Hannah lined up in the cafeteria to wait for her food. When it was finally her turn to be served, she saw the options were underwhelming, especially in the vegetable department. There was a distinct lack of colour beyond beiges and browns. She scooped a couple of heaps out of the silver trays and managed to pile her plate up with mashed potatoes and baked beans.
After getting some apple juice, a brown banana, and a tub of jelly to go with it, she shimmied through a narrow aisle between tables.
They were all so big that she couldn't really justify monopolising one all by herself. She spotted a table near the end that sat four students she recognised from some of her classes.
With a deep breath, she sat down at the opposite end of the table in an effort to be as unobtrusive as possible. It was mission accomplished thus far because they barely gave her a second glance as she began forking through her food.
The mash was... okay. It lacked butter but was heavily salted so that it was somewhat palatable. However, she was soon put off by the lumpy texture and practically gagged at a large piece that was still stale. Trying to hide her disgust, she made to wipe her face with a tissue and spat the lump into that, before folding it up and tucking it into her pocket.
The boy with the gelled hair, who sat at the end of the table, gazed at his friend. "Hey, Joe, I finally watched Attack of the Killer Tomatoes last night."
"Oh, finally got around to it, did you, Stick?" said the dark-skinned boy with wide, broad glasses.
"Uh huh. It was a good one, but I disagree with your premise still. You can't beat Gremlins 2 for off-the-wall horror comedy."
"What about Cabin in the Woods?" a girl said.
"I mean. I enjoyed it. Chris Hemsworth is always fun."
"What about The Rise of Leslie Vernon?" Joe said.
"It's a great movie, I suppose."
A few more movies were thrown around in the conversation, such as Parana, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Sharknado, and things in that category.
"What about House 2?" Hannah asked.
The words were out of her mouth before she even realised that she had spoken them. The other four at the table stared at her, like they'd just witnessed an inanimate object speak, like a sofa or a lamp had interjected into their conversation.
Swallowing, she considered returning to her food and trying to play it like she'd never said anything at all. But that'd be really weird. It'd be less weird to at least finish her thought. "Just a recommendation."
"Is it any good?" Joe asked.
"It is if you're looking for something a bit bonkers. It's crazy."
"Would we need to watch the first movie?" the girl said.
Hannah shook her head. "You can jump right into the sequel. In fact, I recommend doing that."
They all glanced between each other appreciatively.
"So you like horror movies, huh?" Joe raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. It's my favourite genre. I'm sorry though. I didn't mean to be obnoxious and butt into your conversation."
"You weren't being obnoxious," said the person at the end of the table. They were the only one whom Hannah had yet to hear speak. They wore a beanie, similar to Hannah's. Theirs sported a logo dedicated to the zombie movie, 28 Days Later. "We like it when people talk about things that interest them."
"That's kind of our whole deal," the girl said.
"It is?"
"You're new, right?" The person wearing the beanie smirked. "I've seen you at the back of some classes."
"Yeah. The name's Hannah Cole."
"I'm Alex," the person wearing the beanie said, "That's Jasmine, that's Joe, and that's Stick."
"We're all in the SPACE club," Stick explained.
"Nice to meet you all." Hannah beamed brightly. "Could I ask what the SPACE club is? Is that like a physics thing?"
"That's how it started," Jasmine said.
"It's much more diverse now," Joe said.
"It's an after-school club," Jasmine said, "But there's no real theme to it. There's different stuff on different days."
"Like some days we'll be watching a movie, or gaming, or playing D&D, or reading," Joe said.
"Mostly graphic novels," Jasmine added with an air of longing to her voice, as if this were an area of contention.
"Or we'll do some programming or Podcasting," Stick interjected.
"We have our own radio show," Joe said.
"But nobody listens to it," Jasmine said. "They're all too busy listening to Andrew Duddy's show, Willowcast."
"That sounds like so much fun," Hannah said.
"Oh, it is," Jasmine agreed. "The only downside is that we're not up and running this year yet. We're still getting organised to start properly again next week."
"Well, Friday is our first day this semester," Alex said, "We're doing a fancy dress with collaborated costumes."
"It's for a concert," Joe explained. "There's going to be a big party down by the main pier."
"A party?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah," Stick said. "It's the start of Shriekfest."
"Which means there'll be food, amusements, and dancing," Joe said.
"Mourning Gory are playing," Jasmine said. "They're a local band, but they're starting to get big nationally after their last album."
"Nice," Hannah said, lowering her head, returning her attention to her food. Now that she searched for them, she found hundreds of the stale lumps speckled within her mash. "Sounds like a really great time."
"You know..." Joe said, "SPACE club isn't full."
Hannah glanced up. "You don't say?"
"You have to be super cool to join though," Stick said.
"But you could probably already tell that," Jasmine said, "Given the present company."
Hannah shrugged. "Not sure I fit the bill, to be honest." She sipped her water. Her throat was suddenly feeling very dry. "I've had a bit of a tough time making friends today."
"See, that just proves you're super cool," Stick said.
"It does?"
"Yeah. You're too cool to be accepted by the travesty that is Willow Wood."
Hannah smiled shyly.
Alex grinned. "Either way, we'd be happy to have you. That's what SPACE club does best. We mop up the strays."
"And make them cool," Stick added.
"Never considered myself to be a stray before." Hannah giggled at the notion.
"Well, you should stop by on Friday," Jasmine said. "You could even join us at the concert."
"Good thinking, Jaz," Joe said. "Maybe we can trick her into joining us long-term by doing one of the more exciting activities first."
"The perfect crime," Stick announced.
Hannah suddenly felt a lump in her throat that not even her water could budge. "Reckon I'd like that."
When she glanced up again, she noticed someone staring at her from another table across the cafeteria. It was that girl that she'd bumped into outside, the one with the purple streak in her hair. She was situated between all her lackeys, glaring.
"Looks like you've already made yourself an enemy," Alex said.
"You waste no time, Hazza," Joe said, sounding impressed.
"What's her problem?" Hannah asked, returning the glare as fiercely as she could, to prove she was unafraid.
"Oh, that's just Bronagh Quinn," Alex said.
"She's their merry little leader," Jasmine said.
"Leader of what, exactly?"
"The Crookeds," Stick said.
"The what?"
"They call themselves the Cult of the Crooked Cross," Joe explained.
"Or at least, that's the name they've adopted," Stick said.
"They're like devil worshippers or whatever," Jasmine said.
Hannah recoiled. "What?"
"Not really the devil as you might know him. It goes back hundreds of years in Willow Town lore," Alex said. "The Cult of the Crooked Cross are said to have believed in an old demon named Dainous. It is said that certain folk, specifically the Quinn Family and their descendants, can hear him speak to them when they paint a slanted cross on their bodies. It's like accepting him into their soul or some weird BS like that. They often hate on people for odd reasons, like detecting weird energy or whatever."
"But that's absurd... right?"
"It's stupid," Joe assured her.
"Those are among the worst people in Willow Wood," Stick said. "You will want to avoid them at all costs."
"They're not half as bad as the Vamps," Jasmine said.
"You have vampires too?"
"Not literal vampires. We just call them that because they suck the life and joy out of everything," Stick said.
"That's them at the back table, near the window," Alex said. "Here at SPACE, we often give nicknames to each tribe and clique. You'll pick them up soon enough."
"Oh, like Mean Girls," Hannah said.
"No, we don't have a group with that title yet," Joe said.
Hannah giggled. "I mean like the movie."
"Exactly like that," Jasmine agreed.
Hannah assessed the pretty girls and handsome boys gathered at the back table. Every school had them. They were the charming students, the charismatic characters, the social outliers that movies and books referred to as the popular kids. Hannah knew their type so well because she'd once belonged to such a group at her old school. She wondered what her new buddies would think about that.
"They're worse than literal demon worshippers?" Hannah asked.
"Much worse," Joe said gravely.
"Frankly, it's not even close," Jasmine added.
And, like it'd all been part of some weird staged video, as soon as they were finished speaking, Hannah watched as Marie sidled past the Vamp table, only to come to an abrupt halt.
"Oh no."