"How?!"

Elizabeth blinked at his reaction to her teasing greeting.

"How, what?"

"Lunch literally just ended and you're not even in C Lunch with me!"

"Yeah."

"How do you know already?!"

"Uh." Her eyebrows furrowed and then she shrugged. "Just do. Word travels fast. So, if you really want to get away from everyone-"

Danny's head spun, eyes big. How'd she know that was what he was up to? Any other kid he was marched by though the cafe and around the corner to the office had thought it'd been a daring stunt, that he was a cool new guy.

"-the band teacher, Mr. Ward, is a pretty chill guy and would probably be fine if you ask about taking your lunch into the practice room."

Off-footed by the offered suggestion, it took Danny a moment to respond.

"Thanks." He paused, frowning. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. Ward's like that. There's a few band kids that aren't in choir who hang out in the band room instead of their study hall room for the lunch block and he's cool with that."

As he didn't respond right away, she explained more.

"Ah. The lunch block for the music students is choir, then B Lunch, then band. But if you're not in both, they stick you in a study hall for the one you're not in. Mrs. Crilly is very by-the-book, but once you tell a study hall teacher you're going to the band room instead, they never question where you are if you don't show up after that."

"That seems...like a good way for kids to ditch."

She laughed. "And go where?"

Good point. The school was built in the middle of nowhere. So each of the small towns making up the district had about a ten minute drive through farmland to get to the school. Danny didn't imagine there was much time during the short 20 minute lunch study halls to get to one of the towns and back. Doable, but what would be to point? You wouldn't have time to do anything.

"Besides, no one would do that to Ward. He'd let you."

"Ditch?"

"Borrow a practice room during band. They're empty then anyway. We should probably get going. Break's almost over."

"Right, right."

As if the end of the conversation with her to head up the hallway to Geometry was a cue, Danny was immediately recieving thumps on his arms and shouts of how awesome he was and yelled demands on showing them how he did it.

From seemingly everyone.

Word traveled ridiculously fast here.

And if this teacher was respected for being chill, then...

"The band room is the door opposite of the old gym, right?"

Elizabeth grinned. "Yep."