She and Merida loitered in the hall after class. "They better not take too long," said Anna. Her foot tapped in a quick rhythm. "I mean, you know how fast the cafeteria fills up and I hate those lines. And everyone takes the burritos!"
"Oh, please don't tell me you're still going to eat those burritos," said Merida.
"Who wouldn't want to eat those cheesy beans wrapped up in ground beef and a huge flour tortilla?" Merida made a face.
"You know those are packaged, right? Those little armadillo wrappers probably have to be heated up every day before you stuff them down your gob."
"The armadillos are cute! And the burritos only come on Mondays!" Merida held up her hands in defeat. A minute later Rapunzel walked out of the classroom.
"You've been through a war, lass." Merida put a hand on her back. Rapunzel was quieter than ever before, curled into the sketchbook she held across her chest. "Hope she didn't chew you up too bad."
"It's only November and I already have a D," said Rapunzel. Her face turned ashen. "If this keeps up I won't even get into a community college."
"Hey," said Anna. "It's going to be okay. You're a great person."
"I'm not a great student."
"Oh, since when did grades determine everything about whether you're going to college? There's still extracurricular stuff, and the SAT, and a scholarship in painting coming your way."
"What do you have to say about scholarships? Your parents can pay you off to any college you please."
"Doesn't mean mine would," said Merida.
"Hey, we're watching movies in class this week, right?" said Anna. "Use the time to take notes. Say something in class that gets you points for participation. Easy A."
"I guess."
They were interrupted by the grumbles of a sea monster. They all looked at Anna's stomach.
"Way to ruin a heart-to-heart," said Merida.
"Please, Merida," begged Anna. "Burritos."
The Commons was packed. Strict division into cliques and friends prevented daily fights during the lunch hour. Some mingled in peaceful coexistence, sitting at tables next to each other and nodding hellos as an example of teenage maturity. Some antagonized each other—rival gangs were distinctly placed in separate hours. The rest avoided one another, happy for their break in the day.
"Hey Anna!" In the middle of the room someone held up a purple wrapper. Anna stumbled over herself running to it.
"Burrito!" she said in anguished triumph. "Oh, thank you. You're the best, Vanessa." She said it genuinely.
"You're welcome." Vanessa had her lunch partly eaten on a tray. It was almost a little sad to Anna that Vanessa had to settle for a meal that clearly didn't suit her. Vivacious and stunning, Vanessa looked more like she should be bringing in bagged lunches of leftover lobster and filet mignon. She was a model of perfection, with curves and a face that moved in all the right directions. Her deep brown hair shimmered in amazing waves as always. And her eyes had a way of looking right into you in a manner that was almost piercing, but in the next moment they'd be laughing and joking and having a good time.
Anna sat next to Vanessa and opened the burrito. As the taste burst across her mouth her eyes closed in delight.
"Just think of the preservatives that go into it so it doesn't rot after being heated up," said Merida.
"I'm not listening," said Anna before taking another bite.
"I'm just saying, I don't know how someone who lifts as much as you can stand so much of that stuff. It just seems ironic, you know, what with the idea of fitness freaks and a proper diet."
"Oh, so you lift?" asked Vanessa. Anna nodded eagerly and turned to her.
"At least a couple times a month. Usually with Kristoff."
"Kristoff again, huh? I need to meet him sometime."
"You should come bowling with us this Friday! Next semester he's going on a study-away trip. Going to class and building houses for kids in Africa."
"He sounds like a good person." Anna opened her mouth to say more, but Vanessa had moved her focus to Rapunzel. "What's up? You look sad."
"It's the curse of the dragon lady," said Merida. "Bringing her down."
"I'll be all right," mumbled Rapunzel.
"Hey." She looked up immediately. "Don't let her get you down," said Vanessa off-handedly. "She's a bitch. I've heard it from a lot of people." Vanessa had transferred at the beginning of the year. Not one to shirk first impressions, she'd soon established herself as an excellent student, friend, and advisor. Anyone could talk to her. She could talk to anyone. Anna was surprised when Vanessa approached her looking for directions on the third week. She'd called her over in the hall, complimented the natural pale streak in her hair, then asked where the computer lab was for a science project. On the way down Vanessa got her talking, and soon Anna was pouring out all sorts of things her friends had known for years. She seemed to have that effect—Anna had noticed the way people surrounded Vanessa throughout those first three weeks.
Anna had to run back to class with intense apologies to her history teacher. She'd only gone out to use the bathroom. That lunchtime Vanessa met Merida and Rapunzel, and they'd been a group ever since.
"It's just a high school English class," Vanessa went on, bringing Anna back to the moment. "They're not going to look at that in the future unless you're gonna be an English teacher. Are you gonna be an English teacher?"
"No," said Rapunzel.
"Then just don't get an F and you'll be okay." Hearing similar words from two people seemed to loosen Rapunzel's nerves. She went back to drawing.
"We're not building a robot that looks like that," said Merida. "What does it do? Store things?"
"It's creative release!" said Rapunzel. "I've gone through hundreds of ideas and none of them are good enough for you. It wouldn't store things, it would store them and then drop them off. See, it has wheels."
"Hey, I know the judges aren't looking for a robot that'll change the world, but we need to be more impressive," said Merida. She smacked Rapunzel on the elbow. "And eat your food. You're skinny as a rail."
"Fine." Rapunzel pulled a tuna sandwich from her lunch bag.
Vanessa intertwined her fingers and set them under her chin. "Are you ever going to agree on a design?"
"Oh, I keep telling them the same thing," said Anna, leaning over as well. "I'm happy to build whatever they want, but they fight over it all the time. One time I threw them off by suggesting a robot that collected dirt!"
"You said that to throw us off?" said Merida.
"You were totally serious about it for like a week!" said Rapunzel.
"And in that time you were arguing over whether we were advanced enough to build a robot that put out a fire." Anna rolled her eyes whimsically. "Come on. You know the longer we wait the less time we'll have to actually make the thing."
Vanessa giggled. For a minute they ate in silence.
Someone ghosted past. Anna set down her food.
"Give it up, girl," said Merida. Rapunzel followed where their eyes had been, then sighed. Anna reached for her lunch bag.
"I need a napkin." She wiped her mouth and crumpled the napkin next to the burrito. She began to fiddle with her hair.
"No one can talk to her, Anna," said Merida, as if having to explain to a kid. "She's like a huge brick wall. You think people haven't ever tried to ask her out?" Anna rustled in her seat. Vanessa's hands remained under her chin, her eyes shifting across the conversation.
"Maybe she's really shy," Anna offered. "I mean, she has some friends."
"She seems kinda prickly to me," Rapunzel admitted. "Not necessarily stuck-up," she added when the spotlight shifted. "Just…like she wants to be left alone."
"Why would anybody want to be alone?" demanded Anna. "And she has friends, doesn't she?"
"Isn't she dating Jack?" said Vanessa. Anna flinched.
"Jack?" said Rapunzel. "Where would you ever get that idea? He's a freshman and she looks like she's like, twenty-one. I thought she was lost when I first saw her."
"But nobody knows for sure," Vanessa insisted.
"I guess," Rapunzel said slowly, looking at Anna.
Anna stood up. "I'm going to ask her."
"Now?!"
"No, not, not like on a date. But if she wants to sit with us."
"Her friends are right there!" said Merida.
"Well, maybe they can all sit with us." She turned to Vanessa. "That's okay, right?"
"I dunno, Anna," said Vanessa. She watched the redhead chew her lip. "But if you want to try it."
Anna set her sight on the prize, shouldered up, and marched over.
"Oh my god," said a random bystander, mocking her movements.
The girl was moving to a table under the stairs. "Hey, you!" said Anna, and she jilted from her own volume. The girl tensed and turned around.
"Yes?"
The breath sucked back into Anna's mouth. Her shoulders heaved up, almost comically, as she blinked. Once, twice…okay, she was back in control. Still, she couldn't help but take a step back when realizing just how gorgeous this girl was. Even with her face tightened in confusion and suspicion, and the way one arm left the bottom of her lunch tray to move in front of her neck. One blond braid wrapped around her head to tighten into a bun in the back. They both stayed silent, and then for one amazing, desperate moment Anna thought she saw a flicker of something in her eye. Was it happiness? Pleasure? Delight?
The cafeteria had rippled into silence. The girl blinked. Then she cringed at the attention.
"Oh, no, it's okay," said Anna. The girl's eyes darted to her. "I, I was just wondering if you and your friends wanted to sit with my friends at lunch today."
The girl's brow rose very high. Soft lips opened for a tiny moment. Then they closed, and opened again to say quickly, "Um, no. No thank you. I…I already have a place to sit."
She went to her friends, head down. They welcomed her with soothing tones. Her body almost appeared to shrink in size as it closed into itself. A brown-haired boy on the other end of the table looked at Anna with the subtlest of frowns.
Anna retreated with her head down too, praying she wasn't going fast enough to further broadcast her mortification. She made it to the table, took a huge bite of her burrito, and slammed her head down without chewing. A few seconds later cafeteria life went back to normal.
"You tried," said Rapunzel.
Merida leaned over to look at her next robot proposal. Anna looked through the gap between Vanessa and the table. Beneath the stairway she thought she saw the blond glance at her before opening her milk.
