered Hope with her hands cupped around her mouth.

“ freak talking!” Juliet yelled back.

Everyone laughed pointing at Hope who shrank back down into her seat, slipping her head under her arms. “i hate her. She's always making comments about about me and when we're partnered up for missions.... never mind. Forget I said anything.”

“what do you mean by missions?” said Ruth with her mouth full of brown.

Hope tapped her nails on the table nervously. She turned red as a rose petal. “it's nothing.”

“doesn't seem like nothing.” Ruth pushed.

“i told you its nothing! She brushed her bangs back. “sorry about exploding about that.” she chewed on her thumb nail. “ I’m not supposed to do this.” she squeaked to herself. She looked into my eyes. “ meet me behind the school later today once class is out. alone”

“why?” I asked uneasy.

“just do it!” she hissed stumbling over a chair as she walked out of the lunch room.