Exchange

Chapter 3

The next few lessons passed by slowly and painfully. The only thing I could focus on was the ticking clock and how every time it moved, I was getting closer to lunch time, which meant I was getting closer to finding out whether I'd made the Exchange program or not.

I sat in my seat, a mess of nerves, going over anything I could have done better. Joined extra clubs, worked harder in Algebra, maybe taken up a sport? However, the endless list of imperfections only seemed to be enhancing my anxiety, and also, I was starting to sound a little excessive, even in my own head. With clenched fists, I looked up at the clock again, completely ignoring our teacher's lecture on Macbeth, something I usually would be interested in. A couple more minutes and the bell to lunch would go.

My chest rose and fell and I wrapped an arm around my stomach which was thrashing with butterflies. Calm down Rose. I silently chanted. If you don't get chosen it's no big deal. You can save up. You can-

"Brrrrr!!!"

My hand that lay on the table slipped off and my head shot up fast enough to give me whiplash. Oh God. The room was suddenly filled with the scraping of chairs, people packing up and loud voices. Still sitting in my seat, I attempted to gather some sense of calm and slowly rose to my feet. Bag in hand, I pushed in my chair and reluctantly followed the mob of teenagers.

~~~

Arriving into the cafeteria, I was instantly greeted with a mass of kids, half of them occupying the tables and the others queuing for their lunch. I looked across at the long line of people, knowing already that I wouldn't be able to stomach whatever they were serving. The thought of food actually made me feel sick right then. Instead, I let my eyes travel towards a particular table where Kate, Beth and Adrianna were all sitting.

Skipping food, I made my way over to them, eager to sit down. However half way there, I found myself gritting my teeth as I was forced to walk past Mason Tanner's table. His table consisted of most of the football team and half of the cheer squad. It was by far the most popular table and being invited to sit there was apparently a huge deal, or at least they thought so. We weren't talking about the most modest people here.

I walked past them quickly and prevented myself from rolling my eyes when I noticed Sally Chalmers hanging off of Mason's arm and throwing her head back with a flirtatious laugh. In the ultimate scheme of things, Sally was harmless. She had the potential to be spiteful at times, and not even her best friends were exempt from her big mouth, but that's as harmless as she got. She was way to cowardly to actually bully a persons one-on-one, and she was also too worried about maintaining the 'good-girl' reputation she believed she had at school.

Nevertheless, watching the two of them openly flirt didn't exactly elevate my mood.

Mason, as usual, was grinning, and he opened his mouth to say something that, I'm sure he believed, was incredibly witty. However, before he could get the words out, his gaze caught mine. It was only for a second, but in that second his smile faltered and whatever he had been about to say froze on his lips. But another moment later, he was focused on Sally again, making her giggle and bat her eyelashes excessively. I shook my head in exasperation.

Walking past them I made my way to Kate and the others. Adrianna gave me a little wave which I returned, stretching a smile onto my face.

"Hey girl." Adrianna grinned, moving aside and letting me slip in next to her. She tossed her long dark hair back and looked at me with shining eyes.

"Nervous?" she asked, her glossy lips stretching into a grin.

I managed a weak laugh. "Yup."

With a roll of her eyes, Adrianna took a bite of her pizza slice. "You have no reason to be Rose."