Chapter 1:

I felt sick. My stomach tossed and turned and I didn't think I could hold it in any longer, I thought I was going to throw up all over the hallway. I ran to the bathroom as quick as I could. I shoved the door open with my foot and rushed to the sink. I turned on the faucet and let the cold water fall through my fingertips. The cold water calmed me down quickly. I took in deep breaths and closed my eyes to settle myself down.

I heard the bathroom door swing open, "You alright?" I heard a girl say from across the room. I opened my eyes and turned around. The girl was petite but very tall. She wore a plaid maroon skirt with a navy blue blazer. She had white knee high socks that covered her long skinny legs and had black flats on. Her brown, loosely curled hair was pulled back with a black thin headband. "You don't look so good," she said, smiling sympathetically.

"I'm fine, just…first day jitters. That's all," I responded. She walked over to me, poised. And so sure of herself.

"I thought you looked new," she said, smiling enough to show her perfectly white teeth, "I'm Spencer Hasting," she said, extending her hand to me.

"Aria," I said, taking her hand and shaking it politely. "I just moved here from Iceland,"

"Well, Aria, you'll fit in here well," she said, reassuring me, "What's your first class?"

I pulled out my schedule from my satchel and uncrumpled it, "Umm…room 118…English,"

"Great! We are in the same class, I'll show you the way," she said, leading me out of the bathroom and down the hallway.

By then, the hallways were filled with students. Everyone talking to one another. You could tell who fit with whom…the preppy girls, the jocks, the punks. And me? Where would I fit in? I began to get nervous again but pushed the feeling away.

"Looks like everyone already knows their place here, huh?" I said my voice shaky.

"Oh, don't worry!" she said, patting me on the back, "Your off to a great start, you've already made one friend and you've only been here…what? 10 minutes?" she said, smiling down at me.

I was a lot shorter than she was. We looked like complete opposites. I was a short, black haired girl who was still trying to find her place in the world. When Spencer seemed so sure of what she wanted, I was still digging around for answers in my own mind.

Spencer led me into a small room with about 20 desks and one large desk for the teacher, with a chalkboard behind it.

"Aria, these are my friends Emily and Hannah," Spencer pointed to the two girls who stood in front of me.

Hannah was a dirty blonde who stood tall in her heels. Her hair was short and was in loose waves that framed her face.

Emily, who stood next to Hannah, had dark brown hair that looked natural. She wore pair of blue jeans and cowboy boots with a purple hoodie on top.

I nodded to both of them, "Nice to meet you," I smiled.

"Hello everyone," a man said.

Everyone started to scatter and sit in their seats.

The man, who wore a gray vest and proper tie, walked to the chalkboard and wrote in big sloppy cursive Mr. Fitz.

"I'm Mr. Fitz, your new English teacher," He said, and turned to face the class. Automatically, our eyes met. Even from across the room I could see the beauty in them. They were a perfect blue. Not the kind of blue that stood out, but the kind of blue that when you looked in them, you thought you could see right into their soul.