Chapter Text
Jeremy Heere scanned the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. He felt odd, having to worry about this again, something he’d not thought about since the first day of freshman year. When he was that nervous, unpopular kid, he just wanted a place to quietly eat so he could finish and retreat until the next class. Then, with a squip’s help, he became popular and knew exactly where to go. Now, with his squip quiet and his social standing in flux, he had to figure out where he’d go. But then he figured, at least today, he’d fall back into his old habit and sit wherever Michael was sitting.
Michael had found a spot in the middle of one of the tables. He was seated on the side that faced the wall, nodding his head with his ever-present headphones on. Jeremy wasn’t sure if there was any music actually playing in them this time, but it’s not like it matters. Michael has always been his best friend, even when he had pushed that friendship away.
Jeremy moved himself to the other side of the table and squeezed a space across from his friend. He gave him a bit of a wave, just in case he was blaring music, then started eating. Even if this was one of the few times during the school day their schedules lined up, he wasn’t going to let himself starve all the way until 3.
Michael raised his index finger to Jeremy as his head bobbed along for another couple minutes before touching something in his hoodie’s pocket with his right hand and pulling down his headphone with his left. “Welcome back, man! How does it feel to be back in the old grind?”
Jeremy groaned. “Awful. I mean, we never really liked school to begin with, and it’s still really awkward to be back after… everything that happened.” Jeremy had missed the last few days of the fall term, but he had made a point to come to school for the last day before break so he could speak to Christine. He had told her everything, and she actually said yes to dating. However, since school was over and everyone had plans for Christmas, they hadn’t seen each other since then.
Michael shrugged his shoulders. “I know what you mean, but hey! New semester means maybe we can reboot--” He stops himself, eyeing Jeremy carefully. “Sorry, bad choice of words. But I mean, it’s a chance to get our reputation started right. You still have some traction with the popular kids, right?”
Jeremy shrugged. “I guess, but since I was in the hospital for exams, I have to do make-ups for all of those. Plus, with His help…” Jeremy tapped his forehead, silently referencing the squip. “I didn’t really need to learn any of the material. Now I got to start from scratch AND still learn this term’s stuff.” He collapsed onto the table, head buried in his arms.
“Hey, cheer up, bud! I’ll help you as best I can, and I hear Christine is a straight-A student. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind giving you a little late-night tutoring, if you know what I mean.”
“Maybe, but it would have to just be tutoring for now.” Jeremy cracked open his juice box and took a sip. He’s been avoiding all soft drinks, not just Mountain Dew, on the off-chance that it reboots in his head. “I’m still on a bit of thin ice with her. You know, ruining the play and all. I mean, she said yes, but it was like a conditional yes. Like, ‘yeah, we can have lunch, just to see if you really are worth all the drama’ yes. She keeps threatening to keep me at Level 1.”
Michael looked confused, and understandably so. “Level 1?”
Jeremy shifted in his seat to get into prime storytelling position. “So, she’s got this scale for dating. Level 1 is when you’re just Hooking Up, but like a one-time deal. Level 2 is Dating, when we actually get to talk and hang out and shit. It feels like I’m hovering between those two right now, except we haven’t really done any of the ‘hooking up’ part, if you get my drift.
“Now, I want to get to Level 3, which is Going Steady. It’s basically the same as level 2, but we only see each other, while Dating means you can date other people, no commitments or whatever.”
At this, Michael nearly squirted Coke out of his nose. “Wait wait wait… so Christine would actually be cool if you were to go out with someone else while seeing her?”
Jeremy shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I don’t really want to ever just be Dating someone, but I guess if someone like Brooke or Chloe said they wanted to go out with me and Christine is keeping me on Level 2…”
“Duuuuuude. Christine is freakier than I thought!”
“You were never at play rehearsal with her.”
“Fair enough. So, like, are there just the 3 levels.”
“No. She’s got a 4th one, where you’re actual Boyfriend/Girlfriend, and that’s pretty much just like marriage in her eyes. Not that it’s an unbreakable bond that you’d need lawyers for, but that any sort of cheating is going to get you in serious trouble. Good thing, too, because I know my mom made hella bank with her clients.”
Jeremy unwrapped his sandwich and bit into it. “I had made a joke about the 5th stage, where you become exes, and I think she liked that, but that was also before I knew she and Jake were...” He paused, running through the scale again in his head. “were Going Steady.”
That’s when he saw her, and he forced himself to swallow that bite of sandwich before he choked on it. There was a girl walking towards them, and it looked to Jeremy like she had locked her bespectacled eyes on him. There was purpose in her steps, which is the only reason he actually noticed her. Not that he still doesn’t look at other girls, but he’s still not used to them coming towards him. She came to a stop right behind Michael, then did something Jeremy did not expect.
She hugged Michael from behind, arms wrapped around him like a hipster scarf.
Michael craned his head around to see who was touching him, and smiled back at her. Jeremy was super confused by this. When did Michael meet her? How? The questions raced through his head faster than even a squip could keep up with.
“Hey, you!” Michael replied casually to the new girl. “I thought you were busy in the music room this period.”
The new girl disentangled herself from Michael and sat down on the bench beside him. “I was, but practice wrapped up early. Plus, Pauline’s sick today, so we couldn’t even get in a full practice session, anyway.”
Jeremy coughed, and they both turned to look at him. It took a little more nonverbal prompting of Michael before he figured out what his friend wanted. “Oh! Right, I forgot. Jeremy, this is Nicole. Nicole, I’m sure you know Jeremy by reputation now after…”
“After A Midsummer’s Night Tragedy?” The strange girl replied, finishing the sentence for him. “How could I not, since it went viral. Went a little off-script there, didn’t you, Jerry?”
Jeremy winced, both at the memory of the play and being called “Jerry”. Sure, it’s technically a nickname for Jeremy, but to him, it’s a bit like being called Dick instead of Richard. “It… I…” For the first time since it shut off, he wished he could talk to the squip again. At least to get through this meeting. But he swore he’d fly blind, or at least rely on the friends he had already made.
Nicole waved her hand. “Don’t sweat it. Part of the joy of live theatre is seeing things go horribly wrong, and how the actors recover from it. Or, in your case, seeing it crash and burn like a tire fire.” Jeremy’s face was turning bright red, and he started to feel his flight instinct kick in.
Michael spoke up at this point. “Hey, to my main man’s credit here, if the play hadn’t gotten so off the rails, he might not’ve finally hooked up with Christine.” Michael winked at Jeremy. “Say, why isn’t she here right now?”
Jeremy smiled back at his friend, thankful for both the save and the change of topic. “She said she wanted to do some research in the library for English class. We’re supposed to meet up after school to plan what she does next. Hopefully, she gets enough of her paper written that we’ll get to hang out then.”
Nicole scrunched up her nose in thought. “You guys talking about Christine Caniglia? She played Puck in the play, right? Man, I did not see that happening.”
Jeremy shrugged. “I guess persistence pays off.” New subject, please! “So, how did you two meet?”
Michael slapped his forehead. “Man, I forgot I hadn’t told you! Well, as I was leaving the party that you ditched me at,” Jeremy internally winced, still feeling guilty about that. “I was going out to my car and dropped my keys. Nicole actually came along and help me find them. We ended up talking in my car for a while and we really hit it off. Besides, since I had lost my best friend, I needed someone to talk to.”
“Look, we’ve all been there, Jerry,” Nicole said as she reached a hand across the table to touch Jeremy’s arm. “Wanting to be popular and cool is a tempting siren’s call, but once you’ve ridden that high, you find out that your true friends are all the popularity that you need.” Then she leaned over and kissed Michael on the lips. It was a quick kiss, but Michael certainly didn’t seem to mind.
“Yeah, I think we’ve learned that lesson now,” Michael replied, with just a touch of venom coating his words. “But hey, it’s all good now! Say, maybe if Christine is free, all four of us could go out somewhere! Maybe catch a movie, or frozen yoghurt.”
“Not frozen yoghurt,” Jeremy said flatly. “Too many memories associated with it, still.” Nicole looked quizzically at Michael, who just shrugged helplessly. “But a movie might be nice. Either of you guys see the new superhero movie that’s out?”
Oddly, it was Nicole who spoke first. “Nah, but I’ve been trying to get this guy to go with me for a while now. I’m starting to figure out why he’s been dragging his heels for so long, though.” And then she starts poking him playfully. Michael retaliated, showing no mercy. Jeremy sighed and felt he was a little jealous. Even though she agreed to go out with him, he didn’t have that kind of relationship with Christine. At least, not yet. Still trying to make up ground for all the squip-induced antics.
After their tickle-fight ended, Michael nodded, “But yeah, man! I’d totally be down for a movie. How about on Friday, down at the Megaplex?”
Jeremy nodded. “Sounds good. Oh! Uh… could you pick me and Christine up? After I took the car without asking, I’m not allowed to touch the car until I’m 18, and Dad’s been hiding the keys so I can’t ‘steal’ it again.” Jeremy didn’t really see taking the car as stealing, since he brought it back and even made certain to fill up the tank! Sure, he didn’t exactly have a license, but that didn’t seem like a big deal. Not like he crashed or anything.
Michael sighed. “Yeah, man. We’ll talk later about when and how? It’s almost time to go to class.” Jeremy pulled out his phone to check. Shit, 5 minutes until the bell, and he still needs to pick up some books from his locker. Well, time to wolf down the rest of his lunch and hustle. That’s another thing he missed about the squip: it was a far better day planner than even the 5-star apps.
“Definitely, and I’ll mention it to Christine when I see her.” Then Jeremy’s mouth was too full of food to reply to anything for a while. Nicole rolled her eyes in mild derision then stood up with Michael, and they both left him to finish his lunch.