Thanks for the reviews, guys! I AM naming the chapters, BTW, just not in the actual files, because I find it's easier to think of titles after the fact. Enjoy
Chapter 2
The lunch bell cut through the air, making Theresa jump as her new math teacher, Mr. Dalton, was cut off.
"All right, class, you're dismissed," Mr. Dalton said mildly; he didn't have to tell them twice. Every student shouldered their bags and practically ran from the room. They were already dreading their next math period; Mr. Dalton was as dull as he was strict, and had made it perfectly clear to everyone that nothing other than math would be discussed or tolerated in his class.
Lucille, Theresa's best friend and (luckily) companion in 6 of her 8 courses, turned to her with a big grin. "Freedom!" she sighed, flicking her long, curly blonde hair behind her.
"You finally gonna introduce me to this Gus kid?" Lucille asked eagerly as they made their way to Theresa's locker.
"Yup," Theresa nodded. She was starting to get a little anxious. What if Gus and Lucille didn't like each other? It was pretty easy not to like Lucille; she had a good heart, but she could be rather forward and arrogant.
Theresa didn't have long to worry, it turned out; Gus was already at her locker, waiting for them. He grinned at Theresa and gave Lucille a small nod.
"This him, 'Rese? He's kinda cute," Lucille said before Theresa could even open her mouth. Gus' eyebrows flew up in surprise.
"Um, yes," Theresa nodded. She turned to Gus, "Hi. Thanks so much for these," she gestured to her earrings. "They're beautiful!"
"No problem," he gave her a wry smile and nodded at her friend. "Let me guess; Lucille?"
"You got it," she chuckled. "Lucille, Gus—Gus, Lucille."
"You're buffer than I thought you'd be," Lucille said matter-of-factly, looking Gus up and down admiringly. "I like it."
"So, Gus," Theresa gently nudged Lucille a couple of inches to the side, "you said you'd show me around; could Lucille come, too?"
"Yeah," Gus nodded, not looking at Lucille. He was blushing furiously and clearly trying not to smile.
Gus showed them around quickly; Theresa found herself taking a backseat in the conversation, which mostly consisted of Gus explaining what and where things were and Lucille interjecting with a clever joke or allusion to Gus' biceps. The former Cornchip Girl was getting increasingly irritated with both of them. Gus was her friend, after all.
Finally, they had come full circle; stopping at Theresa's locker so that she could grab her lunch and then heading down to the cafeteria to eat. Theresa sat directly across from Gus, trying to keep Lucille off to the side.
"So, um, if you don't mind me asking," she began after swallowing the first bite of her sandwich, "where is everybody?"
"What d'you mean?" Gus gestured around the crowded cafeteria, "This place is crowded!"
"No, I mean, where are your friends? TJ, Mikey, Gretchen… where are they?"
Gus frowned, and then sighed, his expression turning gloomy. "I forgot. You don't know."
"Know what?" Theresa was dreading his next words, but, all the same, she couldn't help but be a little glad that, for once, Lucille was keeping quiet.
"Well," Gus wasn't looking at her, "I haven't really hung out with them in a while."
"How long is a while?"
"Uh, about two years."
Theresa's mouth fell open. Suddenly she didn't really feel like finishing her sandwich. "Why?" she gasped. "What happened?"
Gus glanced at Lucille. "I don't wanna talk about this right now," he said quietly.
Theresa nodded. She knew better than to push him for information. Lucille's interest, however, had been piqued, despite the fact that she hadn't even heard of Gus' old friends until now.
"What happened?" she echoed Theresa's question through a mouthful of frozen pizza.
"He doesn't want to talk about it, Lucille," Theresa said firmly.
"Oh, come on, I bet we'll hear about it anyways, I—"
"No, Co—Theresa's right. I'm not going to tell you," Gus said. "If you hear it from someone else, I don't care. But I don't want to talk about it."
The rest of lunch passed by quickly; once the subject of the old Third Street gang had been put to rest, the conversation had flowed relatively equally between the three of them. Lucille, busy eating, reduced her commentary somewhat, allowing Theresa to get a word in. They talked about school, mostly; about which teachers you wanted for what classes, about the social structure, about the difficulty of the mid-terms. When lunch was over, they parted ways, and Lucille and Theresa made their way to Science.
Their teacher, Mrs. Evans, gave the usual spiel; she handed out the course outline, gave them textbooks to sign out, and explained the breakdown of her grading process. Theresa and Lucille passed notes.
Gus is cute , Lucille wrote.
I know, Theresa scribbled back, you only said so about twenty times.
Ooh, do I detect a hint of jealousy?
Don't be ridiculous. I just didn't like the fact that you were flirting with my only guy friend.
It's not like I wanna go out with him or anything. He's just cute, that's all.
Whatever. Hey, this class might actually be fun—look at your outline; we're gonna be dissecting an eyeball!
EW.
Come on, it'll be cool.
You're way too violent, 'Rese.
Comes with the Naval dad, Luce.
Lucille had to duck out 10 minutes early from the final period to make it to a dentist's appointment across time. As a result, Theresa was alone in their Art class when the final bell rang at 3:15. She reached into her bag's pocket for her iPod and headphones; getting to her feet, she glanced down at the iPod's screen to choose a song, and promptly walked right into someone.
"Hey! Watch it!" a familiar voice snapped as Theresa shoved her iPod and 'phones back in her pocket.
"Spinelli?" Theresa could hardly believe her eyes. Ashley Spinelli had never been particularly feminine in elementary school, but here she was, all curves and flashing dark eyes. Her black hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and despite the fact that she was clearly not wearing any makeup, her lips were bright pink and her skin was flawless.
And yet, despite it all, she had clearly not changed in any other way. Her right hand was raised in a fist towards her offender, and her eyes were narrowed angrily.
"What th—" Spinelli dropped her fist and squinted at Theresa. "Cornchip? Is that… is that you?"
"Hi, Spinelli," Theresa grinned and gave a little wave.
