Girls say “hey, Young(my name)” for no apparent. How to respond?

[Start_ed_young]

In my school (8th and 9th grade) I’ll be in the halls or in class and sometimes girls I somewhat know, just not that well just see me and say “hey, Young” even when they definitely didn’t need to say anything. This is evident with a lot of girls at our school talking to guys.

What exactly does this mean?
How do you respond to it to build attraction?
How do you handle yourself in the future after these situations?

Currently, I either respond with saying their name enthusiastically, hey back, mostly ignore their interaction, or say yep, that’s me (as if they said something stupid/common sense)

One thing I’ve found is that if you say hey to them first, they hate it. They don’t make it noticeable on purpose, but they are definitely not near as positive about the interaction if I say hey just to say hey just like they would. I determined this to be because it’s just feminine BS game, and since they see me as a man, they are disappointed that I follow their lead and play the game.or it could be that they intended on saying hey to be a hint for me to talk to them, and I didn’t get t.

I’d really be interested to see what you guys think is a good way to respond to this when it’s girls you would like to build attraction with

 

[Fuck This]

They are just trying to feel out who is interested and also get attention.

Nothing better than eye contact with a nod and a smile, with a "Hello Samantha." and go on your way. If she really wants to talk to you she will run to catch up.

I said simply "Hello" once a week to the same girl for a semester in College. I met her at a party on Super Bowl Sunday and was balls deep in her an hour after she walked in the door.

If I had a dollar for every girl who, 10 years or more out of school, that said she liked me in High school I could have a nice lunch.

 

[Start_ed_young]

They are just trying to feel out who is interested and also get attention.

Nothing better than eye contact with a nod and a smile, with a "Hello Samantha." and go on your way. If she really wants to talk to you she will run to catch up.

I said simply "Hello" once a week to the same girl for a semester in College. I met her at a party on Super Bowl Sunday and was balls deep in her an hour after she walked in the door.

If I had a dollar for every girl who, 10 years or more out of school, that said she liked me in High school I could have a nice lunch.

I may be misinterpreting this, but I should just wait for girls who do this to approach me?

Another key point here is if two girls are in front of me in class (both attract) are talking, would it be odd to join in, or if they like me at all it would be more points in my book, or should I just avoid pointless in class conversation.