Zita & Max -Chapter 2-An Excerpt from Kit's Novel {proofread by Taryn, Illustrated by Sonali}

Zita & Max 

{Chapter 2}

Zita

    I wake up Monday morning, and freak out. Hyperventilating, I manage to tumble out of bed by 6:45am. I go downstairs, and eat breakfast with my parents before they head into the Law Firm. I choke down a piece of toast, two pieces of bacon, and half a glass of orange juice. I kiss my parents goodbye.

    "Have a fantastic day!" my Mom cries. Alright, Mom. I will attempt at having a fantastic day.

    I get dressed in a new American Eagle t-shirt with blue and grey eagles flying across the front, a grey H&M cardigan, dark blue jeans from Bluenotes, grey, blue, white, and yellow striped legwarmers, and bright blue converse all stars. I straighten my medium length, layered, naturally bluish black hair, and apply my makeup according to an issue of CosmoGIRL! Light grey eye shadow, black eyeliner, light mascara, and a very light peachy shade of lip gloss.

    I pack up my cellular telephone, iPod touch, and notebooks in my new yellow backpack. Then, after brushing my teeth six times, I check my braces for bacon and orange juice pulp.  Nothing. That seems like a good sign.

    I put on my grey tweed spring jacket, lock the door, and charge to the bus stop. I get there just as the bus pulls up. I walk up the steps into the 'yellow submarine' and see a busload of people my age who have the potential of eating me up. I am the ocean explorer, they are hungry sharks. I shiver.
    I (hopefully) inconspicuously slide into a seat next to a girl with reddish tinted golden hair.
    "Hi. I'm Zita," I explain. "I'm new"
    "Cool. Um." she says. Awkward... "My name's Maddie."
    "Cool." Hmm. This conversation isn't really going anywhere... "do you go to Sarah Mitchell?"
    "Yep. I'm in 8th grade." Maddie says.
    "Ditto. Um, sorry if I stole someone's seat." I say apologetically.
    "No, that's okay. I wasn't really saving it for someone."
    "Oh. Okay, then... could I sit here?"
    "Sure," she says, smiling.
    Alrighty. So far, so good.
***
    I get off the bus with Maddie, and we walk to class together. She points out people to avoid, really nice people, etc. We stride into homeroom, and she motions for me to sit in an open desk next to hers. There were two boys sitting behind us, one of which caused a huge scene, falling asleep, the drooling all over his notebook. His name was... Max? I think he has problems...
    Sarah Mitchell Private school, is divided into three sections. 1-Junior kindergarten to second grade, 2- third grade to fifth, and 3- sixth grade to eighth. Group 1 eats lunch in their classrooms, group 2 eats lunch in the rotunda, and group 3, gets the cafeteria to ourselves. I know that doesn't sound like a ton of people to put in one cafeteria, there are actually 350 people in group 3.
    The cafeteria, is also divided into three groups : The unpopular kids (group c), the middle kids (group b), and the popular kids (group a). Maddie is in group b, so I follow her to an empty table she apparently claimed at the beginning of the year, where we consume our edible cafeteria food, and discuss popularity.
   There is this one girl, at the popular table, called Millie, who seemed to be the queen of the kingdom of lunchville.  Apparently, she was asked 'out' by the king, Louis, who's really skinny, has big brown eyes, honey blond hair, a slightly freckled face, and is... extremely cute.
    Millie has curly reddish blond hair that looks dyed, green eyes, plump pink lips, rosy cheeks, waxed eyebrows, and a small nose. She looks slightly short and pixie like. At present, she is wearing a bright yellow polka dot sundress, a cropped blue cardigan, short brown heels (her mom lets her wear HEELS?)  , flower earrings, and perfect makeup, and straight white teeth, and, and, and.... sigh. Plus, she doesn't have greenish skin or 26 zits. No zits at all, in fact. I bet she's not allergic to pro-active...
    I feel a bout of jealousy coming on.
    I start to garnish my salad with Caesar salad dressing. I become so involved in the garnishing of my salad, that I don't notice... Louis walking up to our table.
   "Nice shoes," he says simply.
    I nearly spill the rest of the dressing on myself. Yeuch...
    As I look down to inspect my shirt for salad dressing, I catch a glimpse of orange. On Louis feet. With a label saying 'Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars'. Gasp!
    "Thanks," I manage to choke out, before he turns back to his table.
    "You," Maddie states. "Are bright red. And I don't think it's because of the salad dressing on the crotch of your pants."