Lunchtime

The next time he saw her was at lunch. She was sitting by herself at the base of a tree, poring over the notes he'd given her. As it turned out, they were taking a lot of the same classes, though at different times.

Destiny was...interesting. She was as serious about class work as he, though she wasn't sure what she wanted to do after high school and college. When he'd asked, she'd blown it off with something about being satisfied to survive the day. Not a view he agreed with--or understood--but he respected her opinion.

He walked over, lunch tray in hand. She looked up and smiled. "Hi, Tristan."

"Hi, Destiny." He sat next to her. "Why aren't you eating?"

"Not hungry." She shrugged and changed the subject. "You take good notes."

"Thanks." He took a bite of his lunch, cafeteria spaghetti. "Made any friends yet?"

"Hm." She tilted her head to the side, thinking. "Well, I met a freshman named Blair and a sophomore named Jared. They're pretty nice."

Tristan frowned. "Jared Ferrell? Brown hair, kind of short?"

"That's him."

"I think I've seen him around." Just last period, in fact. Tristan had never really noticed Jacob before, but during chemistry he couldn't help it. The same thing that made Destiny different was affecting Jared. "Maybe I should meet Blair. You said she's a freshman?"

Neither her tone nor her expression changed, but something told Tristan that his words had made her nervous. Very nervous indeed. "Yeah, but maybe you shouldn't. She's afraid of her own shadow, there's no telling how she'll react to you."

"What're you worried about?" He kept his eyes on the tray. "I'm not scary."

"No, you're not, but she wouldn't talk to me for the first half of the period."

"I still don't see why I can't talk to her."

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Fine. You want to meet her, then find her. She looks like a blonde pixie and usually hides out in the library." She stood and picked up her bag. "I have to go find my next class. Later, Tristan."

She left, leaving Tristan to wonder just what Destiny Hunt was trying to hide.