Greg Rymer and Mike Sargento sidled down with their lunch trays completely piled with food as usual. Rymer ripped half the paper off his straw and blew the remaining wrapper off the end of it toward me, jolting me out of my trance. “What’s up, Warren? Not eating today?”
Shit. I forgot about having to eat in front of Trip. I’m no Scarlett O’Hara or anything, but the thought of chewing like some common cow in front of the cute new guy was beyond horrifying. But sitting there sipping demurely on a Diet Coke like some salad-eating girly-girl was not the image I was hoping to portray either. Besides, the last thing I needed was for my stomach to start growling in the middle of English Lit. I resigned myself to the prospect of having to eat something as I joined Lisa in the lunch line.
Eyeing up the prospective meals offered in your average, high-school cafeteria is daunting enough. The menus aren’t exactly being considered for worldwide culinary acclaim. But trying to find something edible and dainty was like navigating a minefield.
Meatball sub was too sloppy, spaghetti was right out. Oh, curse you, Italian Tuesday!
I settled on my usual mid-day selection: a big, soft pretzel with yellow mustard. Normally, I’d grab an apple or something, too, but I was feeling self-conscious enough as it was. I figured whatever tidbits I managed to scarf down my throat would have to provide enough sustenance for the day.
I bypassed a tray and pulled a few napkins out of the dispenser on my way back to the table.
Lisa was already there, sitting with Rymer, Sargento, Cooper Benedict... and Trip. I slid inconspicuously into the seat next to Lisa and cracked my can of soda. The guys were busy talking about their plans for the weekend.
“So, Coop,” Rymer started in, “Tell your hot sister to come to my party on Saturday night.”
Coop gave Rymer a warning look. “Dude. If you fuckin’ say one more thing about my sister...”
Rymer ignored the threat and continued by twisting the knife. “What? She’s hot. I think she’s got a little crush on me, too.” He elbowed Sargento before continuing, “You see the way she was sweatin’ me last week when she picked us up from practice? Man, I thought she was gonna kick you two out of the car and jump me right there in the parking lot.” He took a huge bite out of his sub before adding, “Trip, you gotta see this girl. Total bitch, but black hair, great ass and tits bigger than DeSanto’s.” This earned Rymer a shove from Coop and a meatball to the chest from Lisa, which made us all crack up.
I’d been ripping little pieces off my pretzel and trying to pop them unnoticed into my mouth. I was mid-chew when Rymer reached across the table to grab my stack of napkins. Cleaning sauce off his Oxford, he suddenly decided to switch subjects. “Oh, hey Warren! You meet Trip yet?”
I was caught off guard enough to almost choke, but luckily, I caught myself. I still had a mouthful of food, so I shielded my lips with my hand and answered as best I could. “Uh huh. We’re in Mason’s together.” Then, I swallowed and was able to nod in Trip’s direction to add casually, “How’s it going?”
The guys were still laughing at the big, red stain that Rymer was unsuccessfully trying to wipe off his shirt, so Lisa and I were the only ones to absorb the full force of Trip’s lazy grin when he replied, “It’s good, Layla. How’s it going for you?”
I almost died at the way he said that, looking right at me with half-lidded eyes and those perfect, full lips smiling out my name. I felt Lisa kick me under the table, so I knew she caught it too. Oh my God. Was he flirting with me? As intrigued as I was, my survival instincts quickly won out. The guys would never stop busting my chops if they caught me flirting with the new guy. I smiled politely and offered evasively, “It’s good.”
Just making courteous small talk, right?
Soon after, the bell rang, so we all grabbed our garbage from the table and ditched it in the trash on our way out the door. My locker was right outside the cafeteria, so I pit-stopped there to get my English notebook. When I stood back up, I was surprised to see Trip standing right behind me.
“Oh! I didn’t see you there!” I said like a complete tool.
He looked a little taken aback. “I just thought...” and then he nodded his head in the direction of the hallway and I realized he was waiting to walk with me down to English class.
I laughed to save face and said, “Yeah, sure. Duh.”