OMG, you guys, you pretty much overwhelmingly chose Adventure B: Taking the paper towels from Finn and then going to sit with Neil. (Okay, put that way, it doesn’t sound exactly like an adventure, but if that had happened to me in high school, my diary and I would have lived off it for WEEKS.)
So step inside to see what happens next . . .
Chapter 02: Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica
As you lead Neil over to a table at the edge of the caf, you search your brain for something to say. Something charming, something witty, something memorable.
You gesture to his tray of lunch food you just paid for.
“So, you like tuna fish sandwiches?”
Nice job, slick.
Neil laughs as he runs his hand through his hair. “It’s okay, but it’s the company I’m more interested in.”
One time, when you were very little, your mom let you skip school and the two of you went shopping at the toy store and wandered around the zoo, and she let you eat yourself sick on popcorn at the latest Keanu Reeves movie, and it was basically the best day of your whole entire life. This day is SO much better than that.
As you search your brain for a reply more sophisticated than “tuna fish,” you notice the talisman Neil’s wearing around his neck. On a twisted, ancient gold chain, you can just barely make out the illustration on the pendant: a golden sun with a black center.
“What’s that?”
“Oh. This?” Neil asks, while nervously thumbing his pendant. “It’s nothing, just something my grandfather gave me when I was little. I think he got it in the war, or something.”
It’s not exactly fashionable, and you’re pretty sure you saw the same thing in a Spencer’s Gift three years ago, but, whatever. You still own a Hypercolor t-shirt that your mom used to wear in the ’80s, so who are you to judge?
Just as you are about to make a polite, yet noncommittal, remark on The Necklace of Fug, you hear raised voices from across the cafeteria. You look over just in time to see your former BFF, Kayleigh, get slapped across the face by none other than Heather Cavendish.
Expecting Kayleigh to back down, you’re more than shocked when she steps even closer to Heather.
“You may think you know what’s going on, Heather,” you hear Kayleigh say in a menacing tone. “But you’re as clueless as everyone else in this town.”
With that, Kayleigh aims one furious glance your way. You notice her looking behind you towards Neil, and her eyes widen with what seems like fear. Suddenly, she turns and runs for the door.
Do you:
A. go after Kayleigh? Even though you don’t talk anymore, she’s clearly upset.
B. confront Heather Cavendish and ask her what just happened? Or
C. turn back to Neil and continue your conversation?
