Kerissa and Marissa Cauran exchanged not-so-amused looks. The skirts had to go. Kerissa glanced down at her long, floor-length skirt. It was plaid. It was so Laura Ingalls Wilder. And it was so going.

"Standard Plan Number One?" Kerissa asked Marissa.

"Definitely." Marissa glared distastefully at her skirt.

They had gone through this before. Many times. Their mother loved moving around, although she had promised to choose somewhere to settle down. She chose LA.

This was fine, except for their mother's old-fashioned ideas about dress. Example: she thought Laura Ingalls Wilder clothes were "in".

Kerissa grabbed two pairs of jeans and shoved one towards Marissa, before stuffing the other in her bag. The same went for some t-shirts. Blouses were not happening.

"Girls, you're going to be late for school!" Their mother yelled from downstairs. "Oh, you two look lovely!" She was referring to the Laura Ingalls Wilder clothes. "Picture time!"

Marissa and Kerissa rolled their eyes. A new "first" day of school equaled more pictures, which would be sent to all of their various relatives, who would probably paste them on the Internet.

"No time, Mom. We have to run," Kerissa kissed her mother's cheek, grabbed her sack lunch and ran out the door.

"I suppose we aren't going to tell her that school doesn't start for another hour."

"And loose the valuable time?" Kerissa asked indignantly.

"For?"

"Number one: Changing. Unless you want to go to school in these? Number two: it's a good time for homework, so we don't have to do it after school. Number three: we can make friends. Number four: maybe we can find a cute guy to have some fun with."

Marissa grinned. "Like you'd ever do that."

Kerissa grinned back. "No, but you would."

They reached the La Brea High within twenty minutes, and immediately ducked into the bathroom.

Off came the Laura Ingalls Wilder clothes. On came the comfy jeans and t-shirt. Kerissa stepped from the stall, stuffing her skirts into her back. She turned towards the mirror, and began pulling out the many pins that kept her waist-length hair up. Strands of sandy blond hair fell down her back in waves. Marissa soon joined her.

This was yet another example of their mother's old-fashioned-ness. She insisted that it wasn't proper for men to see women's hair down until marriage.

Marissa pulled a make-up case from her bag, and offered it to Kerissa, who shook her head. Marissa made a pleading face. "Please? For me? Just today…"

Finally, Kerissa consented, as Marissa had known she would.

"You know," Marissa remarked, "you should wear more blue. It will bring out the blue of your eyes."

Kerissa glanced in the mirror. "What do you mean the blue of my eyes? My eyes are green."

"You know what I mean."

"Umm… I do?"

Marissa gave a huffy sigh. "Green will bring out your eyes. Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

Marissa laughed. They linked arms and exited the building.

"What do we have first period," Marissa asked her sister, knowing, that in her nervousness, Kerissa had probably memorized the entire schedule.

"Math."

They headed toward the math building. A bunch of people stood outside the doors of one of the classrooms.

"Which room is it?" Marissa hissed.

Kerissa's face went white. "I don't know." She looked slightly sick.

"It's not the end of the world! Just ask someone!" Marissa grinned.

"Why can't you?"

"Oh, come on. It'll be a good growing experience. I'll be right here with you." Marissa pushed Kerissa in front of her.

Kerissa approached the nearest group of students. It was a group of four girls. One had long blonde hair and big blue eyes; another had dark hair and green eyes. Another had long, curly hair, and another had teardrops tattooed near her eyes.

Kerissa approached the girl with the dark hair and green eyes. Her hair had a zigzag part and was slicked back with purple gel. Her eyelids had metallic eye shadow and she looked like a forgotten fairy from another world.

"Is this, is this Ms. Lana's room?" Kerissa asked quietly, motioning to the door everyone was clumped in front of.

The girl stared at her for a second. She seemed to be taking in everything about Kerissa from her tennis shoes to her sandy hair. She gave a small start. Kerissa glanced behind her, and saw that the girl had just noticed Marissa. A twin image of Kerissa.

"Yes." The girl answered finally. She turned back to her friends, and conversed in whispers for a few minutes. "Yes, that's it." She smiled suddenly, making her look even more mysterious. "I'm Serena Killingsworth." She motioned towards the girls grouped behind her. "That's Vanessa." The girl with the gorgeous blonde hair and blue eyes smiled. "Catty." The girl with the curly hair and mischievous smile. "And Jimena." The girl with the teardrop tattoos and luxurious black hair smiled.

"I'm Kerissa." Kerissa said. Serena raised her eyebrows. "And this is my sister, Marissa."

Marissa grinned. "Hey."

"So… where are you from?" Serena asked.

"Originally, or recently?"

"Recently."

"A little town. Grants Pass, Oregon."

"A change to the big city, eh?" Catty smirked.

Serena glared at her. "Would you like to sit with us at lunch?" She asked.

Kerissa glanced at Marissa, who widened her eyes and looked right, then left. This was their private signal for YES!

Serena watched the entire exchange, a small smile on her face.

Ms. Lana finally arrived, and the class filed inside.

The day passed in a blur. Marissa and Kerissa had every class together except for 4th period, when Kerissa had Orchestra and Marissa took Art, 6th period, Kerissa went Drama and Marissa went Physical Education.

Kerissa was a musical person—she could play several instruments, including the flute, clarinet, saxophone, violin, and piano. Marissa detested practicing, and therefore took art, which she excelled at. Kerissa loved acting, and Marissa hated performing, whereas Marissa loved running, and Kerissa wouldn't unless it was forced upon her.

At lunch, Kerissa and Marissa sat with the group of girls. Several guys joined them.

One had dark eyes and hair. He stood behind Vanessa, and put his arm around her. She smiled at him. Another, with blonde hair that was continually in his eyes, and piercing blue eyes, stayed near Serena. Another, with dark hair, and a bad-boy attitude was near Catty. The final had red hair and blue eyes. He was continually by himself, staring off into space, with a sad look on his face.

"This is Stanton," Serena gestured to the guy behind her. "Over with Vanessa, that's Michael Saratoga. Near Catty is her guy, Kyle."

"What about him?" Marissa asked, gesturing towards the red-haired guy.

Serena lowered her voice. "That's Derek."

"Why's he so sad?"

Serena bit her lower lip. "He was Tianna's boyfriend. She, er, left a little while ago."

"How long."

"A month."

Marissa considered. "Is he available," she asked with a flirtatious look on her face.

"Yes…" Serena said hesitantly, "But I wouldn't…"

Marissa marched off to sit next to Derek before Serena could finish.

Serena just looked at her.