Summary: Lana has to investigate the school cafeteria. Thankfully, she doesn't exactly know why Chloe gave her this particular assignment.
A/N: I'm thinking she should get a little dirty… (muhahaha)
Disclaimer: I own nothing, absolutely nothing! All ideas are just pieced together from "Smallville"… a show you can't help but love!
Lana sat at the Talon, contemplating her assignment. She was so glad that she'd joined the Torch's staff. It made her feel as if people now expected her to have more brains than when she'd been a cheerleader. It gave her more of an identity. Something besides "cheerleader extraordinaire" or "Whitney's ex". And her friendship with Chloe was also something to be treasured. It wasn't often that Chloe Sullivan decided to make nice with another girl. Lana knew why, of course. It couldn't be easy to be so driven in what was typically a male-oriented field.
She thought about her assignment. Investigating the nutritional value of the school's food, wasn't top on her list of great things to do, but she didn't think Chloe would have given her the assignment if there wasn't the confidence that Lana could complete it. It was nice, having someone believe in you. She was relieved that working at the Talon was so automatic now. She found herself taking orders, smiling, and greeting people she knew while most of her brain could focus on another situation entirely. It really was rather amazing.
So, how to address this issue? Coming out and accusing the school of neglecting their students would do it. First, she needed to discover who was in charge of the cafeteria and get an interview with them. That would give her the school's view of the situation. Then she should interview the cafeteria staff. They would be the ones that would know all of the pertinent information and probably give her the fuel to show the school what they were doing wrong. Really, it seemed rather straightforward, didn't it?
Lana consciously focused her eyes to see if anyone she knew would have the information of the school districts food representative. Then she saw her. She smiled and picked up her coffee pot. She turned her smile up a charm notch and weaved her way between the customers to her target. "Julia," she chirped with a smile. "Do you need a refill?"
The girl looked at her in shock. Lana could almost hear the thoughts as they crossed her face. I didn't know Lana Lang knew my name! I mean, we have 3 classes together, but we've never really talked. Wow! "Lana, you're a mind reader!"
If it was possible, Lana's smile brightened another notch. The girl had no idea how transparent she was. "Oh, no. I can just tell when a customer is going to start looking for a refill. Hey, do you mind if I sit for a minute? My feet are killing me?" Lana was rather proud at how she rattled off that fib like she'd been doing it every day of her life.
"That's great… I mean, sure. Why not?" Julia looked as if Christmas had come early. It wasn't every day she had a popular person looking to spend some quality time with her.
Lana sank onto the sofa beside her. This was going to be a snap! "Thanks a million! I tell you, sometimes it feels like I'm going to wear the leather off the soles of my shoes." She smiled again, trying to keep it from looking too feral. "Say, you're in here rather early. Don't you have an after-school job at the school district office?"
Julia gaped at her. "You know about that?"
Lana laughed, trying to make it sound carefree or tinkling and not triumphant. "Julia, you're always talking to Karen about how interesting it is there." She looked down, wishing she had the ability to blush on command. "I mean, I don't mean to eavesdrop, but it sounds fascinating."
Julia blushed at the complement. She looked around to see if anyone was watching them. Wait 'til I tell Karen! her face screamed to Lana. Be cool. Be cool! "Well, it's not so bad. Mr. McGillicuty is really fascinating. He's doing this study on schools in the Midwest…"
Lana knew she had to cut this off before it became a dissertation. She hadn't been lying when she'd said that she'd heard Julia and Karen talking, but she really didn't need to know everything… Just one small thing… "You know, that's totally fascinating… but I was wondering… Who's in charge of the school lunch system? I mean that must be a totally hard job."
Julia grimaced. "Mr. Peterson? Yeah, I guess he's okay. He's really mean, though. He can't keep any kind of assistant and the ladies there will come to blows rather than help him out. He even yelled at me for not bringing him some report that just happened to be on my table. How was I supposed to know that I wasn't supposed to check it. That's the only reasons why files get put there anyway. I'm supposed to check it for any current correspondence and tag it if it needs a response or file it away."
Oh, really? Lana thought. This sounds promising… "Well, that's really creepy. Did you report him?"
Julia laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right. Like anyone's going to believe the teenage help! I mean, I do good work, but it's not like they couldn't replace me in a heartbeat if I started causing waves."
"That's not right." Lana was feeling slightly guilty for bringing up an obviously sore subject. She hadn't meant to make Julia get upset. "But I understand how you feel. In a town as small as ours, the jobs we teenagers can do are pretty scarce." She patted Julia's hand. "But if he does it again, you owe it to yourself to report it. No one should be able to treat you like that." She smiled at her sudden inspiration. "How about this? If he ever does that to you again, report it. If they fire you, I'll see what I can do to get you hired here."
"Really?" Julia asked breathlessly. "You mean it?"
"Well, I know you don't have any waitressing experience, but you could learn. But don't just quit. I know how much you really like it there."
"Thanks, Lana. Really!" Julia's eyes held stars in them for the support. Lana's guilt receded, but she really hoped the girl wouldn't quit a good job just to work in a coffee house.
"No problem, Julia." She turned and looked over Julia's shoulder. Martha Kent was standing at the counter, which fit into Lana's plans. "Well, I gotta' go, Julia. Mrs. Kent was waving me over. Looks like she needs me for something…"
"No problem. I'll see you in English?" Julia looked very hopeful.
Lana smiled as she got up. "Of course. I'll talk to you later." She turned and walked back to the counter. Julia was a nice enough girl, but she had some really clinging aspects. Lana hoped that it wouldn't get too bad.
At the counter, she smiled in satisfaction, pushing all thoughts of a needy Julia to the side. She had her first lead. Well, she wasn't sure she could call it a "lead" per se, but it was a start. She ticked off the first on her list of things to do. She looked at the clock. If she let this go to long, Chloe would be all over her, wanting to know when it was going to be ready. It was only 4:00. He might even still be in the office. She turned to Martha. "Mrs. Kent, would you mind covering for me? I've got an assignment from Chloe I've got to work on and now may be the only time I can get my interview."
A smile broke Martha Kent's beautiful face. Gosh, I hope I look that good when I get to be her age, Lana thought wistfully. "Of course, Lana. You go right ahead. With the help we have already, I don't think it'll be too much trouble."
"You're the best, Mrs. Kent. I really owe you one!" Lana hurried to get her things together.
"Nonsense, dear. I know Chloe and getting a headstart on any of her assignments is not a bad idea." They both laughed. It was common knowledge that the Torch was Chloe's baby. It was as if she didn't think anyone else could put it together as well as her. Lana admitted ruefully to herself that she may be right. With a final smile to Martha, she bolted out the door.
A/N: OK, I know that Lana isn't a lot of people's favorite character… she's not really mine either, but that doesn't mean she's unintelligent. Let's look at this logically. Would Chloe really having her working at the Torch if she was a moron?
I would also like to mention that my intention was to have each assignment take a chapter… but now I'm thinking that it may take a little longer. Can you ever forgive me?
