A/N: Hey people! I can't say that I'm back for good! I just thought I could squeeze in an update since it's Winter Break and all, but I'm actually super busy since I'm taking 2 AP tests this year and 3 SAT subject tests! Stress! ):
BY THE WAY: I messed up before ): It's supposed to be Class of '12 because they're sophomores! Ignore all of the confusion caused in the earlier three chapters :/

Disclaimer: If I owned any of this, you would be reading all this out of a book. ;)

Massie Block stopped in her place. Instead of moaning and bitching, the rest of the people in the dining hall's buffet line paused too, waiting for her next move.

She felt like an animal on study for some cheesy Discovery channel documentary. Whenever she made a choice of food, it felt like half the school would make some type of comment—good or bad.

Like when she skipped over the salad bar? She heard at least five "ehmagawd"'s coming from the crowd. And she swore she heard the busty Alicia Rivera (who had been watching her like a bargain-hunter on Black Friday) squeak from behind her.

Was this going to go on forever? Because she really just wanted to get her food, eat, and rush back to her dorms to get her AP Euro homework done.

She shook her head, ignoring the new wave of attention. She was kind of used to this. In middle school, she was always on student council. In high school, she joined so many clubs that people were bound to all know her. But at Montclair, the attention didn't come from her overachieving nature, but some stupid website that most of the school called their secret indulgence.

She moved the black tray down the metal counter, pausing at the three selections of soup.

Organic, Light Chicken Noodle Soup. Fat-free Miso. Or a thick, rich, creamy Zuppa Toscana.

A sudden Olive Garden crave hit her. Mmm.

She filled a bowl up with the heavy Italian soup, earning jaw-drops from a couple of girls and frenzied whispers from numerous others. They all looked at their own plate of iceberg lettuce with a yogurt on the side and felt immediately calmed. At least they weren't going to go up another pound, because everyone knows size 0 is the new size 2.

Did Massie know that one serving of Zuppa Toscana contained 496 calories from fat?

That was more than Kristen Gregory could even barf up.

Massie rolled her eyes, once again ignoring the insane amount of stares. She moved her tray down the counter, stopping only to place two garlic bread sticks next to her soup.

"Ehmagawd!"

"Is she, like, a fuh-reakin heffer?"

"Maybe she's hiding a dog or something in her room."

"Eh. Mah. Gawd."

Massie took a deep breath. Was everyone completely out of their minds at the school? Was eating a normal, filling meal really that illegal?

"People!" Massie spun around and shouted, earning a respectful silence in response.

Even Claire Lyons and her crew of more-than-eager-to-please C-listers started tapping their forks against their water glasses.

"Thank you," Massie sighed. "Look, what the hell is wrong with you girls? You think a plate of lettuce is going to keep you full until tomorrow morning? Do you honestly think that even tastes good with a tiny cup of yogurt or were you guys just reading Gossip Girl too much?"

She paused, letting it sink in for everyone a bit. And to let herself realize what a scene she had just caused.

"My point is," she quickly continued, "I didn't say any of that before because I'm not here to judge people. So would everyone just please go back to their rabbit meals while I attempt to enjoy mine, okay?"

A hushed murmur ran through the crowd.

Massie Block was going to ruin the order at the school. She had to go.

Or maybe a new tradition needed to take over.

Massie Block grabbed a glass of lychee juice before walking hurridly towards a random table in the back of the dining hall.

The moment she set her tray down, she realized six pairs of eyes staring at her curiously. A skinny, athletic-looking dirty-blonde girl, who was covered in Nike sportswear. A bushy-haired boy, who was sporting a wolfish grin as he stared down at Massie's chest. A dark-haired boy, with mismatched eyes and a sleep smile. A green-eyed blonde boy, who carried around the seventh book of Harry Potter.

And a chipper-looking redhead, whose emerald green eyes were sparkling as she stared at Massie with a look of approval.

"You're even better than I thought you would be." Dylan grinned.

—

Cam Fisher shifted nervously in his seat as he spied Olivia making her way towards her father, Dean Ryan, across the dining hall. Next to him sat a mysterious amber-eyed girl, who everyone seemed to know somehow. Everyone except for him.

Cam was never big on gossip sites, nor did he really care about strangers. To him, all that mattered was getting out of Montclair, his friends, and making sure his girlfriend didn't ruin any of that for him.

He turned to Chris, who seemed to be one-way smitten with the new girl.

Uh oh for Dylan. Then again, maybe it was just a one-day crush sort of thing.

"Plovert, what do you think Olivia's saying to her dad?"

Chris turned, scanning the room until he finally spotted the father and daughter. He shrugged unhelpfully. "I don't know. Probably glorifying herself or asking for a new pony." He snickered. "What else would Olivia want? You've been ignoring her for the past few days since we got back."

"You don't think..." Cam drifted off as Dean Ryan made his way up to the podium.

"This will be interesting." Chris mumbled.

Cam shook his bangs out in front of his eyes as Dean Ryan cleared his throat in the microphone. The entire student body snapped their heads up from their frenzied gossiping to look at the well-respected, middle-aged man. Olivia, his beloved daughter, shuffled back to her seat in the middle of the dinning room, where she sat amongst her three best friends.

Dean Ryan straightened his tie and put his chapped lips against the mic.

"Good evening, students." He began, scanning the crowd. His hawk-like gray eyes stopped once they reached Cam, boring laser-like beams through his head.

"Oh shit." Cam muttered.

Chris laughed.

"I hope that everyone has been doing well in the first few days of their classes. I have yet to see any of you in my office, but we don't know how long that will last, right?" Dean Ryan slightly smiled. A couple of boys in the back snickered.

"Every now and then, I like to point out students who have been model citizens and should be a role model for others." He continued. "It's always good to have someone to look up to, whether it's a person younger or older, a friend or just a peer."

Cam shifted in his seat. Kristen sank down in hers. Dean Ryan had used her as an example as the perfect student way too many times in her freshman year.

"Everyone," Dean Ryan cleared his throat, "I would like everyone to welcome Cameron Fisher up to the stage."

Cam's eyes widened.

Kemp guffawed loudly next to him. "Shit, man! What the hell did you do?"

"Mr. Fisher has been a wonderful asset to our school community. He's done great in his academics, a good leader of the boy's JV soccer and lacrosse teams, and is an all-around good young man. I am so thankful that he is also my daughter, Olivia's boyfriend and hopefully it'll stay that way for a very long time." Dean Ryan's eyes narrowed. "Please, Cameron, why don't you come up here so everyone knows what a wonderful example you are."

Cam stood up, feeling hundreds of eyes trained on him.

Ah, young love.

—

The List
Labels are overrated.
We believe in numbers.

Dinner and a show

Is a little bit more than most schools have to offer. But haven't we already learned our lessons? Montclair is far from normal. So are our students, especially when considering the way we all solve our problems. So long are the days of just going with the flow and hoping for the best.
It's time to take matters into our own hands.

Sightings

M nicely telling the entire dining hall to stick their lettuce up their skinny asses because she's entitled to chowing down on some "real" food, all the while receiving ogles from K the perv and CP, his partner in crime. C blushing apple-red as he goes up to the podium, saying a few hurried words into the mic before dashing out of the dinning room. O, looks like your daddy beloved went a bit too far.
But no worries, I'm a sucker for free entertainment.

Comments (143)

KurvyK: how does massie stay so friggin thin when she's eating like that? yesterday, in the dorm lounge, i saw her practically INHALE a whole family-sized bag of sunchips. you think she has "problems"?!
THELIST12: Maybe! :) But from the looks of it, she's still a size 0 and seems pretty healthy. Maybe you should worry about yourself?

DerringtonLuva: I WANT MORE DERRICK NEWS!!!!
THELIST12: You're not the only one! ;)

—

Derrick Harrington jogged back to his dorm after spending the past few hour playing some XBox Live in the dorm's lounge. By himself.

Alone.

For as long as he could remember, he had been surrounded by a group of close-knit guy friends. But for now, he was flying solo. Maybe it was due to the fact that instead of having time to make some new friends, a bunch of girls were always bombarding him with flirtatious eye-batts and cleavage-pushing.

Not that he minded it that much.

But he had another girl on his mind. One girl. Yet he still hadn't gotten the guts (or balls) to give Massie a call. It seemed like she already found new friends of her own. It was only time until she completely forgot about him, even though that was exactly what she wanted to do.

He opened up the door to his single, accidentally walking over a pile of notes that girls had shoved through his door crack while he was away.

He picked one up, his nose scrunching as he saw who it was from.

Derrick! ;) I can show U the real meaning of Spanish heat… Luv, Alicia Rivera

P.S. U can call me Leesh. Txt me! 523-9832

Derrick ignored the letter, opting to drop it in his trash bin. It wasn't like he had any idea of how big of a deal—oops, problem—Alicia Rivera was going to be.

Not until much later, anyways.

Missed hearing from you guys! (: Review!