Lunch alone
524 Words
The rest of the morning passed slowly. Lila copied notes from the board, answered her teachers when they called on her, and kept her head down. She could feel people looking at her from time to time, but she pretended not to notice.
When the lunch bell rang, everyone hurried out of the classroom. Lila waited until most of the students had left before picking up her bag.
She followed the crowd to the cafeteria.
The room was loud. Friends laughed together, people called each other’s names, and chairs scraped against the floor. Lila looked around, hoping to find an empty table.
There was only one.
She walked over, sat down, and quietly opened the lunch her mother had packed that morning.
She had only taken a few bites when she heard someone laugh.
“She’s eating all by herself.”
Lila looked up for a second before quickly looking back at her food.
A group of girls stood a few steps away. They were dressed perfectly, their hair neatly done, and everyone around them seemed to know who they were.
One of them, a tall girl with long blonde hair, folded her arms.
“So you’re the new girl.”
Lila didn’t answer.
“I asked you a question.”
“My name is Lila,” she said softly.
The girl smirked. “Well, Lila, around here people actually talk.”
The other girls laughed.
“Leave her,” one of them said. “She’s obviously too good for everyone.”
“I’m… not,” Lila replied, but her voice was almost too quiet to hear.
The girls laughed again before walking away.
Lila looked down at her lunch. She wasn’t hungry anymore.
Just then, someone placed a tray on the table across from her.
“Can I sit here?”
Lila looked up.
A girl with curly brown hair smiled warmly at her.
“There are lots of empty seats,” Lila said.
“I know,” the girl replied, sitting down anyway. “But I’d rather sit here.”
For the first time that day, Lila smiled a little.
“I’m Emma.”
“Lila.”
“I know. You’re the new girl.”
Lila sighed. “Is it that obvious?”
Emma laughed. “Only because everyone has been talking about you since this morning.”
Lila’s smile disappeared.
“Don’t worry,” Emma quickly said. “Not everyone here is mean.”
“You seem nice.”
“I am nice,” Emma said proudly, making Lila laugh.
“There it is!” Emma pointed at her. “You smiled. I was beginning to think your face was stuck.”
Lila rolled her eyes, still smiling.
Maybe this school wouldn’t be so bad after all.
As the lunch bell ended, Emma stood up.
“We have English together next period.”
“We do?”
“Yep. Come on.”
The two girls walked out of the cafeteria side by side.
Neither of them noticed the boy standing across the hallway.
He had seen everything.
He watched quietly before turning and walking to class.
His name was Noah Carter.
- Writer
