Lunch -open to all-

[Zach Erickson]

Zach walked into the lunchroom a little late; his math teacher had held him back and demanded an explanation for why he had failed to turn in his homework for the fifth time. Egh. Zach hated math, above all else. He knew that he would never use it in the career he was pursuing, so why couldn't he have just quit after middle school? If only all classes were like electives, so that you could just learn everything you wanted to. And who needed a class like sewing?

Saying a few unenthusiastic hellos to a few other of his jock friends, Zach went up and bought his lunch. Luckily, it was nothing too horrible today. Just a sandwich... safe enough. After also loading a salad onto his plate, Zach went over and sat down with a couple buddies who were beckoning him over. They talked about the usual things... girls, the next football game, who had made out with who and why... It was the same old stuff.

Zach was about half-way through his plate of food when somebody else came over and sat down at their table. He looked up, expecting it to be another jock or one of those girls that practically stalked him... Don't get it wrong, Zach liked girls, but nice ones, surprisingly. He didn't like the girls who were all clingy and giggly, and just gossiped about stupid things. It wasn't a jock or one of those girls.

"Hi," said Zach to the person, a little surprised.

[Bridget Collins]

Bridget wasn't hungry, but it was time for lunch. Mind you, she was hardly ever hungry, really. And because of this, people tended to think her annorexic, but in truth, Bridget just never had a big appetite. And as for her weight? Well, she was a slim girl by nature of metabolism, so it was pretty much impossible for her to gain weight, anyway. Whenever a comment about eating disorders came her way, Bridget would shrug it off. Shrugging off comments was one of the few things her sister had taught her - and one she intended to keep.

Sighing, the brunette entered the lunchroom, twirling a lock of hair. She wasn't quite sure where to sit, just yet, and wasn't sure of what to eat, either. Finally, she decided on grabbing a soda. Again, she just wasn't hungry. Why eat if you don't feel like it? You might as well save it for when you do, Bridget Collins had always believed.

Seeing a familiar face, Bridget headed in that direction. All around her, cheerleaders were gossiping, jocks were laughing stupidly, and goths were burning things...ok, kidding about the last part. But everything was normal for a typical high school. And if you didn't know her, you'd have guessed she'd be sitting with the cheerleaders - indeed, Bridget was on the cheer squad, but she wasn't like the rest of them. She just liked cheerleading, and not the social status that came with it. Bridget was more of an individual, could say.

Ignoring the rest of the people at his table, Bridget sat down by Zach. With a smile, she took a sip of her soda. "Hey!" she said in a friendly voice, acknowledging the rest of the table. "What's up?" While most people would have been too intimidated to be the first girl at a table that was full of guys, Bridget wasn't. She was hardly ever intimidated, to tell you the truth. Why start now?