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The day felt like it had dragged on with no signs of letting up on the constant anxiety from the encounter this morning with the football jocks. After my first period had ended, I managed to get directions back to the attendance office to retrieve that copy of the map for the school and was able to route the rest of my classes today and the fastest way to get to them and the cafeteria for lunch after my second period in advanced calculus.

I was lucky as to not have run into any of the jocks in that class but then again I wasn't expecting guys of their caliber to exactly be enrolled in such an advanced class. Though I was still a bit in awe that Michael Hernandez, that Doberman from before, was in a not-so-easy English credit class with me. Sure the class may not exactly be rocket science but I knew this kind of class was going to challenge me and I just didn't think someone like him would also be up to that kind of challenge. I understand he's a jock and they take on challenges all the time but not of the intellectual type. More like who on the football team can drink the most alcohol while upside-down and other stunts like that. Also I'm sure that jaguar jock, Harold, is only in that class as well because Michael is in it and he can have a buddy to cheat off of.

And before you ask, no I did not ask for Michael's last name. I only know it now because that's what was called out for the role call Mr. Finster did after the freshman and I did our introductions to the class. I don't get what his plan was when he offered to take me to first period at the expense of him possibly being late to class like that but I'm not falling for it again. I've gone through this whole process at every school and I will not allow myself to succumb to any sly tricks he or anyone else tries to pull. Even if he is good-looking.

Soon the bell rang out and everyone was excused for lunch. I was quick to race down the hallways to try and make it there before most of the other students because finding a good table to sit at alone, inside or outside, is nearly impossible in these overpopulated schools. Even with two separate lunches to divide the school and make it easier to deal with, the limited space can easily be filled up if I'm not fast enough.

I was able to push my way into the crowd of students as I flowed into the cafeteria with the other students and was grateful to see a few available options for me to sit at as I was quick to snatch a booth near the back of the cafeteria by the windowed walls and doors against the wall as I looked back at the entrance into the school where Even more students flooded the doorway, trying to squeeze in so they could get first in line for the pizza that was very customary to be served on the first day of school for so many districts. I wasn't surprised by this but the lines never mattered to me as I pulled out the metal lunchbox from my backpack and smiled. Knowing I was going to eat before most everyone else and be out of here as soon as the entrance was cleared of the myriad of carnivorous angst made me feel like I was already making great progress on my situation at this school.

But my stomach was quick to remind me that I was still in here for a reason with a quick grumble resounding as I patted it as if to reassure it I would take care of it. I quickly unhooked the latch on the lunchbox and opened it up as the aroma of my food was quick to fill the air in my nostrils.

Pizza is good but nothing beats a home-cooked meal that you put together yourself. The whole wheat banana muffin was freshly baked this morning and knowing I had a whole batch to go through for lunch over the next week or two filled me with delight as I also filled my mouth with the first bite and lightly moaned at the textures that sent the familiar sensations rocketing across my tongue and all throughout my body. The fruitiness mixed with the wheat flavor always made my day brighter even on the darkest of days.

I then grabbed the chicken ranch wrap that I also made this morning as I bit into the grilled tortilla wrap shell with my eyes fluttering what I could only describe as euphoria. The juicy chicken and ranch sprayed into my gullet with the crunch of the lettuce drowning out the loud voices being carried around inside the crowded cafeteria for a brief moment. As I chewed, I quickly spied down to look at the vanilla yogurt and celery sticks I added to make this first lunch of the year a good one to remember. And best yet, no one to bother me while I finally have a peaceful lunch by myself.

"HELL YEAH! PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!"

"Fuck..." I muttered under my breath as I heard the jocks coming over in my direction. Sure enough, a group of the usual muscle-headed thugs were bouncing around, waving their pizza slices around like a pride flag. The bright side was that it wasn't the whole team together like this morning but I definitely knew most of them were, unfortunately.

The Bengal tiger, Jeff, who had pinned me against the lockers. The jaguar, Harold, from my first period who pelted me with the paper wad. Eli, the Rottweiler from the attendance office and who tried to shove me into the locker. And... Michael. The only unfamiliar one amongst them was a hyena jock with deep blue eyes and the same muscle mass as the others. Which also meant he most likely has the same brain capacity which was little to none.

I prayed to whatever deity or God was out there to hear my silent pleading to let them waltz past me without taking notice of me. They didn't heed me. I'm going to have to pray more desperately next time.

Harold was the first to notice me. "Hey boys! It's the new kid!"

I kept my gaze on the food in front of me but I could feel their eyes boring into me as I heard Eli speak up with an obvious mischievous smile on his face. "Hey, yeah it is! What did you say his name was again, Michael?"

"Wes Conaway," Michael reminded him.

"That's right! So then Wessy boy, what's wrong? Why are you not eating the pizza we got today? Did the lunch mommy make for you filled with too much love for you to pass up?"

I heard snickering coming from the other jocks as I rolled my eyes. "Such a simple and unoriginal assumption for someone you don't have a clue about. Also you can call me Wesley. I'm not Wessy and I only let my friends call me Wes." I took another bite out of my muffin as I heard footsteps stomping towards me as I peeked over but didn't flinch as Eli got right up in my face on my left.

"Is that so? So you think you're hot stuff to think you can speak to us like that? Huh, nerd?" asked Eli as his pizza-riddled breath got in my face. However, I kept my composure and nodded before replying, "I don't need to be hot stuff to be able to call you out on your arrogance."

Suddenly I was grabbed and yanked out of my seat as the muffin in my hand fell out and onto the ground as Eli stood me up in front of him, held tightly by my shirt collar.

"Eli!" Michael screamed at him but Eli was too laser-focused on me to listen.

"You think you can take me in a fight? I'll destroy you, ya twink fox!" Eli growled into my face as I lifted my hand to slowly wipe the spit that hit my face from his shouting.

"I know that but so will the entire school if you do."

"Yeah? And who would believe a nobody like you?"

I smirked. "Oh, I dunno. Maybe half of the student body who's in the cafeteria with us."

Eli seemed to remember where he was after that as he looked around to see most of the cafeteria had their eyes on us as their whispering was clashing against each other to make an uncomfortable atmosphere as their eyes kept their gaze locked and undeterred. The Rottweiler snorted as he slowly released his grip on me.

"Tch. Whatever. Come on guys. Let's enjoy the free pizza before my appetite gets ruined by all the fruitiness here," Eli muttered. He began walking away as Harolf and Jeff were quick to follow. Michael seemed to lag behind and stare at me but he soon left me alone.

I sighed out as I picked up the muffin I dropped before placing it on the table to the side away from the rest of my lunch. I was about to continue eating but stopped when I noticed the hyena jock was still here and staring at me intently. Those blue pools of his seem to be more focused on me than Eli was just a second ago.

"Um... can I help you?"

The hyena seemed to be shaken out of a daze as he looked at me. "Sorry. I was just surprised how well you handled that situation without getting a teacher or other adult involved."

I blinked in surprise by this as I was not expecting a jock to compliment me like that. "Well, this isn't exactly my first school tussle and yet I doubt it will be the last."

"Hey, if it's any consultation, I doubt you'll need much help with skills like yours. What was your name again?"

"Wesley Conaway..." I was still baffled about this hyena's sudden curiosity in me.

"My name's Xavier Ashford but my friends call me Ash."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Oh because there's a spot on my body that is kinda faded and smudged like someone actually rubbed ash on me. See?"

He then lifted his shirt up as he exposed his torso to me and while I did see the fur pattern he was referring to on his stomach, I found myself ogling his abs as they flexed holding up his shirt. A slight blush crept over my cheeks as I felt my mouth water at the sight of his muscled stomach.

"Wesley? You good man?"

Now I was shaken out of my daze. "Huh? Oh yeah, I'm okay."

Ash thankfully seemed oblivious to me eyeing him as he lowered his shirt. "But still I wanna apologize if we ruined your lunch. I promise not everyone on the team are complete assholes like Eli. At least me and Michael don't act so ruthlessly to others like that."

"No, it's fine. I was expecting that to happen sooner or later. It always does with me." I muttered the last sentence but I must have been loud enough for Ash to hear.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

A part of me wanted to answer but I knew what I had to say because I couldn't let it happen again. "I'd rather not say. It's a bit personal for me to discuss with someone else."

I assumed he would pressure me into delving into my backstory but he surprised me yet again by nodding and saying, "I understand. I won't bother you then. You seem like a chill guy. Hope we can see each other again soon. Take care."

With that, he waved as he walked away to catch up with his football buddies and I swear I saw his gaze linger on me as he left but I think I was imagining it. I felt my face heat up as a smile slowly wormed its way onto my face. "That was... unexpected. But in a very nice way." I thought as I looked down in my lap; my thoughts racing on that interaction I just had with Ash.

"YOU!"

"Gah!"

I let out a yelp of surprise as two girls holding empty food trays yelled out in unison at me right into my ear. How the hell did they get so close to me without my notice?!

The two girls were both Himalayan cats with green eyes and shoulder-length purple hair with small plastic headbands, one colored green and one colored red, that formed a bump at the front of their hair and above their bang-less foreheads. They both wore the same floral patterned miniskirts, light blue button-up dress shirts with the top buttons undone and the bottom tied into a knot, and brown cowgirl boots.

"W-What? What do you want?" I asked flustered.

"We couldn't help but notice..."

"...That you were talking to Ash!"

"Yeah? So?"

"So?! Do you not know who he is?!" They both shouted in unison.

"No! I just moved here! I'm sorry, what are you going on about?" I asked, desperate for an explanation and maybe more so for them to leave me alone. I won't lie, they were creeping me out.

The two cats looked at each other before going into the opposite side of my booth and sitting in the seat across from me in perfect unison as they laced their own hands together before one began speaking. "Ash is like one of the few jocks who is not only sexy as hell but is actually nice too."

"But Ash is not the kind of guy to just approach anyone. He's quite introverted and shy around people he's never talked to and yet you seemed to be an exception."

I was taken aback by this revelation. "R-Really?"

"It's true. Despite being a jock, Ash is not one to put himself out there and make small talk to anyone he's not familiar with. We've been hoping he would talk to us yet he never seemed to give us the time of day."

"Yet a new kid like you comes in and all of a sudden you not only get to have a conversation with him but you got to see his body! So we need to know..."

Both girls leaned in and whispered, "How did you do it?"

"I honestly don't know why he talked to me. I wasn't expecting anyone to be so friendly but I didn't try to do anything so can whoever the two of you are please stop attacking me for unintentionally stealing your crush."

The two seemed to blink as they looked at each other.

"Did we do it again?"

"I think we did."

They looked back as they suddenly apologized. "We're sorry."

"We did not mean to make this feel like a confrontation. We were simply curious."

"Also we did not even bother to introduce ourselves before we pushed ourselves onto you like that. We apologize if we came off as rude."

I saw the genuineness of their apology and only let out a small sigh. "It's... fine. I thank you for your honesty at least. So who are you two?"

The Himalayan cat on the left side with the green headband spoke first. "I'm Sylvia..."

The red headband cat spoke next, "And I'm Sammy!"

"And together we are the Grundler Twins!" They announced as they wrapped an arm around each other's shoulders and then striked a mirrored pose with their free hand making a V with the tips of their fingers surrounding their eye as their other eye winked at me. It was like a cliché anime moment and I was now forming a large sweat drop on the back of my head.

"Well, that explains a lot," I blurted out.

But instead of being insulted, the twins giggled. "Yeah, we watched a lot of "The Shining" as kids and we grew to love playing the creepy twins trope!" Sylvia admitted.

"But not as much as acting like those twins in anime where they are practically always in sync and acting with over-the-top moe attitudes. It's fun gauging people's reactions when they meet us for the first time." Sammy added with a smirk on her lips.

I don't know why but I couldn't help myself as a smile came onto my face. "You two certainly are something else, that's for sure."

The twins then began eyeing my lunch. "Ooh! That looks really good! Did your parents make that lunch for you?" asked Sylvia, curiously.

I shook my head. "Not really. My mom had a hand in helping me make my lunch but..."

Sammy then cut me off. "You made it?! Boy, you are something else! What grade are you in? Are you a sophomore like us? Maybe a junior?"

"Actually, I'm a senior this year," I answered.

"Shut up! You are not!"

"I am."

Sylvia shook her head and fanned herself with her hand. "A senior who is both cool and a chef wrapped in one adorable fox? Someone pinch me I must be dreaming. YOW!"

Sylvia glared at Sammy who smiled innocently at her sister. "You asked for it."

"Not literally!"

"You never said you weren't being literal~"

Sylvia huffed at Sammy and I couldn't hold back my laugh. "Ahahaha! You two are too much! And though I appreciate the compliment, you two are giving me more credit than I deserve. I'm not that cool."

Sylvia shook her head at that. "Maybe you don't think so but anyone who can put up with our shenanigans is cool to us, no matter what."

Sammy nodded in agreement as that made me smile more. "I'm Wesley Conaway by the way."

The twins beamed at my introduction as they both bowed their heads and said, "It is our privilege to meet you, King Conaway!"

Suddenly the bell rang signaling the end of our lunch period as the cafeteria began slowly trickling a steady stream of students as most had left to hang out after eating their lunch. I packed my leftover food into my lunchbox as I stood up and so did the twins.

"Sorry if we distracted you from eating the rest of your lunch," Sammy apologized.

I smiled at them. "It's okay. It was nice meeting you two. Maybe... if it's okay, we can sit together at lunch again?"

Both smiled back as they shouted in unison, "We'd love to!"

I parted ways from the twins as we went to our respective third period class. I couldn't help but smile at the positive interactions I had with both the Grundler Twins and especially Ash despite the more obvious and expected one I had with Eli earlier. Maybe things at this school will be different after all but I'm not going to let myself get too hopeful. I will not allow myself to be a victim again. But knowing what my final class for the day is, that's going to be easier said than done.