Chapter 2 - Table For Three!

Matthew stared at the pale-faced, sweat-drenched, half-trembling girl that stood before him. He arched a querying eyebrow and the girl vigorously shook her head before swiftly placing a piece of paper on his desk. Her hand had shot out so quickly that Matt almost raised his hand to thwart an attack. He stared at Susan in slight bewilderment. Not just because of how she was looking at that moment, but because no one had ever approached him before, for any reason whatsoever. And also because, with all honesty, he thought she looked very ill.

"I-It's from J-Ja-Janice." Then she was gone.

Matt took his time examining the neatly folded chit, much to the impatience of Janice, who was looking out of the corner of her eye and unknowingly increasing the tempo of her tapping on her desk until it reached a point where Susan had to reach out and restrain her fingers.

He was curious, no denying. He slowly unfolded the paper. The note wasn't very long.

"Hi, Matthew! My name is Janice. I've been watching you"--Matt paused to allow a scowl to creep into his face--"and I want to know more about you. I'm the girl smiling at you at the front of the"--he looked up and sure enough saw Janice waving at him, all smiles--"class. Let me know if you want to meet up. Janice."

He neatly folded the note back along the creased lines and placed it gently on one corner of his desk. And never looked up.

Janice's jaw dropped. Sure, she wasn't the most popular girl in school, but was that all he could manage? Being the short-ended that she was, a thousand flaming swords threatened to simmer up her throat and out her mouth. Couldn't he atleast smile back and/or shake his head? Fine, he just wasn't good enough for her anyway!

Susan, who knew her temper best, grabbed her arm and gave her a dead-stare.

"What did you expect?" she asked. "Throw himself at your feet? Leave him alone, maybe that's just what he wants."

Susan's words struck a chord. To be alone? Is that what he wants? He did look very content and almost grateful to not be bothered by anyone. Janice simply did not get it. What was it with this guy?

Her temper had not simmered down completely the next day. In fact, Susan's first words to her that morning was a comment on her foul mood.

"Who does he think he is?" Janice snapped back, and Susan, who knew better, wisely remained silent.

The topic was still being abused during the lunch break when a pair of footsteps that had been going past her--and which should have gone on ahead--suddenly stopped right behind her back. When she did not hear it leaving after several seconds, she spun around sharply and found herself gazing into a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Hi!" said the beaming tousled-haired boy, carrying a lunch-tray. "Mind if I join you?"

Janice awkwardly cleared her throat, snapping rather shakily out of her hazy reverie.

"No, no, not at all!" she said, a tad too enthusiastically, and then quickly made efforts to calm down. "We've got plenty of room over here."

Susan prepared to leave--because she felt she should, and also because Janice was giving her the "Shoo! Make way!" glare--when Matt stopped her.

"What, you're running away?"

"Um, no, no, I just thought I'd better . . ."

"It's not like the two of us are on a date or anything . . ."

Susan smiled sheepishly and slowly sat back down.

"About yesterday, I'm--" began Matt, but Janice immediately laughed it away.

"Don't worry about it! It was nothing, really . . ."

Susan stared at her friend in utter disbelief. Hadn't she just been telling her about her most recent resolution to end his life for that? Now she couldn't care less?

"If you say so . . ." Then turning to Susan: "And you forgot to tell me your name yesterday."

"Ah, yes . . ." said Susan in a near-whisper, smiling very embarrassedly. Then her smile evaporated at Janice's glare. "It's Susan."

"Susan, really? That's my mom's name as well!"

If she had blushed before, then this time her face turned fully pink. She tried to cover up with one of Janice's confident laughs, but in the end her efforts passed as whimpers and gasps.

Janice was already fuming. The conversation was picking up without her. She cleared her throat very loudly and drew back all the attention to her. When both Matt and Susan were finally looking at her, she smiled, satisfied. Now to begin.

"Now, tell me more about you, Matthew Newson," she purred, leaning out across the table and supporting her head on her upright arm.

Matt blushed a little and smiled.

And Susan hadn't failed to notice that Janice had said "me" instead of "us".