After geography class ended Joey asked Kat if he could walk her to her next class. Flattered, Kat said yes and they moved into the hallway as it filled up with fellow students rushing to second period.

Joey offered to carry Kat's backpack, and while she felt a little weird having him do that since they just met, she still let him carry it. She was afraid that if she turned him down he'd think less of her. Despite being new to the school, Joey greeted people as they passed him in the hallway. Most of them were girls, and they giggled and blushed when he said hello to them. Kat was pleased that of all the girls in the freshman class he was walking with her.

Depositing her at her second period class, he asked, "How about lunch today? Which cafeteria will you be in?"

"I have no idea. But I'll be eating with my friend Mandella if you want to join us."

Joey smiled and replied, "I'll see what I can do." With that he left her standing in the doorway to her Spanish class.

When third period came it was History, which was her first class with Mandella. Kat found Mandella standing outside the classroom waiting for her. "How are your classes so far?" Mandella asked as they sat down in chairs next to each other.

"Oh who cares!" Kat exclaimed. "I've met a wonderful boy!"

Mandella raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Who?"

"His name is Joey Donner and he's simply divine. Very cute, seems nice, and already seems to be the most popular boy in school even though it's his first day!"

Mandella's eyes widened at the mention of his name. "Joey Donner?" she squeaked. "Someone was talking about him last period. Apparently at East Padua Middle School he was the big man on campus and a shoo-in for varsity baseball during his freshman year!"

Kat sighed dreamily. "Well, he walked me to class early this morning and then asked if I wanted to have lunch with him in the cafeteria."

"Did you say yes?" Mandella asked. "Because we don't have to sit together if you don't want."

Kat sat up straight in her chair and said earnestly, "Mandella, you are my best friend and we're committing right now to remain best friends for the rest of our lives no matter what! And if that means Joey Donner eats lunch with Kat and Mandella, then so be it!"

Mandella looked relieved as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of their history class.

* * *

The line for food but once Kat and Mandella finished paying for their fruit salads and soda they looked around the crowded cafeteria for a table. Padua High School had two cafeterias to cater to all of its 4,000 students. They ate in two shifts - the freshman and sophomores during one hour, and the juniors and seniors in another.

Kat tried to hide the fact that she was actually looking for Joey amongst the hundreds of students currently seated around the vast number of tables. She knew it would be impossible to find him in this crowd.

"Come on, let's go over there." Kat motioned to a table against one wall that was only half full. Just as Kat was about the place her tray on the table, a guy bumped past her and sat down in the very seat she intended to take. His friend sat down in the seat intended for Mandella.

"Hey!" Kat cried out. "That's my seat!"

"Not anymore," the boy grumbled. Kat frowned at him, noting his appearance from unkempt long hair to his scuffed combat boots.

"And who do you think you are," Kat demanded to know. "Get out of that seat."

The boy looked up at Kat with glittering grey-green eyes. "No. I will not get up, and you will have to find another seat. And this way Scurvy and I can finish our lunch."

Kat opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out. She recognized a slight accent in his voice. Australian? And while she found this intriguing, she found the boy repulsive in his rudeness. And his friend Scurvy was not much better - a Sid Vicious wannabe.

"Come on, Kat, let's go. We can find another seat somewhere else." Mandella stepped in between Kat and the boy, hoping to end the stand-off.

"Fine," Kat grumbled. Without another word she stomped away in search of another vacant pair of seats.

The boy watched Kat walk off for a moment, before looking back at Scurvy, who said, "She's gotta be a freshman, Pat. We want seniors."

Patrick Verona laughed. "Scurvy, with looks like yours you're lucky your own mom loves you."

Scurvy broke out into a grin at Patrick's teasing, then picked up his cheeseburger and took a big bite.

Patrick turned again to look for Kat. The name fits her, he thought. And it'll be interesting to really get her dander up. Spying her dropping her tray violently onto a table a few yards away, he could swear he heard her say,

"That pig!" Kat fumed as she stabbed a fork into a piece of watermelon. "How dare he speak to me like that!"

Mandella delicately took a sip of her soda. "Kat, it's all right - we got another seat with no problem."

"Mandella, that's not the point."

Mandella sighed. "I know, I know." Mimicking Kat she recited, "The point is that male oppression is rife at Padua High and it's up to us to let them know it's not appropriate so that when we get to college we are treated with respect and not with frat boy disdain."

Kat paused before responding then said, "Am I that bad?"

"Sometimes. But I love you anyway."

Kat looked over at the boy and his friend. They were laughing as they ate, as though nothing had happened.

Her ire up again, Kat picked up a piece of celery and bit off a piece as she muttered, "Boys suck."

"Yeah," Mandella agreed. "But they are so darn cute, too!"

Kat couldn't help but look over at the boy again. Even though he was rude, and certainly nothing like Joey Donner, she had felt a heat inside her gut when he turned his gleaming eyes on her.

Mentally calling herself a fool for even thinking about him, she said, "Yeah, cute like Joey Donner!"

A little while later the ten-minute warning bell rang to let the students know they needed to head to their next class. The girls gathered up their belongings and their empty trays and made their way towards the line of trashcans near the exit doors.

Without warning, Kat's tray was suddenly lifted out of her hands. She turned and found Joey Donner walking next to her, now holding her tray along with his own.

"At last I've found you, fair Katarina," he murmured in her ear. "I looked all over for you and couldn't find you until now."

Kat found herself blushing again, like the girls in the hall. "I'm glad you found me now," she replied.

Mandella let out a polite cough on her other side, and Kat leapt into action and said, "Joey, this is my friend Mandella. Mandella, this is Joey."

Joey deposited the trays in the dumb waiter and then turned to Mandella and said, "Nice to meet you, Mandella. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine."

Ah, a slicky boy, Mandella thought to herself, surprised that Kat would be so easily attracted to someone who seemed a little false.

"Nice to meet you," she said out loud with a slight smile.

As all three of them walked out the exit doors into the main hallway of the building, the boy who had insulted Kat brushed by, deliberating pushing into Joey.

"Hey watch it!" Joey warned.

The boy looked at Joey scornfully, his gaze not bothering to hide his disdain.

"Sorry, Sparky," he said with a false sincerity. Then looking at Kat he said, "And next time you feel like insulting me by calling me a pig, make sure I'm not within hearing distance."

Scurvy came up next to his friend and said, "Come on, Pat, we gotta get to woodshop."

Patrick continued looking at Kat expectantly, not knowing what he was waiting for, but knowing he didn't want to look away from her just yet.

Kat stared back at him mutely, rolling his name around her head as she felt the knot in her stomach again. Pat. Patrick, most likely. What pretty eyes he has..

Mandella watched Patrick with interest as he regarded Kat. What have we here? she thought. Looks like Joey may have a competitor for the fair Katarina. How delicious.

Kat blinked and suddenly lurched into motion, turning from Patrick without saying a word. She responded to a question Joey asked her as they moved down the hall.

Mandella went to follow them, then turned back to Patrick and introduced herself. "I'm Mandella," she said, sticking out her hand.

Patrick took her hand in his surprisingly strong grip and shook it. "Patrick Verona."

Mandella grinned and said mischievously , "I'll be looking forward to hearing more from you, Patrick Verona. Indeed I will."

With that, she turned and ran down the hall to catch up with Kat and Joey, who it turns out shared the next period with each other.