Every high school has a cafeteria, big or small. There was a place you bought food or ate the lunch you brought from home or a place where you just sit and chill with your friends while eating small snacks.

Some people enjoy using the cafeteria, some people don't. Either way, wherever you ate you're probably with your friends or just felt like sitting alone for the day.

At first, Alexandre sat in front of his locker because he was new and had no friends. Now that he had a friend, leaving his special spot to eat elsewhere was uncomfortable, especially when the new place is bustling and noisy.

"I'm telling you it's fun, " Rachel begged the first friend she made in school. She thought convincing Alex was going to be as easy as ABC. She realized how wrong she was the moment she brought the topic up. "Food fights, loud chatters, it's fun."

"More reason I should sit here, where I've been sitting since I started coming to this school." He said opening his bag to take his lunch and rest his back on his locker.

Rachel knelt down beside him, placing her hands together to beg him and attracting attention.

"Why are you acting like I seized something of yours?" Alex whispered pushing her hands down and smiling at some of the onlookers.

"You'll meet my other friends and that way, I won't be the only person you talk to." She pouted still on her knees.

"You're not the only one I talk to, what makes you think that?" He asked scratching the back of his head.

"Oh please, Alex, I've met you." She said standing up and dusting her knees.

"I do talk to other people." He mumbled taking a bite of his lunch.

"Show me."

"W- What?" He stammered trying to keep his lie.

"Show me your other friends." She let outstanding upright and squeezing her lips together.

He saw the two gossips, Max and Ray if he remembered clearly, standing at the far end lockers and talking in hushed tones.

"There, " Alex said pointing at them and getting up, "those people are my friends, we met in the library." He said still scratching the back of his head.

"I refuse to believe that." She said stepping into his personal space, she stood on her tiptoes and interrogated him by looking into his eyes.

"Why are you so close to me?" he asked uncomfortably trying to move back but the locker obstructed his movement, "look, I'm telling you they're my friends." He said moving away by shifting to his left side, making her stand upright.

"Let's just eat." He said give her an obviously forced smile.

"Or you can introduce me to them." She smiled, playing with her brows.

"They're not that friendly." He said looking at them as they were still whispering to themselves.

"Oh I know Alex, Sandra said Liz told her that Chloe said she tried to talk to them one day and they snubbed her." She looked at him waiting for him to admit his lie.

"That's probably a rumor, why won't you believe me?"

"Why won't you stop lying?"

"I'm not."

"Fine! Let's talk to them." She ended their bickering by dragging him towards Max and Ray. As they got closer to them, Alex saw Max pinch Ray to cut their conversation.

"Say something," Rachel whispered pinching his back as they stood there for seconds.

"Hey, guys." He said using his eyes to beg them to cooperate.

"Bro! How is it going?" The pink-haired, Ray said catching on.

"I'm alright. I just wanted to greet you." Alex said giving a stunned Rachel an I told you so look.

"Do you guys sit here for lunch too?" Rachel asked looking at Max.

"Why would we do that?" He asked raising his right brow.

"Oh no reason, " she said smiling at him.

"You!" She said turning to Ray and moving closer to his face, "He's your bro, right?" She asked making Ray look at Alex before nodding.

"How can you make your bro sit in the hallway every day? What kind of bro are you?" She said dragging his chin down so he could look at her.

"Dude, I did invite him to sit with us," Ray said trying to release his chin from her tight grip, "it's not my fault he refused." He said finally dragging his face from her hold.

Rachel paused for a moment before saying, "did- did you just call me dude? You didn't notice my hair or face?"

"That's not what I meant, calm down." He said moving closer to Max.

"That's enough. Do you think you can boss boys around because you're a girl?" Max asked bending down to her face.

"I think we'll just go," Alex said dragging a suddenly quiet Rachel away from Max, "I'm so sorry. " He mouthed to Ray.

"Why are you friends with that bully?" She asked quietly as they got to his locker.

"You did grab his friend's face." He shrugged as he sat beside her and opened his paper bag.

"I'm a girl, we make illogical decisions sometimes." She sobered up, taking his paper bag and eating some of his lunch.

"Well, some people don't see it like that, you can't just walk up to people and grab their faces." He shook his said as he ate from the bag in her hand.

"He called me a dude, I mean my boobs are not that small." She said making Alex face flush.

"Can we just eat quietly?" He asked refusing to meet her gaze.

Alex sat in the library after school, as usual, Rachel was at her after school practice, he stared down at his history textbook. To him, history was the hardest subject to study, when reading it for fun, it's okay but studying it and memorizing the years is a tough shell.

"It's official, I hate this subject." He declared closing the textbook and slamming his head on it.

"It's not that bad." He heard a familiar voice say as he raised his head.
He looked up and smiled at Ray, who took a seat opposite him, Max sat near him, music beats coming out of the wireless headphones on his ears.

"Isn't that harmful to his ears?" He asked Ray. Ray shrugged and stretched to take Alex's history textbook.

"Dude, I'm sorry about this morning." Alex apologized on Rachel's behalf.

"It's cool, girls make illogical decisions sometimes." He said shrugging

"That's the same thing she said." He said chuckling lightly.

"So why do you sit in hallways for lunch?" Ray inquired with a raised brow.

"Well, when I first came to this school that was my spot. I've grown used to it." He said shrugging.

"Are you one of those sentimental people? I don't think I've ever met one." Max asked with his loud headphones now on his neck.

"Yeah, me neither. Oh wait, Justin was sentimental, he kept the toys he had when he was a kid, " Ray recalled his old friend with his fist under his chin.

"And he never let the barber keep his hair. Now that I think about it, maybe he was crazy." Max added shaking his head.

"Yeah... So are you?" Ray directed the question back to Alex.

"I don't think so. I mean I've never thought about it." He answered unsure.

"Good, you can sit with us tomorrow, if it keeps your girlfriend from pestering you." Max invited.

"I don't think-"

"Think of it as an apology gift from you to us," Ray said smiling.

"Apology gift?" He asked with his furrowed brows showing confusion.

"You know, " Max implored moving his head to which confused Alex shook his head, "Your girlfriend grabbed my friend's face because you lied to her," Max explained with a straight face.

"I didn't exactly lie to her. We did meet here." He shrugged looking at the suddenly interesting table.

"Dude, I don't even know your name," Max said eyeing him.

"Alexandre, my name is Alexandre." He said scowling.

"Why is it so long?" Ray asked looking at weirdly.

"It sounds like your parents put too much thought into it. Or made it last minute, who knows?" Max said shrugging.

"Do you always say what's on your mind?" Alex asked Max.

"Yes, most times," Ray answered for him, making Max shrug as he kept his headphones back on his ears.

"Is he pissed?"

"No, that's just his way of saying I just thought of something I need to draw or leave me alone, I need to think about what I want to draw," Ray explained.

"So it just happens anytime?" Alex asked not convinced.

"Hey, man's inspired when man's inspired." Ray shrugged.

~•~

"So he draws?" Andre pointed at Max with his fork, "and you write?" He asked Ray.

"Yes, that's pretty much it," Ray said shoving his into his mouth.

Alex looked around the loud Cafeteria, he still preferred his locker to the noisy cafeteria, some students were looking for places to sit, some were laughing or talking loudly, some of them were playing, some just sat there with their phones, some stood eating snacks and probably waiting for their friends who were eating hastily. He looked around for Rachel, he doubts he could find her in the bustling cafeteria.

"Is it always this noisy?" Alex thought out loud.

"Yes, I think it's quiet today," Max said moving his headphones to his neck.

"This is quiet?" He asked his eyes looking they were about bulge out.

"Yes, I know the hallway is less noisy but Thursday is the noisiest day. You know we are literally unoccupied that day." Max said making Alex and Ray nod their heads.

"Dude, your girlfriend is approaching us," Ray whispered trying to avoid eye contact with her.

"Damn, she has the eye of a..., we got the most secluded part of the cafeteria," Max said shaking his head and eating.

"Don't look!" Ray whisper-yelled when Alex tried to turn.

"Oh she's waving, do you think I should wave back?" Ray asked looking at Alex.

"It's the polite thing to do." Alex shrugged, desperately wanting to look at her. Ray raised his hand slowly and dropped it faster than he raised it. Max's sudden laughter made him turn his head and watch as Rachel walked past them to sit with her friends which was three tables after theirs. Alex fought the urge to laugh as he bit his smile, Max, on the other hand, laughed like there was no tomorrow.

"This is your fault." He pointed his fork at Alex as he picked the last bite of his meal. Alex and Max laughed at him, Max continued teasing him and Alex laughed at his irritated face.

"How long have you guys known each other?" Alex asked when their laughs died down.

"We've known each other since we were kids, " Ray began, "our parents lived close to each other, so they were practically close friends, " Max continued nodding his slowly to the music he was listening to, "but we started talking when we resumed this school." Ray finished explaining.

"Why did it take you guys so long to start talking? I mean you look like close friends." Alex asked as the bell rang, Ray and Max shrugged with no response.

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Song of the chapter: MKTO - Just imagine it

I couldn't find a perfect song for this chapter but I love this song, so I hope you enjoy it❤🤝