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Every other guy in the room suddenly looked like a boy compared to t he man standing in front of me. A nd those eyes ; i t was like staring into the clearest, coldest water, and I wanted to let myself drown.
    I fin ally tore my gaze away and star ed down at my milk container . No t looking at him helped, and my brain kicked back into gear . “ Ohh , s orry . I didn’t know you were there . I was talking to myself. ”
    As soon as I said it I regretted it . I was sure he already thought I was weird, now he could think I was certifiable , too . Admitting you were talking to yourself as you sat alone at lunch was not a good way to make new friends . He didn’t seem to notice my awkwardness though . He stood in front of me with perfect posture, and a tray containing an apple, a carton of white milk, and a sandwich of some kind .
    “May I sit down?” h e asked with a slight bow in my direction . The mannerism was strangely formal .
    “ Ahh , yeah … I guess. ” Articulate and smooth , that’s me . No wonder Cami ditched me in her pursuit of prom dates and popularity; I was a lead weight .
    “I saw you sitting alone, and I t hought you may like the company, ” Gabriel explained .
    Pity, great … “Don’t you usually sit over there? ” I questioned as I pointed behind me .
    “If my presence is not wanted, I will gladly return to my own table. ” He had yet to sit down and appeared to be waiting for my answer . Wow, I was really messing this up bad.
    “No … u mm … t hat’s not what I meant . Please , sit down . I … I was just wondering why you chose to come over here? ” I stammered.
    “I simply observed your absence of company and I thou ght perhaps you would like some, ” h e replied.
    Gee, and I thought no one had noticed my social quarantine . Apparently no matter how wrapped up people are in their own lives they can always take time out to notice the weirdo sitting alone . I so love high school . “Yeah, my best friend ditched me for some guy . I don’t know what ha s gotten into her lately . That’s like number one of the friend list . You don’t ditch your friends for a guy. ” Wow, over share much ? What was the matter with me ?
    Gabriel smirked and raised his eyebrows . “Where has this friend of yours gotten to ? I must know which young man has so captivated her attention to force her to commit such a condemnable offense .”
    I pointed behind him to the front of the cafeteria . “She’s over there . She’s the blond e with the pink highlights and the ridiculously short skirt . The guy is next to her, the one with the blond e hair, tan, and perfect smile . Cute, I guess , if you’re into that type of thing . Cami certainly seems infatuated .” I didn’t even try to hide the bitterness in my voice .
    He glanced behind him and I watched his expression change . His face hardened and darkened, he looked angry, and then as quick as it was there it was gone, washed away. He glanced back in my direction , his face free of tension. “Are you into that type of thing?”
    For a split second my head was full of nothing but whit e noise, and all I could think wa s , “ No. I’m into dark hair, light eyes, and pale skin . T hat’s my type . ” B ut thankfully what I said was, “Not hardly!”
    “Good, me n either,” he teased . “You won ’ t have to worry about losing a second lunch partner to the likes of him. ”
    I didn’t want to misread what he just sa id, but was he promising to eat lunch with me every day ? I was taken aback by his sudden friendliness . The rest of my classmates had no troub le at all ignoring my existence and suddenly the new kid , who had spoken to no one as far as I could tell, was asking to sit with me! I decided not to question his decision, since I really did want the company . Instead I a sked, “So was that your family’s moving truck I saw last Wednesday, on Spruce Street ? ”
    “Indeed, it was, ” h e replied . “My f ather and I moved here from