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Rachel read the menu:

Meatloaf: 750

Tuna Sandwich: 550

Grilled Cheese: 500

Chips: 250

Cookie: 150

Juice: 200

Rachel looked into her palm, at the four, o far in this school, and bypassed the hot food line as her sto of Fritos and a cookie, paid the cashier, and exited through the opposite door

As she left the lunch line and entered the large cafeteria roootten much more crowded All the tables were full, and everyone was already eating Apparently it wasn’t cool to buy hot lunch at AHS Everyone had brought their lunches from home, and she looked at the array of wraps, salads, and freshly made deli sandwiches that spread across each table

As Rachel looked at all the kids, she couldn’t help but feel like she was part of a cliché teena hard ti, looking for a table to sit at She passed a table full of nerdy looking kids, all with their laptops and schoolbooks out

At another table Rachel saw a group of grungy, punk kids with baggy pants, chain wallets, streaked hair and dark black eyeliner

At another table sat a group of pretty girls, and Rachel could hear the over a cheer Rachel assumed they were cheerleaders This reminded her of her plan to try out for her old school’s cheerleading teairls, and felt deflated, and she didn’t feel like she belonged on the sairls sat Greene, in his 80 jersey He was sitting there with about ten other jock types: so sharp in preppy clothing

Rachel came upon a table behind Greene’s, with a few rando to each other and they were all looking down, quietlyaway at their lunches She found an open seat and sat down

Nobody even looked up to acknowledge that she had joined the table Rachel felt an overwhel of solitude, and quickly ate her Fritos lunch She didn’t want to sit in that cafeteria feeling anonyer than she had to

As she scarfed down her chips, she couldn’t help but notice how cute Greene was

"Hey Rob, check this out," a boy sitting at Greene’s table said, and handed Greene soht to herself Now she knew his first nauys she’d ever seen His wispy blonde hair swept over his green eyes as he brushed it back with his fingertips Rachel wanted desperately for hi faster and she realized she had her first crush at AHS

Rachel’s , and she suddenly re after for all of 9th grade He was nothing like Rob Alex had dark brown hair, brown eyes and didn’t dress nearly as well It was safe to say that Rachel didn’t have a specific "type" She was attracted to all her crushes for various inexplicable reasons -- not even she could understand it

Rachel grabbed her cookie and took it with her as she walked out of the cafeteria She looked at her watch: twelve an to roa alone and shy

She caye bulletin board, with news, announcements, a calendar and fliers posted to it Her eyes drifted to a picture of the AHS varsity cheerleading team Below the picture read:

Tryouts – September 9th3pm in the Gymnasium

Rachel took a flyer and read it closely

"Only a few spots re?" In pencil someone had written, (Do you like hot boys in uniform?) "Do you have AHS school spirit?

If so, come to tryouts tomorrow!

Coach Glass"

Rachel folded the flyer up and put it into her Filofax The thought of o to the tryouts

Rachel checked her watch again: five more minutes until lunch was over She paced up and down the eroups of friends chatting and having fun Rachel wished she had found a friend-- just one