THE LUNCH TABLE CONFERENCE

Unbelievable.

Not only did my little talk with Layla have no obvious effect, it backfired horribly. Today at lunch, I was besieged. It was madness!

I was sitting at my table—ALONE—reading and minding my own business, when out of nowhere Layla drops her tray across from me and sits down. At first, I was totally in shock. Since I started Sky High, no one has trespassed at my table. I mean, a guy gets used to people respecting his space, ya know?

Anyway, once I shook myself out of it, I realized that I had appearances to keep. I leaned forward and hissed something along the lines of, "Did I say or do anything last night that would make you think this is ok?"

Poor kid. She didn't even have sense enough to be intimidated. She kinda just shrugged it off and told me how her big talk with Stronghold ended up being more tangled than Celtic knot work, and somehow or other she told Will that I was supposed to go to the dance with her.

That was not the plan. I would have remembered if that had been the plan. I let her know as much. She was going to answer, but before she could, that hamster girl sat down beside her.

I was like, "What do you think you're doing?" and she popped off with some smartass remark. Looking back, I have to appreciate a girl with a quick wit…but I wasn't feeling very appreciative at the time.

So anyway, Squeaky just sits down like she owns the table. I said, very slowly and precisely, that no one sits at that table but me. She just stares at me for a second and starts talking to Layla about their homework. Then the kid that melts sat down and was all like, "Cool, we're sitting at Warren's table now?" It was too much. I couldn't even come up with an intelligent threat. I just kept saying whoa. Then the tall kid that has the hots for the purple girl asked her if I was bothering her, and I found my voice.

"Try the other way around," I said with as much menace as I could muster.

It didn't bother anyone! I was completely out of my element. "Does anyone else need a date," I asked, laying on the sarcasm. I tried to pretend that I didn't see the melty kid raise his hand.

Layla broke into a fit of maniacal laughter and said I was quote, "cray-zee". I wondered if she was on drugs, then I noticed Stronghold had just passed. Obviously that was an attempt at showing just how buddy-buddy we were.

I got very still and eyed Layla carefully. "So, you're not doing this 'cause you like me or anything," I said. "You're doing this to get to Stronghold."

She said yeah, and even know I knew that, it stung, which annoyed me. But at least she looked a little contrite.

"Then I'm in," I said, grinning coldly. It's my scary smile. My werewolf smile. A flash of white teeth that makes people shiver with fear and desire.

Ok, so maybe that last bit was a little over the top, but you get my point.

It wasn't exactly my happy smile.

Because it is a compulsion that I have the last word, I leaned in and told her that I wouldn't be renting a tux, then retrieved my stuff and stalked away. I think I hit the tall kid with my bag, but I can't be sure. I was too busy trying to figure out A.) how I was going to get rid of my new acquaintances and B.) whether or not I actually wanted to.

For some reason, I have a feeling that the innocent little hippie kid just changed the course of my future…