The F-List

Chapter 3

        My phone beeped during science class the next day. After a quick check of the teacher's position, I swiped it open, still hidden in the dark of my bag.

        New Message from Jenni Williams: wont blieve this.

        I debated taking it out and replying, but didn't want to get caught. Jenni could wait till lunch. If it was urgent, she'd text me again. I knew it. It was probably just some gossip.

        Sure enough, as soon as lunch started, I retreated to the girl's bathroom and replied.

        Charlie: Sry, had class. what is it?

        She texted me back withing minutes. Jenni: Rena Keller TOTALLY has the hots 4 Jordan. she asked him out in 2nd period. I was right there! 

        Charlie: Just tell her 2 back off.        

        Jenni: Tried. Didnt work. :( what should I do?!

        Charlie: umm...:( txt me l8tr. I dont know right now. Just ignore her??

        Jenni: whatevs. thx a lot.

        I sighed. Jenni was hard to please and demanding, but typically a good person. You could count on her to be loyal, so long as she actually liked you right then. We'd had a crazy friendship in Oklahoma, since Jordan had asked me out at the beginning of the school year and Jenni had been after him for years. But we slowly learned to get along, and after I left and Jordan and I had a mutual breakup, she'd texted me pretty immediately that they were going out. I wished her luck. Let's just say that, if Jenni thought Rena was making a move on Jordan it was probably the other way around. I didn't think Jordan really cared about Jenni, or me, or Rena. He just wanted a girlfriend. Actually, I'd learned that he just wanted a...how to put it...plaything. I'd leaned that the hard way.

        I was jostled out of my thoughts when someone else entered the restroom. I jumped, looking up at the blue eyes of Lauren King.

        She smiled. "Hey. Charlie?"

        I nodded. "I was just...uh," I gestured to my phone. She grinned.

        "Yeah. Everyone does that. Can I ask, who were you texting?"

        "My friend Jenni. From Oklahoma," I said.

        "Is that where you moved from? Oklahoma?" Lauren asked.

        I shook my head. "Nah. Kansas." Seeing her face, I added, "I move around a lot."

        Lauren chuckled. "Ah." A buzz came from her pocket. She pulled out a phone and slid open the screen. Then she laughed. "Jason," Lauren explained, "He's hilarious."

        "You like him?" I asked casually. She shrugged, but her face warmed a little.

        "Eh. He's still Jason Hart, no matter how funny he is."

        I smiled. "Well, I wish I had time to get a crush. Since my parents got divorced, I've only lived in one place for more than two years."

        "Seriously?" She glanced at me. "Well, your parent must be a shok."

        "What?" I asked, confused. Lauren laughed. "I forget not everyone uses this language. A couple of my friends and I once made up fake swear words, because we didn't like swearing. Shok, yurt, jand, you see. It just means idiot, I guess."

        "Huh." It was actually a cool idea, if you thought about it.

        Lauren stuck her phone back into her pocket. "We'd better go. Lunch is almost over."

        "Yeah." I looked around, trying not to make it obvious that I didn't want to go out there. I wouldn't sit with anyone.

        Lauren seemed to sense my distress. "You wanna sit with me and my friends? We're kind of crazy, but not jerks."

        "You mean shoks?" I grinned. She grinned back. "There you go. Fit in already. What do you say?"

        "Sure," I replied, and we headed out of the restroom together.