Making Friends and Influencing People

The next day saw me walking up to the "cool kids" table. I observed each of my hopefully new friends.

Will has what I would term as "Quarterback" good looks: tall, broad-shoulders, chiseled jawline, ice blue eyes, and light brown crew cut. He also dressed like a "prep", wardrobe full of polos and khakis.

Gwen was what I would term as a "nerd": long dark brown hair typically in a ponytail, brown eyes, glasses, and high cheekbones. Her wardrobe was full of skirts and cardigans.

Victoria was a typical "cheerleader": long blonde hair, blue eyes, and heart-shaped face. Vicky was a fan of short shorts and tank tops

Amelia has long curly brown hair, hazel eyes, freckles, and short. She was a fan of baggy clothes.

Warren was the typical "punk": long black hair with red streaks, amber eyes, tall, angular jawline, and slim. Its all leather jackets and black clothes with him.

Patricia was the typical "perky goth": long black hair typically in pigtails with various colored streaks, dark black makeup, ice blue eyes, and pixie face and build. Not a single color except black in her clothes.

Susan had mocha skin, beautiful brown eyes, and black bushy hair. She had a preference for sweatshirts and yoga pants.

Layla was the typical "hippie": long wavy reddish-brown hair and verdant green eyes. Her wardrobe is full of earth tones.

"John! Glad you finally took up on my offer." (Layla)

"Thank you for the offer." (John)

"Hello, nice to meet the infamous John Argent, Layla talks a lot about you. I'm Vicky. That's my sister, Amy. My boyfriend, Warren. My friends: Will, Gwen, Patty, Susan." (Victoria)

"Nice to meet everyone." (John)

After that there was an awkwardness in the air. I was an extraneous part in the perfectly working machine of the group.

"So, what you got?" (Will)

"PB&J, some chips, and fruit salad. You?" (John)

"Leftover lasagna from dinner last night." (Will)

"What kind of music you listen to?" (Warren)

"I'm a fan of relaxing music, you know country and musicals. You?" (John)

"The classics: Led Zeppelin, The Stones, and Floyd." (Warren)

Luckily Layla noticed the awkwardness and decided to help me out.

"You know Amy, John interns at the hospital and is looking to major in premed in college." (Layla)

"I've seen him before. The staff are very appreciative of his work ethic, but they also say that he thinks he's too good for them and the work." (Amelia)

"Really? That's what people are saying?" (John)

"Yeah, but from what I'm seeing now I think you're just shy" (Amelia)

"Guilty as charged" (John)

Everyone laughed together at that. The conversation went pretty smoothly after that. I learned a lot of stuff about the group and believe I made some friends at school.

I always saw Will as this strait-laced boy scout and while that is true, he also loves dad jokes.

Gwen always gave of an extremely serious and cold vibe. However, turns out she was very witty and sarcastic when among friends.

I saw Vicky as a dumb callous blonde. I found a hidden intelligence in her, while she was not book smart, I think she understood people in a way that few do. She probably knew about Amelia crush but did not want to damage their relationship. While I disagree and think she should truly kill all possibility so that Amy can move on, that's not up to me. It's between them.

Amelia was always an angel that fell from heaven to me, but that was never reality. She was a strong young woman who had seen to much for her age. She had a look in her eyes that was beyond her years that resulted from seeing so much so young. Her experiences forced her to grow up too soon. I think that might be why Vicky doesn't break her heart. Her crush was probably the only young thing about her.

Warren always seemed like one of those guys that were too cool for school. While that was to a certain extent true, he was also like a father to his sister. He loved his sister more than anything in this world and would do anything for her.

Patty always seemed like a young, stupid, and overly happy kid to me. However, I found she had a true depth to her. She was probably the smartest person going to this school, the only reason Suzie and I were first and second place in academic rankings was that they were divided by year. Also, the reason she is overly happy is that she knows good times don't last, so you must enjoy every moment of them.

Susan always seemed like a slacker; I was pretty dead on with that one. The only reason she was in good shape was because she was forced to train for the wards.

Layla was Layla: Kind, compassionate, and wise. She also seemed to have let go of her crush on Will. At least from what I observed there were no more puppy dog eyes.