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“You’re something else, Calliope Fairfield,” I chuckled.
“So I’ve been told,” she replied slyly.
Once we finally reached my locker, I looked over at her. “Can we just not make a big deal out of my newfound freedom?” I asked. “I don’t want to look like a damn tourist.”
Calliope laughed. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’m just…I’ve always liked you, Edie. I think you’re an awesome person with everything that you do, and now that Talon’s no longer guarding you, I just think it’d be fun to hang out with you.”
“Thanks,” I said, meaning it.
Straightening, she asked, “What are you doing for lunch?”
I shrugged. “I was just going to grab something, then eat.”
“Okay, well, not anymore,” she announced. “We’ll meet for lunch, and we’ll show people that it’s okay to approach you now.”
I laughed again. “Seriously?”
Calliope nodded. “You’ll sit with me and whoever wants to join, and it’ll be the first day of the rest of your life.”
“You act like Talon never let me talk to anyone before now,” I said as I opened my locker, my mind automatically knowing that the bell was going to ring soon.
Her face softened again. “It’s not that,” she denied. “You’ve always been very popular with all that you’re involved in, Edie. It’s just…people are legit scared of your brother and those damn Finleys. Not a lot of people were brave enough to really try their hand at a friendship with you.”
“Including you?”
Calliope shrugged. “While I never had a thing for your brother, I can remember it like yesterday when he found out that Carla Rollins had been trying to befriend you to get close to him.” She shuttered dramatically. “Yeah, no way was I going to sign up for that kind of annihilation.”
I winced.
“Yeah, I’d forgotten about that,” I mumbled.
“You’re the only person that did, then,” she huffed.
Just then, the first warning bell rang, effectively ending our conversation.
“Okay, I’ll see you at lunch,” she said before taking off towards her own locker.
Yeah, this ought to be fun.
Chapter 3
The thoughts that shouldn’t happen.
Edie~
Lakeside High had a cafeteria, snack bar, and you could leave campus for lunch if you wanted. While the cafeteria served the mandatory free lunches for students, it also served other stuff that you could buy. Sure, it was still processed junk food for the most part, but it still tasted a lot better than the free lunch.
So, grabbing my grilled chicken salad, chips, and water, I walked out into the courtyard, and as soon as I stepped into the sunlight, Calliope was waving me over. Smiling, I walked over with my stuff, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that only Julie Banks and Deidra Willis were sitting with her. Normally, people didn’t make me nervous, but Calliope’s insistence that I was a big deal had me feeling a bit uncomfortable.
As soon as I took a seat, Julie started in, doing her best to find something in common with me. Immediately, that had me thinking about how Calliope had mentioned how people had wanted to be friends with me but had been too scared because of Talon.
“So, I have Lars Finley in third period this year, and when he walked into class this morning, he was smiling like the cat that ate the canary,” Julie said, kicking off the gossip.
“Oh, I’ve no doubt that he probably ate something alright,” Deidra snorted. “He has a reputation for a reason.”
“He’s single,” Calliope reminded the group. “He’s allowed to have fun.”
Julie eyed her. “Didn’t you hook up with Hunter Finley a couple of years back?”
