~untitled~

Disclaimers etc. are in the first posting.

Lori was a bit overwhelmed. She’d sat through lunch, listening to the cheerleaders gossip and putting up with the over-obvious attentions of the jocks… and learned a total of jack shit. All that she knew, after that bit of gossip she had managed to glean, was that Karen was something akin to a pseudo-leader among the RenGeeks. Similar to Brittany and Ashley. Though they didn’t rule over all of the popular crowd, they had a great deal of pull, especially with their section, the cheerleaders. Karen, apparently, though she didn’t rule over all of the RenGeeks, much less the geeks entire, had a good deal of pull among them, especially with the group that she’d sat down with. Ashley had made the mistake of commenting about the girl being popular in her own right. That, of course, met with the creaking crickets of a silenced popular table, and Brittany’s annoying voice complaining that being popular and people knowing who you are were two completely different things.

“So you wanna catch a mocha while we wait for the rest of the squad?” Lori looked absently at Ashley, still thinking over the odd revelation that her erstwhile tour guide was one of the “ass-kicking” geeks. She hadn’t pegged Karen for being popular, not with the way that Brittany had treated her… but a geek?

Ashley and she, as well as one of the freshman cheerleaders, all had a free period their last class of the day. Thus, ignoring the fact that only seniors were supposed to be able to leave campus, they’d taken their stuff and waltzed off of the school property. No one had given them so much as a second glance, much less any trouble. Letting out a breath, the new girl decided to agree to the mocha.

“It’s okay. We know this great place, not too far from here.” The freshman said with an all-too-bright grin. “Better than Starshmucks.”

Lori grinned, almost laughing. She liked the girl, though she couldn’t for the life of her remember her name. “Alright then, lead on!” Ashley laughed in response, and the girl, blushing, turned to lead them through the two or three turns and blocks that were needed. The café was a nice, quaint little place. It had a home-town feel to it, and wonderful smells drifted into the open, but roofed, outside area. They sat inside, despite it being a nice day. At first, she didn’t quite understand why they weren’t outside, but the soft music was rather soothing to her addled nerves. She hated being new.

“When’s Brit supposed to make an appearance?” She asked casually, though she couldn’t seem to keep the dislike of the girl out of her voice. Ashley and the other cheerleader laughed, and she let herself smile in response.

“Ah, the Queen Bitch isn’t supposed to arrive until school’s officially out. She and the squad all have classes.” Ashley said absently. “Really, please don’t let her put you off too much. She’s just a bit… spoiled.”

“And power-hungry. And bitchy. And self-centered and controlling.” The younger girl grouched under her breath. “Jealous.”

“Hm?” Lori sipped absently at the frozen-chocolate-coffee-thing that she’d gotten. She’d let Ashley pick it, as she had no idea what the majority of the drink titles meant. Raising that curious, elegant brow again, she looked pointedly at the young captain.

“Brit’s really sour cause I snagged co-captain. Hasn’t been two varsity cheer captains in over five years. She hates me for it, but can’t do anything about it. And she also happens to know that there’s no one on the team that could manage co-captain next year, so I’ll be running it alone.” Ashley smiled wanly. “It kills her… so she does her best to kill everyone else, in spirit or otherwise.”

“That’s probably why she won’t stop staring at you.” The younger girl put in finally, stirring her hot chocolate enough so that the whipped cream started to melt and blend in with it. “She’s not gay. Hell, she’s the most homophobic person I’ve ever met. No, she probably thinks that maybe, just maybe, you’ll be talented enough to grab co-captain and beat Ashley with it. She doesn’t care if you get captain alone when you’re a senior, if you won’t be next year, so long as Ash doesn’t.”

“I’m not sure if I’m even going to join.” Lori finally admitted, staring into the blended drink dazedly. Something else, obviously, was on her mind. She didn’t give a care in the world about Brittany’s schemes.

“Why not!” Ashley sat forward, yelping and staring at her. “You’re really nice. Hell, if it’s cause of Brit, don’t worry. She’s going to college out of state. You won’t ever see her again after graduation.”

“Oh. No, it’s not that. I’ve just been thinking about some stuff lately… and maybe I’m just not the cheering type.” She smiled softly and shrugged apologetically. “I mean, I do have other interests… and it seems pretty clear that at this school, your interests define you.”

“Thanks a lot.” Ashley said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She did smile though. “I don’t have such a tight hand. I could care less what you’re up to outside of practice, so long as it doesn’t get you in trouble. Come on… please?” She pouted dramatically, and then elbowed the other girl to do the same. “Jane and I would be heartbroken if you abandoned us.”

“Oh please…” She rolled her eyes, laughing, and slapped at them gently. She hated when the sweet ones gave her the puppy-face. She couldn’t say no to it.

~

Karen snuck quickly in the back, logging in to the time-card program behind the manager’s back as she pulled on her apron. She was only five minutes late, but better to not have to put up with his glares. Grinning, she elbowed her friend aside and finished cleaning the espresso bar. “Hey Squeak.”

“Hey Ryn.” He smiled at her slyly and called out the Con Panna he’d just finished. “How are you feelin this fine afternoon?”

“Not as good as you, apparently.” She looked at him suspiciously, getting more cups for the stack. “What’s on your mind, boy?”

“Oh… nothing…” He shrugged and moved a little further away from her, wiping down a counter and readying for the afternoon and after-school rush that was only forty-five minutes or so away. “What were you telling the guys about that new preppy girl you were walking around with?”

“Pom-pom?” Karen blinked a little and frowned even more. “Just, um… some cheer squad bouncer. She doesn’t know her place, wanted to sit with us at lunch. It’s not a big deal.”

“I think you’ve got a stalker then… either that or the whole squad and JV will be joining them when classes let out.” He nodded in the direction of the three preppy girls, and Karen spun in place to glare at where Ashley and the other two were sitting. Of course, there was Lori, laughing along with them. Karen smiled only briefly before frowning again.

“Um, you can handle register today. I’ll take bar.” She growled, flipping out a drink that had been called to her with little effort. He laughed and she glowered at him, making the meeker boy swallow hard and move toward the machine of cash and buttons. “Wanker.”

“Tom.”

“Urchin.”

“Poxy Boggart.”

“Guttersnipe.”

“Lady Fair!” He snapped back, startled but smiling. Her eyes narrowed, and he winced.

“Rodent.” She sneered back, pouting and returning to her job at the espresso machine. Their cat-calls and insults had gathered the confused attentions of their co-workers, and a few customers. The manager couldn’t reprimand them for language, as he had no clue what they’d been saying, but considered attempting to shut them up nevertheless….

At a nearby table, two cheerleaders and a new student turned to look at them, and Ashley winced as she realized that Karen was on shift today. Lori just smiled a little, amused by the display, and Jane attempted to regain their attention by repeating what she’d been saying about the upcoming summer fashions. Ashley agreed, but Lori kept looking back over her shoulder at where Karen was busy setting out more clean espresso cups.

TBC