In inceptum finis est

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Monday

First day of school

Beginning of the school day

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It had been a hectic morning.

It was now after the mandatory all-school assembly, and Brenden Aldrin allowed himself a sigh of relief. The Student Council conducted most of the meeting, informing the student body of the rules and expectations, announcements, all that fun stuff. That left the principal with the daunting task of giving the traditional ‘welcome back’ speech. Despite the fact that he met everyone at the picnic, this was the first time he would present himself as a professional. Nerve-wracking again, and he hated speeches. He looked down at the worn piece of paper he had read from. One fleeting glance at it was enough to see how much work he had put into composing it. There were words added in and crossed out, eraser smudges everywhere, and the paper itself wasn’t as crisp and clean as it could be. It was kind of pathetic actually, stressing over a simple speech.

It was worth it though. Stress, nerves… How long has it been since he actually felt that? He had to marvel at how different everything was, how different he, himself was being already. Brenden could say that he was actually excited about Caelbury. Maybe it was the change in pace that he was looking for. Whatever the case, there was a lot to get used to. He had a taste of the higher life before, with his former girlfriend… But that was like, middle class compared to Caelbury.

Although his career here was just beginning, the assembly was over now. In a remarkably child-like gesture, Brenden folded his speech into a paper airplane. With a delicate flick of his wrist, the paper airplane glided gracelessly through the air before it crashed into the wall and fell into the recycling bin. Score! His lips turned up into a wry smile. A grown man in his thirties, tossing paper airplanes around. Yeah, seems about right.

Leaning back into his chair, Brenden grimaced at the work he had to do. It was the finances that scared him the most The large sums of money was simply terrifying and unbelieveable. That’s what he got for working at Caelbury, he supposed. As someone who grew up into the middle class, he had trouble comprehending exactly what was expensive, and what was cheap for these wealthy people. He would have to get his vice principal’s advice later.

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Uniform? Check.

Hair? Check.

School supplies? Check.

Acacia Hawthorne was ready. She was ready for school, and she was ready to see all of her friends, she was ready to meet new people… And she was so glad that summer was over.
Many students are upset as they realize that the end of summer vacation is nigh.

Not Acacia.

Being at school granted her an escape from the stifling environment that the Hawthorne family lived in. She was always watched, by her parents, by the media, by the various maids and servants that worked at their home... Summer wasn't a season that Acacia looked forward to, and she was only too happy that the transition towards Autumn was beginning. Her parents weren’t proud of her, they weren’t even disappointed in her. They were simply indifferent, and that hurt Acacia more than anything. Still, any small mistake and they swooped upon her like vultures.

The school years granted her a much needed respite from the watching eyes of her parents and the rest of the world, and although she's still watched by her peers, the scale is completely different. There was so much less pressure. School gave her something to focus on, something that she could excel at. It was a safe haven for Acacia Hawthorne.

Despite it being early in the morning, Acacia looked as fresh as a daisy. During the assembly, the Student Council President was bright, chipper, and most of all, awake as she conducted her part. She was probably one of the very few people who was energetic at 7:30 AM. A morning person to the core, Acacia knew it to be one of her strengths.

To a person who doesn’t know Acacia’s sleeping habits, it may seem that she’s roused by the birds that flutter through her window like a Disney princess. The reality is much more boring. Unless she goes to sleep at an extremely unreasonable time, Acacia’s internal clock wakes her up at 5:00 AM. She seldom sleeps in, and is always tip-toeing around by 6:00 AM. It’s really convenient because it gives her ample time to get ready, relax, and do whatever she wants to.

It wasn’t always a good thing though.

As a child, Acacia no doubt annoyed her family members because she would be up at 5:00 AM, dashing through the long hallways of the Hawthorne Manor. Toddler Acacia would burst into the rooms of her older brothers and sisters, climb onto their beds and demand to be entertained while bouncing up and down. This got even worse on the holidays, the anticipation and hype waking her up even earlier. On the mornings of Christmas or her birthday, Acacia would be up at the crack of dawn, enthusiastically shouting, laughing and singing up and down the stairs. This continued until she was old enough to realize that people really like their peace and quiet in the morning.

The morning assembly was over, and it made it really seem real, that the school year was beginning. Even Acacia felt nervous, and she had to mentally chastise herself to not trip over her words, to not speak too fast…. And mostly, to not trip. Not the most clumsy person, but she has been known to attack the floor.

Acacia wasn’t running around the halls from excitement, but she certainly felt that emotion. The first day of school was always thrilling to the overachiever, and there was a bounce in her step as she entered her home room.

Her first day of her senior year, the beginning of the end, has begun.

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”Don’t fall asleep, don’t fall asleep, don’t fall asleep…”

If someone could read minds, they would be overwhelmed by Alli’s sheer attempt to stay awake. It wasn’t that the assembly itself was boring--let’s face it though, assemblies are usually boring no matter what--it was just way too early. She pinched herself, bit down on her lip, stifled yawns, sang screamo songs in her head… Somehow, she managed not to nod off.

Unlike a certain young Hawthorne, Alli Kendrick is not a morning person whatsoever.

Alli is a person who can stay up until the sun rises without any problems. Mornings however, are the bane of her existence, they’re the cruel things that break her away from her soft, comfortable, warm bed. She has her alarm set an hour earlier than she actually has to wake up, setting it to go off every 15 minutes. She periodically attempts to wake up, but she always ends up hitting the snooze button, and rushing to get ready when she really does get out of bed--falling out of bed is the more accurate description here.

It’s also incredibly difficult to rouse her. If you ever have a sleepover with her, you’d better try every trick in the book that you can think of, because she will not be getting up earlier than she has to. Whacking her with a pillow works with about 60% effectiveness, while blaring a trumpet in her ear has so far, had a 99% success rate. Due to this fact, Alli has been a victim of the ‘hand in the lukewarm water’ trick, and the ‘shaving cream and the feather’ trick a multiple of times. And don’t even get me started on when she’s drunk, that’s a whole different story.

And after months of getting up gloriously late, she has to wake up early again? Everyday? This was just plain torture. Sometimes, Alli really has to wonder why she became a teacher, and why she didn’t get a job that allowed her to work at night, and sleep all day. She’s pretty nocturnal, and the school day is messing up her sleep schedule. She’s currently operating on many cups of coffee, and even considered taking 5 hour energy, but that would probably cause her to crash, and that was an absolute no-no. She had to get up extra early this morning to make sure that her cowlick was tamed. She also nearly fell asleep while she was applying eyeliner. It took her a little bit of time to carefully scrub off the messed up eyeliner.

She really hated the first day of school.

Not only was it a rude wake up call from the warm haze of summer, there was absolutely nothing to do. Awkward introductions, talking about the syllabus, rules, and expectations… Boring, boring, boring. Raking her hand through her long hair, Alli stared down at her mostly blank lesson plans for the day, having no clue what to do besides the standard, boring first day talks. She should really ask some other teachers about that.

Tapping her pencil nervously against her desk, Alli glanced up at the clock. Students would be coming in any minute now, and she had a mental panic for about a second or two. How should she greet them? At her desk? By the door? Hiding in the closet and jumping out at them? In the end, she just remained at her desk, but still, she couldn’t completely quell her nerves.

Ugh. She really wanted alcohol right now.

Comac time, SLOOTS!

Most people can’t escape the consequences of a night of heavy drinking. Most people accept that a wild night will equate to an unpleasant morning. Not Connor MacQuarrie. His boundless enthusiasm for anything and everything and his many years of practice meant that Connor was fully awake by 6:30am, even though he’d been drinking with some buds until late into the night.

He started his day with a quick bit of exercise; a few pushups and crunches followed by 10 minutes with his jumprope for some cardio. He was in and out of the shower in 4 minutes; one of the many advantages of being a man was getting away with using 3 in 1 shower gels. As wrapped a towel around his waist, he checked the time: 6:50. He had forty minutes before the assembly started, plenty of time for his favorite morning activity: Procakes.

There was a kitchen in their room, but Connor prefered the electric griddle he’d brought with him for exactly this purpose. He pulled it out of the cupboard and set it up in the living room he shared with Silas, then grabbed the 4kg bag of pancake mix he’d bought, and lastly his giant tub of chocolate flavored protein powder. The protein powder was what distinguished procakes from regular pancakes. He put on an energetic song and got to work, singing along with his own lyrics as he did. “I wanna make love with you, pancaaakes, pancaaaakes!”

As he dropped the batter onto the griddle, a drop of sizzling oil landed on Connor’s bare chest, causing him to let out a sound quite a bit shriller than one would expect from a guy of his size.
“EEOOW!” he shrieked, then gave the griddle a wounded look. “What’d I ever do to you griddle-bro?” He sighed and wiped the oil away, briefly considering NOT cooking shirtless anymore but decided against it, then became momentarily distracted trying to wiggle his pecs one at a time, but his efforts produced only a slight twitching. Some day… Connor had returned to Caelburry later than most of his peers. He'd shown up halfway through the welcome BBQ yesterday, quickly found some of the football guys and the rest of the day was a haze. He hadn't actually seen his roommate yet, though he knew who Silas was, just not very well.

As if Connor's thoughts had summoned him, the door to Silas's room opened and Connor's reclusive roomie emerged, already fully dressed. He stopped dead at the sight of Connor and his pancakes.
"Sup bro, you want some procakes? Make mad gains, get HELLA SWOLE?" he emphasized his point with a flex. It took a few seconds for Silas to respond. "No thanks, I had breakfast already. Should I expect this every morning?" he asked, as if he knew the answer.
"I'm sorry Brovaldi, I can turn it down, but yeah you can expect this most mornings."
Silas just sort of shook his head in resignation. "Well, I'll see you later."
"Peace mang, fuck bitches get money!"

The pancakes were done quickly, and Connor added the finishing touch: pure Canadian maple syrup, made by his grandfather and uncles on the family estate, none of that Aunt Jemima crap. Connor wolfed down 4 in about 30 seconds, put the rest in his minifridge, and threw on his school uniform before racing out the door.

The assembly passed quickly for Connor: he spent most of it making weird faces at people and trying not to get caught. He spotted Jacob and gave him a long range fistbump. Julie got a bizarre grin and a furtive wave that made her giggle into her sleeve. He spotted Alena a few rows in front of him, but her back was turned, so he threw a bit of eraser at the back of her head until she looked back, at which point he waved and licked his lips sensually. She made a flustered face, then pointed to the corner of her mouth. An exploratory probe with his tongue revealed a dab of maple syrup leftover from breakfast. He began to lick it away extra-sensuously, but a reproachful glare from Saul stopped him.

Soon enough assembly was over, and Connor was off to homeroom. A gaggle of lost looking freshman girls was blocking a stairwell, but Connor didn’t shorten his stride or slow down in anyway. “GET OUT THE WAY SLOOTS!” he yelled, barging right through them. “Freshman homerooms are on the third floor main hall, heed my words, I AM ALL KNOWING” he yelled over his shoulder. Connor took the steps three at a time then went charging down the corridor to his own homeroom. His energy and stature meant he was the first student there, though Mr. Zimmerman was already at his desk.

“Hey Mr. Zim,” he said amiably, “where’s Oedipus? Wanna verify that he is not planning to murder me, that would be TERRIBAD. No but really I am ready for some rad reading and writing, I’m ‘bout that academics.”

Alex Harrowling

_______________________________________________________________

The first day of his junior year. To Alex, nearly every year held no significant impact to his life at the academy. Almost everything seemed to be at a normal basis with the exception of rare bullying sights from people whom he certainly wouldn't want to meet. He wasn't terrified if he would be honest to himself, but spreading controversies about him being involved in such unwanted activity is something he never wished to happen at any time or place. Perhaps he was thinking a little too much or maybe his mind was deviating from the goals he had set upon. Besides, it wouldn't be possible for him to be noticed by everyone as he is nearly non-existent towards others. Maybe true and a bit harsh at times knowing that he sometimes felt invisible most of the time but to him, it was best to stay that way as it would greatly help him avoid any troubles that might dishonor his family's name before even graduating.

The assembly was over and Alex found himself cruising along the busy hallways as he was about ready for homeroom. Almost every segment he passed by were flocked with reunited friends either babbling about how much they terribly missed each other even though they've mostl spent their entire summer time together, giggling about good-looking new students or some other ridiculous reasons which Alex couldn't pinpoint or understand. There were also a few anonymous couples standing beside lockers with their arms cuddled around each other's waists as they displayed slight and harmless public affections. It wasn't an eye-catcher to Alex but witnessing all of it just made him want to return in his dorm and forget about class. More and more people dispatched themselves to their supposed locations, some brushing aside as they passed Alex by like some kind of obstruction. It was a bit insulting from the first years he had at the academy where not even one of those people tried to give an apology but as he moved on, it felt like it was something naturally bound to happen especially at a busy day such as the first weeks of school.

After traversing through the vast corridors, Alex caught a distant sight of the supposed room which he believed to be the one he should be at. He then remained standing at the middle of the corridor, taking a sharp glance of students passing and entering the room hoping to spot anyone he knew. Perhaps the plan was to ask if his beliefs were agreeing to the truth but unfortunately, he haven't spotted anyone he knew as more students came to pass by. There wasn't a single ounce of courage he could afford to enter a room he was uncertain of. Maybe perhaps it was from the past experience he had which made him regret on doing it. If he'd remember it correctly, there was a room he believed to be his Physics teacher's in which he intended to ask and seek consultation about the difficulties he had in understanding the previous lessons. Sadly, there was no teacher but what he Alex didn't expect as he entered that room, was seeing two people of the same gender pressing their lips against each other for a kiss while their bodies were delicately firm. He was lucky at that moment because after he quickly slammed the door shut, the two people barely noticed him. Since then, he swore not to open doors he was uncertain of.

Alex was still standing, looking at the door and still haven't gave up on searching his fellow juniors. As he was about to move aside from the center of the halls, his back collided to something he wouldn't dare to know though truthfully, it was a someone rather than a something. The person grunted as a sound of multiple objects dropped in unison for which Alex assumed was being carried. The tone of what the person uttered immediately told Alex that the person was a girl unless it could be a guy who is incredibly skilled with voice imitations. Alex quickly turned, glancing at the dropped objects first before he could let his eyes tilt to have a look at the person's reaction. Shit! Seeing as how things unfolded might be the start of a bad day, he could only hope the girl was forgiving enough to make the incident pass through.

"Hey, I'm really sorry. I haven't-"
"No no! It's ok!! I should be the one apologizing. I'm always careless when I'm in a hurry." Alex's words were cut short as a girl quickly responded with the tone of her voice being stressed out. Alex knew clearly what the girl's situation was but he couldn't let her go without asking some questions of his own. He then helped on sorting out the objects which fell from the sudden collision though at times, Alex haven't had the courage to look at the girl even if he was simply forgiven. "Uh, look dude. I shouldn't be idling around, I got homeroom to attend and I might be starting late even if the bell haven't rung yet." The girl said, slowly getting herself back up as Alex handed her things over. She nodded, still having the wits to waste a second of her time. "Thanks by the way" Without waiting for a response, the girl started to pace. Alex should have started on attempting to stop her but the girl was just too fast too keep up with. "Hey! wait! Are you a junior or a senior?!" He finally asked, making his voice loud enough for the girl to hear. "Junior!" The girl roared in response as she continued walking and then stopped before a room in which Alex previously assumed as the setting for his homeroom activity. The girl opened the door and went inside leaving Alex to set his worries aside. "I guess the second question is answered" He mumbled convincingly.

Fearing to be late even if the clock wasn't yet near the scheduled bell, Alex paced over where the girl had passed and then arrived at his room's door without a minute spared. He gathered his breath before heavily exhaling as he twitched the knob, shoving the door open. Still, there were only a considerable number of students who flashed before Alex and he expected it to have a much more massive number of students present. But things might be unpredictable since it was the start of his junior year. Alex haven't bothered himself on interacting with everyone, he didn't even have plans on doing so. He stayed and waited for his day to unravel things which were out of his regular standards.

As the alarm clock blared its shrill tune Julie arose in to a sitting position confused over where she was. Even though she’s been here a week already, It always takes some time for her to get used to her large and lush room she had at Caelbury. Probably because it differed so much from her room back at her dad’s apartment. She stretched as she let out a loud yawn, Julie isn’t what you would call a morning person it wasn’t the living hell that it was for some people but were it not for their top of the line espresso machine she’d be a zombie for the first two periods.

She hopped out of bed and looked at herself in the large mirror that was leaning against the wall, a small sigh left her as she stared at the birds nest that rested on top of her head. Julie struggled with the hair tie holding the messy bun together and decided it was time to break out the heavy duty conditioner, she sprinted in to her bathroom and headed for the shower.

At 07:15am she was in her uniform and trying to fit all of her books in her bag, but knowing she had to take a shift at the Mug today after school she had to hide her work clothing in her bag which made it quite difficult to put the many language books she had to bring along in to the bag. With a frustrated grunt she slammed the small pile of books down on the white leather couch, which warranted a quizzical look from her roommate and best friend Wren.
“I can’t fit my books in my small ass bag!” She blurted out, “Because it’s… small you know!” she quickly added getting more flustered than needed. “Anyway we should hustle if we’re going to make it to this assembly!” Julie said and swung her bag over her shoulder and carried her books under her other arm. She grabbed Wren and walked out the door.

While in the assembly hall Julie looked around to see if she spotted anyone she knew… or rather she was looking for Silas, to no avail. She did spot Connor though who shot her one of his signature funny faces which had Julie sniggering as usual, that had gotten her in trouble in class more times than she’s like to think of. The assembly was the standard affair with speeches and information from the student council and the new principal, and Julie managed to stay awake through it all which was probably thanks to the two shots of espresso she downed after her shower.

When the assembly was over Julie waved goodbye to Wren and headed for the junior homeroom. Walking through the halls Julie realized that she had forgot how vast and large the halls of Caelbury were and carrying a small library in your arms was not as fun as it might seem. Trying to shuffle the books in to a more comfortable position Julie collided with something quite a bit larger and sturdier than her. The collision resulted in her stumbling and dropping her books to the floor, also it made her let out a rather unflattering grunt.

"Hey, I'm really sorry. I haven't-" the boy she had collided with started.

“No no! It's ok!! I should be the one apologizing. I'm always careless when I'm in a hurry." Julie blurted out before he could finish, she bent down to start collecting her books. She smiled at him when he also bent down to help her. She checked her watch, 10 minutes until the bell rings.
“Uhm, look dude. I shouldn't be idling around, I got homeroom to attend and I might be starting late even if the bell hasn’t rung yet." She let out a small laugh at how nerdy she must have come across. Before she turned around to leave she shot him a thankful smile “Thanks by the way.” Julie nodded and then started for the classroom the junior homeroom was held in.

"Hey! Wait! Are you a junior or a senior?!" the boy asked behind her.

“Junior!” Julie shouted back as she kept walking towards the classroom, when she entered Julie nodded and smiled towards Dr. Zimmerman, but then she saw the face of one of the best people she knows at Caelbury. “Connie! How is my favorite hyperactive beefcake? Êtes-vous bien?”

Julie smiled as she strode towards the huge creature to give him a hug, she had to stand on her tippy toes to reach around his neck, not that she needed to reach since Connor as usuall just picked her up in to his arms and swung her around fireman style. Julie squeeled and laughed which landed her a few dirty looks from the rest of the girls in the classroom. “Damn dude did you get even huger over the summer?” Julie asked as Connor let her go then she sat down at the desk in front of his.

Just as she was about to ask Connor something the door opened and the guy she had collided with entered the room. Julie tilted her head and smiled at him; if she had known he was a junior too she had not rushed away from him in that manner. She gestured to the empty desk on her right for him to sit down. “Well hello there, we meet again!” Julie giggled “I’m Julie by the way, and sorry again for crashing in to you out there!”

It's truly amazing how strong balls of yarn actually are.

Rolled about, pounced on, viciously attacked, yet somehow they keep their simple structure attached and just keep rolling on. Quite admirable really, tough and resilient against the unforgiving attacks from the relentless balls of fur. Their numbers knew no bounds, at least a dozen. Was it a dozen? No, just less. Aoife didn't care, kittens were kittens and kittens were delightful, little godsends. Three of the more sleepy beasts were perched in her lap, purring contentedly as she tried to hand out an equal amount of cuddling. "You're the most adorable." She announced, accompanied by a childish squeak as she pulled one of the kittens up to inspect it - much to its discontent.

It was quickly discarded back to its place on her lap as she lifted the next one. "No, you're definitely adorable-er." Grinning, she let it meow in complaint before letting out a high-pitched squeak. "Oh no, you're the adorable-est." Her words fell on deaf ears as the third kitten tried to roll from her lap before she mercilessly scooped it up into her arms. "Oh yes you are, oh yes you are." She mumbled, scratching its belly before the room fell away.

Aoife's features scrunched up in minor annoyance as she was snapped from her dreams about kittens by rolling from her bed, again. You need to seriously invest in some guard rails Aoife... and possibly a cat. With a groggy look on her face, she rose to her feet, dusting herself off and stretching. "Well I'm up now." She yawned, moving out into the main living space of the apartment that she shared with the Russian girl. Apparently there was some barbeque on the day before but she wasn't exactly available; more like on the other side of the Atlantic in a last-ditch effort to convince her father that America wasn't really the place for her. She preferred the green hills of her mother's homeland anyway.

It wasn't until seven o'clock the night previous that she had arrived at her apartment and barely managed to make it to her room, completely devoid of any energy. The jet lag had took her nearly-perfect sleeping schedule and shook it about before unceremoniously dumping it all over the floor. Maybe that's why she was unknowingly changing into her running gear for her 'morning jog' at two o'clock in the morning - Aoife's mind didn't really work at optimum efficiency whenever she was half-asleep. Pulling her hair into a half-assed pony tail, she got a drink of water before leaving the apartment and following a long corridor until she came to an exit, of sorts. She was surprised she even got that far, her mind had been a bit hazy the night before and directions to bed were the only thing on her mind.

Her first thoughts when she left the building was that it was surprisingly cold to be six o'clock in the morning and it was almost definitely too dark to be six. So, she quickly came to the decision that it really wasn't six o'clock in the morning. Afraid to upset anymore of her routine, she returned to the apartment with a dark demeanour. If anyone was awake then they'd probably stay out of her way but lucky for her, no teenage girl in their sane mind would wake up at two o'clock in the morning and go for a jog. I need a coffee. Groaning, she tried to figure out the contents of the kitchen before she realised that they had no instant coffee. My life is the worst.

Aoife gave up on finding anything caffeine-related very quickly and headed back to her room, fetching her laptop to try and reduce the levels of her boredom. This proved to be a harder task than it sounded but before long she was too tired to care what it was she was doing. At 6.00 she decided to head for a shower, half climbing in and half falling in as she started it and let the cold water race down her. It succeeded in waking her up a little, which was good. She pulled herself from the shower then, shaking violently as she wrapped a heavy towel around herself.

In hindsight, Aoife was quite glad that she made the decision to put some underwear on due to the fact that as soon as she left the room her roommate was staring right at her. The first things her mind processed were how tall the Russian was and the fact that she had made her breakfast. This was quickly followed by a furious amount of blushing as she realised she was half-naked. Normally, Aoife wouldn't have even cared what state of undress she was in front of people but the Russian wasn't exactly normal. She looked like someone who could rip you apart with her pinky yet had a look that screamed, 'Puppies!'.

Acquaintance or enemy? Her mind buzzed rapidly before she finally made a decision. "Hello." Her voice was a little questioning but firm as she moved forward, analysing the plate. It really did smell delicious but Aoife knew that the very first interactions between them would form a basis for her entire relationship with her roommate. Survival of the fittest Aoife. She reminded herself, taking a seat as she looked at the plate. "Thanks, I suppose."

Thanks, I suppose!? Aoife, you're such an idiot!

"I'm Aoife by the way." She chattered, not exactly looking for a conversation but making her mind up that this other girl could be quite helpful. She looked like she could easily bench a few hundred pounds and that was something Aoife could use. Ugh, use. She rally hated that word. She wasn't necessarily using them, she was just extracting their natural uses. The time it took to eat that egg and toast was possibly the longest of her life and she was glad she could escape to her room to get dressed finally.

Fast forward a few hours and she was fighting an uphill-battle in trying to keep herself awake; it was just so boring. She had nestled herself somewhere near the back between a few tall people so she had the perfect camouflage to take a little mid-morning nap. Judging by the reactions of the students afterwards, she guessed that sleeping through most of that was probably the best idea. This really wasn't the best beginning to her new life at Caelbury.

It seemed that her father's secretaries were a lot more organised than her. Her books were all in her bag and her schedule had somehow found its way to her pocket. She had everything she needed but had no idea where she was going, at all. The old building was like a labyrinth of corridors, interlacing and firing off into random directions. Finally she gave up trying and just kept following someone who seemed to know what they were doing. They had read out at the end of assembly that she'd have Mr Zimmerman taking home room; Aoife guessed this was some American variation of form classes. She was proven right when the student guided her the entire way to the room. Taking a seat, she laid her head down on the end of the desk, closing her eyes and hoping to get a little more sleep.

---

I am not going to be late. I am not going to be late. I am not going to be late.

Luke's mind replayed this very phrase over and over again until every fibre of his being got the memo that Luke wasn't going to be late for his first day in a school that gave him some good opportunities in life. Not only that but in a school full of geniuses and extremely gifted people, he had to at least look like he could read a clock.

His typical morning regime would involve him either being shouted at to wake up or waking up whenever his body felt like it. This would then be followed by a healthy dosage of checking his social media accounts and Tumblr. After this, he would rise up from bed looking like he was something from The Exorcist, before taking a coffee with enough spoonfuls of insta-coffee that it could probably raise the dead. Once this was done he would shower and force down a bowl full of Cheerios as he readied himself for the day. This somehow worked perfectly for him, even though it caused him to be late for nearly everything that was morning-based.

No. Luke had to change all of the above to make sure that he did well here.

So that's how he found himself - dragging his comatose body from bed with a deep groan as he forbade himself from postponing the alarm and giving his body a merciful rest. With a deep resenting grunt, he hit his foot on one of the legs of a table as he hopped about, desperately trying not to curse whatever god that had condemned him to such a cruel fate. As the pain gradually subsided, he moved to his wardrobe and extracted his uniform like it was the holy grail of all uniforms. Finally, he washed up, took his breakfast and dressed; ready for the day at hand.

Luke traced his way towards the building before following the deep throng of students towards the assembly hall. He honestly had no idea what he was doing and his shy exterior caused him to look a little off as he walked amongst the babbling masses of students. Finally, he found himself seated in the assembly hall, having to listen to various teachers go on about different things. The highlight of course being able to listen to Acacia Hawthorne. That girl is too hot for her own good.

Shaking his head drew him from his thoughts as he listened intently to who would be taking him for homeroom. Luke didn't even try to remember who Mr Pierce was, the barbeque the night before had been such a blur of activity; whether it was trying to actively avoid bumping into people or trying to make at least one friend, Luke was too busy to care about teachers. He didn't even succeed either, everyone else were catching up with friends and any others simply looked like they really didn't want to talk.

The trek to his homeroom wasn't a particularly hard one, he quickly located someone who he knew was the same age of him. That someone being famous actress, Catherine Sinclair. He knew she was the same age as him because he developed a bit of a celebrity crush on her after watching one of her films. Following the star, he found his way to the homeroom that he would be stuck in for every morning of his year at Caelbury. He looked around, not really noticing anything that caught his eye as he took a seat somewhere in the middle, he didn't want to look like he had to desire to socialise.

---

Do you know the extent a man would go to feel less lonely?
There's not a damn lot he wouldn't do.

Five A.M. on the dot. These mornings went by in a blaze of brunette hair and emerald green eyes—not to mention a white blob of fur.

The routine was simple: work out to get the blood flowing, hot shower to mull away the trivialities of life, breakfast of eggs and toast in which half were consumed by a greedy ball of contempt, and get dressed and styled.

Impeccable with a dash of handsome, his mother called it.

Vanity didn't serve much purpose in Flynn's life, but a mother's words were that of encouragement. And, staring into the mirror with a smile, he did have to say: dashing suited him well. Despite the smile, though, his eyes wandered to the side, drawing a distance too often seen inside emerald orbs. The smile vanished, Flynn tugged taught his tie, and walked out of the bathroom. Confidence eased into him like a well tailored suit, but a suit only covered—it did not instill. Flynn lacked nothing of the sort; a fire was always brimmed in his eyes. But, it wasn't confidence that struck Flynn in the moments he caught himself thinking.

Self-esteem issues did not draw a distant gaze and an indifferent expression, something else did.

He smelled of lilacs. It was the cologne he used, coupled with the natural fragrance that he'd accustomed his house with—the kind of scent you smell on a person and realize it's just the way their home smells when waves of it smacks your nostrils. That's how he smelled. It was his mother's favorite flower and favorite aroma, the original over anything synthetic, but one couldn't just rub lilacs onto everything. They settled for a happy medium, in which Flynn took a liking to, as well. When one grows so accustomed to a scent or a smell, anything different feels foreign. This was what he took from London: the sent of lilacs, coupled with a different, earthy smell. The mixture could only be described as Flynn Zimmerman.

Pawing at Flynn's cap toed Oxfords, Oedipus let out a soft yowl to grasp his owner's attention. Having stood for quite awhile at his counter top, Flynn slowly averted his gaze downward with a brow arched. A blink, and then a light tinge of pink crawled onto his cheeks before he stooped lower to scoop Oedipus up, grabbed his briefcase, after filing through it one last time, and made for the door. After setting Oedipus firmly on his lap, with the helmet strapped on tight, he ignited the engine to his Bonneville motorcycle and took off. After a month of doing this exact thing—Oedipus' cage had been misplaced—Flynn forced himself to get used to Oedipus digging his claws straight into his thighs in order to hold on. The cat was relaxed, sure, but it didn't take away the pain of flesh ripping as they sunk into the thin fabric of his suit pants throughout the ride to Caelbury. It was a misfortune that grew into a very bad habit.

Punctual as possible, Flynn arrived early every school day, regardless of the occasion and left the latest of all the teachers. He took his job very seriously; this was literally his life. Teaching satisfied him in ways no other job could, and Flynn made sure he kept it. That usually meant going above and beyond reproach, something he didn't like doing, but didn't hate either. It simply formed into a habit, as all things eventually do. Habits and Flynn seemed to work in tandem.

He couldn't stress that enough, 'It worked.'

The assembly was to start in an hour, giving Flynn ample time to prep his room. Well, in a manner befitting a teacher who had already done so a week prior. On cue, Oedipus leaped from Flynn's arms onto the mahogany desk facing centered around an arc of desks in a very amphitheatre-esque fashion—everyone was required to sit as close to the front as possible, no exceptions. The cat snuggled up to the pair of dishes set at the very edge of the desk, filled to the brim with food and water. He'd have to thank the janitors later. It was amazing how fast he devoured the food, seeing as he had already eaten prior to leaving. Flynn could see the tufts of fur expanding under the ever growing body—that thing was going to get too fat for him to carry around. As if sensing Flynn's judging gaze, Oedipus turned and hissed, giving him the nastiest glare a cat could.

"Imp," he breathed with a wide smile.

Flynn could only sit and think from that point on. He had all the time in the world to.

The loneliest people think solitude is a is a quick respite and life is full of people.

---

---

His window faced the sunrise and he made an effort to watch one every morning.
The beauty of a world in one fleeting moment.

Quiet morning—quiet for nature, with its chirps and trills.

Take it all in: the smell of the trees and grass in the wind, the sounds of birds and bugs and frogs, and the warm bathe of sunlight fluttering across exposed skin. This was what he lived for—quiet moments in the rush.

A morning ritual for a man who didn't have a habitual bone in his body. Things were planned in passing moments and actions were spontaneous. That's how life worked, so that's how he worked. Too much of that was detrimental to one's health, and so here Jaycen stood staring into the one stable point in his life. A sunrise to most was a call to action; to Jaycen, a sunrise meant being able to stop time for just a second and savor everything, from the complexities of his own thoughts to the simplest beating of his heart.

As reliable as the sun.

But, eventually, he'd have to move. He'd have to move before everything had a chance to catch up to drag him back down to that place where all his fears were laid. A fragile hummingbird stuck in what many determined to be a strong body. He tried not to fool anyone, but that was hard to do when your exterior has a louder voice than your conscience. People didn't want fragile Jaycen; they demanded a brick wall of a man always on his toes. It was hard to be the exact opposite of what currently dominated one's mind. But, Jaycen had a pretty good way of hiding things.

When one continuously insists that something didn't happen or something doesn't exist, the conscious mind eventually gives up.

Jaycen couldn't stand to be two seconds inside his own mind. Spontaneous actions, keeping on one's toes, all of that was a good way to focus on anything else. So, every morning he'd only focus on what he was currently doing. The present was far more important than the future. 'We live in the now' is a philosophy Jaycen loved to live by.

After a rigorous exercise routine, a nice, hot shower, and an enormous breakfast, Jaycen made his way through the halls of his apartment complex with a large piece of tupperware balanced in the palm of one hand. Alli lived just across the hall from him, but the brown paper bag in his other hand was for her. The cookies inside the container was for the elderly woman at the end of his hallway.

He knocked on the door, anticipating a lengthy wait. "Come in," a voice called out. Jaycen jumped from his leaning position to set the bag down, twisting the knob of the door to let himself in.

"Good morning, Mrs. Krantz," Jaycen said, smiling as he moved straight for the kitchen counter top, "I'm just setting these cookies down here. I heard your grandson was having a birthday party later today and I thought you could use some help with food."

"The sweetest young man, I swear," Mrs. Krantz, set down by the balcony doors responded, giving him an equally bright smile, "You would have made for the nicest son."

Jaycen's features twisted and he scrunched his nose in that millisecond she looked away. "You're too kind."

"I'll tell Cody his favorite quarterback said happy birthday."

"Right—oh, I forgot," Jaycen breathed, holding a finger up as he walked back into the hallway. Reaching into the paper bag, he took out a pastel green envelope with 'Happy Birthday Cody' written on the back. Reentering the apartment, he set the envelope on top of the batch of cookies. "I don't see how I've let such a long time pass by when he asked for an autograph a year ago."

"Better late than never," she laughed, resting a hand on her chest, "But, he holds the meanest grudges."

"I bet," Jaycen chided, "I'll have to make it up to him then. I'll get my plans to you later this evening; I'm running a bit late for work. Have fun, Mrs. Krantz."

"Of course."

And with that, Jaycen shut the door to the apartment and left, not forgetting to go back to grab the paper bag, of which he sneaked into Alli's classroom to drop off. The contents of which was a frame for the picture they took at Disney World, and a cat key chain with her name on it, as well as a note, 'Don't fall asleep in class again, Alli-Cat. ;) Love the manliest beard you'll ever need.'

The moment called for a sunset, emblazoning the sky with hues of orange, purple, pink, and red.
They didn't get the sunset, but it was worth imagining.

---

---

The line is blurred between justice and revenge.
When in doubt, ask yourself who this is for. Revenge is selfish; justice is selfless.

Get up, get dressed, forget about work out, get redressed, work out, eat breakfast, shower and get dressed again, feed the dogs, say 'hi' to the neighbors down the hall, drive from home to work, get settled, forget about everything for a moment, and then remember that it is the first day of school, which is a lot different than other days. Syllabus day, he likes to call it, featuring a school wide assembly. Right, he had to speak at that. Of course, definitely not as much as the principal did; in fact, he was tasked to give the students the usual rundown along with who had who for homeroom. It was in the schedules, but he learned a long while ago that repetition is the key to a kid's mind.

And he forgot his Starbucks.

"Shit," he cursed.

This was what he did everyday, though it often varied, but the one thing that was a key point was the Starbucks. Hayden wasn't at all addicted to coffee, but he was addicted to not being humiliated for falling asleep at his desk. As vice principal, he had a numerous amount of jobs to attend to, including the task of making sure everything was proper and helping the principal with anything he needed. The guy probably didn't know that the previous principal had just tasked him with dealing with the finances. Business and Hayden didn't go well, but numbers often went better with him than anything else—a paradox he's not willing to explain. It was just a matter of deriving finances, costs, employee payment, event planning, all of it into a bunch of numbers and figures. It was essentially that, minus the dollar sign and a few weird formulas. If anyone knew formulas best, it was probably Hayden. As long as he wasn't tasked with making them a profit or advertising and marketing, then Caelbury would be in good hands—they had people for those things. Mostly press because someone had to keep reputation up.

Then there was the social climbing. Hayden dreaded high class affairs, but he was tasked with keeping up appearances with future 'investors'. In other words, the parents. Who else but the eldest Hawthorne child? The Hawthornes ran most of the energy that supplied the United States, which meant that he, regardless of what he did, would be among the top tier men of the world. That unnerved Hayden the most; he disliked anything concerning highfalutin, sanctimonious, hypocritical bigots. Not only that, but his mother had pretty much a domain of her own in the high fashion business. People compared her to the likes of Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, Guccio Gucci, the Pradas, and so many more. She supplied the wealthiest of the wealthy with designer clothing, designer accessories, designer anything. And that entitled more people with his time. It was the reason Hayden had a deep love for designer wear suits. He'd throw on jeans and a regular t-shirt, but when it came to three piece, bespoke men's suit wear, he was the pickiest shopper ever and very vigilante when it came to maintaining them.

"Your order sir."

Hayden's head snapped up and he reached for what looked to be his coffee, only reassured by the weird stare and nod from the barista. She'd given him two—wait, did he order two? Setting one down, Hayden reached in his pocket for the receipt. Huh, guess he did. With a shake of his head, he exited the building and made his trek back to the school where he'd have to traverse the campus into the assembly hall. Looking down at his watch, it seemed he had plenty of time for that. He just had to figure out why he had ordered two coffees. Guess someone would have to just appreciate his love for peppermint.

It takes courage to hide behind a smile.

---

---

Being true to yourself is being true to others.

How one spends mornings proves to show a lot about a person.

In particular, Saul spent his mornings doing routine things, but most of all he spent it smiling; he made a tiny pact with himself to find one thing to laugh at every morning and to laugh his ass off. Something positive to start the day, so that the rest fell into place.

He stared at the bathroom mirror, eyes traveling the length of what he could see. They stopped at his chest, in particular the scars that lie on his heart. His fingers trailed over them, a small hum emitting from his lips. If he didn't like what he saw in that mirror he'd change it until something popped and he was satisfied, smiling even. These, however, could not be changed; he learned to live with them. But every morning, regardless of his mood, he come in, shower, and the proceed to scowl at the blemishes on his chest and neck. Afterwards, he'd fix himself up, make sure he was presentable, and smile as bright as he could. And then he'd leave.

But not after piling as much food in the bird cage as he could. This is where he got his laugh today, staring at the parakeets perched on their beam. They stared back, not necessarily paying attention to where they were inching and smacked right into each other. One fell in shock, though grasped onto the beam before it could collide with the steel floor of the cage and proceeded to chirp angrily at the man watching. Saul cracked a smile and let out chuckle that grew into a soft, breathy laugh. Tapping the cage, Saul made a light wave before exiting the house with a backpack slung around his arm. It was a necessity and he hated briefcases.

After a quiet morning drive, Saul pulled into the teacher's parking lot and made his way to the assembly building to help moderate before classes started. He had a homeroom afterwards, but it wasn't piled to the brim with kids, so it was a quiet way to start the morning. And, as usual, the assembly was a snooze fest, though he made sure to keep the rowdier bunch in line, sneaking a glare at Connor as he made faces at Alena. Connor plus inside voice didn't work as intended. It wasn't a big deal, so he didn't make it one, especially since he couldn't blame the kid 'cause when the assembly was done and gone, he made a beeline for his classroom after a pit stop at the lounge to grab a snack and a water. Really, honestly, he didn't have quite enough to do that day, but he did it with as much panache and blunt force as he could. Though, he did sneak a peak in Flynn's room, seeing the statue of a man reading today's newspaper. Flynn gave him the blankest stare as Saul waved and smiled. At least Oedipus acknowledged him with a pleasant mewl, though only because he gave the little guy a treat, to which Flynn sighed deeply and turned back to his comic strips.

And then he snuggled into his desk situated int he corner of his classroom, smiling as he greeted the students that funneled in with a yogurt smeared lips.

A personality like his is neither contagious nor pleasant.
He was a porcupine with extra prickly needles and a nose longer than you could believe.
Boy, did he love to wiggle in between a crowd of peers and smile the brightest smile you'd ever seen...
As if he hadn't just impaled everyone with pikes out to here and an incessant need for love.

---

---

The softest melody goes unheard; it can only be felt.

A soft murmur.

A groan from a violin taught against the neck of a musician, still, yet fluidly churning out notes that fluttered in the morning air. The bow caressed the strings, vibrated them in such a manner that the gentleness swelled inside one's heart and grew with every passing note and ever stroke of the bow. This was how to start a morning, bright sunrise filtering in through an open window, shining a hazy glow through the tree in front of the complex, filtering in through dust particles that spotted the air. And the softest tune that lulled those who could hear out of their sleep just enough for them to appreciate the softness. It was how one responded to the birds chirping out their window; it was an inexplicable need to listen, but had the effect on a narcotic. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he stood in the sunlight for a reason: the effect was nice, should he ever be filmed, which is unlikely, but the sentiment was a good touch, and the sun's warmth and blinding light forced him awake.

From bed to violin, to the showers, to dressing, to the violin once more. The only thing his mothers would approve of being addicted to and it became custom to those who could hear it. So much so that the roommates situated next door his freshman year stalked him every year to make sure they had the room right next to where he slept. It would have been creepy, had they not been good enough eye candy to allow such a thing. Sure, that was his dick talking, but if they're attractive and they can't stop following you, then why the hell should you deny such wanton pieces of sexuality waiting to happen? Even if they were gay, he'd not have the pleasure of acting on his libido due to his incessant need to stay reclusive. But all be damned if he can't have one nice thought while attending the fucking academy for the richest and wealthiest, who all had wonderful taste in fashion and all looked as if they came straight from the hottest porno—uh, Abercrombie and Fich catalog.

Silas pinched the bridge of his nose and scowled before putting everything back in place. The music from the kitchen drowned out whatever noise he was attempting to make and replacing it with something obtrusive and offensive. Maybe not offensive, but certainly obtrusive. Silas made for the door, sighed and poked his head out in attempt to either stop the source or just find out where it was coming from. Of course his roommate, and of course this was to be expected every day. At least he'd enough time to between then to make use of. Connor was aggravating, but not in the way one would expect at first glance. No, dealing with Connor was a lot more complex, especially when the guy fancied running around half-naked just asking to be—the libido of a teenager was a bitch. There were always things to remind him that it just wasn't worth pursuing.

After waiting for the click of the door slamming shut, Silas made way to the kitchen to clean up the small mess, though Connor was adapt at handling himself, oddly enough. At least he wasn't the pig he thought he was. Not that he... Silas isn't an asshole, but with Connor, what would one expect? Honestly. A sigh broke from his lips as he grabbed a juice box from the fridge and made way for the assembly.

He looked nice, in his perspective, and that was really all that mattered, especially since he wasn't keen on socializing. Which made the assembly that much longer. Sure, he was a goody-goody and did as best he could in class, but some things melted his insides to a blase mush of boredom and discomfort. The expression currently stuck on his face, a deep scowl with a frown and furrowed brows to top it off, did well to keep those around him focused on anything but the stink eye he was giving to the lighting fixtures overhead. But, when it was over, his whole body just slumped over and the expression lifted, though he left as fast as humanly possible when trafficking through a few hundred or thousand or so kids.

The schedule in his hand had called for homeroom first, as usual, and so he was as curt as possible with his movements, ending up just behind a few juniors who entered Mr. Zimmerman's class early. The teacher himself was seated atop his desk with Oedipus meandering through the back row of seats; his eye was fixed on the cat who gave nonchalant glances back. The feline was testing him, seeing what it could do by gauging Flynn's current expression, however subtle it was. Whenever Oedipus' claws stretched forward, the oak desk under it groaning in protest, Flynn would get the smallest twitch in his eyebrow and his gaze would harden. The man leaned forward only slightly, but enough that it caught the eye. And then everything would fall back when Oedipus mewed, retracted his threat, and disappeared under the row to venture further through the room.

"Morning," he nodded.

Connor had just accosted the teacher, to which Flynn replied, "Oedipus—morning—is above petty murder. Genocide, though, is probably a top priority on his list. If he doesn't first deem you worthy for slave labor."

That Silas allowed for the smallest grin as he took his seat in the second row, backpack propped against the end underneath.

Lifting from his perch, Flynn announced, "If only I could teach you all, but that's not in the paycheck. This is homeroom: you use this time to study and work on assignments, not chat over a reasonable level and certainly not to browse Facebook or Twitter commenting about Becky and her plebeian stepmother on your latest beta iPhone 10 or something else equally ridiculous. I'm to give you your rundown of today, which I will once everyone is seated and ready."

Flynn paused in his speech, doing a full three-sixty turn with a few pauses to collect his thoughts. He lifted a finger before continuing, squinting his eyes as he looked at particular students currently in the room, "If I catch you feeding my cat treats—ah, I'll leave that to the imagination. Fear is a tool of the mind."

Every second counts.
Every tune.
Every melody.
Every note gone sharp or flat.
Every mistake
And every perfect lilt in the moment of a chorus; a mistake turned right in the heat of it all.

Sitting up straighter in his bed as he read the last few lines of Killer by Jonathan Kellerman, Max closed the book and threw it back on to his nightstand. He shrugged and stretched his arms up in to the air as he wondered why that book belonged on the New York Times bestseller list. He ran his hands through his hair a couple of times before he decided to jump out of bed and get dressed. God this freaking uniform makes me look like such a dweeb! Max thought as he stood looking at his reflection. Before he headed out of his room he checked his twitter feed on his phone and smiled as he read the small night tweet from Wren. He typed a tweet to reply to her.

Max Wallenberg @wallenburger
@wrenegade you should try Twilight it’s pretty HORRible #punny

He was a bit hesitant when he opened the door in to the shared living space. Luckily he and his roommate hadn’t really crossed path yet. Max had a bone to pick with him but couldn’t really be bothered to do anything. Seeing as it was probably too early for the punk to be up anyways, he’s always sneaking out taking mysterious phone calls from someone. Max decided to keep a watchful eye on him, Jack Riley is not to be trusted right now.

He checked his phone and saw a text from Acacia

Ace said
Don’t forget that the whole student council needs to be on stage for the assembly! So I need you here ASAP… like 5 minutes ago. Where are you? This has to go as planned Max…

Max rolled his eyes and typed out an answer

“Calm down Ace, I’m on my way just stepping out of my dorm. E is there with you right? In any case everyone loves you here and listens to whatever you have to say!”

He sent it and started his way down to the assembly hall, when he arrived he had to calm Acacias nerves with one of his pep talks that wasn’t really that helpful it mostly consisted of things like “Who cares what they think” and “Whatever happens, happens!”. When that didn’t help much he handed this task over to Eliza “Hey, I’m bombing kind of hard here, I’ll let you take over!” he said and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. He walked over to the rows of chairs assigned for the student council and took a seat.

The assembly was over quick enough, and the only thing Max had to do was to sit there and look important, which he was used to since that’s how his father uses him all the time. As the students were filing out of the hall Max struggled to find the girls again but when he did he put his arm around Eliza and walked with them to homeroom.
As they entered the classroom Max spotted the new teacher Mr. Matthews sitting behind his desk massaging his temples with a grim look on his face. “Looks like this should be interesting…” he said with a nod towards the professor as he sat down.

---

The ceiling had three cracks which was the only flaw that this otherwise pristine room, in this perfect apartment that Caelbury had been kind enough to hand out. What was not pristine was the man lying in the bed, Liam had been awake for an hour but he had not moved since. He has been staring at the ceiling and dreading his first day at this new school. He raised his hands up to his face and rubbed hard before he slowly rose from his covers. Liam swung his legs over the bed and rested his head in his hands. He had been haunted by the same dreams of Molly this night as he had been for the most part of a year.

Liam sluggishly walked over to his “closet” which consisted of two moving boxes marked clothing. He sighed as he opened one of the boxes and started to dig through it, Liam resurfaced with a light blue button-down shirt, a tan jacket, a pair of brown chinos and a black tie. When he had gotten dressed he looked at his reflection in the mirror that stood leaning against the wall opposite his bed. Looking back was someone who needed a shave and maybe a haircut, but to be honest he couldn’t be bothered.

Walking out of his bedroom he heard the television going with morning cartoons and his son Nathan sitting cross legged on the floor, with a bowl of cereal next to him and his daughter Addison playing on the couch. “Hey there buddy… sleep alright?” Liam said as he made himself a cup of coffee , Nathan turned his head to look at his father “I guess. Addie kept waking me” He said and turned his little head back towards the cartoons. “So, I need to go to work at the school today buddy, which means that you and your sister have to stay at Mrs. Fern across the hall.” The only reply he got from his son was a deep sigh.

After a quick breakfast they were out the door and across the hall, “But dad, please I don’t want to stay at Mrs. Fern!” Nathan whined, Liam put on a smile “I know buddy but it’s just for a couple of hours and… when we get a place for you guys at the daycare you won’t have to anymore” “But it smells like a litter box and she always pinches me!” Nathan interrupted, Liam felt one of his migraines creeping on “Why can’t I just stay at home I can take care of Addie!”

“ENOUGH NATE!” Liam snapped which made Addison cry, Liam picked her up and soothed her and she luckily stopped.

“Just do as I tell you.” He knocked on the door and it opened at once which was a sign that Mrs. Fern had been listening and had heard the whole thing, she smiled at Liam and then at the kids. “Come in sweetheart, I have some nice fruit for you at the table” Mrs. Fern said and patted Nathan on the head, the small boy just slouched and walked in holding his sisters hand. Liam sighed and rubbed his eyes “Thank you once again Mrs. Fern, I’ll be back in a few hours.” The little old lady smiled and patted him on the shoulder before she closed the door.

Liam walked downstairs with even more of a headache than he had before, getting out in to the blaring sun did not help him out. As soon as he got in the car he opened the glove compartment and grabbed the bottle of painkillers that rolled out, he popped two pills and dry swallowed them. He turned the key and began the ride over to his new work place.

As he arrived the assembly hall was filling up and was soon in full swing, he stood in the back and listened. When it was over he headed to the classroom he had been assigned. Apparently someone thought it was a good idea for him to have the responsibility of the senior homeroom. But being new he can’t really say no to anything trust in to his hands. He sat down behind his desk and tried to will his migraine away. When that didn’t work he started to massage his temples which usually softened them a bit but as he sat there lost in his thoughts and pain the students started to come in. He stood up and tried to put on a friendly face.

“Hello there! Welcome to the last year of the best time of your life… It’s all downhill from here!” He deadpanned, some of the students laughed. What they didn’t get was that Liam was semi-serious.

A soft, feather-light caress. A gentle brushing of lips. The warmth of a body pressed flush against her own and the weight on her lap. Best of all the soft, feminine murmur of her name being whispered in a delicate voice.

“Alena…” The Russian’s long fingers curled into the vivid red material of the lithe girl’s cheerleading uniform, tugging her down closer to her. The girl laughed breathlessly, her lips finding their way to Alena’s earlobe. The gentle touch of teeth sent a shiver down the redhead’s spine, amplified by the purring words in her ear. With one last nip the delicate girl sat up in Alena’s lap, the athlete making a keening whimper of disappointment. The girl merely winked, grasping onto the bottom of her shirt. Green eyes quickly became riveted at the motion, missing how the girl’s painted lips parted – though she certainly didn’t miss the sound being emitted from her.

BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP.

The weightlifter was very, very careful not to slam her fist down on the bedside clock despite her disappointment at being interrupted. Alena would rather not get in trouble for breaking another clock this early in the semester. With a heavy groan Alena rose, stretching her arms far above her head and back arching with a satisfying crack. It took no time at all for Alena to throw her covers off and have them replaced into a made bed, her mind quickly switching gears from the fading dream to her morning routine. Unlike most people Alena was a natural morning person, her gears shifting with what seemed to be an instant click the moments her eyes fully opened. It was always an easy transition for her, made easier by the warmer climate of this city than her homeland.

Any remaining vestige of sleep was quickly shaken off with a thorough stretch and the use of the room’s most prominent feature – a heavy set of weights placed upon a happy yellow mat, followed by a shower. Alena would always prefer refreshing runs in the morning, with crisp air and the beauty of nature to accompany her, but with the winding paths she took it just wasn’t possibly in high school; the Russian found that out quickly in her first year. Instead they were saved for weekends and free days, and otherwise shuffled to the afternoon. The fact that students were usually milling about after school in their uniforms was a nice plus to having to change her schedules though…

Alena quickly turned red, shaking her head even as she fixed the bow tie wrapped around her freshly cleaned neck; this uniform was one thing she never looked forward to - skirts didn't look good on her. Still, the stupid grin wouldn’t fall off though, and remained firmly fixed in place even as the athlete carried her bag and jacket out to the little common area only to unceremoniously drop them on a chair before venturing to the kitchen. A quick check to make sure her hair, aside from the long orange bangs in her face, was tied back and Alena soon had breakfast cooking. For two, at that! No one could say she wasn’t a generous roommate.

It was only when she was plating the scrambled eggs and toast did Alena pause to contemplate if her roommate was even up - or if she had perhaps accidentally awoken her early being too loud. The redhead mentally cringed at the thought, eying the door leading to her roommate’s section. The other girl had just showed up last night after all, she was probably tired…

Idly Alena wondered if she might be a cheerleader, and heated up under her collar once more.

Luckily Alena wasn’t left wondering for long, at least about if her roommate was awake, as the other girl’s door opened while she was still hovering mid-kitchen holding the plates. Like a puppy whose master just awoke the athlete immediately brightened and set the plates down to call out an enthusiastic greeting.

“Dobroye utro! I made breakfast!” Alena’s grin never left her face as she looked upon her roommate, mostly since the athlete’s brain promptly frazzled and shut down on seeing what she was wearing. Well, more like the lack of what she was wearing.

Alena was not going to survive this year, she just knew it.

The Russian mumbled a greeting to her roommate at her own hello, quickly sitting and focusing on her plate in an attempt to hide the furious red splashed across her face as well as respect the other girl’s privacy. Alena was sure that her roommate wouldn’t be so comfortable if she knew just how the bare flesh affected her. It was only when the other girl thanked her and offered her name did Alena dare peek up, making very sure not to look anywhere indecent. She finally managed to give her a grin back.

“Alena Rurik. The pleasure is mine!” The rest of their breakfast passed quickly, with Aoife returning to her room to probably get into her uniform. No doubt it looked much better on her than on the ‘amazon’. Once the dishes were washed Alena hesitated on if she should go ahead of her newly introduced roommate but ultimately concluded they had not asked her to wait, and she didn’t want to come off as creepy. So with one last smooth to her skirt Alena retrieved her jacket and book bag before making her way out the door and further into the campus towards the assembly hall. She hoped Aoife didn’t get lost, she seemed nice.

The best part about the beginning of the year assembly was being able to see everyone again. While there was the picnic earlier on in the week not everyone had made it, which made it all the more exciting to see everyone on walking into the large hall. Of course the first person she spotted was Wren, which immediately had her averting her gaze. After this morning’s dream she’d rather not think about cheerleaders. Jacob was near the front, prompting an immediately response of Alena’s spine becoming the straightest part about her. She gave a crisp nod to her Commander accompanied by a lopsided grin before her eyes resumed scanning the assembly to pick a spot where she wouldn’t block the view of anyone, but still be sufficiently near the front. A spot in the middle where the occupant behind appeared to already be dozing off would suffice.

Alena really, really tried to give her all to pay attention to the assembly, if only for her friend’s part in it. Despite her height she doubted Acacia noticed the giant grin she cast her when the other girl’s gaze happened to come near her section. She was probably too focused on giving a proper speech, driven – she admired that about her! What the redhead didn’t admire was what felt like a subtle poke in the back of her head, like a fat fly flew into it only to flip over and land in her lap. Green eyes stared at the grey bit on her skirt in confusion, but when another ‘poke’ hit the back of her head the tall girl finally turned only to find Connor further back, and waving to her.

And licking his lips.

Not for the first time that day Alena turned red across the bridge of her nose at the display, purely from second hand embarrassment, and a little bit of trying to keep her laughter in. Connor would never know though, it would only encourage him! Instead in an attempt to divert her attention Alena subtly - as subtly as an ‘amazonian’ could anyway – pointed to the side of her face to mirror a smear of what was no doubt breakfast food to Connor. She was all ready to smirk triumphantly just for Connor to once more start to licking.

Honestly!

This time Alena had to bite down on her tongue to stop from laughing, and quickly turned her attention back to the front before a teacher took notice. Most of it went in one ear and out the other despite her efforts.

When the throng of students were finally able to leave Alena stood quickly, smoothed her skirt out and gave one last wave behind her to Connor and some of the team before hurrying to try and intercept the senior Student Council members. They were cheaters however, and didn’t have to wade through a veritable sea of teenagers. While it may have been entirely possible to strong arm her way through them it wasn’t a very nice thought. As such Alena arrived behind her quarry, though her eyes immediately locked onto the back of the girl’s uniform as she crept up on her.

“President!” With a swift motion Alena’s arms were around Acacia and lifting her right up off the floor in what could only be described as a bear hug. She was very careful not to lift too far and give anyone a view Acacia did not want to give – Alena would have to maul anyone who looked, if only to save Hayden the trouble. “You performed your part well at the assembly!” It was only after saying her piece that the athlete lowered the other girl to let her back on her feet, a broad grin stretched across her face. That is of course when she heard and took notice of their new teacher, who didn’t seem quite as chipper as her. Alena smiled sheepishly, bowing her head and trying not to appear too tense.

“After class we should catch up, President.” The Russian added on in a quieter, more respectful tone. She gave Acacia one last pat on the back – careful of her strength, as always - before venturing to the back of the class. While most normally sought out these sights to stay out of sight Alena required them purely so no one’s vision got obscured. It was likely not even a thing to worry over, but so self-conscious was she of her height that it seemed the thing to do. It took some uncomfortable shifting of her long legs, a bang of her knee against the bottom of the desk and a muttered Russian curse before Alena was comfortable, book bag at the ready as she gave her full attention to their instructor. It was the least he deserved.

The first school day has started! Woo! No sarcasm there at all! In anticipation of this, Jacob slowly made his way to the assembly. Luckily, it wasn't uniform day, though, so he was just wearing a pair of jeans shorts and a dull gray t-shirt, which let him sleep in a bit. A bit being until 6:30 this morning. A man's gotta shave and all that, after all. It was going to be tough getting used to class schedule again, having to wake up so early. At home, he was able to relax and, for the most part, do nothing. His stay at the hospital had robbed him of a large part of his freedom, but it was a necessary evil to bring him back from the edge. Stretching his arms and yawning as he sat, Jacob noticed Connor give him a long-range fist bump and returned the gesture, a goofy smile on his face. Alena offered a stiff nod, which was returned amicably. The bloody welts on his hand were still plainly visible, the battle scars of a true airsoft veteran. Under his shirt and on his arms were a few more, and Jacob often left most of them to the open air, only covering the ones on his hands with bandages, especially so on uniform inspection days. Connor was one of the only guys he still hung around with from the before times, and Alena was a decent friend: they rarely spoke outside of JRTOC class and events, but there was no animosity between them or anything.

Before he fucked up his arm like an idiot. He still got twinges of pain now and again, and lifting his left arm higher than his chest took a bit of effort. The physical therapy was helpful, though. He'd suffer from a permanent deficiency in motor function as a result of nerve damage, but the arm was still attached, which he considered a blessing. Shaking his head at the thought, he smiled and looked up at the Student Council. Acacia, always trying to do her best and live up to the family name. She did a decent job for a high school student, he supposed. It wasn't a situation he really could understand, so normally he didn't think about it. Max, the flirtatious, rich guy. Not much wrong with him really, he just lived a different lifestyle. Jacob didn't really have much of a relationship with the guy, so there wasn't much to mention.

And Eliza. He always got the chills if he looked at that girl for too long. Like there was nothing human inside of that body. Yes, it was pretty terrible of him to say, but...she seemed like she collected people like he collected games. As something to entertain her, rather than as friends and loved ones. Maybe he was wrong about her. Hell, he hoped he was, but he couldn't help but get wary around her.

After the assembly finally ended, Jacob got up and quickly made a beeline for the door. Getting trapped in that crowd was dangerous for everybody around Jacob, himself included. Making his way into Mr Matthews' classroom, he nodded to the teacher and took a seat quietly. The teacher's joke made Jacob furrow his brow and groan. Speak for yourself, asshole. This wasn't a good way to start the year, but Jacob couldn't help but be a bit jaded at his homeroom teacher's twisted joke. High school had been, quite literally, the worst part of his life so far. Shaking his head again, he looked down at his desk, taking a deep breath. This was probably gonna be a long year...

Bzzt.

Bzzt, bzzt.

Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt.

Her phone buzzed for what seemed like the fiftieth time that hour, vibrating against the hard grain of her antique Victorian-styled vanity. The incessant droning echoed even in her dreams, getting louder and louder until she could no longer ignore it. Finally, she woke. Heavy eyelids fluttered open, fighting against the tug of sleep that weighed it down, as she helplessly reached out for the phone across the room. She willed it to come, but it mocked her instead, buzzing one… two… three more times. When her sleep addled-mind finally accepted that she didn't have The Force, she dropped her arm in surrender and huffily turned to her clock.

4:32 AM.

For a dizzying moment, Wren thought she was back in her on-set trailer, due for an early morning call time. Her eyes shot open then, and any trace of sleepiness she had remaining turned into panic. She scrambled out of bed, nearly tripping on her bedroom slippers in her haste, and ran to her phone, fully expecting to see a long list of missed calls and a couple of angry voice mails from her manager. What she saw instead was a barrage of twitter notifications, and she laughed, half in relief, half in incredulousness at her folly. Right. She had it on last night for her Q&A session, but she must have forgotten to turn it back off after she got distracted with last minute school preparations.

Wren crawled back in bed to try and get another hour of sleep, but after a minute of restless tossing and turning, she knew it would be no use. Might as well make use of the extra time then, she thought, suddenly invigorated at the prospect of being productive. Humming happily to herself, she grabbed her worn copy of Graceling and reread a couple of passages to check whether she'd gotten the right emotions across. They wrapped up filming for the movie adaptation two weeks ago, but the perfectionist in her still couldn't be quelled. She racked up a lot of 'should've done this and that' within the first few post-production days alone, and she was sure the list would only keep growing until the film's finally released.

Around forty minutes of excessive worrying later, Wren finally got ready for her morning run. She changed into her shorts and top, slipped on her pink running shoes, and quietly trekked across the living room so she wouldn't wake her number one roommate. Jules + mornings – coffee was always funny, but she didn't want to have her bestie walking around like a zombie on the first day back. She laughed out loud as she remembered a particularly zombified Jules blurting funny but inappropriate things, then immediately clasped her hands against her mouth—whoops!

To avoid getting caught up in the large expanse that is the Caelbury school grounds, and becoming tardy for the morning assembly in the process, Wren opted for running laps around the dormitory instead of circling the whole campus. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do for now. After a couple of stretching exercises, she put on her headphones and started her first circuit, reveling in the feeling of the cool morning air against her skin. Morning runs were always so relaxing, especially when she gets to watch the sunrise. Wren ran laps until light broke over the horizon, turning the gloomy gray sky golden and enveloping the sleepy academy with a warm glow. The only thing that made the sunrise better was the beautiful sound of Silas' violin—thank god her music stopped when it did, or she would have missed such gentle-sounding piece!

Wren finished the rest of her morning routine at exactly 7AM. As she waited for Julie—who was currently having a row with her books—she glanced at her reflection on the mirror for one last check. Hair was neatly curled and pinned to one side, makeup not too heavy, nails a bright red. Uniform was just… blah (since it's the first day, she didn't want to risk altering the uniform too much) but not uniform-approved red wedges were good; she wanted to see how long she'd get away wearing them. Wren smiled as she found nothing amiss with her appearance, but allowed Julie to drag her away to auditorium before she decided to change her hairstyle just for the hell of it.

- ★ -

The assembly was over far too quickly for her liking. First off, she didn't get to talk to a lot of people. Acacaia and the others were too busy with Student Council duties, and everyone else was lost in the sea of people that have already gathered. She thought she made eye contact with Alena and was about to approach her, but the athlete didn't greet her with her usual exuberance, so she must've been mistaken. Second—and more importantly—Principal Aldrin didn't get to speak all that much. He was really adorable, though! All nervous like that, how sweet was he? And his notes! Holy crap, if that wasn't the most precious thing you've ever seen a principal do… but that's beside the point.

Anyway.

Wren parted with Julie after the assembly and headed straight for Jayjay's—er, Mr. Pierce's classroom. She heard other students—mostly the freshmen—whispering about her as she passed through a crowded hallway, but years of experience had made her immune to such things. Keeping her head high, she simply smiled at anyone who looked her way, and marched to her homeroom with an unfalteringly poised gait. Once there, she took the empty seat beside the dark haired boy with hipster glasses.

She remembered seeing him at the picnic—the boy trying really hard not to bump into other people. He must be new, she thought, and asked him just that.

"New kid, right?" she asked, smiling amicably. "How's your first day going?"

Geoffrey Lenser

Time management wasn't always Geoffrey's first thing to prioritize. He would always believe that his arrival and departure are exact. Never late nor early just, on time and he couldn't care less about how others criticize his lack of punctuality as it is always been evident since the start of his years at Caelbury though he wouldn't easily escape the fact in which he had been called to the principal's office for this kind of improper conduct. But to him, who cares actually? It was just being late for no specific harm done. Sure it would be violating the rules which made the Academy stand out from the rest but Geoffrey just couldn't see any dysfunction in which tardiness could initiate.

His routine was simple. Wake up at around 6:30 am then after he could recite his 'I am better than everyone' poem, he would proceed to the showers, look at himself in the mirror for an almost considerable amount of time, get dressed and if he could find time for breakfast, he probably would. Lastly, brag about Luke for being a nerd mostly holding lectures about 'he will never have a girlfriend' or any topic similar to his senseless criticisms. His ideal time to move out from the dorms would always be at 7:30 am but since accuracy wasn't often present in his management, it was always been around 7:40 to 7:45 am since he could still afford some extra time to take numerous photos of himself and post them to several of his social media accounts. However, Geoffrey did have days when he happened to arrive at class in an unexpectedly earlier time around 6:50 am. The reasons were vague to understand and he would mostly be abbreviating the phrase 'because I just feel like it' though his days of being early would just be observed once in every week; sometimes it could twice when there are on-going exams but on the majority of his arrival routines, he'd mostly be late.

It was 4 minutes before the clock altered it's long hand to 7:00 am. Geoffrey haven't been expecting anything lately before his arrival to the Academy or the start of his sophomore year. He didn't even give a single ounce of curiosity to whoever will his teacher be or the people he would be with for the whole year not unless there was a reason to have one. Considering the fact that he doesn't care at all makes himself aware of how he would be treating his social status in the current year. Making friends was dearly important to him not only for companionship but also to carry out the plans for himself, others or for the entire academy. Plans in which could be sinister in nature since Geoffrey always wanted things to happen in his own perception whether through violence or not. But perhaps there might also be methods in which he would be managing to help improve himself as a good guy towards others mostly by sugarcoating his treatment towards them as a way of 'helping'.

Homeroom. Now that was something which directly made Geoffrey yawn and go back to sleep for a moment. What was actually the purpose of it? It was something he clearly had no knowledge of and if he did know what the purpose is, he would normally feel as if none of those are subjected to him. But that would only mean he should take drastic actions to step into the limelight and show every person in class that he would always lead a major role in certain/important events. In fact, he couldn't even afford on missing a chance to be a part of everything since he often wanted everyone's attention and lure them to his opinions which he thought of as 100% right and often suitable towards every situation. Occasionally, he might even become desperate just to make everyone notice his ideas but to an extent where he couldn't carry out everything, he would sometimes realize that he couldn't make everything happen by himself alone.

Right after the assembly, some of his good buddies spotted each other amidst the thick crowds of students and hang around for quite a bit to converse about each other's summer activities. Of course, topics about Geoffrey would always dominate a large percentage of their conversations but on that time, he found an affordable consideration on sparing the conversation to be about themselves though Geoffrey was actually bored when his buddies started sharing stories that haven't had the slightest concern of him. As they ended their abridged time together, they laughed along without any specific reasons, scavenged some good-looking girls and finally went to their respective classes. Geoffrey felt a pinch of discomfort nerving through his bad moods as he just realized he heard the first conversation his friends had without being involved in their stories but he did mistakenly asked for it to happen so the blame would be placed to no one but himself.

Geoffrey sauntered through the busy corridors of the academy, not actually minding anyone's business, though it might change in time once he could spot any familiar face around the swarm of students. In fact he almost forgot he was about to attend his homeroom. The thought of it was shrugged later on after he saw one attractive-looking girl sorting out some of the belongings her locker had contained. Although Geoffrey knew being late shouldn't happen at any cause within the first day of school, he wanted to start something up just to repay the recent time where people, specifically his buddies, weren't paying much of their attention to him. He then moved over to the girl immediately then he positioned himself, leaning against the locker beside the girl's, attempting to be unnoticeable until the she would eventually lay her eyes on him. Then after a time spared for waiting patiently, the girl turned her gaze over to Geoffrey as she closed her locker cautiously.

"Uh....excuse me? Do you need something?" The girl asked, sounding as modest as she could. Geoffrey struck an alluring smirk which definitely glimmered his prominent looks towards the ladies. His eyes were as gentle as the mood he was implying but then again he just made no sense in appearing before the girl at an unexpected manner. "I need an honest answer for a date" Geoffrey tried his best to sound as convincing as possible luckily, he did manage to do so and went on the right track for his attempts. The girl chuckled gleefully, wrapping her palm on her mouth before she lifted a few of her books then turned away. "I must say, you're hot" She then managed to turn back to Geoffrey, glancing behind her shoulders as she gave a friendly smile with both of her eyes partly closed. "It's nice to see you hanging around.....Geoffrey" The girl then paced away without saying anything else. "dumb whore" Geoffrey mumbled, assuming the girl wasn't in any condition to hear what he just said and he clearly knew she was gone for good. Sadly, the girl's reaction might render a sign for the first day of school to be his unlucky one but unlike others, he may not strongly believe in any kind of bad luck knowing that he is too good to receive misfortunes.

---

Baffled after his recent encounter, Geoffrey couldn't withstand anything but be frustrated and angry towards the girl who turned him away. But as he bustled through the thick crowds of students at the hallways, his gloomy mood altered when several students who came to pass by greeted him diligently. Most of them were girls and a few guys whom he never had a single idea of what their names were but all of it didn't matter as long as he was receiving the attention he deserved. He was a bit happy but not as contented as he would normally feel. In fact, he wanted more attention than anything else. Its as if he wanted the whole number of students to be saying the words which he expected to come out from their mouths.

Willing to make it all happen, Geoffrey stepped right at the middle of the halls within the midst crowds. He harrumphed hesitantly but there was a certainty in his mind in which told him what he was doing would go on smoothly as he expected. "Hey guys!" He cried, alluring the attention of most students lingering at the hallways. Some managed to ignore the likes of Geoffrey but the majority turned their heads to where he stood. Silence brushed the vicinity only to wait for the next group of words coming out from Geoffrey's statement. Geoffrey raised his right arm, widening his palm as he gave everyone a gesture to listen closely.

"Now, we all know we've missed each other from the recent summer vacation and some, unfortunately haven't kept in touch with one another," He paused as he rotated his index finger to each and every student who was paying their attention at him

"But I guess we should all be happy that school just started because we could now reunite with our friends." A few whispers were heard behind Geoffrey and others who were in-front of him, nodded in unison

"Oh and If you don't have friends, don't be bummed! there are plenty of people here willing to make new acquaintances. Heck! even the cafeteria ladies are willing to make friends with some of you"

Tiny bursts of laughter were heard from some of the few students who found Geoffrey's 'joke' hilarious

"Nah, I'm just kidding but really...don't be shy in making friends! And guess what? I'm having plans to hold a welcome party for all new students at the academy! That way, we could all make friends!"

He ended with of bit of excitement running along his speech though honestly, the party wasn't actually a part of the things he would be saying and he did know he was getting out-of-hand from just getting everyone's attention but he still wouldn't admit the mistakes he made with himself for he knows everything is still in a good momentum.

"Of course, there isn't a need to worry 'cuz if you want to tag along at the party even though you aren't a new student, you certainly can 'cuz why not?! The more people, the better right?" As he ended, more audible whispers were heard from behind. Geoffrey was starting to get a little impatient when responses took too long to be carried out. Luckily, there was one guy who stepped in to break the silence. "I'm in dude! Sounds cool actually. I always wanted to hang out with people." While Geoffrey pinned his eyes right towards the guy, another student stepped in but it was a girl.

"Me too! count me in! I'm also a freshman and it feels a bit intimidating being alone in the first day of this richly academy"

Soon, few to several students responded in unison agreeing to his idea of a party with most of them willing to attend.
"Yes, me too!"
"Count me in dude!"
"I'm so excited for this!"
"You're so cool!!"

At last, the sweet desire of attention. It's as if Geoffrey won a battle and he felt a lot more contented than he never expected to be. He chuckled convincingly as he clumped away from the crowds with most of them in his favor of the party he just announced. They all roared for his name, thinking it was a clever idea to gather everyone for a chance to get acquainted but as he crossed a distance away from them, he started to feel hysterical about the idea. "Idiots" He mumbled as continued on walking to his homeroom.

After a few minutes spent on digging out his homeroom's location, he finally arrived. He readied himself before the door and took a quick glance of whoever was inside. Luckily, there was still time before the first bell could ring and it told him yet another fact that he would always arrive in time. Geoffrey opened the door as he took a few steps inside before he glanced over to the students who were already settled in their seats.

"Morning!" He greeted. He then spotted his preferred seating location in the front row just beside the expensive glass windows. Moving over, he settled himself to his seat and placed his bag behind the chair. I wonder how long will this shitfest end? Geoffrey wondered and waited until something extraordinary unfolds before his eyes.

ARE YOU READY!?
The growly, hard voice shouted the question over Tomika's dual sub-woofer stereo, then quickly filled the room with a the rough, exciting rumble of electric guitars. The base vibrated the fabric on her long night cloths, which consisted of a pair of thin red cotton pants and a plain white bra. She stood there for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the deep reaching noise blasting through her, and no doubt, into her neighbors room as well. It wasn't something that even crossed her mind though, she was used to the thick stone walls of her previous school, built to insulate the rooms from the loud noises of the services occurring down the hall. With her playlist established, she turned to start getting ready.

With a groan, Arietta curled up deeply into her blankets, pressing her pillow tightly against her head. Even with ear plugs it would've been no use. She could feel the base pounding within her, almost like a miniature earthquake. Finally, with a groan, Arietta sat up in her bed and rubbed her temples. The music was giving her a headache. As a recording artist, she was used to the loud instrumental music that blasted behind her as her own voice was amplified by a microphone. She was used to the cacophony of fan's voices screaming at her in approval.

This was something totally different.

After she smoothed down her messy hair, Arietta made her way over to the living room to get herself some breakfast. She grimaced as she realized that the music would probably sound even louder in there.

Tomika sang loudly along with the metal, basically kicking in the door to the living room. Her antics took her roughly to the center of the living room, now wearing a skirt in place of her night pants, as she loudly moved all sorts of things in search of her socks.
"God thinks we will never see the light, who wants to see?
God told me, I've already got the life, oh I see..."
She screamed the lyrics in an excited, almost shrill, and certainly off pitch voice. In all reality, it was pretty god damned awful, and even now she seemed totally oblivious to her room mate who had entered the room only moments before her.
When she finally did notice, several things came to her attention all at once.
she was being a loud obnoxious fucker, she was only dressed from the waste down, and she had still not located her socks.
As the last thought lingered in her mind, she peered across the room in morbid embarrassment. She didn't even know who this person was, having only moved in the day before.

Arietta cringed visibly. She was blessed with the gift of having perfect pitch, and the obviously off-key singing to the music was physically painful for her to hear. How was it possibly to be off by that much? If this was how every morning was going to begin, Arietta didn't know if she would survive.

She didn't notice Tomika looking at her due to the nauseous feeling that the music had caused. Arietta didn't feel like eating at the moment, but she knew that she needed to, especially on the first day of school. Slinking over to the fridge, she grabbed a carton of milk to eat some cereal with.

Tomika watched the new person ignore her entirely, and wander off into the kitchen. She gave a slight shrug and knocked the couch over onto it back with a kick, "AH!" she excitedly scooped up her socks, threw them on, and chased Arietta into the kitchen. She had to yell at her to be heard over the music.
"ARE YOU MAKING BREAKFAST? MAYBE PANCAKES?!"
Then, somewhat disappointed, watched her gather the things she would need for a simple cereal. She wasn't in the least put off by this turn of events, and instead reached for her own bowl, and dropping it on the counter where she assumed her room mate would be making her own.
Leaning back on the counter, Tomika pulled a little remote from the elastic of her skirt, and punched a button. The music instantly stopped, leaving a deafening sound vacuum for the two to contend with.
"Oh ah, I'm Tomika by the way."

Arietta jumped in surprise as her roommate charged towards her, nearly dropping the box of cereal. Thankfully, she managed to retain her grip on it. Cereal is a pain to clean up. Shaking some cereal into her bowl, she turned and offered the other girl the box.

When the music was turned off, Arietta visibly relaxed as she let out a soft sigh. With a small smile, she murmured, "I'm Arietta." The silence, though sudden was a lot more comfortable than before--but she could still swear she felt the base.

Tomika calmly took the box and started pouring out a generous ration of fruit loops for herself. Just the act of turning off the music seemed to have taken her down several notches. She calmly moved to the table, gathering a pair of spoons on the way, and sat in one of the metal chairs, muttering something about it being cold on her bare back. "Arietta, interesting name. Is it french?"

"My last name is Rosetti if that's any indication. It's Italian." Arietta replied rubbing her temples once again. She looked up for the first time and saw her roommate for the first time, and immediately blushed.

"Er.... You could always wear a top if the chair is too cold..." She remarked awkwardly, looking away.

Tomika slowly stood and exited the area. She had assumed when nothing was said in the living room, that was more or less a free pass. nope.
She passed through the annihilated living room, and on into her own. She quickly threw her top on, and looked around for anything else she may need. Giving a slight shrug, she collected her phone and shoes, and moved back into the kitchen, tossing them down on the tile floor.
"I ah...sorry about that. Do you know what we're supposed to be doing today by any chance? i got on campus a little late."

Arietta slowly carried spoonfuls of cereal to her mouth as Tomika got dressed. It's been a while since she has been in America... Was this how people did things nowadays? If so, she's been in Europe for way too long. Standing up, she quickly proceeded to wash the bowl and the spoon.

When Tomika came back, Arietta gave her a wry grin. "I dunno, not destroy the living room? Hold on." Arietta retreated to her room, quickly changed into her uniform and returned with a piece of paper in her hand. "Let's see... We're supposed to be in the auditorium in about thirty minutes, then go to our homeroom."

Tomika glanced past her and into the living room, most of the furniture was upturned or moved several feet. An interesting way to start the morning, if nothing else. she tapped the spoon on her chin as Arietta informed her of the early morning meet. "where's that at? are we going to be late?" She started quickly shoveling down her lucky charms in anticipation of her Arietta's answer.

"As long as we don't take too long and leave in twenty minutes to make sure we give ourselves enough time, we should be fine." Arietta shrugged as her phone buzzed. Glancing over at the screen, she saw that it was just her manager informing her that a schedule had been emailed to her.

Ugh. Too many schedules. So many timely restrictions.

She offered a reassuring smile to Tomika, even though she wanted to sigh and crawl back into bed. "Don't choke, we'll be fine."

Tomika tossed her bowl and spoon into the sink, put the box of cheerios away, and rummaged through the fridge for a moment before extracting a little pouch of sunny-D.
She stabbed the straw through the little plastic circle, and wandered over to Arietta, "so you've been going to this school for a while then huh?"

Arietta shook her head as she slipped her phone into her pocket. "Nope, this is my first year here. I was in Germany until last week, actually. I just managed to work off the jet lag."

Tomika slowly nodded, thinking a bit. "So you're German, with an Italian name." She seemed to say this to no one in particular, however.
"I guess we should go then?"

"Nah, I'm just an American of Italian descent. I'm not German at all. I was just in Europe for a few years on tour and opera-studying purposes." Arietta replied as she retrieved her school supplies. "Let's go."

Tomika quickly threw on her shoes, and scooped up her bag on her way out the door, following Arietta out and through the halls.

For Tomika, the next hour or so was a sleepy eyed blur. She pressed through tons of people, losing Arietta at some point, and then finally locating the assembly by following the crowd. Once there, she found a random seat, stuffed her bag under her chair, and sucked her pouch of Capri-Sun dry, staring off into space as people took their turn telling her about stuff. Before she knew it, people were standing and shuffling out. She hoped thy didn't actually say anything important, because she hadn't heard a word of it.
The next few moments were fairly similar to the rest of her school experiences. Find the locker you were assigned, decide how often you planned to visit your locker VS how many books you wanted to carry, glance over several peoples shoulders as they read their schedule due to her already having lost hers, discern her home room from said glancing, and again press through hordes of people as she made her way to her home room.
once there, she gave a quick glance around the fairly full room, wandered to the back, and sat one chair up from the back from, two chairs to the right from center. she dropped her bag on the ground next to her left foot, and got comfortable.

Colt never had this much free time in the mornings.

Up at the crack of dawn to get ready for the day and get a hearty breakfast if he didn’t dawdle, then out to help check on and feed the animals – a time consuming process in itself. On weekdays he’d sometimes get time to brush Butterscotch’s mane out before he had to set off to school, Sunshine following along the fence and barking almost in encouragement for the day before Colt disappeared down the beaten path. The same routine every day ever since he was old enough to start helping on the ranch, the only real change being when the second youngest – his younger sister – started helping in the mornings as well just last year. It was hard to break a habit so ingrained into you, and as such Colt found himself rising with the sun even in Caelbury.

It was an odd feeling, waking up in a bed and place so completely different than your own. The blankets missed the well-worn feel of the covers that were hand sewn by his grandmother back home, there was no noise of life within the thick walls of the dorms, even the air felt stale on his tongue and dead without the slightest breeze. Yet with no chores to do or even Sunshine to curl up beside him in bed with his wagging tail and puppy dog eyes there was no reason for him to get up. Colt couldn’t help but wonder if Sunshine was missing him as much as he missed the old dog right now, if he even understood where Colt had gone or that he’d be back in ten long, long months’ time.

Colt found he didn’t like having all this time.

A soft chirping was what finally broke Colt’s melancholy musings enough for the broad youth to pull himself up and out of bed wearing only his pajama bottoms, leaving the bed unmade as he ventured toward the closed window. The chirping was not coming from outside as one might initially suspect, but from a small box placed in front of it and filled halfway up with warm straw that had been used to pack some of his more delicate belongings. Yet instead of containing the picture frames it once had instead the straw nestled around what seemed to almost be a puffball of feathers and sass, the little brown bird making further chirps on seeing Colt looking down upon him. Irritated, almost.

The rancher couldn’t help but smile, just a slight upturn at the corner of his lips. The indignant expression of the bird wasn’t a sight the shirtless Colt was unfamiliar with. His family often took in animals that were hurt or needed temporary homes, and birds like this one were exactly one of them. To say that Colt couldn’t resist bringing it in when he found the little creature on the grounds during the school’s little “picnic” –if a feast of a gathering could be called that – was an understatement. He kept the thing carefully hidden in his room, away from the prying eyes of a roommate he hadn’t even met yet. It was a textbook sprained wing; it would be up and about in no time, but until then…

Well, until then at least Colt had something to keep his mind on during the mornings. Animals to feed and take care of, a roommate to avoid, and maybe he could finally cement how to properly do up that blasted uniform’s tie before he went out.

---

The dark tie hung loosely over Colt’s shoulders as he finally made his way to the beginning of the year assembly, crinkled where it was tied repeatedly and then undone an equal amount of times. Somehow he had misplaced the diagram of how to do the blasted thing up while unpacking, and just his luck was that he couldn’t remember the proper motions. Something about over and under and feed the tongue – why couldn’t he just wear a clip on?

Fancy rich snobs.

Colt ran a hand through his messy, dirty blonde hair in a clear sign of aggravation as his gaze racked over those already gathered in the hall. There were some people he recognized, not from any friendly familiarity but purely the distant acknowledgement of seeing the same face plastered across papers or smiling the same too perfect smile at every TV camera pointed at them. And here he was, a farm boy that couldn’t even tie part of the uniform up, not knowing a single person and with no household name or talent to speak of. Really, who’s bright idea was it for him to come here?

Right, his parent’s, who wanted nothing more than a perfect college-bound boy. Huffing in irritation Rodeo tried to shove the thought to the back of his mind and picked an empty seat next to the front aisle, a perfect place to get out first once these people were finished spewing their empty words. He slouched in the seat, arms crossed and suppressing a glower at the stage for his patented neutral expression.

He had to admit, the school had one thing down pat – everyone here was model gorgeous, at least on the student council. Colt was paying attention to the words they spoke as well, if only to not stand out more than necessary if it contained relevant information, but he couldn’t deny that Caelbury had some beautiful girls. He was almost sorry when they were exchanged for the Principal to do his speech. Soon enough it was over though, and Colt found himself rising up with his bookbag flung over his shoulder and striding along to the main building for homeroom.

Now Colt didn’t consider himself directionally challenged in any way, but it was a little overwhelming to really be in the halls of what would be his school for the next ten months and surrounded by people who could buy out his entire family just on a whim. Humbling, and a little infuriating. He couldn’t help but mumble pardons to anyone who he so much as brushed against, working his way using the signs on the walls toward the Freshman homeroom he was assigned. At one intersection he gave pause, studying the signs as bodies moved around him.

“Lost?” Colt tilted his head to look to the voice, a slightly older boy smiling gently to him. The rancher rolled his jaw briefly, sizing him up almost instinctively before giving a short nod.

“Lookin’ for my homeroom” He replied simply, to which the other boy grinned wider.

“Ah, I know that feeling – I was late to class my first year here. Got scolded in front of everyone. Best not have a repeat of that, huh? What homeroom do you have?” The dark haired boy moved closer, glancing at the piece of paper Colt provided to him with the information of his schedule written down. “Ooo, lucky, you get Ms. Kendrick. Her homeroom is down that way.” He gestured to Colt’s left, the rancher’s blue gaze sliding to follow down the hallway. “All the way near the end.”

“Thanks.” Colt rumbled simply, folding his schedule up once more. He gave a short nod to the other boy before venturing that way, finding little else in the conversation. The other seemed to disagree, as he called after him.

“And hey, Kendrick is pretty cool but you might want to do your tie up just in case!” The rancher just huffed under his breath, but didn’t bother turning around to acknowledge him further. Don’t get Colt wrong, he was grateful for the help, but he wasn’t about to wander back to him with his tail between his legs and ask for further help on how to tie a simple article of clothing! Still, with the warning on his heels Colt brought his calloused fingers up to once more work at the tie. It couldn’t be as hard as he was making it out to be.

Even with that thought in his mind Colt still didn’t have the damn thing done up by the time he strode into Ms. Kendrick’s homeroom, but on the plus side he did manage to undo the knot he had made. He gave only a brief glance to the teacher at her desk, surprisingly young and – like he thought earlier about Caelbury – attractive. Colt appeared to be the first one here, no doubt most of the other freshmen attempting to navigate the halls without their own personal guiding arrow.

“Ma’am,” Colt nodded his head respectfully to Ms. Kendrick before moving to a seat in a middle row, but more importantly beside an open window. If he was going to be here he at least could get a view of the pristinely manicured – unnatural -lands of Caelbury, right?

She checked her uniform in the bathroom mirror. It was perfect. High heeled boots. Perfect. Hair. Perfect. Everything about her was perfect, Eliza thought. Her intestines clenched and seized at the thought. She was used to the feeling now, in fact, she'd been expecting it. It wasn't a big deal, she reminded herself. It was just pain. Pain didn't mean anything.

There was a little pill bottle in the cabinet in the bathroom, glass with a white cap, like you saw in old movies. Eliza pressed her hand down, wrenched it open, took out a tiny white tablet. She parted glossy lips and placed it under her tongue. It only took a few seconds to dissolve, but the bittersaccharine taste lingered when it was gone. She wasn't used to taking medicine; she had always been perfectly healthy. All the Herrings were. She resented the medication for soothing the cramps almost as much as the pain they created.

She hefted her bag over her shoulder. It was a beautiful thing, made of elegant black leather. A birthday gift from an older sister. It was probably worth more than some of the teachers' monthly salaries, and Eliza felt a little strange about relegating it to textbooks and a laptop, but it fit her look. She left the room, heading to her morning classes. Some people thought better while they were moving - Ace was one of those, always pacing back and forth - but not Eliza. She found the walk interminable. She felt most poised, most capable standing still. Every step made her wish more and more that the day was already over.

Classes went... fine. She didn't really pay attention to them. The student council assembly was also fine. She whispered encouragement to Acacia, kissed her boyfriend on the cheek as they left the stage. Normal. Nothing to worry about. Everything was going to be okay. The pain was gone. But there was an empty spot where it had been, and she didn't know how to fill it.

---

Eliza stared into her salad with displeasure. It wasn't what she'd expected. She picked through it with her fork, pulling out little bits of things that looked distasteful - mostly olives. She hated olives; they looked, she thought, rather like grapes covered in slime. She had always been a picky eater. For a time, when she was maybe seven or eight, she insisted on eating the same three meals every day, and they always had to exactly identical. One morning, someone had tried to add blueberries to her oatmeal, and she'd nearly thrown the bowl through the dining room window. She grimaced, thinking about it. Mom had yelled at her when she'd found out. It was disrespectful, improper. She was right, of course, but being right didn't take the sting away. Eliza just didn't like it when things were changed.

She had an early lunch period on Mondays, which wasn't ideal, but it wasn't all bad - she and Acacia were the only seniors in it. They were both so busy, Eliza worried about whether they'd find time to spend together. She scanned the cafeteria for her friend, and found Acacia still standing in line. Like most of the buildings at Caelbury, it was beautiful, but the dining hall was relatively new. It had a sort of modern-meets-classic theme that let it fit in with the other campus buildings while still looking modern, and Eliza felt the designers had really pulled it off. The main room was large, with high ceilings supported by dark, wooden beams and big, floor-to-ceiling windows lining the walls and heavy wooden tables. All the food was served buffet-style, down at the end, and Eliza was lead to understand it was surprisingly high quality for a boarding school. She didn't have anything to compare it to, but she didn't really care for most of it. That was fine, though. Salads were all she needed anyway.

Acacia was heading towards her now. She lifted her head a little to make eye contact, and smiled widely as her friend sat down.

"Good morning?" She said, intending it as both a question and a greeting.

"Good morning." Acacia returned with a nod and a smile. "How does it feel to be back in school?"

Eliza shrugged. "I mean, I guess it's nice not to be home. I miss my car, and having a big, empty house. Plus, my roommate's a bitch." She grinned.

Acacia absently poked through her own salad as she replied with a grin, "Tell me about it. I've heard that your roommate is terrible! But then again, mine is pretty horrible too."

"I'm sure you'll find some way to placate her," Eliza said. "Did you have classes yet?"

"Just the normal core classes so far." Acacia shrugged, "Anyways, guess what my mother said? She's being more pushy than usual."

"What does she want?" Eliza tilted her head and watched Acacia.

"No, actually." Acacia giggled, "You know how she's a fashion designer?"

"Sure, yeah. I mean. Does anyone not?"

"She wants me to advertise her latest designs..." She sighed, pressing her fingers to her temple.

"Don't you wear them already?"

"Most of my clothes are her designs, yes. But she wants me to advertise her new fall line, the formal wear." Acacia groaned as she pressed her hands against her temple. "What am I supposed to do, organize a dance and make people wear her dresses and things?"

Eliza let Acacia perseverate before speaking. "I mean, it's not as though you'd have to force them. I love her stuff. I dunno, what did she mean by advertise?"

"Let everyone at Caelbury admire them, I suppose. We do have a lot of really wealthy people who could buy them." Acacia shrugged helplessly, "But besides for making a Caelbury fashion magazine or a fashion show or parading around school in the clothes... I have no idea what to do."

"You could totally do that, though," Eliza said. "A fashion show. Honestly. Just have Wren model everything!"

"A fashion show? You're kidding, right?"

"Well... I mean, why not?" Eliza said. "There are lots of girls who would do it, we have to plan a fall event anyway, it'd be lots of fun. We could make it really classy and impressive."

"So what, we're going to make a runway and have people walk with fancy clothes? Hmmm..." Acacia tilted her head, deep in thought.

"Yeah! Yeah, we could. We can make it a thing. Have cameras, music, all of that. Why not?" She repeated.

"If anything goes wrong, my mother is going to kill me..."

Eliza leaned in and said, quietly, "Won't she find some reason to anyway?"

With a grimace, Acacia gave a small nod. "Probably." Her fingers fidgeted around with her hair as she offered a strained smile. "Might as well go down having tried my best then, I guess."

"We can bring it up at the next meeting," Eliza said. "And you know as well as I do we'll make it perfect. We always do."

---

Seeing as his roommate was out doing god knows what, Max had taken the opportunity to invite Eliza over. He'd suggested that they watch some new disaster movie that everyone was raving about, but really, the movie had been the last thing on mind when he invited her. Still, he didn't hold back on the coziness: he had put out blankets and even lit some candles that he had found in one of the cupboards. Leave it to Caelbury to have candles stored in the dorms.

Even though Max and Eliza had started dating over the summer, it had dawned on him that he didn't really know his new girlfriend. If you took away all the superficial things - like her looks, her wealth and her smarts - he wasn't really sure what was under there. They'd talked about that, a little, but he was never sure he was getting through... so tonight, Max had his sights set on getting at least some information. When the awaited knock on the door came Max hastily stood up and opened the door. There she was, Eliza Herring, gorgeous as always. She had changed out of her uniform, into a pink-cream colored, very high-waisted getup that looked like a dressy blouse on top, and shorts on the bottom. Max realized that it was actually a one-piece; she was wearing a belt to make it seem as though the shirt was tucked in. The top two buttons on her blouse were undone. Her hair hung loosely over her left shoulder in perfect waves.

"Hello there beautiful!" Max shot her a bright smile and leaned in for a kiss. She pecked him on the lips, then stepped inside. He closed the door behind her, and couldn't resist looking her up and down as he turned back in her direction. She wore low-heeled white sandals.

"Hey," she said, smiling. She walked the outskirt of the room, looking it over. "This is nice... for a guy's room. Did it come with candles?"

"Well, you know I always go for the best." Max winked at her. "Uhm, yeah they stock these rooms with a lot of weird things." He sat down on the couch putting an arm up on its back indicating for Eliza to join him. She did, sliding in next to him so that their shoulders were touching. She smelled subtly like sweetness and vanilla.

"Nothing but the best..." she echoed. "So - Sharknado versus. Megaoctopus? I thought Europeans went in for artsy stuff."

"Yeah? I mean, I have Ingmar Bergman in my room, I'll go get it if you'd rather spend 2 hours trying to understand the Swedish depression."
He half got up, then sat back down "Come on E, it's a tornado filled with sharks fighting a gigantic octopus!" He exclaimed and smiled at her. "Besides, if it sucks, we'll figure something out..."

Eliza nodded. "Who am I to say no to shark-storms?"

"Precisely!" Max chuckled and pressed play on the remote. They watched in silence for a few minutes, but it was clear Eliza wasn't all that interested - deadly and monstrous as the sharks and octopi were. After a few minutes, she readjusted herself to sit more facing him, and let her hands slide around his neck. He kissed her gently, thinking that was it, but she kissed him back more strongly. They made out for a few minutes, the movie going on in the background, before she pulled herself onto his lap.

"Sorry I'm blocking the screen," she said, "I hope you don't mind..." She started to unbutton her shirt. She wasn't wearing a bra.

Max's eyes widened. It wasn't that he wasn't used to the situation. He just wasn't expecting Eliza to be acting so fast, and he, well - he had been trying to make a change in his own behavior.

"Come on, E..." He grunted and grabbed her hand to stop her from undoing another button even though every fiber of his body screamed for her to keep going. "I'm really trying here..." He slid her off his lap, down back onto the couch.

Eliza looked up at him, and frowned. "Me too," she said. She looked away and started to button her shirt.

Max sighed and took her hand in his "I know..." he shuffled uncomfortably, "I don't know what you've heard about me... or really what you think that I want out of this." He gave her a sincere look "I feel like, you know me better than most people do. For god's sake, you've met my family! And yet I don't know anything about you..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

She met his gaze. Her eyes were big and brown, and much less friendly then Max was used to. "Look, I don't-- you know me. I'm Eliza Herring. What else is there to know?"

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After spending his first full day on campus yesterday (his dad wanted him to get used to the layout of the academy), Jack Riley was beginning to rethink this whole infiltration thing. He weighed the pros and the cons repeatedly, hoping that he'd eventually find that staying in Caelbury wasn't really worth it, even though he knew that it was. It's just… these people were annoying as fuck. He honestly didn't know how long he'd last around them. Everywhere he went, there was a friggin' heirling crying about something stupid. Dad's only getting me a BMW. Oh, my god, should I get Prada or Gucci? Ugh, my custom Santoni boots won't arrive from Italy until tomorrow. Boo-fucking-hoo. Listening to their griping wasn't even the worst part. He was forced to spend a lot of his time around the pretentious Wallenberg son. Jack thought they'd at least round up all the "commoners" and stick them all together, but no. He had to be roomed with one of the few people who knew about his dad's "business."

Jack groaned as he reached for the silver phone on his side table, struggling to keep his eyes open. He looked blankly at the screen and had to blink a few times to get his still hazy vision to focus. It was past seven, and he had six new texts and three missed calls from his dad. Fuck me. His dad probably wanted him to scope out the students in the assembly. With a sigh, he opened his messages and scrolled through the new ones.


He noticed the time and frowned. That was in response to the text he sent Sunday afternoon, after learning of his roommate's identity. If his dad was responding in weirdass hours, that usually meant he was all caught up in writing another story. It always worried him when his dad got like that. He'd just sit in front of his computer, writing and editing all day long, and forget to do anything else. This was the first time he wouldn't be able to check up on him, to force him to eat and take a break once in a while, and he wondered how that would affect him.


He groaned again but typed up a quick reply anyway: go eat something and go to sleep. I'm going. Well, not exactly that second, but his dad doesn't have to know. Jack took his time showering and getting ready, stretching his morning routine as long as he can. By the time he finished, the bell that signified the assembly's end rang, so he made his way to his first class instead. Or, that was his plan. It would've helped if he knew where he was going.

"Oh, shit." Jack grabbed a crumpled piece of paper from the side pocket of his backpack and hastily unfurled it. He skimmed over the names and list of subjects, taking note only of the room the class was held in, and made his way there. It wasn't like he really cared about going to classes. As far as he was concerned, the only reason he was in Caelbury was to bring it down. He's only going to class to not look suspicious until that happened. Didn't really matter what class it was or who taught it.

Well, that's what he thought at first. But then he went to his classroom and saw a quick glimpse of his homeroom teacher.

Jack bolted out of the room before anyone could notice. Of course, it wasn't enough that his roommate was one of their few victims in the know (they usually do a pretty decent job staying anonymous, but even they couldn't completely hide from the Wallenberg's expensive PI). His fucking homeroom teacher had to be Pierce, of all people. Since when did he become a teacher anyway?!

Whipping out his phone, Jack sent out a hastily typed text. fcuk pirce is here

Aurora never arrived on time. She had run at full speed from the dormitories to the school building. Her heels clacking against the pavement in sharp, rhythmic pattern and making her ankles swell with each staggering step. Her breaths ragged and harsh as the world moved around her. The morning was still lagging in every movement of her body. Every step was more of a struggle than the last. Dark circles loomed under her eyes with the attempts of concealing it smeared around her eyes. It looked as if she hadn’t slept in days, which was partly true. She had spent hours on a plane flying from England over to America. She was rushed onto a plane and than arriving at this school after being given a day to pack her things. When she arrived she was given a place she was told to stay, taken to a picnic, and now she was late.

Aurora was in a mad rush. Makeup smeared on as best as she could manage in the morning. Her lipstick slightly dipping across the side of her lip and her mascara look as if it had been frantically applied, one side slight slanted from the other. She had thrown on the first thing in her bag, which happened to be a short cyan blue dress that hung loosely around her figure. It drew attention her bust and narrowed her hips to give off the image that she was more curved, but the dress was not fully zipped up at the back and part of her hair was caught in the zipper as it fell down in long locks of golden blonde. Her bracelets jingled in time with the click of her heels, three of them shimmering in a sparkling gold and silver. A necklace hung loosely around her neck with a miniature hourglass hanging from the end of a silver chain. Flakes of gems sparkled in the dust of the sand, to show her wealth. She had never cared too much for the sparkles anyways.

Blonde hair curved around Aurora’s ivory colored skin. It fell down in the slight waves and was long down her shoulders and back. It was one of the few things that seemed fine in her appearance. It was finely brushed out, thick locks of golden blonde making her face seem more even and her cheek bones higher. She looked as focused as she could be with the everlasting tiredness lingering in her golden-hazel like eye. Her expression wasn’t happy or light; she seemed to be un-thrilled and focused in everything she did. A look that said, ‘you shouldn’t stop me.’

When she saw the school her heart leapt into her throat. Aurora’s main home was probably around the size of the school, but seeing the image of dozens of kids walking through the halls frightened her. She wasn’t too interested in any of them, but it was only more people that she had to convince she loved, when she didn’t really care. She had done public speaking and other events with her parents, but this was for a year that she would have to keep smiling. ‘Keep clam,” she reminded herself as she approached the school doors. She had only had private tutoring lessons for most of her life, this was an entirely new concept for her. It was unlike any movie she had watched curled up in her bed room late at night or a business lecture from her mother. Another world was in front of her.

Seeing all the kids at there wasn’t as frightening after a moment. Aurora’s nerves clamed instantly and she straightened up. Even thought she looked unorganized she had a smile on her face and a movement in her body that looked as if she could never be bothered by anything. ‘You’re lost, but guessing never hurt anybody.’ She found a small group of people doing there normal chit chat and morning routines, that seemed to be around her age. She followed them casually, trying her best not to draw too much attention to herself, but she seemed to be a magnet for it. She wandered through the halls, lost and confused, but trying to keep her normal air of confidence.

She ended up walking around for a few minutes until she reached a classroom that seemed like the right place. She was hoping that perhaps she had more luck than she had been having the past few days. “Mr. Peirce?” She muttered as she stood in front of the door, for once in pure confusion. She had peered into the classroom and stared at a name written on the desk. She looked as if she was a lost pup that had wandered away from its mother and had no idea where she was. That was almost exactly what she was. She could tell more than ever that this was going to be a year unlike any year before. She was still trying to figure out weather her should be running in fear or smiling with anticipation.

RX#: 744597R
ROCKWELL, JACOB
TAKE TWO CAPSULES BY MOUTH
DAILY

FLUOXETINE CAP 20MG
(GENERIC FOR PROZAC)
Dr. RICHARDS, JOSEPH

Reading the label on his pill bottle, Jacob sighed as he poured a pair of the pills into his hand, fixing the cap on the bottle. Between bites of his meal, he tosses the pills into his mouth, swallowing the whole mess and taking a drink.

Alone in the cafeteria. Not a surprise. There are a few familiar faces, but....why would they sit with him? Maybe come uniform day, the younger cadets will come and sit with him, trying to get something or learn about the program. Picking up his bag, Jacob grabbed a book and cracked it open. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. Keeping his mind occupied was of utmost important. And what better way to do this than to read a book written by possibly the smartest man alive?

Trick question, because there really wasn't any better way. Flipping through the pages slowly as he looked over the information for possibly the fifth time, Jacob nodded as he started to understand more of what he was reading.

For a split second, everything lost its color. Forcefully blinking and lightly shaking his head, Jacob took a deep breath as color returned to his vision. Refocusing his attention on the book, Jacob's body was noticeably more tense.

So far, this day went about as well as it had been expected to. Fucking terribly.