Just Picture It

Chapter 35- Staring Eyes and Lunchtime Drama

Jamie blinked and asked, "What"

Korbin said in a low voice, "If you sit at an end, you only have one person next to you, and that would be me. I just didn't know if you wanted to be next to the wall, or on the aisle."

Jamie frowned and then said, "Let's try the aisle. There will be more people walking by, but I'll have an exit."

They had hardly sat down when Sondra, Danica, and Hillary joined them along with Korbin's teammates. Soon the table was full and Jamie was glad that Korbin had thought ahead. Just when she was starting to worry about there being too many people, they stopped coming. Jamie took a deep breath and glanced around. She recognized everyone at the table, and the ones close by were surprisingly empty. For a moment, Jamie was confused, then Jamie saw why the tables were almost empty. Every time someone headed their way, Korbin would glare until they turned away. Sure, there were a few kids at nearby tables, but not very many.

Jamie hid a smile and began to relax as she let the chatting voices swirl around her and ate her lunch. This was much different from lunchtime at Roosevelt. There, she had trouble finding a table that would let her sit with them. Now she had to worry about too many people crowding her.

Her musing was interrupted when Moe glanced at Korbin with a teasing smile before he said to Jamie, "I had a couple of classes with you this morning. It seems that Korbin is helping you get adjusted. I don't know if you noticed, but that makes the teachers nervous. Usually they just let Korbin do the assignments on his own and give him some space. Are you sure you wouldn't rather be partnered with me?"

Sondra and Jamie both froze while Korbin glared. Jamie leaned into Korbin's side casually, and just stared at Moe as she considered the best way to respond. When Moe started to squirm and eventually seemed to realize how out of line his teasing was, Jamie relaxed a little. It didn't hurt that Korbin had casually slid an arm around her back. Jamie finally answered with a simple, "No thanks," and went back to her lunch.

Moe squirmed uncomfortably for a few minutes before he changed the subject by asking in a more serious tone, "Have you decided if you are joining the girls' tennis team?"

Jamie shared, "I met Coach Marshall while I was in the office. She invited me to join. I don't want to throw off the team, but it could be interesting," she said wistfully.

Moe smiled and suggested, "You should watch our practice. Today is the final day for the tournament that decides our varsity team."

"I don't want to miss Korbin's matches. I'll find a way to watch no matter what," Jamie promised. She looked over and noticed Korbin had stopped eating and was picking at his food. "What's wrong?" she whispered.

"I had managed to forget about the tournament for awhile. Now the butterflies in my stomach are bouncing on trampolines," Korbin replied with a wry grin.

Jamie grinned at Korbin's attempt at humor even as she reassured, "You'll do fine."

Korbin gave a nod, and had just picked up his fork again when Susie casually walked by with Aaron and Nancy. As she cut near the table, Susie spoke in a loud carrying voice, "Yes, my nose is broken. A real bitch broke it this weekend."

Aaron glared over at Korbin as he answered Susie pointedly, "You just can't trust some of the people who are at the public tennis courts. Some are just so violent and low class." He came to a stop and looked at Jamie in fake surprise before adding, "I guess that this school lets in violent and low class people too." His gaze turned back to Korbin and Moe as he continued with a sneer, "I shouldn't be surprised. The school let in you two. One gets into fights and the other has to live with his cousins since his parents don't want him."