The Seven In High School

Sudden Death: Now Possible!

FRANK

High school was a war zone.

Frank's reasoning was: that there was battle, carnage and bloodshed everywhere. And of course, precious lives were lost every day.

A few feet in front of them, a boy tripped and fell, exposing his SpongeBob SquarePants underpants. The hallway burst in raucous, hyena-like laughter as the unfortunate victim turned tomato red and ran off.

A precious life has been lost today. Frank thought with regret. Rest in peace, soldier.

"A precious life has been lost today." Hazel said aloud. "May he rest in peace."

He looked at Hazel with surprise. Hazel smiled bashfully. "What?"

"I was just...well...I just thought of the same thing." he explained, tripping over his words.

Hazel blushed as she ducked her head slightly. A curly, cinnamon-colored lock fell in her face as Frank watched, mesmerized.

Their guide, Em, cleared her throat loudly. "And as I was saying, this is the cafeteria. You lovebirds better not get lost in here, or you're dead."

"Zhang! Levesque!" Frank and Hazel turned. Jason, Piper and Leo were hurrying toward them with their guide, Laylah in tow. Jason looked vaguely bemused, Leo was grinning maniacally and Piper looked like she wanted to annihilate someone.

"So how was your first class?" Hazel asked excitedly.

"French? It was fine. Piper's already the delight of Madame Augustin." Jason answered.

"You're missing the point!" Leo exclaimed. "Some girls hit on Jason."

Ah. That would explain Piper's expression.

"It-it's not a big deal, Leo." Jason cut in. He squeezed Piper's hand, which softened her I-will-kill-someone-right-now vibe considerably. She managed to crack a smile.

"There you guys are!" Percy popped up, hand-in-hand with Annabeth.

"You won't believe how fun Trig is!" Annabeth cried. She was beaming. "So many angles to draw! And we've homework due tomorrow!"

"I'm sure Trig is super fun." Diana interjected, smiling weakly. "But now is the hardest and possibly most fatal part of the school day.

"Lunch." Laylah declared gravely.

They all stared at their mortal guides incredulously. Frank couldn't understand why lunch was so deadly. Wasn't it just eating?

Maybe he'd missed something. Maybe it meant fighting for food. He wasn't sure.

Just then, Gwen appeared.

"Hey there. Did I miss anything interesting?" Gwen questioned.

"I guess not." Frank said, scratching his head.

"And now, into the belly of the beast." Diana said dramatically, opening the doors. "After you."

***

A buzzing noise filled Frank's ears. The cafeteria, filled with many students, all making some sort of noise, looked normal. At least, to Frank. Maybe Canadian cafeterias were different. A clean stretch of scuffed white floor spread out in front of them; round purple tables, each blazoned with the school crest, filled up most of the space. The wall directly opposite of them was floor-to-ceiling windows, pale sunlight pouring in through them. To these right of the long, empty cross-shaped aisle were metal food counters, each armed with hulking hair-netted lunch ladies. Erected at the other left end was a mock level; comprised of 2 staircases leading up to another space for eating. The base of the mock level had been cleverly constructed as 3 large steps, meant for sitting. A school spirit banner cheerily advertising Homecoming hung proudly from the mock level.

"Wow." said Jason. "So many people!"

"This is high school, Jason." Piper said.

"This is the most important part: the catwalk." Diana said. Her blue eyes were eerily wide. She gestured to the long aisle.

"I'm sorry, but I don't catwalk. Never! Will I ever!" Leo cried.

"Here reputations are made, lives are shattered, dreams crushed. Everything depends on how you look as you walk down that aisle." Laylah intoned solemnly. Frank noticed that Em had already ditched them sometime ago.

"The cafeteria is also a place of social order. I mean, we're not as extreme as Mean Girls but we have cliques too." Diana explained. "At your south-west, we have the hipsters, art geeks, yearbook committee, newspaper committee, uncool musicians, computer geeks and NHS kids. Neutral in popularity."

"North-west is where the popular kids sit. Cheerleaders, jocks, preps, plastics, cool musicians, JV jocks, biker kids, and wannabees. High in popularity."

"And north-east, next to the garbage disposal, is where the lowlifes sit. The rebels, marching band, emos, stoners and burnouts. So low you could wipe your shoes on them."

"And above all, literally, are the jocks, student government and dramaramas. Top of the food chain."

Diana and Laylah, finished, nodded ominously at them.

"That's it. Now look sharp."

***

The din of the cafeteria quieted noticeably as they set off. Kids paused momentarily to give them a once-over. Bit like the legion assembly, before you were even accepted into a cohort.

Frank felt the short hairs on his neck prickle from all the stares. His battle instinct was on high alert.

Percy and Annabeth were leading the way, as usual. Percy's stride was relaxed, yet confident despite the many stares. Nearly invisible lines of tension had appeared in Annabeth's shoulders, but that was all. Her body language dictated that she was calm and fully in control. Jason, Piper and Leo followed at their heels. Piper was walking a little closer to Jason than she was to Leo, a clear indication that they were a couple. And he and Hazel brought up the rear. They were close enough that Frank could feel the heat radiating off her.

After what could've been an infinity, their walk came to an end.

The food line loomed before them, beckoning.

***

"Where do we sit?" asked Leo. They had successfully wrangled the line and now stood triumphant, balancing their white trays of food.

To their right, a table of people dressed in black and looking mournful (or at least trying to) leered at them.

"Not there." Piper said immediately.

"Wise choice." Diana agreed, appearing beside them. "Come on, you can sit with me for today."

She started walking briskly up the aisle. Seeing as they had no better choice, they followed.