Helen Poston - Tuesday 4 September 2012 06:50 - Cafeteria w/ James O'Neil Jr.  [Open]<br/><br/>"Hey," she said and wiped off a pale pink strawberry milk mustache with a napkin.  It was always strawberry, never chocolate or white.  Always.  If it couldn't be strawberry milk, she skipped it and had water.<br/><br/>James looked like he'd worked out already.  His hair was still damp from a shower, but his skin had that slightly flushed glow when your blood had been up.  Probably something cardio she figured.  He was really strong in his upper body, but she knew his sport, that Parkour stuff, needed a lot of wind.  James was so serious about it.  Jennifer had been too, until she figured out that the one brief touch of her fingers inside the waist of James' pants had been all she'd ever get.  And that was okay.  James wanted to be friends with Helen, and Jennifer wanted to date him.  No way that would have worked.  No.  Way.  But now it was cool.  James and her hung out from time to time, nothing romantic like, and the gymnastics girls were family again.<br/><br/>Dysfunctional but family.<br/><br/>"I have Mr. Baker again for Algebra II," Helen said glumly.  "He's such an asshole.  I had him when I was a freshman and his class just sucked.  God, I don't want to go through another year of his constant picking on me."  Helen capped her empty milk bottle and pushed it across the table to James.  "Make the three pointer, Mr. Basketball," she said and nodded towards a big, grey, open-topped trashcan about 25 feet away.<br/><br/>