Getting over my initial sourness about the fries- which I would have picked in the first place- I unwrapped my sandwich and was hit with the strong scent of tuna. The girls were giggling between themselves but pointedly looking at me while they did it. Meanwhile, a couple more girls joined the table and got right into their conversations, completely disregarding any form of greeting. After what seemed like an eternity of dolphin clicking, Red stopped whispering to the girl on her left. She then popped a fry in her mouth, throwing in a smile for good measure.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Claire?"

All chatter halted as everyone awaited my answer. The redhead looked at me like she seriously doubted it and I wanted to prove her wrong but I'd be lying big time. Though for a split second I did consider saying yes and showing off a picture of Mark. Just to one up them.

"No."

"I've had three!" Piped Bebe.

It was so hard not to cringe at that. Three ex-boyfriends. I haven't even had one! Do you just have more luck in a smaller town? Maybe being crammed into the same class over and over again with the same people gave you more time to get to know them... no, that didn't sound right.

"So who do you think is cute in our class?" Wendy questioned without flinching.

Oh my God. It was intimidating how they didn't beat around the bush. I didn't even know the names of the other three girls sat at the table but did that matter as much as which boy I thought had the best looking face? Clearly not in this universe.

"Well.. no one, I haven't- I mean... I just got here, like, yesterday!"

Turning in her seat, Wendy gestured to Kyle's table behind us.

"We can set you up with someone, right girls?"

"Right!" They all cheered in unison. Several bodies one mind.

"Stan- the one with the pom pom hat- is mine, so keep your eyes off him."

That's right, Kyle's best friend! The boys were getting rambunctious but out of all of them, Stan seemed to be the lone settled one. I didn't see Tweek reenter the cafeteria but he was at their table now, fidgeting and grasping at his shirt while the rest of them continued raising their voices.

"Red likes Craig, that's the one in the blue coat."

"Token is taken, Oh! He's really nice that's too bad." Wendy murmured as if an afterthought. She continued to prattle off names with the other girls jumping in with commentary and my head spun trying to keep up. Why did it feel like they were talking in another language? Butters, Butters... I think that was the name of the kid who asked if the moon and sun were one during class. Jimmy.. wait did Wendy say Jimmy or Timmy? Did she say both? She was pointing to a few boys across the cafeteria now. Bradley... Kevin.. I just couldn't keep up. I took a bite out of my sandwich so I didn't have to say anything.

"Bebe has been on and off with Clyde..."

I swallowed the bite I'd been chewing and it felt like lead going down my throat. Hey, she hasn't mentioned Kyle yet, right? Maybe I could-

"-and Kyle. She just can't make up her mind! I think that's about it!"

Groaning inwardly, I tried to smile and nod. It was disappointing to hear Kyle was taken or at least had caught someone else's eye but I hadn't really liked him anyways... Not really, not yet. He was just sweet to me at the fair. And he was definitely cute. It felt like my stomach dropped but not because of the sandwich.

Ugh, maybe I was just upset she was putting claim on two guys.

Grinning wickedly, Wendy withdrew her hands and placed them back on the surface of the table. She took a sip from her milk carton before continuing. "That leaves you with Kenny."

"Also Cartman." Heidi laughed. "You never know, he might be the one for you!"

Bursting into giggles, Bebe shoved her playfully. "Shut up! That's so mean, Heidi!"

Wendy was smirking along with the rest of the girls so it was hard to trust anything that came from her mouth. " Don't listen to her, Claire. Kenny will be good for you. He isn't bad looking either."

Who could tell? Not only could I not see any of his face other than his eyeballs, I couldn't understand him when he spoke either. Ignoring them, I frowned at the boy clad in orange. He sat across from Kyle eating a sad looking sandwich in comparison to the rest of the lunches. He must have felt my stare because he caught my eye and peered back at me over Kyle's shoulder. I quickly averted my gaze to the back of Kyle's head for the second time that lunch hour.

"So? What do you think?" The girl next to me whispered. I still didn't know her name. Why was she even in on this?

"I don't really know him that well..." I muttered. That was an understatement, I knew his name and that was all. I was hoping this would deter them but who was I kidding? Why would that work, why would sentence that ever work?

"No problem, we'll set you two up and you'll get to know him!"

One of the girls whisper-yelled "project!" and was met with an applause from half of the table. My stomach felt like it was somewhere along my kneecaps by now.

"We're going to work out the details now so could you clean this up for us? Thanks!" Wendy chirped. The girls collectively moved as one, getting off the benches and heading towards the cafeteria doors. I was alone now. Left in front of me was a mess of trays, empty and half empty drink containers and cleaned out fry boxes. Not to mention my sandwich with only a bite taken from it.

Sitting with them didn't exactly turn into one big nightmare but it felt like the worst was yet to come. Gut feeling, you know?

"Hahahahaha! Look guys, Kenny doesn't even have a drink today! Kenny, you suck!"

Ahh, the distinct voice of Cartman, whose name I now remembered. Thanks, Heidi.

Stacking trays on top of each other and trying to place all the trash on top of those, I knew it was going to take two trips. I left my tray and leftover (uneaten) lunch on the table with a few crushed juice bottles. Then, made my way to a line of three coloured bins- Waste, Paper, and Bottles- but dumped everything into waste anyways. On the second trip the juice cartons lay neglected. All I took was my own tray.

I passed Kyle's table on my way out and placed my unopened juice box in front of Kenny. He peered up at me and if I were looking at him, maybe I would've seen a curious flicker in his eyes but I was locking eyes with Kyle. Despite what Wendy said earlier, I felt my heart leap when he smiled at me. It wasn't a crush, it wasn't a crush, he was just attractive!

"Hi Claire."

"Hey Kyle."

Would it be awkward if I just stood there for a little longer? Cartman was already giving me a nasty side eye.. Forget it. My shoulders dropped and I made my own way towards the doors, still carrying the tray unknowingly. I only realized once I got out into the hallway then dropped it and nudged it to the wall with my foot.

There were still a couple minutes left of the lunch period. It was just short enough to pretend like I had something in my locker I was looking for. It was empty right now but I was planning on putting up a few picture postcards. Back home, a fairy lights trend had been going around but with nowhere to plug in the end bit, they were left hanging in lockers, looking dead. Okay, I'll admit to doing it too. My old locker had a string of beach ball lights trailing the ceiling. My clothes kept getting snagged on them whenever I tried to hang them up and eventually pulled the lights off their tape strips.

I heard muffled footsteps in the halls as my head was stuffed into my very empty locker. (Just call me Clara the Ostrich). My heart thumped erratically for a minute.

Could it be Kyle chasing after me? Did he want to talk? Should I keep pretending to look for something or turn around?! I decided with the latter and eased my face out of the cubby. Let's hope my hair isn't frizzed from this. Putting on a wide smile, I turned around and-

"New girl! You dropped this!"

Butters opened his hand and revealed one of my glove liners.

Aw...

Character playlist for Clara and her friends are up on 8tracks.