Hey, guys! I got 9 reviews, so here's the next chapter! Thanks bunches for reading, now you all get cookies! Well, you would if I could magically make them appear...
Anyway, here it is! Enjoy!
CHAPTER 2:
As it turned out, Nudge and Ella and I all had English second period together. After class, they walked me to P. E. and then left for biology. I dressed out and entered the gym.
The playing space was huge. It must've taken up half the school! I bit my lip, looking around anxiously.
The coach blew his whistle and we started jogging. Soon, we did stretches, then he gave us two basketballs and told us to pair up into teams of five, girls on one said, guys on the other. The first team to get a basket won.
I got paired with a bunch of slutty looking girls who kept talking about manicures and pedicures and a guy named Nick. I shook my head, wishing I had been paired with a guy team.
"Hey, Pinkies!" Coach snapped, looking annoyed. The hussies immediately looked up, and whined.
"But coach! Do we have to play?" Cried the girl that seemed to be their leader. Her long red hair was blinding, and her green eyes spun around, sizing up the first boy she saw like he was a box of expensive chocolates for sale.
"Yes, Lissa, now get your little posse out onto the floor!" He shouted in a funny New Jersey accent. The girl, Lissa, sighed, and led her group onto the court. I followed, taking position. Lissa and her opponent did jump ball. The other girl got it, and passed to the blonde on her left. Blondie number one easily got through the not-really-defenses.
"Hey, Lissa!" I called, keeping my eyes on Blondie. "Get your troop together and get over here!" I lunge forward, grabbing the ball, and immediately starting towards the other basket. Blondie was too shocked to move.
"Wow, new girl's good!" I heard people from the sidelines murmur. I smiled to myself as I shot down the court, bursting right past the two girls guarding me.
"Good luck, sweet cheeks." I told the last girl on the court. But then I really looked. This girl was huge! She was at least 6'2", had bulging muscles, and hair peeking out wherever there wasn't clothing. Ew.
She smirked and my eyes widened. I faked left, faked right, then shot for the basket. She was as surprised as I was by my quick thinking and even quicker acting. The ball flew through the air. And out of pure luck, or maybe even a twinge of skill, it rounded the rim, and fell into the basket.
XXXxxxXXX
I dressed back into my hoodie and jeans, grabbed my pack, and got the hell out of the locker room. I made my way to where all the other kids were heading. The lunch hall.
"Yeah, another day sitting alone." I told myself. I knew that Nudge and Ella liked me, but I couldn't just invite myself to their table. That's their decision, and if they wanted me to sit with them, they would have told me so.
I entered the cafeteria, looking around. It was gigantic! Almost as big as the gym. So, like said, big.
I followed the others into a line. Which was, again, pretty huge. This school must've housed, like, a bazillion students or something. I stumbled into a line and moved along with it, waiting for my turn. I kept my eyes down, not wanting anyone to talk to me. Especially not anyone from my classes this morning. I didn't want any more awkward introductions.
When I was through the line, I went to find an empty table, which surprisingly, were conveniently placed throughout the cafeteria. More tables than students, I assume. Good to know.
XXXxxxXXX
Sitting down with my lunch I started picking at whatever was on my tray. Nothing looked even remotely yummy, and my normally large appetite was acting up. Not hungry. So, I just sat there, people watching. I looked for some cliques, like the cheerleaders, the nerds, the jocks, and the Goths. I found all of those and more. There was the preps, the drama-kids, the normals, the emos, the Asians, the short kids, the weird groups, the loud ones, and then the loners like me, who each took a spot at an empty table.
I was busy trying to guess who was the captain of the cheerleading squad, so I didn't notice their presence. I didn't feel their eyes on me. And I didn't see them walk over.
"Hey, honey. What's a hot chick like you doin' all by yourself?" A male voice called from behind me. I didn't turn, but instead glared at my food. If these guys were going to mess with me, there was going to be trouble.
"Yeah, sweet thang. You want some company?" Another one purred in my ear. I gritted my teeth as the two boys took the seats next to me.
"Get lost." I snarled at them, still not looking up. They just laughed like the drunk monkeys they are.
"Did you hear that, Dwayne? She said get lost. Better listen, before she gets mad!" The first voice said, teasing me.
"Yeah, I sure did hear that, Josh. Maybe we should follow orders…" The second one said, snickering.
"Listen, here, girly," The first voice, Josh, said, sounding more serious than before. "We call the shots here. You want us gone? Well, you gotta give us what we want first. And if we don't like you…then we'll leave you alone."
"Let me touch your hair." The second voice, Dwayne, said. Before I could punch him, he got a handful, and pulled my face around to meet his. His face went from grossly seductive to shocked. He was black and just a bit taller than me, but I knew his fighting skills probably didn't compare to mine. His hand was rough in my hair, but the instant he caught a look at my face, his grip slackened.
"Whoa, Josh, dude! Look at her! She's actually hot!" He said. Josh immediately grabbed my chin and yanked my head around to him. His face was skeptical, but the moment he really looked, he too was surprised. I tugged my face out of his hand. Before I could pull back into a fist, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I yelped and froze.
"Don't touch her." Said yet another deep voice. Dwayne and Josh looked up, only to start laughing.
"Ha ha! You heard the man! Don't touch her!" Josh mocked. "Or else what, big guy? What are you going to do? Beat me up?"
Before Dwayne could add on to Josh's question, there was a sickening thud, and the sound of something breaking. Then, I saw the blood pour onto my tray.
"Ew!" I said, hopping up. I tried to wipe the smears off me, but they just stained into my jeans and my sweat jacket.
There was silence, and then a threatening rumble came from Josh. "Dude, you just punched me." He said, standing up slowly. By now, everyone was watching. The man who had attacked him just smirked.
"Yeah, I suppose I did. Want another one?" He taunted. I was taken aback. This dude was in for a serious beating.
"Oh, that's it!" Josh said, getting up and into fighting stance. Dwayne instantly followed. The two lunged forward, but the boy just sidestepped, and the twosome slammed into each other, resulting in another splash of blood coming from Josh's nose. The emo looking kid nodded at me, took my shoulder, and steered me away from the scene. Everyone else just stared on in silence.
I let him sit me down at a table a little ways away, let him get me some napkins, and let him get me another tray of food. Then, the questions came.
"What the hell, dude?" I whisper-shouted at him. We didn't need any more attention. He only looked up from his food to give me a quizzical glance.
"I could say the same thing," he told me. My eyes widened, and then quickly narrowed again.
"Don't test me. I'm stronger than you think. I could've taken those punks myself. I have to earn my own reputation, and now, look! I'll be forever known as the wussy-ass new girl. And I don't like that title." I said. He shrugged.
"Didn't look like you could take them on. You let them push you around, and I decided it was time to step in."
I laughed. "That's funny, but no, I can take care of myself. I had the situation under control. Next time, don't." I said, picking up my tray and starting to leave. His hand shot out, caught mine, and like he was catching himself, quickly went back to its former position. It looked like he was embarrassed, even if there wasn't blush or anything.
"No, sit." He said. I looked around, and by now, everyone had gone back to chatting happily and eating their food. The two that harassed me were nowhere to be seen.
"What?" I sighed, sitting back down.
"I want to talk to you." He said, looking me in the eyes. His pupils were not seen, his eyes were so dark. His expression looked…pleading? His shaggy bangs flapped down over his face, covering his forehead. He was not smiling, but I could grasp an unseen joy somewhere in his face.
"Okay," I said, unable to tell Emo Boy no. "Shoot."
"I-I'm not good with words. But..."
"Yes?"
"Hey, Fang! And...Max? Is that you?" A shrill, familiar voice said behind me. My face must've darkened, because "Fang's" smile raged. For a second, anyway.
"That's your name?" I inquired. What kind of a name was "Fang", anyway? Ella scooted in beside me, Nudge on Fang's side. Two other boys followed, the taller strawberry blonde next to Nudge, and the other, smaller boy next to Ella.
"Yeah, that's Fang. I'm Gazzy, and he's Iggy." The cute one next to Ella had barely gotten the words out of his mouth before a forkful of food was shoved halfway down his throat.
"And what's your name?" The other one asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I scoffed and looked away from the disgustingly gorgeous table. Seriously, all of them were hot, cute, or just plain perfect, but it seemed everyone at this school was.
"Yeah, mystery girl. I've been talking to her for a while now, and I don't even know her name." Fang admitted, his eyes flashing mischievously. I smiled, and looked back around the table.
"I'm Max. It's nice to meet everyone. Except for you." I said, narrowing my eyes at the strawberry blonde, Iggy.
"Hey, dude, I'm just saying, I'm available!" He said. "Ouch!" He protested after a slap from Ella.
After a bit of chuckling from the group, we all began to feast upon the repulsive delicacies of the school lunches. They chattered with each other, a playful mood settling over the table. Nudge leaned over and prodded my elbow. "So how's your day been going, Maxxie?"
Emo Boy, who'd been quiet for nearly the whole lunch period now, spoke up. "She's had a bit of a rough first day."
"What?" Nudge and Ella both cried at the same time.
"Well, I had a little trouble at the beginning of lunch, but it's over now. You guys are all really cool, and Fang taught those kids a lesson." I said, hoping I would get out of a whole big conversation. But of course, I didn't.
"What happened?" Nudge asked immediately. She leaned closer to me, her wide eyes searching my own.
"Nothing. Just these two guys came up and decided they wanted to get their asses kicked. That's all." I told them, shrugging.
"Well," Ella says quietly. "Okay…so tell me what you and Fang talked about." Ella said, smiling, and starting on her food again.
"Well, he got me a new tray, and then I asked him a few questions, never exactly getting around to asking his name." I admitted, feeling a little silly. They all nodded, and Nudge instantly launched into a long story about how she had to go a whole date without the guy's name, so it was really awkward. Everyone laughed, including me, and we all seemed like…what one might consider a family, just for a second. It was really, really nice. Something I would like myself to be a part of one day. A real family.
Alright, guys, here you go! Now, I know you all are Superman reviewers, so, I need to up the review count. I know, I don't deserve it, but I need it! It's a LOT more, but this is what I ask of you, faithful readers. I'm upping it to...wait for it...wait for it...6 reviews! I know, a whole lot, right? But you guys can do it! My fate is in your hands!
[This chapter is considered edited. If you see mistakes, please let me know. Thanks, guys~~~!]