While David and Cheeto were out having lunch, Liz was at school trying to survive the juvenile jungle along with the rest of her classmates. The last few days had not been easy ones for Liz. The bullying and teasing form the other students had gone down from the first day after the Quinceañera. But she was still not allowed back with the crew and other popular groups still did not warm up to her. It wasn't so much about the incident with T.J. though, Liz's fame of being uncooperative, quiet.

Many people saw her quiet nature as being judgmental and they thought she was just weird. So her exile from the popular groups was not entirely out of the ordinary. It was just that the current events gave people more reason to hate on her and her desperate attempts to join and be accepted made her look desperate and needy.

There were other groups who had no opinion one way or the other on the matter. The majority of the students considered the whole ordeal nothing more than drama and gossip and were happy to go about their own business. They only participated if the subject was brought up and would side with the popular opinion so that judgement would not be placed on them. It was the equivalent of the social hot potato.

Liz was also not the only unpopular student, nor was she really an outcast. There were other students who did not follow the popular norm and who would be welcoming of her company. One of them was Nicole, the Quinceañera whose party David intervened in and once a close friend to Liz. But Liz did not see this as an acceptable option. She would rather stay out of sight until she was called on by the crew than hang out with Nicole. That is why the last few days Liz had been hanging out with Roland. Especially during the most critical time of the day, lunch time.

Roland was the extreme opposite of the members of the crew. He ate lunch with the academic decathletes who had permission from the chemistry teacher to have lunch in his classroom. Roland was able to bring Liz into the classroom because he was the only decathlete to ask to bring in a fried outside of the group. But also because the teacher knew Liz and thought it would do her well to be around other students like Roland.

Liz only saw this as a temporary arrangement thought, and was ready to go back to her original plan as soon as she was able too.

"Hey Liz, I brought you a chicken sandwich, apple juice and an apple," said Roland, happy to bring Liz lunch from the cafeteria.

"Ugh, I asked for orange juice. And you brought me apple juice, and an apple? That's gross," said Liz sitting in the back of the room in a corner farthest from the rest of the kids having lunch in the classroom.

"Oh, I'm bad. Here, you can have my orange juice if you want. I can have the apple one," offered Roland, trying out the idiom he never used to appeal to Liz.

"It's not 'I'm bad', it's 'my bad', and don't try to talk like this. It's not you," Liz corrected him harshly.

"Ok I won't'," said Roland smiling through Liz's attitude.

This did not go unnoticed by Liz since she was feeling uneasy at the insisting smiling.

"Why are you smiling so much? Aint nothing funny going on."

"I don't know. It's just fun hanging out," said Roland.

And it was true, from his perspective. The last couple of days had been fun. It was the most amount of time Roland could remember spending with Liz. He was aware that Liz was waiting on a call from the crew to let her back in to their rank. So he knew Liz had no other choice but to be with him and his friends until that time came.

It was not Rowlands goal to change Liz, and make her give up on her quest. Rather he hopped to show her more of himself and how special he was so that it would make her see him in a different way and be interested in him.

"Well don't smile too much. It's weirding me out," said Liz.

"I can't help it, but I'll try," said Roland.

"So do you want to know what we were talking about in Dr. Hutz class today? He gave us a lesson on water! I know it sounds dumb but we went over the dielectric strength of water molecules. Did you know that the water molecule is the only molecule that..." Roland tried to eagerly share his new found appreciation of water with Liz but she cut him off.

"Rolls, I don't want to talk about school right now. I have plenty of that already," she said dismissively of Dr. Hutz AP chemistry lecture.

"No problem, that's fine. What do you want to talk about?" asked Roland, eager to engage Liz.

"Nothing. I don't want to think right now. Why don't you go hang out with your friends, and let me sit here 'till lunch is over," said Liz, wanting to be left alone.

"But what are you going to do? I don't want to leave you all by yourself."

"I don't want you to be bored or feel alone," he continued, still trying to look after her.

"I'm not going to be bored. I'll be listening to my music. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," said Liz putting on her headphones and her hood up, blocking the world and Roland out.

"Oh, OK," said Roland defeated. He got up and went over to his friends who had witnessed the same scene play out all week long.

"I don't know why you try so hard with her. She doesn't even like you," said one Roland's friends.

"She's not nice either," said someone else.

"She's not that pretty either. Her makeup is all weird. Is she a Goth or a Chola? It's like she doesn't know," said yet someone else.

"Be nice guys. She's still my friend," said Roland standing up for Liz, as he always did.

"Not much of a friend if you ask me. She's always bossing you around. You can't even hang out with her in public. She only come around when she needs you," said one of the few girls in the group.

"That's not true. We hang out all the time," said Roland remembering the past which seemed more recent than it actually was.

"That's was over a year ago. You keep relieving the same thing over and again, but she's not doing anything for you lately. You the only one who is trying to make something happen," said the girl.

All of Roland's friends were honor roll students. They were the brightest in school and subject to the same level of bullying from different members of the student body. They were the schoolies. They were bullied or made fun of because they were outstanding students. They threw off the curve, and were overachievers. Some of the students that teased them were not even the popular, rebellious ones.

The schoolies were also disliked by the general body. Many people thought the schoolies came off as conceited and arrogant. Particularly when they shared the same classes, the schoolies were snobbish, and condescending to many or their peers. Often considering the general concerns and tribulations of the general body to be trivial and petty, even moronic. Admittedly, many of those concerns were in the general scheme of life. But some of the schoolies approach were seen as cold and insensitive, especially to those who were subject to their ridicule.

The schoolies were not always intent on ridiculing others or belittling anyone. The school did not have many challenging courses to offer to their most gifted. Many if not most of the gifted students had no choice but to be placed in the remedial classes that did not challenge them. The subjects came easier to these students and they became bored. Their peers struggles with the subjects that interested the more gifted, and the sensation being wasted in school, frustrated the schoolies and caused them to lose patience with the other students slower progress.

Since the schoolies were isolated in their classes and other activities, social interaction was limited to only those who braved their quick, sarcastic, wit, which tended to be one of their own. They stuck together and saw things the same way. They were not disruptive or violent but they were very much a gang in their own way. As smart and as gifted as they were, they were still just kids who were developing and struggling to understand and navigate the world around them. Some were also just jerks.

"Well she needs me right now and she's my friend. I'm not going to turn my back to her right now," said Roland justifying his stance.

"Whatever dude. You do that, see how that turns out for you. Just don't say we didn't warn you," said one of his friends.

"Don't worry, I won't," replied Roland, certain that no need for their warning was necessary.

"She just needs a chance. Maybe she should join the team," Roland suggested in regards to the academic decathlon which was brought to the school specifically for the gifted students as an alternative for not having other activities catered to their academic prowess.

"Ha!" said one of the teens with similar reaction from the rest of the group.

"You're kidding right? Oh wait you're not. Let me do that louder. HA!" said the same teen.

"Not so loud! She'll hear you," said Roland.

"You might want to spend all your time and effort on a lost cause but there's no reason why we need to be subject to her as well," said the girl on the team.

"Come on man, we are trying to win here! She probably doesn't even know what differential equations are," said another one of the teens.

"Or add," said yet another one.

"Woah! You guys are being really mean right now," said Roland disappointed of their reaction.

"Dude come on! She wouldn't want to join either. You think she's going to want to do all the extra school work?" said one of the guys.

"You're not being really fair either are you Roland? Think about it. We are all putting in all this work and effort to the team, starting it from scratch just so that someone who doesn't care can come in and not even take it seriously? That's not really fair to us is it?" said the girl in response to Roland's critique of the team.

"She'll probably be insulted if you ask her to join anyway. She's not going to want to be seen with us," said another of the guys.

"Shhh! You guys don't have to be so loud. She'll hear you and you'll hurt her feeling," said Roland, concerned for his friend.

"She's not listening. Look, she's sleeping, listening to music. If she were at least reading that'd be a good sign. I could respect that. She doesn't care," said one of the guys with the rest of the group agreeing.

Liz had her head down on the table and her face to the wall with her hood over her head and her headphones on. Except they were not connected to anything. She didn't have anything to listen to her music with at school. She had heard everything. And even though she would not be interested in joining the decathlon, just being excluded, and the opinions of these people she did not know or care about, somehow affected her more than she thought they would.

"Is this what everyone thinks about me?" Liz asked herself.

Her heart beat faster in her chest and her lips quivered. A sensation she was familiar with but not used to by now. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Liz took a minute to compose herself and gather her things.

"Hey can I help you?" asked Roland as he came over to her.

"No, I got it," said Liz in her usual cutting way.

"You want me to walk you to your next class?" asked Roland. His next class was in the room they were already in, but he still wanted to walk with her.

"No I got it," Liz replied resoundingly, trying to keep herself from showing any emotions. Trying to keep herself composed, in control.

"OK, well, see you later after school?" asked Roland hopeful that she would say yes.

"I don't know Rolls. Maybe," Liz said leaving the room in haste. Her head and face covered by her hood, not once turning her gaze to Roland or the others who saw her quick exit as further proof of their opinion. Roland was left standing seeing the object of his affection walk out the door without so much as a goodbye. His heart too writhe and beat in his chest. A sinking feeling bore down to the pit of his stomach. A sensation he too was familiar with but not used to it either.

Liz left the room with renewed resolve and confidence that her plan was the correct one and that the world she sought was the world she belonged to. This experience with the group everyone always encouraged her to join showed Liz she did not belong with them. She belonged to the group everyone accused her of being foolish and naïve for seeking out. She did not fit anywhere else, and she was not interested in fitting in anywhere else. She was convinced now. She would continue with her objective. She would continue to seek acceptance of the crew.

Just as Liz was walking through the hall, her mind made up, one of the girls from the crew walked up along her, "hey little bitch." The girl said startling Liz who turned to see who it was.

"Don't stop walking. Don't turn to see me. Be near your phone tonight. Follow direction," is all the girl said as she walked away from Liz who never go a clear look at the girl.

net":{"D/"