I sighed, and looked around.

It was the first day of school, and I was… A bit nervous. I didn't normally have friends… I just had puzzles.

But ever since Constance adopted me, I thought a lot about change. How much my life would change, was the biggest to face.

Would I make friends this year?

Who knew?

Walking inside, I could tell there were some other children that were nervous as well. I looked down, so as to not make eye contact with any of them.

The bell rang and everyone ran to their lines. I checked the paper in my hand.

Class 12B. Right.

And so, I made my way to my new classroom.

(P)(L)

"Welcome to 3rd grade, class! I'm your teacher, Mrs. Blacklock! I hope we'll all get to know each other very well!"

I tapped my desk, slightly impatient for class.

"Let's start introducing ourselves, shall we?" Mrs. Blacklock said cheerfully, "Now, I want you to tell the class your name, what your favorite color is, and what you like to do!" she pointed to a young boy, "You can start, dearie."

The boy looked up, nodded, and stood.

He wasn't very tall, but not small either. He had black hair, and glinting brown eyes. He wore a maroon shirt, and dark blue shorts, with long blue socks. Around his wrist, was an orange wristband.

"My name's Cliff. Cliff Tate. Umm… My favorite color is orange… And I like to talk to my friends…"

Quickly, he sat down, and the girl behind him stood up, smiling ecstatically. She was a rather small girl, with light brown hair, and warm shining brown eyes. She wore a red shirt, and red skirt, and her hair was put up in a ponytail.

"I'm Sally Fennel, and my favorite color's red! I really, reeeaaallly like having sleepovers with my friends!"

I rolled my eyes. This one was going to be crazy, for sure.

Next, another boy stood up, and gave an arrogant grin. He was tall, with blonde hair, and brown eyes that looked too dark to be brown. He wore a white shirt, with a brown vest over it, and beige pants.

"My name's Harold Koriet (pronounced: Core-ee-et, by the way). My favorite color is brown, and I-"he paused, "Like money."

Mrs. Blacklock blinked.

He nodded and sat down.

I knew from the start that I wouldn't like him. He reminded me too much of Bill Hawks.

A timid girl sat up from behind him.

She had blonde hair, and it was tied in ponytails. Her eyes were dark, and lowered, giving her a modest beauty. She wore a yellow dress, and a short, long sleeved sweater, that was a pretty light pink.

"M-my name's Melina Whistler…" she said quietly, "My favorite color is green, and… I like to sing, and I like music."

Mrs. Blacklock looked stunned.

"The daughter of Oswald Whistler?"

Melina nodded.

Mrs. Blacklock gave her a warm smile.

"I simply adore your father's music! And his operas..!"

Melina gave a timid smile.

"Thank you."

She sat down, and I stood, but kept my eyes on her.

"My name's Clive Dove. I like the color blue, and I love solving, and making, puzzles."

At the word 'puzzles' Melina's head shot up and her eyes met mine.

I gave her a slight smile.

And she smiled back.

I sat down, and the introductions continued, but I was oblivious to them all.

(P)(L)

Yay! Okay, so here's the thing; I really like to try and experiment Clive with different characters. I don't care about age. In Fanfiction, you can do lots of things, right? C'mon, there's Luke and Layton yaoi (don't know if that's how you spell it) and they're years apart! So… why not? Just… Not Flora and Clive. There's too much of that. Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!

~Anthea Triton~