"So how are things in Smallville?" Brian asked as he set the tray down at one of the long tables.

"The same," Clark said, taking the spot across from him.

"So crazy?"

He smiled at that perceptive observation. "Pretty much."

He saw the girl from earlier in line, getting her food. He didn't say anything; he was just observing her, but Brian followed his line of vision.

"Forget it. You want to stay away from her. She is trouble."

"Yeah, I got that impression."

"I mean it. There are easier girls to fall for. She's pretty, but trust me when I say you couldn't handle her."

"I am not falling for her. I like someone else."

"Right. Still Lana? You got the nerve to ask her out, yet?"

"No, not yet, but we've come close to becoming more than friends."

"Don't let the grass grow under your feet or she'll move on to someone else."

Brian was already halfway through his plate. Clark hadn't even lifted a fork yet as his attention went back to the girl, who by now had a full tray and was heading to one of the empty tables. "Who is she?"

"The general's daughter. And I mean THE general. He's got quite a few stars to his name."

"She looks lonely. Maybe I should go sit with her."

He chuckled. "You have a hero complex or something?"

"No. More like I can't escape the values I was raised with." He stood up and picked up his tray again. "I'll join you after dinner." If he wanted to be honest, it wasn't only because he was taught the golden rule. He was interested in learning more about her, because she wasn't like the girls he knew back home.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It's a free country. I can't stop you."

He took that as a yes and sat down. "I thought I should introduce myself. I'm Clark Kent."

"Why?" she asked with a smirk. "Even if you decide this is the life for you, you're not going to be stationed here probably, and if you are, I'll have long blown this popsicle stand. Two more months, and I'm gone."

He stared at her expectantly, and she got the message that he was waiting for her to return the favor. She shook her head in exasperation, but she said, "Lois Lane."

"Nice to meet you, Lois." He finally took a bite of his meal. The spaghetti was mediocre to say the least, definitely cafeteria-style.

She must have noticed his less than enthusiastic second bite. "Prison food, I know. People don't join for the great eats."

"I don't suppose. You eat here regularly?"

"For the most part, though I have the occasional break for good behavior."

She enjoyed her witty repartee. It was strange to him not to think of eating home-cooked meals with your family. "Do your parents never cook?

"The General is too busy, and well, I'm a disaster in the kitchen, but we do occasionally eat out in a restaurant or someone else's home if you must know."

He got the message. It was just her and her father, and they weren't that close for her not to call him by a paternal name.

"You don't have to look like that's so tragic," she said with a laugh. "There are worse things in the world than foregoing homemade cooking. What was tragic was when the General had to pack my lunches in elementary, and he packed me army ration food. Not the tastiest stuff in the world and I got a lot of stares, but hey, at least I've never gone hungry."

She obviously didn't want sympathy, so he smiled. "They were probably just envious that their lunches were so boring."

"Well, enough about me, Kent. What about you?"

He couldn't help being amused at the use of his surname. She really had grown up on a military base to address him by his last name rather than his first. "Not much to tell about me."

"Let's see if I can guess. You have a mom and a dad you get along great with, a crush on the girl next door, you play football. In fact, your life is so boringly predictable, the idea of military life seems exiting. Am I right?"

She had no idea how complicated his life really was. "Just curious about military life at this point."

"Well, as much fun as this has been, helping to satisfy your curiosity," she said, standing up with her only half-finished tray. "I've got other places to be, other people I'd rather see."

She was rude, but at least she was honest. And better yet, the base was proving an effective distraction from his problems back home. Maybe that was why Lana had decided to go to Paris. He just hoped when she came back in the fall, they could pick up where they left off.