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social jungle of every
school.
    The cafeteria.
     

 
     
    FOUR
     
    Juicy gossip is like a bizarre virus.
Once awakened, it takes on a life and speed of its own, spreading
and mutating until it's out of control.
    As soon as I walked into the cafeteria, it
was clear news of my arrival had already spread. How that was
possible, when no one had seen me arrive and I hadn't left my room
all day, was a mystery I'd never solve.
    I strode in confidently with a lazy grin on
my face. The large space, filled with long rectangular tables,
looked like any other high school cafeteria. I headed over to the
food line as the rambunctious noise of the room dropped, replaced
by the buzz of muttered whispers. All eyes followed me.
    I casually picked up the ugly, orange plastic
tray and loaded up on today's menu of lasagna and boiled green
vegetables that looked like it had all but disintegrated into a
pile of pulpy mush.
    After I grabbed an orange and a bottle of
water, I carried my tray down the middle aisle. My eyes assessed
the seated students, analyzing the social structure and determining
where the power was and who would be a problem.
    At the far right table was the head group. A
thin girl with a slightly large nose watched me with sharp eyes.
She whispered to the three girls next to her as I walked past. They
reminded me of dolls. Artificial perfection in their hair, makeup,
and clothes.
    Next to her was a hot guy with heavy-hooded
brown eyes and dark golden hair, styled to look fashionably mussed.
He was perched on the table in a deliberately casual slouch,
surrounded by a group of five other guys.
    His eyes followed me with arrogant curiosity
and when he saw me looking, he gave an appreciative grin. With a
half-smile, I made sure my expression didn't reveal anything more
than a slight interest. I didn't want to blow him off yet,
especially if he might come in handy as an ally against Ms.
Blondie, whose eyes had narrowed.
    I would've bet my dagger that the entire
table was Redavi. They screamed of money and entitlement.
    I'd scouted the table to sit at the moment I
entered the cafeteria. Located at the very back left corner, I
wanted to claim the empty space before any more students arrived.
Sitting there would make sure that people had to come to me, and
not the other way around.
    I made sure my back was turned to the rest of
the room and waited for whoever had the nerve to approach the new
girl.
    "You figured everything out yet?"
    The friendly voice came from behind and
another orange tray landed on the table. I looked up at a guy with
short, sandy blonde hair, dressed in a casual hunter green t-shirt
and jeans. He had a muscular build, like an athlete. Smoky grey
eyes, fringed with long, dark blonde lashes, were lit up with
amusement. Pretty cute, especially with that mischievous
expression.
    I gave him a lazy grin. "I'm liking what I
see so far."
    He sat next to me. "Ryder DePaul. Welcome to
Lumiére."
    "Kendra Irisavie. Can't say it's all that
great to be here."
    He laughed. "Gorgeous and honest. Nice."
Taking a bite of his lasagna, he gazed at me thoughtfully. "You
have the eyes of a soldier. Saw you sizing up the room as you came
in."
    Surprised, I gave him another appraising
glance.
    "Just a habit," I replied. "I like knowing
what sort of situation I'm in. It's kind of second nature."
    "So I heard. You've got some hard-core
martial arts skills."
    Swallowing my bite slowly, I turned to face
him. Even the gossip pipeline wouldn't explain that depth of
knowledge.
    "Is that right? And what else have you
heard?"
    A tsking sound came from the other side of
the table.
    "Come on, Ry, don't go blabbing all our
secrets."
    Two girls joined us. They both had the pale
creamy complexion of ondines, but their coloring was different. The
one on the left had long, silky bright blonde hair that reminded me
of the color of buttercups. She was about my height and had on an
elegant sundress that hugged her delicate frame. Cornflower blue
eyes