This is my homage to the Lizzie McGuire Mystery series of books that Disney Press has come out with. But instead of the normal third person perspective, I've tried for a little 2nd person, ala those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. This is my first attempt at a prose adventure for "Lizzie", not to mention the fact that I've tired writing it at a 3rd/4th grade level (not unlike those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books themselves). So don't expect Conan Doyle. ;-) As always, feedback is most appreciated. :-)

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You're new. Your parents just moved to Hillridge, and this is your first day at school. You're excited, but nervous at the same time. You don't know anybody, and you're not sure how to go about 'fitting in'.

As you walk down the halls trying to take everything in, you don't watch where you're going and as a consequence accidentally bump into one of your fellow students, a girl.

"Watch where you're going dirk!" The tall blond bristles.

You try to apologize, but she'll have none of it.

"Whatever." She says, thrusting a hand at you.

Great. Your first day and your name is already mud!

"Lay off Kate." Another girl says, coming to your defense. With her there's a dark haired girl and boy. "It was obviously an accident."

"Butt out Lizzie…"

"What's the matter Kate? Didn't eat a puppy this morning so you're taking it out on the newbie?" The dark haired girl wants to know.

Glowering, Kate stomps away. You thank 'Lizzie' for helping you out.

"No problem. I'm Lizzie. This is Miranda and Gordo." She says, introducing her two friends. "You new to Hillridge?"

You tell her that yes, you are.

"Why don't you we show you around?" Gordo suggests.

"Yeah," Miranda takes up, "why don't you think of it as a crash course in 8th grade survival?"

That sounds great to you. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

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You've been in school less than ten minutes and you've already made new friends. That has to be some kind of record, you think to yourself. As you're walking, your new friends point out the highlights.

"That's Mr. Pettus," Gordo points to a tall man in glasses and a white lab coat. "He's unconventional, but a good teacher."

"Unconventional?" Miranda asks incredulously. "Gordo, he made us dig for worms!"

Gordo chuckles.

"He made you dig for worms, remember?"

You can't help but laugh at the back and forth play between the two.

"Oh, there's Ethan!" Miranda says excitedly, gesturing towards a tall sandy haired boy surrounded by a bevy of beautiful girls, all seeking to hold his attention.

"He's the resident 'big man on campus'." Gordo fills in. "Not a bad guy actually, but he's definitely not the brightest bulb in the box…"

Just then Ethan sees your group, and smiling, makes his way over.

"Yo, Lizzie! Miranda. Go-don." He then sees you. "Who's the new kid?"

Introductions are made.

"Hey, you'll love it here." Ethan tells you. "It's the coolest. Oh, hey," he remembers something, "you guys are goin' to watch my water polo match tomorrow, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" Lizzie chirps.

"Slamn'. 'Cause you know, it's like polo. Only with water. And without the horses."

"Right…" Gordo draws out slowly. "No horses, gotcha."

You see what Gordo meant about Ethan's I.Q.!

As you continue to walk down the hall, Lizzie brings you all up to a complete halt.

"What's Tudgeman up to now?"

Puzzled, you see a tall dark haired boy trying to wrestle what looks to be a tinker toy set out of his locker. His struggling has caught the attention of the other students in the hallway as well.

"Uh, Tudgeman, what're you doing?" Miranda asks. He turns around.

"Oh, hey guys. I'm trying to get this out of my locker. It's for Biology. See, I've constructed the molecule chain of a polyhydic biaxial resin.

"Why?" Miranda presses.

"For extra credit. It'll kill, trust me." Tudgeman says excitedly. "That is, if I can get the thing to come out!" He grunts, struggling some more with the model.

"Well, good luck." Lizzie says, as you move on.

"That was Larry Tudgeman." Gordo explains. "You could say he's the resident 'science nerd'."

Miranda nudges him playfully. "Next to you, you mean."

"Oh yeah," he adds. "He's also got a 'thing' for Miranda."

"Ugh! Gordo!" She punches him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" Gordo rubs his shoulder as Lizzie looks on laughing.

You don't get far when you notice a husky looking dark haired girl hanging out with a couple of other girls. Besides their 'tough' appearance, the thing you notice the most is how the one girl glares at Lizzie as you pass by. You ask what's up with that.

"That's Angel Lieberman." Lizzie replies reluctantly. "She's the school 'bad girl'. We used to hang out…"

You look from squeaky-clean Lizzie to Angel and back again.

"It's a long story." Lizzie says, seeing your disbelief.

As you're passing a stairwell, you hear a commotion, causing you to stop.

"No it's not okay!" You see a curly haired girl with glasses shrug off a friend's hand.

"A 'B+' is not acceptable. Oh! If it weren't for Larry Tudgeman I'd have an 'A'. But nooo," she rants. "He throws off the entire curve. Harvard doesn't accept B+ students!" Suddenly she spies you watching her.

"What do you want?" She spits out.

Making your apologies, you catch back up with your new friends.

"So," Lizzie inquires, turning to you, "What's your first class?"

You tell her.

"Ours too! Let's get there before we're late."

You all head off to class.