Victor sat back in his chair. I admired the way his wavy hair hung around his ears. The clasp to the cord at his neck looked to be hanging by the edge.
“Hold still, Victor,” I said, reaching to his neck.
At my touch, he jumped, rubbing where my fingers brushed his neck as if I had pinched him. “What is it?” His eyebrows creased together.
“Sorry,” I said. “Your necklace. The clasp didn’t look like it was holding on very well.”
His cheeks went red. “I thought it was a bug or something.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I wouldn’t have touched a bug.”
“Well thanks.”
“Turn around and I’ll fix it.”
He hesitated and he glanced at others in the room. With his face still red, he turned around. I adjusted the clasp so the chain was secure.
“You’re going to lose it,” I said. “Be more careful.”
His fingertips smoothed over the surface of the medallion. I was about to ask him what the symbol meant but the teacher walked in.
Mr. Morris was a thin man, with a closely cropped head of dark hair and small eyes. He stood at the front of the room, his arms crossed over his chest and as straight as an arrow. “Good morning. I’m Mr. Morris. You can call me Mr. Morris or sir. I respond to either.” He moved to his desk and picked up a history book. “You’ll need to pick this up at the book store. You should always bring it with you to class. We’ll never have a day where we won’t be using it.”
The volume looked thick, even in his big hands. I sat back in my chair, my legs sliding a little under Victor’s desk. I sensed North leaning forward as I could nearly feel his breath on my hair.
Mr. Morris dropped the book on his desk, and the corresponding slam caused me to jump. “We’re starting with the Agricultural Revolution and moving quickly into Egypt and then the Persians. As such, I want a one page essay on my desk tomorrow about the Agricultural Revolution.”
There was a collection of muttering and a few groans.
“I’ll make it two pages. It’s no big deal to me how much you write.”
The class quieted down quickly. I chewed on my lower lip. Mr. Morris was going to be tough.
After class was lunch. Everyone surged for the doors. Victor, North and I lingered back well behind everyone else as we headed to the main building.
“This being in the trailers is going to get old quick,” North said. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he walked.
“It might be nice,” I said, readjusting my backpack. “I mean getting out of the building into some nice weather should be fun.”
“It won’t always be good weather,” Victor said. “What about when it rains?”
I pushed my finger to my lower lip. “It’s not so bad. I mean with an umbrella and everything.”
Victor kicked a pebble off of the sidewalk. “We’ll see what you say in the winter.”
I had to smile at that. Did he not remember that I was from Illinois? I couldn’t imagine South Carolina getting a few feet of snow or being any worse in the winter than that.
When we got to the cafeteria, the place was hectic with students in long lines that stretched out into the hallways. All of the tables were teeming. People sat against the walls, too.
“I don’t see any of the guys,” I said.
“I found them,” North said, pointing out the window to the outdoor courtyard in the middle of the building. In one of the corners, I could see Silas’s head over the crowds.
When we got outside, I was relieved to see they were all there. They stood around one of the benches, with a collection of book bags piled up on the concrete bench seat.
“The lines are crazy long,” North said. “I don’t know how they get everyone fed.”
“I’m hungry,” Gabriel complained, gripping his stomach. “I don’t want to wait an hour for food. Tell me there’s an open campus policy.”
“Nope,” Kota said. He opened his bag and pulled out a wrapped sandwich. He split it with Victor. “No going off campus once you’re here.”
“There’s some vending machines in the front hallway,” I said. I glanced at Gabriel. “I’ll walk over with you if you want.”
Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, I’ll eat anything.”
I dropped my bag on the ground near North’s feet. “Keep an eye on it?”
“Grab some crackers for me, will you?” North asked. He dipped his hand into his pocket and found a couple of dollars.
I knew I was beaming and I couldn’t hide it. It made me happy to be somewhat useful to the group that was constantly doing things for me.
“And get me a candy bar,” Luke said.
“Are you going to give her money for it?” North asked.
“You just did.”
North shook his head. “Get him something a little healthier than candy, will you?”
Gabriel laughed and then grabbed my arm. “Come on.”
The main hallway was even more crowded than it was that morning. The cafeteria wasn’t big enough to accommodate over two thousand students at once. There was a line for the vending. We stood arm to arm at the back of the line for our turn.
“No wonder everyone here looks grumpy and gets into fights,” I said. “Everyone’s hungry.”
Gabriel said nothing, seeming distracted by students leaning against the trophy cases, some sitting down on the floor. I felt their eyes on us. I realized that Gabriel and I were dressed a little nicer than everyone else. Most of the other students seemed to be wearing jeans and t-shirts. The girls wore jeans and low cut tops. Gabriel and I stood out more here without the others.
The line crept forward. Machines spit back out dollar bills more often than they accepted them.
“What are you getting?” Gabriel asked.
“I wasn’t going to,” I said. “I didn’t bring any money.”
His eyebrows shot up. He brushed his fingers through the lock of blond hanging next to his eyes. “Then why did you say you’d come with me?”
I blinked at him. “So you wouldn’t go alone. I thought that was what we were doing. Always sticking together like Kota said.”
His crystal eyes lit up. “You dummy. Tell me what you want. I’ll get it.”
“It’s okay, I don’t...”
“Just pick something.”
I hesitated. I had been so anxious that morning that eating wasn’t really a concern. My stomach was still rattling from nervousness now.
“Say something or I’ll buy you one of everything,” Gabriel warned. He poked at my arm with a lean finger. “Pick. Pick. Pick.”
“Maybe some crackers, please,” I said, relenting.
In the end, we returned with two packets of crackers, three packages of trail mix, a couple candy bars, and three bottles of water.
“What took you guys so long?” Luke said as we approached. He reached for a candy bar. “We were about send a rescue team.”
“You’re lucky we came back at all with stuff,” Gabriel said, opening one of the trail mix packages. “Even the vending machines were nearly empty. I was going to get more but we were taking too long and the line behind us was grumbling.”
I handed North some crackers and his change. He stuffed the money back into his pocket, ripping open the crackers.
I opened the crackers Gabriel bought for me. I noticed Silas eyeballing us. I smiled to him and pointed my package at him.
He started to wave his hand. “It’s okay,” he said.
“Eat one,” I said.
He reached and took a cracker, smiling. “Thanks.”
Gabriel handed some of the trail mix out to Nathan and Victor. “Welcome to fine dining at this fucking school.”
Kota shook his head and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Look at us scraping for food. This is ridiculous.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a package of chips. He opened it and offered it to the others.
“I guess the only answer is to bring stuff every day,” I said. “We’ll know better tomorrow.”
Between us, we managed to share Kota’s lunch and what we got from the vending machine and we shared the bottles of water.
As we stood there together, I recognized a few geek groups and a cluster of hippies sitting on their bookbags in the grass around the courtyard. Compared to the rest of the crowded halls of the school, the courtyard actually seemed peaceful. The weather was hot but if it kept the courtyard from being crowded, I thought it would be nice to sit outside every day. A small corner of peace from the chaos inside.