"Good morning students!" The cheerful face of principal Nancy Wheeler called into the small microphone attached to the podium. The crackling of the brisk morning wind flowing through it. The student body sat in the bleachers attached to the football field, there was a little less than 1,000 students in the entire school, making it a very tight knit community of people knowing one another both in school and around town. It wouldn't be surprising if you grew up in Arrowsmith that your parents and maybe even their parents attended the school. Mrs. Wheeler continued on, "The faculty at Arrowsmith and I are excited to spend this year with you. We have constructed a fun day today; a carnival for the seniors- but we have invited every one to enjoy. Tomorrow real school will start where you will be getting your schedules as well as gaining the ability to sign up for sports and clubs. For now, enjoy the festivities of the day. Make some friends, meet your teachers, and most importantly GO BENGALS!" A few cheers and clapping exploded from the bleachers as teachers began dismissing groups of students by grade, seniors first, juniors, sophomores and then freshman. They soon would be walking down into the field where various silly games, competitions, food vendors, a pop-up ferris wheel, an obstacle course bounce house, and many places to just sit and chat with friends.

People dispersed as the day began.





Wynona had started her day off well, she had an actual good night's worth of sleep, woke up and got a breakfast of eggs and toast and even had enough time to do her hair and makeup for the first day of school. She had told her dad that she wouldn't need her backpack for this day of school, but he insisted that she bring it, so she did. With a pony tail high on her head she tipped her chin backwards slightly as she let out a sigh. It was her first year of school, and she wasn't as nervous as she thought she was going to be- but she couldn't help but have a little bit of butterflies fluttering in her tummy.

Adjusting her straps on her shoulders she walked up the stairs to the freshman area of the bleachers. Way in the back where no one could see or hear you. Plopping down on the cold seat she let out a little gasp of surprise. She adjusted her bottom on the seat, pulling her black legging covered legs up underneath her so she could somewhat shield her body from the cold metal. Tucking her hands in the inside of her grey sweater she watched carefully as the principal began her speech welcoming everyone and giving information.

Not paying too much attention to what Mrs. Wheeler had to say, Wynona's eyes began wandering around, looking at the people who are to be her classmates. She recognized a few but didn't have any close friends that had followed her from the junior high she had attended. Reaching into an outside pocket of her backpack she grabbed her pack of gum and took out a stick, jamming it into her mouth. Waiting for her group to be dismissed.

Allison was pissed. Mostly at herself, it was the first day and she was already late. Elizabeth had run to the diner for an early breakfast rush but left a plate of toast and eggs out for Allie which she appreciated by eating ridiculously fast, hardly savoring any of the meal. She jumped into the shower quickly, muttering to herself about how she was going to have a shitty year. Butterflies grew in her stomach as she left the shower, jumping out and getting ready to apply makeup and such.

Allie rushed her way down the apartment halls, trying to leave the building as fast as possible. She hopped onto the elevator and rode it all the way down to the first floor with an elderly woman who reeked of cats. As she got off the elevator, she smiled slightly at the elderly woman as she exited the building and started her jog towards the school.

As she entered the office she signed herself in, apologizing for being late and rushing, once more. She made her way to the bleachers, found the freshmen section, and took a seat, hiding herself in a hoodie she had brought along, hoping no one tried to talk to her.

---

---

"Moooooom! Caleb's taking too long in the shower!" the youngest McKinnon twin shouted, punctuating the voicing of his grievances by banging on the bathroom door. "Jake, we have three showers in this house, find another one!" the muffled voice of the older twin floated from under the bathroom door, making himself heard over the sound of water on tile and skin.

The clack of high heels on tile signified the arrival of the twins' mother, Lucy McKinnon, and the look on her face was one of annoyance. Jake, go shower in the other bathroom. And both of you hurry. We're going to be late," she said, fastening a golden hoop into her ear. Jake groaned and made his way to the second bathroom, hopping in the shower to let the warm water wake him up. Nagging his brother was more exhausting than one might think.

Once his brother had padded away, Caleb exited the shower, quickly toweling himself off, and walking across the hall to his room, where he got dressed, promptly so as not to be late. His mom would skin him alive if they were late. She was the vice-principal after all, it would be unbecoming for her to show up late. Once he was dressed, he slung his camera over his neck, intent on getting some good shots today. It was probably the one day the entire school year where 95% of the student body didn't want to kill themselves.

Once he was certain he had everything, he slipped his phone into his pocket and slung his backpack across his back, before walking through his house and to the front door, where he waited for his brother and his mom, scrolling through his Twitter feed out of sheer boredom. There were only so many, "Ugh summer's over," tweets one could see before they got annoying.

Meanwhile, Jake was in his room, rushing around and dressing to impress. While Caleb may have been content to dress in just a graphic tee and a jacket, Jake was a different creature all together. He had a reputation, and he wasn't going to jeopardize that by showing up in some rags. Plus, Lily would never let him hear the end of it if he came to the first day dressed in something like Caleb. Once he was dressed and his hair was done, he walked out to meet his brother, who smiled smugly at him. "How was the second shower?" Caleb asked. At some point in the boys' childhood, they'd figured that the second shower was somehow inferior, and they'd been fighting over the first one ever since, seeing as how the third one was their parents. They had no desire to step foot in anything that their parents were naked in. "Shut up," Jake muttered, earning a smirk from Caleb.

Just before Jake could continue their exchange, their mom came bustling towards them, and they made their way out to their car. Lucy McKinnon pulled out of the driveway, driving a tad faster than she really should have been, but in the end it was worth it, because they made it to the school on time.

Once at the high school, the three McKinnons went their separate ways. Jake made his way to go find the rest of his friends from soccer, while Caleb went to find Indie, camera bouncing lightly on his chest as he walked, and their mom made her way to the stage.

Caleb's journey was halted as the principal began speaking, and he was forced to take a seat. This was his first day after all. He didn't want to be pegged as a trouble maker from the beginning. Once she'd finished speaking however, he got up again and spotted Indie looking really pretty, and also very disinterested. His mouth pulled into a small smile, one that he quickly pushed back down. You can't like Indie. She has a boyfriend. One who could probably beat you up. A beat down is no bueno, he thought as he made his way over to his friend, taking a seat and snapping a picture of her, all in one fluid motion. "Hiya," he said, smiling shyly from behind the camera. From here he could see Jake dicking around with a few of his friends down on the football field, though no sign of his girlfriend. Odd. Normally the two were attached at the hip. He mentally shrugged and turned back to Indie, still grinning.

---

---

---

---

Lily awoke promptly at 5:45, all smiles and messy blonde hair. She slipped out of bed and quickly got in the shower, excitement for the first day coming off of her in waves. She was about to return to her turf, and she couldn't help but feel giddy. This was to be a year full of dances, spirit days, and rallies. Not to mention her absolutely smoking hot boyfriend. She couldn't help but grin as she thought of everything that was waiting for her.

Hopping out of the shower, she briskly walked to her closet, her bathroom being connected to her bedroom, and slipped into the clothes that she'd already picked out the night before. The just right amount of cute and formal. She loved it. She did her make up, blow dried and brushed her makeup, ate breakfast and was at the door at 6:45. The school wasn't far from her house, but her mom insisted on driving her. She insisted the mayor's daughter be driven to school.

And so, at 6:50, she arrived at school, gave her mom a kiss on the cheek as a farewell, and skipped into school, grinning. When she reached the football field, she didn't immediately notice any of her friends, and so she took a seat next to one of the few people with a backpack, a blonde girl who she remembered vaguely as having been in a few of her classes last year. Her name was something with a W. Whitney, maybe? "Isn't this all so exciting?" she asked. "I'm Lily by the way! Lily Westburg! You?" Her voice oozed with pep, enough to most likely make most kids run away in fear, unbeknownst to her.

Thomas reached for his phone, blinking his eyes repeatedly to try and rid himself of the grogginess that staying still and reading for a couple of hours always gave him. Maybe not a couple of hours, according to his phone it was 5:40am so it had only been an hour and a half, but still, it was hard to keep track of the passage of time when invested in a book. He’d been reading The Awakening of Intelligence again. It was one of his favorite books and he liked to re-read it every year or so to see if he perceived the discussions within it any differently. Alas he had things to do today and no more time for such meditations.

He got up slowly from his bed feeling lazy and sluggish and flipped on his bedroom light. Damn space was so small he barely had to take two steps to reach the switch. Turning around he looked at himself in his full size mirror. He was naked, just how he liked to sleep. He was feeling uncharacteristically self conscious today though, probably because today was the day he’d meet, or at least see a bunch of the people he’d be attending school with. He looked at his own face, he wasn’t ugly, but he’d never be a model, not that he'd ever had any aspirations of being one. His eyes moved down to his arms and he tensed them some. At least those looked good, both muscular and toned, they fitted well on his stocky build. He looked at his stomach and chest. They were broad, so he had that going for him at least, but his stomach was a little chubby, not to mention the ugly scar a few inches left of his belly button. Finally he just looked at himself fully. He was of about average height for his age, but his dad was only about 5’7 from what he could remember and his mum was under 5’. That combined with the fact that his muscles were already developed and he had hair where grown people do made him worried that he wouldn’t get much, if any taller than he was now.

He sighed, taking his boxers off of his computer chair, putting them on and grabbing a towel. Time to try and make himself presentable.

Half an hour later he stood fully dressed in front of his bedroom mirror. He didn’t look too bad. He’d opted to wear his dark gray jacket over a white t-shirt, along with loose fitted dark blue jeans and his black hiking boots. The boots were comfortable and added a couple of inches to his height, which he liked. Satisfied he looked as good as he could make himself look he left his room and headed downstairs. He found his mum and Kas both sat on the sofa watching TV, Kas took a long drag of his spliff before passing it to his aunt. She’d been up all night again it seemed. She’d spent most nights awake for the last… Well, she’d done it for all of his life. Guess she found it more peaceful. Surprisingly Kas was actually dressed, usually he'd be asleep for at least another five hours.

"Morning ma... Kas, you actually coming to the carnival?" Thomas asked casually, opening the kitchen door a little to try and let some of the weed smoke out of the living room.

"Yeah, I gotta sell some product. Half my damn customers right now are middle aged rich assholes who need to toke one after a stressful day trading stocks... flipping real estate and shit." He laughed, finding himself funny as usual. "Great for the P's, don’t get me wrong. Most of these brehs buy in bulk, but they're no fun to deal with at all. Plus I want to see all the gyal dem I’mma be tryna fuck for the next few years."

"Sonny." Maria warned.

"Sorry auntie."

"Anyway, cool." Thomas interrupted. "On the subject of money though, can you lend me $30? I need some money for the carnival, school lunches and whatever else."

"I gave your broke ass $20 last week!"

"I bought food with that, which you’ve been eating! Plus don’t even hit me with that broke bullshit. You been making nuff cash just for walking a mile or two every now and then."

"Don’t blame me cause I’m more entrepreneurial than you bitch."

"You two, I’m trying to watch this."

Kas rolled his eyes, but got up, they both stepped out of the living and into the kitchen, shutting the door behind them.

"Shit, it’s bright as hell in here." Thomas complained, shielding his eyes as they were trying to adjust from the relative darkness of the living room.

"True that." Kas agreed.

"Anyway, yeah, you the shit for breaking into a tiny ass towns underworld in record time, but for me to make that kind of money I would have to work ten hour shifts cleaning dishes or washing cars and I still wouldn’t be able to get the hours to make in a month what your ass is making every few days."

"Whatever man, fine. Take this fifty… Be complimenting me and shit, that’s a low blow cuz, you know how I feel about flattery. You're gonna have to work for it though, have to drop some shit for me sometime or somethin', since your ass insists on being in on the proceeds anyway."

"Fine. Thank you." Thomas smiled, fist bumping his cousin.

"Welcome man, we leaving?"

"Yup, you got your stuff?"

"Yeah."

"You can't bring a blade to school on your first day man."

"Shit, yeah I can. These rich punks ain't searching no one. Besides, I'd be more worried about the cro if I were you. The blade don't stink." He chuckled, finding the pissed off look his cousin gave him amusing.

"Fine, just don't get me expelled or arrested. Let's go."

Kas and Thomas walked back through the living room, Thomas leaning down and giving his mum a kiss on the cheek.

"We’re off now. Try and get some sleep, you were up all day yesterday too."

"I will. You two be safe. Love you."

"We love you too. Inabit." Thomas said softly, going out into the doorway.

"Peace auntie!" Kas grinned, following him.

"Alright, let’s go punk."

Half an hour later they were sat on the bleachers on the schools field listening to the enthusiastic speech coming from the head mistress. It was pretty surreal compared to what Thomas was used to back in England. His old school sure as shit never had this kind of pride holding it's faculty and students up. Even still he scowled at Kas who was sat next to him, giggling at the display.

"You hear this shit Thomas? Fucking seniors? As if these punk ass 18 year olds are using zimmer frames or something. They got a damn carnival too! Can you imagine a carnival back at St Josephs? Fucking kids would be snatching and running at the food vendors and shit." He continued, giggling, his high obviously hadn't worn off yet.

"Hush man, this could be important." Thomas spoke, quiet and sternly, scowling at his cousin.

"What's important is how buff our head teacher is. Check her out! Shit, I hope I get sent to her."

"They're called principles here. Now shut up for a minute, you're attracting attention. You can run your mouth when we're dismissed any time now."

With that Thomas started looking around, trying to see if he could spot any familiar faces and trying his best to ignore Kas' continuous remarks.

Amelia Rashfree

---

---

Amelia got dressed early at home, excited for a new start at school but she was worried as today was the day her father came out of jail. She pulled on her white top and red skirt and her shoes. She then put all of her piercings in and her necklace and bracelet on. She then put on her lipstick and eyeliner and tied her hair into a bun and then walked to school. She had her white bag over her shoulder and heard the announcement and went to the bleachers. She was happy and she was hoping her father didn't return as she was scared about that. She sat down and looked for people she knew and saw Kas and Thomas and ran over to them.
"Heya, it is nice to see you two again, I can't believe there is a silly carnival, it feels so childish, I would rather be studying and doing something worthwhile instead of this but we don't have our schedules yet, I wish we could have started today but we had to have this childish carnival" You could tell that she had grown up quickly by the way that she called all of this childish as she sat next to them.
"I wish I could just skip today and go to tomorrow, then maybe what I have been putting off thinking about for weeks would never happen" You could see that she was worried about something that was more than school as she stared out into the distance.

---

---

6:45 AM

Ezera! get your behind up! You're going to be late! The sounds of an annoyed grandma who have been calling for her grandson sounded for the last 30 minutes. Suffering from only 4 hours of sleep, staying up all night mixing and being on the phone. Waking up mumbling with a little irritation about not wanting to be forced to wake up, Ezera looked at the clock noticing the time as his eyes widened "Shit!" he said jumping up knowing he was going to be late.

Wiping the cold out his eyes and rushing to the bathroom in his boxers, he had to multitask. he started up the shower and squeezed toothpaste on his toothbrush, brushing his teeth in the shower and getting washed up before getting out to get dressed. Looking through his closet, he grabbed a pair of navy blue jeans with a fade, a black v neck shirt and a letter jacket. He had to get on his black and blue Nike air force 1 shoes, wanting to look fresh on the orientation....if he gets there on time.

Ezera rushed out his room while he was getting on his chain and earrings while walking in the kitchen. His grandma was sipping on coffee Boy, are you ready...you're going to be late, you know that. Looking at his grandmother, Ezera sighed "Well the more you keep talkin grandma, the later I'm gonna be." Boy, don't make me smack you with that eggo waffle. go ahead and get you something so you can eat on the way. Ezera grabbed an eggo waffle and a plate, pouring syrup on it to dip his waffle. He want to grab some milk and poured it into a cup.

Grabbing his book bag for just in case, he followed his grandma to the car as she took him to the carnival that was going on. The opening speech was going on when he arrived. He rushed out the car after giving his grandma a kiss on the cheek and made it to the field where the bleachers were. Someone pointed him to the freshman area but by the time he made it to the front of the bleachers, the speech was over, he was definitely late, missing mostly the introduction. He stood there as the students were released by grade and looked into the crowd to notice a few he's met before and a few he didn't recall ever meeting. There were a few cute girls but there was a certain someone he didn't want upsetting from his wandering eyes looking at asses and boobs.

A pale star among a rainbow of nervous rippling freshmen, a willowy small figure danced over the air towards the bleachers like a lazy sauntering butterfly. She was late, but she didn't look worried at all, gliding over to the freshman section of bleachers as the principal was speaking. Her wild curling hair was so blonde it was almost white, her eyes so blue they were almost as translucent as her skin. Everything about her was pale and ghostly.

Everything but her smile. She wore a sweet and dreamy grin, drifting through the kids her age, yet not really seeing any of them. Alone and content. Like a single cloud over an ocean sky. Her jeans were bellbottoms, old and faded, with colorful hand-done embroidery of a collection of flowers and cursive words, like 'peace' and 'love'. Her shirt was thin, billowing about her, like her veil of silver blonde hair. It was an off white color, with thick lace about the neck as the only decoration. With no bag, she was unbound to material things for today, merely enjoying the sunlight as she sat down on the warmed steel bleachers.

The slip of a girl looked as though she were something from an old photograph, but the scent that danced around her was earthy and floral enough to be proof of her very real existence. When the speech was over, she practically floated right back up to her feet. Drifting through the crowd, as if she could pass right through people with no trouble at all, the tiny colorless creature stopped with a smile right in front of someone familiar.

'Kas'. Or perhaps it was 'Sonny'? Either way he was somewhat familiar to her. Once or twice she had seen him at the Sundance Castle (what she called the very large eclectic jumble of a house she lived in), but they hadn't talked much before. And she wasn't too naive as to not know why he'd been on their front porch. She'd talk to him, but he seemed like he might be busy talking to the brawny guy and spirited girl by him. Ah well. Another time.

"Sunny and bright I find you~" her honeyed-wine voice was melodic and mellow with amusement, laced with the lightest bubbling giggle as she sang quietly to herself, "Can you tell me your name~?" She slipped around a senior, flashing him a smile, before spinning on her heel and folding her hands behind her back, "Give me a daisy~ I'll give you a kiss~"



Long legs in black slacks and a black suit jacket over a white shirt, a silver chain loose around his neck. Hair that was cut short around the neck, but hung low in deep soul-staring eyes. Ears with small gauges and a lip ring. The rather tall and mature looking boy was standing as close to the exit by the bleachers as possible. And even when the principal began to speak, he did not sit. He just stood and stared out at the colorful rides and ripoff games. He was an inky smear on a colorful and vibrant day.

Could you believe that he was wearing his most tame, plain and contemporary outfit today? The only adornment his clothes had today were that his suit jacket had a silver thread dressed pocket, and that the inside was mended patches of black silk. Tomorrow he'd wear what he truly enjoyed wearing. But today was the first day. And, well, first impressions mattered in a society of visual creatures. And even if he knew he wouldn't talk to many kids his age, he wanted them to at least get the most diluted impression of him possible.

Running his finger through his damp hair, he leaned back and sighed, his other hand in his pocket. A yellowing bruise was healing on his jaw. A slight cut was starting to scar by his hairline. But other than that he looked like any rebellious kid starting high school... just a bit more put together than most. Maybe a bit taller too.

When the speech ended and kids started to meander down to the games and rides, he finally went to sit on the bleachers. While his gait had been graceful, he took his time sitting down, wincing every now and then. And this had been a good morning at his house. This morning he hadn't eaten, something he was used to doing, leaving far before his father woke up from a drunken stupor. Oberon suspected he'd try to do that a lot again this school year.

Finally situated on the hard bleachers, in the corner where it was shaded, the dark boy let out a long sigh of relief. His elbows on his knees, he finally relaxed. Those deep eyes looked up through his hair and began the entertainment he was used to by now: people watching. There was much to learn about each new person. He didn't want to miss anything. The school might not be large, but it was important to him to observe his new classmates. Figure out just how they all worked. Like trying to figure out each and every clock in a clockwork shop. Difficult and time consuming, but interesting for the one taking the time.

Maz was awake when his alarm went off at 5:30. The teenager was sitting at his desk working a his picks in a lock when his cell phone let out a shill cry to let him know it was time for him to get ready for school. He reached over and tapped the large red button on the screen and let out a groan. Summer had past all too quickly and he was finally going to high school. “Yay, mandatory education.” It's not so much that he really minded school as he just didn't want to give up all of the free time he had. Still, there wasn't anything he could do about it so he took a quick shower and after that dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a bright red t-shirt along with green sneakers.

Breakfast was french toast that he had made himself and uncomfortable silence when Nasrin joined him at the table to drink her coffee before she left to wherever it was she worked. He knew she was a lawyer of some kind, but that was as much as he cared to learn. Once he was fed, in addition to being showered and dressed, he filled one of the pockets of his jeans with pumpkin seeds before grabbing his messenger bag and helmet. The helmet was for his moped, no where near as convenient as his father's car, but something about riding the moped amused him immensely. This was likely his habit of yelling 'meep meep, motherfucker' when ever he rode it around town.

He enjoyed that pseudo war cry of his twice on the way to school and once in the school parking lot when an older student took too long lining up their car while parking. Maz took a space right beside the older student and the two of them exchanged a few more words. This ended with Maz insinuating that the guy fellated a goat to get his license which led to the guy chasing him across the parking lot hurling insults all the way. Luckily for Maz he had managed to lose the guy in the crowed of students on his way to the bleachers so rather than a black eye all he had to contend with was being out of breath when he joined the rest of the freshman on the bleachers.

“What a wonderful way to start the year.”

Nathan stared at his alarm clock as it buzzed early in the morning, internally crying as he let out a sigh and threw off his blankets, revealing . He wasn't so much worried about school itself, but rather what today was... Some sort of carnival. He wasn't really sure as he didn't bother to get the details, only that he knew he wouldn't need his backpack today. That was a relief, he didn't really like lugging the thing around all day, especially for what was essentially a day of celebration for some. He had given himself plenty of time to get ready, even if it all wasn't needed. What more worried him was that he didn't know anyone in the small town, and felt that he'd be outcasted immediately because of this. Though, he had been mentally preparing for such an occasion... After all, if he could get it in his mind that no one would pay attention to him anyway, maybe the day would be better.

And as he began to do his regular routine of getting ready, throwing on a dark purple Under Armour hoodie with gray sweatpants to match, he glanced outside at the driveway to make sure that his father had already left for work, relieved when his father's car was gone. He was never awake to see his father leave, but it was reassuring to Nathan that he'd be gone before Nate went to school. He shuffled down the stairs, hastily entering the kitchen to grab breakfast. They hadn't bough groceries in awhile, and as tempted as he was to write a list for such an occasion, he knew better than to try to state his mind here... Maybe he'd find solace in school today. At the very least there had to be some handsome people around... And now he just felt creepy. Eating a bowl of cereal in silence, he stared at the clock, waiting for when he had scheduled to leave. It came agonizingly slow, and at this point he wasn't sure if he wanted the day to go by fast or not...

So when the time came and he managed to arrive in the freshmen section, he found a seat further away from a majority of the other freshmen, along the edge of the section; the perfect place to sit and wait to be released. He plugged earbuds into his phone, letting the cord go through the inside of his hoodie to conceal it as he hastily put his hood up. He didn't want to be recognized, or rather, he didn't really want to start a conversation up with anyone. It's always been like that... Why stop now? Instead, he could gaze at the unsuspecting people around him, listening to music with a calming peace around him. He didn't really pay attention to what the principle said, although it did strike him odd that they'd be getting their schedules on the first day of school and not today. After all... how would they know where to report to... Questions for later, he supposed.

---

---

It was going to an awesome day, Blake was sure of that. When his alarm went off at 5:30, he was greeted by the sight of his Aunt Sharla, holding a fresh cup of french vanilla coffee with 5 sugar cubes and cream, just the way he liked it. She was smiling down at him, as if she were staring down at her own child... Though Blake didn't notice that. His mind was wandering towards high school, a tinge of excitement hitting him when the thought about everyone there. Even though he hadn't taken the time to get to know everyone in this town, he felt school would be the perfect way to interact with them. After all, this year felt different to him... And that excited him even more.

"You're so sweet Aunt Sharla," He began to say, hugging her lightly as he took the coffee from her hands, "This is the perfect start..."
"Well, that's a relief to hear sweetie... I've already ironed your clothes and put them out for you, so while you go shower and get ready for today's carnival, I'll be cooking you breakfast!" She told him, walking off towards the stairs as he proceeded towards the bathroom.

Around 30 minutes later, Blake emerged from his fancy cave, feeling stylish from his appearance and refreshed from the coffee. When he entered the kitchen, he was glad to see that his Aunt was just finishing the meal; freshly made french toast with just the right amount of powdered sugar, almost as if it were a snowy peak or mountain range, 2 pieces of bacon, crisped to perfection, and lastly country potatoes, seasoned and fried. It was like he had went to food heaven...
"Sharla, you didn't have to make this! I could have easily eaten some cereal...we have cereal right?" He said, a warm smile across his face as he stared at the food.
"I won't allow my darling gem to eat such common food on his first day! Enjoy something slightly better for once, along with how much more nourishing it is than boring cereal!"
Deciding not to argue with that sound logic, Blake gladly dug in...
"Oh, and before I forget Blake, you're allowance is on the table by the door. Since they knew the festival was today, they made sure to give you plenty of $20s instead of just a flat 100." His Aunt said, to which he simply nodded and continued to eat...

Now, sitting in the middle section of the freshmen bleachers, he listened intently at his principal. He was sure the carnival would be a fun time... And maybe he could find someone he knew too. However, he was simply waiting to be released so that he could find someone to speak with.

Sadie woke up earlier today than she usually would have. At five in the morning her phones alarm went off and she rose out of bed with a massive smile on her face. Today was finally the day. Her first day as a high school student was finally here. She was overjoyed at the prospect of all that could happen these next four years. One thing she knew she was finally going to do and that was tell Ro that she liked him. She was also going to kick her dancing up another notch by joining the schools dance club.

The excitement was boiling and spilling out of the little pot that the girl was. She rushed to the bathroom and took her time getting ready. She showered and when she hopped out she started trying to figure out how she'd do her hair then finally decided to just stick with her signature look of pigtails. When she got back to her room she grabbed her clothes that she had laid out the day before and threw it on. Her outfit consisted of a long-sleeved cyan under armor shirt, leather jacket with hoodie, black skirt, and leggings.

When she was done she headed to the kitchen noticing that neither parents were there, but in their place was Alex. "Alex, where's Mom and Dad?" The older brother groggily looked up at his sister and replied, "You know Mom had to be in really early today, and Dad got called in just a few minutes ago. They needed him for something. I'm taking you and Micky to school today."

"Are you forgetting something? Today is the carnival. I can ride my bike there.

"That's a no can do. Mom and Dad said I had to take you otherwise you probably wouldn't eat breakfast. Now, I made you some eggs. Eat up. I'll go wake up Micky." The teenage girl looked at the plate full of eggs that was shoved towards her. In all honesty she hadn't even thought about eating breakfast. She had just planned to go straight to school. However, she sat at the table and ate the eggs as quickly as possible. By the time she was done Micky had finally woken up and changed. Sadie grabbed his plate for him and urged her brothers to quickly head out the door to the family van.

After dropping Micky off first and finally getting to the school Sadie noticed she had about five minutes before the principal was suppose to give their speech. She turned to her brother and asked, "May I have $50 dollars for the carnival?" Alex looked at his sister like she was crazy, "What, you think money grows on trees now? I work on campus and that money goes to tuition. Anyway you should be using your money to get me a birthday present."

"Oh, come on please. I'll use whatever I have leftover to get you something."

"So, basically you want me to pay for my own present." Sadie looked at her brother and started to make her pouting face. "You know that stopped working when you turned 10. Anyway why not. I remember those carnivals and they were fun but no money sucked." The brother produced the cash and handed it over to Sadie, "Thank you."

She quickly turned and ran to the location of the carnival. She tried looking for one of her friends, but with just under 1,000 people it was kinda difficult. When the principal started speaking she quickly sat down and listened to every word the woman said. Once the freshmen were dismissed she got up and started her search again.

Francisco yawned as the principal spoke. Fantastic...my phone is about to die.. he thought as he responded to a text from his sister. yeah... She loves getting up at six in the morning... he thought as he put away his phone and thought back to this morning.
Francisco had been sleeping peacefully with the family cat snuggled up against his side wit her head paws on his out stretched arm. At six o'clock sharp Samantha had banged on his door yelling "Frankie Wake up!". After about five minutes of digging the cats claws out of his arm and a lot of swearing he got out of bed. While the claws hadn't gone in deep, it still hurt a lot After getting dressed in dark blue jeans and grey T-shirt with his black fleece lined jacket. After breakfast of toast and an argument about pounding on his door with his sister Francisco left to go to the School event. "Don't forget to pick up Sam After the Carnival, She is going to be with her friends at the mall." she had told him as he got out of her car. Francisco was happy his Adopted sister was making friend, only three weeks and she already has a bunch of friends. He on the other hand, had only made one with the help of his sister. A girl named Sadie that attended the same dance studio as Sam.

Once Sam had heard Sadie was adopted, she knew Francisco and Sadie should be friends. She had Dragged Francisco over to her and introduce him to her. Sadie was cool, from time to time they text or talk When Francisco would pick up his sister. Anytime Sam see's Sadie round town she tries to drags Francisco over. Thankfully it is rare that they do, since Francisco hates running into her. Not that he hates her, but Francisco felt like Sam was forcing Sadie to interact with him. He always hated making people do things against their will.
Suddenly the voice of the principal caught Francisco's attention as other freshmen stood and dispersed Guess it's time to explore. he thought as he stood and went to walk around.

---

Ronin stretched in bed, reaching for the alarm on his phone and dismissing it. He instantly plugged in some headphones like he always did and started listening to some music, meanwhile throwing off the covers and sliding into his sweats and a grey shirt that had "NAVY" written in Navy blue across the front, thats where he plans on going to college. He slid the phone in his pocket and walked out of his room and into the bathroom, having already taken a shower last night he only fixed his hair and brushed his perfectly strait teeth. He smiled in the mirror when he was done and with a nod of approval he put his brush away and walked out hitting the switch on the way.

He hesitated at the stairs then turned and went back to his room grabbing his sweatshirt and spraying a dash of cologne on underneath. He slid down the granite staircase railing and landed with a slide on his socks at the bottom. He ran and slid around the corner headed to the modernistic kitchen half dancing half jumping as the music changed to another favorite. He waved to Hailee, one of the house maids, as she slid him some french toast across the white granite island counter top. He scarfed it down and let out a moan of appreciation as Hailee smiled at him and he dashed off and slid on the hardwood floor again and again until he got to the "mudroom", it was kinda like his personal locker room where he kept all his sports gear and shoes. He dug through all his random stuff and found his favorite shoes, slipped'em on and naturally grabbed his soccer bag (school stuff inside along with a ball in the ball pocket) and his 60" lacrosse long pole that was almost as tall as he was along with his lax gloves and headed out. He left through the garage passing by his dads favorite jaguar that he couldent take on his current business trip. Once outside he put his hood up and turned up the volume on his music as he ran to school, faster than most would find comfortable, while he "shadow practiced" cradling his lacrosse ball and doing dodges on invisible players as he bounced around to his music.

Once he got to the school he slowed his breathing and put his hood down, scanning the scene, he located where he was supposed to sit and headed that way. When he got to the bleacher he bounded up multiple steps at a time all the way to the top and walked over to the middle and took a seat. He watched as kids filled the bleachers and observed the mixing patterns of students watching all the freshman separate from most of the other grades, in them he saw Indie, to his disappointment, smoking. Then his eyes fell on Lily... Ronin always dreamed of lily, but she was a loyal girlfriend so he averted his eyes and got lost in his music, ignoring his feelings towards the gorgeous female. He watched his friend Jake and the rest of his soccer buddies show up, debating on weather to go associate with them or not. He decided against it as everyone was released from the bleachers, instead he just stayed seated and watched everyone, he enjoyed just watching people. So there he sat, admiring the first day of school (more so lily than anyone else).

The principal really seemed to be trying too hard with getting the kids involved, it was the first day for Christ's Sake. In Allie's opinion, they really needed to be a little bit softer on the kids. It's their transfer from middle school to high school, that's a big thing. She had an idea of her own, just start the first day off with some ice breakers with their normal schedule. Tell the students what they'd be learning the entire year. It all seemed so superficial and obnoxious to her. Allie brushed some hair out of her face as she noticed a small voice, "Uh...h-hey... Gonna be a...a...cool year, yeah? I'm...I'm uh....Nicoletta...Soriano..."

Allie smiled lightly and tried not to make a fool of herself for her first impression, "Hey, I'm Allison Harlan, but you can call me Allie" she looked the girl up and down and tried to make note of her finer features. Her mother had always teased her for being overly analyzing but she never took it to heart, she loved the healthy teasing she could do with her mother. She first noticed her complexion, which was nearly flawless, which made her a bit envious, as she had the occasional pimple. She also let her eyes linger a bit and she noticed her large bust and looked away, she had been getting a little bit close, it wasn't an intentional thing, it was just something she did on accident. "I apologize, I like the little details in people. Makes them see more interesting yanno?"

When he walked through the crowd, people stood aside. Not out of respect or civility but of fear. He stood taller than most of them at 6'2 and was built sturdier and stronger than most of the teaching staff. Years of boxing has molded his frame, made his bones strong, and given him a frightening appearance. His clothes were clean, well maintained, but were tainted by the harshness of age. Colors were faded on his flannel shift, the bottom of his jeans were a bit on the torn side, and his Laredo boots had seen better days. He had come from a difficult background and his appearance backs it up. It made him into a rebel in the eyes of the unknowing and the way people treated him reflected that. With an unintentional scowl etched on his face Clyde pressed through the crowds parting the sea of bodies like Moses as he led the Israelites. Even a few seniors were hesitant to look him in his brown eyes, their minds curious as to who he was and if he would be trouble.

Everyone thought he was bad news, and because of Clyde's refusal to talk to people, there was no way of changing anyone's mind. Despite Abbie McGumffery's insistent defending of the boy's character, many kept their distance from the child. So he only had a single friend for so many years in school. He would sit in the back of the classroom wearing a disgruntled face (some call it resting bitch face), never speaking a word, further entertaining the idea that a madman was present in school. Then the rumors started about the boy.

He was a serial killer but the cops have not caught him yet. Be careful or it would be you next!

I heard he kidnaps pets and tortures them in the woods, drinks their blood like a vampire.

Do you see how much weight he lifts at the gym?! I heard he killed a man in the ring with a single punch!

His eyes caught a familiar face in the bleachers. He was the boy who takes pictures, wonderful pictures if Clyde's memory serves him right. He was also the only guy who ever stood up for him when Jacob McKinnon had began harassing him. And Clyde, in his infinite awkwardness, never thanked the boy properly. Clyde wanted Caleb to know that he was an alright guy and to not believe the rumors behind Clyde's character. But how does one signify friendliness? Smiling!

Clyde looked to Caleb and shot him a disastrous smile that made the boy look like a psychopath. But to Clyde everything went according to plan! Days of practicing in the mirror made the boy confident that his smile worked. But then he noticed the person sitting next to Caleb. Indiana Ryder. She once tried to say something to him and the poor boy ran away after babbling like an idiot. As soon as their eyes met Clyde tuned away quickly and sat near the edge of the bleachers where no one could bother him.

Poetry hummed softly to herself, swimming through the crowd, each step like that of a groovin' dance, with a twirl here and there. She didn't have any money to spend on the festivities, but she enjoyed the cheerful atmosphere. And it was a nice day. Why let anything get her down? She could create her own amusement. The sun was playing in her hair and the gentle breeze was her dancing partner. Today she had just woken up with spring thick in her veins, and her grandmother always said that you should listen to what your body needs. Well, today Poetry needed to dance.

Reaching out a hand, she spun about a pole that held up one of the game tents. Letting out a laugh, the spirit-like girl ignored the smirks and laughs at her odd behavior. It wouldn't make her change who she was. They could stare and laugh and say anything they liked. They'd get bored sooner or later. So she just giggled in amusement as she waltzed and drifted between the games, her silver gold halo flowing gently behind her.



Oberon watched with subtle interest. The bruises on his stomach were aching in protest at his sitting position, so the lanky boy is black leaned back in the shadows atop the bleachers. His dark gaze scanned over the people who appeared to be in his grade.

Miss prim and proper blonde...
Miss hiding blonde...
A photographer and an athlete who appeared to be brothers...
Yet another Miss blonde with simple yet elegant fashion sense and could pull off white... Miss shy brunette trying to make friends...
Miss aggressive and loud bottle-blonde...
A brawny guy and a fox of boy with an energetic red-head...
A boy trying not to get caught checking out girls...
Some weird hippie...
The boy who had come in far later than the others and out of breath...
Shy boy in black sweats...
Completely boring and entirely sub-average looking kid who probably thought he looked good in black, when he simply did not...
Miss girl-next-door... Tough guy... Athlete...
Tree-tall grim guy who's smile wilted half the students in the entire school...

He went through the list and as it grew the more relaxed he became. These kids didn't look vicious or violent. Well, not the majority of them anyway. And boy was being blonde 'in' this year. And wearing black too, apparently. Well, imagine that. He was fashionable for once. The slightest of smiles haunted his pierced lips. Perhaps luck would be on his side and they wouldn't take their entertainment in the suffering of others. His smile vanished.

....Doubtful.

---

First day of school. Selene Cross had to admit, her day had not started off well. Despite all of her planning and careful thought, her morning plans were ruined by her little brother occupying the bathroom for almost an hour. By the time she did finish the shower and drying her hair, foundation, concealer, and eyeliner were out of the question. She told herself it was fine and stuck to the basics. She could salvage this. It may not be the first impression she wanted to make, but not showing up or showing up late lent themselves to their own impressions. At least she had laid out everything the night before. The dark purple stockings were first, then the white lacy-sleeved dress (and the hem just long enough to avoid a rule infraction on her first day!), the lilac-colored bows pinned onto her pigtails, the black pump shoes (it was still a carnival, after all. Even if the white was a bit of a risk). Mascara, light pink lipstick, and a touch of pink eyeshadow - and then the thick black sunglasses that covered up half of her work. It didn't bother her as she picked up her backpack and went downstairs.

When Nikki spilled milk across the table and onto her bag, that bothered her. She had to switch to a smaller purse and hope it would still be able to carry everything she wanted.

But nope, thanks to her little brother, she wasn't fully prepared for school, and she had to leave the bag of caramel candies at home. Typical. They wouldn't know, she reminded herself on the way to the high school for her first day. There were many people here she'd never met before and, therefore, knew nothing of her. They wouldn't know what she had to forgo for the day and would be distracted by the festivities. She for one was looking forward to them - perhaps she could win a stuffed tiger or two at the carnival games? By the time she had reached school and been seated at the bleachers, her annoyances had been forgotten in favor of surveying her new classmates. Tomorrow, she was going to have sweets for everyone. Probably cookies - sugar. In case there were any allergies to chocolate. She'd only seen it once, but better safe and sorry, and sugar cookies were still fairly beloved in her experience. But bring in the caramels too, why not.

There were so many people she didn't recognize, she realized. She had known it was likely in the back of her mind, but it felt so different seeing it in person. This would surely be a challenge, but not one she'd turn down. She could totally do this.

That said, she did note, from her vantage point, that someone she expected to see was missing. Strange; a last-minute vacation or illness? Or maybe just running late. Once the speech ended and classes began to be released, Selene sighed and began moving down the bleachers, adjusting her sunglasses to protect from the early morning sun and curious stares. She reached a spot near the front, enjoying the view down near the ground much better, and sat.

Not even minutes later, he arrived. She could already see he was taking stock of the class as well, just for slightly different reasons. She smiled and waved. "EJ, would you mind?" The informal nickname and semi-formal style of speaking seemed to clash, and yet she didn't notice as she called him over.

For the first time in a long time, Indiana woke up in her own bed. Her eyes took a ridiculously long time adjusting to the painful light streaming through her window, and she groaned as she rubbed her head. As if things could get any worse, a pounding on her door caused her to make a second, louder groan. Of course, it was Lydia. It always was.

"Wake up wake up wake up WAKE UP!" The monster of a human being, having given up on waiting to be let in, burst through the door - landing heavily on top of the bed, right where Indiana happened to be sleeping. Mumbling a few incoherent curses, the girl attempted feebly to shove her sister off; but it was to no avail. The squirming creature then continued to let out yet another series of squeals. "It's your first day of public school, Indie! GET UP." Before she could make any move to prevent the attack, the duvet she was clutching was whipped away from her to reveal a matching set of bunny-rabbit pyjamas. "Is that what you wear when William stays over?" At the mention of her boyfriend, Indiana abruptly stood up, sending Lydia toppling off of the bed.



The process involved in getting ready was no simple one, but Indie managed it in precisely twenty minutes. Certainly not a personal record, but today she wanted to at least make an effort. Upon exiting the bathroom after her shower, she had bumped into some guy she had never seen before as he was slipping out of her mother's bedroom. Hastily avoiding his hungry gaze, she had slammed her bedroom door shut and proceeded to get dressed. Her first attempt at an outfit was a little skirt alongside a matching top, floral and summery. But, after sending a photo of it to William, she decided that she didn't like it once he had suggested that it was too revealing. She felt a flutter of gratefulness for their little routine. She would send him a picture of what she was wanting to wear for the day, and he would tell her whether he liked it or not. A flicker of a smile softened her features as she recalled him murmuring in her ear that he wanted his girlfriend to look her best. She instead opted for all-black-biker-style attire and headed out, blowing Lydia a mocking kiss as she stepped out of the door.

The journey to the school itself wasn't too tricky, but the dirty looks Indiana received made her heart flutter. She kept the bored expression on her features however, taking a long drag of the burning cigarette in her hand before dropping it on the floor and stomping it out. It wasn't as if she needed to make good first impressions; it was a small town they lived in and almost everyone knew her already and the trouble she tended to cause. The school grounds were already teeming with life as she arrived, recognising most people but betraying nothing but cool contempt as she regarded the buzzing atmosphere. The only person she bothered to actually pay attention to was William, who was laughing along with his mates in the sophomores section of the bleachers. She smirked as he drank her in with his eyes and gave her a subtle nod as greeting.

Now in a resoundingly better mood, Indiana took a seat and decided that inspecting her nails was a good way to seem as if she couldn't care less about this carnival. Truth be told, she was pretty curious about it - despite the fact that she knew a lot of the students here, she was still new to the whole actual school thing and wanted to test the waters a little.

Conversations started up again as the principal concluded her pitiful speech, and Indiana could only raise a brow. The woman was acting as if this carnival was the most exciting thing in the world. It held a bitter sense of irony when compared to the somber expressions of the vast majority of students. An oddly lively movement for the earliness of the morning caught her eye, and she tilted her head slightly to regard a beaming girl with gorgeous blonde hair. The enthusiasm was a rare sight, but as she recognised the girl, it was not surprising. She was Jacob McKinnon's girlfriend, and Jacob McKinnon was the twin of Caleb McKinnon, and Caleb Mckinnon was her best friend.

The girl was snapped out of her brief fascination as she felt someone sit next to her, only to turn around and be greeted with a camera lens in her face. Speaking of the devil. Indiana's lips twitched into a small, rare smile as she regarded the boy sitting next to her. Her eyes focused on his T-shirt and she tilted her head to read it. "Hogwarts, huh?" She cast a quick glance over to where William had been sitting, only her gaze landed on empty space. She stood up, gesturing for Caleb to come with her as she began to descend the steps. Her heels weren't too high, but a small part of her mind managed to conjure up scenarios involving her falling down the stairs in front of the whole school. She had an odd urge to take Caleb's arm, but dared not to - she knew that somehow Will would find out if that happened. Worth the risk. Indie found herself thinking, but she quickly pushed away the thought and scolded herself internally, shoving her hands into her pockets. Boyfriend.

"I took one of those online quiz things, and it told me I was a Hufflepuff." She announced over her shoulder, flipping her hair haughtily. "And that's utter bullshit because I'm clearly a Slytherin girl." In truth, the Harry Potter series was not amongst her favourite books - but she knew the ins and outs of the story, as she did with most other fictional universes. She preferred more of the classics; especially the tragic ones that ended with death and despair and lots of crying. Of course, she wouldn't cry at them. At least, not all of them.

Her gaze slid across the bleachers, causing her to halt half-way down the steps as her eyes landed on a dark figure lurking in the shadows. Indiana narrowed her eyes for a second, ignoring the annoyed huffs of passerbys as the stairway was blocked by her just standing and staring. "Who's that?" She turned to Caleb for a moment, gesturing towards the boy in the shadows. She had never seen him before, which surprised her. Because he was absolutely gorgeous. The words popped into her mind before she could push them away, and she felt an immediate stab of guilt towards William. She knew how worried he got about other guys, and here she was, doing exactly what he asked her not to do. "Y'know what? It doesn't matter. Let's have some fun." And then, swiftly grabbing Caleb by the hand, she flew down the steps, two at a time and shooting a devilish smirk towards whomever dared to get in the way.

---

The three triplets were climbing up the bleachers, annoyed at the American idea that stairs were a good idea in assembly. They went up reasonably high, wanting to get a look at everyone, and sat down in the middle of one of the top bleachers.

"So, anyone know what subjects we'll be taking?" Maeve asked to her siblings.

"Not a clue, I just hope that there's a martial arts club, or a Japanese class," Tadhg responded.

Maeve chuckled, "It's all about Asia with you, isn't it?"

"It's taken you fourteen years to work that out?"

"What about you, Conan?" Maeve asked, turning to her other brother, "An you're interested in?"

"What?" Conan said, snapping out of his viewing of good looking guys. There was a particularly hot senior that he was focusing on. "Uh, no, nothing interesting," he replied.

"Looking at the girls here, are we?" Maeve replied, giving him a light hit on the stomach.

"Ach, shut up, I'm not as desperate as Tadhg,"

"Hey! I'm not some pervert," Tadhg replied, defending himself

Just then, the principal could be heard speaking into the microphone.

"Just shut up, both of you, and let's listen to the principal," Maeve warned the boys, looking sternly at both of them.