The day was September 3rd 20XX, it was the beginning of the new school year for Glades Fall High School. It was the end of summer and autumn was kicking in, the towns bustling with all the students in the area heading off for their first day of school.



As the principal unlocked the doors of the freshly cleaned doors to the office building, she couldn't help but smile and think about what sort of school year it was going to be. Principal McCain was the founder and first Principal of Glades Fall High School and was determined to make the school the best school that didn't focus on how their students average grades were, she wanted each individual that walked through her school gates to succeed in what they were best at. She walked to her office and unlocked the door, she booted up her PC, logged in and proceeded to finalise her opening speech.

As she finished off her speech, multiple members of the faculty and even students were starting to arrive at the school. She shut her monitor off and took a deep breath.
"Another year... let's begin with a good day." she quietly whispered.

7:00am Jett Gijutsu's home

The alarm on Jett's phone was blaring it's usual tone. Jett hit the snooze button and slowly rised, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He stretched in place then threw his bed sheets off and went to get ready. He walked to the bathroom to shower, he could hear his dad already awake downstairs. After the shower he brushed and styled his deep purple hair in the way he usually does, he then proceeded to get dressed. He threw on a pair of black skinny jeans and a white button up shirt, over the top he threw on his black suit vest and pocketed the various things he took to school. A pocket watch in the breast pocket, various sized threading needles, measuring tapes, different coloured threads, some pins and a thimble. He grabbed his bag which housed his laptop, his design sketchbook and all other textbooks he needed, as well as the typical school supplies. He went downstairs to see his father leaving for the day.
"Don't forget to lock up when you head out, ok?" His father reminded him,
"No worries, have a good day at work." Jett replied in kind, they nodded at each and his father closed the door behind him. Jett then went to the shrine in the main living room which housed a photo of his mother, he kneeled at it and lit some incense and proceeded to pray.
"Mother please watch over me again this school year." He clapped his hands and got some breakfast and headed out, making sure to lock the door behind him.


Jett entered the school grounds of the Glades Fall High School and proceeded to the area he and his friends usually sit, noticing he was first to arrive. He sat down and pulled out his laptop and opened the program he would use to design any clothes he needed or wanted to make. He was finalising the designs on some of the outfits a few friends of his would like designed over the summer break. (Feel free to take advantage of that) He looked across the courtyard and couldn't help but be excited about his Sophmore year.

There was always something about a new school year that meant a fresh start. You could be a new person if you chose to, for Evangeline this meant something very different. She had spent the summer vacation without any communication with her friends from Glades Fall which was hard enough alone without the reasoning she was away in the first place. Around 6:00AM Evangeline woke up on her own and continued her morning routine of showering, dressing, and putting on some simple make up. Sitting down on her bed she picked up her phone for the first time in what seemed like forever, going through the contacts she texted one of her closest friends she had made her freshman year.

Sameh..I'm really sorry for not getting back to you this summer. I will tell you more about it at school, it's too much to text about. Don't be mad at me please... I will make it up to you, I promise. Meet me at the courtyard?

A knock on the door around 6:45 caused Eva to jump as she sputtered out, "I'm awake!" the voice of her mother returned through the door, "Have some breakfast before you go, it's hot right now sweetheart." Gathering her backpack, Evangeline looked at herself in the mirror: she was dressed fairly modest and simple; a pair of straight legged jeans, and a navy blue tee shirt. Her black ankle boots and leather jackets were a staple piece in her wardrobe. She placed her phone on silent and then into the back pocket of her jeans.

Leaving her room she went downstairs to see her parents at the table waiting for her, a stack of french toast and a bowl of scrambled eggs on the table- the steam rising slowly. "Morning." she chimed, putting her backpack by her shoes at the front door before sitting down at the table. Like clockwork they all held hands around the table as her dad spoke a blessing over the breakfast; "Lord, thank You for the food before us, the family beside us and the love between us. Amen." the amen's echoed as the family dug into their breakfast. Eva's mother spoke a few minutes later, "I hope you have a great year at school Eva." Swallowing a bite of a syrup drenched piece of french toast, Eva nodded in a quiet form of thanks.

When Eva's father stood up from the table it meant it was time to get going, Eva left her plate on the table knowing there wasn't enough time to help clean up. She followed quickly behind putting on her boots and backpack as she climbed into the back seat of his car. The drive to school was quiet and the tension could be cut with a knife. Pulling into the parking lot, the car was turned off as Robert Banks turned in his seat. "I am sorry this had to happen this way Eva, but you know that I only did this for your sake. You have your whole life ahead of you and I worked so hard for you to get into this school. I worked so hard to make a name for this family. I don't want you to waste your life on your childish mistakes, I don't want your name to be tarnished because of your failures. Daddy made it all right, so don't you dare fuck this up again." the swear word coming from her father's lips was surprising but not as surprising as it was sharp. Evangeline nodded as she fled from the car, trying to hold back emotions.

She wasn't sure if she was more sad or more angry. Either way she wanted to get out of there.

Evangeline found a table in the courtyard as she placed her bag on the top of it; her head followed soon after. "Stupid!" she whispered as her teeth grit. Taking her phone from her pocket she slipped it into her backpack instead so it wouldn't get lost or stolen. Hopefully Sameh would show up soon, and be forgiving of ghosting her over the summer.

Lorelei groggily opened one eye as her cell phone began the beginning to one of her favorite songs, "Angels" by Within Temptation. She tossed her sleeping bag to the side as she slowly got to her feet. The derelict church she'd adopted as her makeshift studio was a more comfortable sleeping place then her Uncle's loft. He's had strict rules about everything, screw the bed, she could make do with a sleeping bag.

She smiled as she looked at the piece she'd finished the night before, the oil painting was of a nearly luminescent woman, her wings extending beyond the edges of the canvas in defiance.

She refused to be bound to just a single picture.

Lorelei never quite knew what her obsession with winged people actually based itself on. She had zero interest in religion, just something about the freedom made sense to her. She looked down at the tracking anklet strapped around her tattooed leg. She wondered if other high school students here were tattooed as much as she was. Both arms, her legs, and if she wore any type of tank top, her back would be visible.

"Well I guess my wings are clipped for the time being." She sighed as she shrugged out of her painting clothes and picking up her clothing for the first day of school. A cut up pair of jeans, a tshirt of a comic heroine Blackcats had introduced her to. She looked to the pile of comics beside her lamp. She picked up her favorite article of clothing. Her vest. It was a pretty jacket at one point, then she nearly fell off that fire escape and tore a sleeve clean off. She loved the vest, had bleached the stencil of a pair of wings on the back. She also adorned it with a bunch of pins from various shows, and comic conventions she'd visited. Mementos that defined her as someone who isn't...she pushed those thoughts out of her head as she ran her hands through her hair and quickly slipped the vest over her shoulders.

This was her first day at Glades High, with a tracking anklet. She was going to be popular...

She left the church through the makeshift entrance through the skylight, and the fire escape from the second floor. She was used to hopping about like this, so it meant her little sanctuary was probably safe. The heavy chains made it impossible to gain access through the main door. As she landed on the gravel with a solid whoosh she heard the familiar chirp behind her. Without turning around she sighed, "I am planning to go to school as instructed,"

Officer Martinez, the only cop who agreed to be Lorelei's monitoring detail, waiting outside had a second cup of coffee waiting for Lorelei, she smiled as the girl sulked past her for a split second before turning around and taking the coffee. "You know that's trespassing right?"

Lorelei grumbled something under her breath before she said quietly, "He won't let me paint at home."

Martinez sighed, before gesturing to the car. "As far as I know, I found you at a coffee shop. Want a ride?"

Lorelei looked at the car, before checking her watch. "Can you at least drop me off a block away?" Martinez smiled, opening her door before responding.

"I don't want to make your life any more of an adjustment. Let me have a sketchbook page when you have a finished book and not only will I drop you off a block away, the church is between you and me." Lorelei smiled a little at Martinez before sipping the coffee, it was sweet, and the heat warmed her.

"Thank you...any chance you can take off the anklet?" She asked quietly. Martinez shook her head, the slight hints of a frown creasing her mouth.

"Sorry sweetie, it was that or juvie. Although from what I've heard this school will do wonders for you."

Lorelei was silent as she drank the rest of her coffee. As they pulled up to the promised "block away from school." Martinez tossed a small brown bag to her. "You packed me a lunch?"

"Did you have breakfast plans?"

"No..." Lorelei stammered. Martinez smiled as she reached over and closed the door.

"Your welcome."

Lorelei walked the rest of her way to the school, she kept looking down at the tracking anklet. "It's not that bad, it's not that bad..." She told herself over and over again as she stepped on school grounds.

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"Boom! In your face again!" Aiden shouted towards his brother as they had just done playing NCAA Football 2K19. Eden rolled his eyes at his brother's reaction then just shrugged his shoulders as he sat his controller down in front of him. "Whatever, dude." Eden muttered with a slight frown as Aiden smiled over at him. "Aw, don't be sad, brother. There's always tomorrow." Aiden said with a pat upon Eden's pat then they chuckled together after his words.

"Boys! Hope you are ready for school!" Their mother called up to them as they both checked the time then scrambled to get ready. They still had to shower, brush their teeth and get dressed so they took turns getting ready. While Eden brushed his teeth, Aiden was in the shower and vice versa. They went into their separate rooms and got dressed for the first day of school. Eden had no idea what he was going to wear but knew that he wanted to make a statement on his first day while Aiden was almost dressed already.

"You ready in there, Eden?" Aiden asked his brother after a knock on his door. Eden opened the door and stood there so Aiden could view his outfit. "Dude, too much." Aiden said as Eden closed the door in his face. "Sorry, bro." Aiden scoffed then shook his head as he walked down the stairs to get himself some breakfast that his mother had prepared.

"Tell me it's too much." Eden grumbled to himself in his room as he was just now placing his shoes on his feet then grabbed his bookbag while heading down the stairs himself. When he got there, his eyes peered towards Aiden with a scowl look plastered on his face now as he still sat in front of him and received his breakfast. "I don't think this outfit is too much, Aiden." Eden said with a hint of attitude in his voice as Aiden stood up with his plate in hand and walked towards the kitchen to place it in the sink then came back into the dining. "I apologize, brother but come on, that's your first-day outfit?" Aiden asked him while pointing at his outfit.

Eden scoffed and rolled his eyes at Aiden question then just did not even bother to answer him. Aiden sighed then walked outside to sit on the front porch and wait for Eden. In a few minutes, Eden was standing on the front porch as he looked at Aiden. "You're walking to school, right?" Eden said as he unlocked his vehicle with the simple click of the button then got inside as he tossed his book bag in the back seat behind him then quickly locked his doors before Aiden could get to the passenger's side. Aiden tugged on the handle then groaned as he knocked on the window with a smile. "Hey, buddy. You locked me out." Eden smirked at Aiden's words and instead of replying, he slowly started to back out of the driveway.

Aiden knew the game that Eden was playing right about now and just had to give in. "All right! I'm sorry!" Aiden called out toward Eden, who stopped the vehicle with a screech and unlocked the door. "Took you long enough." Eden remarked as Aiden got inside the vehicle then chuckled as he pulled further out of the driveway now and drove them toward Glades Fall High.

It took them about thirty minutes to get to the school as Eden pulled up into his assigned parking space. They emerged themselves from the vehicle and closed their doors almost simultaneously as Eden locked his vehicle. As they walked onto the campus, they ran across a female with a tracking anklet on. Aiden and Eden looked at each other with raised brows then sped up their pace a little bit. They entered the courtyard together and seen multiple people sitting by themselves and someone was sleep, which was weird to them.

"Oh, hey there's Eva. Catch ya' later, bro." Aiden said as he ran off to go over and sit by Eva as Eden tried to call his name because he did not want to left alone right now. Eden sighed then looked over towards the benches and walked over there and practically towered over a guy that was on his phone. "Excuse me but is anyone sitting here?" Eden would ask in a polite tone and waited for the guy's response before sitting down. But he did sit down anyway and leaned over his shoulder and looked down at his phone. "Whoa. Their outfits are amazing. My brother would be impressed." He muttered towards the guy then continued to look at his phone over his shoulder.

Aiden ran over towards Eva and sat down beside her with a smile. "Hey, want to check these songs I wrote?" It was only three songs that he had written over the Summer but he proud of them. Aiden rummaged through his book bag and pulled out a small notebook then handed it to Eva as he could not wait to hear her response to the songs he had written.

---

Blue as far as the eye could see. The wind blowing on his face and through his hair, Micky flew as fast as the Falcon. He watched the ground below him zoom by and on the horizon was the one thing he always wanted. If only he could reach a little --- BRRRNNNNNNNN! The young teenager lurches out of his dreams and bed in one fail swoop. Next to his bed stood his older brother Oliver laughing his butt off with the offending air horn in his hands. "WHAT THE HECK, OLLIE!" Micky took a few moments to catch his breath as his evil sibling just stood there enjoying the misery of his victim. "Dang. You almost gave me a heart attack." Ollie sighed out the last of his laugh, "Don't get your breeches in a twist. Had to make sure you were fully awake for your first day of school else ma would kill me."

"And you couldn't think of a better way to wake me up." The two brothers chuckled for a moment before both going about their morning routine. Heading down to the kitchen, Micky could smell the wafting scents of breakfast flowing throughout the house. On the table sat three plates two of which were filled with sausage, eggs, and bacon while the other had a boring old salad. "Thanks for the breakfast, Elle." The growing boy reached for one of the good plates before a lithe hand grabbed it first. "Hey, how do you know I didn't make the salad for you?" Micky just laughed at his sister-in-law, "Because you're vegetarian and I'm not." She paused for a moment then set down the plate saying, "Point taken. Enjoy."

Not too long after Ollie joined the two and they gathered around the table. They prayed, and the two 'boys' dug into their meal while Elle giggled watching them. Once they finished, Micky quickly attempted to escape before more teasing, but he was soon stopped by Ollie. "Hold it. Ma wants me to send a picture of your outfit so she can approve it." Micky groaned in faux annoyance as he waited for his brother to take the picture. Moments later a reply came from their mother. "She says it's alright, but you need to tuck your shirt in." Micky quickly rushed over to a mirror to examine himself and did as his mother requested. The three exchanged goodbyes as Micky exited the house. He rushed over to his bike and sped off in the direction of the school.

Arriving at the fabled sanctum for talented youth, high school in the common language, Micky locked up his oh so sweet ride with two, count 'em two, bike locks. No one was stealing his baby. Looking at the building itself though the 'new kid' was easily intimidated. Seeing the large number of people didn't help with that. So, he focused himself on trying to figure out where he was supposed to go. Pulling out the map and his schedule he quickly located where he was intended to be. On the map that is. Doesn't really help if you can't exactly tell what is what on the darned thing. So, Micky did the one thing he dreaded doing this morning. Asking a random stranger for directions. "Umm, ex-excuse me. I can't quite figure this map out. How do I get to here?" he asked pointing at the map.

Jett was working away at the designs on his laptop, he needed some last minute information from a few people before he could finalise them. Some of the things he was working on were: Coats for the twins who didn't give Jett a particular color scheme to work with and a long winter style dress for Eva that needed exact dimensions. He shut his laptop sighing wondering if the twins were at school yet, when he see's an unfamiliar face approach him holding a map of the school.
"Umm, ex-excuse me. I can't quite figure this map out. How do I get to here?"
Before Jett responded he shut his laptop and returned it to the pouch in his bag, got up and eyed the boy up and down assessing his clothing choice for his obvious first day.
"Hmmmm... Yes I approve of the choices, however..." he started stroking his chin deciding what needed to change. He grabbed the boys shirt and un-tucked the front part to see if it looked any better and proceeded to un-tuck the rest.
"There much better! Jett exclaimed with a massive grin, "I see that you are new here, well let me be the first to welcome you to Glades Fall High School, I'm Jett it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Let me see that map then." He continued making a small bow before grabbing the map, he found where he needed to go and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. "Come with me, I shall be your humble guide! However before we head to your destination I need to see a few people first." He explained before dragging the poor boy along on his errands. They walked along the courtyard as Jett would point out different buildings and places of interest explaining what they were for.

After a small amount of walking, Jett let go of the young boy and rushed over to where he could see Eden towering over another new student.
"AHH! I am so glad I bumped into yo...." He trailed off before he saw what Eden was wearing. "Oh Eden..." he sighed with an almost pitiful tone. "I honestly can not believe your brother let you out of the house wearing that... I'm going to have to have a word with him... Anyways I have a quick question about the coat I'm designing for you, what color scheme are you looking at having for this winter? A mix of autumn and winter colors or more of a 'I wasn't done with summer' vibe?" he asked, his tone was flamboyant with a hint of flirtatious as it always was.

What the hell hour was it? Was the only thought that rummaged throughout the youth's mind, haphazardly stroking the back of his head as to ward of any dreary remains of a good night's sleep. After months of nothing but enjoyment and solitude with his neighboring buddy and faithful roommate, his PS4, and night upon night of staying up late, eating junk food and completely ignoring socialization and much more, sunlight, the vampire had finally etched his way out of his coffin and into the blaring's of society and fresh air. And it sucked! Pica could sense it at the center of his core, his back would hunch a few inches more the closer and closer he rode to his destination. And how he was essentially forced to join a school which he THOUGHT he didn't have the criteria or the interest in joining in the first place. His curriculum was painfully average, it didn't have anything remotely different from Monday to Friday, no after-school activities and much less anything concerning the betterment of his future career. If there was anything that could depict Pica's way of life, it would be that why try harder if you can do the bare minimum and get the same if not better results? The dreamers where those that needed purpose in life, that needed a sense of achievement and glory, needed to leave some sort of mark in the world if not their fragile existence would crumble before their very eyes. Pica's hopes of such shattered as soon as he stepped into the Earth as a newborn and gasped his first breath. All was preordained and he's somewhat glad it is. This life of simplicity and minimal worry befitted him, but that would be something Pica would continue to say if he wasn't on his way to FRICKEN GLADES FALL HIGH!

He didn't know how the hell he got here, he didn't know what kind of forgery happened or what sort of backwards universe he'd been thrown to! Normally, when the main character is thrown to a parallel universe there's monster people and beautiful elf ladies that eyes are as luminescent and bright as the moonlight gleam! And he, being at the epicenter of a different and unknown world would become its needed savior! He would be the chosen knight that would help the damsel in distress, gain the power of the chosen and defeat the evil and be known as a man of many prowess! BUT NOT AS AN HAS-BEEN ACADEMIC WITH NO INTEREST IN DOING ANYTHING IN LIFE! This shit actually sucked! His feet were almost magnetically going to anything that would elongate the trip towards the school, he went to that store with the cute clerk and he bought the usual garbage. He didn't know much about her, but his sister did and so Pica felt inclined to talk to her like any good Older Brother would to protect his sister of wry and dry personalities in her life. It wasn't at all because her hair danced with the shimmy of the wind like a graceful dance, not because her eyes are as brilliant as the surface carpet lit of stars we call the night sky. And it's definitely not because of a thing he has for older girls.

"Yo." This wasn't any normal yo, by the way, this was the smooth kind. The type he'd practice in front of the mirror a hundred times until perfection. It was all great, the delivery, the pacing, the timing. Everything till the last detail was great, she should notice such immediately, the gleam of her eyes would demonstrate it in an instant, but he can't be captivated by it. He has to also, play it cool like ice cream, baby. Yeah, this would certainly win him some points. "Oh, Carmine! I haven't seen you since-" And there it was, the universe playing the devil's card right to his lap. He couldn't win could he? He forcibly placed the can of overpriced sugar water known as a 'sports drink' on the table to cut her off, before he continued "You know I don't like being called that."

"Oh right, you're weird like that." There was no mercy behind those words and suddenly his endless hours of training had been flushed through a metaphorical toilet. Now he was not only in a bad mood, he was also slightly annoyed. "I'm just one of a kind."

"Said no weird guy, ever." He retort came with lightning speed almost as if she knew that this was coming, as she rang up his drink the boy gave her the exact amount of change before opening his beverage and drinking it without much pause. "Heard you got into that prestigious school from your sister. Honestly, I knew you'd make it." Pica ignored her remarks for a moment indulging on his drink, it tasted horrible to be frank. The sugar mixed with a variant of flavors and carbonated all together just gave him the energy to move at a state that was enough to proceed with the day, as soon as such was exhausted out of his system he would crash and fall onto his bed, leaving all unfinished responsibilities to another day. "Naturally." Her expression soured, there was a tone in Pica's voice that held a tinge of superiority over others, but more over, this was a sign of confidence he wasn't too privy to show to strangers. "Aren't you heading over there now?" She continued, trying to pry into his affairs, but more over trying to dig out enough information to scold him about it too. Which Pica discerned immediately and responded with "No, I'm just walking the dog. Tough little bastard, this one."

"I see, never seen one walk into two legs... Almost." Again, quick with the retort. Shit he forgot to straighten up. Well not like he'd care much for it at this point, he took his drink and started to go to the school, just so the girl could call back to him and say "Good luck, there... Carmine." The tone says it all, both a jibe and a call to action. It spoke to him in dread and jealousy almost. Not many were gifted or lucky enough to enter this highschool and I'm sure the cute clerk was one who wished to follow on this path as well. Pica flicked his tongue, looked at the hour and headed out. It was way too early for this shit.

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Finally arriving, the can had already been depleted of any and all its contents and class has yet to even begin. Looking on all sides, the people here seemed to all follow a rigid pattern he hated. First was they were attractive, second was that they were attractive and thirdly was that they were attractive. Huh? Seems like the semester started out great, he looked at the bag which the clerk gave him at the end and like always, there it was, a piece of chocolate. He began to eat it even though it was super early, but who cares about health anyway? Live life to the fullest, but not really. Only went it matters and when it doesn't involve jumping out of a plane or going into extremely high merry-go-rounds just because your sister want to take a selfie with you at the top. Was that a grudge? He shook it off, almost like a bad habit. His mind was between this one dumb popular song he heard along the way which he couldn't help but mutter every small interval and trying to remember if the classroom was east or west. Maybe if he was late enough he just skip it all together. There were two individuals talking all the way there that kind of stood out, which meant that Pica was gonna stay as far away from them as possible. But first to find somewhere to throw this trash on, because he might not care about a lot, but he likes air and polluted air was gross.

---

As Xavier woke to the sound of his alarm, he was greeted by the gentle humming of the three aquariums that sat in his room. As he stretched out his cramped muscles he looked around his suite. Through the window that took up most of his left wall, he could see that it was still dark out. He groaned. Did he really have to wake up so early? He contemplated going back to sleep but before he could, his door opened. “Ready for your first day of school?” A girl called out to him. Her name was Elyse. She was his current supervisor. A University student that his family was hosting. She was pretty cool compared to his previous supervisors and she didn’t pretend to be his parent and sit on a high horse. She felt more like a friend or an older sister than anything.

He responded with an even louder groan“No.”He determinedly wrapped himself in his blankets and intended to stay like that for a while, but it was all suddenly stripped away from him far too soon. “Oh no you don’t!” Elyse pulled the piles of fabric away from him exposing him to the cold. Xavier shot her a look of outrage. Elyse only seemed amused by this reaction as she smirked with a playful glint in her eyes. “If you don’t get out of bed and ready in thirty minutes, I’ll turn the internet off for the day.”
Xavier scoffed rolling his eyes “You wouldn’t dare.”
Elyse hardened her expression “I’m not joking.”

She was serious. He scrambled out of his bed in a panicked hurry. Call him too reliant on technology or whatever but Xavier needed to watch the newest episode of his favourite show coming out later that day.

He hastily brushed his teeth, had a shower and did his dark hair in its usual tied up style. When he returned to his room, an outfit was laid out on his bed waiting for him. The clothes consisted of black and white converses, black jeans and a crazily bright red designer button up. He didn’t want to attract too much attention on his first ever day of school and he figured wearing a practically glowing red shirt from an expensive brand wouldn’t help his cause. He put on the outfit but covered the screaming shirt with his black hooded sweater and quickly packed his backpack then headed to the kitchen.

As he went down a fleet of stairs he was met by the intoxicating smell of breakfast that made him realise just how hungry he was. He drifted over to a plate of food and picked up a slip of bread. Before he could eat it though, it was snatched away from him. “That’s mine” Elyse said. Xavier attempted to look around for his plate and looked back at Elyse with confusion and furrowed brows when he was done. “Where’s my plate?” He asked confused. Elyse deadpanned at him “I cooked for you the entire Summer. I’m your supervisor, not slave. Make your own food”.
“Fine.” Xavier made his way over to the fridge and stared blankly at is like he was waiting for it to answer his all his questions. He honestly didn’t care what he ate because he was seriously hungry. After a while, he joined Elyse on the table with his chosen food.
Elyse gave Xavier an ‘are you serious’ look, “You’re completely hopeless without me aren’t you?”
Xavier shrugged “Pretty much” he said stuffing cake into his mouth.

His cell phone buzzed as he received a text from his personal chauffeur, Lindon “Got to go” Xavier said through a mouthful of cake. He took his belongings and headed outside waving Elyse off. She said that if he had any highschool problems she’d help so Xavier made sure to keep that in mind. He noticed both Mother’s and Father’s cars were missing. He guessed they must’ve already left.

The commute to school went on for ages. Xavier lived on the outskirts of the city in the ‘rich residential area’ which was pretty far away from the school. Since Lindon wasn’t much of a talker, Xavier decided he’d just catch up on some lost sleep.

Xavier woke up when they reached the school. As he looked out the car window a pulling sensation tugged at his guts. It wasn’t excitement, it was far too uncomfortable for that. It wasn’t nervousness either. It was more like dread. He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about this whole traditional school thing. And he honestly would rather he could just unwind time and back to his homeschooling. But a little voice deep in his mind that sounded awfully like Mother told him that this was a good thing. That he could meet other people his age and go outside more.

He took a deep breath and opened the door parting with Lindon. As he walked into the school uncomfortably and looked around. The place looked a lot nicer than he expected so that’s one plus. He awkwardly found a bench and sat down going through his bag in robotic movements for his map and schedule. This whole thing seemed so unnatural to him and he probably looked like a confused newborn giraffe to the outside eye.

Lorelei sighed as she felt the eyes of several students on her, her tattoos, and drawing down to the thick black plastic anklet with the green light. Almost poking fun at her.

Drawing her heavy hood around her head, she hefted her beat up backpack and went into the school. She knew where she had to go first. The admittance office, to give the file folder and the contacts for Officer Martinez. She asked a few students where to find the office, some gave general directions, some simply dismissed her. She made a note to avoid those students later. She knew she was going to be closely watched, and should act accordingly. No way Martinez would give her a break for fighting...

Eventually Lorelei found the office, a plump woman with a blue jacket sat at the desk inside. Lorelei stood there nervously, weighing back and forth on the balls of her feet, to her insteps as she waited for the woman to look up. She barely moved as the woman gestured to the folder tray beside her. "That's the input folder Ms Athene."

Lorelei stammered for a moment as she placed the folder as requested. "Uh, how did you know my name?" The woman looked up from her terminal, glancing down towards her ankle monitor.

"Lorelei Athene, aka Muse, convicted for 17 counts of graffiti, only girl on school properties with an ankle monitor. I extrapolated from there." The woman looked back down to her terminal as she continued her data entry. "You can go now, I am sure the principle will want to meet you eventually." Lorelei opened her mouth for a moment to respond, but closed it shortly again. The woman added, "I hope you don't think your instructors will refer to you by your pretty little "street name" on these grounds."

"Thank you." Lorelei left the office, the anger and humiliation brewing insider her. She still had a little time before she had to be in classes. She should go find her locker, reading the tiny slip provided in her welcome package. She followed the numbers until she found the locker's location.

Spinning the locker, the combination didn't work. The woman's dismissing sentence kept echoing back in her head. The combination lock didn't open, trying again, feeling her hands tremble with a mixture of anger and humiliation. The lock failed again, Lorelei let go of the lock in an attempt to calm her hands down. Pacing back and forth, she did what Martinez recommended. The stupid counting exercises, "one, two, three...ARG!" Lorelei hurled her backpack against the closest locker in frustration, the canvas back thudded against the locker before sliding to the floor. The impact wasn't quite solid enough for Lorelei, so she decided to kick the offending locker as hard as she could. The metallic thud of her shoe against the locker resounded with a loud whump! Lorelei looked at the other students who came to see what had happened, she stared blankly at the crowd watching her meltdown.

She stared blankly before challenging the students, "yes, it's an ankle monitor. No, the locker had it coming. Any other questions?" She tried to keep the edge out of her voice, but it slowly crept in against her will.

Slightly startled by the boy sitting next to her so suddenly, Eva returned the familiar smile to her classmate Aiden. He didn't hesitate to get into conversation about their shared passion which the girl was thankful about. "Of course!" she cooed, as she watched him dig through his backpack. Pushing back a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear she took his notebook in hand gently. Placing it on her backpack so it wouldn't get dirty from the outside tables she opened and read through the three songs.

Her attention focused on his third song. She hummed a melody as the words slid from between her lips quietly as she tried to put into action Aiden's creation. "This one is really lovely." she complimented, "They are all great but this one really sits with me. Mr. Mason will be proud of you, I didn't work on any music over the summer." she bit the bottom of her lip as it pushed out, out of habit. She hoped it wouldn't go much into detail, at least right now.

Closing up the notebook, she handed Aiden the notebook back as she looked around for the other Robert's brother. "Eden always finds a way, doesn't he?" Eva chuckled as she nodded towards Jett going to town on Eden's outfit, she should have sat back Jett when she had arrived but thought that Sameh would have been around before then, and she wanted alone time with her best friend before to tell her everything that happened before the year started so that things could get off on the right foot.

Turning her attention back to Aiden,"Do you have your schedule? Let's compare classes this year to see if we got placed together for some." as she spoke she unzipped her backpack, reaching in and pulling out a crisp, yellow folder. Evangeline was fairly neat and organized when it came to her school work. She opened the folder and pulled out the equally crisp white paper that her schedule was printed on. Plucking it out from the pocket she handed the paper to him so he could make the verdict.

---

---

Eden's eyes flickered up towards Jett as he had bumped into him. Jett's tone about his outfit made him roll his eyes as he already had to hear from his brother but now, he was hearing from the fashionista himself. "I already heard it from Robert and I do not need to hear from you. I am proud of who I am and this outfit says it." Eden bumped Corey to get his attention. "What do you think, dude?" It was then Jett had asked him about colors for a coat. Eden honestly shrugged his shoulders at the request then smirked slightly as he had the perfect response.

"Something rainbowish would do, Jett. Or is that too much for you to handle?" Eden muttered with a wink to end his response with a flirtatious expression to counteract his previous tone. He could help but chuckle towards Jett then give him an honest answer. "I don't know, Jett. Whatever you think is best but make sure there's some blue somewhere in there. You know my brother is a fashion guru here."

Eden said with the wave his hand as he meant for it to wave Jett away as he got to know Corey a little. "Anyways, Corey, new here?" He'd ask while adverting his gaze back toward Corey.

---

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---

Aiden smiled and might've blushed a little whenever Eva complimented one of his songs. He grabbed his music sheets back then continued to smile towards Eva. "Thanks and I really hope he does because that's the one I was hoping to show him." He informed her as he stuffed the music sheets back into his bags.

His eyes went over toward his brother as he shrugged his shoulders. "You know him, always got to be the dramatic one." He responded as he seen Jett going over toward him. "Jett's probably about to tear him a new one, I bet." Aiden said with a snicker then watched as Eva dug around for her schedule.

"Let me see." Aiden said as he pulled out his own schedule then scooted closer to Eva so that he could compare. His eyes skimmed through both schedules multiple times before he handed Eva's back then nodded his head. "We do have a few classes together and I must say, that makes me happy. We even have Choir together on Tuesday's and Thursday's." Aiden mentioned as he nudged her softly with his elbow. "Just don't try to upstage me."

Aiden said with a little laughter then placed his schedule back inside of his book bag. "Since you didn't work on music this summer, what did you do then?" Aiden asked because he was curious then snapped his fingers in the air a bit excitedly. "We should totally write a collaboration together. What do you say, Eva?" Aiden wondered what Eva really thought about his idea.

---

Interacting with: Pica @Sync

Xavier rummaged through his black backpack for his school diary that held his map and schedule. His schedule was stuck to the back of the diary and he put his map in the diary’s sleeve. At least he thought he did. When he checked the sleeve it was nowhere to be seen. He checked all the pockets in his bag. Not there. Even his wallet. Ditto. He muttered quiet curses to himself as he pinched his nose’s bridge. The grand award he got for getting up early was this. Granted it was his fault for being unorganised but that’s beside the point. A frustrated sign left his mouth as his brows did their signature furrowing he did when he felt even the slightest negative emotion. Having a map was kind of essential if you wanted to get around a new area. If he didn’t want to get completely lost, there was another option though. Asking for help. He grimaced at the inevitable thought.

He scanned the area for the unlucky person that had to deal with this new kid’s idiocy. Who forgets their map on their first day? A cretin, that’s who. His eyes stumbled upon someone in relative proximity from him, only a few steps away. They were a boy his age, dark hair, with a familiar ‘not wanting to be here’ aura that Xavier could definitely relate to. As the boy threw away some miscellaneous trash in a bin, Xavier approached him. When at a talking distance, he began to speak to the boy. “Hey, bin boy”, He called out in a tone that reflected his mood, “Mind if you help me out with the school’s layout? Forgot my map”. It came out ruder than intended and his expression didn’t really help with that. Though he didn’t really care. It got the message across.

Now if there was anything less amusing than people in this recycle bin we call a universe, it was people who couldn't mind their own business. Thought the wayward boy randomly as he threw away the trash he's been holding long enough to be a burden. There was no merit for this thought it was merely a passing one that held no compass to where it headed. It just occurred to him that people could be annoying. It maybe because of that mediocre incident concerning a raid boss he was excited to loot from as it gives out what is currently, the most broken weapon in the game. And what's playing video games if not show off and demonstrating how much better you are in every other aspect in comparison to your peers. And so, excited, he realized that merely playing with rando's didn't help him any closer to getting to his overall goal, as so he needed to form a team with a solid composition and strategy in mind! One flaw though! The bludgeoning fact rammed his consciousness in accepting the unrelenting reality that he didn't have any friends who he could persuade to team comp against that enemy, and that lead to a mini rant in where he blamed companies to for its player-base to some cooperative bullshit. Where's the lone warrior who can take the top builds shit? He wanted to be in the Terror of Death type of situation where he could metagame to hell and back and stand proud atop the cyber bodies of his fallen enemies. But in the he just ends up being a -

“Hey, bin boy”

Yes that was rude. Rudder than anything he's heard today as a fact, but more over he didn't know to whom it was directed. In fact, no he knew it was directed at him because there was a clear detail in that upfront remark that explained something poignantly accurate about what Pica was doing. Pica knew it to be him, but he decided to ignore it in its entirety because regardless it was none his business. And as he turned to continue to his classroom the voice of the aforementioned individual rose its tune once more and told him he needed aid. So at this juncture, Pica could not say or do in any certainty what he wanted to in the first place. So he turned and faced the individual head on. Looked right and looked left, no one here. Unfortunately he was talking to Pica, Oh boy, would you look at that! Another above average looking guy who didn't seem to know where he placed his manners. Probably dropped it somewhere along the road. Pica scratched the back of his head, looking away as to avoid eye contact, but his grimace did not simmer in the slightest. In fact it grew potentially stronger with each passing, awkward moment in which he remained silent. "Well..."

What could he say? "Where's your map, uhh, school-noob?"

The first day of school. A big day for students everywhere, something that made many kids stress over their outfits, their new classes, their new connections, and most of all, the idea of new romances. Sameh wasn't concerned with any of those. Her outfits were always on point, according to herself. She always did well in any class. She loved making new connections. And, if romance happened, it happened. She wasn't too caught up in loneliness or sadness. But... this summer, she had been lonely and sad. Not because of the lack of romance in her summer, but because of the lack of a best friend. She tried to not think about it too much, having left for a month and a half to be with her parents anyway, and got lost in her own interests and hobbies.

It wasn't very surprising Sameh's snooze button had gotten a lot of love this morning. She hadn't quite got her sleep schedule under control yet, and as a result, she stayed up late, working on her newest comic book creation. Not even a warm shower, a full breakfast, or Aunt Rebecca's ramblings really roused her, but a text message on her phone did: Sameh..I'm really sorry for not getting back to you this summer. I will tell you more about it at school, it's too much to text about. Don't be mad at me please... I will make it up to you, I promise. Meet me at the courtyard?

Sameh's gasp caught the attention of Aunt Rebecca, who was rinsing the pan she had cooked bacon in. "Everything all right, dear?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder. She wasn't too concerned, since Sameh had a big smile on her face.

"Yeah!" Sameh reassured, jumping up. She had to finish getting ready; she had to look her very best on the first day of school, after all. She felt a new energy coursing through her from the text message, yet also a worry. If Eva hadn't contacted her all summer... it must have been something serious. She hated knowing she couldn't had been by her friend's side. "Just got good news. I gotta go finish getting ready." before her aunt could pry, she darted up the stairs to her room.

After getting on an outfit that would wow - in her head - she snatched up her phone. Her thumbs flew over the screen as she texted to Eva, Girl, it's totally okay!!! I'm just so happy to hear from you! Be there in a jiff! she slipped on a pair of navy ankle-length boots that had a small heel on them, before checking herself out in the mirror. She fluffed her hair, pursed her lips, and winked at herself. It looked good to her!

She rushed downstairs, grabbing her backpack that was on a hook by the front door. "Bye, Aunt 'Becca! Love you!" she called, grabbing her purse last minute before the door slammed shut. She dug through it, pulling out her car keys, and hitting the unlock button. The little powder blue Volkswagen Beetle's headlights flashed as it unlocked, and she slipped into the driver seat after throwing her backpack and purse in the backseat. The car was a gift from her parents, for doing so well in school and going for a "practical career." She tried to not feel too guilty, but she felt pretty damn bad. She hadn't even told Eva the whole story of how she lied to her parents, but the guilt was eating at her. She needed to talk to someone about it, and she didn't feel comfortable enough to discuss it with her aunt and uncle.

With a mental shake, she left for school. The drive wasn't that bad. She was there in twenty minutes tops. She realized she was a little later than she meant to be, so she hoped Eva was still lingering in the courtyard. She grabbed her stuff, locked her car, and made a beeline for the courtyard. It was bustling when she walked through. She saw a few familiar faces and a few new ones. She had eyes for only one person, though. After a few laps around, and some hard looking, she spotted Eva.

"Eva!" she shouted, not caring a bit she drew attention to herself. She rushed over, nearly knocking the girl off the bench she sat on when she rammed into her. She hugged her around the shoulders, pulling her head into her chest without really noticing or caring. "Oh my gosh, I've missed you!" she said, slightly rocking the girl. She noticed Aiden a couple rocks later, but still didn't release Eva. She simply smiled at the boy from over Eva's head. "Hey there!" she said sweetly, excited to see another face she was familiar with.

---

Interacting with: Pica @Sync

Xavier was surprised at how disturbed and annoyed the boy looked. He guessed that approaching someone in such a confronting manner probably wasn’t the best way to get people to help you. He’d actually have to act like a decent person if he wanted assistance, which unfortunately, was something Xavier lacked great experience in. He noticed that the boy avoided eye contact with him, which probably had to do with the fact Xavier was boring holes into him with his blank stare, a horrible habit he should get under control. He decided to stop being such a creep by not fixing his eyes on the boy so intently. Instead, he kept himself occupied with the cracks on the concrete as the stiff silence surrounded them.

When the boy finally broke the silence, Xavier turned his attention back to him and listened. School-noob huh? That’s actually a pretty accurate way to describe him. “Attentive aren’t you? Like I said before, I forgot my map” he huffed out in reply repeating himself. A previous thought came back to his head. He should stop letting his frustration leak into his speech. He needed this boy’s help and wanted his first impression on a student to be at least somewhat decent. After quickly clearing his throat he continued trying for a less annoyed tone. “I mean It's probably at home somewhere.” he shrugged and said more nonchalantly this time, “At least I hope so. It would seriously suck if I lost it” He added the last bit quietly, mostly to himself. Knowing his luck, it was probably lost. He sighed trying to bat away his self annoyance.“Anyway, are you nice enough to help a school-noob out, bin boy? I’d actually genuinely appreciate it” his expression was now in its neutral form. Which mind you still looked pretty perturbed thanks to his resting scowl.

Aleka walked out of her bathroom wearing a floral navy top that ended just over her black belt on her light blue bleached shorts. She placed her peach colored shoes next to her black leather backpack. She put up her dark brown, bleach tipped hair up into a ponytail as she made her up the staircase to her room. Hearing her computer beeping letting her know that she had a incoming skype call. She grabbed her laptop, clicking the accept button. She smiled brightly has her father, Villiamu came onto the screen he was wearing his usual clothes for work, A white button down shirt and black slack. "Hi Dad, Whats up?" She asked curiously, She moved to sit front of her laptop and pulls her camera bag from under the table. "Hey Keiki, your Mada like talk about this school year..." He said with a grimace as her mother came into view.

Aleka's excited smile dulled as she saw her mother's unhappy stern face. "Alekanekalia! This year you better try to make some friends. If your grandparents call me again about you being antisocial and not making any friends again...You can't home this break.." She said looking at daughter's face sadly. Her father looked like he wanted to argue, but she knew he wouldn't argue with her mother about her being more interactive with her schoolmates. She sighed, nodding her head in understanding. "I'll try my best mom" Alekanekalia said with a sad smile, looking at the time. She realized she was going to be late she told her parents goodbye, She made her way downstairs and put on her shoe.

When she reaches her backpack, she notices her grandma's Lexus keys with a note telling her to have a good day and to take her car for today. She smiled as pocketed her grandma's note, putting on her backpack she locked the house behind her. Walking up to the silver Lexus, she stopped for a moment. She didn't really want to go to school, see people she barely even knew. she flinched as her mother's words came back to her. She really missed everyone back home. It had only been one week since she came back from visiting her family and friends in Hawaii, But she was wishing she already back home or never left in the first place.

Taking a deep breath, She got in the car and started the drive to school. While she was driving she tried to remember who her classmates from the year before was, She was depressed due to her Nana Lutu and Papa Allen death last year so she didn't really interact with anyone if it wasn't because she had to work with them in groups. When she pulled into a parking spot, she noticed someone she vaguely remember telling her that her accent was cool. Stepping out of the car she made her way towards into the school. She passed a lot of different groups of kids as she made her way to class. She started to bite her bottom lip nervously as she released that it was going to be a lot harder than she thought it would be.

When she finally got to her home room, she decided to take a seat next to a group of people who she remembered seeing in her class the year before. Taking out her notebook of recipes, she started reading her ideas and experiments she had test over the summer with her parents. She was trying to distract herself from her feeling of nervous, as she tried to think of something she could say to start a conversation with classmates.

Hearing that Aiden and her's schedule matched up brought a sense of peace to Eva; it was comforting to her when things stayed the same. Change was not something she handled well despite her upbringing telling her that all change was just God's direction in motion. She chuckled at the upstaging comment, and shook her head. When Aiden asked her about her summer she stumbled over her words as she fought internally on whether or not to tell the truth or not, "Well I, um I sort of-" before she could start her train of thought Aiden had derailed the conversation and suggested they do a collaboration together.

A sigh of relief and a weight was lifted off her shoulders, "That's a great idea!" she stammered out with a smile, "Together we could make something really awesome I bet." she complimented the two of them, knowing they both had their strengths and together could make a really good team.

When the familiar voice of Sameh could be heard across the courtyard Evangeline's head shot towards the sound with an shocked face. The girl practically knocked her from where she sat causing her to lose her balance; but it was quickly regained as she returned the embrace. She had missed her friend too and so wanted to burst into tears. "I missed you too Sameh, I really did." she said quietly as she slowly released Sameh from the hug. Eva moved over on the bench so that Sameh could take a seat to join them before the regular school day would start.