"Whatever, Kimi," he muttered as he and his friend walk away, but not before he gave me a clumsy wink. It looked more like a mix of a sneeze and a blink; definitely not the sexy wink he was going for. "Thanks," I said, giving her a grateful smile. "No problem. Jack hits on every girl that hasn't already turned him down. Hopefully he won't bother you again." "Yeah, hopefully." The rest of class we focused on our work, chatting in between. I learned her name was Kimi Jang and that she planned on being a journalist. I also learned that she was Korean, but grew up in Texas. She was adorably small, about two inches shorter than me. Her hair was a deep reddish-brown, but her roots showed that her hair was naturally black. I also learned that she disliked Drew as much as me, if not more; although her reason dated back way farther than mine. She promised to tell me the story later, putting her number in my phone. She even added a picture, joking that she didn't want me to forget who she was. I doubt I could, I freakin' loved this girl. She was the type of person I would gravitate to for a best friend, although I was still willing to give Lauren a chance. When the bell rung, we said goodbye and I headed to my locker to put some stuff up. Waiting for me was the familiar blonde I warmed up to. When he spotted me coming, he smiled and waved. I'll be honest, it made me feel good, but strictly in a friend-way. I already told myself, NO BOY DRAMA right now. "You're eating lunch with me today," Riley stated, very matter of factly, when I reached him. "I can't. I'm already eating lunch with Lauren," I said as I put my stuff up in my locker. Now I was actually grateful she asked me to sit with her yesterday; it gave me a valid reason to turn him down. "But you have to! You already know that Drew got suspended, and Jayden is eating with his girlfriend today. Please don't make me eat alone," he pleaded, sticking his bottom lip out like a five year old. "Oh, shut up. You could ask any girl here to eat lunch with you and she would say yes," I teased. "Every girl except you," he sighed as he leaned back on the locker next to mine. His blonde curls spilled over and onto his face as he looked down at me. "I guess I'm the exception." A small frown grew on his face as he thought. It was funny, I don't even think he knew it was there. "I know! I'll just sit with you guys! Problem solved. And I'm sure Jayden will be happy to have some extra testosterone at that table." He was beaming, clearly proud of his smart thinking, although I thought it was a pretty obvious solution. "Whatever makes you happy," I laughed, rolling my eyes playfully. When we got to the cafeteria, I literally felt like a sardine in a can. It was packed. I didn't even know where to go to get food or where to look to find Lauren. "Where's the lunch line?" I asked, getting on my tippy toes to try and see over the many people rushing by. Noticing my confusion, Riley placed his hand on my shoulder. I could tell he was amused because of the dumb smirk he tried to hide. "Follow me," he instructed, leading me towards a crowd of people. When he stopped walking, I could see a sign that read, "LINE STARTS HERE". "This blob of people is the line?! How was anyone supposed to know that?!" He just smiled, soaking in my expression. Well, I was glad I was able to entertain him. (If you've paid attention, you'd notice I use sarcasm a lot.) When we got our food, I followed closely behind Riley to Lauren's table. "Nat! Hey!" she squealed when she saw me. I noticed the handsome guy sitting beside her kind of cooing her to calm down. I could see why she was so lovestruck when she talked about him yesterday. He looked biracial, probably African American and Caucasian, and he wore his hair shaved down on the sides with a little left on top. When we got to the table, Lauren insisted I sit in front of her, and Riley helped himself to the seat beside me. "Hey. I'm Jayden," he said, giving me a nod. I noticed right away how bright of a hazel his eyes were against his brown skin. "Natalie," I replied with a smile. "Oh, I know. Riley told me all about you," he added, a chuckle coming out at the end. I looked at Riley inquisitively. He was just about to take a bite of his taco when he noticed. "What? I had to tell him who pitched the gritball that pissed Drew off. He certainly wasn't going to admit it was you." Well, that made sense. "From what he said, you should try out for the softball team. They are in desperate need of a new pitcher. The girl they have sucks," Jayden mentioned passionately. I definitely just found the jock of the group. "Yeah, Short-stop. You should. You'd be great." I sent Riley a glare for his dumb "short joke" before responding to Jayden. "Nah. I'm more of a swimmer. I competed back in New Jersey, although I had to beg my coach to let me try out." "Why would you have to do that?" Lauren asked, finally adding to the conversation. "He thought I was too short to be any real competition," I shrugged. "And were you any good?" Riley pressed, raising and eyebrow. "One of the best in the region," I admitted proudly. They probably assumed it was because I won a lot of races that I was smiling the way I was...but that was not the main reason. When I swam, I felt connected to her. "You should totally try out for the swim team, then!" Lauren exclaimed. "I don't know..." "You should. It would give Riley a valid reason to go, instead of just going to check out the girls in their swimsuits," Jayden added, shooting Riley a teasing look. "Pft, I do not go there for that," Riley retorted as nonchalantly as possible, but I could see him blushing. "Awe, it's okay, Riley. We all have things we're not proud of," I said through giggles. The rest of the table joined me in laughs, while Riley continued to protest. "Can I just eat my tacos in peace, please?!" Riley whined, wanting the attention off him. I couldn't help but smile. It was funny seeing him so uncomfortable. After a few more minutes, Lauren was about to start a new conversation topic when I heard a voice speak up from behind me. "So, you're Natalie."