Chapter One: The Dollar Crew

The bright morning sun cast its long rays onto the white sandy beach, making it sparkle like diamonds in the dazzling light. I barely took in the brilliant beauty as I raced down the beach at full speed. I just knew that I was late, even without a watch. I shifted my bag to a better position and ran faster, almost tripping over myself in my haste. Sand flew up at the sides of my feet as the pounded into the beach, not slowing for second.

I made a sharp turn for a rocky walkway and without pause sped onward. I almost ran into two large double doors in my attempt to open them, hitting my shoulder sharply against the metal frame. Ripping them open I ignored the slight pain and bolted down the hall. It was deserted, not a soul in sight. I was really late.

Stopping in front of a classroom door to catch my breath I racked my brain for some excuse. Unable to find one that my teacher would accept I sighed and walked in.

"Well hello, Akira. How nice of you to join us," my teacher said in a bored tone. "I was just explaining to the class how important it is to be at school on time." His emphasis on the word 'time' was over obvious.

"Sorry, Mr. Summers." I muttered quietly.

I sat down next to a mullet haired teen with straw blond hair, grateful that he had saved me a seat.

"Dang Kira, first day of school and you're already late." He whispered quietly and flashed me his trademark goofy smile.

I rolled my eyes at his chiding and sat my bag on the floor. "It's only homeroom, and besides: It's not like you've never been late before."

The look of mock innocence sprang to life on his face. "Me? Myde?" He laughed quietly. "Never."

I couldn't suppress the smiled that tugged at the corners of my mouth. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Myde smirked and leaned back in his seat.

"Alright class," Mr. Summers called, bringing the class back to his attention. "I will now be handing out your schedules for this semester. Please do not lose these, we don't want anyone being late to any of their classes."

I held back a smile at the teacher's jibe at me. It didn't bother me that much. He handed me my schedule as I yawned. Pushing my shoulder length brown hair out of my eyes I read the schedule. I immediately groaned.

"Math? Ugh, why first hour. I won't even be awake for the mind numbing torture."

My friend smiled as he looked over his, comparing it to mine with a quick glance. "Looks like we've got…Bio and Lunch together! Awesome, at least this year we can suffer together." He seemed to have suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask. Are we going to your house after school, it's almost a tradition now."

I smiled, relieved. "Good, I was worried that I wouldn't have classes with any of the guys, you included. And yes to the tradition," I smiled. My eyes scanned the room until I found my quiet friend sitting in the far corner keeping to himself.

I looked for the teacher and was glad to find him sitting behind the desk going through some papers. I was surprised that he would already have work with it being the first day. The rest of the class talked and drifted around with the teacher oblivious. I took my chance.

"I'll be right back," I told Myde and made my break.

Crossing the room unnoticed, I kneeled down in front of my quiet friend's desk and rested my chin on it, peeking up with my dark green eyes. The teen looked up, revealing his face.

Half of his light toned face was covered by a long stretch of medium grey hair with a slight bluish tinge. The rest of the hair was slightly spiked in the back with the same coloring. The one visible eye was the darkest blue, almost black. Seeing me, he almost smiled, but it never went full. But coming from him, almost was the best you were likely to get.

"Hey Ienzo," I greeted with a smile.

He gave me an even look, amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Hello Akira, come to see my schedule?"

I laughed, "You know me too well." I handed him my schedule and waited as he looked it over.

The ghost of a smile touched his lips again. "L.A. and lunch."

I smiled bigger, pleased. "Yay, I would die without my little emo."

Ienzo mock glared at me at the nickname. I just smiled back and decided to change the subject. "So, I'm thinking about inviting the boys over to my place after school. You think you can come?"

Right away I noticed something was wrong. Ienzo's eyes, or eye, darkened and his face grew devoid of emotion. "I might be able to," he replied his voice matching his face.

My face grew worried and I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong.

"Akira, please get back to your seat and stop chatting." Mr. Summers commanded half heartedly.

I obeyed, but reluctantly. My mind was still focused on Ienzo's face. I sat back down next to Myde, deciding not to say anything about it to him. I would have to bring it up later.

"So, what was his schedule?" The mullet haired teen whispered curiously, not wanting to be caught on the teacher's radar.

"He has lunch with us," I replied, leaving out that he also had Language with me.

As the teacher droned on about the rules and other things that we all already knew, I felt my mind drift. Maybe I didn't like school because I was a teenager, maybe because I couldn't go home and put my A paper on the fridge for mommy and daddy to see. Thing was I didn't have parents. I never had them, at least not in my memory. I was dumped off at an orphanage and told to live there. Which lasted until I was about 14, and then I decided to get my own place. Bills and things were paid off by jobs and others little things. The monthly fee was low, and it was easy to keep up with it. The house was where I was most likely to be found; with the boys of course.

The boys. My three best friends that I had known since I was five and had first started school. They were the closest thing I had to family.

There was Myde: the wannabe rock star with the mullet and all. He was the kid of our little foursome. Always bouncing around and happy, kind of like a little puppy. No one could ever be mad at him for long. One look at his sad eyes and you would melt. Whether you were a guy or a girl, his eyes worked on everyone.

And then of course Ienzo. Quiet, dark, and mysterious. His mind was full of cunning and intelligence. The smartest one of the group, he was always able to get us out of the messes that we would get ourselves into. Without him we would have already gotten killed in one of our 'games.'

Then there's Lea. No, not a girl. A guy. He always gets teased by the name, refusing to believe that it is in fact a girl name. He was the troublemaker. The one who would pull us into the biggest messes. You would think that I would learn that when he yells, 'hey guys watch this!' And yet I fall for it every time. He also had a fiery temper, always getting into fights with Myde; who of course never fought back. It was more like Lea would yell at Myde, and then walk off. He wasn't mean, in fact most of the time he was very sarcastic and funny.

I was jerked out of my thoughts as the homeroom bell rang. The class stirred and ambled out the door. I stood with them, searching for Ienzo while waiting for Myde to get his stuff.

"Where'd Ienzo go?" I asked Myde.

He shrugged. "He's not in here anymore, must have got out ahead of us."

We left the class together, the blue eyed boy happier than I. My mind still dwelled on Ienzo.

"See ya at lunch!" Myde called with a smile.

I couldn't help but smile back as I waved. Turning away I made for my dreaded math class.

I made it on time for this class, and sat down in the far back. Some teens came down and sat right in the front row, still pumped up on that back to school spirit. I wondered how they would feel towards the end of the year. Different, I was almost sure.

With my elbow propped on the desk I sat my chin in the palm of that hand, and stared blankly as I waited for class to start. I wasn't looking at the people who were walking in, and so when someone stuck their hands over my eyes I was surprised.

"Guess who?" A familiar voice asked.

I smiled, recognizing them immediately. "Hmm, is it a certain red haired teen whose name is…Lea?"

The voiced laughed and removed their hands. I turned around to look at him. I was right in my guess. Lea with his spiky red hair and sharp emerald green eyes stared down at me. Choosing to sit on my left he threw his books and other things down in the floor and sat.

"Hey, Kira. I heard you were late to homeroom."

I groaned. "Who told you? I wasn't that late anyway…just a few minutes…."

Lea smiled his evilly little grin and laughed. "I'm not saying who, I don't want anyone to know who my sources are."

Sarcasm. His favorite language. I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair. "Well then that means it was Myde, right? Did he tell you about-"

"Going to your house after school?" He guessed.

I smiled, "Yeah."

"Yes he did, and I will be there. Like I would pass up the tradition." He laughed again. "And besides, it isn't like my parents could stop me."

He had a good point, after last year's fire incident, I think Lea's parents kind of became afraid of him.

I stood up since class hadn't started yet, not wanting to sit still for too long, and leaned on the back wall of the room. "So far I think school's going good." I pointed out.

Lea laughed. "Except for the whole being 15 minutes late thing."

"It was only 10 minutes," I corrected him. "I think."

He laughed, his spiky hair bouncing as he did. His sharp eyes laughed with their own humor at my uncertainty. Another person that had a strange he laughs you laugh effect.

All was good and well in my world. Until the teacher walked in.

"Miss Akira, do you not understand the rules?" The math teacher asked curiously.

I turned around to answer her just as the bell rang. Shit.

"The rules state that you must be in your seat by the time the bell rings. If you are not in your seat, you automatically get an after school detention."

I gaped at her, barely able to refrain from cussing as I had in my mind.

"Please take a seat."

I did as she said, numbly and in shock. As she walked to the front of the room and began to teach I cast a look over at Lea.

He was trying his best not to laugh, and of course giving me a look of the greatest sorrow. How he pulled both off I don't know.

This was gonna be a great first day.

Later that day…

Language my best class. And the last hour of school. A combination that I just loved to pieces. And with Ienzo sitting in the seat next to me, it was even better.

Except for that look on his face. That dreading look. What was wrong? I had to make sure to ask him…before he could get away like he did in homeroom.

I looked over at him, smiling at the look of boredom on his face. I agreed with the look. Every class this day had been about rules, rules, rules. Don't set this on fire, don't trap someone in this, don't throw this. It was getting ridiculous. Did we look like five year olds who had never been to school?

Ienzo saw me staring at him and just stared back. I smiled warmly, and of course got no response. But that was just fine. I knew that it wouldn't be like him to smile real big in reply. Heck it wouldn't be like him if he smiled real big period.

Only about five minutes were left of class, and so all the students were getting restless. Me included.

My mind randomly went back to lunch. Ienzo, Myde, Lea, and I had all managed to get the same lunch period. I secretly thought that Lea had pulled some strings, but I kept the thought to myself. The red head had quickly told the group about my detention, making even the quiet Ienzo laugh at me. I sighed and pulled myself out of my thoughts.

I watched the clock tick down to the time when I would be free of this school. At least for the rest of the day. I sighed. How I would love to be free of this place. Sure our town was beautiful, but it was an island. It hadn't taken me long to know every spot on the small town known as Radiant Garden. There was just so much more that I knew I could see. If I could just leave this prison. But I couldn't, not without my friends. And I knew that they would never leave. Myde loved his family, and would never cause them the sadness of him leaving. Lea had too much fun disrupting the peace, he couldn't stop that to go running off with me. And I would never ask him. Ienzo…well maybe he would go. He didn't seem to like his family much, seemed to be scared of them actually. Even if he left with me, I knew that neither of us could leave Lea and Myde behind. It was impossible. We were all part of each other. I laughed, kind of like four quarters. We all had to be together to make a dollar. My laugh had been quiet, but it still drew Ienzo's attention.

He gave me a questioning look by lifting an eyebrow. I just shook my head, he didn't need to hear my quarter theory. If you could call it a theory. Maybe promise was better fitting, a hidden promise that none had spoken aloud but we all knew it was there.

I looked back at the clock. Only a minute to go. I shifted my bag so that I could follow Ienzo immediately, I hadn't forgotten about earlier. I had meant to ask him at , lunch, but I didn't want to bring it up in front of the other guys.

30 seconds. My hand tightened on the strap, ready to throw it on my shoulder at the first given scent of freedom.

The bell went off, causing the class of students to surge for the door. So I wasn't the only one ready to get out of here? Ienzo didn't have a chance, I was on him before he even stood up. I smiled, trying to look like nothing was up. He looked at me suspiciously and started for the door.

I walked at his side casually as we headed for the school exit. "Hey, what was up this morning? Is something wrong?" I asked, trying to hide the emotion behind my voice.

He shrugged and moved his hair so that it was covering even more of his face. With me walking on his right it made it to where I couldn't even see his face.

"Are you sure? Cause you know you can tell me." I probed further, trying to get it out of him.

"No," he replied so quietly that I almost didn't hear. "I can't."

I was left without a reply, unable to understand the dread in his voice. I started to say more, but he cut me off.

"Please Akira, I don't wanna talk about it."

I nodded, "Okay." And so I stopped trying to pry it from him. If he needed help he knew that I was there. At least I hope he did. I would have explained this to him, but he didn't want to talk about it. And besides, the other boys came walking up; ending my chance to talk to Ienzo in private.

"Hey Kira, ready for detention?" Lea asked me, trying to get under my skin.

"Who said I'm going? I'll just make it up tomorrow." I replied coolly.

Myde laughed. "Ya know that you'll get two more detentions for skipping one, right?"

I shrugged. "Oh well, I'm not staying in this place any longer." I laughed, unable to keep it back while looking at Myde's happy blue eyes.

We stepped out as one, the sun immediately catching us in it's bright rays of warmth. Lea smiled at the warmth. "Ahh, the beauty of summer's weather."

I shook my head, Lea trying to sound poetic was about as far from his actual mind than you could get. Not that he's stupid or anything, just very impatient.

"To Akira's house we go!" Myde cheered, his pent up energy from school being released in the yell.

The path to my house was down by the beach, so we still had a little ways to go. We walked down the rock path that I had been sprinting up earlier this morning, most of the school around us. It was easy enough to hear each other, even with the heaps of others teens walking near.

"Are you gonna come over?" I asked Ienzo, already having an idea of what the answer was.

"No, I don't think my parents will let me. I don't have to ask them to know that." He tried to smile to reassure me, but I saw past it.

Lea and Myde were too hyper to hear the pain in the quiet one's voice. "That's alright, next time right?" I said cheerfully, trying to ignore his pain.

"Yeah," he answered unsurely. Waving at us he cut to the left and headed to his house.

"See ya Ienzo," Myde called after him before turning to me. "So when we get to your house can I use your phone to call my folks? They'll get worried when I don't come home."

"Of course, you know you don't have to ask me." I tried to tell Myde, but he was too full of energy to really listen.

Lea shook his head at the peppy teen. "What are you so happy about, Mullet?"

Myde cocked his head to the side in thought, and then scratched his head. "Hmmm, I'm not really sure…I'm just…happy!" He laughed and flashed us a smile.

We had to smile back, it was impossible not to.

Coming off of the walk we stood on the beach. We took in the view of the ocean and the sea of teens and went to the opposite side of the water at the tree line. There was a hidden path that led to home about half a mile down from the school walk, and that was of course our destination.

"Hey did you guys hear about the lab explosion?" Lea asked out of the blue.

I shook my head, Myde just stared in curiosity. It was obvious that we hadn't. Lea smiled, pleased to tell us something we didn't already know.

"It wasn't at the school, it was up at the castle. I guess in Ansem's lab. His assistants slash scientist must have done something wrong. He has five of them…I think." He started naming them off on his fingers. "Lets see, there's Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even, and…Aeleus. So they did something wrong and made the entire lab explode."

"When did this happen?" I asked, surprised that the other teens hadn't already heard about it and passed the story on.

"Like 2...or 3 this morning." Lea replied offhandedly. "Why?"

Myde laughed. "Well that explains why we didn't hear anything about it."

The spiky red-head looked confused. "What do you mean?"

I rolled my eyes. "He means that normal people are asleep at two a.m." I made sure to emphasis the word 'normal.'

Lea laughed, causing a few passer bys to stare curiously. He didn't seem to notice them. "Yeah, well I guess that means I'm not normal."

"You never were," Myde pointed out. "I don't think any of us ever were normal to begin with."

"I wonder what they were doing…?" Lea muttered quietly.

I shot him a curious glance and wondered if he was up to something. I could have pressed him on it, but I knew that he would probably drag us in with him. And beside, the path to my house was coming up. I turned into the forest, pushing back the ferns that hide the walkway. The stone walkways were a popular feature in Radiant Garden. The path was short, and so it wasn't long until we were at my house. I always felt weird calling it that. Lots of teens talked that way, but when I said my house it was actually true.

I opened the front door without a key, I had been in too much of a rush to lock it properly. Myde and Lea trailed in after me and into the first room.

The layout of the house was really quite simple. After entering the front door, you found yourself in a living room. One large couch with a coffee table laying in front of it. A t.v. sat on a stand beyond the table, making it a nice spot to curl up with friends and watch a movie. Off into the far corner sat a desk and a large comfy chair, my spot for homework and reading. The latter of which I loved to do. A tall lamp also sat to the side of the desk, giving a good light to read and write with. Two doors, not including the front one, led out of the living room. The one closest the front door led to the kitchen. The kitchen was actually very small. A stove, microwave, fridge, sink, and table completed it. Of course it had the trashcan and cabinets too, but besides that there was nothing else. The other door that was in the living room led to a short hallway. There were three more doors in this. The bathroom, closet, and my bed room. The bathroom was only a half bath. I don't even know why I called it a bathroom. It didn't even have a bath in it. Just a shower, toilet, and sink. The closet down the hall a ways held cleaning supplies and towels; and that was about it. And last but not least, was my room. Except for a bed and dresser, the room was filled with bookshelves. Now I don't mean that they were just sitting randomly in the room. They were pushed up against the walls, but it still took up a lot of space. Any kind of book imaginable could be found. Fiction, nonfiction, young adult, and more. From Stephanie Meyer and Sarah Dessen, to Jack London and Stephen King. The room didn't have any decoration, I used any extra money on books. Not stuff to dress my room in. But these four rooms, and I didn't count the closet, made up my little cabin of a house. It was small, but it was home. And I liked it just fine.

"Earth to Akira!!" I looked over at Myde who was waving his hand in front of my face. "I'm gonna go use your phone, okay?'

"Oh! Yeah, it's in the kitchen…" I said quickly, forcing myself to answer.

Lea laughed and went over to sit down on the couch. With his hands behind his head he looked over at me with his emerald green eyes. "So how come Ienzo didn't come?"

I hid the worry on my face easily enough and shrugged. "Beats me, he just said he couldn't go."

Lea seemed to pause in thought before replying, and I wondered if he was thinking the same as I. "Oh well, we'll have to make him come over some other time."

"Make who come over?" Myde asked as he came out of the kitchen, done with his phone call.

"Ienzo," I answered simply, before trying to change the subject. "So Lea, what exactly are you up to?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lea lied casually. I could tell by the way he would look me in the eye that he was lying.

"Mmhmm, right." I responded not buying it.

"Dang Lea, even I know you're lying." Myde spoke up. "Now tell us what your latest little scheme is."
Lea refused to speak. I let it go, figuring that I would be dragged into it eventually. But Myde was a different matter; he was determined to find out what the spiky redhead was up to.

"Come on, tell us!" Myde whined.

I rolled my eyes and sat my bag and shoes by the door. Striding over to the couch I sat down crossed legged and grabbed the book that was laying on the table. Where the Red Fern Grows, a classic if there ever was one. I opened it up to a random page and tried to read while listening to Lea and Myde's argument.

"Why won't you say? Aren't we your friends?" The mullet boy asked, trying to play the guilt card.

Lea sighed. "Listen I'll tell you about it tomorrow, okay?"

Myde stuck out his bottom lip and went over to sit next to me. "You better," was all he said in response.

Lea had turned on the t.v. shortly after this, and flipped to some comedy movie. I became engrossed in my book, barely aware of what was going on. Therefore I didn't notice the sky starting to darken.

The credits rolled on the screen, and Lea turned to talk to Myde and I. "So are you two going to school tomorrow?"

This made me look up and raise an eyebrow. "Why?"

At the same time Myde said, "Of course, my parents would kill me if I skipped."

"Why," I repeated.

His answer was drowned out by a loud crack of thunder. Lightning flashed and filled the room, making all of us squinted our eyes.

"Holy shit," Myde whispered hurriedly. "Where did that come from?"

No one answered the rhetorical question as we all stared out the living room window.

"Maybe you guys should go home, your parents will worry." I pointed out, worried about the suddenness of the fierce weather.

Myde nodded, "Yeah, you're right." He stood up, still shaken by the weather. Myde was scared of storms.

Lea saw the look of fear on Myde's face and also stood up. I did the same when I realized that I was the only one sitting.

While Myde was staring out the window me and Lea exchanged a look.

"Come on mullet, we can leave together." Lea offered.

Myde nodded and looked away from the window. He must have realized that we knew he was scared because his face tried to smile. "Yeah, that's cool with me."

I smiled, "I'll see ya guys later-" Another crack of thunder rent through the house and the lights went out.

Myde jumped at the noise and tried to quickly recover. Even Lea looked at the window uncertainly.

"Akira, are you gonna be-" Lea started.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." I replied with a smile.

He nodded and the two started for the door. "Bye, Kira." Myde muttered quietly and slowly walked outside. Lea waved goodbye and followed. Through the open door I could see the wind was picking up. It was whipping the leaves and branches in a flurry of movement. The door closed and I was left in the dark.

A flash of lightning and I counted. One…Two-

BOOM!

The crack of thunder told me how far away the storm was. The thunder rattled the house causing me to shiver. But not with fear. With excitement. I loved storms. So strong and fast. Tearing apart anything in it's path.

Sighing I walked down the hall to my bedroom, using the wall to find my way until my eyes became used to the dark. I went straight for my dresser and pulled out some sweat pants and a tank top. I quickly changed and threw my old clothes in a corner. Grabbing a pillow I left the room. I stopped at the closet and pulled out extra blankets, a flashlight, and a lantern. Yes I have a lantern.

Back into the living room I went. I turned on the lantern and sat it down on the coffee table, the flashlight going next to it. I then lay the blankets and pillow on the couch, my bed for the night. It was only around six o'clock, but what else was there to do besides sleep. Another roar of thunder shock the house. I glared at the window as the storm raged on.

Picking up the lantern I walked to the kitchen to find a cold supper. A cold sandwich and glass of milk made my meal, and I quickly wolfed it down, realizing how hungry I was. I threw the dishes in the sink once finished and returned to the living room with the lantern in hand. Setting it down by the flashlight and turning it off I lay down on my "bed".

I didn't really understand why I wanted to sleep on the couch; maybe because I wanted to be close to the storm to monitor it…or maybe just for the feel of excitement. I never did find out my mind's reasoning, for I was soon sound asleep.