Day Nine

By the time lunch rolled around, I was famished.  I forgot to eat breakfast this morning, which explained the hunger scratching at my insides like a cat sharpening its claws. 

The cafeteria was crowded and loud - to no one's surprise - assembled cliques as obvious as the clouds outside. It was a funny thing about West Burrow, how your friends were determined by those you sat with at lunch; meat-heads hung with other meat-heads, band geeks with other artsy folk, etc.

My eyes searched the tables for Mark as I meandered through the lunch line. He had a way of blending in with everyone so well, whereas people like Hunter stuck out like a sore thumb with his golden laugh and signature curls.

I grabbed a prepackaged salad from the line and turned to leave when a hand latched onto my wrist.

Zak's lips split.

"Hey. Could you help me out?" He dipped his head toward the lunch tray resting on the counter.

"Yeah, of course." I gave him a light smile and placed the tray on top of my salad container.

"Thanks.  I would carry it myself, but..." He glanced at his arm, half-chuckling.

Despite his recent hospital visit, he looked rejuvenated. His eyes, framed by fanning ebony, sparkled with exuberance, and dark tufts of hair had been combed out of his face in swooping waves. 

I could have kept staring but instead blinked and awkwardly shifted out of the lunch line to make room for the people behind us.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, accidentally meeting Hunter's eyes from across the room and exchanging smiles before turning back to Zak.

"A little sore. Bruised. But alive." He cracked a grin.  "Where do you usually sit?"

"Uh," I scanned for Mark. The back of a green WBHS Varsity jacket caught my eye in the far corner of the cafeteria where Mark and Kyle hollered in excitement at what I could only assume was a bottle-flip.  I gestured their direction.  "Kind of where Mark is."

"Oh." He nodded toward the Varsity boys before grinning back at me. "Wanna sit with me today?" 

I blinked at him. Was he serious?  I figured I'd at least carry his lunch tray to his table, but actually sitting with him was a completely different deal. 

"Are you sure?"

"Come on." He smirked, dipping his head.

We headed out of the cafeteria through a large outdoor courtyard lined with budding white roses into a smaller sitting area.  Two walls of the room were entirely composed of windows from floor to ceiling, and in the center sat a large group of chattering people, a mix of familiar and foreign faces.

"I've never been in here before."  I admitted, looking around.

"We call it The Cove."  His palm flattened against the small of my back, a reassuring smile cracking his lips. 

Thud, thud.

I checked his eyes for a trace of ingenuity, but the sparkles among his pools of aqua were genuine.

"Let me introduce you." He pressed against my spine and the two of us paced over to the group.

"There he is, the man, the legend,"  An olive-skinned boy with a jawline sharp enough to cut marble smiled.  It took less than a second to recognize him - Dominic Patel - esteemed Academic Decathlon champion and #1 junior chess competitor in state. Placed on his left sat Yvonne Li, West Burrow High's student body president, as if Dominic himself wasn't intimidating enough. Across the table were four other boys and the familiar robotic smiles of Melanie and Andrea.

"Hey, guys."  Zak's eyes skimmed over his friends before falling onto me.  "This is Zoe, my costar."

"Ooh,"  Mused a dumpling-shaped, short dude at the end of the table.  A few immature chuckles bounced around the room.  "Hello, there, Juliet."

"Watch yourself."  Zak playfully warned him. He turned to me.  "Zoe, everybody.  Everybody, Zoe."

"It's nice to meet you guys."  I smiled, joining Zak as we sat down near Yvonne.  I scooted Zak's lunch tray off of the lid of my salad and he smiled, eyebrows raising. 

The dumpling dude across the table from me mumbled through his mouthful of tater-tots, "So, Miss Juliet, are you two a thing, or..."  Dimples creased his round face.  "Are you seeing someone?"

"Don't mind Mike."  The gangly boy beside him shook his head, taking a swig of Diet Pepsi.  "He's got a tragic case of single-itis."

I giggled a bit too loudly at this, gaining an amused snicker from the boy before he took another sip of soda and nodded at me.  "Ciao.  I'm Isaac."

"Ciao, Isaac." I smiled. "È un piacere conoscerti." 

"Woah, Italian."  Zak chimed in, a genuine smile playing to his lips.  "I'm impressed."

I shrugged and suppressed a grin, prodding at my salad.  "My mom taught my brother and I a little bit growing up."

"Your mom is efficient." Isaac laughed. "Statistics prove kids pick up languages much quicker than any other age range. Young children have a profound capability for retaining knowledge-"

"Don't mind Isaac. He's got a tragic case of being boring." Mike interrupted.

Isaac snorted. "Touché, bro."

As the minutes passed, everyone's conversations seemed to pick up to their previous paces.  I was enjoying the dynamics of the group, between Dominic's and Yvonne's quiet chatter, to Isaac and Mike's banter, not to mention my engaging conversation with Zak.

"So the dude just came up and body slammed me to the ground." Zak explained, knocking one palm into the other. "And I don't remember anything else besides waking up in the ambulance and not knowing what the hell was going on."

"Jesus, bro." A blonde dude whose name I'd already forgotten grimaced. "Blood?"

"Nah." Zak shrugged, taking a chomp out of his hamburger.

"We were worried about you, man." Isaac piped in, swigging the last of his soda. "I think that's why we lost."

Zak almost choked, startling everyone with the sudden convulsion. "We lost?"

"It was humiliating." The fair-skinned boy between Melanie and Andrea spat, muddy eyes narrowing. "Those assholes really rubbed it in."

Zak's face fell. "Shit, that sucks." I could recognize the guilt in his tone - he felt responsible for the loss - even though it wasn't his fault. A part of me wanted to squeeze his hand how I'd done in the hospital and tell him I was just glad he was all right, but my rational side vetoed the action and my hands remained folded in my lap.

"Great job, babe, you made him feel bad." Andrea hissed at the guy next to her, who must have been her boyfriend judging by the liberal usage of 'babe'.

"Yeah, way to go, Quentin." Mike impishly smiled over at him. I caught Quentin flare his nostrils, almost making me laugh, before he turned his attention away and muttered something under his breath to Andrea.

"Bro, it wasn't your fault." Isaac playfully punched Zak's shoulder, a broad smile showcasing rows of pearly white.

"Yeah, Springfield's full'a douches but they're still really good." The blonde guy added. It bothered me I couldn't remember his name. I had him in my math class last year, for Pete's sake.

"That's true." Zak nodded, giving the guys a half-hearted smile. "Thanks, guys."

Being with the group was surprisingly easier than I'd thought it'd be.  His choice of friends - educated, interesting individuals - said a lot about Zak as a person. So far, I was comfortable around these people, comfortable chattering in Italian with Isaac, making small talk with Yvonne about West Burrow's politics, comfortable simply sitting with Zak. It made me wonder why I hadn't branched out to them sophomore year when I'd moved to WBHS.

Growing up, I never had any trouble socially. I was one of those kids who made friends wherever they went, no matter the circumstance. It wasn't any different when I transferred to this high school. Before they settled into varying social statuses, Hunter and Mark instantly became my friends, and Mark and I had been inseparable since.

I hoped Mark wouldn't freak out about me spending lunch with Zak's friends. No - I shook the thought - he wouldn't. It was for the chemistry test - he couldn't possibly get upset about that.

But maybe it wasn't entirely for the chemistry test. Zak seemed genuine when he asked me to join him for lunch, detached from his usual façade. Maybe, he was starting to let his guard down.

Or maybe he was just that good at acting.

"Isn't he great?" Melanie's question shattered my thoughts. Her bright, piercing eyes bored into mine, and for a moment, I debated whether she had been reading my mind.

I raised my eyebrows, hoping she'd elaborate. "Zak?"

"The dreamboat sitting next to you, honey, yes." She laughed almost mockingly, rolling her eyes. "Don't you just think he's amazing?"

I looked between her and Andrea as they shared a look of equal satisfaction, meanwhile everyone else at the table turned to me. I should have known that the peace between the group was too good to be true. Melanie was setting me up for a trap - a test.

Zak's brilliant blue gaze sparkled as they gauged my reaction, the smirk painted across his lips devilish and somehow stirring tiny, annoying butterflies in my stomach. To directly answer the question would have been incredibly awkward, so instead I tapped into my façade and pasted a doe-eyed expression onto my face, accompanied with one of the sweetest smiles I could muster.

"He's a great actor, that's for sure." I refused to allow myself to look anywhere besides Zak's face, my smile wide and convincing as ever. Zak's jaw pulsed and the corners of his lips fell - clearly, he understood the subtext of my statement.   Acts were on.  Time for a show.

"You should see Zoe," He said, his tone threateningly low, "She plays the most convincing role. It's incredible." His words and eyes were laced with venom.  I couldn't let myself give up the staring contest and could only hope the group wasn't picking up on what we were doing.

"Zak is so talented, he completely becomes his character. Sometimes it's impossible to tell them apart."

His electric eyes narrowed at the sting.  "Zoe's full of surprises. Her character never ceases to throw me completely off guard."

I threw him off guard?  If anything, I was predictable.  He threw me off guard.  Constantly.

"Zak's character is the same way."  I almost stuttered.  "Juliet and Romeo together are quite the destructive pair."

He clenched his jaw and swallowed, lips set flatly across his face. If it was hard to look away from him a few moments ago, it was impossible now. The chemistry test was unraveling in front of both of our eyes, and maybe it was too late to stop it. I saw through his façade and he saw through mine. The picture perfect past week of bliss was most definitely over - that was more clear than ever - now everything was out in the open, and there was one thing I knew to be true above everything else.

The chemistry test wasn't about acting at all.