Sitting near the jocks and the cheerleaders was [i]so[/i] tedious.

Lyra ate slowly so none of them would question her presence. She had arrived in the cafeteria early and chosen a then-unoccupied table, one of the closest to the end of the line to get food. As expected, a group had seated themselves next to her, each member shooting her a brief, uncertain glance before ignoring her. And they just had to be the sporty types.

"What the hell is basketball, and why do they all care about it?" asked Ezerion. The Shinigami was floating just above the center of the table, but of course, no one but Lyra could see him. He kept spinning in circles, sighing exaggeratedly as if bored.

It was just when Lyra had resigned herself to trying to eavesdrop on the neighboring tables that the subject finally came up.

"My mom was watching the news yesterday when the anchor just died," said one girl, rolling her eyes, "It really freaked her out. She wouldn't drive me [i]anywhere[/i] after that." 

The group chuckled - all of them except for one boy, a pale-faced giant who wore a doubtful expression.

"What's wrong with you, Vic?" asked one of the other guys, "If you're still sick, you better get the hell away from me. I can't afford to miss tomorrow's game."

"It's not that," said the boy, hastily taking a bite of his corn as if to prove he could stomach it, "It's just... while I was at home yesterday, I saw it, too. It just got me thinking."

"That's unusual," said a girl. The statement was followed by laughter. 

Cheeks going pink, the boy quickly continued, "I heard about that teacher, too. It was on the morning news. They were saying he died of a heart attack... just like the anchor. And they were neither of them old. Made me wonder, what if they're connected?"

"You trying to be a quarterback or a detective?" asked the other guy. The question was followed by laughter and teasing. Lyra looked downward, at her meal, concealing her grin.

It wasn't the same as being able to leave the house, but with her Death Note, she could [i]do[/i] stuff. 

At first, she hadn't wanted to use the power more than she had to. But, suddenly, the school was buzzing with rumors. Even the teachers seemed too distracted to really focus on academics. And it was all because of her. All because of her new power.

She brushed a finger against the scrap of paper in her pocket. No matter what happened, she had an out. So why not have a little fun for a change?