"Your gum belongs in the garbage can, NOT the trophy case locks, Mr. Erlone!" The principle bellowed over my head. I cringed, looking in the direction of the offender. A young student was scurrying down the hall, a wad of gum falling to the floor behind him. "Sorry, dear," the woman turned to me, "You know how first days are."

I smiled and laughed nervously. No. Not really.

It was my first time starting the year at an actual school. I was enrolled in public school the prior year after Mom and Pop... well, I don't need to bore you with that. But yes, I went for half of last year at East Mountain High, and before that I was home-schooled. But at E.M. I was at least living with grandma. Now I'm all by myself in a strange city, and... oh, I don't know. It's hard to explain, but up until a few months ago my life was simple. Really, really simple. Now everything's different... the whole world's upside-down.

"Miss Carson, please put a sweater over that shirt before I have you sent home!" Mrs. Cecilie was shouting again. A scandalized young lady hastily shoved her arms in her jacket, scowling. From the crowd of students burst an out-of-breath man in his forties, who doubled-over before us.

"Mr. Landier?"

"Ma'am, there are two very upset parents arguing outside. I'm afraid it might get violent."

"Oh, for heaven's sake. Alright, call security and I'll be there shortly." The man nodded and ran off again, and Mrs. Cecilie turned to me. "I'm sorry, dear; the first day is always the most chaotic."

"It's okay."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to take care of this. Go see Nathaniel; he's the student body president. He can help you sort out everything you need to complete your registration. You'll find him in room 2PA."

"Thank you, ma'am." My voice was drowned out by the chatter, but she was already headed to the front doors so I guess it wasn't a big deal.

One thing I've never liked; hallways. I mean, I know they're important but they just seem so... ridiculous. The lockers sort of remind me of a prison, and when everything looks the same it's so easy to get lost. That's one problem I've always had; I could be walking down the street I was raised on, but spin me in a quick circle and I may as well be in China.

I wandered aimlessly for a time when the first bell rang. Like magic, the cluttered hallway seemed to clear up immediately. Suddenly I was a lonesome girl in an empty corridor clinging to the words '2PA'. Nathaniel, student body president. I was on a mission.

I was currently in the seventh wing of the building, but when I inspected a map it became apparent that the names of the wings had no rhyme or reason. The wings on either side of this one, for example, were labeled 'F3' and '9', respectively. I managed to locate wing 2, though, and after ten minutes of wandering up and down desperately trying to figure out where they put the numbers on the door -I swear, they go out of their way to hide those stupid little plaques- I arrived before the one I was looking for.

"H-hello...?" I peeked in to see an empty room. I stepped in further to look around the door, thinking perhaps I'd just missed someone, but I became intensely aware of the fact that I was walking in without permission. "Okay... no one here." Back to the office, then.

"Can I help you?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin, whirling around and smacked my fingers pretty good on the door-frame in the process. There was a boy standing there, smiling down at me.

"Um, uh, well..." I stammered, rubbing my hand gently. I don't know why, I guess it was sort of like getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar, just a little bit. And then getting your fingers crushed under the lid.

"Did you need someone from the student council? Most of them are in class now, but maybe I can help you." He had a very friendly smile.

"I'm supposed to talk to Nathaniel," I finally got out. "About my registration."

"Oh," he gave a look of mild surprise, "Well, that's me. Why don't we go in, and I'll take a look."

Nathaniel was a very attractive boy. Not that I was really looking, but that's just something you're supposed to say about a boy, whether he really is or not; that's what Mom always taught me. But Nathaniel really was. He had blonde hair, which kind of threw me off for a second -I have this stigma about blondes- but he's very friendly and you forget about his hair when you talk to him.

He said that some of my electives had fees, and I'd need to submit a school-appropriate photo for my ID, but other than that my registration was complete and I could go to class.

"Today?"

"Yes, today. It's only first hour now, so you won't need to miss much."

"O-okay, thanks for your help."

"You can pay your fees to the business office and bring your photo to me, and- wait, one moment..."

I watched him hesitantly, "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, I just can't find the medical background sheet... We have your immunizations, transcripts..." he mentally checked off the items as he flipped through the folder, "That's strange. It's not here."

"What's the form for?"

"It just tells us if you have any allergies, illnesses, asthma, things like that. It's also got your emergency contact information."

"Oh, well I could tell you all of that right now."

"Well, you could, but your parents would have to sign off on it."

Oh.

"If you'd like I can give you a new one and you can bring it back tomorrow."

I thought about explaining to him the circumstances surrounding my enrollment, that the whole reason I'm transferring here is the same reason my parents can't sign that paper, but it wasn't really anything I felt like delving into. All I said was "Will I have to miss school today?"

Nathaniel bit his lip and looked up at the clock. "You know, you're not supposed to go to class without the form, for liability reasons, but I think you could get away with it. It'll be our little secret," he winked.

I stared a little dumbfounded- was the student council president telling me to break a rule? A very, very big rule? He honestly didn't seem like the type. I decided not to look a gift-horse in the mouth, though, and smiled in return. "Okay," I whispered sneakily.

He laughed a little and handed me a piece of paper, "There's your schedule, oh, and here's your locker. Don't lose that, if someone gets your combination, well, that's pretty self-explanatory." I nodded. "I think, beyond that, you're all set. Good luck."


I sighed to myself. It was lunch. I hadn't packed anything because I didn't expect them to enroll me so soon, and I didn't have a lot of money. Fifty dollars to last until next week, and it was only Monday. I had enough food at home, but I owed twenty-five dollars in school fees, not counting the cost of my photo. I was running low on dish soap at home, too.

I mournfully shut my locker, only to shriek in fear at a green, bug-eyed creature staring up at me. It took me a minute to regain my composure.

"Oh, Ken! Don't sneak up on me like that!" I scolded. Everywhere I go he's always- wait a minute.

"Ken, what are you doing here...?"

"I transferred schools! I heard that you were moving after they sent your grandma to the retirement home, so I thought I'd come too."

"Oh, well, that's... erm, very sweet of you, but really-"

"I'm living with my aunt now, she's okay, but I miss my mom."

"Why don't you go back and live with your parents, then?"

"Are you kidding? I couldn't leave you all alone like that! But thanks for worrying about me. Say, after school do you want to look around the campus? It's supposed to be really big."

"Uh..." He gave me an earnest look. What was I supposed to say? "Um, sure."

"Sweet! I'll look for you later and we'll go!" He waved once and bounced down the halls, looking ever-so-pleased. I let my head hit the locker with a thunk!

Standing in the hallway at lunchtime wasn't really very appealing, so I figured I'd head to a convenience store and get something small. I had enough to swing it, I calculated. As a matter of fact, they had dish soap there, so I just went ahead and bought some along with an apple and a thing of crackers. I put the soap under my arm and walked back to school that way, eating my lunch and thinking about how nice a hot shower would be after all this and what I should do about Ken. It's a good thing it was only a block away, or I may never have found the school again.

Back on campus, I tossed the apple core in a garbage bin and busied myself with putting the soap and the rest of my crackers in my shoulder-bag.

"Soap, huh?" I heard someone say. "That's an interesting lunch." They spoke with an air of condescendence and I flushed. Why couldn't I have just put it in my bag when I left the store? Ugh, sometimes I can be so thoughtless.

I looked up to see a guy; probably a student, but he certainly didn't dress like one. He was wearing a leather jacket with an Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt on; his hair was a deep red that surprised me. I didn't know what caused red-hair, but this guy reminded me that I wanted to find out. My hair is really weird- it's white. Not, like, super-bleached blonde, but white. My body doesn't produce a lot of melanin, which kind of makes me an albino, I guess, but it's not that noticeable. I mean, my hair stands out, but besides that I'm pretty normal-looking. At least that's what my family always said.

The guy had his arms crossed and was leaning against the wall, looking amused.

"Oh, hello. My name's Candy; I'm new here."

"Do people from Sweden normally eat soap, or is it just you?"

My brow twitched. I only camefrom the next town over. I mean, Sweden? Really? "Are you this nice to all the girls? Or just me?"

"Just the ones with a taste for household cleaners." I frowned. This conversation was going nowhere. I rolled my eyes and headed toward the doors, trying to remember where my next class was.

"Let me know if that flavor's any good!" He shouted. I just walked faster.


"Pssst, hey Amber, look; the new girl's talking to Nathaniel."

I vaguely heard the whisper, but I had to focus on what Nathaniel was saying. "It's downtown, sort of by that teen thrift store? It's on Adams Street, and it's a big grey building with a green trim, you can't miss it."

"Okay... is it possible you could show me on a map? I don't know this city very well yet."

"Uh, yeah. Come by before sixth-hour, I'll show you then."

"Okay, thank you."

"No problem."

Nathaniel walked back into the student council room, and I turned to leave when something shoved me into the wall. My bag hit the floor and I looked to see three girls, all a couple years younger than me. One was giving me an ugly sneer.

"So you're the new girl, huh? Why don't you go back to Sweden, nobody wants you here."

Seriously? I hoped this Sweden thing didn't get around too much.

"And stay away from Nathaniel, if you know what's good for you." She flipped her hair the way some girls do and walked away, leaving me to pick up my dripping bag.

Dripping?

I looked inside and saw the cap had popped off my bottle of soap. "Oh, Christ," I swore and took off down the hall and outside.

Thankfully, there was a hose out here, and I dumped the contents of my bag in the grass. My phone, music player, keys, and the form Nathaniel gave me were saturated. I sighed miserably. One bottle of soap had became a mighty big headache.

I took apart my phone and wiped it down, hoping beyond hope that it could be salvaged. The mp3 was a non-essential item, I was sure my keys would survive and I could always get a new form, but the phone. I'd have to save for weeks to get a new one.

I felt like a child, sitting there. It was stupid, I know it, but I suddenly started feeling really sorry for myself. I just wanted to go home and cry. I mean, for goodness' sake, it was only money, but when the little money you get each week is all you have left in the whole world and a bottle of soap goes and eats a big chunk of it, it's really easy to have an emotional breakdown.

I was on my knees, focusing on my breathing, when I heard my name.

"Hey, Sweden!" Correction. My new nationality. I recognized the voice too, and I deliberately ignored it.

The stupid red-haired guy knelt beside me, "What are you, deaf?"

I grimaced. I wasn't equipped to deal with him right now, so I just turned on the hose and started spraying out my bag.

"Hey, hey! Watch it!" he jumped back about a mile when the water rebounded from in my bag and hit him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is the tough little schoolboy scared of water?" I asked bitterly.

"Funny. You should do stand-up, you're a real riot. Whajyado, spill your lunch?"

I sprayed the ground at his feet and he leaped behind me. "Relax, it was a joke!"

I didn't respond.

"Hey, what's this?" He reached down to pick up a CD.

"That's mine, leave it alone."

"Now, hold on. 'Endeverafter'? You don't strike me as a rock fan."

"Trust me, there are other ways I'd much rather strike you."

"Tsk tsk tsk, violent. You know, fighting's prohibited on school grounds."

"Bite me."

"Hey, come on now, I'm trying to be nice here."

"Is that so?"

"Here, I'll even help you with your ugly bag, will that make it better?"

I gave him a pointed look and he shrugged. "Fine. Be that way. But, uh..." He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "you might want to pull your wallet out of your bag. It's looking a little sorry."

"What! ?" I yelped, letting go of the hose in a panic. It flailed madly and managed to soak me from head-to-toe before I gathered the presence of mind to shut it off. I dug into my side pocket and sure enough, my soggy pink wallet was resting snugly inside. When I pulled it out, it dripped. The guy walked off looking oh-so-casual, but I didn't pay him any attention. I just collapsed on my back, giving the trees above me a tortured look.

I hate my life.


"Uh..."

"I know, I tried to clean myself off but there was only so much I could do."

I was in the middle of the student council room. I wasn't dripping, thankfully, but I must have been a sight.

"Are you okay?" Nathaniel looked more concerned really than appalled.

The question made me choke up a little. I didn't want to think about how I was doing. I really didn't.

"Yeah," my voice cracked and I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Okay, well I found a map to the dollar store downtown; you follow this and you should get there just fine. The directions are from the school."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Certainly." Nathaniel smiled graciously at me, and I tried to forget about my soggy bag and hair and shoes and everything. If it weren't for his being kind all day I would have given up all hope for the world. He really was a nice boy.

"Oh, right! The form you gave me got ruined, is there any chance you have another one?"

He seemed to contemplate my words for a second and then gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry, you got the last one. I should have made photocopies of it first, but I just didn't think about it."

I gaped. "Wha- but I... well, I-I guess that's okay..." That meant I couldn't come back tomorrow. Maybe Nathaniel would let me get away with it, but with how today was turning out it wasn't a far stretch to think I'd break a leg tomorrow or something. I wanted to cry again. Geeze, I was such a downer today.

Nathaniel suddenly looked very guilty, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." He reached into a folder and pulled out the form I needed, "That was a joke, but I guess it wasn't a very good one..."

I stared, confused. A joke? A joke? I could have screamed, but I think that was more because of my hysteria than anything else. Instead I just laughed, albeit not very convincingly, and told him it was okay. I thanked him for the form and went to my sixth hour. My nerves were utterly frayed. Maybe gym would be better- I was due for some good fortune.


I walked into the girl's locker room, saw Amber and her friends changing and walked right back out. Maybe tomorrow, but not today.

Instead I went outside into the courtyard. I wished I hadn't told Ken I'd look around the school with him; I would have much rather gone home. I laid behind a shrub, trying to keep out of sight. I was hungry again. I'd had to throw out the rest of my crackers earlier too. Stupid soap.

There was a crunching sound. "Hello again, Sweden."

"What do you want?" It was that guy again. Why was he even at school if he was never in class?

"You look a little down, so I thought I'd keep you company."

I regarded him with suspicion. "Why would I want your company? All you've done today is insult me."

"Well, sorry. It's how I am. You don't seem that bad though, honest. I could stand to put up with you for a little while." He squatted against the wall, watching me.

"Is that supposed to be a complement?"

"It is a complement! I don't really like people."

I sighed. Adamant.

"So, where are you from, Sweden?"

"Don't call me that."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Don't call me anything."

"Fine. So where are you from?"

"Around."

"What year are you?"

"Why?"

"Curious."

"Twelfth."

"Why did you come here?"

"No reason."

"You just felt like it?"

"Maybe I did."

"Your parents just went along with it?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Well, it seems a little funny that your parents would move all the way from Sweden just cuz you wanted to."

"I'm NOT from Sweden!" I growled. This was annoying.

He was quiet for a minute.

"You seem really down." He stood up lazily. "Come on, let's go."

"What?" I propped myself up on my elbows. The gravel was starting to dig into my back. "What do you mean? Go where?"

"It's a secret, but it'll cheer you up. Come on, we don't have all day."

I don't know why I did, but I followed him. It seemed harmless at the time. He led me up three flights of stairs and down a bunch of hallways. I was going to have to follow him out too, or I'd be trapped here forever.

We stopped in front of a door and he pulled out a key ring. "Shhhh," he whispered. "No one knows I have this. I use it when I don't feel like being found." And with that he pushed in the door and held it open for me.

A series of stone steps lay beyond, and with one last glance at the hall I was in, I scurried up the stairs, painfully aware that if I got caught I'd likely be suspended from campus before I was even enrolled at the school.

This staircase was rather short compared to the others, but when I reached the landing I was breathless.

We... we were on the roof!

Remember that thing about getting lost that I have? And that thing about blondes? Well, I also have this thing about heights. I'm sort of utterly terrified by them.

"Come on, there's a really cool view over there. These people have this Japanese Garden in their backyard, and sometimes its fun throw rocks at the birds down there." He pulled me by the arm and all I could think of was this joke I heard somewhere about someone's dad throwing a lot of rocks at storks. It seemed to fit somehow.

Then I was staring at a fifty-foot drop to a concrete sidewalk below. I gave a small eep and ducked down behind the raised ledge of the building. The guy gave me a funny look.

"What's the matter? Never been on a roof before?"

"I have a thing with heights. And that." I pointed at the cloudless blue above.

"The sky?"

"I get vertigo. If I stare up too much, I mean. It's just so big, and then I get dizzy and feel like I'm falling, and then I try to correct myself so I don't fall, and then I really fall."

"Don't worry, just don't look at the sky. Besides, I wouldn't let you fall. It'd look pretty bad for me if you did, huh?" In spite of the slight, he seemed earnest enough. I took his outstretched hand and let him pull me onto my feet. I felt a bit nauseous, but it was an experience worth having, I suppose. And he was right about one thing; it really is fun to throw rocks at birds.

I guess he really wasn't such a bad guy. He was good for laughs, and he had decent taste in music.

When it was almost time for school to get out we started to head back, and I was feeling a little bit victorious, like I'd conquered an enemy. Really I'd just swallowed my fear, but it's kind of the same, I think. Just before going back inside, I suddenly remembered something I'd meant to ask him but kept forgetting.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, right. I'm Castiel." Castiel, huh? Kind of... medieval. In a good way.

He helped me find my way to my locker and then left me to my own devices. I watched him walk off and found myself wondering all kinds of dumb things, like if he had siblings or if he liked to do anything besides throw rocks at birds.

The class bell rang and suddenly I was surrounded by a massive throng of people trying to get outside all at once. Somehow amidst the chaos Nathaniel worked his way to my side.

"Hey, you. How was sixth-hour? Not too bad, I hope."

"Oh, no. It was fine."

"Good. Hey, I never got the chance before, but I meant to show you around the school. Would you like a quick tour?"

"Oh, I'd love one, but I have to wait for someone. I'm really sorry... would tomorrow work?"

"Sure. How about I find you at lunch and I can show you the library? It's really easy to miss if you don't know what you're looking for."

"That sounds perfect, thank you."

He smiled and disappeared in the crowd. Ugh. I just had to say yes to Ken. I'm so stupid.

Speaking of the devil, the little green bug-boy popped up in front of me. "Ready?" he asked eagerly.

"Yeah," I said, shrugging. He meant well, anyway. I'd have to keep my temper in check; it would be way too easy to snap at the kid after the day I'd had.


Home was the most appealing thing in the world when the day was over. After my time with Ken, I had to find my way to the dollar store to get my photo taken, and I didn't look all that amazing in the photo. Also the lady was very cross with me when I handed her a soggy bill. At least it was ten dollars even, so she didn't have the chance to shortchange me.

I was still trying to decide if today had been good or bad when I collapsed on my bed. It didn't take me long before I was out like a light.

I'd take a shower whenever I woke up.