With a deep sigh, Yumi Ishiyama walked through the front gates of Kadic High School.

She could feel people watching her as she made her way to the main office building. A group of preppy girls noticeably judged her fashion sense. High top converse, jean shorts, and a flowing black tank top. Her straight jet-black hair just barely reached her shoulders. Yumi gripped her backpack straps and stared at the ground as she continued walking. After moving five times in the past seven years, she was used to the feeling of being the new girl.

The staring continued even after she talked to the principle and received her schedule for the semester. Gripping her new text books, she glued her eyes to the floor and made her way to her first class. Suddenly, her walk was cut short as she stumbled into something. Or someone.

"Ouch! What the hell?" A tall, slender girl with long black hair turned around and glared at Yumi. "Who do you think you are?" The girl was yelling, drawing in the attention of a crowd.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"The hell you did." The girl knocked Yumi's books out of her hands. "Watch it, new girl."

Yumi's face grew red with anger and embarrassment as students began to chuckle to themselves. Eyeing the girl's pathetic, preppy fashion sense, Yumi couldn't help but speak up. "Watch yourself, Ms. Devil-Wears-Fake-Prada."

The crowed "ooh'd" as the bell rang, and everyone began dispersing into their classrooms. The tall girl glared at Yumi. "You've made a huge mistake, string bean."

With a huff, the girl headed toward her classroom which coincidently was the one Yumi was going to as well.

Yumi rolled her eyes and picked up her books. It was going to be a long year.

Upon entering the classroom, Yumi endured even more staring and accusations. She looked around for an empty seat only to be interrupted by the professor.

"Ah, here she is! I heard we were getting a transfer student this semester!" A small woman with gray hair and large glasses that framed her face grinned at Yumi. "Welcome to Kadic High, Ms. Ishiyama!"

"Thank you." Yumi tried her best at giving her professor a welcoming smile.

"I'm Mrs. Hertz, head of the drama department here at Kadic. I hope you find Kadic High to be most welcoming." Yumi inwardly grunted at Mrs. Hertz's words. "Go ahead and have a seat next to Ms. Schaeffer."

A girl with pink hair kindly waved at Yumi as she made her way over to the lab counter.

"Hi! My name's Aelita. What's yours?" The girl seemed genuine. Yumi felt relaxed around her already.

"I'm Yumi."

"Nice to meet you, Yumi! You really stood up to Sissi today. You rocked it."

"I didn't mean to start any trouble." Yumi returned Aelita's welcoming smile.

"Don't worry, Sissi Delmas and her minion William Dunbar need to be stood up to. They think they run the school just because they star in every musical production."

Yumi and Aelita chuckled to themselves.

"Alright class, as always with the start of the new semester, homeroom will be used to announce upcoming events and opportunities!" Ms. Hertz began to babble on about Kadic and other news.

"Are you planning on getting involved in some way?" Aelita tilted her head.

"Me? Oh no, not yet anyway. I plan on just getting a feel for the school before I make any commitments." Yumi nervously tucked a lock of her hair behind her ears.

"Well you should still come to the Kadic Jamboree this Friday. It'll be a lot of fun. It's basically like a back to school party where each organization shows off their perks."

"Ahh I'm not sure if-"

"C'mon, it'll be fun! I'll be there with you and I'll show you the ropes!"

"Really?"

"Of course! What else are friends for?" Aelita patted Yumi's shoulder and turned her attention back to Mrs. Hertz. Yumi found herself smiling. She rarely made friends at other schools, but it seemed like Kadic may be a different story.

—-

Soon enough, it was Friday afternoon. The school was buzzing with positive energy and even Yumi was walking with pep in her step as she headed toward Aelita's dormitory room. Since Yumi was a day student, Aelita offered her room as a place to get ready for the big Jamboree. After one knock, the door swung open to reveal a smiling Aelita.

"Come on in, Yumi! I can't wait to show you my outfit!"

Aelita helped Yumi with her make-up and Yumi helped Aelita pick out the right accessories to match her maroon spagetti strapped dress and gold flats. Yumi wore a flowing forest green tank top and black skinny jeans tucked into combat boots. Once they were ready, they headed toward the auditorium for the jamboree.

"I'm not sure where my other friends are at." Aelita looked around the room. "But it looks like they're about to start so we better take a seat over here!"

The girls quickly found their seats and made themselves comfortable. The jamboree began, showing off the athletic teams first as usual. Once the boys' soccer team took the stage, the crowd went wild. The principle introduced them as the upcoming state champions.

"That's a little bold on his part isn't it?" Yumi whispered to Aelita.

"Maybe, but the boys' team is really good this year. With Ulrich Stern leading the team, there's a very little chance that they wouldn't win!" Aelita replied.

"Huh, this Ulrich kid seems a little hot headed." Yumi mumbled.

The soccer boys cleared the stage and a few more organizations were presented. Then, Mrs. Hertz took the mic and made an 'exciting' announcement.

"For this year's display of the drama club, we will be selecting two random students to preform a karaoke version of a song also selected at random. We're proud of our students here at Kadic and firmly believe each and every one of you has talent worthy of a drama debut!"

Students scoffed, sneered and chuckled as spotlights made their way around the auditorium to select the lucky students.

One landed on a boy with brown hair. Yumi recognized him from when he stood amongst the soccer team earlier.

The other light landed on her.
She gulped.
"Aelita, I can't."

"Go on, it'll be fine I promise!"

The two students made their way to the stage. Yumi was shaking. The boy seemed fine, from what she could tell. Mrs. Hertz handed them both microphones.

"Whenever you're ready." She winked at Yumi.

"You seem nervous." The boy whispered to her.

"I-I just hope it's a song that I know." Yumi replied, the boy laughed.

Sure enough, the song "Paranoid" by the Jonas Brothers began playing. The boy took the lead.

I make the most of all this stress
I try to live without regrets… The crowd cheered as soon as he start singing. Yumi gulped again as she saw her part nearing.

I'm freakin' out … with the final words of his part, he shot Yumi a challenging look.

But when she started singing, the boy's eyes grew wide. He hadn't heard anyone with such a beautiful voice. Like a veil was lifted from his eyes, he realized how beautiful this girl was in general. He was determined to help her loosen up and make the best of their short lived performance.

And he succeeded. Soon enough, the two were dancing and goofing around to the song, no longer needing to look at the lyrics on the screen.

Yumi was surprised at how easily her stage fright went away while singing with this (totally attractive) unfamiliar boy.

Once she sang the last lines of the song, the crowd went wild.

"Wow! Let's hear it for these two members of the student body! I had better see you both at auditions later on!" Mrs. Hertz chimed in as she motioned for the two to take their seats.

Yumi received a mixture of looks as she made her way back to Aelita. One pair of eyes caught her attention immediately. A hateful, jealous glare steamed from none other than Sissi Delmas, the girl she had encountered so kindly on her first day at Kadic. Yumi gulped as she remembered Aelita's words "they've stared in every musical production."