As I entered the cafeteria with Casimir I quickly spotted Zola and Sunita at our regular lunch spot. It was a table tucked in the far corner of the room, located next to a large display case that informed students about school events or non-sport club achievements. Most of the kids ignored it, much to the faculty’s dismay. Since the legs of our table tended to wobble it was not a popular place to sit and almost always free.

The cafeteria was the biggest part of the main building, with large windows on one side and glass doors leading out into a beautiful picnic area which was always crowded on sunny days. Inside was filled with expensive-looking, sturdy wooden tables, and matching chairs. I always wondered how much they cost compared to the usual metal and plastic you saw in most schools. There was a small window-sized opening leading into the kitchen where the school sold gourmet lunches provided by local restaurants, no actual cooking was done on campus. Next to that was a stage, used as a lecture hall and a space for the drama club to practice on. It stayed hidden behind a large blue curtain on most days.

Like most high schools the different social groups stayed separate, the elite class in one corner, the sports kids on the other side, and the other social clubs at the remaining tables. In the center of the room was Elizabeth, the most popular girl in school. She was holding court with her friends, a group of about six or so girls who worshipped the ground she walked on. It wasn’t surprising that she was so popular seeing as she was rich, lusciously blond and conventionally attractive. Now mind you, these are all things that I don’t usually have a problem with, except, her snotty attitude, and other rude behavior really discouraged me from ever liking her as a person. I had managed to avoid Elizabeth for most of my early high school career, but she made the mistake of rudely remarking on Sunita’s appearance in my presence. Lack of sleep might have aided in my reaction but I tore into her, yelling at her in the middle of a study hall in the library. Unfortunately, this caused Elizabeth to fix her nastiness on me. It also began an amazing friendship with Sunita and Zola, so I never really regretted anything.

As we passed Elizabeth's table I stood with my back straight and eyes locked on my friends. Casimir trailed behind me as I made a beeline to my usual table and I could hear the conversation halt awkwardly at all the tables we passed. Students began whispering about the new boy as soon as they thought we were out of earshot. I’m sure they were wondering why Casimir and I were walking together, especially since I wasn’t really known for being social.

Zola waved as I approached the table, quickly stuffing a bite of her lunch in her mouth. Sunita smiled but began to look nervous when she spied Casimir. I panicked a little because I knew Sunita wasn’t super fond of boys and I wasn't sure how to explain Casimir and mine’s new-found connection. I slung my backpack in an empty chair, slumping into the next nearest seat.

Zola raised her eyebrow at me. "Hey girl, how are you feeling?" She looked over at Casimir, who was standing nearby. "Hiya, Casper was it?"

"Casimir Reynolds," he said, nodding. "Would it be okay if I joined you, ladies?" He gestured at one of the many empty chairs.

Zola stifled a giggle at his polite tone. "It's fine with me," Zola responded, her gaze turning to myself and Sunita. "Ladies?"

I was glad I wasn’t the only one who found his polite demeanor strange.

"He's cool," I said, unzipping my backpack. "Turns out he's an old family friend or something.” Who I have never heard of before today. I knew my tone betrayed my anger because I was still a bit bitter that my grandfather had seemingly sprung this all on me at the last moment. How hard would it be to remind me that someone was moving into our house before it happened? That wasn’t Casimir’s fault though so I looked up at him with a grim smile, gesturing for him to sit in the seat next to me. The new boy happily settled into the chair, pulling a small sack lunch out from his book bag.

Zola was eyeing us both with a bewildered expression on her face. "I'm sorry, w-what?" she sputtered. She pushed up the bridge of her glasses and leaned forward as if to urge me to continue. Sunita's eyes grew wide as she took a sip from her water bottle. She began glancing between the three of us, quietly observing.

"Yeah, and he’s moving into the farmhouse," I explained while smirking slightly. I took out my lunch, a container of leftover spaghetti, peeling off the lid and stuffing my fork inside. "He's helping Grandpa with the orchard."

"How did you not tell us this before today?" Zola scolded. "As one of your best friends I am frankly hurt." Her face told me that she was only half-joking. Zola liked to be kept in the loop on everything and she often told me that she hated liars.

"Grandpa said he told me before,” I admitted, begrudgingly. “Although it was after one of my all-night painting sessions. So, I feel like today is the first time I’m really hearing about it."

"Ah come on, he knows better than to tell you anything when you are in the painting zone!" Zola insisted, waving her hand for emphasis.

"Right?!" I agreed, throwing my hands up in mock defeat. Casimir was chewing slowly on a sandwich he had produced from his brown lunch bag, silently listening to our conversation. I turned to face him better. "I'm sorry Casimir, I'm sure you are a nice person. I'm just not fond of change."

"I can attest to that," Zola muttered. "She is a creature of habit. In fact, she has been wearing this one sweater, like all the time, ever since before I met her."

As Zola gave me the once over with her eyes, I feigned shock. "That sweater is vintage," I gasped jokingly.

"It's old sweetie," Zola stressed, taking a sip of her soda. She reached over to pat my hand affectionately. "But I love you anyway. So, Casimir what do you like to do for fun?" Zola had zoned in on the new guy mid-thought and I knew she would soon begin peppering him with questions. I always admired her gusto, as it seemed to me that she was never afraid of meeting new people. Sunita, on the other hand, was afraid to even look at him. Her nervous energy was coming off of her in heavy waves and starting to affect me.

"Oh, well, I'm not very exciting. I like to travel, visit old buildings," Casimir conversed, placing his sandwich on its wrapper. "But I'm also big into movies, so I love just sitting at home and binging DVD's."

"Oh, what kind of movies?" Zola inquired. She was interested now, as she was a fiend for movies, books, and television. Although her parents would rather she just read, Zola would not be limited to what type of media she consumed. I suppressed a smile as I listened to them compare movie titles. I looked over at Sunita who was listening politely.

I leaned in to whisper. "You okay?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine," she whispered back. She smiled softly at me, pushing back a small wisp of hair that had escaped from her braid. Sunita’s focus wavered, as she noticed something behind me. Whatever it was caused her whole body to stiffen and her eyes grew wide with fear.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning to see what frightened her. Across the dining hall was Zachary, staring boldly in our direction. I made an audible groaning noise and turned to look back at Sunita. "Ignore that jerk," I insisted. Casimir also turned to look, his eyebrows raised slightly as he looked at Zachary.

"Oh jeez, is there a reason why he is looking at us?" Zola commented.

"Just normal Zachary-style harassment I think,” I said, unable to stop myself from glaring at him from across the room. The bully waved, smirking before he turned to leave. It was at that moment a random student had the misfortune of bumping into him. Zachary gestured angrily towards his shoes, which he was always bragging about. From how the scene played out I was guessing the kid had stepped on them, possibly scuffing them in the process. The student apologized but it wasn’t enough to satisfy Zachary who threw out his hand, demanding money. I grumbled loudly as I watched the kid pull out a few bucks before running off in fear.

Casimir’s eyes narrowed as he witnessed the same event. He turned back to face us, tilting his head in confusion. "He harasses you? Have you reported it?"

"He harasses everyone," I lamented, gesturing towards the event we all watched. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Zachary had bought a soda at the vending machine before sauntering off with a pair of friends, sitting at his usual table. “It honestly does no good reporting him. I swear they don’t even record that stuff in his file.”

Zola let out an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, you better steer clear of that jerk, Casimir. His dad has serious connections and donates so much money to the school that the admins pretty much let him run wild."

“Really?” He said.

"Sad but true," I confirmed. “Although Zachary is a jerk, he’s not dumb. The guy never does his harassing directly in front of the teachers, so it’s always your word against his.”

"He is an awful person," Sunita broke in, speaking for the first time. Her face was flushed with emotion as she looked down at the tabletop, a scowl etched on her normally soft features. I knew Sunita had some run-ins with Zachary in the past, she was terrified of the bully.

"Have you heard the other rumors about him?" Zola inquired, poking at the remnants of her macaroni salad as she asked. I shook my head, unsure as to what she was referring to. "Well, besides the constant harassment of his fellow students, I heard a rumor that he has been selling photos of his ex-girlfriends online."

"Photos?" Casimir asked.

"The kind of photos a girl might send her boyfriend if he was lonely," Zola said in a hushed tone. I felt my stomach drop in disgust while Casimir just looked mystified by this comment causing Zola to roll her eyes. "You know... naked photos." Both Casimir and Sunita jumped back, looking embarrassed by her comment.

"How he manages to get a girlfriend is beyond me," I grumbled, peeking over at his group. Zachary was rudely sitting on the top of his table, his feet in a chair as he played around on his phone.

Zola scoffed at me openly. "Girl, it's not a mystery. Zachary is rich and cute, especially if you are into beefy dudes. Plus, he has connections," she listed, counting on her fingers as she went. "Did I forget rich?"

"Things like that shouldn't matter so much," I protested, sighing deeply. "Especially when you are a stuck-up jerk." A jerk who likes terrifying women. I should have decked him.

"That is why I like you," Zola confessed, giving me a wink.

"I like you too," I replied scrunching my nose at her. The loud trill of the bell signaled the end of our break, causing me to yelp. "Agh, I didn't finish my food."

"Well, you did sleep through half of lunch," Zola teased, packing up her food containers. I made a face and stuffed a few final bites of noodles in my mouth before packing up my food. It was time for our next class.