Project Popularity

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Jamie Vandeviere

I’ve never been a very optimistic person. That was why I stayed up all night after calling Luke, worrying about what I had gotten myself into when I agreed to take Summer down. Even though Lucy sent me five texts to assure me that I was doing this for a good cause, I still wasn’t entirely convinced.

The next morning, I got up and went to school with my stomach full of butterflies. A thought that never occurred flashed over me just before I entered the school building: What if Luke Archer hadn’t been serious about the plan? I’d be the fool who took his words to the heart. The idiot who thought Luke Archer actually needed a favor from.

I pushed the door open and strode to my locker, tensing up every time someone hollered Summer’s name. Since the school arranged our lockers alphabetically according to our last names, mine was at the very end of the hall. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Summer chatting with Amanda and Sasha in front of her locker like she didn’t have a care in the world. Hard to imagine that less than twenty-four hours ago, she just got dumped by the hottest guy in school.

Luke did not come to first period. Even though he had never been the role model of Roseville High, he didn’t usually cut school, and I heard it was because the football coach was very strict about his team’s school attendance. Bryce Anderson looked bored out of his mind without Luke pissing the teacher off with him, which I found kind of funny since he kept glaring at Luke’s empty seat like Luke would magically appear any second.

Since Lucy and Clara’s fourth period were right by the cafeteria, the two of them had already gotten their food by the time I got to our lunch table. The roar of laughter that erupted from the “popular table” made me turn my head; Bryce was trying to squeeze jelly into his nose and had gotten all the cheerleaders and jocks guffawing. But that wasn’t what stilled my breath. It was the sight of Luke, seated beside Seth, chuckling, that bewildered me. He didn’t look like someone who had just found out that his best friend and his girlfriend were sneaking around behind his back less than twenty-four hours ago. It was like the breakup never happened and the In-Crowd was still as tight as ever.  

However, now that I looked more closely, I did detect a difference to the “popular table”. For starters, Luke wasn’t sandwiched between Summer and Paul, like he normally was. In fact, there seemed to be an invisible line drawn right in the middle of the table, the girls flocking to Summer and the guys to Luke. The only one looking out of place was Paul, who looked awkward sitting on the line

“Look who decided to show up,” said Clara, surprised by the sight in front of her.

“Amazing, isn’t it? I don’t know how Luke can stomach seeing Paul and Summer at school, let alone have lunch together at the same table,” Lucy sneered, shooting a dirty look at Summer when she let out another giggle. “Aren’t you going to get food, Jamie?”

Oh. Right. Lunch. I was so transfixed by Luke’s table that I’d forgotten how hungry I was. I told my friends I’d be back later and jokingly told them to save me a seat. Since I was one of the few people that hadn’t eaten, I didn’t really need to go through the long line to get my lunch.

 “Are you eating all that by yourself?” I jumped and almost screamed when Luke’s voice came out from behind. Feeling a little out of breath and slightly embarrassed, I looked down to my tray- a hamburger, chocolate milk, mashed potatoes covered in gravy, and a small piece of banana bread. I sure do pick the healthiest foods.

When I turned around, expecting to meet Luke’s eyes, I found that he wasn’t even looking at me. In fact, he seemed to be suddenly fascinated by the Drug-Free poster that had been hanging in the cafeteria since freshman year. Of course he didn’t want to be seen talking to the invisible girl.