"Dana! Wake up!" yelled a voice. Dana grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it towards the yell.

"go away, Melissa. I'm tired!" she complained sleepily.

"I won't. Mom says to get up and get ready. You do remember what today is, don't you?" Melissa added when dana didn't move.

Oh yeah, I forgot. New school day again, dana thought dismally. My favourite thing ever.

She opened her eyes, staring up at her ceiling. The glow in the dark stars she'd hung last night glowed faintly, reminding her of her old room. She crawled out of bed and got dressed. As she was heading towards the stairs, she ran into her older brother Bill.

"Dana, were you actually planning on going to school in that outfit?" he enquired, pointing out her tight jeans and David Bowie shirt.

"Yeah. Why?" she responded, trying to get to the stairs, but Bill refused to budge.

"dana, that shirt is old and ripped, and those jeans are too tight. Go change. It's not like dad would let you out in that, either," he added when she hesitated.

She glowered at him, then headed back into her room, quickly changing into a black turtleneck and a black peasant skirt with silver embroidery.

"Better?" she asked, and headed down the stairs without waiting for an answer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Once she was downstairs, she quietly walked towards the dining room and looked in. Her father, William Scully, had his back to her and was talking to her mother, Maggie. Catching her younger brother's eye, she held her finger to her lips. Charlie's eyes widened and he nodded, understanding immediately.

Quickly, Dana snuck up behind her father, and threw her arms around his neck.

"Good morning, Ahab!" she cried, and kissed him on the cheek, while Charlie and her mother started laughing.

"Good morning, Starbuck!" he responded, and hugged her back.

Bill and Melissa walked in. "Why's everyone laughing?" asked Bill.

"No reason. Dana was just being silly," responded Maggie. "Sit down and eat. I want to talk to you four about the driving arrangements. Bill, your father and I have decided that you will drive Charlie to the middle school in the morning before you go to the high school, and Melissa will take Dana straight there. How does that sound?"

"Ok," they all chorused, and continued eating.

"Are you all excited about your first day of school?" asked Mr. Scully.

"Yes!" responded three of them. Dana, however, was less than enthusiastic.

"I'd much rather continue to be homeschooled. I don't see why we have to go to school."

"Oh, Dana," sighed Melissa. "You're so boring! It'll be fun, I promise you. High school is much better than middle, you'll see."

Dana rolled her eyes and ignored her sister.

"May I be excused?" she asked, finishing her toast and pushing back her chair. Her mother nodded, and Dana stood up.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Stuffing her textbooks in her bag, Dana hummed David Bowie's "Starman" to herself. Her black cat, Natasha, rubbed against her hand, purring loudly.

"Why're you so nice all of a sudden, Natasha?" Dana asked the cat. She picked her up and pressed her face into the soft fur. The rumbling purr and soft, musty smell helped calm her butterflies, and she began to think that maybe, just maybe, this might not be the worst thing ever. Dana sighed and put the cat down.

Turning back to her bag, she noticed her copy of Moby Dick lying on her desk. Snatching it up, she carefully placed it in the bag on top of the textbooks. Maybe I'll have some free time to read today. Better safe than sorry!

She closed the bag, slung it over her shoulder, and walked downstairs.

"Dana?" called her mother.

"I'm coming!"

"Have a good day at school, kids!" Maggie said as she gently shoved them out the door.

Charlie gave Dana a hug before climbing into Bill's pickup.

"Don't worry, Dana. Everyone will love you! You're awesome!" he said reassuringly.

"What makes you think I'm worried, Charlie? Anyway, I hope that they don't all love me. That would give Bill too much to do!" she joked.

Charlie grinned at Bill's frown.

"Come on, Charlie-boy!" Bill said. "We don't want you late for your first day of seventh grade, now do we?"

Charlie hopped in the truck and waved as Bill drove off.

"Come on, Dana! I'd like to get to school early so we can meet people before classes start!" Melissa grinned and pulled Dana towards the beat-up, midnight blue Bug on the other side of the driveway.

"I'm coming, Melissa! You don't have to drag me!" she said, and climbed into the car.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Melissa pulled into a spot by the front of the main school building.

"Come on, Danes!" she said. "Out you get!"

She shut off the engine and hopped out. Dana opened her door and grabbed her bag. Nervously, she followed her sister up the steps, ignoring the curious glances they generated from the long-haired guys sitting on the stairs. She and Melissa walked into the building and up to the front desk.

"Hi, I'm Melissa Scully and this is my sister Dana. We were told to come to the desk to get our schedules?" Melissa told the secretary.

"Ok, sweetie. Let's see… Ah yes. Here you go. Have a good day, dears!" She handed them each a piece of paper.

"Thank you!" Melissa said, and led her sister away.

"What classes do you have, Dana?" she asked.

"First period, AP Chem, second, Pre-AP English II, third, Pre-AP Bio, fourth, Pre-AP World Geo, then lunch. Then, for fifth I have Latin II, sixth, Algebra II, and then some sort of introductory band thing. You?"

"I should have known you'd take all those advanced classes, Dana," Melissa commented. "I have English III, AP Physics, American History, Pre-Cal, lunch, study hall, Japanese IV, and Art II."

As they walked into the cafeteria, they were attacked by a wall of sound. Dana tried to turn back, but Melissa grabbed her arm.

"Come on, Dana! It's not that bad. Lets go find some people to hang out with, ok?"

Dana shook her head. "You go, I'll stay here. If people want to talk to me, they can come and do so, but I won't go and bother them. Go on, I'll be fine!" she added, seeing her sister hesitate.

"Ok, Dana, if you're sure. I'll see you at lunch, ok?"

"Sure, Melissa."

Dana sat down in a nearby chair and put her head down on her arms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Fox Mulder sat and watched the door to the cafeteria. Supposedly, three siblings, a boy and two girls, were starting today, and he was hoping to catch a glimpse of them. After a few minutes, his vigilance was rewarded and two girls with auburn hair stepped in. The taller one had on a pair of black jeans and a t-shirt bearing the slogan "All Things Must Pass" with a little garden gnome underneath, while her sister was wearing a tight ribbed black turtleneck and a black skirt with silver embroidery.

As he watched, the girl in black tried to turn and leave, but after talking to her sister for a few moments, sat down in a chair, and rested her head in her arms. Her sister walked off in search, Mulder guessed, of different company.

She looks lonely, Mulder thought, his gaze drifting back to the girl in black. He stood up and strode towards the table she sat at.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lost in her thoughts, Dana didn't notice the tall, dark-haired boy till he started speaking.

"Hey, I'm Fox Mulder. I saw you walk in just now, and I thought I'd come and bother you."

Dana quickly lifted her head from her arms.
"Hi," she said, so quietly that, in the noisy room, he had to lean down to hear her. "I'm Dana Scully. It's nice to meet you, Fox."

He grimaced. "Call me Mulder, Dana. Fox is a terrible name." He sat down next to her. "Can I call you Scully? I had an evil baby sitter who made me call her Dana, so, bad memories, you know?"

"Sure." She smiled slightly at the strange boy. She had no idea why he had decided to come and 'bother' her, but she didn't mind. He seemed nice.

"So, Dana, what grade are you in?" he asked. "I'm a sophomore."

"Freshman," she replied, and grimaced. "But I'm taking a lot of higher classes."

"That's cool! What do you have first?" he asked, grinning.

"AP Chem."

"Great! That's my first class! I'll show you where it is."

"Thank you, Mulder. I'm glad I won't get lost immediately."

Suddenly, the bell rang, loud enough to make Scully jump.

"Come on, Scully!" Mulder held his hand out to help her up. As they walked towards the door, he placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her through the crowd.