FIVE

After I had registered for the TheaterAg, I decided to eat something first, because my stomach started to rebel again. Stupid son of a bitch. Whenever everyone was quiet because there was a school paper to write, he had to flirt with a blue whale of course. Or with Mrs. Bennet, would at least be understandable.

Since my stomach didn't exactly get quieter, I decided to go to the cafeteria to get a pizza, although it tastes like pig's food. I still wonder how the hell the cooks got their job there. Either the school didn't have money for decent cooks or they didn't have enough time to get some.

When we arrived at the cafeteria, it was already teeming with students who had already settled down on the tables and were falling over their food like predators. Disgusting. In the back I could see Joanna talking to a boy who didn't look so bad. Since there was a free seat next to her and I wanted to know which pretty boy she was dealing with, I decided to go to her.

"Hey Joanna," I said to her and planted myself in the empty seat. A little surprised about my sudden appearance, I got a confused look from her, but it disappeared immediately.

"Oh hey Jane! What are you doing here?"

"Talking to you and getting a slice of your pizza. What else?", I asked her with a grin and stuffed the food in my mouth.

"And you are?", the boy looked at me critically.

"Frederick the second of the Starks, my lord," I answered him seriously, until Joanna and I had to hold our stomachs in laughter. Admittedly, that must have looked very funny, because I still had a piece of pizza in my mouth and my laughter was not exactly quiet. So it happened that within seconds the whole cafeteria was looking at us as if we were aliens.

After what felt like half an eternity, we finally collapsed and I focused on the boy again.

"My name is Jane, and you?"

"Patrick," he replied friendly, but a bit distant.

"Like the starfish Patrick from Spongebob?", I asked him amused.

"Only that I have more brain cells, otherwise yes," he countered skillfully.

Now Joanna joined in the conversation. "He's here to tutor me for the upcoming math test."

"Okay, I'd rather be quiet and don't disturb you," I replied and ate the third slice of Joanna's pizza.

"Can't you get your own pizza? You can buy it here for $5, and there's no line anymore," Joanna amusedly pointed at me.

"Sorry," I muttered as an apology before I got up from my seat and marched to the sales counter to get some food.

I let my eyes wander across the room to watch all these creatures greedily devour their food as if their lives depended on it.

Slightly disgusted, I stood at the counter, behind me a fat woman with a grey apron, which should have been white in the past, I thought about what I should take. I didn't feel like eating pizza anymore and I wasn't that hungry anymore.

So I decided on a small portion of lasagna, which was patted cold on the paper plate and embellished with a cardboard fork.

Even more disgusted, I trotted back to the seat next to Joanna, while she listed the formulas and numbers and the starfish just nodded its approval and beamed at her. I felt like I was in a bad porno.

After the lunch break and the disgusting leftover taste of lasagna in my mouth, I arranged my books in my locker, which already looked messy. Joanna had followed me and did the same.

"And?", I asked her with a wink.

"So what?", she asked me confusedly.

"How did your date with Starfish go?" I smiled.

"That wasn't a date. It was just my last resort for an acceptable grade on the math test," she replied, shaking her head.

"Oh, come on. He doesn't look bad after all."

"Jane!," she interrupted me, hoping that I would finally shut my mouth.

"I'll stop," I surrendered laughing, holding my hands up a little, as if she were holding a gun on me. It must have looked pretty stupid, but I had a lot of fun doing it.

"Can I at least be your maid of honor at the wedding?" I hooked still, picking up only an outraged expression from Joanna and a slight punch on my right shoulder.

"Hey! That hurt!" I muttered theatrically.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," she replied laughing before giving me a short hug.

"I have math now. I'll see you around," she replied on my distraught expression for the hug and rushed away.

I was left with a pain in my shoulder and the books in my hand.

I also decided to do something for school and took out my English books. The only subject that I liked to some extent and which I also took part in every now and then had an acceptable teacher, who sometimes even brought cookies and decorated the lesson with films.