Rock and Roll Ruined My Life
Lunch
Rock And Roll Ruined My Life- Chapter 17- Lunch
I waited by my locker impatiently. Kat and Lauren had told me to wait until they came to get me. They wanted to make sure I met everyone at lunch. But they hadn’t showed up yet. I had already rearranged my locker twice and now the hallway was almost empty. I sighed and slumped down to the floor.
“This was probably some sort of joke or dare,” I said to myself, feeling stupid and let down.
“On the contrary, I’ve heard a great deal about you from Kat and Lauren, and none of it was bad” a male voice said. I looked up to see a tall boy with black hair smiling down at me. I noted that he made no effort to hide his multiple tattoos. I stood up and he stepped back in surprise.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing, I just didn’t expect you to be so tall,” he said.
“I’m only a couple of inches shorter than you,” I stated the obvious.
“Yeah, but not many people are that much shorter than me,” he laughed.
“Whatever. So, who are you?” I asked.
“I’m Jimmy, a good friend of Kat and a sort of friend to Lauren.” He held out his hand to me.
“I’m Juliet, a new friend to Kat and Lauren,” I laughed. He shook my hand once and let go.
“Where are Kat and Lauren?” I asked.
“They forgot to come and get you.” I felt my heart sink, they really did forget about me...
“But they sent me. Aw, come on! Don’t be so upset. It’s the first day of school and with all of our friends, it’s easy to get confused about who's hanging out where and when and where to pick them up. I promise you, once you’ve been introduced to everyone no one forget you like that again. Follow me.”
So we went down the steps and made a few right turns and BAM. We were in the lunchroom. The noise level was so loud it felt like I was at a concert! Everyone sort of quieted down when Jimmy and I walked in.
“Wow, she really doesn’t know how to pick her friends, DOES SHE?” I heard one girl snicker. I felt my face go pink. I heard a wolf whistle and then someone shouted,
“Yeah, Jimmy!” He smiled, flipped them off, and kept going. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, we came to a stop in front of what had to be the largest lunch table known to man.
“Juliet!” I heard someone squeal. I looked down to see Kat running over to me and give me a hug. She only came up to my shoulder.
“Hi, Kat,” I laughed. She smiled at me one more time before her face grew serious. She turned to face the long table.
“How is she going to get all of their attention?” I asked Jimmy.
He laughed and said, “You’ll see.” Before I could even object, a piercing whistle reached my ears. The whole table went silent. I turned to look at the rest of the lunchroom to see if they heard it, but no one seemed to even acknowledge our presence.
“Guys, this is Juliet. Our new friend as of this very moment.”
“Hi”
“Hey”
“What’s up?”
“How’s it goin’?” Were the responses directed at me.
“Okay, let’s start on the right,” Kat said to me. I nodded and braced myself for the flood of information that was about to enter my brain.
“This is Stacie, Brian, and Mathew.” They all waved enthusiastically. “That’s Gabrielle, Luke, and John.” They all nodded at me and I nodded back. “That’s Marie, Kaylyn, Ashley, Brian, and Steven.” They waved at me as well. “That’s obviously Lauren,” she laughed, “Then that’s Kelly, Sandra, James, Devon, Lia, and Jenna.” They waved politely at me. “And last but not least, that’s Billie, Mike, Lizzy, Juliana, JoAnn, and Tom.”
As I stared at everyone’s faces, I couldn’t help but stay stuck on Tom’s. He was so… well… beautiful. Suddenly, as if feeling eyes staring he looked up and caught my glance. His eyes went from having a fierce look to a friendly look as we locked eyes..
“Juliet? Are you there? Can you hear me?” A voice snapped me back and I looked down to face Kat who was trying to shout to me over the noise of the lunchroom.
“Come sit with us!” She said pulling me down to sit next to her and Jimmy. Across from me was Brian, Stacie, and Mathew. To my dismay, Tom was sitting on the same side of the table as me so I couldn’t see him. I just sighed and sat down.
“I don’t know if you remember, but I’m Stacie,” Stacie said holding out her hand to me. I laughed, “I remember. Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too! This is my boyfriend Brian, “ She said gesturing to the boy next to her.
“Hi!” I smiled as I took a bite of my sandwich.
“Hey,” he returned the greeting.
“This is my friend Matt,” she said gesturing to the boy on her other side.
“Hi!” I repeated smiling.
“Hi,” he said unenthusiastically. I frowned.
“Oh, Matt, stop it, just because you’re having a bad day doesn’t mean you have to make everyone else’s day miserable.”
“What happened?” I asked trying to make conversation.
“He’s still bummed that his girlfriend dumped him a few days ago,” Stacie explained.
“Oh that’s terrible, I’m sorry,” I said offering my condolences.
“Thanks,” he said taking a bite of his lunch.
“And that person sitting next to you is none other than-“
“Jimmy, I know,” I said cutting her off.
“Oh,” Stacie said sounding surprised.
“He brought me to the cafeteria,” I explained.
“Ohhhh okay.”
“Yeah, because Kat and Lauren forgot to get me” I said.
“Aww! Kat, you should feel awful!” Stacie reprimanded.
“I know, I know! I do feel bad!” Kat said shrinking. I patted her on the shoulder.
“It’s okay, Kat. I probably would have forgot too.”
“Thanks,” she replied smiling.
“No problem,” I replied before getting up to buy a sandwich.
Somehow, we all heard the bell ring, signaling the end of lunch; and we all got up to throw out all of our stuff. As I was walking towards the hallway, I caught Tom’s glance again. And once again, I got lost in his eyes. They were such a nice dark brown. I was snapped back again as I felt someone tap my shoulder. It was Jimmy.
“Can I help you?” I asked, faking annoyance.
“Um, no, not really,” he laughed.
“So then why’d you tap me on my shoulder?”
“Um, because I wanted to talk to you?”
“Okay, about what?” I asked.
“Well, I was wondering how an awesome person like you ended up here in this little, shabby town?” I bit my lip. I didn’t think I was ready to tell anyone here about the crash. I felt tears come to my eyes as I remembered the life I had only a few months ago.
“Hey, I’m sorry! I didn’t think that would make you cry! Juliet, I’m so sorry-“
“Maybe she doesn’t want to look at your face anymore either, Jimmy,” a male voice said from behind me. I looked up through the tears to see the guy I believed to be Billie walking next to us. I stared at my “hero” and tried to convey my thanks to him through my expression. He nodded a little acknowledging my thank you.
“Come on, Julie,” he said pulling me away from Jimmy. I didn’t resist. I turned my head around in time to see Jimmy mutter to himself and kick the ground angrily. I sighed and turned my head back around.
“Thank you, Billie,” I muttered wiping away more tears.
“No problem. Jimmy’s been trying to get a girl for so long,but he just can’t seem to hold one down long enough,” he laughed solemnly. I couldn’t help but laugh along with him.
“Ah, there’s the smile,” he said. I laughed and smiled even wider.
“Thanks again!” I said as we began to part going down separate parts of the hallway.
“No problem! Next time you sit with me and my friends at lunch okay?” He said pointing at himself to emphasize his words.
“Okay! Bye!” I said over my shoulder.
I got to my locker and shook my head smiling. My only thought was: ‘These boys at Belleview High sure are complicated!’
I waited by my locker impatiently. Kat and Lauren had told me to wait until they came to get me. They wanted to make sure I met everyone at lunch. But they hadn’t showed up yet. I had already rearranged my locker twice and now the hallway was almost empty. I sighed and slumped down to the floor.
“This was probably some sort of joke or dare,” I said to myself, feeling stupid and let down.
“On the contrary, I’ve heard a great deal about you from Kat and Lauren, and none of it was bad” a male voice said. I looked up to see a tall boy with black hair smiling down at me. I noted that he made no effort to hide his multiple tattoos. I stood up and he stepped back in surprise.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing, I just didn’t expect you to be so tall,” he said.
“I’m only a couple of inches shorter than you,” I stated the obvious.
“Yeah, but not many people are that much shorter than me,” he laughed.
“Whatever. So, who are you?” I asked.
“I’m Jimmy, a good friend of Kat and a sort of friend to Lauren.” He held out his hand to me.
“I’m Juliet, a new friend to Kat and Lauren,” I laughed. He shook my hand once and let go.
“Where are Kat and Lauren?” I asked.
“They forgot to come and get you.” I felt my heart sink, they really did forget about me...
“But they sent me. Aw, come on! Don’t be so upset. It’s the first day of school and with all of our friends, it’s easy to get confused about who's hanging out where and when and where to pick them up. I promise you, once you’ve been introduced to everyone no one forget you like that again. Follow me.”
So we went down the steps and made a few right turns and BAM. We were in the lunchroom. The noise level was so loud it felt like I was at a concert! Everyone sort of quieted down when Jimmy and I walked in.
“Wow, she really doesn’t know how to pick her friends, DOES SHE?” I heard one girl snicker. I felt my face go pink. I heard a wolf whistle and then someone shouted,
“Yeah, Jimmy!” He smiled, flipped them off, and kept going. Finally, after what seemed like eternity, we came to a stop in front of what had to be the largest lunch table known to man.
“Juliet!” I heard someone squeal. I looked down to see Kat running over to me and give me a hug. She only came up to my shoulder.
“Hi, Kat,” I laughed. She smiled at me one more time before her face grew serious. She turned to face the long table.
“How is she going to get all of their attention?” I asked Jimmy.
He laughed and said, “You’ll see.” Before I could even object, a piercing whistle reached my ears. The whole table went silent. I turned to look at the rest of the lunchroom to see if they heard it, but no one seemed to even acknowledge our presence.
“Guys, this is Juliet. Our new friend as of this very moment.”
“Hi”
“Hey”
“What’s up?”
“How’s it goin’?” Were the responses directed at me.
“Okay, let’s start on the right,” Kat said to me. I nodded and braced myself for the flood of information that was about to enter my brain.
“This is Stacie, Brian, and Mathew.” They all waved enthusiastically. “That’s Gabrielle, Luke, and John.” They all nodded at me and I nodded back. “That’s Marie, Kaylyn, Ashley, Brian, and Steven.” They waved at me as well. “That’s obviously Lauren,” she laughed, “Then that’s Kelly, Sandra, James, Devon, Lia, and Jenna.” They waved politely at me. “And last but not least, that’s Billie, Mike, Lizzy, Juliana, JoAnn, and Tom.”
As I stared at everyone’s faces, I couldn’t help but stay stuck on Tom’s. He was so… well… beautiful. Suddenly, as if feeling eyes staring he looked up and caught my glance. His eyes went from having a fierce look to a friendly look as we locked eyes..
“Juliet? Are you there? Can you hear me?” A voice snapped me back and I looked down to face Kat who was trying to shout to me over the noise of the lunchroom.
“Come sit with us!” She said pulling me down to sit next to her and Jimmy. Across from me was Brian, Stacie, and Mathew. To my dismay, Tom was sitting on the same side of the table as me so I couldn’t see him. I just sighed and sat down.
“I don’t know if you remember, but I’m Stacie,” Stacie said holding out her hand to me. I laughed, “I remember. Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too! This is my boyfriend Brian, “ She said gesturing to the boy next to her.
“Hi!” I smiled as I took a bite of my sandwich.
“Hey,” he returned the greeting.
“This is my friend Matt,” she said gesturing to the boy on her other side.
“Hi!” I repeated smiling.
“Hi,” he said unenthusiastically. I frowned.
“Oh, Matt, stop it, just because you’re having a bad day doesn’t mean you have to make everyone else’s day miserable.”
“What happened?” I asked trying to make conversation.
“He’s still bummed that his girlfriend dumped him a few days ago,” Stacie explained.
“Oh that’s terrible, I’m sorry,” I said offering my condolences.
“Thanks,” he said taking a bite of his lunch.
“And that person sitting next to you is none other than-“
“Jimmy, I know,” I said cutting her off.
“Oh,” Stacie said sounding surprised.
“He brought me to the cafeteria,” I explained.
“Ohhhh okay.”
“Yeah, because Kat and Lauren forgot to get me” I said.
“Aww! Kat, you should feel awful!” Stacie reprimanded.
“I know, I know! I do feel bad!” Kat said shrinking. I patted her on the shoulder.
“It’s okay, Kat. I probably would have forgot too.”
“Thanks,” she replied smiling.
“No problem,” I replied before getting up to buy a sandwich.
Somehow, we all heard the bell ring, signaling the end of lunch; and we all got up to throw out all of our stuff. As I was walking towards the hallway, I caught Tom’s glance again. And once again, I got lost in his eyes. They were such a nice dark brown. I was snapped back again as I felt someone tap my shoulder. It was Jimmy.
“Can I help you?” I asked, faking annoyance.
“Um, no, not really,” he laughed.
“So then why’d you tap me on my shoulder?”
“Um, because I wanted to talk to you?”
“Okay, about what?” I asked.
“Well, I was wondering how an awesome person like you ended up here in this little, shabby town?” I bit my lip. I didn’t think I was ready to tell anyone here about the crash. I felt tears come to my eyes as I remembered the life I had only a few months ago.
“Hey, I’m sorry! I didn’t think that would make you cry! Juliet, I’m so sorry-“
“Maybe she doesn’t want to look at your face anymore either, Jimmy,” a male voice said from behind me. I looked up through the tears to see the guy I believed to be Billie walking next to us. I stared at my “hero” and tried to convey my thanks to him through my expression. He nodded a little acknowledging my thank you.
“Come on, Julie,” he said pulling me away from Jimmy. I didn’t resist. I turned my head around in time to see Jimmy mutter to himself and kick the ground angrily. I sighed and turned my head back around.
“Thank you, Billie,” I muttered wiping away more tears.
“No problem. Jimmy’s been trying to get a girl for so long,but he just can’t seem to hold one down long enough,” he laughed solemnly. I couldn’t help but laugh along with him.
“Ah, there’s the smile,” he said. I laughed and smiled even wider.
“Thanks again!” I said as we began to part going down separate parts of the hallway.
“No problem! Next time you sit with me and my friends at lunch okay?” He said pointing at himself to emphasize his words.
“Okay! Bye!” I said over my shoulder.
I got to my locker and shook my head smiling. My only thought was: ‘These boys at Belleview High sure are complicated!’
.
2/7/15