Chapter One: When Lester Met Janie

August 20, 1981, morning

Walking inside the school, Lester pulled down the hood of his jacket and glanced down at his schedule. 'U.S. History,' he read silently and looked around at the kids wandering around the halls. They were walking to their lockers and most were
heading for their classes. Lester looked down at his schedule again and read the numbers that were scrawled on the paper. 'Locker 105,' he thought to himself and scanned the hallways for his locker. 'Where can I find that?'

He began to walk along the lockers to look for his and kept dodging the people roaming passed him. He nudged into a couple kids and they sent him dirty looks. "Watch where you're going, new kid!"

"S-sorry," he stammered nervously and continued walking, blushing in embarrassment. He inwardly sighed and searched for his locker before the first bell rings. 'So far so good,' he thought sarcastically and went around a young, loving couple that
were hogging the hallway. 'Where on earth is locker 105?'

Looking up from his schedule, Lester idly looked towards the lockers a little ways from him and spotted a girl leaning against them. She appeared to be looking down at the white paper in her hands and looks to be going over it. She had a pen dangling
from her mouth and he observed how she brushed her flowing black hair behind her ear.

He felt his face heating up and couldn't move his eyes away from her. For the moment, Lester forgot what he was doing and where he was. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on and he knew she would be like the other girls at his old schools;
stuck up and ignorant.

The girl pursed her lips in wonder and looked up towards Lester. The two met each other's gaze and Lester felt his cheeks getting even hotter. The girl watched him silently and he caught the pink tinge forming at her cheeks.

To Lester's surprise, the girl smiled warmly at him. He raised his eyebrows in shock and smirked shyly before colliding into someone. He let out a small grunt and noticed he bumped into someone's back. The boy turned around and looked down at him with
a glare. "I-I'm sorry, I... I wasn't watching w-where I was going."

"Hey, no problem..." Sam responded and grinned darkly. "Friend," he added and smirked while looking the mousey, little teen beneath him. He could tell he was a new kid judging by his apprehensiveness. He raised a brow and followed Lester's gaze towards
the girl he got distracted by. She was still looking over the paper and didn't seem to be paying attention to the two. "Like what you see, huh?" He asked and Lester faced the girl with a blush. Sam looked her up and down. "That's Jane, she's a pretty
one."

'Jane...' Lester thought and blushed again. He glanced over at Janie and faced Sam again. "I... I-I uh was just trying to find my locker," he stuttered and looked down at his schedule again. "Locker 105, d-do you know where that is?"

"Right here," Sam responded and knocked on the locker before leaning against it. He looked over Lester again and scoffed as he noticed his cheeks had a red tinge to it. He furrowed his brows angrily. "Keep your eyes to yourself, loser, she's mine."

"Wh-what?" Lester stuttered and blushed furiously. He shook his head vigorously while blundering out nonsense and shifted anxiously. "I-I wasn't l-looking..." he mumbled and glanced at his locker Sam was leaning on. "I-I was only looking for my locker."

Sam scowled at him and suddenly raised a brow with a arrogant smirk. "You're a new kid, huh?" He asked in realization and looked down at the paper Lester was holding. "Yeah," he drawled and nodded slightly. "You are new," he added and chuckled. "You're
three weeks late."

Lester shifted nervously at his sudden change of demeanor and idly looked down at his agenda.

Sam scoffed and snatched the schedule from him. Lester yelped and went to take it back but he held it out of his reach. He read the name and chortled. "Nygaard?" He read the name with a snicker and raised a brow. "What kind of losery name is that?"

Lester remained quiet and watched him go over his schedule helplessly. He shrugged and looked down at his feet with a sigh, gripping his backpack strap nervously. 'More bullies.'

"Well then, Loser Nygaard," he said nonchalantly and crumbled up his schedule. "Time to welcome you to my turf like how I do all the other newcomers, oh wait..." he added and threw the paper ball at his face. "I forgot, you're the only new kid, what was
I thinking?"

Before Lester went to pick up the paper, Sam stopped him by grabbing his jacket and pointed at him warningly. "Listen to me, Loser," he growled and poked his chest roughly, making Lester jump a bit. "Don't look at Janie," Sam ordered venomously and gripped
his jacket in anger. "She's MINE," he spat and Lester nodded uneasily. "If I even see you give one glance in her direction, I'll pound you into the ground," Sam warned and he swallowed nervously. He released Lester with a sneer and shook his head.
"I doubt she'd be interested in a little loser like you anyways."

Lester sighed and kneeled down to pick up his schedule, trying to ignore Sam. He rolled his eyes in irritation and straightened out his agenda while still crouched down.

Sam laughed at how gullible the new kid was and immediately reach down to grab Lester's underpants before lifting him up. "Wedgie!" He announced loudly, making Lester cringe, and snickered mockingly. Sam noticed he had Superman all over his underwear
and jeered. "Superman?" He asked incredulously and chuckled as poor Lester was dangling before him. "A loser like you like Superman?"

Lester squirmed and looked around in fear. The teens that were walking by were laughing at him and pointing in amusement. He blushed in embarrassment and rubbed his face, fighting back tears. He squeaked, "P-put me down, p-please."

"Sure, I'll put you down, loser," Sam responded with a grin and lifted Lester a little higher. He looked around at the laughing peers and laughed along with them. "Long as you stay away from my lady."

Lester didn't respond and covered his blushing face in embarrassment. He heard people laughing at him and couldn't help but dangle vulnerably in Sam's strong grip by his underpants. Lester tried to remain strong but felt tears sprouting.

"Check it out!" Sam announced through the hall and turned around to showcase Lester's Superman-decorated underwear to everyone in the hall. Most of kids remained laughing at them as the other just ignored and walked passed them. "Superman's in town!"

"SAM HESS!" A female shouted dangerously and Sam looked over seeing Janie walking towards him in anger. "PUT HIM DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

Hearing her voice, Lester peered through his fingers and spotted the girl glaring at Sam with her blue eyes. 'Blue eyes...' He thought blushing furiously and felt even more embarrassed. Janie was even more beautiful up close and that made the
situation a lot more awkward.

"No, c'mon," Sam responded and glanced at Janie with a wink. She glared at him and clenched her fists in absolute anger. "Jane, check it out," he added and chuckled as he lifted Lester even higher. "I think his underwear's gonna tear, holy shit."

"Please..." Lester whimpered and sniffled. Janie calmed after hearing his tone and faced him worriedly. He was covering his face and appeared to be shaking. "P-please, put me down!"

She examined Lester sadly and felt her heart shattering seeing his miserable state. She felt anger again at the pit of her stomach and glared at Sam. "God damn it, Sam," she growled and pointed at him warningly. "PUT. HIM. DOWN. NOW!"

Peering through his fingers again, Lester eyed her cautiously and couldn't keep his eyes off her. He'd never met anyone who actually stood up for him, especially from someone so beautiful. He blushed and hid his face again.

"Aw c'mon, Janie, where's your sense of humor?" Sam asked and chuckled while swaying poor Lester around and she shook her head in anger at that.

"Sense of humor?!" Janie asked incredulously and clenched her fists again. "I'll show you sense of humor," she said and punched Sam hard in the nose, making onlookers gasp. Sam fell on his back from the sheer force and felt his nose erupting with blood.
"When I knock you senseless! Now leave the poor thing alone!"

Lester fell to the ground and quickly fixed his pants. He was still blushing and leaned back on the lockers, hiding his face from witnesses. He watched as Sam stumble to his feet as he was grasping his nose and ran towards the office with blood dripping
all over the linoleum.

Janie glared after Sam and felt her blood pulsing. "That Sam is such an asshole," she said and turned towards Lester, calming down a bit. "I hope that stops him from bothering you," She kneeled down in front of him and looked him over worriedly. "Are
you alright?"

Lester shyly looked up at Janie and blushed even harder as he was lost in her steel blue gaze. He swallowed heavily and nodded. He quickly looked her over as he took in her beauty again. "Y-Yeah, I-I'm okay," he answered and flashed a smirk. "Th-Thank
you."

"It's not the first time I had to pummel him," Janie told him with a chuckle and looked him over again. 'He's so adorable,' she thought and slightly blushed. "Unfortunately, I've known Sam since middle school and you won't believe when I say we
were friends," she added and scratched the back of her ear. "I'm Janie Campbell."

"I-I'm Lester," He responded shyly and smiled. He extended his shaky hand and Janie smirked at him before taking his hand. "L-Lester Nygaard," He added and blushed as they shook hands, feeling her smooth hand. "I-I'm new here."

She smiled warmly and chuckled. "Well, nice to meet you, Lester," she responded and blushed slightly as they retrieved their hands. "I hope your first day wasn't too bad, Sam can be a bit of a... Jackass, I say."

"O-oh, it's o-okay," He replied with a smile and shrugged nervously. "I...I'm used to it," he told her without thinking and nodded. "No worries."

'Constantly bullied?' Janie frowned at that and chewed her lips nervously. "I-I'm sorry," she muttered and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "I, uh, I didn't mean to pry."

"N-No, no, you didn't pry," Lester stammered and blushed nervously. He looked away in embarrassment and gripped the straps of his backpack. "I-I said it, I'm sorry."

Janie stared at him and pursed her lips in thought. She smiled a bit. "Well, if he starts bothering you again, you can come to me and I'll have a strong word with him."

Lester faced her in slight shock and shook his head. "Y-You don't have to," he responded and felt his heart picking up the pace. 'Is she being sincere or is she pretending to be nice?' He thought and swallowed nervously while blushing. Deep down
inside, he hoped she was being sincere. "Really, I-I'll be okay."

Janie blushed at what she said and looked down, picking at her snow boots. "Yeah well," she began shyly and smiled warmly while looking up at him. Lester blushed deeper and felt his heart flutter at the sight of her smile. "I have a soft spot for students
getting picked on and I'd feel better if I know they'll be fine," she told him and nodded. "My parents are cops, they taught me self defense."

Lester raised his eyebrows in surprise and smirked at that. "Really?" He asked and his smile grew a bit. Janie blushed seeing his reaction and looked down at her boots, chewing her bottom lip. 'That explains why she was so quick on her feet,' he
thought with a blush and felt his heart beating quicker. 'She'll be a perfect, veritable warrior angel, with parents like that.'

Janie looked up at him and smiled proudly. "Oh yeah," she answered and chuckled while resting her hands on her knee. "It'll be cool to be a cop and protect people from all the evil doers," she added and shrugged. "Either that or a famous artist."

"I-I don't know what I want to do," Lester stated with a shrug and chuckled nervously. "Dad says I-I could be an insurance salesman like him, when I'm older anyway," He explained and fidgeted a bit. He twiddled his thumbs and looked down at his hands
shyly. "I... I-I'd love to see your art sometime."

Janie lit up at that and blushed while looking down at her boot, picking at it idly. "Do what YOU like to do, Lester, don't let other people tell you what you should do, " she stated and looked up at him shyly. She rubbed the back of her head and smirked.
"I-I have a few projects up in art class, painting, figures, stuff the whole class is working on... I-I..."

"M-Maybe I could see them sometime," He said and smiled at her. His cheeks were still a rosy pink color and didn't think it ever died down. 'I've never been encourage like that before.'

Janie blushed darker and smiled shyly. "Th-that would be nice of you," she responded and felt her heart pounding in happiness. "But you d-don't really have to knowing you may be busy with schoolwork and classes."

Lester gazed at her and snapped out of it. He looked over to see his crumbled schedule still to the side and reached for it. Janie watched him curiously and sighed lightly knowing who was behind the crumpled paper. Lester straightened out his agenda and
looked it over carefully. "I-I have Art History," He stated and glanced up at her before looking back down at his schedule. "I-It's my last class of the day."

"Oh," Janie responded and smirked shyly. "I have art as my last class," she informed and bit her bottom lip. "I hope we have some classes together..." She added without thinking and closed her eyes in alarm. "I mean..."

Blushing, Lester stared at her dumbfounded and swallowed heavily before looking over his agenda again. 'She wants to be in the same class as me?' he thought and blushed. His heart was beating happily in his chest and pursed his lips in thought. 'This is all too good to be true, it's a trick,' Lester
thought in disbelief and looked up at Janie. "M-My first class is US History," he told her and looked her over curiously. "D-do you have that?"

Janie raised her eyebrows and smiled warmly. "Why yes, I do," she chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "That's funny."

They looked over to see teachers walking towards them and Lester made a move to stand up. Janie followed his lead before helping him fully stand. He smiled shyly at her and noticed his locker was clear. Lester walked towards his locker and read the combination
on his paper.

Janie leaned on the locker beside his and glanced back at hers. "We're close to each other," she pointed out with a chuckle. Lester only smiled at her and spun the dial on his locker. "I have this one friend that has a locker far away from mine, he's
a senior though," she told him and smirked. "Luckily Sam's locker is all the way on the other side of the hall," she added and folded her arms with a teasing smirk. "Having you near me keeps me company."

Lester jammed his backpack in his locker and smiled shyly. "Y-you seem real nice," he mumbled unconsciously and took out the history book. He took out notebooks and a pencil incase for notes. He faced Janie and smiled wider, blushing. "I l-like your company."

She bounced on her heels and smiled bashfully. Janie felt her heart racing and felt her face getting warm despite the icy breeze. "W-well," she responded and smirked at him. "You seem like a nice kid to."

"Th-thanks," he mumbled meekly and looked around for the clock, worried about being late on his first day. "Sh-should we get to class?"

"Right," Janie responded in realization and placed her hands in her pockets. "We can talk more during lunch," she added and smirked at him. "I sit at the same table everyday..." she added and looked down at her boots. "I...I mean if you'd like to join
me, that is."

"I'd love to!" Lester blurted out without thinking and bit his lip in embarrassment. Janie raised her eyebrows at that and felt her smile growing at the outburst. He shrunk a bit and looked around nervously. 'Nice one, Lester.'

"Great," she responded with a blush and snickered while scratching the back of her neck. "I sometimes sit alone, but to warn you, Sam usually sits at my table."

"U-uh, oh..." He replied worriedly and felt his heart drop as he remembered the warning Sam sent him, especially when he's going to be sitting next to Janie and Sam both. Lester swallowed nervously and closed his locker in deep thought. 'I don't want to get embarrassed again.'

Janie noticed his reaction and placed a hand on his upper arm. Lester immediately blushed harder at her touch and faced her. "Don't worry, Lester, don't worry," she soothed and sighed before smiling warmly. "I'll be right there and if he acts up, I'll
stop him."

He smiled shyly at her and secretly felt overjoyed to have her around. He never wants to leave her side, Janie Campbell was a saint. Lester's heart dropped at that and felt his smile dropping slowly. 'She's so nice,' he thought with a sigh and
bit his lower lip. 'She could be leading me into a trap.'

Janie smiled at him and looked him over. She then retrieved her hand shyly and rubbed her arm nervously. "I also have this other friend that hangs around with me during lunch at times, he's really nice, I hope I can introduce the two of you."

'He...' Lester felt a small twang of jealousy jumped in his heart and smiled at her. 'Someone had already caught the beautiful angel before me?' He thought sadly and saw Janie looking at her watch. 'I knew it was too good to be true.'

"Well, the bell's about to ring," she stated as she gazed at her watch and looked up at him with a smile.. "Shall we walk together to our first class?"

"S-Sure," Lester responded and smiled shyly. Janie smiled wider as she began to walk with him and he felt his heart flutter as they were walking side by side to their first class of the day. 'I just met her and I'm already starting to l-like her.'

Janie kept her gaze ahead and noticed Lester looking at his feet. 'He's such a nice, polite, young man,' she thought and felt her heart jump. 'He's so cute to,' she thought with a blush and swallowed nervously. 'Snap out of it, Jane, you hardly know him.'