Ghost

0203

At lunch on my second day of school, I sat in the same seat I did the day before. Near crowds of people, but with enough space between me to tell I was sitting alone. I was hammering away on a sandwich, preoccupied with stalking my sister sitting two tables away. She was surrounded by a group of preppy-looking dickheads. Ones that had flagged her down with a wave and a smile, and were now chatting her up casually as if nothing was wrong. As if there wasn’t a nasty little rumor going around about her.

I could see that Valerie chick laughing and babbling on as if she didn’t secretly want to take her out. I shot her poisonous glares when I wasn’t in her line of vision. My sister may have hated me for the moment, but there was still the old anybody who touches my little sister will be in deep shit Audrey somewhere in there and I wasn't giving up on her completely.

I was so intent on watching my sister, I almost didn’t noticed the guy sitting across from me. It took me a second to realize he wasn’t sitting next to any of the other groups. He was sitting next to me. I swallowed hard and avoided eye contact.

The few times I did catch a glance at him, he was wearing a cut off with a giant DK and had an awkward head of spiky black hair. Though his eyebrows and array of freckles kind of gave away the fact that he was a natural ginger. A ginger with glasses, black hair, and what I'd just realized was a tattoo aggressively sketched on his gangly bicep. Odd.

Not that I really had room to talk.

He stayed quiet the entire meal, and only gave a nod before picking up his tray and leaving. I breathed a sigh of relief, but also couldn’t help but wonder who he was. Why he would just randomly sit but me without even trying to start a conversation, like most felt obliged to do. The top reason I sat alone.

As the lunchroom started to clear out, and I drank the last of my milk, I decided maybe sitting completely alone was a little too noticeable.