Between Gladys' nasally done and the high-pitched jabber of Mandi Valeo, Karyn couldn't tell which was worse.
It was like choosing between being poked to death by a million forks or being slowly devoured alive by slugs. Neither were near ideal, but the situation that she was in now necessitated her choosing between the two.
As she glanced back and forth between the two lunch tables, Karyn could see that Paige's mannerisms just assumed that Karyn would sit with her, after their long talk the past afternoon. Gladys just sat there and did what she did best -- scarf down hamburgers.
She took a deep breath, and started to make her way to Paige's table. What would her friends think? Sitting with a full deck of freshmen airheads? She could say that about Mandi, Jenni, and Ashley -- but she just knew Paige was different.
The second she began to walk over, Paige visibly began to get excited. Her tiny feet bounced up and down in the furry Ugg boots she had picked out this morning, barely able to constrain themselves. The bracelets she wore jangled haphazardly against each other, and her eyes, cleanly made up as Sarah had taught her, like huge blue saucers of joy.
####
"Ohmigawd!"
Karyn was going to sit with him!
Finally, a reprieve from all the useless chatter!
Jon couldn't wait to talk to her about all the things going on in his life; Lindsay Lohan was going to jail, the new Justin Beiber movie was coming out, Steve Farber cheated on another girl! He couldn't well talk about Star Wars could he? That would completely blow his cover. He had to be more sneaky about things. At least having her around made him feel normal again.
A jolt of excitement shot through his brain as he thought. Karyn was already his best friend. And now they were going to sit together at lunch. Maybe, just maybe, while he was on his mission to get the stone back, they could be best friends like old times. A little different, sure, but just like old times! Jon's glossed over lips turned up at the corners, and gave way to two rows of glistening white teeth.
He was beaming.
Maybe Karyn could come over to tan by the pool after school today? She just had to. That bikini he bought a couple of days ago was just itching to get worn.
