"You're dismissed, class."
Sporadically, the class stood up and left the classroom, and I was the first one out of the room. I walked a little quicker to stay ahead of the crowd, when my friend Natasha called to me,
"Hey Kristie, wait up!"
I turned to her as she jogged up to where I was walking.
"Why are you walking by yourself?" She asked humorously.
"Um," I looked forward, not really digested in the conversation she was trying to start, "I'm a loner. I like to be by myself sometimes." I smiled slightly at her, implying it wasn't personal.
She half smiled, as if she pitied me,
"Alright."
And she walked back to her other friends. I sighed in relief, not literally, but it was burden off my shoulders to not have to hold a conversation and pretend I was interested. I wasn't having a bad day, not at all. Two class periods ago, I got my seat moved close to my crush. So I was actually having a good day.
But being an introvert, and just getting out of a talkative class, I needed some time to wind down and be away from the chatty crowd of people. Even if all it means is to not talk on the way to lunch; I had time to mentally prepare myself for the social event ahead of me. Frankly, I find being social, tiring.

I turned the corner and slowed my pace to search for Beth, one of the only really good friends I had at this new school. Just as I thought I was going to have to sit by myself, I saw her. I smiled in relief. Knowing in this huge school, I had one person who knew me and I could talk freely with, without putting work in.
We went in the pizza line, as I told her about my seat being changed next to Robert, and she told me what happened to her in the previous class, we got our lunch. We left the line and scanned the cafeteria for some good seating, and we found a good spot by our new group of friends.

We set our trays down but realized we forgot the sauce for our chicken nuggets. So we left our milk at our seats and took our trays up to the table. As we walked we passed Robert, and Beth said,
"There goes your boy!" as she laughed.
I tried not to grin but I couldn't help it.
"Boy gets me going" I said, and we both laughed.
We got some mayonnaise, and walked back to our seats. As we got closer I glanced over to our seats and my eyes got as wide as the moon. I couldn't believe this! Robert was sitting in my seat! At that point I just started freaking out.
"Holy crap, oh my god, oh my god, holy crap!" I said panicked and quiet but so Beth could hear. I turned around to walk the other direction and Beth followed suit.
"What in the world is wrong?" she said.

"Don't look now, but when we turn around to go back to our seats, look at who is sitting in mine." And I looked at her with the most serious face I'd ever had in my life.
She looked worried, so I said,
"It’s not bad, so don't worry, just look. Let’s go."
And at that we turned around and when we got closer I saw Beth craning her neck to see,
"Don't make it obvious!" I spat at her.
And she eased, but I guess she saw him.
"Oh my freaking god!"
I squealed a little, smiled, and looked worried, all at the same time. This was a confusing situation.
"I know!"

I thought to myself, why is he siting there? Didn't he see our milk cartons? Did he do that on purpose? Or was it just an accident? What should I say when we get there? I can't completely avoid it, I mean, my milk is still there.
"What're you going to say?"
"I don't know!"
"Do you want me to say something?"
I didn't reply at first. We were two tables away now; my stomach was in knots and filled with butterflies.
"Um... yeah I guess so." Knowing I wouldn't be able to do it myself.
We started walking down the aisle where our seats were, my heart was racing and my breathing rapid. I couldn’t think clearly, it felt like we were walking forever.
Beth and I eventually reached our seats; I said "Uh, excuse me?" I looked at Beth. Robert and his friends stared up at us.
"Those are our seats." Beth said.
"And um those are our milks" I added last minute.

Beth smiled sheepishly and shifted her eyes to him and back at me. I smiled shyly and didn't meet Robert's glance as he got up, and quietly said "Sorry", which I thought was so adorable. I felt so awkward and uncomfortable.
"It’s alright." I replied quietly. I could barely hear it myself over the low hum of the cafeteria.
He walked around to the other side to sit next to his friend and I sat back down next to Beth. I turned my body so I wasn't looking at Robert, at all. I felt kind of embarrassed and I didn't want him to think I was a weirdo stalker or anything.
Beth smiled, "I cannot believe that just happened!"
"Out of all the seats in the cafeteria, he sat in MINE! Coincidence? I think not"
We snickered quietly to each other about the situation. I was still a little shaken up since he was sitting diagonally from me, and that’s close enough for me to feel on edge.
I looked at my tray with dissatisfaction, I lost my appetite. I guess from being so nervous; I really needed a confidence boost.
With all of that excitement, it was over as soon as it had happened. We got up to dump our trays early because I wasn't touching my food, and we went into the commons area. The situation was still in my head but I didn't want to bug Beth with my annoying crush chatter. So I just thought about it to myself, then I remembered I had class with him next. I smiled at the thought.
"All right, time to go to class everybody!"
I kept smiling and told Beth I'd see her on the blacktop by the buses, as I walked to my next class the once dormant butterflies rose again. A feeling I never got tired of.