The bell for lunch rang, and students flooded into the hallway. I was tired, and not from the classes. My brain was tired from trying to figure out Caroline and Elena.
"Babe, let's go to the cafeteria," Caroline said, grabbing my arm as I left the classroom,her face saying, "I'm starving. Those classes just suck all the energy out of me."
I looked at her. She did seem genuinely hungry. "Sure," I said.
We walked together towards the cafeteria. I thought to myself, "This is ridiculous. In my last life, I had twenty years of past life experience so I should be able to handle these two high school girls very well. But I can't." I knew all about Caroline's tricks from the show, but I still walked right into her trap. I guess I just have a hard time saying no to a pretty girl. It's a stupid weakness of mine.
When we reached the cafeteria, it was loud and crowded. Before I could even look for a place to sit, Caroline was already pulling me along. "Let's go there, babe," she said, her eyes locked on a target.
We moved through the narrow spaces between people coming and going. She led us to a small table in the middle of the room. It had two large seats facing each other with a table in between. Elena was sitting in one seat, her head down, eating her lunch and not paying attention to anyone. Bonnie was sitting across from her and looked up as we approached.
I looked at Caroline, my mind screaming, "What are we doing here? You've already messed things up with Elena!" But Caroline was already talking.
"Mind if we join you?" she asked Bonnie, but she was looking at Elena. It wasn't a real question. She had already turned and sat down in the empty seat next to Elena, sitting with her right leg crossed over her left like she was a queen on her throne.
Elena looked up from her plate when she heard Caroline's voice. She saw Caroline sitting there without waiting for an answer. Elena didn't seem surprised. That was just how Caroline was. Then her eyes met mine. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. Her expression was blank.
"Hey, babe, what are you standing there for? Come sit," Caroline said from her seat, patting the spot next to her.
I looked at her. There was no way out of this. I sat down on the same seat with Caroline, which meant I was now directly facing Elena. The table felt incredibly small.
Elena's Point of View
I had finally pushed all the messy thoughts about Alex and Caroline out of my head and was just trying to enjoy my lunch with Bonnie. Then they showed up.
Caroline acted like she owned the place. She just sat down like we were all here to serve her. It made me lose my appetite. I put my fork down.
Then Caroline did something even more annoying. She reached across the table and took my free hand in hers. She put on a sweet, concerned voice.
"Elena," she said, her eyes wide. "Is there something wrong with your health? From this morning? I was really worried about you."
She was pretending to be a caring friend, but I knew it was fake. She was only doing this to make herself look good, or maybe to make me look bad. I pulled my hand back gently.
I forced a smile onto my face. "I'm fine, Caroline. It was just a little headache this morning." I couldn't stop myself from glancing at Alex. He was already looking at me. He had been since he sat down.
I obviously couldn't tell Caroline the truth. I couldn't say, "Actually, I'm upset because it seems like the guy I was starting to like is officially dating you, and you announced it to the whole school."
Caroline kept her fake smile. "Oh, really? Well, you should get some rest."
I shook my head. "No, it's just a minor headache. It's already going away." I finally turned and looked Alex directly in the eye. "It just goes with the time."
I let the words hang in the air. I saw a flicker of understanding in his eyes. He knew I wasn't just talking about a headache. I was talking about my interest in him. It was fading away, just like a minor pain, because of the situation he put me in.
The table went quiet. Bonnie looked down at her food, uncomfortable. Caroline's smile tightened a little.