Chapter 2
I walked into the noisy cafeteria, lunch already in full swing. My stomach growled, its way of saying that it wasn't very happy about the fact that I was kept after class because -her-name-is needed to make sure I didn't "fall behind". I scoffed. I was smarter than the entire student body combined. Scanning the tables, I walked to the front of the cafe, staring at the different lunch lines. As usual, the only thing that looked appetizing was a salad. Valerie didn't seem to be anywhere. Which meant I'd have to eat lunch alone. I was pretty used to it by now, to be honest. I began to walk through the line, when someone next to me tapped my shoulder.
"Hey Sam." He smiled.
"Hey Danny." I was caught a little off guard, he didn't seem to be the type that got salads for lunch. More like pizza. I must've been staring at his tray a little too obviously, and he spoke up first before I could question him.
"This isn't for me." He shook his head at the tray in his hands. "My friend is just too lazy to get up and buy something herself." He chuckled.
"Oh. That-" I was cut off by a boy who seemingly appeared behind Danny, panting.
"Kitty said she wants a yogurt too." He had glossy black hair, and they boy's clothes looked like they were straight out of a '50's movie, totally black and white. Maybe it was on purpose.
"Girls can never decide." Danny rolled his eyes.
"They can too!" I put my hands on my hips, not willing to let him stereotype our entire gender just because of some girl. The raven-haired boy peered at me, not noticing me before.
"W-who's your friend?" He raised a curious eyebrow at me. I was about to introduce myself, but Danny beat me to it.
"This is Sam. She's new here. Oh, and Sam, this is Sidney. But we usually call him Pointdexter." A smirk tugged at Danny's lips, and Sidney-Pointdexter, whatever, shifted his feet as his pale cheeks colored. "Nice to meet you, Sam."
"Wanna come sit at our table?" Danny's eyes brightened as he looked into mine. I thought about it for a moment, but I didn't really have anyone else to sit with except Val, and I'm pretty sure she had a different lunch hour.
"Why not?" I nodded. Danny started walking back to his seat, not bothering to pay for the salad. Sidney followed after us. He settled in next to a girl with...electric blue hair? I blinked my eyes and shook my head. The lack of sleep must've been getting to me. It was the same girl from our English class. Another boy was beside him too, who seemed more interested in his iPhone than joining the lunch conversation. I stood a few feet behind Danny, not exactly sure where to sit. Luckily, he turned around and motioned for me to come closer. "You can sit with Dora." I slid in next to a girl with a sky-blue sweater dress, and long blonde hair braided down her back. She smiled warmly at me.
"Ooh. Who's this, your girlfriend?" The girl sitting next to Danny snickered, a glint in her eyes. I almost choked on a tomato.
"No!" He turned to glare at her.
"Not yet." A boy at the other end of the table with a bit of a southern accent winked at Danny, which caused everyone to laugh but him. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, don't mind them." Dora nudged me, as if she could read my thoughts. "It's just their way of welcoming you."
"Anyway," Danny cleared his throat a little loudly. "Sam, this is Tucker," He nodded to the boy on his left, who was still using his phone.
"What are you even doing?" Sidney looked at the screen. Tucker finally put his phone down and sighed. "Trying to download iOS 7. It's a total pain in the ass."
"That's why I updated my phone at like, midnight." The girl sitting next to Dora rolled her bright green eyes, as if it was completely obvious.
"And that's Kitty." He slid the salad over to the girl, and she pursed her purple lips. "I wanted yogurt, not salad! Didn't Pointdexter tell you?"
"But you sent me to get salad!" Danny frowned back at her, his expression as sour.
"Whatever." She dejectedly picked at her salad, choppy red bangs falling in her eyes.
Danny continued his introductions. "The boy sitting next to her is Johnny, and-"
"He's my boyfriend." Kitty cut him off and narrowed her eyes at me.
"Yeah, yeah, that ain't much of her concern." Johnny grinned, and his girlfriend responded by sticking out her tounge.
"They really do bring out the best in each other." Danny sighed.
"Saving the best for last, I'm Ember." The girl next to him spoke up, ponytail swinging.
"Ember...?" I crinkled my eyebrows, finding it hard to believe her parents named her that.
"It's her 'stage name'." Kitty giggled. "Hothead here has a dream of becoming a rockstar."
"Dream come true." Ember corrected. "I'm currently recording an album." She beamed.
"Too bad your manager is a witch." Sidney snapped. He was so quiet, I'd almost forgotten he was sitting here.
"You're only saying that because she stated a fact. You do dress funny." Ember cackled.
"Don't be rude, Ember. What kind of impression do you think you're making on Miss Sam?" Dora chided. I noticed how much older she sounded than the rest of them.
"It's fine, really." I smiled. I wasn't going to turn away a group of people that had genuinely taken a liking to me. And believe me, that hasn't happened in a while.
I sunk down on my sofa, relieved that my first day of school had gone off without a hitch. True, I didn't get too much information on the ghost boy, but I had fun. And that's what matters in the end, right? Danny's friends had a couple loose ends, but they kept me laughing the entire lunch period. Not to mention in science, when Johnny spilled a beaker of "acid" on Tucker. More importantly, his phone. I tried telling him that I'd seen actual acid, and whatever we had in class was far from it. He went into hysterics anyway. I smiled and went over the rest of the day in my head, when a sharp knocking sound interrupted my thoughts. I groaned. Valerie was already here to get a play-by-play version of my day. I opened the door, and to my surprise, a girl that looked no older than fifteen was at my doorstep.
"You're new here, right? I made you some brownies, sorta like a welcoming present. And by the way, I'm Elle." She smiled sweetly up at me, a red clip in her hair, attempting to brush the bangs away from her eyes. Her color scheme reminded me a bit of Snow White.
"Sam, moved in last week." I returned her smile, inhaling the chocolately scent of the brownies. "Do you wanna come in? It's freezing outside." She thought about this for a second, then walked inside. "Your house is pretty well decorated." Elle nodded at the picture frames decorating my walls. "For someone that just moved in..." She turned to me, her voice curious.
"I like photography, so this didn't feel like home until I put some photos up." I laughed nervously. "I used to have a darkroom in my old house."
"Cool!" Her eyes lit up the same way Danny's had earlier this day. I wonder...
"Do you have a brother that goes to Casper too, by any chance?"
"Nah." She shook her head. "I'm an only child."
"Me too." I smiled and took the plate from her hands, setting it on the kitchen table. She followed me in, paying close attention to whatever I had lying around. She pulled herself up on one of the stools and began eating a brownie.
"If you don't mind me asking, why'd you move here? People usually leave, even though the ghost activity isn't that bad anymore." She rolled her eyes.
"Actually," I paused to take a bite of a brownie myself, which wasn't half-bad. "I moved here because of the ghosts. They're pretty interesting."
"Right? Finally, someone sees this town the way I do." She visibly relaxed, smile broadening. "You're pretty cool, Sam. All the other people on our block are either shut-ins or dicks." I had to laugh at that one.
"Well, I'm pretty glad to have a cute neighbor like you, Elle."
"Do you," She looked around the house. "live alone?"
"Yeah. My parents have some big company in Wisconsin, so they stay there. Besides, I can handle it on my own." I spoke rather fast, Val said I tended to do that when I lied. Especially when I was making one up on the spot. I wasn't prepared for someone to ask me a question like that, let alone visit my house. I decided to find a way to get rid of her, before she could ask anything else that might get me in trouble. "I have a couple friends here. In fact, one is coming over soon." I hoped she'd take the hint.
"Oh, okay." The look on her face made me want to invite her back, but I knew it was for the better. "Maybe I'll see you around school." She smiled and I followed her to the door.
"By the way, thanks for the brownies!" I waved as she walked to her house across the street, a bounce in her step. I smiled to myself, I was blending into Amity Park better than I expected.
So, I know this chapter was boring hah. It'll get better soon, I promise! If you're favoriting/following this, then I'd love a review!