Betty’s expression froze for a moment, the eyes moving in thought, then the smile back back brighter than before. “Easy. You are obviously one of the pretty ones from your school.”

Sonja felt a very faint blush begin to rise, but Betty didn’t stop speaking, “And obviously you are used to being in charge. Or,” the blonde grinned, “at least the center of attention. So, instead of us having cat fights throughout the year, I figured it would be easier to be friends.”

Raising an eyebrow, Sonja was momentarily stunned. The blonde took advantage of it to slip her hand around Sonja’s left and tugged her along. Sonja followed, hesitantly slightly then following with the same infectious perkiness that Betty oozed.

“Do you always handle your competition this way?”

She got a brilliant smile in return, “Smother with friendship with just a dash of competition. Best way to survive anything.”

It had the smooth recitation of a family saying, but it didn’t make it any less true. Sonja gave in, at least for now, and let herself be dragged down the hall, almost skipping in time with the perky blond.

***

Long hours later, Sonja was very ready for lunch, even whatever disgusting stuff the school served to its prisoners. After dumping her new books into her locker, she followed the herds of students into the lunchroom. For the first day of school, the cafeteria pulled out all the stops and served something that looked like tater tots soaked in mild chili sauce and a thin, runny cheese that almost ruined her shoes when the lunch lady missed her plate.

Feeling queasy, Sonja staggered out of the fumes of the kitchen and back into the lunch room, which was already filled with the din of students catching up on the summer. Her eyes scanned for an empty table, but there were done. Groaning to herself, she started to look for a mostly empty table when she heard her name called out.

“Sonja!”

It was Betty, calling out to her from one of the corner tables. Two other girls were already sitting at the table. An Asian-looking girl with black hair in a French braid and wearing a plaid skirt was looking around, trying to see who Betty was calling for. The other was a very curvy senior with flame-red hair, pulling out food from a paper bag.

Feeling some sort of comfort in interacting with someone she knew, she threaded her way around the tables and chairs, and slipping into one of the chairs. Her platter of imitation food slapped against the table as Betty scooted her chair next to hers.

“How was your classes?”

Sonja shrugged, “Eh, just like the ones back home.”

Betty grinned, “Same boring crap?”

“Same boring crap. Except with more sun.”

“Well, that isn’t the real reason for school anyways.”

The Asian girl spoke up with a very slight British accent, “Are you going to introduce us?”

“Oh! I’m...” Sonja saw a brief flash of annoyance in Betty’s eyes, even past the purple contacts, but it quickly faded.

“This is Sonja, she’s from Illinois,” again with the “s” sound, “and the school’s newest victim. Sonja, the cheerful one is Ming, her parents were from the UK.”

Betty leaned toward Sonja to speak softer, “She is Vietnamese, don’t ever call her ‘Kim’ or ask if she is from China.”

Sonja frowned for a moment and whispered back, “I didn’t think Ming was a Vietnamese name.”

Winking conspiratorially, Betty grinned back, “It isn’t. At least, I don’t think it is. Her name is actually ‘Kim,’ but just don’t call her that. It really, really annoys her.”

Ming had an unreadable expression when Sonja looked back, one hand underneath the table and the other holding her food with white knuckles. There was an sullen intelligence behind her eyes and Sonja could feel herself being almost dissected with the look Ming gave back. She made the effort to smile back, not quite sure where she stood with the raven-haired girl.

On the other hand, it was obvious of her position with the red-haired girl. She felt a smoldering lust burning in the brown eyes that gazed at her. Sonja felt a flush crossing her cheek as the third girl reached out a hand, with trimmed nails painted to match her hair. Sonja took it hesitantly, feeling her strong grip.

“Marisha.”

Marisha spoke in a soft purr, her lip curling up slightly with a gentle smile. The look that Marisha continued to give her was making her feel uncomfortable. Betty interrupted it after a second, “Marisha....”

The brown eyes looked away from Sonja at the warning tone. Marisha smiled sweetly at Betty before the blonde spoke back curtly.

“Stop hunting. She’s new here.”

“Aw...”, Marisha’s voice was tinged with amusement, “I thought she was going to be a present for me. She is beautiful.”

Sonja flushed from the compliment, despite the uncomfortable feeling from the obvious sexual interest from Marisha. Unwilling to look back, she dug into her food and listen to the three girls as the conversation drifted into a review of the summer. She heard most of it already, so Sonja just listened passively and finished her meal.

As the conversation wound down, a black girl sat down heavily on the chair on the other side of Sonja. Sonja could smell her perfume, Coco Mademoiselle from the scent. Remarkably, the jasmine scent of the expensive perfume teasing her senses delicately was much different from the hints of rose that she got when she wore it herself. Sonja smiled at the newcomer, admiring how the yellows in her button-down shirt set off the warm chocolate skin.

“And this is Theodora.”

Theodora smiled at Sonja and dug out a folder to crack it open. “Sorry I was late, I was setting the groundwork for my grades in math.”

Ming cleared her throat, “Check your buttons.”

Theodora peeked down, “Oops,” and buttoned up the top two buttons of her shirt, hiding her exposed bra. With a grin, she then unbuttoned the top one and stuck out her tongue out at Ming who did the same.

“Slut.”

Ming hissed back, “Likewise.”

“At least I’m not the one teasing a cop.”

Betty perked up, “Cop? You are flirting with a cop?”

Ming grinned, looking down in a mock imitation of being bashful, “Yeah, a couple months ago. He pulled me over for a speeding tick... okay, the third speeding ticket that week.”