It was lunchtime at Magnolia High School and Lucy was haunting the school library. Being the new kid in school was turning out to be a lot harder than Lucy had expected when she had been told that they were moving because of her father's work. Everyone had their own friends that they hung out with, and while no one had been hostile they hadn't been very friendly either. The cafeteria was too loud and crowded to be comfortable for long. Lucy found that she lost her appetite when faced with prospect of spending her lunch there, so she just stopped eating and tried to find something to do for an hour. By the third day she'd found that the library was open for all of the lunch hour and that Ms. Mira wouldn't chase her out if she was at one of the study tables in the back.
She made it through that first week and the week after that before she was surprised to have someone join her at her table. She looked up from the notebook she was writing in and was suddenly dumbstruck! One of the most popular girls at the school had just asked if she could join Lucy at her table. She hadn't been able to say anything and simply nodded her consent. The other girl smiled and sat in the chair next to Lucy.
"I'm Levy," she said quietly. "We have a couple of classes together." She pulled out the novel they were reading in Literature class. "Have you read this one yet?"
"Oh yeah, I read P & P in middle school," Lucy whispered back. "Loved it."
"Yea! I don't have to wait for someone to read it," Levy said as she leaned in close to Lucy. "Who's your favorite?"
Lucy thought for a minute, surprised that everyone's favorite cheerleader wanted to talk books and also trying to figure out her answer. "Over all favorite? That's a tough one. I mean of course I love Lizzie she's so quick witted and the star, but Jane is really sweet and so is Bingley and together they are like relationship goals. But Mr. Darcy is also swoon worthy especially in the second half."
Levy was smiling and nodding along with her comments. Lucy was a little thrown off by the whole situation and trailed off speaking. Levy continued to look at her expectantly.
"So, uh, who's your least favorite?" she asked Levy.
"Oh, asking the tough questions," she chuckled before responding. "Well there is of course Mrs. Bennet because she shows a complete lack of care for her girls and their happiness. But that doesn't hold a candle to Mr. Collins and his dismissive treatment of those he sees as his inferiors."
"Not Lady Catherine?" Lucy asked.
Levy shook her head. "No I always think of her as comic relief." She looked up at the clock on the wall. "Wow, lunch is going to be over soon." She started gathering her stuff. "Come on, we'll be late."
"Late?"
"Yeah, by the time we get over to the theater all of the good stuff will be gone," she said as she handed Lucy her notebook. "Erza always eats dessert first and then anyone else's if they aren't fast enough."
"Oh, I didn't bring my lunch," Lucy said looking down.
"We can get something on the way over there," Levy said with a smile. She obviously wasn't leaving Lucy in the library.
"Well, I hadn't planned on getting anything so I didn't bring any money with me today," Lucy tried again.
"That's okay," Levy replied. "I'll pay today and you can pay another time." She looked at Lucy with pleading eyes. "Please come join us for lunch."
Suddenly Lucy understood how Levy could be almost everyone's favorite cheerleader. Between the brilliant smile and those puppy dog eyes the girl was just adorable. "Fine, you've convinced me," Lucy declared as she finished putting everything into her bag.
"Oh good," Levy said with a lopsided grin. "I was hoping I wouldn't need to turn on the tears."
Lucy stared at her. "You mean you'd play me like that?"
Levy laughed. "No. Never," she declared, "but I'd certainly be upset if you turned me down."
Lucy filed that away to think about later. "Oh, um, okay. Well I guess we'd better get going."
As they walked down the steps of the library Laucy couldn't help but think that this might not be a bad school year after all.