CHAPTER ONE
August 22- The first day of Sophomore year
Rena woke up slowly, yawning and stretching. She looked at her small white alarm clock next to her bed. "Hmm… it's 7:50. I must have forgotten to set my alarm." She murmured, still half asleep. She swung her legs out of bed and began to put on her uniform. "7:50… my bus comes at 7:58." She mumbled while pulling on her socks. She stumbled into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She went back to her room and glanced at the clock. "I HAVE LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES TO CATCH MY BUS!" Rena cried. She began to run around her room, gathering loose papers from orientation and stuffing them into her binder. She picked up her schoolbag from the corner, and noticed the time once again. It read 7:59. "AGH!" Rena gasped. She ran to the door, slipping into her shoes. "Bye Alia!" She shouted. "Hold on, Rena! Your breakfast!" Alia called. She tossed a breakfast bar to Rena. "Good luck kiddo!" "Thanks!" Rena called as she dashed down the street. She rounded the corner just in time to see the bus's tail end turning the next corner. "Oh shoot! My bus!" she exclaimed. She ran down the street desperately after the unaware school bus. Rena reached the next corner right as the bus was pulling out of the second stop. She yelled angrily, and kept running. It started to rain, so she had to shield her backpack with her uniform as she ran.
Kizo pulled his hat off of his face and yawned loudly. He stared at the large blue analog clock across the room. "Ah!" he shouted, and fell off the couch. He had just a few minutes to get ready. He already had his uniform on, so he ran upstairs and brushed his teeth and fixed his hair. Then he went back downstairs and grabbed his hat, as well as an energy drink. He walked out the door, locking it behind him. Kizo jogged down to the bus stop, taking a sip of his drink. He got there right as the last person was entering the bus. He sprinted to the doors and slipped onto the bus smoothly. He planted himself on a seat right about in the middle of the bus and cursed as he realized he'd forgotten his backpack.
"BEEP BEEP" "BEEP BEEP" Jessica reached over and silenced her alarm with a gentle tap. She sighed, and climbed out of bed. She put on her uniform that she had set out the night before, and picked up her school bag right next to her bed. Jess walked downstairs and poured herself a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk. She ate quickly, and then glanced at her watch. "Ok, I have ten minutes to spare!" she remarked happily. She turned on the T.V. and watched the weather. Hmm… the forecast says there will be rain this morning and afternoon. Better grab my umbrella! She thought. Jess dug her umbrella out of her closet and locked the door on her way out. She reached the bus stop with a few minutes to spare. The bus rumbled down the street right on cue and Jess boarded quickly. For a moment, she fancied that she had heard a shout in the distance, but she shrugged it off and sat in front of a boy with a black and blue striped hat. "Hey Jess." The boy said happily. "Oh, hi Kizo. Almost didn't recognize you." Jess replied distractedly. She got the feeling that she shouldn't have ignored that feeling she had as she got on the bus, but she shrugged it off once more.
Echo jumped out of his bed with a head of soaked hair. "JOSH!" he roared angrily. His older brother had decided to wake him up by pouring a glass of water on his head. Echo grabbed a towel from the bathroom and fluffed up his hair. He returned to his room and slipped into his uniform. Echo hopped downstairs and fixed some toast in the kitchen, but was forced to abandon his efforts. He heard Josh's pickup truck honk outside. "NO! Josh!" he complained. He ran to the door, grabbed his bag, and slammed the door behind him. Josh began to drive away, but Echo managed to hop into the bed of the truck. "Jerk!" he blazed. Echo realized that it was beginning to rain, and he placed his bag inside the toolbox he was sitting on. About halfway to school he noticed a girl running on the sidewalk, and she was wearing his school's uniform. "Need a lift, Rena?" he offered as Josh stopped at the traffic light. Rena nodded, and Echo helped her into the truck bed. The truck lurched forward, and she fell on echo. "Ah! I'm sorry!" she stuttered. "It's fine!" he laughed as they sat up. Josh pulled into the Hartmann High school parking lot, and stopped in front to let them out. Echo jumped out and assisted Rena. Josh rolled down the window and shouted "No free ride for you next time, Rena!" and with that, he drove to find a spot.
Rena and Echo laughed as they walked up the stairs to the school building. "Looks like the rain stopped for now." Echo remarked as he glanced up at the swollen gray sky. He handed Rena's bag back to her, and she thanked him warmly. Echo began to say something, but was cut off when someone tackled him with a shout of triumph. "Gotcha!" a familiar voice bragged. A boy with light brown hair fluffed up like a hedgehog stood there laughing. "Kizo!" Echo protested as he picked himself up. He dusted off his slacks, and smoothed his deep brown hair. Kizo's green eyes glittered mischievously. "Nice to see you again." Echo grumbled.
"Kizo, wait up!" a girl complained from the other end of the hallway. "Jess!"Rena exclaimed. Jess gasped and ran to Rena. The two friends hugged gleefully. "It's been weeks!" Jess expressed. Her long, light brown hair looked a little damp, possibly from the rain. She hugged Echo next, and the four friends hurried to the cafeteria to check schedules and compare classes. They chose a table and placed their bags down. Echo ran to the lunch line to grab some breakfast after telling everyone about his morning with Josh. "It's hard to believe Josh and Echo are actually brothers," Rena commented as she searched for her schedule. "I can see the physical similarities, but as far as personality, they're polar opposites!" Jess agreed. "Oh, shoot!" Rena cried. "What's wrong now?" Kizo asked curiously. "My schedule… I left it at home." She responded. She picked up her bag and quickly headed to the office up front. As she was arriving, she bumped into into a boy who was just leaving the office, and dropped her bag.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said, blushing with embarrassment. "That's okay!" he laughed as he picked up Rena's bag. He handed it to her with a smile, and Rena glanced up at his face. He had strawberry brown hair pulled into a poufy mess in the back, and joyful green eyes, a shade brighter than hers. His bangs hung loose around his face. "AXEL?" Rena cried in disbelief. The boy stared at her for a second, dazed. He suddenly threw his arms around Rena, embracing her joyfully. Rena stood there, shocked. Axel was one of her best friends from Abel City, where she had just moved from a year ago. "Aw, c'mon Axel. Can't you save the flirting until at least next week?" A tall guy with a long blond ponytail criticized. He plucked Axel from the ground as if it was no effort whatsoever. Axel squirmed angrily, demanding to be let go. "Whatever." The older boy sighed, his deep blue eyes vaguely uninterested. He dropped Axel who in turn landed on the floor in an ungraceful pile. "You'd better make sure Re doesn't catch you flirting with girls like that!" a third boy joked. He had an untamed mop of brown hair on his head that made it seem like he had just woken up. His innocent green eyes sparkled. "She might just kill you if she sees- RE!" he exclaimed as he saw Rena standing behind the tall blond boy. He dodged around, and hugged Rena like she was a Rag Doll. "Tom, let the poor girl go…" The oldest boy chastised. Tom stepped away confused. "But isn't she... I thought for sure…" he stammered. "I'm sure she's just a different… oh! Is that really you Re?" the blond boy said after examining the girl standing behind him. "Hey Rena, what's taking you so long?" Jess called. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Tom. "Tom?" she shouted in surprise. "Shhhhh!" he hissed. "No need to shout it so loud…. Anyways, you remember me," he said, "And Leo," he continued, pointing to the tall blond one. "And of course, Axel." He finished, pointing to the heap on the ground. Jess was a little confused since she hadn't seen them in over a year, but obviously they had been transferred here from Abel city, her former home. "How did you all end up here?" Jess implored. "We requested to go to high school with you and Re. Our parents helped us with an apartment across the street from here." Leo explained.
"So, anyways, we transferred here from the private academy in Abel City. I'm attending as a third year student, and Axel and Tom are second years, like you and Re." He reported. "Hey! Where did Re go?" Axel asked. "Oh, she probably went into the office to grab her schedule." Jess offered. As if summoned, Rena burst out of the office, and gave everyone a group hug. Axel slipped out and grabbed his bag. "Guys, we have two minutes until class starts! Let's go!" he interrupted, and then he took off. Tom ran after him, calling goodbye over his shoulder. "See you later ok?" Leo walked off in the other direction and headed up the stairs. "Hey, Jess what do you have first period?" Rena prompted. "Geometry with Mr. Danstrum." She answered. "Great! Same here." Rena giggled. Jess smiled back, and the two of them hurried to find their class. "Here it is!" jess spotted. "Room 208." She affirmed. Jess and Rena walked into the classroom, and were surprised to find Tom, Axel, Echo, and Kizo in the same class. "Hey, right on time, huh?" Echo laughed. "Yeah, what's the idea, cutting it so close?" Kizo teased.
"What about you, Kizo? Where's your backpack? How did you even figure out what class to go to?" Jess fired back. Kizo looked a little too smug, so Rena figured he had some excuse ready.
"To answer your first question, my bag is at home. How did I know what class to go to? Well…" Kizo reached into his pocket and pulled out an expensive looking phone with a blue case. He fiddled with it for a moment and showed it to everyone. The screen showed his entire schedule, and even the class times. He pressed a button, and suddenly there was a map of all three floors of the school, with his own classes highlighted. Jess and Rena exchanged glances and rolled their eyes. He was definitely going to lose this outstanding piece of technology before the first semester was over. Rena noticed a girl with long blond hair that was almost white in color. She was sleeping contently on her desk, with her hair sprawled out all around her head. "That's Nayoko, isn't it?" Rena asked. "Yeah, she was like that when we got here." Axel explained. "Isn't she the principal's daughter?" Kizo wondered. "Yes, she is. She's really nice, but she does sleep a lot!" Jess informed. Kizo walked over to her desk, and lifted up one of her arms, then let it drop. "Man, she is out!" he joked. Kizo jumped as Nayoko sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes. He scooted away and hid behind Echo and Jess. "What's the big idea, huh?" Echo scorned. He walked to his desk and began his warm-up. Nayoko looked around and smiled when she saw Rena and Jess. "Hey guys…" she murmured sleepily. "Hey, Nayoko! When did you get here?" Jess asked. "Oh, about five minutes ago…" Nayoko replied after another adorable yawn. "What? How did you get here and get your warm up done so fast and still have time to sleep?" Rena gawked. "I have my ways." Nayoko sighed. "You know people still think I'm a first year student?" she continued. "I can see why!" Jess chuckled. "What's so bad about being small? She looks just fine!" Kizo fumed. "Hey, cool it fireball." Rena warned. Kizo crossed his arms and looked the other way. "Drama queen…" Jess muttered.
"Everyone get to your seats NOW." The old man behind the black metal desk ordered. "I'm Mr. Danstrum. I'm not your friend, I'm not your teacher, I am your instructor. You are to do as I say at all times, no ifs, ands, or buts." he boomed. "I spent 45 years in the military, and twenty of those years I was a drill sergeant." He continued. Rena looked around curiously. Jess was sitting to her left, and to Jess' left was Tom. Rena looked to her right to find Axel. Echo sat behind her, and to his left was Kizo. Nayoko sat behind Axel, and was clearly asleep once again. There were several military expectations posted on the walls, as well as a few geometry rules and posters. Overall, the classroom was very cold and frankly boring. Mr. Danstrum called roll, and nearly every student was present with the exception of two. But, without fail, the door swung open, and a boy and girl with bright orange hair and bright blue eyes walked in and set a pass on Mr. Danstrum's desk. "What are you late for?" Mr. Danstrum questioned gruffly. "Oh our bus," the boy started, "…skipped our stop." The girl finished his sentence. They turned around, and Rena noticed they were identical twins. They sat in front of Rena and Axel. They look like they are still a little young to be second year students, but then again, look at Nayoko… Rena contemplated. The class went by uncomfortably slow, but finally the bell signaled the end of class. "Alright, get out of here, you bunch of hooligans!" Mr. Danstrum grumbled. Rena got up and introduced herself to the twins. They told her each other's name. "This is Gavin," the girl said. "And this is Liana" Gavin responded cheerfully. There was an odd glint to their eyes as they said in perfect sync, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Rena." That sent chills down Rena's spine. "Come on, Re! I'll walk you to your next class." Axel offered. Rena said good bye to Tom, Jess and the twins, then checked her schedule. "World history…darn! My least favorite class!" she complained. "Oh! That's my next class too!" Axel laughed gleefully. Echo stood behind Rena, looking a little upset. "See you at lunch, ok Echo?" Rena hugged him, and ran back to the hallway to meet up with Axel. Meanwhile, Jess headed downstairs for Art class. She was surprised to find Leo waiting by the door. "I have to have a fine arts credit." He said simply. Jess laughed, and went inside to meet the new teacher.
CHAPTER TWO
August 22nd- fifth period
The next few classes before lunchtime went by fairly quickly, and before Echo knew it, it was time to leave his fifth period to go to the cafeteria. Tom happened to be in his class, so Echo offered to show him to the cafeteria.
"Sorry, Echo. I had lunch fourth period." Tom explained.
"Oh, ok then. See you later!" Echo promised. Tom walked down the hall quickly, and Echo headed up the stairs to the cafeteria. He calmly made his way through the crowd, thinking how much Rena would be upset here. The crowd was thick and moving slowly. Rena usually hated how slow the crowds moved, and would get angry once in a while. Echo had to calm her down when that happened. He decided to wait by the wall until the crowd thinned out.
Just as Echo was walking up the first flight of stairs, two guys from his third period athletics class stopped him. They were big, brainless jocks who had nothing to care about except for their tremendous ego. One had short crew-cut blond hair, and the other (not to mention burlier of the two) had messy, oily black hair and an acne problem.
"Hey, Winchley! Where are you going?" one of them asked, though not politely. "Lunch." Echo answered. He began to go around them, but the burlier boy stopped him. "Oh, whoa, whoa! Hold up speedy." He warned. "We're not finished with you. So what makes you think you can just breeze past us during laps?" the first questioned. "You think you are better than us or what?" the black haired boy challenged. Echo sighed, and asked them to step aside so he could get to lunch. He was sure Rena would be worried by now. The two minute bell rang, so these two were sure to hurry up and get to class. He was wrong.
"You've got a lot of nerve, kid." A third boy said from behind. Echo was surrounded now. He wasn't worried at all. On these stairs, he could easily overtake the blond and whoever was behind him. The acne-ridden giant could be a problem though. However, Echo knew this would only get him in more trouble. The blond boy pushed Echo backwards, and the boy behind him caught him, and spun him around. Echo fell onto the stairs, and was ready to come up swinging when suddenly, Rena was standing in front of him, holding the Black-haired jock's forearm in a lock. "What would you prefer for me to explain to the coach? Why you roughed up his best runner, or the fact that you can't play football because a girl dislocated your shoulder?" she asked icily. She met the boy's eyes and grinned.
"Rena! I see you found our lost puppy!" Kizo laughed from behind the first two goons. Jess and Nayoko appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and giggled. The trio was outnumbered and outmatched now. Rena released the boy and grabbed Echo's arm, marching him up the stairs. Jess and Nayoko followed. Kizo glared at the three gawking boys, and stuck out his tongue. The bell rang, and they dashed off to their classes. Kizo ran up the stairs and caught up with the others. Echo stared at Rena, who still had him by the arm. Her freckle-covered face was a bright shade of red. They turned the corner and stepped into the cafeteria. Rena pulled Echo over to a table where their bags were already placed. She released him and sat down, offering him the seat next to her.
"Thanks Rena…" Echo sighed. "For earlier, I mean. I would have probably gotten myself into a lot of trouble if you hadn't shown up." He continued. His amber gaze met Rena's, and she smiled, and then locked away. "I bet you had a thing or two in store for them, huh?" she joked. Echo glanced at her tray and his stomach growled loudly. He excused himself and headed to the lunch line. As he waited there, he looked back to his table. Rena was buffeting Kizo with his hat, and Jess was laughing next to her. Rena had always brought out the best side of Echo. If he had never met her, he would most likely be the same shy, quiet boy he had always been. When she moved here last year, she quickly became his best friend, and introduced him to a lot of new people.
"You know, Echo, if you really like her, you should say something to her about it." Nayoko said in the middle of a yawn. Echo spun around, his face flushed. He hadn't noticed that Nayoko was standing right behind him. "I'm sorry?" he stammered. Nayoko sighed, shaking her head. "Echo, Echo, Echo. If you never speak your mind, you could end up losing her to someone else. Although that's highly unlikely… Can't you see how she acts around you?" Nayoko chastised. Echo looked down at his feet, replying, "it really isn't that easy, Nayoko. I'm not the kind of guy that's good at saying that kind of thing."
"Haven't you ever thought about asking someone for advice? Someone close to her? I would talk to Jessica if I were you. She's closer to Rena than I am." Nayoko offered. Echo paid for his food, and waited for Nayoko to do the same. As they walked back to the table, she whispered, "Think about what I said!" and then she sat down quietly next to Kizo as if nothing happened. Echo took his chair next to Rena, and listened to her conversation with Jess. They seemed to be having a heated discussion about Capcom's recent activity. After a while, Echo interrupted during a break in the conversation.
"Hey, Rena? Why do Leo, Axel, and Tom call you Re?" he inquired. Rena looked at him for a moment and laughed. "Oh, that was just my nickname back in Abel city!" she explained. Echo thought for a moment, and then asked, "Would it be okay if I called you by that name?" Rena gasped, somewhat surprised. She blushed slightly and responded, "Sure, if you want to!" Echo smiled, and looked at Nayoko. She was reading a comic book, but she smiled and winked at him. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Echo said goodbye to everyone and walked with Rena to their Band class.