In Between the Lines

Chapter 3: The Assignment - and Other Matters

Alyssa shot me a glare. "Don't try to change the subject."

"I'm not trying to change the subject." Okay, maybe a little bit. "How did Lewis even know my name? I haven't even actually met the guy."

Alyssa and Olivia exchanged knowing glances.

"Everyone sort of knows who you are, Lyra." Olivia looked down and tucked a strand of her dirty blonde hair behind her ear. Behind her glasses, her blue eyes almost looked apologetic.

"Everyone? How?" Please don't let it be because these kids actually paid attention to the news a year ago . . .

"You're hot?" Alyssa said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Um, thanks Alyssa, but I don't really see the correlation—"

"Jeez, Lyra. Where did you live before you moved here? A cave?" Alyssa popped a few of the tortilla chips our server had given us into her mouth before turning again to face me.

"Word gets out when there's a new kid at school," she said in between bites. "Word gets out even more when she looks like a younger version of Megan Fox."

"That . . . is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard." I bursted into laughter, more relieved that the excuse for this reputation was something so absurd. But Olivia and Alyssa only stared.

"Guys, come on," I said once I caught my breath. "Are you serious?" 

"It's true," Olivia said. "I knew who you were before I even met you."

"Haven't you ever noticed how Reagan and her cronies never bother speaking to girls outside of their clique, but when they see you they're all smiles and rainbows and hearts?" Alyssa added, speaking of the "popular" girls at our school, equal only in reputation to Dez and his own circle.

"That's because they want you to join them," she went on, "but they don't want to look pathetic by approaching or recruiting people, so they wait for people to come to them. Reject them as they see fit. But besides, even if people didn't know you because you were hot, they would know you by now because of us—it's not like you hang out with dweebs. No offense, Olivia."

"What?" Olivia frowned.

"Not calling you a dweeb, but some of your other friends are kind of . . . well, let's just say we're more fun." Alyssa laughed, her voice a featherlight chime in the air. "But back to the main point. Olivia, what else did Hannah tell you? Since someone here isn't giving us answers." She threw a wayward glance at me.

"Just that Hannah had approached him first, but he claimed he didn't need any help. Next thing she saw, he was talking to Lyra."

"Who are we talking about?" Reed said, seeming to come out of nowhere as he took the seat in the booth next to Olivia and slung an arm over the back of her seat, grinning at her. "Hey, cutie."

Olivia rolled her eyes and shook his arm off her shoulder—but the blush creeping onto her cheeks was noticeable enough.

Reed and Olivia had a different sort of friendship than the rest of us. I met Reed last semester in a biology class when we were assigned as lab partners. It turned out we had the same sense of humor, and he didn't waste any time in introducing me to the rest of his friends, many of whom were on the track team with him—one of them being Alyssa.

Alyssa and I eventually got closer, and though we still continued to hang out with Reed, there were times when girl time strictly remained girl time. After Olivia started to come around, more often than not, Reed found excuses to be there. He claimed that his flirting with her was just a joke—because he enjoyed seeing her reaction too much and simply found it entertaining. Olivia bought it.