She hated lunch. It was the worst part of school. Now, this wasn't the normal thinking of high school students. In fact, most high school students would cite lunch as one of their favorite times of day (the other time being when school let out). Allyson, however, liked any and all classes more than she liked the lunch period.
There were two reasons for this. One reason being that she understood and actually enjoyed all of her classes. Science and math presented her with problems that could be easily solved with the right tools and motivation. Her history class presented her with a story, with stories inside of it, and even more stories inside of those stories, and it was her job to find a thread that she could follow through every one. Her English class was just fun. She got to read stories all class, and the fact that they were usually in some form of weird ancient English didn't bother her a bit. If anything it made reading them more fun. By far her favorite class, though, was journalism. There she got to write stories of her own. She had to research, investigate, and keep going until she got her answers. She got to figure out the puzzle that was laid and figuring out puzzles was what Allyson loved to do the most.
Allyson's aversion to lunch wasn't only because she enjoyed her classes; she hated lunch period because she did well in her classes. This coupled with the fact that she always knew the answer in class, and the fact that all the teachers loved her made Allyson's lunch very lonely. All of her peers were intimidated by her. They all thought she was some sort of goody-goody, know-it-all, stuck up weirdo and they avoided her because of it (unless, of course, they needed help with their homework). This is why Allyson hated the lunch period so much. She had no one to sit with or talk to. In class it didn't bother her because she was busy solving some puzzle, but during lunch, when she had to sit by herself, she really felt the differences between her and the rest of the student body. That was why she always tried to skip it. Today, however, was one of those rare days when she couldn't escape to the library or computer lab.
Her parents had decided that she didn't have enough friends - Who are they kidding? I don't have any friends - so they talked to the guidance counselor, who in turn told Allyson's teachers that she was not allowed to skip lunch and she was no longer allowed to work by herself all the time. She had tried to talk her teachers out of it when the bell rang for lunch, but it was no good.
So now besides having no one to sit with she was also going to be late which was why she was nervously standing outside the cafeteria doors. She cast one more imploring look at the teacher on duty and, after receiving a negative response to her unspoken pleading, she entered the one place she dreaded the most.
As soon as Allyson walked in all eyes turned to her. She fought down a blush and scanned the tables for someone who might let her sit with them. After failing to find anyone, Allyson made her way to the front of the cafeteria to get her food. As soon as she got her tray she started walking towards the only empty table - the one right next to the janitors' closet. Before she even made it halfway there she was stopped by the one person she really didn't want to see.
"Ah, Allyson, I'm so glad you made it. Now where do you want to sit…and don't even think about sitting by yourself. Your parents want you to interact more so that is just what you are going to do. Now where do you want to sit? Oh I know, just follow me and we'll just get you settled."
It was Mrs. Davis the guidance counselor who was a no nonsense, friend to everyone kind of person. Plus she talked so fast Allyson was really surprised she hadn't fainted due to lack of oxygen. Allyson barely stifled her groan, but she obediently followed. However, when she saw where Mrs. Davis was headed she couldn't stop the groan that came. The Cheerleaders. Why did Mrs. Davis have to pick the cheerleaders?
"Mrs. Davis, why don't I go sit with them?" she said gesturing with her tray to some of the people in her advanced chemistry class. Mrs. Davis looked to where Allyson was indicating and shook her head.
"No, you need to interact with other people outside of your classes. These girls are very friendly and they know everyone at Redmond and I'm sure they'd be happy to help you get settled back into socializing again." Without waiting for a reply Mrs. Davis kept walking towards the only people in the whole school who Allyson really couldn't stand. They were always starting rumors about her. Last week she heard one where she was sleeping with her chemistry teacher for her good grade. Oh please, like I need to sleep my way to an A. She was still a little bitter about that one.
"Here we are. Girls this is Allyson, I'm sure you've met before. She needs somewhere to sit today…do you think you could help us out? Thanks ever so much. Allyson you'll be fine here. Bye girls." Without so much as a look to see if the girls were as accepting of this arrangement as she wanted to believe, Mrs. Davis was gone. Allyson stared at the spot where the disillusioned counselor had just stood and muttered underneath her breath, "Just like magic."
"What was that hun?" Allyson faced the group of girls with a little hesitation, but tried to keep herself under control. These girls are like animals, they can smell fear, she reminded herself as she saw the vicious look in their eyes. "Why don't you sit down and we'll all get to know each other better." That had to be Miranda, the leader of the pack, possibly the most ruthless and shallow person Allyson had ever met. The others wouldn't dare talk without her permission.
Despite her misgivings, Allyson sat down at the table instead of running for the door like she wanted to. She knew Mrs. Davis could reappear just as fast as she disappeared. "So, hun, what brings you out of the chemistry room?" All the followers, whom Allyson considered sheep, giggled at the tasteless joke. Allyson chose to ignore it.
"Mrs. Davis felt I needed to interact more with our classmates." She regretted saying anything as soon as she saw the malicious gleam that appeared in Miranda's eyes.
"So has Mrs. Davis decided to help all the losers in this school, or just the Queen?" Again the sheep all giggled like that was the funniest thing they had ever heard. Allyson, again, chose to ignore the insult and she kept eating. When she saw that her prey wasn't going to fight back Miranda decided to go in for the kill…so to speak.
"So Allyson, how's Mr. Reynolds?" Allyson rolled her eyes but answered.
"He's fine, why do you ask?" Allyson really didn't like that look in Miranda's eyes.
"Well it's just that I heard from a very reliable source that you left the Chemistry room very late yesterday." Allyson closed her eyes and took a deep breath. You will not sink to their level. "And now that I think about it, don't you have a test in there tomorrow?" Breathe Allyson, just concentrate on your breathing. "What were you doing in there so late? An extra study session before the test?" Breathe in and out, just ignore her. "Or where you, shall we say, doing him a favor that will keep you grade up?"
At that Allyson snapped. "I'm sure you could ask Mr. Reynolds all about that when you show up for your meeting with him this afternoon. If I'm not mistaken you're failing that class, right?" While Miranda and the other cheerleaders gasped in shock - How dare anyone expose their faults - Allyson picked up her bag and turned to leave. "And Miranda? Mr. Reynolds grades fair and you know it. You're just jealous." And amid the indignant gasps, and outraged denial, Allyson exited the hated cafeteria.
When she got out into the hall she raced for the nearest bathroom. After splashing cold water on her face, she stared at her reflection. "Why can't I find just person, just one, who would understand me?" She shook her head at her how depressed and lonely she sounded, and straightened up to leave. Then all of a sudden her reflection was replaced by a dark haired, brown eyed, sad looking young man. Allyson stared at it in shock and just as quickly as it had come the vision was gone. Allyson blinked a couple of times then dismissed the whole thing as a product of her over active imagination.
As she was leaving the bathroom a bright blue flyer on the bulletin board across the hall caught her eye.
Attention all students between the ages of 14 and 17. Applications are being taken for a chance to work on a Reality TV show run entirely by teens. If you are interested please contact Mr. Hart, the journalism teacher, for more details. This is your chance to be a part of something magical.
"Well that looks interesting…" And with a new idea in her head Allyson went to go find Mr. Hart, and she completely dismissed the horrible lunch period she had just had, and wrote off the vision of the brown eyed boy as a day dream, because Allyson knew it couldn't have been real. Right?
Author's Note I've revised this story some, and I think it reads much better now. Also, I want to point out that I don't have any problems with cheerleaders. In fact, one of my best friends was a cheerleader in high school. It's just traditionally that cheerleaders are the 'mean girl's' of high school. Also, I'm going to post the second chapter to this really soon. I'm not sure how long this story is going to be, but I do know where I'm going. I'm just not sure how to get there.
