Big City Villain | BOOK ONE

Revamped Chapter Six: Girl Problems

"And then my cousin was about ready to wrestle me to the ground when... Charlie? Are you still there?" I frowned at the starry-eyed boy sitting across from me and rolled my eyes. I flicked a grape at him. "Yo, earth to Charlie!"

There was no response. What could be more interesting than hearing my great storytelling? Extreme times call for extreme measures. "This is Captain Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. We are in dire need of assistance up here at the main deck."

Charlie snapped back to reality. "Beam me up, Scotty!" Or, at least, his version of reality. Charlie's face flushed red with embarrassment when he realized what he said. He looked down at his salad, found what I threw at him and flicked it back at me like it was my grape in the first place. "Shut up, Coal."

I caught the grape mid-air and popped it into my mouth. As you can tell, throwing food at each other was a daily routine. We long ago learned to never throw soup or sandwiches, and anything that required two hands to lift was illegal as well. I still had a scar from the Great Watermelon Throw of Last Summer, it was a cantaloupetastrophe. Orange you glad we actually learned a lesson?

Sometimes I'm quite impressed with my pun skills, unfortunately this isn't one of those times.

And because I hardly ever learn my lesson, I once again forgot to wake up early enough to pack a lunch. Snacking on some random grapes from Char's plate was just not going to cut it, especially since last night had been mostly filled with the growing pains. But there wasn't much I could do about it now, especially when the cafeteria food was sushi that looked exactly like the kind you get at a sketchy gas station.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

"Nothing."

I cocked an eyebrow. Obviously, it was something, but by the irritation in his voice, I knew better than to pursue it. "And what's up with the salad, Bugs Bunny?"

If it were socially acceptable, Charlie probably would have tried to kill me right then and there, but he settled with flicking a sunflower seed at me. "Mom is going through another 'healthy' phase and has sworn all carbs out of the house," he grumbled while he picked through the ingredients of his salad. "I at least stopped her from throwing out the garlic bread."

"How'd you manage that?"

"I convinced her that the garlic canceled out the calories."

"Solid." I was going to say more, something super cool and smart and quotable, but someone walked behind me and dropped a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the empty table in front of me. With a frown, I turned to see who was supplying me with such a nutritious meal and found Ben sitting down heavily next to me.

"I figured you skipped breakfast again and didn't pack lunch," Ben informed me as he handed over a thermos.

I narrowed my eyes and took it from him warily. Since when did he decide to start being nice? "Did you drop the sandwich on your way here? Did you put worms in it?"

Benjamin shrugged. "You could starve or eat it and get extra protein." He opened up his lunch box and even tossed me a small bag of chips. "All we've left are Lay's."

"Ew."

"I'll take them!" Charlie shouted. He snatched the bag without a second invitation. "Finally, some real food."

"What's wrong with him?" Ben asked with a frown.

"If I knew, I probably wouldn't be friends with him." I wanted to eat my food and enjoy every last bite, but Ben was still here and it irked me that he wouldn't get the subtle hint to get lost. Time to get obvious. "Don't you have a girlfriend to go sit with? This is the cool table and you're pushing it sitting with us."