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I glance over at Marcus wondering if that could ever be us. Then I look at his tray. There's a vaguely grey piece of meat floating in a brownish sauce. “What is that?” He cuts off a piece and chews it thoughtfully. “Hamburger,” he says. “Or maybe chicken fried steak.”“Don't think, man,” Blake says. “Just eat it.” “Good advice,” Marcus says, taking another bite. “After school, I'm heading back up to Saturn. Want to come?” he asks me. “I want to,” I say, “but I promised my mom I'd work the counter for her. I'm free tomorrow,” I say, trying not to sound too eager.“Cool,” he says. Tally kicks me hard under the table. She nods toward the front of the cafeteria. I look over and see both Esmeralda and Charity staring at me. I stare right back, refusing to be intimidated by them. But they don't look away. It's then that I realize they aren't looking at me at all, but at Marcus. Charity leans over and whispers something to Esmeralda, who smiles and nods. Marcus is too busy inhaling his mystery lunch to notice. But Charity sees me watching and grins. I glare at her, but it just makes her smile wider. In the end I do look away first. I frown at my sandwich. (Peanut butter and honey.) Stinkin' Charity. I must make a frustrated noise aloud because Marcus glances over.“You okay?” he asks. “Absolutely,” I say. I slide the tiniest bit closer to him until our shoulders are touching. He smiles at me and nods toward his coconut cream pie.“Want some?” he asks. “No Jell-O?” I ask.Marcus shakes his head. “Turns out it was just a rumor. But there was pie.” Even though I loathe all things coconut, I nod. I take his fork and take a bite, reminding myself of Blake advice. Don't think. Just chew. “Yum,” I say, earning a raised eyebrow from Tally. She is well aware of my aversion to coconut. I glance over at Charity again, who is looks like she just took a bite of slimy coconut pie. I swallow, pleased to see that the bite of nastiness was worth it.
