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“I don’t think I should,” I finally replied, my words almost inaudible. But of course he heard.
“They don’t matter. Not to us,” he said, following behind me. I shifted slightly so my back wasn’t turned to him completely, and a smile flashed across his face so quickly I wasn’t sure I’d actually seen it.
“You’re a teacher,” I responded, feeling like I was warning him, but not sure what I was warning him about.
“And you’re a student,” he answered, his amusement clear. “Is that your argument for not sitting with us?”
“No,” I answered quietly, before glancing up at him. “But it should be yours.” He paused, and I grabbed the first thing offered to me at the food station – a pizza.
“Don’t mistake this invitation as more than it is,” he warned, coming up behind me, so close my heart pounded. “Caleb asked you yesterday.”
“At your request,” I declared, remembering how Caleb had inexplicably known my name. Dominic’s eyes narrowed and I knew I was right. “I admit I don’t get why you want me to sit with your group when it’s clear you don’t invite strangers.”
“You’re more clever than I gave you credit for.” He stepped around me, as I stood frozen. “I have no doubt you’ll figure it out fast enough,” he paused and added, “If you sit with us.”
He grabbed food from the hot lunch station as I tried to decide if I was going to follow him to the table in the middle of the room, or go sit with Leah, who was staring at me in awe. I released the breath I’d been holding and trailed after the broad shoulders of Coach Dom.
He had the grace not to smirk as I set my tray on the table. In fact, he ignored me completely as he spoke to Caleb, who in turn, gave me a quick nod.
“I don’t want him as a boyfriend,” I jumped at the soft statement, already instinctively knowing who it was.
“Anna,” I sighed, feeling a tad guilty for my earlier behavior.
“I was just curious about you. Caleb said he invited you to our table. We don’t get a lot of new people.”
“I gathered that,” I muttered as others at our table tried to hide their curious gazes. People not at the table didn’t even bother to hide their amazement as they stared openly.
“I don’t know what to say,” Anna admitted softly, since apparently that was the only volume she had. The loud buzz of hundreds of voices made it difficult for me to hear her so I leaned closer. “I’m not used to talking to outsiders.”
I winced at her words, but then considered the idea that maybe she could provide some answers. She was willing to talk to me at least, and Dominic had practically dared me to figure it out.
“Why is that?”
“Why is what?” Anna repeated as I bit off a piece of pizza. A quick glance at her plate had me doing a double take. She had a double portion of the hot lunch.
“Why aren’t you used to talking to outsiders?”
She shrugged and answered, “We just don’t really. It’s not something we do. Sometimes people leave and will bring new people back with them, but by then they know.”
“Know what?” I asked, wondering if finding out the answer would really be that easy.
“Who we are,” she answered immediately and I held in a sigh.
“Are you really going to eat all of that?” I asked as she finished off her first plate of food and started on the second.
“You know it’s rude to ask people about their eating habits,” she replied archly and my mouth dropped open. She flashed a mischievous grin and added, “That was for the boyfriend comment.”
“Fair,” I replied with a chuckle.
“You never answered my question,” she reminded me, nodding encouragingly. “What brought you here?”
“My dad. My parents got divorced and I chose to live with my dad.”
“Here?” She was rightfully disbelieving and I took another bite of pizza to give myself a minute to answer. I didn’t really want to get into my Mom’s misdeeds, but I had to admit it was odd for me to choose this place over the life I’d had.
“It seemed like an adventure,” I finally answered with a shrug and then deflected. “And my brother’s four.”
“A little young for me then,” she joked seeming to get that I didn’t want to discuss my parent’s divorce.
“So what’s an outsider doing at your table?” I asked bluntly, growing a little tired of the mystery. She gave me an assessing glance and opened her mouth to respond when the bell rang, and I grimaced. I was never going to find out at this rate.
Anna smiled serenely and leaned down, her voice even softer as she said, “I don’t see any outsiders at our table.” She took her empty tray and slipped away before I had a chance to comment. Caleb flashed me a grin as he passed and whispered, “Glad you joined us today.”
