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[color=e81b00][i]Well that was a complete waste of time.[/i][/color]


Shawna was still trying to comprehend what had just happened to the last three hours of her life. She didn’t even go to the stupid Homecoming. Why the hell was she subjected to the mind-numbing torture that was listening to a 40-something teacher who probably had a bottle of Wild Turkey in their desk try to explain why underage drinking was a bad thing? Also, the entire marijuana section was a fat lie. She had been smoking for months and definitely didn’t want to try heroin because of it. Then to top it all off with the preaching of God and abstinence for the final hour, just the pinnacle of pointlessness.


[color=e81b00][i]Like I have to worry about that. Gonna be real hard to knock me up … unlike some of the other girls here…[/i][/color]


The green-eyed girl had staked a claim to a table in the cafeteria while Kellie Anne went through the lineups to get her meal. Shawna didn’t want to bother with that hassle today, so she went with a traditional packed lunch of her three remaining cupcakes from the previous day paired with an apple and a banana grabbed in a quick stop at the convenience store before she arrived at school. Strange it wouldn’t have occurred to her to even add the fruit if she had hatched this meal plan a month ago, but she felt almost obligated to balance out the baked goods with something healthy. Sugar be damned.


As she sat by herself, Shawna debated whether or not she should wait for Kellie to begin tearing into that cookies and cream cupcake, but she held off for now.


Today was Sable’s first day at her new school. While she had originally given Kings a hard no, she had convinced herself that perhaps things weren’t going to be so bad after all. While things weren’t as bad as the scenarios that her mind had come up to torture her with. She had assemblies at her old school, but the one she had just been subjected to was something else. Speeches on underage drinking were a lost cause, and everyone knew it. Besides, Sunshine wasn’t giving up her tequila just because some grumpy older woman wanted to tell her she may or may not get into a crash. Car crashes could happen when you were sober too. Marijuana wasn’t a gateway drug. It’s used for plenty of medical purposes. While Sunshine had never smoked, she could clearly see through the teachers bullshit. Last but not least [i]abstinence?[/i] Sunshine was already damned to Hell. 


All of these thoughts ran through her head as she went through the lunch line. Luckily, she was one of the first ones in said line, seeing as how she practically ran out of the auditorium. She decided to go simple - just a piece of pepperoni pizza. Besides, she had cookies stored in her bag that she wanted to eat as well. She paid and turned around to face the rest of the room. 


Tables were lined up everywhere, people bumping into her as they passed to go sit in their previously claimed areas. That’s when it hit her - Sunshine didn’t have any friends here. [color=7ea7d8][i]I officially have zero friends. This is shaping up to be the perfect day. Just peachy, rosey, absolutely tip top [b]perfect.[/b][/i][/color] Then she spotted another loner. Or, at least, someone sitting by themselves. Sunshine took a deep breath, and approached. Why she was nervous, she had no clue. Talking to people had never been a problem for her, so why would it be now? Stopping in front of the girl on the other side of the table, Sable stood there awkwardly for a brief second. [color=7ea7d8]“Um…. Hi? Do you mind if I sit here?”[/color]


Shawna looked up at the girl standing there. She was alone, a feeling Shawna was very familiar with from her time in the intellectual elite of the school. A time when there was no place for her at any table. Those feelings still hurt.


Still, she didn’t want to just give this girl a spot at the table. There was supposed to be a spot for her cupcake companion, and Shawna wasn’t exactly built to defend slots from invading cliques. Also, what if Kellie Anne wanted to just have spots for the two of them? Shawna risked alienating her before their friendship even lasted a day. It was a tough decision.


[color=e81b00][i]Damn it. This is why I started smoking. To get away from these thoughts. Stupid school.[/i][/color]


Shawna made a snap decision. [color=e81b00]”If you help me save at least one more spot, sure. You can sit here.”[/color]


Figuring that it wasn’t the worst thing she had ever agreed to, Sable sat down as she shrugged her shoulders. [color=7ea7d8]”So what’s your name? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”[/color]


[color=e81b00]“No crime in asking as far as I know,”[/color] the Wisconsin native noted. [color=e81b00]“My name’s Shawna.”[/color] She looked over the girl sitting across from her. She had this innocent look to her that reminded Shawna of someone who didn’t exist anymore. Someone who was way too innocent. [color=e81b00]“And who I am banking on to help me defend this seat from other cafeteria ne’er-do-wells?”[/color]


The way the other girl - Shawna. Her name was Shawna. - talked made Sunshine sort of curious. Did she always talk like that, or was it just some sort of thing she did kinda randomly? Only time would tell. [color=7ea7d8]”My names Sable. Most people call me Sunshine, though. I just moved here from LA about a week ago. Say… are random ‘if you have sex you’ll die’ assemblies common here?”[/color]


Shawna shook her head. [color=e81b00]“Not as long as I can remember. They came in pretty standard times. I’m guessing this bullshit was related to Homecoming. I don’t know what exactly went down, because I didn’t go, but some people must have done some fucked up things. Which, honestly, is not surprising here.”[/color] She looked down at her lunch before realizing she had nothing to drink with her bounty of sweets. [color=e81b00]“Shoot.”[/color] She reached for her phone and tapped out a quick message.

To: [color=00fa9a]Kellie Cupcake[/color]

[code]Hey, could you grab me a bottle of water or a thing of milk or something? I will pay you back. ;)[/code]


Shawna set her phone back down and turned her attention back to the girl who went by Sunshine. It was an appropriate name here. [color=e81b00]“So, LA, huh? Must be a bit of a come down going from that to Palm Beach. What brings your family to this slice of paradise?”[/color]


Family. That word hit a nerve. The only family Sunshine had left was her aunt, and she was more or less absent from the girls life doing her best to make ends meet with her job as a waitress. Sunshine had offered to pay for her own tuition, but her aunt refused. 


[color=7ea7d8]”I, um….,”[/color] Sunshine began, her attention now more focused on her pizza than it was Shawna. [color=7ea7d8]”I didn’t really have a choice. My mom died when I was little, and my dad did too not that long ago…. So I sort of had to move here with my aunt. But hey! It doesn't seem that bad so far,”[/color] she finished with a somewhat enthusiastic tone. 


Shawna may not have been too familiar with social cues, but it was pretty clear she inadvertently touched a raw nerve with that question. Dead parents were usually a conversation killer. At least she bounced back, but the green-eyed girl still felt awful. [color=e81b00]“Shoot, I’m sorry Sunshine. At least I can say, one transplant to another, it isn’t terrible. You can definitely thrive down here. And there are some very friendly people. Just gotta know where to find them.”[/color]


It was at that moment that Kellie Anne Nicholson appeared out of nowhere, holding a tray with the selected lunch of the day. Grinning, the young woman chose to take her seat next to Shawna, plopping the tray on top of the table and throwing her arms around her new friend. [color=00fa9a]“Hi, Wolfie!”[/color] the dancer said cheerfully, planting a kiss on the other girl’s cheek. [color=00fa9a]“I brought you some Pepsi, so I hope that’s okay!”[/color] she declared, passing the Pepsi bottle to Shawna before before leaning close to the girl’s ear and adding in a playful whisper, [color=00fa9a]“You’ll [i]definitely[/i] have to pay me back later… and I don’t mean with money!”[/color]


Wolfie, as she was now known, blushed brightly as she felt the squeeze of her new friend and a kiss thrown on her cheek. They hadn’t really talked about what Sunday meant, but it looked like Kellie Anne knew where she was at with their relationship and Shawna was more than happy to go there with her. She giggled. [color=e81b00]“Pepsi works. I was trying to be healthy, but I am not going to say no to Pepsi. Money is in my locker. I’ll get it after.”[/color]


Letting out a giggle, Kellie gave Shawna a tight hug before noticing for the first time the unknown girl sitting at their table. [color=00fa9a]“Oh!”[/color] she exclaimed comically, eyes widening with curiosity. [color=00fa9a]“I am so sorry if I interrupted you guys! Who’s this?”[/color]


She quickly returned the kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek before turning her attention to introductions. [color=e81b00]“Right, Kellie, this is Sable, but most people call her Sunshine. She just moved here from Los Angeles, so she is new to all…”[/color] She waved her arms around, indicating the school. [color=e81b00]“This. Everything this. Anyway, Sunshine, this is Kellie Anne Nicholson, my white knight as it were.”[/color] Sunshine didn’t need to know that Shawna was to Wolfie as Kellie was to Cupcake. At least not yet. [color=e81b00]“What did you end up getting, hun? I might trade you a cupcake for it.”[/color]


[color=00fa9a]“Nice to meet you, sweetie! It’s always nice to meet someone with knowledge of good ole’ California,”[/color] she said sweetly, shooting Sunshine a playful wink before turning back to Shawna. [color=00fa9a]“I just got myself a chicken wrap. Figured after all the cupcakes yesterday I would try and keep it healthy the rest of the week.”[/color]


Shawna gave Kellie a pout McKayla Maroney would be proud of. [color=e81b00]“I guess that makes sense. I just wanted to eat the rest of the sweets while they were still fresh.”[/color] She was now regretting a decision made out of laziness. She could have least gotten a sub or something from Ramiro. [color=e81b00]“No worries, I’ll get like some lean chicken or something tonight. I swear, I’ll be as healthy as this banana!”[/color] She held up the actual piece of fruit to prove her point, although the bruises on the peel were not appealing.


The food talk was off-putting. It was time to distract herself with the new person in the picture. [color=e81b00]“So, Sunshine, what is your impression of Palm Beach, even after just a week? I mean, it’s has to be something else with a fresh set of eyes, right?”[/color]


Sunshine had been listening into the conversation before her, sort of losing concentration about half way through. She shook Kellie’s hand politely before taking a bite of her pizza. When Shawna asked her a question, she quickly swallowed said bite in an awkward fashion. [color=7ea7d8]”It’s really pretty, I can tell you that much. The humidity here is something else though. Not only are your beaches gorgeous, so are the people - at least what I’ve seen so far. I haven’t really gone out that much, because, ya know, moving in and stuff, but I can’t wait to see what all there is to do here.”[/color]


[color=00fa9a]“Oh, you’ll [i]loooooooove[/i] it here, sweetie, promise! I moved here from Silicon Valley a few years ago, and I can’t tell you how much more I like it here than I did over there. Just don’t fall for Max Wallenberg and you’ll be fine!”[/color] Kellie simpered, knowing in her heart she was being ridiculously petty towards her unassuming ex-boyfriend but not caring. If she knew Max like she thought she did, he’d pull all the stops to get the new girl between the sheets of his bed in record time. Better to screw up his chances now than deal with the fallout later.


Shawna nearly choked on her Pepsi hearing Kellie so flippantly bring up the boy they spent most of yesterday trying to help her forget. Nearly though. She was banking on Kellie to fill Sunshine in on the happenings of Palm Beach, seeing as Shawna spent most of her life avoiding the social scene and had little knowledge of anything that actually was happening. [color=e81b00]“Honestly, the beaches are probably the best part. Fucking immaculate. You can spend an entire day there and just lose track of time. Great date spot too.”[/color] Shawna looked over at Kellie as if to confirm she was the one intended to be dated on the beaches. [color=e81b00]“Just… Yeah. Max is evil. Stay away.”[/color]


[color=00fa9a]“Oh, and stay away from Santiago Fernandez, too,”[/color] the dancer added as an afterthought, taking a happy bite from her wrap. [color=00fa9a]“Don’t let the face, the arms [i]or[/i] the solid abs fool you. [i]El Diablo[/i] will chew you up and spit you out in the blink of an eye- if April Foster doesn’t kill you first, that is.”[/color]


Who was Max Wallenberg and why was this Fernandez guy such a bad dude? More importantly, who was April? Was she the queen bee or something? Head cheerleader? The biggest, nastiest bully in town? 


[color=7ea7d8]“Are these Max and Santiago characters the main fuckboys around here? Because back at my old school, we had like… cliques, ya know? And I assume that’s sort of a thing for every school…? Anyway. You had your fuckboys. The preps. Emos. Weirdos. There were a lot of different people.[/color]


Shawna tried not to give away that she had as much of a clue as Sunshine did, but it was hard. She could answer the latter part of that question anyway. [color=e81b00]“It can definitely be cliquey here. Like everyone has their own group they run with pretty much just interact with. But, I mean, I’ve never been too concerned with all that stuff, you know?”[/color] She punctuated this fact with a bite into her apple that was remarkably crisp. Ramiro had actually gotten good apples apparently. [color=e81b00]“And I guess, if you want, you don’t have to either, if you want to just run with us or something. I mean, you’ll have to put up with regular PDAs.”[/color] She winked at Kellie as she said that, indicating she was open for more affection.


Sunshine laughed. [color=7ea7d8]”PDA isn’t a problem at all,”[/color] she responded. After all, what did she have to lose? She didn’t have any friends here yet, and these two seemed nice enough. 


Shawna smiled and nodded. [color=e81b00]“Then I think we will get along just fine, Sunshine.”[/color]


Kellie Anne nodded brightly. [color=00fa9a]“I definitely agree! Welcome to Crown Heights, sugar.”[/color]

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