13. Making Friends Is Never Easy

Stassi

W hen Stassi first entered the cafeteria and saw Sage, she hoped Sage would welcome her to her table. After all, she had lunch with her in the courtyard, so it wouldn’t be too surprising. But things didn’t go quite as planned. She spotted her with Lena, and they looked rather cozy. She caught them laughing and talking so closely that no one would interrupt that. Perhaps there was more than just a friendship between them. And if that were true, it would be disappointing.

Why worry about it? It’s already been decided that you can’t do anything but friendship.

She allowed her eyes to stray away from them. A few times, she would make eye contact, but when she waved, she barely elicited a response. She sighed and tried to make the best of a painful situation. The sound of thunder echoed through the cafeteria walls, and she shrugged. No going outside today.

“Hey, you.” She felt a tap on her shoulder, startled; she nearly dropped her sandwich. She spun on her heel and saw Marcus. At least it was a friendly face. Not the one she wanted to come across, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. “Just got here myself. Wanna join me?” He leaned in, lowering his voice. “I hate to eat alone. Please say yes.” He offered her a wink, and she nodded with relief.

They went to a corner table just a few feet away from Sage and Lena. She had to pass the table to get to where March led the way, and she forced herself not to look in her direction. How much more awkward could it be when it was painfully obvious that Lena and Sage didn’t want her sitting with them?

“Hi, Marcus,” Lena said. From the corner of Stassi’s eye, she saw Lena toss a look at her. It caused her to be on edge. She didn’t know what she could have done to get such a response. Last she spoke with Lena, Lena was helping her locate a missing chart. She seemed nice and never gave the vibe that she needed to steer clear of her.

They sat down, with her back to their table. “So, how’s work going?” Marcus asked.

“Good. Pretty good. No complaints.”

“That’s convincing,” he laughed, digging into the soup that he had bought. He looked up as he tore into the package of crackers. “Anything else exciting going on in your job?”

Stassi laughed. He was funny, put her at ease, and helped her forget that just a few feet away was another table that she wasn’t welcome at

“It’s really going well. It’s different from what I’ve been doing for the past few years.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that? Stripper?” She had taken a drink of water and nearly spit it out. She gawked at him, but he was laughing so hard, clearly cracking himself up. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.” He held up his hand and shook his head. “Only joking, but then broke into laughter again. “I should have held back until you really got to know me because you probably think I’m a total ass.”

“Not a total one,” Stassi began. “Just a partial one.” His eyes widened, and she started to laugh. His mouth broke into a grin. “Just kidding, I swear.”

“Damn, you got me. I must admit.” He nodded. “That was a good one.” That broke the ice and relieved any tension that Stassi had felt minutes ago.

When they were halfway into their lunch, though, he got up and motioned with his head. “What?” Stassi asked. “Lunch is over already? I feel like we just got here.”

He laughed. “No, come with me. I noticed that there’s a table that’s been watching us, or rather, you. Thinking they want us to join them.”

Stassi frowned. “Who?” She turned and saw that Sage was looking in their direction. The tension instantly returned. “I don’t know, Marcus. Not sure they really want us to interrupt. They look awfully cozy, like maybe they want to be alone.”

He laughed. “Why would they want to be alone?”

Stassi shrugged. “I don’t know. Are they a couple or something?” His face turned red, and he started laughing, shaking his head, and sputtering out his words. “They’re not a couple?”

“No, Sage is very much single, and Lena, well, pretty sure she’s into guys.” He laughed again and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the table. He motioned for Stassi to sit down next to Sage, who scooted away to give her enough room. Stassi sat down but instantly knew how close to one another they were. Her leg had very little room, brushing up against Sage. Sage moved just a bit more but still didn’t provide the ample room that Stassi needed to breathe, but as Stassi settled in, she relaxed. Not minding the close proximity. “You guys are not going to believe what Stassi just said to me.”

Stassi’s eyes widened. This was going to go painfully wrong. Now Marcus was going to rat her out that she thought they were a couple, and she would never make any friends there. She shook her head when he looked in her direction, but it went unnoticed.

“What’s that?” Lena asked. Lena shot Stassi a look, and Stassi’s cheeks burned. Lena had no sense of humor. She could just sense that. She considered making an excuse that she had to leave or get back to work early, anything that could get her out of there.

“She told me that I wasn’t a total ass, just a partial one.” Marcus started laughing, and the air rushed out of Stassi.

Next to her, Sage laughed. “Well, she isn’t wrong.”

Marcus glanced at Stassi and gave her a wink, and from that moment, she knew she had made one friendship, but the woman next to her would barely look in her direction. It even felt like she had shifted a little further away. If she wasn’t in a relationship with Lena, then maybe there was another reason she would stay away from Stassi. Stassi shrugged. She’d have to accept that.

Lena glared at her from across the table, making Stassi shift in her seat. Something was clearly bothering Lena. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, and she retrieved it and saw a message from Ariel.

Ariel

Call me when you can. Have a few minutes to chat if you’re free.

“Something more intriguing than lunch?” Lena asked.

Stassi looked up. “No but have to get back to work early.” She got up from the table and glanced between the other three. “See you all around.” She hurried away from the table, relieved that she could escape. She was saved by the bell with Ariel’s text. She fell back against the wall and waited for her to answer.

“That was fast.”

“Well, you have no idea how much I needed your message. But I don’t wanna talk about it. Tell me about your day.”

Lena started talking about her day on the job, and Stassi was glad to have the reprieve and put the awkward lunch behind her.