Class passed by so slowly. As the bell rang for lunch, Paige was the last to leave her seat. Ms.Kwan looked at her quizzically, but did not say anything. Paige walked into the cafeteira. Now, where should she sit? She stood at the door, deciding. Hazel noticed her, and waved to her from her table. Sighing, she walked over to their table and sat down, between Terri and Hazel. "Hey everyone." she said monotonously. Everyone said hey to her quickly, with the exception of Spinner. Nervously, she picked up a napkin and started shredding it obsessively. "Paige? Earth to Paige!" Hazel said.

"Oh.. sorry. What?" Paige asked.

"Aren't you gonna eat your lunch?" Hazel said, looking at Paige's untouched lunch.

"Um, no. My stomach feels extremely queasy." And it was true. The smell of food all around her seemed overpowering.

"Paige you're not dieting are you? You're so tiny!" Terri said, almost enviously.

"No I'm not dieting. Just not hungry." Paige said. She could feel Spinners eyes burning into her and she felt as if she were about to break. "Oh.. I totally forgot! I have... to go to the library. See you later guys." she said, getting up from the table and walking briskly out of the caf. Her friends looked at each other, dumbfounded. Finally Jimmy spoke.

"Okay, what's the deal with Paige? She's never been quiet for more than 2 minutes." Hazel and Terri both shrugged.

"She hasn't said anything to me. She's fine, I'm sure. Probably just daydreaming about De.. I mean she probably isn't feeling well." Hazel finished lamely.

Spinner's eyes narrowed angrily. "Thinking about Dean? Don't try to lie to me Hazel. I saw them there. I saw her go upstairs with him. It's obvious what she's thinking about."

Jimmy sighed. "Spin, she dissed you. Badly. Get over her."

"Yeah. Fine. Whatever." Spinner mumbled.

Meanwhile...
"Hey.. did you guys just see Paige go by? Whats the deal with that?" Ashley asked curiously. Paige had practically run out of the cafeteira, and all day she had been acting strange. Her hair wasn't all done up, she had no make-up on, and her outfit was not on the cutting edge of fashion.

Ellie shrugged. "Who knows, who cares?"

Beside Ashley, Craig looked worried. "She looked really upset. Someone should find out if she's okay."

Ellie just laughed. "This is Paige Micalchuk we're talking about. If there was a problem, one of her little followers would comfort her. Don't worry about it guys."

Now Ashley felt a bit uneasy. "I don't know, she just looked really sad. You're probably right Ellie."

But Craig pressed on. "I don't really know Paige well, but honestly Ash, she looks devasted..." he trailed off into his own thoughts. *Remember when "dad" was still beating the crap out of me? I felt the exact same way she looks...* He swallowed hard at the painful memories and continued. "Ash, just try to talk to her. Please?"

Ashley groaned. "Are you guys forgetting how she totally ruined my life this year?"

Ellie glared at Craig. "Amen. She did."

Craig sighed. "Ashley! Just go make sure she's okay! I know she did some messed up stuff to you, I do Ash. I'm not telling you to be her best friend or anything. I'd do it, but I don't know her well enough."

Ashley gritted her teeth. She didn't want to talk to Paige, but if Craig was so concerned, she'd do it. "Fine..." she said evenly. "I'll talk to her."