Fake It 'Til You Make It

|12| Lunch

Lunch. It was the time of day where teens felt the need to be overly loud, shouting at the top of their lungs to be heard by their peers over the clatter of other voices. It's the only time we could be 'free' from classwork and teachers than droned on and on and on.

Tala dragged me with her into the lunch line. Her tanner arm was hooked through mine, keeping me in place. Delicious smells of food drift towards my nostrils and I sighed. At least this school had excellent food, and I meant excellent.

Cara took her place on Tala's other side, obviously trying to hog her attention. Behind me, Asher, J, and a few other boys could be heard guffawing up a storm. What was so funny, I had no freaking idea.

As I turned around around, I saw that J's girlfriend was wrapped around his arm like Saran Wrap. Asher, clearly annoyed by the girl, and her friend's, intrusive presence, turned to me. Which, of course, took me by surprise. The guy practically hated me that morning.

"So, I heard Chris and you got yelled at in Spanish."

I shrugged, a smile of laughter on my lips. "Yeah. It was kind of funny though. Chris is a real riot." That wasn't even me faking it.

Asher rolled his eyes. "Guys like him aren't good news, Ada. What's that short for, anyways?"

For some reason, I waned to protect Chris. He was more of a friend than half of the other people at the school. I also wanted to protect my full name. Or, maybe, toss it away. Adalaide got stomped on, Ada was going to conquer the remainder of high school.

"He's actually nice to me. And you just need to know what to call me, and that's Ada."

Again, the boy in front, or rather behind, me rolled his eyes. "Alright, whatever you say, Ada."

There he was, back to being rude. He turned to talk to his friends, and I spun around to see I was at the food. I grabbed a plate of orange chicken (because, yes, they actually had their own Chinese chef), a carton of apple juice, and some napkins. Then, after I told them my name, as I didn't yet have a student I.D to scan, I sought out Tala's table.

It didn't take long. And, no, that wasn't just because I had sat there before. They were easy to spot, the trademark group. Not at the smackdab center of everything, but close enough to the food and far away enough from the trash cans.

Tala's purple hair and some guy's varsity jacket greeted me. I sat across from the violet-haired girl, Cara nice and cozy beside her. Asher, surprisingly, plopped down next to me, J, the sl- I mean girl, so close they almost looked like conjoined twins.

"Who's this?"

Tala's attention snapped in my direction. The guy sighed, aqua eyes piercing my own. His raven hair was tousled, almost in need of a trim. His build was muscular and, of course, he had a stunning jawline.

He also looked at Tala like she was his steak dinner,
not a sweet girl he had the privilege to sit next to.

"This is Troy. Troy, meet Ada! She's the newest addition to our group of friends!"

Friends? I wasn't sure everyone in that group could be called 'friends.'

Troy seemed to size me up and nodded in approval. "You're Vienna's sister, right? I'm good friends with her boyfriend."

I smiled. Vienna sure was something, and I was glad to be her sister. I was also glad she had a boyfriend, hopefully one that deeply cared for her. Although, if he hung out with Troy, I wasn't sure what to make of the situation.

"Yeah, I am. And that's nice to hear."

"Welcome."

I nodded, shoving some of my delightful food into my mouth. The tantalizing aroma couldn't be ignored.

"So, you single?"

I nearly spit the food out of my mouth as Tala shot him a glare.

He held his hands in the air. "I was asking so I could maybe hook you up with one of my friends." He turned to Tala and winked. "I'm all yours if you want me."

She playfully whacked his arm.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the display. Troy seemed different. He didn't scoff at the mere mention of me or act like he was better than me. I felt bad for swiftly judging him. Here I was, striving to make friends. If someone didn't try to be my enemy, I didn't need to do the same to them.

Lunch resumed. Laughter and giggles resonated through the close space. Turning to look at Asher, I found him smiling at his phone. I didn't mean to snoop, but I caught the name of the person he was texting. Or, at least, their contact name; 'Mine' with about three cutsie emojis by it.

"Aw, how cute," I couldn't help but whisper. He had a girlfriend. I hoped he wasn't as bipolar with her as he was with me.

His head snapped up, eyes lowered into a glare. "You know, it's rude to pry into other people's conversations."

"Sorry. I just couldn't help but notice-"

"Yeah. I couldn't help but notice you can't take a hint."

I turned away from him and rolled my eyes. "You didn't have to sit next to me."

Silence.

"Did you, Ashy?"

"Don't call me that!"

I stifled a giggle. Annoying people was fun. "Well, don't act like someone shoved a stick up your ass and sit next to me."

He sighed. Glancing over at him, I realized he was once again immersed into a conversation with 'Mine.'

Yeah, whatever nickname works for you, buddy.

By the time lunch was over, my stomach with full and satisfied. I tossed my trash away, walking beside Tala. She was smiling, like always. Troy has walked off to join his own group of friends, so she was gushing all about how 'amazing' he was.

"Can I tell you a secret?" She whispered to me. Cara was caught up with J's girlfriend, who had finally detached herself from him.

I nodded at Tala, although I'm not sure what kind of secret she would wish to tell me.

"He's really good in bed. But- he's nicer than most of the other boys."

My lips tilted upwards. I was glad she had found herself a boy that wasn't just in it to get laid. "That's really nice, Tala. But- the first part was a little more information than I needed."

She laughed, the sound drowning out the conversations of others. "Sorry, girlie."

Cara and the other girl dragged her off, leaving me to really think about the people at my new school.

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Thanks for all the support on this story guys! Here is the long awaited update! Sorry it took so long, or that it isn't that long. Writer's block is mean. :(

QOTD: Do you think Troy's faking it or he's genuinely nice?

-Sarah