“There is no place to sit.” She said it matter-of-factly, scanning the crowded lunchroom. A few students looked up from their table.

“Were you talking to us?” One of them asked. She turned towards them, her eyes not quite focusing.

“Oh… no.” She walked a few paces forward and stopped again, pinching a fry with one chewed-up fingernail and popping it quickly into her mouth. She chewed, contemplating what to do.

“Amaretta!” She heard a call from across the lunchroom. “Ama, over here!” A girl was waving, one hand placed on an empty table as if to claim it. A thin smile crept across Amaretta’s pale pink lips as she strolled purposefully towards the table. She set her tray down gently and edged into her seat, unwrapping a fork.

“Amaretta DiTaglio,” the girl said, resting her cheek on one fist and picking the pepperoni off her slice of pizza with the other. “How’s the first day of school been so far?”

“Oh, it’s nothing like the place I was before,” Amaretta replied, a tinge of excitement in her voice. “Everyone is so friendly here. No one used to talk to me…” she began to gaze off into the distance. Another girl sauntered up to the table.

“Hey, Ama,” she said flatly in greeting, slamming down her tray and plopping into a chair. “How’s it going?”

Amaretta turned and grinned at the new girl. “Oh, it’s fabulous… I love it here.”

“Really?” The other girl said, raising one pale blond eyebrow. “I’m kind of iffy about it. People have been giving me some strange looks…” The three girls looked around. Students from other tables were, indeed, staring at them, with looks of confusion on their faces. The first girl shrugged.

“Ah, well, they’re just wondering who we are. We’re all new…” she took a bite of pizza. Amaretta examined the lunchroom once more. A girl walked by, looking confused.

“Hey, you wanna sit here?” Amaretta said, gathering up her thin blond hair and draping it across her back. The girl grinned and nodded, taking a seat. Amaretta chatted for a few minutes, forgetting the bewildered stares of the other students, who just couldn’t quite figure out who that new girl sitting all alone at a table was talking to.