"Good idea. Thanks." He handed me his tray, leaning in to kiss my cheek in the process. My cheeks burned as we headed in opposite directions.
"He is cuuute!" Michelle squealed as soon as I reached our table.
I had to laugh and nod in agreement as I sank into my seat.
"And polite." Carrie sounded surprised.
"He's a former Boy Scout," I added, then had to pause. Was that...pride I was feeling? Good grief. I was turning into a total Neanderthal, thrilled to show off my "catch." And we girls always griped about boys and their trophy girlfriends.
Shaking my head at myself, I joined my friends in digging in to our lunch. It was necessity, not lack of manners. With only a twenty-minute lunch break, we didn't have time to wait for Greg's return before eating.
A few minutes later, Greg jogged back to the table with our drinks. "Sorry, stopped to tell my friends where I'd be today. I promised them I'd try to talk you into meeting them tomorrow."
Was meeting his friends a big deal? It felt like it, but then again, Greg was my first boyfriend, and I was completely clueless as to how it all worked.
"Um, sure, I'd like that." Working not to grin like an idiot, I focused on popping the tab on my soda. Something clinked against the side of the can. Oh, crap, my Charmers bracelet.
Anne glanced toward the noise, did a double take then grabbed my wrist. "Hello. Anything you want to mention?" She held up the team-logo charm with her other hand like it was dirty underwear.
"Um, yeah. I...I'm a manager for the Charmers this year."
The air heated up over our table in a matter of seconds. I could practically see it turn red and start to boil, fueled by Anne and Carrie's combined fury. A matching sensation of heat flowed over my skin, despite my usual efforts at shielding all the emotions around me. Ouch.
Maybe Greg's presence would at least make them bite their tongues until they had a chance to calm down and get over the news.
"Oh, congrats!" Michelle's smile faded as she glanced at Anne then Carrie. "Or...not?"
"The Charmers?" Anne spat.
Or maybe they could care less what Greg thought of them.
"A manager?" Carrie added, her voice even louder. Several people at neighboring tables turned to stare in our direction.
"Shh, keep your voices down," I muttered, my cheeks warming up. "You two are acting like I committed a crime or something."
"Committing. Present tense," Anne corrected. "You've lost your mind, Sav. Why in the world would you want to have anything to do with that bunch of spoiled brats?"
"And as a manager, too. That's just another name for 'gofer girl,'" Carrie said.
I sighed. This was exactly why I'd held off telling them about it all summer. "It's not like that. And they're not like that, either. Even you guys have to admit you never found out for sure who started that rumor last year."
The JV and varsity JHS Maidens volleyball teams were convinced the Charmers had spread a rumor last year that all the volleyball players were lesbians.
"Oh, please." Anne dropped my wrist as if it had morphed into weeks-old garbage. "Who else would have started it?" She flopped back in her chair hard enough to make her ponytail bounce. "I can't believe my best friend just signed on to be a fetcher for the pampered-princess club."
Enough already. "That's not fair, Anne. The Charmers actually work really hard. You should have seen them practicing this summer. And did you know they're about to start twice-a-day practices, both at six-thirty in the morning and every afternoon after school? Even varsity volleyball doesn't practice that much."
Mrs. Daniels had given the team this morning off since it was the first day of school. But tomorrow we all started the two-a-days. I was so not looking forward to having to be here at six-fifteen every weekday. Making it here by eight last year had been tough enough. At least I wouldn't be expected to run and dance and leap around at that hour of the morning.
"Varsity soccer doesn't practice that much, either," Greg said in between bites of pizza.
"Maybe the Charmers have to practice more because their dancing sucks more," Anne said, shooting him a dark look.
Miraculously, he smiled and shrugged it off.
Rolling my eyes, I flopped back in my chair in silence. I wasn't going to argue anymore about this. They didn't have to like it, but they would have to get over it. I did not live my life to please my friends, much as I cared about and appreciated them. I was already doing way too much bending over backward for my family and the vampire council.
"I'm done. See you later," Carrie announced a few minutes later to no one in particular as she grabbed her things and left.
"Don't worry, she'll calm down," Michelle whispered as she jumped up and grabbed her things. "Nice to finally meet you, Greg." She gave a hasty smile and wave before she took off after Carrie.
"Carrie will get over it," Anne said on a sigh. "But I might not." Which meant, of course, she would. Eventually. Sighing, she picked up her books and tray. "See you later, Stanwick." He raised his cola in reply, his mouth too full to speak.
She gave me one last glare. "See you tomorrow, gofer girl."
"Bye," I muttered.
I watched Anne stomp off. Should I go after her and apologize? For what, though? For not checking with my friends before picking an extracurricular activity? Give me a break. I did not need their approval.
Though it would have been nice to have it.
Awkward silence filled the table for several minutes as we watched my friends leave the cafeteria. Hopefully they would chill out by tomorrow.
"Guess we'll be finishing up here alone today?" Greg broke the silence first as the chaos of the lunchtime crowd flowed around us.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. I guess I should have told them before now." I prayed the blush would fade from my cheeks soon. Preferably immediately.
He leaned over and bumped shoulders with me. "Well, you sure know how to clear a table."
I laughed. "Blunt much?"
He shrugged with an apologetic smile. "I'm told it's curable, but the pills aren't working lately."
Shaking my head, I finished eating then wiped my mouth and sighed. "They'll get over it. Eventually."
"Why don't they like the Charmers?"