Searching for Peace in all the Wrong Places (Open)

[Casper Van der Meares III]

As soon as the bell rung he practically ran out of the class he had been in, he had been the last in first out literally. Somehow the class had been driving him round the bend, he was quite bored by the time the bell rang. He didn't know why the class had lost him completely today, but it had somehow managed to do just that.

So now he was sat in the corner of the lunch hall with the lunch he had brought from a local deli on the way into school this morning. It wasn't much but it was certainly enough to sate him for the rest of the day, it was also better than anything the school had on offer. He'd seen Louis who was heading out with friends to eat of campus, if he had had some sense he would have done something similar. Then again he was happy to eat on campus so long as it wasn't the school food, he was sure that he could feed it to the dogs and they would turn their noses up at the food in question.

Where he was he had a good view of the rest of the room, so he could see and avoid if at all possible annoying idiots that were looking to cause him some trouble. What he really wanted was a quietish lunch, if someone was going to interupt it then he wanted someone with an IQ higher than the average jock, and some one with a better set of manners than the plastics of the school.

[Dena Zouvelekis]

In the end, Dena decided against skipping and headed straight to class, managing to only end up a few minutes late, which actually was quite an achievement given how much she had actually stalled. With Natalie changing her mind about skipping, it wouldn’t have been much fun skipping by herself. If you were going to do it, you might as well do it with a friend and friends and make good use of the free time. Not that she minded, class actually hadn’t been too bad, much to her surprise.

As soon as the bell rang, she made her way to her locker to pick up her usual sandwich lunch, this time peanut butter and jelly, and an apple. Considering they were on tv for years, she would have at least thought her parents would be able to fork money over so she could buy her lunch instead. Though, given the look of the food from the cafeteria, maybe a sandwich was the better alternative. It did make her more determined to look for a job on the weekend, maybe at the Planetarium like Sarissa suggested, so she could maybe eat outside of school. Or at least have an excuse to drag Caitlin away from school during lunch and going somewhere private to make out.

Thinking of her girlfriend, Dena decided to try to track her down, and seeing that it was lunch time, thought the cafeteria might be the best place to try. She didn’t see her there though, but she had gotten there early too, and she was pretty hungry, so quickly gave up her search and decided to keep an eye out as she ate instead. She didn’t see any other friends either, but she did see a guy sitting near the back of the room, by himself, looking like he might not want to be bothered. Not that she paid attention to this.

“Hiya.” she greeted cheerily, placing her lunch down on the table as she took a seat opposite Casper. “Why are you eating by yourself?”

[Casper Van der Meares III]

Casper looked at the girl and smiled brightly, "I decided to have a quietish lunch, no offence to you but most of the people in this school really don't know when to shut up. Or use their mouths for sensible conversation. Present company not included in that generalisation." Casper said continuing to smile. "I am still adjusting to the American way of school life, it was so much easier when I was back in Africa or even Brazil... they may have been loud, but I'm not sure they were ever as obnoxious as some of the jocks and cheerleaders in this school. And yes I'm aware off the fact that I am one of those jocks, the difference is I don't force my opinions or my company on others like some of the jocks around here. Not to mention some of the people who should actually know better." Casper said happy to get some thing of his chest.

Casper smiled brightly, "If you want to sit please, I am not adverse to some company, just bad company is what I was actually trying to avoid." Casper said to her with a grin on his face.

Casper took his time wondering if he had shot his mouth of way to early, he wasn't sure whether this actually bothered him all that much. However this was someone he didn't recognize from his year group. Which meant that she was either older than him, given her size that was something he doubted. In which case she was younger than he was.

[Dena Zouvelekis]

Dena couldn’t help but be a little bit hesitant to hang around Casper if he was after a quietish lunch. She wasn’t exactly a quietish sort of person, nor was she someone who tended to shut up often. She liked talking! Sometimes a great deal. Sometimes a great deal about nothing really of importance. But, she could try for sensible conversation now. When she worked out what sensible conversation was. It sounded a little boring, she hoped it wasn’t.

He seemed quite happy to have her company though, given the way he ranted lightly to her about some of the others in school, in general. Which she didn’t mind at all, she did see his point. And she didn’t fit into either group obviously, perving on the cheerleaders didn’t count. Though they were cute, really, really, cute, some of them were also very vain and obnoxious. Being really, really cute did help make up for some of that, after all, Dena just wanted to perve on them, not talk to them. Not that she did as much perving anymore too, not when she had an actual girlfriend she could do more than perve on now. It was great! “Ok, but if you ever turn into one of those jokes, don’t worry, I’ll make sure I tell you. And then look down on you for it.” she giggled. “Ok, I will try to be good company.”

She pulled her sandwich out, inspecting it first before taking another bite. Mmm, good. She finished that bite though, holding off on the urge to finish the sandwich in one quick go, she couldn’t talk and eat. Well, it wouldn’t be polite to talk and eat. And she wanted to at least make an attempt at being good company. “What are you eating?” she asked, looking over to what was in front of him. “Oh, I’m Dena! Hi!” she greeted, giggling again.

[Casper Van der Meares III]

Casper's eyes sparkled with amusement, "If I turn into one of those jocks who needs a token cheerleader girlfriend, to make me feel better about myself. Please do take me out into the quad and shoot me, I think that would be my idea of personal hell." Casper said with a smile, the girl was his brothers age so maybe that might have been why he wasn't so awkward around her. Girls and him didn't seem to mix much, when he did have a girlfriend it was a couple of weeks fling then he was onto the next woman. The playboy of the school may have been an apt term for him some days.

Not that he would actually want a woman to tame him, he wouldn't. He liked his life, girls were for... well they were something other than a long term relationship that was for damn sure in his opinion.

"Its from an Italian Deli, I found it last week. Its kind of local and pretty good value for money, I had my driver stop of so we could pick up food before getting to school. I don't really know any one in school that likes the school food." Casper admitted. "Parma ham panini or some kind of ham anyway." Casper added.

"Nice to meet you Dena, I'm Casper by the way." Casper introduced himself.

[Dena Zouvelekis]

“No, I won’t shoot you.” Dena pointed out with a grin. “But I can throw eggs at you. And get some people to surround you, and point and laugh. That would help, right?” she giggled. The thought of having eggs thrown at her, and people laughing because of it, would be a good deterrent for her not turning into a jock who needed a token cheerleader girlfriend. Though, really, she was pretty much not in any danger of that happening anytime soon. Considering she thought to be a jock, you had to be a guy, so that kind of helped disqualify her. But even if girls could be jocks, you also had to be good at a least one sport, and Dena, well, her talents didn’t really lie in sporting endeavours. She was happy being a spectator. So it seemed she was safe from being covered in yolk.

Whatever the food was that Casper was eating, some kind of fancy ham from an Italian Deli, it looked pretty good. Not that she could complain, she could never go past a PB & jelly sandwich. With the crusts cut off. The comment about his driver caught her off guard for a second before she recovered. Not really a lot of people at the school had their own drivers, though it was to be expected that there would be a few super rich kids, given it was California. Her own family did alright, not that she would be getting her own driver anytime soon.

“Hi Casper!” she greeted, grinning before finishing off one half of her sandwich. She would offer to trade her new acquaintance the rest of it for half of whatever he had, but somehow she didn’t think he would go for that offer, his loss. It was a really, really good sandwich. “So, um, if it’s not rude to ask,” she started with a grin, “Why are you a jock if you don’t really like them? Or cheerleaders?” It seemed odd to her, cause that meant he would have to hang around people he didn’t like constantly. Maybe he just really liked sports, and he could only play them at school.

[Casper Van der Meares III]

Casper smiled, "I'm South African, I know I'm a white South African but thats neither here nor their. Sports are in my blood, you can play sports and not be your typical lunk head jock. At least that is what I tell myself, I don't suffer from bad grades like some jocks tend to. I speak several languages and I'm not American, so I'm not sure I can be a jock. The first time I heard the term was here in America. The rest of us just use the term sportsmen or women." Casper said to her smiling. "Admittedly the Americans gave the world some awesome things, but the term jock doesn't go down as one of those things." he added smilig brightly.

Dena was remarkably easy to talk to and easy to understand, it made a nice change. Admittedly his track record with the fairer sex was pretty attrocious, he was surprised that any of them in the school would actually talk to him. It made a nice change from getting slapped he thought as he took a mouthful of his food and sighed quite contentedly. Taking his time before talking to Dena again.

"So what do you have for your lunch." he asked not sure what he could talk about with the younger girl.

[Dena Zouvelekis]

Dena was starting to get the distinct impression that Casper really disliked the term jock. Like, really, really disliked it. She didn’t feel one way or the other about it, it was just a word, but she thought that she might feel differently if people started to call her a jock. It was kind of a stupid word actually. And it did make you think of someone good at sport, but really stupid, which wasn’t exactly fair. Even if most of the jocks at that school seemed to fit that description. Not Casper, apparently, so she made a note not to ever call him a jock. “Okay, not a jock, you’re a sportsman.” she giggled. “And does that mean then, since you’re like not a jock, then I can bother you for homework help when I need it?”

She was glad when he told her he was South African, she’d been trying to work out his accent. She didn’t think she’d ever spoken to someone from there before, which would be why she couldn’t pick it. And he knew a few languages, that was kinda cool. She always wanted to be able to speak another language, primarily to bother people about them not knowing what she was saying, but still, it would be cool.

“I have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!” she told him enthusiastically, one of the few people who could be so excited about such a sandwich. But it was really yummy, how could she not be? She had only taken a couple of bites from one side, so she held the other side of it out to him. “Want a bite? It’s really good.” she promised earnestly, not at all bothered about sharing with him. She was part of a big family after all, they all learned to share. She didn’t even consider the fact that Casper might not be thrilled to take a bite out of an already somewhat eaten sandwich.

[Casper Van der Meares III]

Casper grinned at her, "Well I can help you for sure with your home work, but I have to say that it may be wiser to get someone who takes everything in. I pass my courses and I pass them well, but I am not the best in my class. I'm nearly there but not quite." Casper said honestly, he didn't see any point in boasting about his skills, and he wasn't sure whether or not she was joking. So he thought playing it safe and admitting that he wasn't the best was a good idea, set the standards though you wouldn't be disappointed. English wasn't the language he spoke at home not when his father was present so some of the language was lost on him.

"Normally I would take someone up on that, but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches its an American thing or so I am told. Peanuts are an acquired taste." he said his nose wrinkled at the idea. "Chocolate spread or peach jam, or how you say jelly, they rock." Casper said smiling. "Though I have turned down your offer, your welcome to try some of this." Casper said to her. "Though if you don't like what looks a bit like raw bacon, you may not like this. It is excellent mind you." he said with a grin he opened the bottle of water he had brought and took a sip sighting. "That would have been better ice cold but nether mind." he added.

[Dena Zouvelekis]

“Yeah, but, I mean, it may not be true, but the people who get top of the class seem kind of....well, boring.” Dena giggled at the stereotype, knowing that it was just as likely to be wrong as the belief that all jocks were dumb, something which Casper had just disproved. But, true or not, she wasn’t sure she would want to be helped by the smartest kid in class. Not that she exactly needed help, yet anyway, she did okay in her classes and she always had her siblings or Caitlin if she ever got really stuck on homework. Still, didn’t hurt to have other options. Especially when the other option seemed nice enough, and friendly, and ate odd looking food, and maybe could be set up with an older sister. Just maybe. If Duke didn’t pull his socks up and make a proper move on Sarissa. Casper would be better than Tyler anyway. Well, anyone would be better than Tyler. That guy just seemed sleazy. He was pretty though, for a guy.

“Okay.” Dena nodded, not able to wipe the bright grin off her face. “I really think you’re missing out though, it’s so, so good.” she emphasised, taking another bite of her almost finished sandwich as proof. She didn’t know how anyone couldn’t love peanuts, especially peanut butter, which had to be one of the best foods ever. Or was it not technically a food, but just a spread? Either way, peanut butter was great! And adding it with jelly to bread just made a good thing even better.

Chocolate spread came close though, she decided, as Casper reminded her of more awesome sandwich spreads. “I love chocolate spread!” she agreed excitedly, nodding as he got jelly right. Even if he called it a funny name, jam. Jam. That was enough to make her giggle, and so she did, even if her new friend might think her weird for giggling apparently randomly.

Dena sat a little out of her seat, she really was short, leaning over as much as she could to study Casper’s lunch, what he was now offering her. It was worth a shot, food was food, so she grabbed a bit and trying to actually be polite, said her thanks before forcing herself to slowly eat. “Hey, that is kinda nice.” she agreed, grinning again as she realised this, before falling back into her own seat. “I mean, it’s no PB and jam sandwich, but it’s good.” she teased.

She was about to say something else when a clock on the wall opposite caught her eye. “Oh! Lunch is halfway done and I haven’t seen Caitlin yet! Not that she knows that I was looking for her anyway, but she might be looking for me. And I can’t keep her waiting.” she told Casper in earnest, not taking into consideration that he most likely didn’t know who Caitlin was, nor know what she was talking about. She quickly finished off her sandwich, before flashing another grin. “Thanks for having lunch with me Casper! Talk to you later!” she promised, before pushing away from the table and promptly running off. Or skipping off, would be the most correct term.

Wrapped for slightly hyperactive Dena