I couldn't help but write another chapter for this today. I hope you guys enjoy it.
I got through my first four classes still thinking the world of the people in Lima, Ohio. No one asked too many questions, they just simply introduced themselves and smiled when I told them my name. Up until lunch, I thought that these kids were born in factories that programmed them to talk a certain way and be polite at all time. Then I had lunch.
I got into the long lunch line and got a grilled cheese sandwich and a salad. I passed on the apple juice instead reaching for the orange juice waiting for me at the end of the long countertop. I paid and scanned the lunchroom. Everyone was placed by cliques, it was just like any other school in America. I should have guessed as much, but I just had to get my hopes up about Lima.
I strongly debated heading straight for the bathroom and sitting on the closed lid of a toilet and eating there. It worked in Mean Girls right? But I was no Caddy Heron, but I did spot someone who slightly resembled Regina George strutting down the paths allotted to her by people running out of her way.
"Hey Santana!" I looked to my left and caught Sam waving at me from a table occupied by three other people. There was one seat left and by the way Sam was smiling, it looked like he wanted me to sit there. The only problem was Sam was sitting with a group. I just didn't do well with groups. I vigilantly walked over to Sam's table and placed my tray down first before feeling comfortable enough to sit.
"Hi Sam…hi everyone." I added the second part because I was still a little unsure about the protocol from introducing in groups. The boy to my left had full lips and his hair was perfectly placed upon his small head. He was wearing a scarf over a warm cardigan, and his light eyes roamed over me before he grinned and held out his delicate fingers for me to shake. I did, feeling the visible contrast of his pale fingers to my tanned skin.
"I'm Kurt Hummel." He said with a grin. The girl next to him was one of those goth kids. She wore black everything but her smile told me something else about her. She wasn't into the goth scene, maybe she just wanted to wear clothes that made her feel comfortable. I was on board with that completely. "This is Tina, you know Sam, and-."
"I'm Rachel Barbra Berry." I realized that I didn't notice the tiny girl sitting right next to Sam when I first walked over. With a confident grin like that, I was surprised she wasn't the first person I saw. She had on this ridiculous yet adorable penguin sweater and her eyes were fixed on me, I didn't know why until I realized that she was waiting for me to introduce myself.
"I'm Santana." It had become like a mantra at this point. It sounded so rehearsed this time that I wouldn't in a million years even believe it was my real name. I took a bite of my sandwich hoping that everyone around me would realize that I didn't want to talk.
"So where are you from?" Tina asked with an eager smile.
"California." The way their eyes lit up made me immediately regret saying anything. They already had this idea planted in their minds about who I was now. It was like they were creating their own story about me and I had no say in it. "It's not the place you think it is, trust me. I mean people in Lima are much nicer."
"Hey fag-boy what's goin on?" Even in the rustling and laughter in the entire lunchroom, the booming voice of a rugged jock could be heard above everything else. I turned my head to catch a glimpse of who it was I only caught the tail end of a William McKinley High varsity jacket. If it was even possible Kurt's face paled even more and the table got quiet.
"Apparently I spoke too soon." I muttered glaring over at a table full of football jocks. I didn't know whether to feel bad about Kurt or myself. I shouldn't have sat down here, because I'd just gotten involved in something I wanted no part of.
"It can get tough here." Sam insisted. He had no idea what tough was, but I let him believe what he wanted. It was a little too early to start changing people's minds about anything. "Whatever though, back to you. Did you move here with your whole family?" He questioned.
"Yeah, me, my dad, and my dog." I didn't have to look up to know that Rachel was smiling at me. I took another bite of my sandwich and tossed the burnt sandwich down on my plate. I think I'll just wait to eat at home. I pushed my tray forward and rested my elbows on the table.
"That's cute, I wish I had a dog, but my parents won't let me get one." I sympathized with Rachel. It took me my whole childhood to convince my father to let me get one and even to this day, he hates Charlie. "Do you know what class you have next?" Rachel asked. I quickly reached into my pocket and yanked out the wore piece of paper with my schedule on it.
"Spanish apparently." Tina and Kurt gave me similar expressions. "I needed one class I knew I wasn't going to fail. Are you guys gonna rat me out?" I asked holding my breath.
"No, that's a genius idea." Sam interjected. "Tina, Kurt and I have gym so maybe we'll see you later." Sam said as he walked away with the other two. I nodded a goodbye to them and turned my attention back to Rachel. She seemed to be contemplating something as she dug through her salad.
"What do you think of Ohio so far?" She asked finally. It was clear to me now that we were both finished eating. Rachel was just pretending to rummage through her salad because she thought that I wasn't finished. I don't think I've ever met someone that thoughtful. I smiled bashfully and held back a goofy grin. "What?"
"I'm finished too; you didn't have to wait around for me even if I wasn't." I explained to her. She was caught and that seemed to make her let out a sigh of relief.
"It would have been incredibly rude of me to just leave." We stood up in unison and put out trays where they were supposed to go apparently because I was only following Rachel. I didn't realize how short she was until now and for some reason that just made her so amusing. "And I also have Spanish right now, so that would have made our meeting in class extremely awkward." I nodded at her logic and followed her into the classroom. The room was completely empty and I wondered if we'd gone to the wrong place. That would be pretty unlikely considering the fact that Rachel went to this school. Or did she? Sometimes I hated my imaginative mind and questioned my sanity.
"I guess I owe you or something." I said taking a seat down in the front row.
"Yes I think you do." Rachel said taking the seat next to me.
"Really? I was sorta hoping you would say I didn't." I admitted.
"Well I could use a good source to cheat off of during test." My bag fell to the ground with a rather loud thud. If this didn't teach me not to judge a book by its cover nothing would. I thought Rachel was one of those goodie two shoes types, who got to class early and placed apples on the teachers desks. "I'm kidding." I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her, she'd had me going there for a second.
"You got me." I said looking up at the clock at the front of the room. "So does stuff like that, I mean with that Kurt kid happen a lot?" I questioned with the curiosity of a cat. Rachel shrugged and pulled out a notebook from her backpack.
"It's tough being the only out kid in a school. Kurt gets it pretty bad." I nodded in understanding, when really I didn't get it at all. Kurt was a tiny person, but he seemed sweet, Lima could do a lot worse.
"That's stupid." I said plainly.
"Yeah…yeah it is." I could feel Rachel's eyes on me for the next five minutes. I knew that she was contemplating again, but this time she didn't open her mouth to speak. She had questions, millions of them, and so did I. It would just have to wait, I couldn't have a whole city figured out in a day, and I'll be damned if I let anyone figure me out in a year.
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