Page 145 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
Rachel joined us then, squeezing her way in beside Maisie and Ava, who gladly made room on the bench. Rachel and Ava started bickering about leg room, to which Maisie laughed along to, and I couldn’t help but watch the three of them with a smile. These were the friends that swooped in around Maisie when I’d dropped the ball, and the three of them almost seemed like one unit.
In fact, the whole table felt like one big family, as if they’d all been friends for years. Lacey and Rachel talked about Lacey’s van, which she apparently had convertedinto a little home on wheels, and Ava passed Landon over her container of ranch for his carrot sticks, because he’d forgotten to grab some from the lunch line. There was so much warmth exuding from all the interactions, and it wasn’t until that moment that I realized how cold the Top Tier’s table had been. Icy. Lonely, even surrounded by the whole cafeteria.
This was better. So much better.
“Look who I found.” We all looked up as Connor approached the table. He had two trays in his grip—one with a bowl of chili and breadsticks, and the other withextrabreadsticks and a mountain of plastic wrapped cookies. “She fought me, because sitting with her brother is lame, but I’m a good negotiator.”
Landon’s little sister, Gemma, came up behind Connor with her own lunch pail in her hand. She had a juice from the cafeteria, though, so she must’ve seen Connor in line. “He said he had cookies,” Gemma told us in a light voice, gaze bouncing around almost nervously.
“The more the merrier,” Maisie said happily, reaching for a breadstick.
Ava pointed at the blond-haired boy who lingered behind Gemma. “It’s… Hudson, right?”
I knew about Hudson, but only a little. He was the kid Ashton and Kyle beat up freshman year, becoming an outcast in the hallways. He’d always seemed like a shadow before, weaving in and out, not really seen or heard. Something about him was different now, and maybe it was partly because, instead of all black, he had on a pink and blue hoodie. “That’s me,” he replied to Ava, his voice kind and strong.
Connor looked at me, then at Rachel. “I have a feeling neither of you are going to swap me seats.”
“Nope,” Rachel and I replied in unison, and then shared a giggle.
“I figured.” With a little sigh, he placed the tray of breadsticks and cookies in the middle, and then all but fell into the seat beside Landon. “Feast, my friends. Gemma, Hudson, help yourselves.”
Hudson sat down on the other side of Lacey, who shot him a grin. “It’s nice eating with you in the cafeteria for a change.”
“Much better than the counselor’s office.”
Lacey grinned. “Aw, you’re growing up so well.”
Hudson just shook his head, but I could see him fight off a smile.
The cookies were gone in no time, because someone—coughReedcough—took three, and then tried to blame it on Ava. Hudson gave half of his cookie to Gemma, who tried to push it back to him, but he refused to take it. Rachel was talking about her friend, Josh, who was out sick today. “Today, of all days, he leaves me alone with all thecouples,” she said.
I leaned around Maisie to meet her eye. “It’s rude of everyone to be so in love, isn’t it?” I asked Rachel, tone teasing.
Her jaw dropped a little in agreement with my mock offense. “Yes! So rude!”
No one brought up Jade or the Top Tier or Logan, but it didn’t feel like an obvious elephant we talked around. Everyone had little things to say here and there, and the conversations that branched off from that topic flowed this way and that naturally. There was something so calming about sitting at a table where there was no animosity or judgment. There was just happiness, peace, and a little bit of love.
I’d been fearful heading into the lunchroom, but every ounce of those emotions were gone now. I couldn’t believe how much the tables had turned.
Despite everything, I found my gaze seeking out the table in the middle of the lunchroom. Ashton, Kyle, and Riley sat there, but no one else did. Not even the junior football players who normally crowded our space. It was strange to see empty seats.
Especially Jade’s seat.
“She’s been here all week,” Maisie told me quietly, seeing where I was looking. “But not today.”
“She wasn’t in homeroom.” Reed caught Ava’s hand and traced his fingers along hers. “Mrs. Diego called her for attendance, but she didn’t answer.”
Ava gave an unconcerned shrug. “I haven’t seen anything on Babble, either.”
Lacey tipped her chin at me. “She hasn’t texted you, like, at all? No threatening messages, no insults, nothing?”
“She can’t text me.” I wiped my fingers on my napkin. “I broke her phone.”
Lacey’s dark eyebrows shot up at the same time her lips curved into a grin. “Atta girl.”
A part of me, a part I’d never admit to, was a little worried about Jade’s absence, but in a way that almost hurt. Jade hardly ever missed school, and only ever was absent if she was sick or if she wanted to be dramatic. Like, if Connor and her ever had a tiff and it ended up on Babble, she’d miss the next day of school, just so people would keep talking.
I wondered if that was what she was doing today, if she’d somehow found outthis was my first day back, and wanted to get everyone talking further. Probably. That was so Jade Dyer.
