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Chapter Thirteen: First Lunch

A/N: hey guys! Sorry if this chapter is a bit long, but I thought it needed some interesting action. Thanks for all the reviews! Keep 'em comin'!

"The difference between school and life? In school you're taught a lesson then given a test, in life you're given a test that teaches a lesson." -Tom Bodett

Jayden walked into his world politics class feeling very nervous. Gym had been ok, English was an experience, so he was a little cautious about walking into his next class. He walked up to the teacher's desk. "Hi, my name is Jayden," he said to the teacher. "I'm new here, and this is my class."

"Ah...welcome Jayden. My name is Mr. Lewis. Just take a seat. Lunch is a half hour away, just so you know. And I will make you late if you keep looking at the clock."

"Ok," Jayden said. He sat down at a table. A girl came in a sat next to him. He recognized her as the girl who sat behind him in English. She smiled at him.

"Well, fancy running into you. You in this class too?"

"No, I just chose to sit in a random classroom."

She laughed. "Ok, then Mr. Smart-Alec."

Jayden smiled at her. She turned away and got her notebook out. The bell rang and the last few stragglers hurried to their seats. Mr. Lewis went over and locked the door before shutting it. He walked over and stood in front of the board.

"Good morning class. Today we will be continuing our discussion on the pros and cons of Imperialism. Would anyone like to give an example of a pro?" The girl behind Jayden raised her hand. "Yes, Allison?"

"Most super powers brought technology and industrialization to third world countries. This helped them to become more technologically advanced and keep up with the rest of the world."

"Very good point? Does any one have an argument?" Lorrie raised her hand. "Yes Lorrie?"

"Having better technology doesn't necessarily constitute being taken over. What if the technology they already have is good for them? What if they don't want to keep up with the rest of the world? They could be doing things they way they have been for hundreds of years and that works for them. I say that imposing a way of living that blocks out their original traditions is a con."

Jayden was impressed. She really seemed to know what she was talking about.

"Very good point Lorrie. Does anyone else have an opinion? Jayden?" Jayden realized everyone was staring at him waiting for an answer. He looked at the desk. "Don't be shy. This is a debate. There is no wrong answer or judging in our forums.

Jayden stared at his hands. "I agree with Lorrie. Sometimes it can be best to just let people follow traditions that they always have been. However, sometimes a break to tradition can be beneficial."

"How?" Someone asked.

"Maybe someone who breaks tradition can help you in ways you never thought of before. I think tradition is very important, but maybe a change can be really helpful to you."

"Very good point Jayden."

Jayden sat back relieved that he'd survived.

Antonio sat in class being reminded of why he hated the English language. He stared at the worksheet, trying to pick out the vocabulary word that was spelled correctly. He looked at the next row of words. Narcassist, Narcissict, Narcissist. He circled the last one. He moved on to the next one. Rectitude, Rekittide, Recttitude. Really? "What do half of these even mean?" He asked himself quietly.

He glanced up and saw that everyone else seemed to be going through their Vocab easily. I never was very good with Enlish. There's a reason I prefer Spanish. He remembered when he used to ask his dad for help on his English homework. Even he had a hard time helping Antonio, not understanding half of it. He smiled when he remembered his dad telling him that if he failed English he could always use another language.

He moved on with his circling. He was about half-way done when the teacher said, "Ok, class, who needs more time?" Antonio out his hand up before looking around. He realized he was the only one with his hand up. "Uh...never mind. I'm good," he said his cheeks burning.

"Are you sure?" Ms. Leonard asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure," Antonio said. He noticed a few kids snickering. He ignored them. This why I hate English.

Lauren was in astronomy staring at a map of constellations. She was trying to find Orion when the lunch bell rang. She got up and joined the flow of people that funneled through the door. She wasn't sure where the cafe was, but following the throng of students seemed like a good plan. She was lead outside to another building. She walked in and started feeling a little scared.

She stood in line and surveyed the room there appeared to about six different 'Got Milk?' posters. Ironically enough quite a few kids appeared to have chosen soda instead. There were tables everywhere. They didn't appear to be in any particular order, just placed where people could walk through without too much trouble. Some people sat on tables, others actually sat in chairs. It was pretty loud with the chatter of about a hundred different conversations.

She moved up in line a grabbed a red plastic tray. She saw lots of options. There was pizza, sandwiches, salad, and something wrapped in tinfoil. She grabbed a sandwich, an apple, and a milk. She paid and looked for a place to sit. A small anxiety gripped her as she found she wasn't sure where to go. Most people, appeared to be eating with their friends. She didn't see anyone she knew. Some one bumped her from behind. Her quick samurai reflexes saved her lunch from falling on the ground. She turned around and saw Tiara.

"Oh, hi Lauren," the younger girl said.

"Hi Tiara."

"Need a place to sit?"

"Yeah. Can I sit with you?"

"Sure. Come on," Tiara said leading Lauren to the table she sat at everyday. They got there and found Kevin and Jayden. "Yay," Tiara said. "I have a lunch group now."

Lauren laughed. She saw Jayden had taken a sandwich, except his appeared to be tuna. Kevin had a salad. Tiara had one of the things wrapped in tinfoil. She unwrapped it to reveal a chicken sandwich.

"Do you usually eat alone?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah," Tiara said. "By this time in the year most people have all their cliques and groups figured out. Besides, not many people want to eat with the wierd half-foreign, half-American girl."

"Half-foreign, half-American?" Jayden asked amused.

"Yeah. I lived abroad for ten years. The last time I was in an American school I was in kindergarten. I more accustom to Asian cultures than this one."

"Did you only live in Asia?" Lauren asked.

"Yup. That particular area is my dad's specialty. So how have your day guys' day been so far?"

Antonio followed the other kids to the cafe. As soon as he walked in someone grabbed his arm and dragged him away. He immediately tried to throw them off. "Wow, hey. Relax its me."

"Andre," he said. "Dude, don't do that."

"Sorry. A little jumpy, aren't we?"

"So?"

"Whatever. Come on let's get food." He led Antonio to another lunch line. This one was a little shorter.

"What's this?"

"Snack Shack. You can get cookies, juice, even PB and J."

"Did you seriously just call it that?"

"What? Anyways it's better then most of the food in here." They got to the front. Andre got a couple cookies, a juice, and a bagel. Antonio got a peanut butter and jelly, chips, and milk. He followed Andre to a table. There were two kids already sitting there. He recognized the girl from his marine bio class. The other boy had tan skin, black hair, and almond colored eyes. His hair was cropped short. "Hey guys," Andre said. "Have you met mì new amigo? This is Antonio. Antonio this is Lily," the girl, "and Diego."

"We've already met in marine bio," Lilly said.

"Excellent. Did Ander happen to hit anyone?"

"No."

"Such a disappointment."

"So where you are you from?" Lily asked Antonio.

"Reefside High School."

"Reefside? That's pretty far."

"Yeah. I just moved here..."

"Cool."

Lily looked at something behind Andre. "Heads up lover boy."

They turned around and saw Tiara. Andre smiled a goofy smile. Antonio looked at Lily. "Is he ok?"

"Yeah. He's just drooling over her."

Diego smiled. He reached over and stole some of Andre's food, but he was to preoccupied to notice. Antonio smiled. He saw Lauren sitting with Tiara, Jayden, and Kevin. He smiled.

"Oh no," Lily said. "Not you to. We're gonna need a leash for these two."

"Hey," Antonio said turning around as Andre snapped put of his daze and went to throw his trash away, "I am allowed to stare. I have a girlfriend." All of a sudden he heard a crash. They looked up and saw Andre standing in front of Brett, glaring. Brett had his arms crossed, glaring.

"This can only end badly," Diego muttered getting up.

"What was that for?" Andre demanded.

"What? You got in my way. You should be apologizing to me."

"No way."

Brett grabbed the front of Andre's shirt. By now everyone was watching. "Not so brave now, are you?" He sneered.

Andre brought one leg up and kicked Brett in the stomach. The bully stumbled backwards and released him. Diego ran over and out his hands on Andre's shoulders. He shook his head. Andre continued on his way back to their table. He sat down, clearly ticked off.

"That was interesting," Antonio said.

"I warned you," Andre said. "He's a complete jerk."

No kidding, Antonio thought. "Why does he hate you so much?"

"Because I'm twice the athlete he'll ever be and he knows it."

"What do you mean?"

Andre was about to answer before a bomb hit their table. Well...it was a actually a milk carton someone had filled with soggy food. It hit their table and exploded a everywhere. Lily stumbled backwards. Antonio jumped back with Andre. Diego ducked under the table. Milk and soggy food was flying everywhere.

The four of them got up. Antonio brushed himself off. He felt himself gag when he pulled a soggy piece of bread off his shirt. He heard someone laughing and turned around to see Brett and his friends. Andre's face contorted in fury. He looked like he was going to kill someone. Just then the bell rang for the end of lunch.

As kids started heading back to class, noticeably slower than they arrived, Andre gave Brett one last look of contempt before grabbing his bag and stalking away. Antonio headed towards the door. Just as he reached it he tripped over something and nearly fell, catching himself just in time. He looked around, but everyone was still leaving. Then he saw Brett a few feet in front of him. Brett turned around and gave Antonio a look of dislike before leaving.

Well then, Antonio thought on his way back to class. I may have just been dragged into the middle of something.

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