The Girl with the Cranes

4: lunch

The lunch bell rings at the end of third block. "Well," I say to myself. "If I'm going to make a friend, it's now or never I guess." I walked into the lunchroom and turned away from my usual spot in the corner next to the trash. No one has ever been known to bother me there. Today, however, I moved with the crowds towards the middle of the lunchroom. I stood in the exact center for a long time and stared at each table in the vicinity in turn.

"Hello?" I feel a tap on my shoulder so I turn around.

"Um...yes...hi?" I reply nervously.

"You look lost," he states.

"Well...yeah..." I start to shake nervously. The boy puts an hand on my arm and squeezes reassuringly.

"Would you like to sit with us?" He asks. His smile could light up the sun.

"Are you sure....it...it's okay Idowannaintrude." I mumbled my words, but somehow he heard me quite clearly. He gave me a funny look before shouting to his friend,

"Hey! Is it a problem if this guy," he motioned to me, "sits with us?"

"Not a problem," he says with a laugh. He moved to make room for me. The table is a long table with benches. When I took a closer look I realized that not everyone at the table spoke to each other. Instead, small groups sat together looking as though they were one large one.

I sat down in the spot they'd made for me. I pulled out the plastic bag and started eating my chips. "So...what's your name?" The first boy asked to break the awkward silence.

"Mateo. My name is Mateo." It started as a mumble, but ended quite strong and clear.

"That's a cool name, Mateo..." The first boy seemed lost in thought about my name. Then, he noticed me staring at him. "Oh, I'm Ryan by the way. And this," he gestured to his friend, "is George."

""Sup bitch," George said with a wave.

"Uh...hi..." I gulped down my fear and smiled. I could finally tell my mom I'd made not one friend, but two. I pull out my phone to text her.

"Oh!" Ryan shouted out.

"What?"

"Is that an iPhone 6?"

"Yeah..." I replied cautiously.

"Cool beans bro," George said with a satisfied nod.

"Yeah, it's the last good iPhone they made. Now they're all trashy," Ryan added.

"Hey." A voice said. It was light and reminded me of flowers. I looked up and saw a girl standing there. The first thing I noticed was her big sweatshirt. She looked at me. "Who's the new kid?"

"Oh thats—"

"I think he can speak for himself Ryan, but thank you anyways," she interjected. She turned to me and put out a hand. "I'm Journey. Journey Chantel."

"Journey Chantel," I repeated in a whisper. She looked at me expectantly. "Oh right sorry. I'm Mateo."

"Mateo..." she prompted.

"Mateo Orizaga."

"Well Mateo Orizaga, welcome to our school." She put out her hand for me to shake and I took it. It was a firm handshake, but it felt strange somehow.

"So where'd you come from Mateo?" Ryan asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Ryan, George, and Journey were easy to talk to somehow. Almost like talking to my mamá and my papá when he was still here.

"What school he means," said George.

"Oh," I said. "Um..." I had started to shut down. I didn't know what to say. They thought I was new here but the truth was... "I'm actually not new here," I heard myself say. I watched as Journey's mouth made a large "o" shape. George gives her a funny look.

"How old are you then?" Ryan asked.

"Seventeen," I replied. "I'm a senior."

"We are too," George says.

"No we're not," Ryan interjects. "We're juniors, George. Journey is the senior."

"Whoops." I noticed that Journey has been staring at me this whole time and I had, subconsciously, stared back for a while."

"You mean to say..." she pauses, "you've been here all this time and you've just now—"

"Yes." I cut her off before she can say anything else.

"Welp...welcome to our lunch table." I grin as a thought passes through my mind. "She gets me."

When the lunch bell rings George, Ryan, and Journey all leap up from the table," see you tomorrow, Mateo," and I hung back for a few minutes to pack up my bag. Once I'd finished I got up and watched a paper crane land on my chair. I picked it up and carefully put it in my pocket with the other crane.

"I will find out who made these," I said to the world in general.

"Hm?" A nearby girl asked. I blushed in embarrassment and shook my head to show I hadn't been speaking to her. It's only then when I remember the day is Friday.

8/19/19

Happy Birthday Hermione! 

Tbh I like this chapter a lot. But...I did realize I need to fix my pov a bit bc it's messy. 824 words though!!! Lemme know what you think so far! Thoughts on what might happen next? Until tomorrow

~Ashen