Dangerous Play

5 » lost in reality

Finn pushed open the double doors and entered the school cafeteria. He was greeted with an uproar of noise created by several hundred teenagers rushing to grab food and seats, talking and laughing with their friends. Mindlessly he got in a random line, grabbing a cheeseburger and some fries before sitting down with his friends at a circular table near the center of the room. Ashton, one of his teammates with black hair and green eyes only a shade darker than his own, turned to him immediately. "Who's hotter, Mena Massoud or Naomi Scott?"

Finn gave him a perplexed look. "Who?"

"Aladdin and Jasmine, man!" Two phones were immediately shoved in his face. He glanced at both screens distractedly, noting the actor's dazzling smile and the actress's impeccable bone structure. Her high cheekbones reminded him of Eden. He shook his head. Where on Earth had that thought come from?

"So, which is it?" Ash prompted.

"Uh, the guy, I guess?"

Beside him, Henry, another of their friends, groaned as Ash pumped a fist in the air. "Come on, man, Naomi Scott is clearly the right choice."

Ashton shook his head vehemently. "I'm straight, but if Mena Massoud asked me to marry him, I would in a heartbeat. Look at that smile!"

As the two of them continued bickering over the Aladdin actors, Finn tuned them out and began eating his lunch. For how prestigious a school Claremont Hill was, he'd never be able to guess by the mediocrity of the cafeteria food. Then again, he'd grown up with parents in the gourmet culinary business, so he supposed his criticism was a little harsh.

The topic soon shifted to how terrible their AP government essay had been, which was something Finn could agree with. Luckily, he'd finished it on Saturday, which left him all day Sunday to play video games and ignore his other responsibilities.

His gaze roamed over the other occupants of the crowded room. The underclassmen, freshmen and sophomores, huddled around the edges of the room, timidly eating lunch as they adjusted to a new school. The center of the room was mostly occupied by seniors and juniors, including his friends and Abby's friends. As his eyes landed on the table where she usually sat, he spotted Felicity's golden blonde locks and Rose's curly brown hair, but no sign of the flamboyant red hair that he'd grown up with.

That was odd. He glanced around his own table and realized that Kieran had yet to show up. Both his best friend and sister skipping lunch, without their friends?

A commotion to his right pushed the question out of his mind. Ashton was now telling the story of the time he snuck backstage at a concert by convincing the bouncer he was actually the drummer of the band. "The idiot just let me back! Turns out, I did look sort of like the real guy. We even had the same name! I ended up going to their afterparty too." He shook his head with a grin. "So many girls thought I really was the guy from the band. That was a fun night."

Finn could read between the lines on that one, and so could the rest of the table. He snickered. "Charming, Ash."

Ashton turned his green-eyed gaze on him. "Right, because you're so pure and innocent. What happened after you disappeared last Friday night?"

He normally had no problem talking about his more sordid activities with his friends, but this time felt different. "Nothing that concerns any of you," he said, grinning easily as he leaned back in his seat.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Alright then. Keep your secrets."

Henry peered at him. "Is that from Lord of the Rings? I can't believe you've seen those movies."

"Extended editions only, baby!" Ash crowed. "Orlando Bloom as a blonde elf, what's not to like?"

"You guys are such nerds," Finn muttered. He stood up and collected his trash, heading toward the waste disposal at the front of the cafeteria. He tossed the crumpled wrappers and returned to his table, but before he could sit down, the cafeteria doors opened and in strode Abby and Kieran.