Lessons I Never Learned at Meadowbrook Academy by Liz Maccie Page A

took a pair of silver tongs, grabbed a brown, oblong-shaped thing, and put it on a shiny white plate.
    â€œHere you go.” She passed the plate over the top of the glass case.
    I thanked her and headed to the salad bar. I had to admit I wasimpressed by the real plate. I moved the brown thing over to one side with the tip of my finger; it felt warm and mushy. Then I piled a whole bunch of cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots on the other side of the plate. At least I knew what those things tasted like.
    Heading back over to Mervin and Annie, I looked at all the kids sitting together in their respective huddles: cheerleaders at one table, football players at another, geeks at another, artistic types, band types, semipopular, popular, and most popular. There was a clique for every kind of person. With no Christine. With no West Orange High, I wondered where I fit in.
    There were also two larger round tables in the middle of the room where all the teachers were sitting. I saw Twiggy at one table, and I wondered where Ms. Dalton was. Did anyone know about the two of them? Maybe they owned a condo and took aerobics together. Maybe the whole school knew and I was just being dramatic because I remembered how upset my second cousin Billy got when my third cousin Theresa spread around the neighborhood that he was gay. Billy was gay. Everyone in the family knew it and so did the entire neighborhood, long before Theresa spread it around. I guess Billy was so hurt because he didn’t know that everyone knew.
    I sat back down and grabbed a fork out of a silver canister that was already on the table. I spotted Ms. Dalton walk through the back entrance, and I watched her as she passed by Twiggy and sat down at the other table. She didn’t acknowledge Twiggy, and Twiggy didn’t acknowledge her. I guess that answered my question.
    â€œRoberta!” Mervin shouted, “Hello…Earth to Roberta!”
    â€œHuh, what?” I said as I used my fork to discover that the brown thing on my plate was chicken.
    â€œI said ‘pick a card, any card.’” Mervin shuffled a deck of cards and I picked one.
    â€œOkay,” he said, “now don’t tell me what it is. It’s…three of hearts!”
    I looked down at my card.
    â€œTell me the truth; it’s the only way I’ll get better.”
    I shook my head, no.
    â€œOkay…five of diamonds.”
    â€œSorry.”
    â€œAce of spades?”
    â€œYou’re getting closer—”
    He grabbed the card back. “Well, you win some, you lose some. Hey, do you want to come over to Annie’s this weekend? Her family has a pool, and we could go swimming if it’s warm enough. I mean, if that’s okay with you, Annie?”
    Wow, a pool. I didn’t know anybody that owned their own pool.
    â€œUhhh…” Annie got really weird again, just like she had earlier in the hallway.
    Our table was awkwardly silent. Maybe Annie didn’t want me to come over. Maybe she thought I would steal something or dirty her nice white furniture. I started to get angry inside. Who was she to judge, just because her family had money? My skin got hot, and I wanted to stand up, throw my chicken in her hair, and tell her that I didn’t need her goddamn pool! I could just as easily go to the YMCA, you stupid, mean, selfish—
    Annie looked up. “Whoa, sorry guys, I just totally had a brain fart. I’d love it if you could come over. Do you think you could get a ride, Roberta?”
    And then again, maybe I was wrong. Thank God I hadn’t opened my big fat mouth. I quickly thought about the fact that my one mode of transportation had broken down and that there was no chance in hell I’d be going anywhere after my mother punished me for getting a detention. But I decided to ignore these obvious obstacles and said instead, “Sounds like fun.” I took a small bite of the chicken, and it actually tasted pretty good.