“Damn, Liv. You ever gonna stop studying?” Jason Vindegraft asked as he slid into the booth across from me.
“She isn’t. She’s all freaked about the physics test on Thursday.” Kylie Marin said, pulling Jason’s arm around her shoulder with a quick peck on the cheek.
“I just want to be prepared!” I defended myself. “There’s no way I’m gonna let Ms. P win this one.” I didn’t have the heart to tell them my test anxiety had been getting worse and worse.
“It feels like a distress signal that you’re concerned with ‘beating the teacher’” Jason mocked me with air-quotes. We all laughed and I returned to my notes. Jason and Kylie were the school’s power couple, who also happened to be my best friends. The loud, telltale click of designer shoes on linoleum interrupted my focus. I looked up from my notes to see Jenna Crowley, our table’s resident gossip, stalking up to us in her bright red stilettos, with Kitty Ferdinand skittering in tow.
“KylieKylieKylie!” Jenna squealed. “You’re never gonna guess who just transferred to Easton!”
Kylie and I exchanged a knowing look. Jenna’s information, while mostly accurate, was always exaggerated, not to mention fueled by her strange desire to be noticed by everyone, especially Kylie. “Who, Jenna?” She responded, clearly annoyed.
“It’s-” Kitty began.
“SHUT UP KITTY!” Jenna screamed, causing Kitty to squeal as if someone had kicked her. “ANYWAYS!” She continued, glaring at Kitty. “It’s Nate. Nate Nicoletti.”
Kylie’s face fell. A moment of tense silence passed. “No,” She whispered. “No way. Why the hell would he be here? I thought he moved to Massachusetts!”
My heart sank. If Nate Nicoletti was back, something bad was about to happen. “Hey!” I reassured Kylie, taking her hand. “He’s not gonna bother you anymore. He wouldn’t dare.”
“Who’s Nate Nicoletti?” Jason demanded.
“The evil ex,” I responded, sharing a grim look with Kylie.
“Oh.”
Nate had become somewhat of a taboo subject among our friend group. He and Kylie dated for almost 9 months in eighth grade, and let’s just say it didn’t end well. He was expelled, and she was suspended for a week. No one heard from him once he left school, and it was rumored that he moved across the country.
“So what’re you gonna do?” Jenna asked a little too happily, breaking the solemn silence that had befallen the table.
“I don’t know,” Kylie admitted, staring at her macaroni.
“Well, good luck with that!” Jenna chirped, stalking away. Kitty nodded enthusiastically, and bounced after her. The silence lingered after them. I glanced at Kylie, but she hadn’t looked up from her macaroni. Jason was looking at her too, in a worried sort of way. He reached for her hand, and she didn’t move. She just limply sat there, his hand on top of hers.
Suddenly, the rest of our “squad” arrived in unison, surrounded by the electric air signature to a group of rowdy teens. Their noise followed them, the yelling, joking, and laughing of kids who know they’re the top of the chain, who know that everyone is looking at them, and who thoroughly enjoy it.
“VINDEGRAFT!!!” Reed Klein boomed, sauntering up to the table. He tossed a chick-fil-a bag at Jason and shoved himself into the booth right next to me. I was squeezed between the wall and his huge bicep. The rest of the group soon followed, roughly 10 more people squeezing themselves into the barely-big-enough booth. It was about half of the football team, with a couple cheerleaders and volleyball girls sprinkled throughout. They sipped on chick-fil-a cups of soda and chatted. Reed’s voice was loudest of them all. “And she was TOTALLY into me. I mean, she was practically begging me to ask her out. I don’t know though, she’s kinda short.” Jenna, who had somehow found her way back to the table, laughed a cackly, showy, performance of a laugh. She’d been after Reed since the summer.
“Don’t judge a girl by her height!” She giggled “Think of her personality! She could be short AND a bitch!” The guys at the table laughed, all except Jason. None of the girls, minus Jenna, found it funny. Some of the girls nonchalantly resumed their chatter, but the rest of the table remained quiet. Sensing her joke fell short, Jenna managed a little giggle and a cough, not at all mending the atmosphere. The occupants of the table looked around for a topic of conversation. “KYLIE!” Reed bellowed, seeing her staring at her food. “Why the long face?”
“She’s fine,” I muttered, closing my notebook. I give up. I thought. I wasn’t gonna get much studying done with the rest of them here. I shot Reed a look that said don’t ask. He raised his eyebrows, clearly curious. I hoped he’d keep his mouth shut.
“I know why!” Jenna singsonged. I stifled a groan. “It’s cause the Nutcracker’s back!” I found it weird that she used his football nickname.
“NO. WAY.” Hallie-Jean Gourie exclaimed from across the table. “NATE NICOLETTI!?” She’d liked him before he started dating Kylie.
“Yes, way!” Jenna said. “He just transferred back here.” Hallie-Jean opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. The whole table fell silent yet again. Point Jenna. As we exchanged awkward glances, Kylie lifted her head.
“I don’t want to deal with this until I have to.” She took the chick-fil-a bag from Jason and tore it open. “Let’s eat!” She declared, causing the table to burst into uproarious cheering. As chicken nuggets were passed around, I noticed nice-boy sitting at a table towards the back of the cafeteria. He was smiling at a girl. I couldn’t see her face, but a sheet of long, black braids hung down her back. In his hands was a little black notebook. He shoved it into his backpack, and she stood up, placing a hand on his shoulder. They exchanged a couple of words, and she left. As she walked, his eyes followed her. He turned his gaze back in my direction and for a brief second, we made eye contact. He smiled, stood up, grabbed his backpack, and started towards me. When I thought he was going to stop at our table, he walked right past us. I followed him with my eyes, all the way out the cafeteria. The bell rang.