[i]6:00 AM[/i]

The instant she heard the sound of her alarm clock going off, Mulan was awake and alert. She wasn't the type of person to waste time by snoozing the alarm for an hour or so, or the type of person to sleep deeply. In one fluid movement she rolled over, swung her arm in a controlled arc, and tapped just her index finger to the off button. Something she was able to do because of years of martial arts training, and years of trying to perfect that. Since the end of the last school year she hadn't missed the button once. Mulan slipped out of bed and began her morning routine. Starting with some stretches and warm ups in order to get her body moving and ready for the day ahead. Then it was off to the bathroom with a stack of clothing to get ready.

Once that was out of the way Mulan made her way through her house, walking past the dojo as she did. Even without glancing inside, she knew that her father was running his early morning Tai Chi class. The soft sound of feet sliding across the mats or the rustling of clothing was enough. The kitchen was just a short walk from there, where her mother was already up making breakfast. Morning greetings were passed around as Mulan set about helping her mother prepare breakfast. By the time they were finished, her father and grandmother had joined them. They all sat down for a pleasant family meal full of banter and teasing. Mostly between her father and grandmother.

With that done, Mulan returned to her room, grabbed her backpack and headed off to school. Her family was rather traditional in the fact that they didn't own computers, cellphones, or cars. The only reason they had a phone at all was because they ran a business. Even then, it had barely been allowed. Thus she walked to school every day, no matter the weather, it was only about a mile and a half away, so it wasn't too bad. And it was much healthier to walk anyway.

She made it with plenty of time to spare and got checked in without any problems. Having already memorized her schedule she knew that gym was her first class. Which was pretty perfect considering she was still warmed up and ready from her morning exercises and walk to school. As she rounded the corner to the gym, she recognized the person in front of her. Probably the only person in the school who could keep up with her in terms of all around athletics. There were people who were stronger, or faster, or more flexible. But she could out technique them all, and technique was what won a fight. "Peter Pannell!" She said, jogging a few steps forward to get even with said boy. "You still have not accepted my invite to come visit my family dojo. In China that would be considered very rude. Am I going to have to drag you there?" She hadn't actually formally invited him, but he was still more than welcome to train there is he wanted. Mulan was just doing it to confuse freshman. That was always fun.