"Hey, golden boy! Wanna sit with us for lunch?" Damien's voice cut through the chaos of the hallway as Alex walked out of his class along with Cady. Janis stood next to Damien, her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed as she noticed Cady behind Alex.
Alex smiled at the duo before glancing at Cady, "Do you want to sit with them or…?" he asked. Cady took a moment, hesitating slightly, her gaze turning to Damien and Janis, the latter's frown deepening by the second, "....Yeah, sure!" she said, turning back to Alex with a smile.
The group of four then began to walk through the crowd, dodging elbows and shoulder bumps occasionally, with mostly Alex getting hit by women, which Cady noticed, along with Janis, which irked her to no end. Noticing this, "Ohoo!" Damien sang, throwing his hand around Janis, whose face was darkening by the second, "Someone's not happy!" which got him a death glare.
Alex smiled while watching this; he looked at Janis, asking, "So, Janis, what do you like to do in your free time?"
"Eh?" Janis froze for a moment, her steps halting as she turned to Alex, stumbled by the sudden question, "I-I like art!" she stuttered, her gaze locked onto his, waiting for his reply. "Ah, that's great! I also like art, but I mostly do music and writing."
"Oh…" Janis exclaimed, a little deflated, muttering, "...I do painting."
"Hmm, then I would like to see them sometime," Alex replied, offering her a bright smile, which made Janis blush a little. Meanwhile, Damien was clearly enjoying this; he never thought he would see 'The Janis' blush, but here she was, blushing like a middle school girl.
Soon, the duo reached the cafeteria with Alex talking to Janis and Damien occasionally teasing her. Alex also made sure to include Cady, which, although Janis didn't like, kept her silence, and as they reached the cafeteria, Janis pulled out a book, taking out a large piece of paper. "Here!" she said, handing it over to Alex, "This will guide you through our school!"
"Thanks!" Alex replied, opening the folds of the paper, revealing what looked like a map. Analyzing it, he showed it to Cady, who was leaning over to look at the map.
To its top right corner, written in bold letters was, "Alex's guide to North Shore!" in bold letters with shading; under it was the sketch of the football field, which then led to the cafeteria, with the seating arrangement taking the centre of the map, with Jocks, wannabes, and plastics labelled at each table.
"Thanks, Janis, this really helps!" Alex said with a smile, folding the paper back and putting it in his pocket. "I-Its fine, it didn't take long to do it so…"
The group reached the serving line, each with a tray in hand; they waited. With Cady turning to the sitting area, her eyes scanning the tables.
If the hallway of the school was a zoo, the cafeteria was the savannah; like the jocks (according to Janis), butting their heads like the rhinos; then the black hotties, like the leopards who bite when disturbed; or the Asian nerds, like the meerkats, a tight but loyal group. And Alex? He was the lion; everyone turned to him as he walked through the crowd, even the girls, who, according to Janis, ate their feelings, had turned around to stare at the predator.
"So, Cady, tell us about yourself," Alex asked, sitting in front of her, with Janis beside him and Damien beside Cady. "...huh?" Cady hummed, snapping out of her gaze, "Oh, I-I was home-schooled," she began, "My parents were research zoologists; we spent the last twelve years in Africa researching animals."
Alex nodded in reply, while Janis just gave her a stare, perfectly silent, although her lips curled a little, her eyes glancing at Alex occasionally while Damien asked, "So why return then?"
"My mother got a tenure at Northwestern University, and she wanted me to have a socialised life," Cady answered with a bright smile.
"Well, don't worry about the socialising part, you have us!" Alex said, smiling at Cady while Damien added with a grin, "Yeah, and then, I don't think you would have a problem either, a little hot slice like you!"
"What do you mean?" Cady questioned, turning to Damien with a slight frown, while Janis glared at Damien for his comments, while Alex interjected, "He means to say that you are pretty!"
"Oh, thanks!" Cady replied to Damien while Alex smiled and Janis rolled her eyes. The group continued to have their lunch when the whole cafeteria went silent for a moment; murmurs ran across the cafeteria, causing Alex to turn around to see what it was when Janis scowled, "The Plastics!"
"The plastics?" Cady asked, confused as she turned to the three girls walking into the cafeteria. "Yeah, the plastics!" Janis growled once more, her face twisting with anger while her eyes glared at them.
"The plastics are like teen royalty!" Damien started explaining, "If Northern Shore High is the weekly, then they are the cover!" His explanation only earned a scoff from Janis, but Damien ignored her, "That's right, there's Karen Smith, the dumbest girl in the school!"
"She sat beside Damien last year for English class," Janis added, leaning towards Alex, "she once asked him the spelling of 'orange'!"
Alex and Cady chuckled at this while Janis took over, "The one on the phone is Gretchen Wieners; she's rich because her dad invented the toaster strudel!"
"She knows every secret about everyone," Damien said, "that's why her hair is so thick; it's full of secrets!"
"The one in the middle is Regina George, the Queen Bee of the school!" Damien said, looking at the girl in the middle of the group, "The evil incarnate!" Janis commented, her eyes staring daggers at Regina.
She then turned to Alex, who was looking at Regina with a smirk on his face. Her lips pursed while she narrowed her eyes a little, "Don't be fooled, she may look like your typical selfish, back-stabbing, slut-faced hoe-bag, but she's much more than that!" Janis muttered through her gritted teeth, while Alex turned to her, surprise flickering in his eyes.
"W-What…?" Janis blurted, a little flustered by his look, "Nothing," Alex replied, shaking his head with a smile, "I just think you're cute when you're angry."
"Wh-Wha…?!" Janis glitched once more, her face turning pink in embarrassment while a smirk bloomed on Alex's face, but before he could continue, a voice came from behind him.
"You must be Alex."
Alex frowned as he turned to see it was, and who could it be, but the Queen Bee herself, Regina George. Alex's frown creased immediately, a smirk slipping onto his lips.
"And you must be Regina!"