“We did kiss,” Carrie put in helpfully.
“Wow!” Robbie said in awe.
“It’s time to go,” Tina said to him as she stood and picked up her tray. She was smiling for the first time.
“But…”
“They obviously want to be alone,” she said, cutting short Robbie’s protest. He stood and they both moved to another table. It was then that I noticed all the odd looks we were getting from just about everyone in the cafeteria.
“Carrie, why did you sit here?” I asked.
“Well, I really do feel like a change,” she said, but I wasn’t buying it. She looked at my expression and laughed again.
“Tell me the truth.”
“Maybe later,” she shrugged. “But first, tell me something. Do you regret leaving last night?”
“Are you kidding?” I said, shaking my head. “I’ve been beating myself up over it ever since!” Carrie smiled.
“Would you do it again?” I looked at her and couldn’t tell what answer she was expecting or even wanted. I was tempted to tell her that I would stay if I had it all over to do again. Yet, deep down I knew it wasn’t the truth. I might beat myself up for my choice, but it was the right thing to do.
“Yes,” I finally answered. She looked at me in silence.
“You know, I believe you would,” she said, sounding amazed.
“Hey Carrie, what are you doing sitting over here?”
I looked up at the voice and saw Jimmy standing there. I buried my face in my tray and tried to stay out of it.
“I’m talking to a friend,” Carrie said in an icy tone.
“Come on,” Jimmy frowned. “Let’s go back to our table.”
“It’s your table now,” she replied. “I’m not sitting there anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because you are,” Carrie answered succinctly.
“What’s this all about?”
“Jennifer Madden.”
“Who’s she?” Jimmy asked. I shook my head. You had to give the guy credit. He really looked like he had no idea who she was. The fact that half the cheerleaders saw him with her at a party Friday night didn’t seem to matter to him at all.
“Goodbye, Jimmy,” Carrie said pointedly.
“Don’t be that way. Come on, let’s talk about it?” he asked, but Carrie refused to even look at him, much less talk to him anymore.
“Do you have anything to do with this?” Jimmy asked, giving me a nasty look. I raised my hands and gave my best innocent look. He stared at me a moment longer before turning and stomping away.
“Are you okay?” I asked Carrie softly. She nodded. There were tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them drop. We ate in silence for a couple of minutes.
“Hey Carrie!” Jill Jackson said as she sat down next to Carrie. She was the captain of the cheerleader squad. Jill was an athletic black girl who could do some pretty wicked back flips. Obviously, she was part of the in crowd. “Can you believe Jimmy?”
“I’m glad you dumped him again,” Tara Dalton said as she sat on Carrie’s other side. “He is such a jerk!” Tara was a talented actress and a dance rat. She had the lead in this year’s school musical. It was a big hit. I had dreams about her for weeks afterward.
“Hi,” Tara said to me with a warm smile.
“Hello,” Jill added, smiling as well.
“Jill, Tara, this is my friend Joel,” Carrie said, introducing me.
“Ladies, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I grinned. “You do realize that this has to be one of the most surreal moments in my life?”
“Why?” Tara asked.
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked. Carrie was smiling at me. She knew what I meant, but the others seemed clueless.
“Tara and Jill are not typical for the in crowd. They think of themselves as normal everyday people. It’s one of the reasons why I like them so much.”
“We are normal everyday people,” Jill said with a shrug.
“Hell!” Tara grinned. “I wasn’t even part of the in crowd before we became friends.” I was about to argue both of their points when we were visited by another one of Carrie’s friends.
“Hey ladies!” Samantha Garret said as she walked up. Carrie nodded, but didn’t look thrilled as Samantha sat with us. Samantha was one of the ‘Rich People’. She threw one ritzy party each semester at her house. It was for invitees only. I’d never been there, but to be fair very few had. “Carrie, is it true? Have you and Jimmy broke up again?”
“Yep,” Carrie said. “He’s all yours.”
“I don’t want him!” Samantha said too quickly. Carrie didn’t introduce us and Samantha didn’t seem to notice my presence even though she was sitting right next to me.
“Carrie, can we talk?” Bette Jacobs said as she walked up and sat on my other side. She also ignored me. The table was getting crowded.
“About what?”
“Jimmy is awfully sorry about Jennifer,” Bette said. “Can’t you find it in your heart to forgive him?”
“Again?” I asked in disbelief.
“Mind your own business!” Bette snapped at me. My eyebrows rose in surprise. “And just what are you doing sitting with us anyway?”
“I was a bit curious about that myself,” Samantha added.
“I was here first,” I said, hearing myself and suddenly finding it hard not to laugh.
“Well, get lost!” Bette snapped. I looked at her and shook my head.
“She’s serious, isn’t she?”
“Of course I am,” Bette answered. “Go sit with your friends.”
“Bette, stop being such a bitch!” Jill sighed.
“Amen to that!” Tara put in.
“Joel is a friend of mine,” Carrie finally said. “I sat here to talk to him. If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to leave.”
“Is he the reason why you decided to break up with Jimmy?” Bette asked.
“I decided to break up with Jimmy because he’s a cheating, no good, son of a bitch!” Carrie snapped, and then took a deep breath to calm down. “Joel is just a guy who treated me nice.”
“So he is the reason!” Bette cried.
“Wow!” I said, suddenly standing. “You guys can have the table.”
“Gives you a whole new prospective of the in crowd, doesn’t it?” Carrie asked, understanding my desire to leave. I just nodded. She grinned and added, “I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow.”
“Don’t take it personal,” I sighed. “But do me a favor, lose your friends or go sit somewhere else.”
“What a jerk!” Samantha snapped.
“I’m going to enjoy watching what Jimmy does to you,” Bette added.
“Bette, Jimmy’s not going to do anything to Joel! He had nothing to do with the breakup,” Carrie said. I watched Bette’s eyes and shook my head. I’d have to watch out for Jimmy.
“Tara, Jill, it was nice to meet you both,” I said with a smile. “You too are welcome at my table anytime.”
“We were wondering,” Jill grinned. I rolled my eyes and she laughed.
“We’ll be seeing you around,” Tara added.
**********
“I can’t believe you got into a fight!” my father snapped as he walked into the office. Boy was he steaming!
“Mr. Harmon, it wasn’t your son’s fault,” vice principal Tagli said. “All the witnesses agree. The other boys jumped Joel during recess.”
“If it wasn’t his fault then why was I called out of work?” my father asked, and then the rest of the vice principal’s words sunk in. “Boys? As in plural? How many boys?”
“There were three of them,” vice principal Tagli, shaking his.
“You didn’t do any serious damage to them?” my father asked me.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Jimmy probably lost two teeth, but that’s the worst of it.”
“Where did your son learn to fight?” the vice principal asked, honestly curious.
“His grandfather,” my father replied.