I

Tommy scurried around his room, getting his backpack ready at practically the last minute before grabbing his car keys, muttering "I'm gonna be late" over and over. Taking a quick look in the mirror, he swept a hand through his hair and ran downstairs to the kitchen at lightening speed to grab a bagel.

"Tommy, you need to stop and eat a healthy breakfast!" his mother, Didi, exclaimed. "It's your first day of school!"

"Mom, I'm just starting junior year," he replied between bites. Once he finished the bagel and slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, he traipsed back into the front entryway of their northern California home and shouted up the stairs to his younger brother. "Dil, get a move on! I'm driving and in order for that to happen, I need a good parking space! We're leaving in five minutes!"

"Alright, T, chillax!" came his brother's response. "Just a sec!"

Tommy sighed heavily, leaving their house through the front door and jogging to his car in the driveway. Right after unlocking the doors and putting his keys in the ignition to start it, Dil appeared out of nowhere and sat shotgun. He slammed the door after him and Tommy backed out into the street.

"Careful with the car," the older one scolded. "Do you know how long it took me to save up for this?"

"Yeah," Dil muttered. "You worked at the Java Lava and made crappy coffee for minimum wage for as long as I can remember."

"Hey, the coffee at the Java Lava isn't that bad!"

"I was talking about the stuff you made, not what Chaz and Betty served."

"Regardless," Tommy continued, ignoring his brother's comment, "this car is like my child. Treat it with respect."

Shaking his head, Dil reached over and turned on the radio, switching immediately to an alternative rock station he and Phil frequently listened to. Tommy was nonplussed about the station as they drove to school, but didn't say anything against his brother's choice in music.

When they finally arrived at the high school's parking lot, Tommy made a disgruntled noise as he scanned for a parking space. Noticing there were only a few left, he quickly but carefully maneuvered his car to take a spot between two others.

Getting out and grabbing his things, he noticed that the cars on either side of him belonged to Chuckie and the DeVille twins, respectively. He only had a minute to laugh about the irony until being interrupted by his cell phone going off. It was a text from Chuckie, asking where he was.

"Dil, I gotta go meet the guys," he said, typing out a quick response to his best friend. "See you at lunch. Good luck in classes!"

"Sure thing, big bro! Same to you!"

The halls were crammed with students and the loud shouts of friends greeting one another. Everyone already knew their schedules, and Tommy was delighted to learn he had a few classes with Phil, Lil and Kimi, and even AP Physics with Chuckie. As it was Chuckie's senior year to Tommy and the gang's junior, the schedules meshed a bit more with each other compared to Dil's, who was a sophomore.

"Physics is gonna be so bogus," Chuckie complained, putting some books in his locker. He turned to his best friend, whose locker was right next to his. They both wore mirrored expressions of anticipation.

"At least we have a class together," Tommy offered, making sure he had his own Physics book in his backpack. He closed his locker and the two continued on to homeroom, with Phil, Lil and Kimi trailing behind.

"You know," Phil started, "I don't think we've ever not had at least one class together. It's like, ever since I can remember, the scheduling Gods have made sure we all have at least one class with each other."

"Phillip, you're not in AP Physics," Lil deadpanned.

"There's always P.E.," Kimi said.

"That doesn't count," Phil muttered.

"But it's the one class we're all in together," Chuckie pointed out. "You guys have at least a couple classes with one another; Tommy's the only one of you I have a class with, other than P.E. and homeroom."

"Homeroom doesn't count!" the trio said in unison.

Chuckie shrugged as they entered the classroom. A young woman stood up at the front of the room with a kind but slightly frazzled demeanor, just turning from writing her name on the whiteboard. She must've been new.

"Good morning, class!" she enthused. "I'm Mrs. Wolcroft, and as you can probably tell, this is my first day teaching here. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you!"

There were general mumbles of hellos and how-do-you-dos from the students as they greeted their homeroom teacher. Tommy and his friends settled toward the back so they could whisper to one another as Mrs. Wolcroft took attendance.

"She seems way too enthusiastic to be a high school teacher," Phil remarked.

"Just wait until she meets you," Kimi teased. "She'll be running for her life."

"Hey, I resent that!"

Before Kimi could muster up a comeback, they were interrupted by their teacher. "… Deville, Phillip?"

"Here," Phil droned.

"Deville, Lillian?"

"Present!" Lil answered, raising her hand.

"Ah, twins," Mrs. Wolcroft mused. "How fun!"

The twins rolled their eyes discretely.

"I think she likes me already," Phil boasted. "You were wrong, Kimi!"

Kimi scoffed and opened up a notebook to doodle, vaguely responding to their teacher as her name was called after her brother's. Instead, she drew an artistic rendition of herself and the group of people she came to know as her best friends since they were all in diapers. Dreamily, she stared at the drawing as she harbored feelings for one person in particular, although she swore she'd never have the courage to ask him out. No one knew about who she liked, not even Lil or Suzie, who she hadn't talked to much since she left for college a few weeks ago.

Come to think of it, no one in the group had heard from Angelica, either. Suzie was accepted into Harvard, just as her mother was, and was on the right path to following her dream to becoming a lawyer. She did some singing on the side at small venues all over northern California, but since she moved out to Boston and was three hours ahead of them in time, no one really had the time to actually talk to her. Instead, she and Kimi texted occasionally, although the conversations were usually cut short by one of them having to go do something or other.

Angelica, on the other hand, was accepted to California College of the Arts. It had been recently discovered that she had a knack for painting and photography. Since photography was similar to Tommy's film hobby, it helped as a building block in enhancing their relationship. The creative outlets also helped make Angelica's attitude a lot less abrasive, finally forming an actual friendship with Suzie and the rest of the gang.

"It's weird," Tommy said. "I actually miss Angelica."

"You never would've said that in middle school," Chuckie pointed out. "Remember how manipulative she was?"

"Eh, she still tends to be. But she's definitely gotten better."

Just then, the bell that signified the ending of homeroom rang loud and clear. The kids collected their things and went off to their respective classes, shouting that they'd meet up at their usual table for lunch.