Nicola had seen enough high school movies to know every student has one ultimate rock-bottom moment. One instance when everyone is turned against you, you've become a pariah, and spending your lunch eating stale potato chips in the poetry section of the library is your only option.

She just had no idea it would be so soon.

Her bag of Lays was almost empty and the period almost over when she heard a voice above her.

"You're new here, right?"

She looked up. A pair of hooded red eyes were staring at her over a Robert Frost collection.

"Yeah, I just moved here from Gavaldon."

The girl put the book back on the shelf and turned to face her. If it weren't for her all-black attire and baggy sweatshirt, she might have been one of the prettiest girls in the school. Under her dark hoodie was elbow-length, silky white hair, and she was just as pale to match. She looked at Nicola curiously.

"Homeschooled?"

She nodded.

The girl smirked. "Figured. You know, contrary to what most high school movies tell you, there's no shame in sitting alone at lunch your first day." She stuck her hand out. "I'm Anadil."

"Nicola." She shook the girl's hand vigorously.

"I'm gonna call you Nic. D'you want to sit with me and Bogden tomorrow?"

Nicola spluttered. "I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude on your-"

"No worries. It'll just be until you find your clan."

Anadil watched as she mulled it over. Might as well, Nic thought. My options for friends are severely lacking, and she seems nice enough...

She scrunched up her face quizzically. "Um, who's Bogden?"

"Oh, he's my best friend- You'll like him, I can tell. He's almost too gay to function." Anadil picked a new book off the shelf and headed for the main desk.

"So, tomorrow for lunch?"

"Definitely!" Nic called back, grinning.

Anadil was right, she did like Bogden. It was almost impossible to like someone who was this friendly.

"So, have you given her the rundown?" Anadil asked as she plunked her lunch tray onto their table.

He shook his head. "Not yet. I figured you'd want to."

"What rundown?" Nic asked.

The two turned to her conspiratorially. "If you want to fit in, you're gonna have to know the different cliques at this school," Anadil said. "Each one has their own table and their own social standing. Whichever group you pick will determine your popularity for the rest of high school."

Nicola winced. Seems a little brutal, she thought. "And you guys are okay with this?"

They both shrugged. "It's the way of the world," Bogden sighed. "And no one's got the guts to change it."

For the rest of lunch, Anadil and Bogden walked her through every social group of "The Endless Woods"— their nickname for the massive student body that was The School for Evil. The whole period was a total blur as she struggled to remember every detail about her new peers.

Varsity and J.V. jocks, comprised of bulky guys with over-styled hair, were gorgeous but total airheads (Bogden's words).

Some group called the "sexually active band geeks," all paired off at a table near them, made Nicola grimace and thank god she didn't pick instrumental as her junior year elective.

The two rattled off several other cliques- the debate team, the theater kids, the burnouts- but none of them interested her. The only group she actually liked, "the Mathletes," was apparently strictly forbidden.

"You can't join them," Anadil warned. "It's social suicide."

Nic looked longingly over at the clan, a group of three on the outskirts of the cafeteria. Their table was littered with graph paper, pencils, and calculators, and the three boys sitting there were arguing animatedly about the newest episode of a sci-fi tv show.

"...fine," She sighed.

Both teens looked relieved. Bogden patted her shoulder sympathetically. "It's for your own good."

Nicola frowned.

"So?" Anadil looked at her expectantly. "What do you think?"

But she couldn't think. Her head was spinning from all the new information, and the smell of the school lunch wasn't helping either. Nicola squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. "...Is it alright if I just...keep sitting here with you guys?"

She opened her eyes to see them smiling at her excitedly.

"Of course, Nic."

Bogden winked. "I was hoping you would say that."

Faintly, from the other side of the cafeteria, Nicola heard the click of high heels. And her new friends did too— both their expressions darkened.

Anadil turned to him, suddenly guarded and suspicious. "You missed a group."

"Did I?" Bogden feigned innocence, picking at his sandwich nervously.

The girl's voice dropped to an angry whisper. "She needs to know. Straight up."

"Why? She wouldn't be able to join anyways," he murmured.

Anadil gave her a once-over, then turned back to Bogden. "Crazier things have happened."

Nicola shifted in her seat anxiously as the footsteps grew louder. The other students seemed to sense a change, too, as their conversations slowly petered out. "...Who are you guys talking about?"

Bogden turned to her, his bubbly exterior gone. "The Coven."

The entire student body turned and watched as the cafeteria doors opened.