A/N: Hello all! It's so comforting to know that my summary interested you enough for you to click the link that led you here. This fic is different than anything I've ever written before - so any suggestions or criticism you may have are more than welcome!

This story is going to follow many different characters with many different story lines. There will be a main focus, but not every chapter will contribute to it. Every student character has at one time been a character on the show (thanks to the reoccurring and minor characters list on the A&A wiki!). I changed/added a few details on some such as last names and ages, and obviously created my own background stories for each one. Most of the adult characters will have been on the show as well - I'm still deciding whether I need to create some originals or not.

Just a fair warning that this story will contain a lot of mature, sometimes disturbing information. It is subject to contain foul/offensive language, sexual content, violence, detailed descriptions of mental illnesses, and very serious and downright awful life situations. I will try to include a warning on all chapters if I feel it will contain any content that may be out of the ordinary, but you may not want to continue reading if any of these mentions already make you feel uncomfortable.

Welcome to Starr School for Troubled Youth: where everyone has a story and nothing is kept confidential.

Our campus is large enough to hold well over 200 kids, but is currently only home to 35 - mostly due to being inconveniently placed. Rooms are assigned to only one student at a time. This may sound remotely nice, but don't get your hopes up. The rooms resemble more of a plaster box complete with thin carpet that appears to have never been cleaned, no natural sunlight, a radio, and two five - level plastic shelving units on either side of the room. A television with limited channels may be added to your room in time if you earn it. The one dresser is made of the same unfinished wood as the single sized bed that resides on its left, which is completely bare except for the seemingly uncomfortable vinyl mattress. To be completely honest with you, the single rooms are only offered so that we can prevent anyone being unnecessarily harmed in the likely event that a student has a mental breakdown.

Personal items from your previous home are allowed as long as they are not sexual in nature, offensive, illegal substances, or can potentially be used to harm yourself or others. You do have a bathroom in your room, but it only contains a toilet, sink, and a small unbreakable mirror. The shared bathroom that contains the showers is on the top floor of every housing unit, along with the other 11 doors besides yours that lead to other students rooms. The downstairs of every unit is what we call the loft - and you better learn to get comfortable there because after 8pm that's the only place you'll find any source of entertainment. By entertainment we of course mean an old air hockey table, a large yet usually disappointing collection of DVD's, an outdated PlayStation with family friendly games, and an incredibly misleading 50 inch tv with limited channels. It's actually not the worst place to be as long as you can handle the sweat and rotten cheese scent that seems to be present in every single one. Due to only needing three housing units to contain our current number of students, most of the empty ones have been converted to activity centers that remain open from 8am-8pm. We offer a wide variety of activities but you will find that most are unappealing to the average teenager, and the others will usually seem dull with time. Of course, we hope that you will find at least one that you find interesting enough to keep coming back to so you're spending less time off on your own potentially causing trouble.

Twice a week you will attend mandatory group therapy sessions where you will be put on the spot in front of your peers. But of course we will try to ease the awkwardness of the situation by constantly reminding you that you should feel 'no pressure' to speak, despite the fact that we will pester you to no end if you don't. Another two days a week, you will attend mandatory one-on-one sessions with your therapist where the situation will be no less compelling. We let you choose which group sessions to attend in a poor attempt to help you feel like you have some control over your life. Though, if you haven't attended any by the last two days of the week we will make you attend them then. Your private counselor will almost always be the same unless a counselor takes a personal leave - this way we only have one person who truly needs to focus on getting inside your head. The therapists will all try to be your best friend no matter the circumstances. Odds are, you'll just be annoyed.

As for the rest of the staff, it's a real hit or miss. Most of them are fairly easy to get along with and will even turn the other cheek towards some of the less serious rules such as having guests in your room after hours on weeknights or partaking in some harmless indulgences. But a few are what the kids call 'narks', the real hard asses who follow all the rules and are most likely going to be on your shit list for the rest of eternity. You probably won't learn who they are until you've gotten on their bad side though, so it's best to assume that none of the staff is trustworthy until proven otherwise. One thing that is certainly unique about our students is the bond they all share. This is the first time we've gotten a new student in a year and a half, so you can imagine that these 35 troubled youngsters who are forced to live and interact together every day of their lives have formed a connection that is rather strong and almost clique-ish.

"New kid...", the word hissed harshly from unidentifiable lips in the form of a whisper, but it was loud enough for him to hear as the entire dining hall came to a halt.

Through time he would learn that this would be a more accurate description of the Starr School for Troubled Youth, though it was certainly different than the one he was actually receiving. The woman who was acting as his guide wore a nametag that read Ms. Suzie and spoke to him as if she was speaking to a kindergarten student. She gave very unrealistic and vague descriptions of the school, including phrases such as "spacious single rooms", "cozy, inviting loft with all the basic teen-necessary gadgets", "fun filled activity centers", "easy-peasy therapy sessions", and "all around friendly people." But at that point he knew nothing other than what she was telling him; and although he couldn't tell the 70 eyes staring at him were actually full of sympathy for his expectations. For the school's actual motto was "where everyone has a story and no one is turned away". Truth be told he wasn't really building expectations, or focusing too much on what Ms. Suzie had to say. At that moment he only stared down at the blue and white checkered linoleum floor beneath his feet and tried to pretend like he was even the slightest bit comfortable in the present situation.

A/N: ...Aaaand that's it for chapter one! What do you guys think so far? Any guesses on who this mystery guy is? Please R&R...reviews are my fuel! :D