The Sidekick and the Battlefield of Love (Part 1)

I can't believe I did it today too. Once again, I forgot to bring a lunch from home. On a side note, I also can't believe how Ethan manages to stomach cafeteria food every day. He even seems to enjoy it. As if to prove my point, he twirls the spaghetti around his fork and eats it, a dopey smile on his face.

"How can you eat that?" I ask. "The noodles are so overcooked they're basically mush, and I'm pretty sure the tomato sauce is just ketchup."

He shrugs his shoulders, bringing another forkful to his mouth. "Hey, you know me. I'm not one to turn down a meal. Do you want—"

I slide my tray over to him before he can even ask the question. He grins in response, and shovels in his food faster, smearing sauce—or whatever it is—all across his face. The single bite of lunch I had eaten already made me queasy, but if I watch this glutton for a second longer I'm going to become acquainted with the inside of a trash bin.

To distract myself I glance around the cafeteria. The long tables and benches are pretty typical of a school cafeteria, but I always wonder about the paint job. It's like the interior designer had two colors on his palette: off-white and eggshell. Then, they went about slapping them haphazardly on the walls and ceiling.

Nora bumps me with her elbow, distracting me from my pointless thoughts. "You want a sandwich?"

I look at the bag she's holding out to me. "You don't want it?"

She snorts and pushes it in front of me. "Wouldn't be asking you otherwise. So eat it or throw it out. I don't care either way."

I open the paper bag to find a regular, old peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I take a bite, and it proves edible. My appetite comes roaring back, and I devour it to soothe my grumbling stomach. "Thanks."

Nora huffs in reply as Amelia considers me for a moment, then brings her opens her lunch box. "If you're still hungry you can have some of my lunch too. It isn't much, but I have grilled steak sandwiches with chimichurri and bell peppers if you'd like.

That isn't much? Then again, this was the same girl who brought five Full-Dive Gears to school like it was no big deal.

I reach across the table and take the lunch box from her with a quick thanks. "You guys always pack lunches from home?"

"Of course." She checks to see if Ethan is listening. When it's clear his attention is entirely on the tray in front of him, the blonde continues in a low voice. "Despite how much Ethan praises the food here, it is... how do I put it..."

"It's shit," the brunette finishes for her.

Amelia nods in agreement but refrains from commenting further.

I eat sandwiches all the while feeling somewhat guilty. Not only because of how expensive it is but because of how I had judged the two girls. Ethan was right; I didn't know them, and yet I avoided them and thought bad about them. And I shouldn't have.

I'll admit it. They're nice girls.

"Oh, that reminds me." He gulps down a bite of spaghetti, then continues speaking. "You want to go to the amusement park with us, Rika, and Chloe this Saturday?"

I furrow my brow. Amusement park? Why was I just hearing about this now? Oh, right. Because if he told me before yesterday that all of them were going I would have immediately turned him down.

"Sure, sounds fun." I gulp. "You're not driving are you?"

He smirks and points at himself with his thumb. "Sure am!"

I slowly shake my head and turn to the other two. "This might sound crazy but trust me. Make sure you bring a vomit bag."

Despite giving them very solid advice, they still look at me like I'm crazy. That's fine though. They'll find out come Saturday.

____________

I go to the stairwell to fulfill Rika's request after she reminded me about it this morning. This place certainly hasn't been cleaned yet. In fact, those spiders must have put in overtime spinning silk since yesterday. There's a long, misshapen web trailing from the base of the railing and a new one festering on the fifth stair. While they look unsuccessful in catching bugs, they're good at catching the dust and grime.

None of this fazes Rika, who is perched on that step, clutching a sandwich and a tinfoil wrapping. I then have the pleasure of watching her devour almost half a sandwich in a single bite.

"S'wup." She waves to me, tinfoil curled in her hand and crumbs shooting out her mouth.

Without hesitation, I put more distance between us. "You're disgusting."

"D'no wim na."

"I can't understand you. Now chew before you choke."

She follows my advice and finishes chewing the sandwich, downing it with the last of her water. Then, she stuffs the tinfoil wrapping and her empty water bottle into her lunchbox. She leaves the lunchbox on the stairs as she hops down to stand near me. "I said no I'm not."

That's a lie if I've ever heard one, but I don't call her out on it. Seems like this issue could easily devolve into pointless banter. Best to not engage in that case.

"Whatever. What'd you want to talk about?"

"I want your help getting Ethan to notice me."

I scoff, adjusting the hood of my sweatshirt. "You're beyond helping. We wasted almost a whole day at the mall, and you couldn't even put your name on Ethan's present."

Her face droops, but she rapidly recovers. She points a finger in my direction. "Exactly my point. That's why I need your help to make sure I don't screw up anymore."

I shift my weight to my back leg and consider my options. I have no real reason not to help her anymore, but I also don't have any real reason to help her either. So, let's think back to the last time I helped her. She messed with me a whole lot, bought my sister a gift, we played some board games, and she sent me that damn picture. Then, afterward, I wrote the best-reviewed chapter of my entire web novel. So, I guess all I can say is...

I'm in.

Being told I wrote compelling characters, got the story-line back on track, and got my readers excited for the next chapter is a rush I'm beyond addicted to. Does that mean Rika's my muse? I'm not sure, but such a scary thought sends tingles up from the soles of my feet to the back of my neck.

"I'll help you, but you need to promise there'll be no more half-hearted attempts. No more let's go buy a present, and then give it to him without letting him know it was from me kind of stuff."

She holds out her hand. "Deal."

We shake on it, her grip is a lot more dainty than I anticipate. I expected her to try some crazy technique to crack my knuckles or something. Honestly, I wouldn't have even put it past her to have concealed a joy buzzer on her palm.

She releases my hand and grins at me. "You got a pretty strong grip. Least there's something manly about ya."

Damn this girl. I should have made her agree to stop teasing me if she wanted my help. What's done is done, though.

"...Rika?" The quiet voice surprises me, and I step back from the girl in question. The light filtering in from the open door highlights Chloe's petite frame. "I-I can come back if you're busy."

"Nah, I'm not busy. What's up?"

Her eyes flit to me, and she makes no moves to come closer. Seems like I'm not really wanted here. Rika must notice her discomfort too. "Don't worry, he's cool. He may look grumpy, but he's a nice guy."

That pathetic attempt at reassuring her must work because she makes her way over to Rika. Rika rubs the top of her head and Chloe giggles at her touch. I was a little surprised yesterday when Ethan mentioned that the two of them always ate lunch together, but after seeing how comfortable they are around one another, it's obvious he wasn't mistaken. I always thought these girls would rather jump off a cliff than spend time with one another.

Guess that's just another thing I was wrong about.

"Earth to space cadet." A sharp pinch to my forearm snaps me out of my daze. "Jeez, did you not get enough sleep or something?" Rika pats Chloe on the shoulder. "Sorry you had to see that. He has such little charm as it is, and I fear it's becoming less and less every day."

The other girl tilts her head to the side, a small grin on her face. "I didn't realize you and him were such good friends, Rika."

She giggles. "Oh, yeah. We go way back."

Way back is three days, huh? The crazy thing is I feel like I've known her much longer than that. Maybe because she has such a lively personality, and I've never been bored around her.

"I have a favor to ask you," Chloe says.

What a hauntingly familiar line.

"Sure."

She cups Rika's ear and whispers something into her ear. I can't make out what she's saying, so I stand there awkwardly, trying not to stare. Rika whispers something back to her. She hesitates, biting the inside of her cheek, but eventually she agrees. Then, they both look to me like a sheep to the slaughter.

Why do I feel like I'm about to get dragged into something unnecessary again?