Chapter Five

Chapter 5

Derek's POV

The cafeteria here at Ridgewood High always made a fuss whenever I walked in. The first thing that happened was it got noisy.

 The second thing was it got quiet. It started with people whispering, then chairs moving, then everyone pretending they weren’t staring at me before. I’d gotten used to it over the years. Being the quarterback did that to you. You became like a news headline.

Tyler grabbed a tray and stood beside me. “Practice is going to be tough today,” he said.

“It always is.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Jackson joined us with three plates of food, like he was getting ready for winter. “You guys don’t understand how important it is to eat a lot.”

Tyler made a sound. “You eat like a retired football player.”

We walked toward the tables where the rest of the team usually sat. Then Tyler suddenly stopped. “Oh hey,” he said, lifting his hand to wave at someone across the room.

 I followed his gaze and saw a girl with dark hair waving back enthusiastically. She was sitting with someone I recognized right away…auburn hair, delivery girl. The one who tripped.

Apparently the same girl whose chair farted in class this morning. She was eating a sandwich like nothing had happened an hour ago. That’s interesting… really interesting. I liked that.

Tyler nudged my shoulder. “Come say hi.”

“Why?”

“Because Maya is cool… She's a friend.”

I followed him anyway. When we reached the table, Maya was already smiling.

“Tyler!” They started talking like they had known each other for years, which left me standing. Lena Carter was here, pretending to study her sandwich like it was a historic artifact. Yeah… I learned her name today. Her name sounded cool. Lena.

“Is your chair behaving today?” I asked. The boys behind me laughed. She didn’t look up. “It was the chair,” she said calmly. Of course it was. I leaned a bit and noticed she was eating a sandwich, fries, and holding a milkshake in hand…not exactly a light meal.

The comment just came out before I thought about it. “You might want to slow down on the calories,” I said lazily. “Wouldn’t want another… accident.”

Before I knew it, people I didn’t know who were nearby burst out laughing. Usually when something like that happened, people reacted with embarrassment, anger, or sometimes tears.

 Lena didn’t do any of those things. She just sat there and took another bite of her sandwich like nothing had happened… that was unexpected.

Across the table, Maya stood up quickly. “Wow,” she said sharply, eyes locked on mine. “You’re really proud of that, huh?” The laughter faded.

 I raised an eyebrow. “Proud of what?”

“Being a jerk,” she snapped. Tyler rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Jackson suddenly found the ceiling really interesting.

“Relax,” I said.

“No,” Maya shot back. “You relax… maybe take your ego somewhere else.” She pointed toward the rest of the cafeteria. “You’re not welcome at this table.”

The whole moment had turned weird. Not because Maya was angry…people got angry all the time…but because Lena still hadn’t reacted. She was just sitting there quietly eating fries like the conversation had nothing to do with her. I looked at her. She wiped her hands with a napkin calmly. No embarrassment. No anger. Just normal. That was new.

“Suit yourself,” I said finally. Then I walked away with the guys. Behind me, the cafeteria noise slowly came back. Jackson leaned in close as we sat down. “Dude,” he whispered, “that was brutal.”

Tyler shook his head. “You’re going to get in trouble with that friend of hers one day.”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I glanced across the room. Lena was still sitting there with Maya, laughing now. Actually laughing. Like the thing hadn’t mattered. Tyler followed my gaze. “Oh,” he said slowly.

“What?”

“You’re staring.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

Jackson leaned over the table dramatically. “Is this about the chair girl?”

“Stop calling her that.”

Tyler blinked. “Wow.”

“What?”

“You defended her.”

“I didn’t defend anyone.”

My eyes drifted back to her table again, because something about that reaction didn’t make sense. Most people tried to impress me. Hate me. At least react. She didn’t do any of that. She just… didn’t care. Tyler was still watching me like he had discovered something.

“You know,” he said casually, “for someone you just insulted…”

“What?”

“You seem curious about her.”

I leaned back in my chair. Across the cafeteria, Lena Carter grabbed her tray and stood up. She said something to Maya that made them both laugh.

 Then she walked out of the cafeteria without looking in my direction, which was enough… It made me want to see her reaction even more.

Because somehow, in a school full of people trying to get my attention, Lena Carter was the only one who looked like she didn’t want it at all.