Dr. Wayman sat pensively in his corner office, overlooking the campus of “San Agustin Academy”. He was perched in front of a large bay window while sipping his morning cup of joe, eyes wandering across the plains, deep in thought. He and his team were nearly two months into the observation portion of Project Untamed and the summer heat was just beginning to subside in New Mexico and relax into a cooler and more comfortable autumn season.

Over the past eight weeks Dr. Wayman, as well as his cohort of renowned scientists had been studying the test subjects, chronicling their every action, conversation and experience. The experimental phase of the project had gone off without a hitch, evidenced in the new personalities and tendencies of the “students”. It was clear as day which subject represented what animal and for that, Dr. Wayman was incredibly grateful for the scientific excellence developed to make this project a reality.

A gentle knock on his office door brought the middle aged doctor out of his thoughts. Turning to face the entrance of his station, a small woman stood in the doorway with a stack of papers. “Dr. Wayman, I have yesterday's analysis for you to read. As usual, it is separated by test subject and classification.” The meager woman handed the packet to the grey haired man. “Additionally, on the final page are the finalized groups for sub-experiment A. You may revise them as you wish.” Shortly after finishing the final word, she scurried out of the room, almost as if she was fearful of Dr. Wayman’s wrath, which was unapparent at the moment.

As he flipped through the booklet of text, the doctor mused over the individual findings for each subject. He hand selected each of their animals and was anxious to see how their personalities would develop. Scientists were disguised all around campus- as staff members, teachers, custodians- as well as hidden in secret viewing rooms in buildings in order to notate and catalog each and every new discovery. Each note was fascinating, captivating, and further confirmed Dr. Wayman’s suspicions and notions that this experiment would be successful.

When the doctor reached the final page, he inquisitively leafed through the groups for sub-experiment A, which would be occurring in two days' time on Wednesday afternoon. A scavenger hunt designed to test the strengths and weaknesses of each “student”, as well as investigate the relationships between each animal species during times of stress. Masqueraded as a “group bonding” exercise for the students, it surely was going to be the highlight of the week for all parties involved.

Checking his watch, Dr. Wayman noted that the time was now 8:00AM. Classes would begin in one hour, meaning it was almost time to sit back and see the fruits of his labor at work. Each new day brought excitement and curiosity, and today would be no exception. Placing his now empty coffee cup down on his desk, he pulled on his lab coat and exited the office, anxiously awaiting for today’s events to begin.

---

You heard the man, classes start in one hour!

Today is Monday (cue the groans and tantrums) and you’re disappointed that the weekend (which felt like the blink of an eye) is now over. Everyone’s schedule is different, so students are strewn across campus getting back into their weekly routine. Whether that be going to an early morning class, eating a meal in the cafeteria, getting in a workout, or sleeping in your dorm, that is up to you.

All students will convene for an all school assembly after dinner where teams for this Wednesday’s scavenger hunt will be announced. Have a great day!

---

---

As the screen of his clock flashed 8:00 AM from its perch by his bed, Bradley Barron blinked. He’d been staring at his laptop screen for well over eight hours, engrossed in the editing of his latest set of photographs. On the screen in front of him, the slender fingers of a faceless boy were wrapped around the harsh metal of a chain link fence. Behind him, his room was splayed out, a mess of dirty clothes and haphazardly strewn blankets. It was not a large room, but he’d certainly taken it up.

Bradley pushed his index finger down, and gently moved it across the trackpad, and slowly the picture began to take on a cold, blue tone. A low grumble slipped from his lips, followed by the clacking sound of his keyboard, and the photograph returned to its earlier form.

Bradley pushed back from the computer and spun around in his desk chair, closing his eyes for a moment as the world spun around him. Another night of no sleep. That was the second night in a row, but only the latest in a series of sleepless nights at San Agustin. He’d taken to finding sleep when he could throughout the day. Earlier in the year, he’d wondered if that might only be fucking up his sleep schedule more, but whatever worry he might’ve had about that had been pushed aside weeks ago.

Clad in boxers, and an old, faded t-shirt, Bradley stood up, stretching out as his muscles protested their sudden use. He stepped over clothes that had been turned inside out and discarded after he’d taken them off. He made a mental note to clean his room, one that would almost certainly be forgotten until someone came over and made him feel sufficiently bad about it.

His bathroom, to be fair, was much better than the room that lay outside. His toothbrush rested near the sink, in a small plastic cup that the school had provided, and his shower was mostly devoid of clutter. Teenage boys and their astonishing lack of personal hygiene. The sink was mostly clean, speckled with occasional dark hair that had not yet made its way down the drain. A mirror sat above the sink, reflecting a very unkempt Bradley Barron. He turned on the shower, and while he waited for the water to get warm, he looked over his reflection. His dark hair, normally hanging in straight curtains around his head, was tied back into the world’s smallest bun, a few loose hairs hanging down and framing his face.

Once steam started to seep out from above the shower curtain, Bradley untied his hair and undressed, then stepped under the steady stream of hot water. He sighed as the warmth washed over him, taking with it the soreness that accompanied his frequent bouts of sedentary life.

Thirty minutes later, the door to Room 300 opened up, and Bradley emerged, wearing faded, grey jeans, and a forest green hoodie. Black Chucks peeked out from under the cuff of his jeans, and a black backpack with the San Agustin logo printed across the front hung from his shoulders.

His room was the first on the floor, and so he only needed to take a few steps to the elevator, where he pressed the call button. While he waited, he glanced down the hall, but saw no one. He’d actually come to enjoy the people on his floor. Dwayne, Charlie, and Talya were all people he would’ve called friends. He’d met Zakya through Erica, and she was always friendly enough when he was around. Even Nicholas, the boy he knew the least was a fine person to share the floor with. The bus ride here had been one filled with anxiety but the last two months had almost proved him wrong. He just couldn’t shake the nagging sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. Like something wasn’t quite right.

The elevator let out a melodic chime, and its metal doors slid open. Bradley stepped inside, and waited patiently as the elevator gently glided down to the first floor. He began his trek towards the cafeteria with thoughts of spray paint. His attempt to order some online had been a long shot anyways, but he’d still been annoyed when he found that the order had been canceled and refunded. Orders placed for items that would generally be deemed “inappropriate” were often mysteriously canceled. He and Wes would have to get creative if they were ever going to tag a single building on campus.

Wes. His heart thumped slightly faster, and his eyes fell down to his shoes, slapping against the concrete, and a smile began to creep its way across his face and BAM! Bradley walked face first into one of the many trees that had been planted along the walkways around campus. He rubbed his forehead, wincing slightly as his fingers brushed up against tender skin. He shook his head, trying to decide whether he should be amused at his absentminded collision, or deeply confused about who had brought it on.

It wasn’t that Wes was a boy. Even if his classmates didn’t know, Bradley was well aware that he was gay. The issue was, really, that it was Wesley Slater that had him running into trees, and not literally anyone else. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and pushed it all into a little box that he tucked away somewhere deep within the recesses of his mind, to be opened another day. Or never.

Bradley made it to the cafeteria without any further incidents. He got in line behind a few other students, and when it was his turn to be served, he scanned his student ID, and the old woman behind the counter handed him a tray with a bowl of fruit salad, and roasted crickets on the side. The crickets made most of his friends squirm, but he’d come to find them pretty good. He took a seat at an empty table and began munching away. The cafeteria was quiet in the morning, with most kids still sleeping, or getting ready for the dreaded 8:00 AM class. He sat in the quiet, waiting to see which of his friends, if any, would meander in first. Just another day, at a totally normal school.

---

Birds flying high
You know how I feel,

Alone in the dance studio, Tyler Jane crossed her right leg over her left, toes pointed gingerly as a jazzy song filled the room. It was roughly 9:00AM and the redhead wasn’t scheduled to have class until later in the afternoon, which meant more time for her to spend in her safe haven. She swept her right leg back to its native side while her right arm flourished upwards, tossing her auburn hair in one fluid motion before returning her hand towards the ground. Tyler Jane let herself become one with the voice that ricocheted off of the mirrors and the walls, feeling every note in her body.

Sun in the sky
You know how I feel,

The girl’s muscles stretched and contracted with every movement, her long, lean legs driving the force of each and every motion she made. Tyler Jane let her heels slide against the floor away from her body and propped herself up by only the position of her ankles and the strength of her quads. After remaining there for a moment, she let her palms find the ground and released her legs from their position, only to spin around and take her right leg and extend it upward towards the sky, nearly bringing her calf to meet her forehead.

Tyler Jane had been a dancer for as long as she could remember. It was an art she fell in love with at a young age- a way to express herself that required no words, just movement. She spent years working on her craft, gaining the proper agility and flexibility in order to become skilled. At times, it was extremely difficult. Her motions could quickly become nonsensical, her body was often sore and exhausted, but regardless, the exhilaration that came along with dancing to the music could never be replaced or matched by any other art.

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good

Rising up, Tyler Jane swung her hips around, almost as if they were drawing a circle. The movement was sensual in nature but was quickly forgotten by a dramatic center split leap across the studio, legs reaching out towards opposite walls as far as she could push her limbs. Landing back on the ground, she kicked her right leg up and let herself fall into a deep side lunge, springing upwards after nearly reaching the floor. She caught a quick glimpse of herself in the mirror- half of her long red hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail while the other half fell freely over her shoulder and down her back. Her black leggings clung to her thighs, and she could feel a few beads of sweat make their way from her neck down to the space in between her skin and her white bralette.

When Tyler Jane danced, it could be described as divinity in motion. Her movements were an aria embodied- every extension, leap, and precise swing of her limbs almost operatic, with highs and lows that captivated you. It was sharp, but delicate and graceful all at the same time. Something about each motion she made told a story that the audience just needed to hear, with each step having a specific purpose in her tale. Whether it be her delicate face that held larger than life expressions or the confidence and energy that radiated off of her, it was clear that the 17-year-old had a gift and was definitely making good use of it.

---

Leo Brooks was not a morning person. It took every ounce of his strength to get out of bed in the morning and all of his being not to hit the snooze button ten thousand times. This morning was no different, groaning as he unfurled himself from his sheets and planted his feet on the ground, wiggling his toes. Leo brought his muscled arms above his head, hands balled into fists, and sprawled them outwards, attempting to stretch his limbs deeply and hopefully awaken his body. He cracked his neck out of habit and let the popping of his joints relax and soothe him. In Leo's eyes, Mondays were disgusting and should be illegal. Hell, making teenagers go to school in the middle of bumfuck New Mexico should be illegal. But unfortunately, it was very much legal and here he was, having to make the best of a bad situation.

Standing up, Leo made his way over to his bathroom to freshen up and get ready for the day ahead. He had a very specific morning routine- after all, he had to impress the ladies somehow. He showered- shampooing his hair twice and conditioning it once- washed his face, shaved, applied moisturizer, brushed his teeth, and then moved on to his lengthy hair care regimen. From leave in conditioner for smoothness, to combing in the opposite direction to create volume, Leo had developed tips and tricks throughout the years to ensure his mane always looks its best. The process itself took around 20 minutes, and no step could be skipped. Ever.

After getting dressed, Leo grabbed his book bag and headed out the door. It was still quite hot outside even though it was now technically the fall, so the boy opted for a pair of black basketball shorts instead of pants. As he strutted across campus in a pair of pristine white sneakers, he tried to remember what time he had class while fishing in his pocket for his box of toothpicks, fighting the urge to take out a cigarette. Monday’s meant that Biology started the week off on a terrible note, and Leo was not looking forward to having to sit through the class. Academics had never been a huge priority for him, but since getting to San Agustin two months ago, he tried his best to still make it to class within 5 minutes of the bell in order to seem somewhat enthusiastic. With a quick glance at his watch, he realized he had 20 minutes to spare before class began. Early, for once. Glancing around and spotting the arts building, he decided to take a quick detour to see if he could catch a certain blonde in her element with the time he had to kill. Maybe they could kill some time together...

Meandering over to the front entrance of the building, Leo flung open the double doors and was greeted with the cool and comforting blast of air conditioning. He rarely found himself on this side of campus, specifically in this building, so part of him was curious about what each door held. Like the rest of the buildings on campus, the space was modern and bright, and the walls were decorated with photos of famous artists, most of whom Leo had no clue as to their identity. It actually was a rather nice place... if you were into that whole "art" thing. Peeking into room after room, he found music equipment, easels, paints, and more, but no sign of the person he was searching for. Accepting defeat, he began to make his way back towards the exit, but the sound of jazz music caught his keen ear. Following the sounds, he stumbled upon a certain redhead rehearsing in the dance studio. Silently, he watched her move across the floor with such a presence that begged to be noticed.

---

The chorus of the song rang loudly in the room, and Tyler Jane’s movements grew more energetic in response to the change in tempo. She rolled her full upper body in a circular motion, letting her long hair follow her wildly. From one move to the next, her body contorted and twisted to match the power and majesty of the music. At the peak of the song she found herself with her back on the floor and legs in a pike position above her. With an elongated torso and arms extended on the ground, she quickly split her legs outwards and let her feet graze the floor, retracting within seconds. Rolling up with a one handed cartwheel exit, she let her feet ground her, spine stacked one vertebrae on top of another.

It was at that moment that Tyler could feel someone’s stare on her back. Normally, she wouldn’t care if anyone watched her dance; after all, dancers were meant to be seen and enjoyed. But in this case, she could just tell that the perpetrator had no intentions of watching her dance for entertainment. Pleasure was their objective, the sexual kind. Tyler Jane could see Leo’s tousled locks in the reflection of the mirror and she could hear him chewing on something, what it was, she didn’t know. Trying to ignore the boy, she continued her combination, spinning across the floor and effortlessly leaping into a side aerial. When she landed right side up, she was looking straight into Leo’s chocolate brown eyes.

Begrudgingly, the redhead kept her feet planted on the floor, pausing her dancing. “Can I help you with something?” Tyler Jane exhaled, slightly out of breath from the difficult movements. It wasn’t until she felt like she was being undressed by his haunting eyes that she got slightly annoyed. “You know, I would prefer if you didn’t just stand there and stare.”

Leo chuckled, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and grinding the toothpick in between his teeth. The swagger he possessed was evident even when he was standing still. He had simply stumbled upon Tyler Jane, but she didn’t need to know that. Maybe this was a good opportunity to woo her. “Well, if I had known you could move like that, maybe I wouldn't need to stand here and stare. Since when are you so flexible?” He cheekily entered the room and sauntered towards Tyler, arrogance surrounding him like a cloud of cologne. “Speaking of being flexible, why didn’t you answer my text? I was hoping you could show me some moves later...”

The redhead rolled her eyes as he approached, quickly turning in the opposite direction and walking over to the speakers stacked in the corner of the studio. She paused her music and reset it to the beginning of the song. “Because I didn’t want to. I’m not around tonight.” Tyler did not like Leo. Sure, he had the looks of an adonis, and she maybe had daydreamed about kissing him just for the hell of it, but that didn’t mean his personality was all roses. It was mostly thorns. Plus, he walked around campus acting like everyone was grovelling over him- who the hell did he think he was? A king? The girl moved to the ballet bar which sat against the cascading mirror and began to stretch out her limbs, reaching down with her hand, grasping the arch of her foot and extending her right leg upwards towards the sky. “Now can you please show yourself out? I’m kind of busy, if you couldn’t tell.”

“And leave so soon? I just got here.” Leo was amused by her reaction and her frustration. It was cute seeing her face scrunch up in the way that it did as she got terse with him. He watched as she tried to get as far from him as possible, and although her facial expression clearly spoke ‘don’t try me’, he did the exact opposite and placed himself directly in front of her at the ballet bar. He inched closer, almost daring her to give in to his charms. He didn’t stop until his face came within centimeters of hers. “Now why wouldn’t you want to talk to me?”

“Because you need a swift kick to the head, Leo, that’s why.” Bending her leg at the knee, Tyler pressed the sole of her foot against Leo’s chest and applied the slightest push, creating distance between the two of them where there previously wasn’t. Watching as he recoiled backwards, she took a step back herself to expand the gap that separated them, letting out an exasperated sigh in the process. She didn’t lose her temper easily, or really ever say anything out of character, but something just came over her, a strong urge to fight back. “Go and bother someone else with your libido- I don’t have time for this.”

Leo growled instinctively, not too pleased that Tyler Jane pushed him away, both physically and emotionally. Although he was annoyed, he thought her bravado was sexy, as well as the way she looked in those leggings. For now, he’d let her think she won as he had to get to class, but she’d have to come crawling back eventually. Right? “You know what, I think I will! After all, it seems like other people on this campus have good taste, sweetheart.” He let his lips turn upright into a cocky smirk as he moved towards the door. And just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.

Tyler Jane exhaled loudly, letting all of the anger and frustration dissolve now that he was no longer in the room. He was such an ass; something about him just made her blood boil. Shaking off her adverse behavior, the redhead glided back over to the speakers to start her routine once more. Pressing play, the sound of sweet violins overcame her senses and washed away any bad feelings that remained. It was now just her and the music, just as it was meant to be.

---

---

Quinn loved mornings. She supposed it was strange for a teenager to relish the thought of getting up early, to watch the sun begin to filter through the sparse trees outside the window of her dorm room, but, nonetheless, it was often the highlight of her day. And so she sat, still in her love-heart featured pyjamas, watching the sun slowly rise and listening to the birds singing their praises to the warming temperature of the air. It was peaceful - the type of peaceful that Quinn rarely got a chance to appreciate. Especially recently.

Even on the weekends, Quinn would take to sitting perched on her desk chair directly beneath her window - elbows propped up on the sill, and chin resting in the palms of her hand as she watched the world wake up. Like all of her other fellow students' rooms, there had originally been a desk sitting beneath her window which prevented her from such gazing, but after a few mornings of frustration at not being quite close enough to the outdoors, she had enlisted the assistance of Teddy to help her move the desk to the adjacent wall. And thus she spent most mornings this way; the only time of day she ever allowed herself to daydream the hours away.

Hours which she did, unfortunately, not have on this particular day. Quinn's abnormal adoration towards mornings did not stretch to any feelings of fondness towards Mondays. She detested the end of the freedom weekends offered just as much as the next girl. And she was just thinking such as she willed herself to push up off her gazing perch and start getting ready for the day ahead. Not such a difficult task for her, at least. It merely involved washing her face, running a brush through her relatively tangle-free hair, brushing her teeth and shrugging on her clothes for the day.

The outfit she had chosen the night before was not quite her typical style - showing a bit more skin than she was usually comfortable with, but she stopped herself from taking it off immediately once she looked in the mirror. She looked...careless. Free. In a don’t-mess-with me type of way that she didn’t necessarily hate. She didn’t look like the Quinn she had woken up as two months ago. Sure, her face was still the same - cool grey eyes and an imperfect smile with her top lip ever-so-slightly too big for her bottom lip - but she had noticed a definite change to the way she held herself. A little more sure of herself, as if she was finally finding her place in the grand scheme of things. Realistically, as ever, she reckoned it was Frankie’s influence that had her feeling this way. The girl’s shameless confidence was infectious. But Quinn knew she would likely never be able to act as completely comfortable with herself as her usual counterpart did.

Speaking of, upon glancing at the small alarm clock featured on her desk, Quinn figured it was about time she provided her friend with her usual morning caffeine fix. Doing so was not a hugely difficult task - simply consisting of her slipping silently into the floor's shared kitchen and pressing a series of buttons on the sacred coffee machine, trying not to cringe at the unnecessarily loud noises it was making so early in the morning. She dreaded to think of having to deal with the consequences of waking any one of her fellow students living on her floor, especially considering the fact that none of them were particularly fond of early risings. And so she attempted to minimise the clatter of dishes as she switched coffee cups beneath the tap, making one for herself, too. The whole feat took less than five minutes, yet she was well aware of the impact it would make on Frankie's morning, so pulled out her academy-issued mobile and tapped out a quick message to her friend.

Morning sunshine <3 U better be up. Made u a coffee since I'm such a nice person. it's outside ur door
see you soon xx

Leaving the spare cup of fresh coffee just where she claimed in the text, Quinn sipped on her own as she stepped into her shoes. White sneakers - without a speck of dirt on them. One thing she hated was dirty shoes. Ew. Even the thought of them grossed her out. She didn't bother knocking on any doors as she left the dorm space, very much aware of the fact that it was still barely left dawn. She could've sworn she had heard movement in the hall earlier while she had been getting dressed, but, of course, it was likely one or a few of the others wanting to get a few hours of exercise in before the day began. Another thought that made her shudder. She was far too restless for her mind to be able to focus on one thing for long, as most sports required, so exercise as a pastime had never particularly appealed to her. Especially with the risk of any one of her schoolmates watching. She had many a time stuck around for the last few minutes of Teddy's jogs to catch him for lunch, which had seemed to become a regular occurance for the both of them, but had always firmly denied any invitations to partake in running of any sort. Especially not with the knowledge that Wes was sometimes also present. Hot, bothered and sweaty? In front of those two? No thank you. She preferred not to dwell on the reasons behind not wanting to be seen as such in front of those two in particular - especially Theo. She was perfectly happy with staying firmly in denial of her feelings, as she should.

Instead, Quinn liked to spend her mornings in her own peaceful way - earbuds in and utterly alone, often settled on a bench beneath a tree in the courtyard or some such place. Although she would never share this information with anyone, at times alone like this she rarely listened to music - instead, the soothing, factual tones of men narrating crime podcasts filled her mind as she escaped to a world where her spinning thoughts were welcomed. She was so lost in the mystery unfolding in the current podcast she was on that she almost missed witnessing Bradley Barran walk right into a tree. But Quinn never missed anything. Especially nothing as funny as that.

She supposed if anyone else were here with her she would've laughed out loud, but, being alone made her opt for the kinder route of saving Bradley from the embarrassment of knowing there was a witness to his collision, and stayed silent from her position on the ground settled against a nearby low wall. With a small smile playing at her lips, Quinn chewed on a nail - a horrible habit, she knew - as she watched the boy retreat indoors. Interesting. She wondered what had got him so deep in thought for him to find himself so closely acquainted with the academy's shrubbery. A mystery for another day, she supposed, her amusement keeping a lazy half-smirk lingering on her features as she relaxed back against the wall and allowed herself to focus on the soft voices in her ear once more. She reckoned this peace would be rather short-lived as she recognised the signs of the academy properly waking up, but the prospect was not something she was particularly mad about. She was beginning to like it here, and looked forward to seeing the familiar faces she could now call friends.

The last two months had been fairly uneventful for Talya. She had been assigned the floor with what appeared to be the most boring students at San Agustin. While everyone seemed nice enough, Talya wasn’t looking for nice. She needed drama, something spicy. A little flair in life that she just simply hadn’t been able to find. It was the same old routine. Wake up, get dressed, grab something to eat, and go to class. While Talya didn’t mind routine, she needed something interesting to happen - and soon.

She wasn’t a fan of Mondays, and you could tell it by just how simple her outfit was for the day. Talya didn’t have any plans for this morning, but she had woken up starving. Grabbing a granola bar from the kitchen on her assigned floor, Talya made her way out to the courtyard with her backpack slung over her right shoulder. Sitting down at one of the tables, she pulled her sketchbook and a black inkpen from her bag before continuing on her next piece.

The drawing wasn’t shaping up to be anything great or important. Talya’s mood heavily affected her art. Being in a bored mood meant that her inspiration was low and made for boring artwork.

With a heavy sigh, Talya took a bite of her granola bar, watching the people around her go to classes.

---

---

Erica’s pen scratched out words in a curly, black script, pausing only when the booming voice of her professor took a break for air. Advanced Calculus wasn’t a fun class by any means, and it was made even less enjoyable by the fact that it started so damn early. This unfortunate fact however, didn’t stop Erica from showing up on time every day, dressed up and looking like her usual, determined self. If she was going to do something, she’d do it right.

The few others in the class rarely looked as good as she did. Her competition wasn’t exactly monumental, there were only fifty or so kids at San Agustin in general, and the ones in this class were mostly the brainiacs. Those deranged enough to take Advanced Calculus without complaints.

Two months ago, when Erica first got her schedule, she’d been more than a little skeptical about her math placement. She couldn’t really remember being that good at math, but here she was, excelling in the class. She attributed it all to her stellar memory. The formulas that tripped up her fellow students, were so clear in her head. Smart as she was, she had yet to question why the same didn’t seem to apply to all of her memories.

As the hands of the clock ticked forward, some of Erica’s classmates began shuffling their papers together, preparing for their rush to the door. Erica, though she desperately wanted to be free of this classroom, continued taking notes. Erica had developed a quiet respect for most of the teachers at San Agustin. She imagined this wasn’t the easiest job in the world, and some of her classmates had to be handfuls. She had no desire to make their jobs any harder. Finally, a low ring signaled the end of class, resulting in a small stampede for the door. Erica sauntered out slowly, never in much of a rush to get anywhere.

Erica supposed that she had taken to life at San Agustin better than most. She had made a lot of friends, she’d met her fair share of cute boys, and she was doing well in her classes. All that said, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Something that she couldn’t quite place, a shadow of dread that seemed to dissipate the moment she turned to face it.

As she pushed open the doors of the Academic Building and stepped out into the New Mexican sunlight, smiling as it’s warmth kissed her arms. Her lurking anxieties were pushed from her consciousness, to be dwelled upon another day. She had some time before her next class, and she’d skipped breakfast, so she made her way over to the cafeteria. While she waited, she scanned the tables for a friendly face. The Gray Twins were seated together. The sight of Billie made Erica frown, ever so slightly. She’d come to find Billie obnoxious, and she felt like everyone involved had a better day when the two of them kept their distance.

Bradley was sitting alone, a book on the table in front of him while he popped crickets into his open mouth. If it was anyone else she might’ve tried to assuage his loneliness, but she’d learned early on that Bradley was often content in his solitude. She spotted Zakya, looking vibrant as ever, and Savvy, both of them sitting alone. Sol and Leo entered then, arrogance and sex appeal flowing from them. Erica rolled her eyes, and stayed in line. Like Billie, Leo was a member of the student body that Erica found was better left untouched. Sol, admittedly, hadn’t really done anything wrong, but something about the girl gave Erica’s stomach a bad feeling. She’d rather trust her gut, than get herself stabbed in the back.

Once she’d gotten her tray of food, a bowl of fruit along with a plate of scrambled egg whites and some toast, Erica strutted across the cafeteria and took a seat across from Savannah, flashing a grin. “Savvy, you’re looking excellent, as always.” She took a bite of her food, and once her mouth was free, continued speaking. “If I try to take an 8:00 AM next semester, hit me.”

It wasn’t long after the slight altercation that Tyler Jane could feel her muscles being pushed to their limit. She had been dancing for almost an hour and a half straight and her legs screamed at her for a reprieve- even the minimum amount of time would do to soothe her aching quads and calves. In order to be at her best as a dancer, the girl took great care of herself- she always stretched before and after a workout, drank plenty of water and fluids, and fueled herself with foods high in nutrients and protein- but sometimes she needed to listen to her body even if she didn’t want to stop dancing and take a break.

Speaking of food, the redhead could feel her stomach growl and contort, yearning for the breakfast that she had admittedly skipped that morning. It was never a good idea to spin or leap on a full stomach, so empty it remained until she was satisfied with her impromptu dance rehearsal. Begrudgingly, she unplugged her phone from the auxiliary cord and pulled on her running shoes, the memory foam cushioning her sore and callused feet. Off to the cafeteria she’d go for some nourishment and then back to her dorm to freshen up before class.

Staring at her reflection in the large studio mirrors, Tyler Jane let her eyes wander across her body, confirming if she looked presentable enough to head to the cafeteria without changing. The natural curves of her hips were flattered nicely by the high waist band of her leggings and the criss-cross design of her white sports bra seemed to draw attention to the right places. In the space between the two articles of clothing, her slightly defined abs peeked out from the fabric. Tyler Jane was by no means ashamed of her figure, which was why she didn’t care about strolling across campus in her dance wear. Releasing her hair from the ponytail perched on top of her head, she shook out her long auburn locks, letting them fall gracefully over her shoulders and down her back in tousled waves. With that final touch, Tyler waltzed over to her backpack and threw it over her shoulders, shutting off the lights and closing the door to the dance studio behind her.

The New Mexico sun was unapologetic, almost sizzling her pale skin as she exited the building. Being a natural redhead also meant being extremely sensitive to the harsh rays that the sun shone, so without sunscreen applied, Tyler only had a short amount of time before her fair complexion would begin to tinge pink. Quickly but carefully, she walked to the cafeteria and felt sweet relief from the heat as she walked through the doors, unscathed by her brief exposure to the sun without any barrier of protection.

Hopping into line and scanning her student ID, she was handed her usual breakfast when it was her turn to be served: A green smoothie with spinach, kale, banana, pineapple, and mango. On the side today, she was also given granola with almonds, cashews, and some seeds. Taking her tray and thanking the cafeteria worker, Tyler Jane emerged from the line and wandered over to the area of tables. Craning her neck, she assessed the social landscape of the cafeteria, trying to see who was there and determine where she would sit.

On one side of the cafeteria, she watched as her late night confidant Bradley ate his interesting breakfast, looking too at peace in his seclusion to be interrupted. She’d catch up with him later, most likely tonight after the all school assembly. Continuing to scope out her surroundings, Tyler Jane’s eyes lingered on Nicholas, watching as he engaged in conversation with his twin Billie. He had such white teeth that seemed to glisten under the fluorescent lights, which brought more attention to his smile… Quickly realizing that she was staring at him, she turned her head and continued looking around for her friends, acting as if that small lapse in concentration didn’t happen. As she glimpsed across the room, she spotted a familiar mop of hair standing next to Sol in the line, too familiar looking for her liking. Fuck... Leo was here.

Not wanting to relive what had just gone down earlier, she darted her gaze away in an attempt not to make eye contact. At that moment, Tyler finally spotted Savannah and Erica sitting across the room and made a beeline towards them, fumbling with her tray and nearly dropping her breakfast along the way. Choosing one of the seats that ensured her back was towards public enemy #1, she sat down at the table with her friends and gracefully slipped off her backpack, placing it on the floor beside her. Trying to shake off the unsettling feeling in her stomach, the redhead offered a smile to her friends, hoping it didn’t come off too forced. “Morning ladies,” Tyler Jane greeted, relieved she didn’t need to eat alone. Taking a sip of her breakfast, she relished the delicious taste of fruit which masked out the flavor of the greens completely, just as she liked it. “What’s everyone up to today, anything exciting?”

The sun was barely peaking over the horizon when Hana had gotten up. As per usual she spent some time doing her hair and then picked a cute yet cozy outfit for the day. About an hour after getting up, roughly 6:30 am, Hana made her way from the dorms towards the Arts Building. The rays of the sun finally shining brightly in the sky warmed her bringing a faint smile to her face, the slight breeze blowing the hair left out of her braid and ruffled her outfit.

The short blonde took her time to walk to the Arts building, enjoying the outdoors and the views around her. She looked off to the wilderness and decided she wanted to go out and draw later today after a short walk. It would have to wait though as she wanted to work on the panting she’d been working on for awhile now. Something about it was still off and she felt she was missing something, did she mess up the lighting in the scene? Was the piece just too similar to something she’d done or seen? Hana had yet to figure out what was off with the piece she’d been working on but her horoscope led her to believe that today would be good and she’d find what she was missing.

Arriving at the Arts Building, Hana entered and was quick to head to the room where her painting and paints were left. She hung her scarf and bag up before sliding an apron on over her dress. She grabbed the canvas and set it up on an easel before going and grabbing her paints. Placing earphones in her ears, she began a calming playlist and got into the mood, instantly getting to work. Time became a distant thing as something clicked within Hana and she adjusted a few things on the painting before getting to work to finish off the large painting that had been a few days in the work.

Quite a bit later, Hana stood back and admired her work, it wasn’t the best she had done but she was satisfied and happy with it. She moved the canvas to a safer spot and then cleaned her brushes and work area. As she took off her apron and hung it back up she glanced at the clock realizing it was 8:30. Her eyes widened and she rushed to get her scarf back on and slung her bag over her shoulder before running off and out of the Arts Building.

Stumbling a few times, she made her way to the cafeteria and entered, scanning her ID and being handed her daily fruit which today was an apple. How thankful she was for not having to choose her food as that would end up in her holding the line majorly. Stepping away from the line and looking around the cafeteria Hana saw the few people she’d gotten closer to. Sam was with Leo and Sol, so there was no way she was going over to where he was. Bradley was one for solitude so she wasn’t going to disturb him. Charles, she didn’t know him well enough to feel comfortable eating with him. That left Erica, who was sitting with Savannah and Tyler. Hana didn’t know the other two as well as Erica, but if Erica trusted them and was friends with them then she could learn to as well. Weaving between tables and people, Hana made her way to the small group and sat down giving them all a small wave and smile before silently eating her apple, not wanting to disturb whatever they were talking about before her arrival.

Savannah bristled slightly at Erica’s compliment. Granted, she was flattered that even after an hour on the track she could still maintain a high standard in her appearance. However, at the same time, she knew that made her an attractive target. “I’ll try to hit you Erica, but you and I both know that’s a tough ask. Granted it’ll probably shake up my routine.”

Not that she wanted to. Sav liked the little schedule she had for herself now. Run, eat, school, eat, Netflix, sleep, rinse, repeat. The routine felt safe, like she almost knew where everyone and everything was going to be. It was a soothing thought in this crazy New Mexico world.

“Same as it ever was for me,” she confirmed to TJ. “Besides, you two are more exciting than I ever am. What’s the plan for y’all today?”

Erica chuckled at Savannah’s comment, and then turned to greet Tyler. “Hey TJ,” she said, a warm smile spreading across her face once more. Her attention was stolen for a moment, by one Samuel Costigan, and her eyes followed him until he met up with Sol and Leo. Erica quickly brought her attention back to her friends. She didn’t totally understand why the sight of Sol and Sam next to each other made her stomach do flips. She also wasn’t very keen on finding out.

“I’ve got Bio in a bit, and then P.E.” Erica said, shrugging. The tips of her fingernails tapped a quick rhythm against the table. “My calc teacher was saying something this morning about an assembly after dinner though.”

Tyler Jane popped a few pieces of granola into her mouth, washing it all down with a sip of her green smoothie. “Yeah, there’s supposedly some campus wide event on Wednesday and they’re telling us about it tonight. The administration wants to promote ‘community’ and ‘friendship’...” Emphasizing the two words with air quotes, she shook her head, a sarcastic laugh flowing from her lips. “Like that’ll ever happen.” As friendly as Tyler Jane was, the idea of being forced to socialize with people she didn’t get along with was not her idea of fun.

Instinctively, the redhead grabbed a strand of her hair and began playing with it as she spoke, one of her famous quirks when she got anxious. “Whatever, maybe it’ll be entertaining, who knows. All I’m focused on though is trying to survive the day, I’ve got a quiz in History later. As we all know, my memory sucks and I barely remember what happened last week so it should be interesting.”

The buzzwords sounded like absolute garbage to Savannah. Who wanted to try and bring this mishmash of students together? The school may not have a large student body, but that didn’t mean that she had to know everyone’s favorite romantic comedy to survive it, right? "Community? Friendship? Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. Besides, maybe there are some members of the community that I don’t need to be friends with.” The Texan looked right at Leo when she said that last sentence, staring a hole through the man who she was still steamed was with her workout buddy. “At least we’ll have something in P.E. that will help me deal with this unwelcome and unnecessary addition to the schedule, right Erica?”

Erica nodded along as her friends spoke, taking bites from her fruit salad and risking glances at Sam as the steady trickle of students through the line for food continued. “Oh come on,” Erica said, a sudden seriousness washing over her. “It might be fu-” Erica’s stoney stoicism was abruptly broken. She snorted, and burst into laughter, cutting off her sentence. After a moment she calmed herself, wiped a tear from her eye, and continued. “Jesus, couldn’t even say that with a straight face. Do they really think some stupid kumbaya session is gonna erase all the tension at this place?”

“Apparently so.” Tyler Jane stated matter of factly before catching Erica stealing glimpses in the direction of the breakfast line. Once she followed the girl’s gaze, the redhead quickly realized it wasn’t because she was hungry. After all, she had a plate of food sitting right there. “Speaking of tension…” Tyler drawled, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Erica, taking another sip of her smoothie instead of finishing her sentence.

Sav had to stifle herself when Erica burst out laughing. She knew that Erica wasn’t down for this either. It’s like they almost shared a personality or something. They definitely shared the same concerns apparently, and there was no way Tyler Jane was going to let that one go. Savannah knew she always had concerns, but Erica? That was something else. The girl finished another dollop of oatmeal. “Yeah, Erica. I mean, I know why I’m tense. What’s up with you? Math really that terrible this morning?”

Erica smirked, and locked eyes with TJ and Sav. She could lie, pretend like it wasn’t that big of a deal, brush whatever it was that they might have noticed off. Erica Monet was not a liar though, and the way she saw it, there wasn’t much to hide. “Sam is just looking particularly good today,” Erica said, almost nonchalant. “I would go talk to him, if he wasn’t with those two.” Erica nodded her head towards the trio, ever so slightly.

“Oh really? Is that all?” Tyler Jane pried, trying to get just a bit more information out of her friend. Maybe it was something about the way that Erica looked at Sam that sparked curiosity. The redhead was a bit of a hopeless romantic, so she was all for any type of gossip relating to guys, especially when it came to the interests of her friends. But as Erica mentioned his compatriots, Tyler rolled her eyes and fake gagged out of pure disgust; a complete 180 degree switch.

“Ugh I’d stay far away from Leo this morning if I were you, total perv city. He tried to seduce me in the dance studio right before this. I kicked him.” Acting like it was nothing, Tyler gingerly picked up a piece of granola and inspected it before placing it in her mouth, repeating the same process with her next few pieces.

“Oh TJ, please tell me you neutered that douchebag with your kick!” Savannah commented, not ready for that tidbit of information. Granted, she always fantasized about delivering a solid boot of her own to San Agustin’s resident lover boy, but then she would have to get close to Leo, and that was a proposition the Payton girl had no desire to be a part of. So the fact that he tried to get close enough to Tyler to pull it off and received what Sav determined in her mind to be an exquisite roundhouse kick was validation for this morning’s bad vibes.

“I’m sorry, I mean, how could you do that Tyler Jane? The poor boy won’t be able to get laid for a week!” She laughed, but it also could explain why Sol was hanging so close to him this morning. As comfort. “Well, maybe Sol can tell me just how much damage you did to his psyche later on. Gotta be some good to come out of her hanging out with him so much. I don’t understand it…”

“Sorry to disappoint you Sav, but as much as I would have loved to kick that boy where the sun doesn’t shine, I over exaggerated. He had the audacity to get in my face while I was stretching- you know like a leg extension, foot to ceiling moment- so foot went to chest and I pushed him away. I surprised myself actually with how strong of a push was.”

“Good for you TJ,” Erica said. “It’s like he’s on a fucking mission to sleep with every single girl before the end of the year,” she said, rolling her eyes. She ignored Sav’s comment about Sol. She didn’t love that the two of them had gotten so close, Sol made her nervous, which was annoying to say the least. She would never say it out loud, but Erica was intimidated by her. That said, she liked Sav a lot, and she wasn’t about to jeopardize a friendship over some gut feeling. “One of these days, it’ll bite him in the ass. Karma’s a bitch, and sometimes she’s late, but she always gets there eventually.”

“Let’s hope so,” Savannah concurred. “I mean, let’s face it, I’m not going to be the one to do it, although I can guarantee I will block his attempt to fuck his way through the entire female roster of San Agustin. I don’t need dick that badly. He tries it, I’m just gonna take off on him. Let’s see him catch me.”

Tyler Jane laughed “You do run pretty fast. I doubt he’d be able to keep up even if he tried- I’m sure his ego would weigh him down.”

The redhead took one last sip of her breakfast before the dreaded slurping noise from her straw indicated there was nothing left of her smoothie. With a slight frown, she placed the empty cup back on the table and gazed around the cafeteria. Mondays always had this sort of bad energy that seemed to weigh over the day like a storm cloud, even if the weather outside was absolutely perfect (like it was today). Hopefully something interesting would happen to brighten the mood, and not just for her sake. With a grumble, she placed her forearms on the table and rested her chin on her hands, pouting her lips. “Can we skip to the weekend already? I really don’t want to take this quiz.”

“You’ll be fine,” Erica said, drawing out the last word in order to emphasize just how fine TJ would be. “Speaking of the weekend, we should do something, I don’t know, normal.” Erica’s head swiveled as she looked around the room. “We could have a little shin-dig,” Erica said, almost singing the last bit. “There are some cool people here.”

Savannah’s ears perked up at that notion, to the point where she was rubbing behind her left ear as her right hand tried to scoop up the last bit of oatmeal. There would be only one reason that Erica was doing her sneaky monitoring when she mentioned her plan for “something normal,” and that meant all kinds of trouble. “Are you talking about the kind of ‘shin dig’ I think you’re talking about? Because, one, it’s probably not the best idea on a campus like this where there aren’t a lot of places to pull that sort of thing off. Two, cool people may show up, but there will also be the uncool people, because everyone will know about this party. Including the king of the jackasses over there.” She nodded at Leo. “Three, we know no one here who is 21 and can score booze. Four, parties are so played out, aren’t they? What is this, Euphoria? I don’t need to be trying to think about that while I’ve got midterms coming up. And five,” Savannah held the hand out that she was using to illustrate her points but she was struggling to finish the job. “Five, I really wish I could think of another thing off the top of my head to make this even out, but I can’t.” Dissatisfied with herself, she officially finished off her oatmeal.

Tyler Jane’s head popped up as soon as Erica mentioned the word shindig. A quote unquote get together was exactly the excitement she craved on this dreary Monday morning and would easily help her sail through the week. Ever since arriving on campus, things felt a little too structured. Maybe it would do her, and the rest of her friends, some good to let loose a little bit. Especially after hearing the blonde next to her ramble on about every reason why it was a bad idea, made it seem even more like a good one.

“Oh come on Sav, just think of how much fun we’ll have!” The redhead exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her seat. “And we’ll worry about the minor details later. When there’s a will, there’s a way.” She stated, mostly in reference to the aforementioned alcohol. “This is the kind of thing that’s going to foster community and friendship, not some lame campus sanctioned event. We’ll simply do the administration’s work for them!”

“That is the spirit TJ,” Erica said, grinning. She turned her head towards Sav and cocked it, a playful smirk pulling at the corners of her lips. She held up one finger. “One, if anyone can keep this thing under control, it’s us. The boys upstairs will never even know anything is going on.” Erica brought up a second finger, to join the lonely first. “Two, wherever we throw this thing, it’s our party. We can always tell Leo to fuck off.” Erica’s usual confidence was on full display, her words laced with a nonchalance that came only from believing you were right.

A third finger went up. “Three, getting booze isn’t about being twenty one, it’s about being creative. I’m sure we’ll think of something.” As she finished her sentence, her fourth finger went up, leaving only her thumb resting against the palm of her hand. “Four, this is obviously Zoey 101, but also, parties are absolutely not played out. We’re seventeen! This is our chance to do stupid things before life shows up to beat us into submission!” Erica’s playful smirk was replaced by a triumphant grin as her thumb finally stretched out, and her five fingers stuck into the air. “And five, it’ll be hella fucking fun.”

Savannah was outnumbered. In more ways than one. She should have known better than to try and match wits with Erica, especially considering she was already warmed up with math stuff. Plus, there was no doubt that her small-town ideals are going to fall flat against Erica’s grand plans. There was no stopping her when she got on a roll like that. She was like a rampaging… avalanche.

She let her spoon fall to the bowl and threw her hands up in defeat. “All right, all right, you win. You both win. Party is on. But I don’t want things to get all crazy! This may be Zoey 101, but that doesn’t mean we have to do something stupid that leads to some touching moment at the end where we reveal we learned a valuable lesson about true friendship or something like that. Let’s keep it quiet, between OUR cool people…” She leaned in and spoke softly. “And if we can find some Hpnotiq, I’ve always wanted to try it. I heard it in so many songs…”

A gentle laugh escaped Tyler Jane’s lips, watching her friends banter back and forth. Something about the camaraderie between them was comforting in a way the redhead couldn’t explain, almost as if she wasn’t used to it, which didn’t make much sense since the three had been close since day one. “Beggars can’t be choosers, Sav. We’ll take what we can get, if we can get anything in the first place that is.” Drumming her fingers on the table, Tyler tried to brainstorm which student in their class would be the most resourceful when it came to smuggling in illegal contraband. With no name in particular coming to mind, she dropped the subject. “Regardless, this is going to be great. Now who will we invite…” The girl’s eyes searched around the cafeteria, analyzing which of their classmates would be on their unofficial guest list.

“Yes!” Erica hissed, thrilled that she’d gotten Savannah on board. She joined Tyler in scanning the cafeteria, weighing her classmates pros against their cons. “Charlie and Bradley are cool, Zakya too,” Erica’s voice trailed off as she racked her brain for those outside of the cafeteria. “Quinn and Frankie are fun, and if you invite one you’ll get the other. I trust your guys’ judgement.” Erica said. Before she could continue, Hana took a seat at the table, and Erica’s thoughtful visage was replaced by her welcoming smile.

“Hana! Just in time! You’ve been invited to our shindig, this Friday night. Don’t even try arguing with me, Savvy here already lost that one.”