Echo [Sequel to MATW]

Chapter Three - Cora

I looked up from my food at the two concerned faces. "Whataya mean I've been acting weird? I'm perfectly normal, at least as normal as I've ever been." I countered.

"Okay." Trevor conceded, returning to his food.

I needed a break from these two. I looked around, and saw there was one other person sitting at our table.  A short girl with long auburn hair framing her face and tanned skin, wearing a bright blue tank top under a white sweater with skinny jeans. I had never seen her before, but she felt strangely familiar. I slid over one seat, leaving Trevor and Lana to themselves, and tried to strike up a conversation with her.

"Hey, so are you new here?" I asked her confidently, flashing her what I hoped was a nice smile.

"Are you? I haven't seen you before." She said frigidly, glancing my way. 

"I left early before Spring Break ended. But I'm back now...." I trailed off. Something about this girl was stealing my words away.

"I'm Cora. And to answer your question, yes, I am new here. My first day was actually the day before Spring Break began, so I must've just missed you. " She said curtly.

"That's cool. I'm Danny, by the way." I said. She still hadn't looked up at me, keeping her eyes on the salad she was eating, dragging a lettuce leaf through a puddle of ranch dressing with her fork. "What class do you have next?" I asked her, desparately grasping for conversation.

"Science, Mr. Skitt's class." The mysterious girl said shortly. My face lit up. "No way! Me too!" I said excitedly. I would have another chance to talk to her. This girl reminded me of something, and I think I knew what. She finally looked over at me, a curious smile playing across her lips.  "Why's that a good thing?" She asked me expectantly.

"I dunno, you just seemed like a cool person and I'd love the chance to get to know you better." I answered smoothly. Her smile widened, but then her face fell as she watched someone approach our table. When I say her face fell, of course I don't mean that the front part of her head slid off the front and splattered messily on the cafeteria flooring. I just mean that her previously cheerful expression deteriorated as the person strutted over and sat down across from her.

"Hello, Coraline. Who's this?" Greeted the newcomer. I got a good look at him and saw he looked quite similar to Cora, the same auburn hair, the same chiseled facial features, similar skin tone, although the boy was a bit paler, as if he spent less time in the sun and more time inside. He had square glasses with black frames, and he was wearing a simple blue long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

"Just Cora, thank you very much." Cora said cuttingly. "You know how much I hate that name, Eric." I winced at her icy attitude.  Eric was unfazed, however, and instead focused on me. Suddenly, I started feeling uncomfortable, realizing how close I had been sitting to Cora, and promptly scooted a bit over, as the kid continued to scrutinize me. 

Cora finally broke the awkward silence. "Danny, this is my rude older brother, Eric. Eric, meet my new friend, Danny." The two siblings exchanged a meaningful look and realization dawned on Eric's face. "Oh, right." He said, his composure faltering somewhat, but recovered just as quickly as it left. 

Eric started to eat, and as he ate started interrogating me. I could tell right away he was the protective older brother type. "So, Danny, how long have you been going to Edmond High?" He asked me.

"Just this year, seeing as how I'm a freshie." I said, using the commun term for freshman. "And what year are you guys?" I returned.

"Same as you." said Cora. "Our parents are field scientists, so we move around sometimes. We just moved here a week or so ago." She told me.  

"Field scientists? That's pretty cool. " I said, even though it wasn't. That's the trick to making conversation, you always act like whatever the other person is saying is interesting, and they'll keep going. The bell for 5th period rang all of a sudden, and Eric got up form his seat quickly, startling me slightly. "Let's go, Coraline. Time for science." He said forcefully. Cora followed reluctantly, whining, " I told you to just call me Cora!" She looked back over her shoulder and waved briefly at me.

As I walked towards the science classroom, Trevor caught up with me. "Who was that?" He asked me suspiciously, wiping a bit of spagetti sauce off his chin.

"My NEW friends." I told him carelessly, and watched his dumbfounded expression as I brushed past him. Who says that old dogs can't learn new tricks?