Invisible

Chapter Four

Luna

Luna scanned the cafeteria, searching for somewhere to sit. An empty table in the back corner caught her eye, and she crept up to it. Luna practically collapsed onto the bench, letting her exhausted legs rest. Luna had been wandering through the halls for a long time, trying to find her classes. When she'd finally arrived, she'd braced for scolding, but her teachers had been too caught up in the lesson to greet her. 

They had just droned on and on about the topics that they were going to cover over the course of the school year. Luna had fought back yawns the whole time.  

After waiting for fifteen minutes in the lunch line, the lunch ladies hadn't been able to hear her order over the clamor, so she had just given up and crept to an abandoned table in the back corner. 

Luna sighed. She was starving, but it would take too long to wait in line again. She glanced in the direction of the serving area, where the lunch ladies plopped food onto the gray trays of eager students. The lunch line snaked through the cafeteria. 

Her stomach growled loudly as the smell of food wafted into her nostrils. She rubbed her stomach, trying to soothe it, and glanced longingly at a nearby table, where Constance, Shay, Kayla, Lily, and a few others were sitting. 

A girl with light brown skin and glossy black hair snatched Lily's french fry playfully. Lily laughed and nudged the girl's shoulder. "Raina! Give me my fry back!" she teased, her words reaching Luna's ears. The girl, Raina, tossed the fry in her mouth. "What fry?" She faked confusion and innocence. "You know what fry!" Lily protested dramatically. Raina rolled her eyes. "Fine, if you really want it..." She reached for her mouth. Lily scooted away. "That's nasty!" she joked.  

Luna felt a pang of jealousy. Those girls were so popular, so carefree...and they got to hang out with Lily all of the time. 

As if her ears had been burning, Lily glanced in Luna's direction. Luna froze. Lily said something that Luna couldn't hear to Raina and grabbed her lunch tray. She wove through the tables and kids and reached Luna's table. 

"Hi!" she said, smiling. Luna's heart sped up. "H-hi," she stuttered. "Um..what brings you here?" Luna inwardly kicked herself as she realized she sounded unwelcoming and hostile. Lily didn't seem to mind. Her eyes flashed with understanding. "Is it okay if I sit here?" she asked, gesturing to the empty table. 

Luna felt herself blush. She was sitting all alone with no food or friends and Lily probably just pitied her...but then again, there was no way she was turning down the chance to sit with Lily! "Of course!" Luna said, trying not to sound too eager. It didn't work.

Lily set her tray down gently and sat down across from Luna. Luna tried not to study Lily's facial features or stare hungrily at the food on her tray, so she just looked down, at her ragged sneakers swinging slowly beneath the table. 

They sat there in awkward silence. "I never got your name," Lily offered. Luna looked up. "I'm Luna." she said softly. Lily tucked a loose strand of bright red hair behind her ear. "That means moon, right?" she asked, taking a bite of mac and cheese. 

"Yeah. My dad calls me his moonbeam." Luna smiled faintly as she remembered her dad's eyes crinkling at the corners as he called her a moonbeam. Lily glanced at Luna's empty lunch tray, frowning. "You didn't get lunch?" Her eyebrows furrowed and her forehead crinkled, and somehow she looked even better. 

Luna shook her head. "I spoke too quietly and the lunch ladies couldn't hear me, so I decided to just not get lunch." Lily glanced down at her own tray. "Here, take some of mine!" She pushed her tray forward and scooped some of her food onto Luna's own tray. 

"No, no, it's okay! You don't have to." Her protest sounded weak even to her own ears. She was starving. Her mouth was watering at the sight and smell of the mac and cheese, salad, and chips on Lily's plate. 

In Luna's books, the cafeteria food was always portrayed as being disgusting, with the main character throwing it out and settling for something from the vending machine. But this food looked and smelled delicious. 

Lily carried her tray over next to Luna and scraped half of her food onto Luna's tray. "Thank you so much, Lily," Luna said, her voice cracking at the end. "No problem!" Lily smiled and dug in to her own food. Lily was so kind. 

Luna grabbed a fork and forced herself to eat slowly, acting polite. It took all of her self control and willpower not to shove all the food in her mouth. She was that hungry. 

The two girls ate without speaking, but this time it was a comfortable silence instead of an awkward one.

Luna glanced up at the girl sitting across from her. Lily's hair glowed from the faint rays of sunlight shining through the windows, and her nimble, slim fingers brushed a loose strand behind her ear. 

Lily scooped some mac and cheese into her mouth. "Are you okay?" she asked. Luna's mind flashed with all the interpretations of what that could mean. It could mean Lily pitied her for sitting alone or–"I'm talking about the thing during attendance," Lily said, as if she could read Luna's mind. 

Luna had been trying not to worry about Ms. Miller skipping over her name in attendance. During class, she had done her best to push her worries to the back of her brain and focus on the lesson, but that had been very hard when class was super soporific!

Luna realized Lily was still waiting for an answer. "Yeah, I'm fine. Mistakes happen all the time!" she said cheerful, acting as if it hadn't bothered her at all. 

Lily sipped her water. "So...do you wanna hang out later today?" she asked. Luna's heart started beating madly. Lily, who's vivid red hair outlined her soft features, and her long lashes framed her violet eyes as she blinked nervously, had asked her to hang out?!? 

"Sure! Where?" Luna hoped she didn't sound too eager. That would be so embarrassing. 

"My mom has an event thing for work at our house...so I was wondering if..." Lily hesitated, not wanting to be impolite. Luna's heart sank. She didn't want Luna to see her sad-looking old house with its weary, creaky furniture and peeling walls. 

"Both of my parents work from home," Luna began, thinking up an excuse. "And I don't want to bother them. Plus, I don't have any way of telling them that I'm bringing a friend.." she shot an apologetic look at Lily. 

It's not a lie, Luna comforted herself. I don't want to bother Mom and Dad, or surprise them with a guest.  

Lily bit her lip thoughtfully. "There's a nice park near my house," she offered. "We could meet there." Luna sighed in relief. "That sounds great, thanks!" 

Just then, the lunch bell rang. Luna flinched as the loud noise blared suddenly. She quickly ate the last of her food. "Bye, Luna!" Lily said, picking up her tray and taking it to the tray disposal area. Her hair looked like a flowing river, running lazily as she walked. Luna shook her head to clear it and slid her tray onto a pile of metal trays that needed to be cleaned. 

She pried her eyes away from Lily and fished out her schedule. It was time for English. Luna walked out of the cafeteria, a bounce in her step, because she was hanging out with Lily after school!