It is a fundamental rule of life, one that all teenagers know without doubt, high school sucks. Teenagers have known this fact since the first high school came into existence and no matter what their teachers or parents say they will continue to hate it until time ends. Being the new kid can make the experience even worse. In many cases being the new kid is the worst possible thing a teenager can endure during their high school years. To be the new kid means you are walking into a place that has its own established rules and social hierarchy, one that must now alter itself to include you. And this often leads to problems. Like a body being invaded by a virus the established hierarchy will do everything in its power to either welcome or destroy the new kid, and many teenagers crack under the pressure of trying to fit in. Fortunately, Bridgette Wells is not one of those kids. In fact she is quite the opposite, one of those rare teenagers forced to attend a new school who actually relishes the challenge of trying to fit in. When Bridgette's family moved from the coastal resort town Bridgette had spent her whole life in to the big city, Bridgette swore she would make the best of it, regardless of the obstacles that she was sure to meet.
Bridgette stepped out of her car and paused for a moment, struck by the size of her new school. Six months of planning and preparation had still not prepared her for just how big the school was. Her old school, back in Port Stevens, had been only three buildings, with a student body of just over two-hundred. Then again, seeing as how Port Stevens had a total population of just over three thousand Bridgette supposed it wasn't really that surprising. She sighed as the memories of the life she had left behind crept into her mind, but she quickly pushed them aside. With one last glance at the school Bridgette made her way towards the entrance determined to keep the promise she had made to herself. As she made her way inside Bridgette took note of how tight security was and just how many students there were swarming through the doors. Not wanting to be swept up in mass of bodies Bridgette moved to get out of the way but before she could take another step someone grabbed her by the shoulder. Bridgette turned to see a stern looking woman who was dressed like a security guard who was staring at her with a disgruntled look.
"Excuse me miss, but I need to check your backpack." the security woman said.
Bridgette blinked and slid her backpack off her shoulders. "Sorry, I'm new here." she mumbled as she handed her bag over.
The security woman's expression softened. "It's okay honey." she said. "I've always said they need to let new students bypass this mess on their first day." She took a moment to look through Bridgette's bag before handing it back. "You're good to go honey, have a nice day."
Bridgette smiled and nodded. "Thank you." she said, before heading through the second set of doors.
Once she was inside, Bridgette made her way over to one of several benches and pulled out her schedule. Taking a seat, she read over the piece of paper in her hand. Her first class was on the fourth floor, Advanced English, Room 412. After reading over her schedule twice more Bridgette stood and made her way to the nearest staircase. A few short minutes later Bridgette found herself standing in a much quieter hallway, staring at a door covered in posters and stickers of various bands. She checked the room number, noticing that it was 416. Guessing that room 412 was only two rooms over Bridgette made her way to the third door on the right hand side of the hall. Sure enough the room number read 412. Bridgette entered to find the room devoid of students except for a purple haired girl who was sitting in the back of the room, reading a copy of Lord of the Flies. For a moment Bridgette simply stood in the doorway staring at the purple haired girl, before she realized she was being rude.
"Excuse me, is this Mr. McLean's Advanced English class?" Bridgette asked.
The purple haired girl looked up from her book and nodded. When Bridgette only continued to stand there like an idiot the girl looked up again. "Well, are you going to sit or what?" she asked, with a curious look. Bridgette blinked and nodded before sitting down at the first desk in front of her, shaking her head at her own stupidity.
"So, you're that new girl, Bridgette Wells, right?" the purple haired girl asked, after a moment of silence.
Bridgette turned in her seat to stare at the girl again. "How...how did you know that?" she asked, a little disconcerted now.
"Don't worry I'm not a psychic or anything." the purple haired girl answered. "Every year I hack the school database just to see who's coming back and who's not, and if there's any names I don't recognize. This year there was only one new name, yours. And since you're the only person I've seen today who I don't know I drew the logical conclusion."
Bridgette was a bit taken aback by this girl's personality and was not sure how she should respond. For a moment, the two of them sat in silence before Bridgette spoke again. "You hacked the school database?" she asked, a note of disapproval in her voice.
"Yeah, so?" purple hair responded. "You have a problem with that?"
"No, not really." Bridgette admitted. "Actually, I think it's kinda cool."
"Well that's good to know." purple hair replied. "I'm Nikki by the way, Nikki Wong."
"It's nice to meet you Nikki." Bridgette said, getting up and moving to the desk on the right of Nikki's.
"It's nice to meet you too." said Nikki. "Finally this school gets a new student who isn't a total douchbag. Where did you transfer from anyway?"
"Point Stevens." Bridgette replied, with a glance at the door.
"Oh, I've heard good things about Point Stevens." said Nikki. "Never been there, but I've always heard it's a great town."
"Yeah, it really is." Bridgette said, with a glance at Nikki's book. "That's a great book, by the way."
"What, Lord of the Flies?" Nikki asked. Bridgette nodded and Nikki smiled. "Yeah, it's one of my favorites actually. I think this is my tenth time reading it."
"That's pretty impressive." said Bridgette. "I've only read it twice. Didn't really like it the first time but I gave it another try and it's actually a damn good book."
"Yeah, but there's better stuff out there." said Nikki. "Like the Dark Tower series by Steven King. Now those are damn good books, especially The Gunslinger."
Bridgette nodded and glanced at the door again. "Where is everyone?" she asked.
"Don't worry about it." said Nikki. "It's the first day of school and people are always late to Mr. McLean's class. Hell, Mr. McLean is usually late himself."
"Now Nikki, lets not go spreading rumors to new students so early in the year." said a voice from the doorway, as Mr. McLean entered the room. Bridgette flushed, but Nikki simply shrugged unperturbed by Mr. McLean's clearly joking chastising.
"I only tell it like I see it." Nikki said, with a sly grin. "How was your summer?"
"Pretty good." Mr. McLean replied. "Spent a couple weeks in Europe, nothing that exciting." He smiled and Nikki chuckled.
"So, this is our new student Bridgette Wells, I presume?" Mr. McLean asked, turning his attention to Bridgette.
"I am." Bridgette replied. "And you're the infamous Mr. McLean."
"I don't know about infamous, but yes, I am Mr. McLean." Mr. McLean said. "And please, call me Chris."
Bridgette glanced at Nikki, who shrugged and muttered, "He prefers to be called by his first name, for some reason."
"Something you seem to have forgotten over the summer." Mr. McLean said, a grin crossing his face. "And I prefer my first name because I don't want my students to think I am in any way superior to them, which my title implies."
At that moment several more students entered, including a girl with blue-green hair and a boy carrying a skateboard. Both of them made their way over to Bridgette and Nikki, the kid with the skateboard giving them a friendly nod which Nikki returned.
"Hey Nik, how's it going?" the girl asked, with a suspicious glance at Bridgette. "Who's the new girl?"
"This is Bridgette Wells." said Nikki, with a smile. "She just transferred from Point Stevens, and I was trying to make her feel welcome."
"You're from Point Stevens?" the skateboard kid asked, before Nikki's friend could respond. Bridgette nodded. "That is so rad bra. I hear they have great surfing out there."
"Yeah, some of the best waves I've ridden were at home." Bridgette replied.
"You surf?" the boy asked. Bridgette nodded again and the boy's face lit up.
"For fuck's sake Jude, let her get settled before you pummel her to death with questions." Nikki said, rolling her eyes. She glanced at Bridgette, who looked slightly confused. "Oh, that's right, you don't know who these two are, do you?" Nikki continued. Bridgette shook her head. "Well, these are my friends, Gwen Carver and Jude Lizowski."
Jude shook Bridgette's hand and Gwen nodded, both of them apparently content to welcome Bridgette into their group. Bridgette smiled and returned their greetings just as the last few students stumbled into the room and Mr. McLean began class.
An hour later Bridgette and her new friends pushed their way through the mass of students moving through the hall, heading for the stairs. Along the way they ran into a group of students whom Nikki, Gwen, and Jude obviously knew, based on the way they were greeted. Among this new group of students, one individual in particular caught Bridgette's attention. A tall boy dressed like a surfer, his blond hair mostly hidden beneath a battered cowboy hat looked directly at her and smiled. For a moment the constant buzz of chattering students dulled and the hallway faded into the background. Bridgette felt as though she were looking at the world through the fogged mirror of a dream and then, just as quickly as it had come, the sensation of true love disappeared, as a booming voice brought Bridgette back to her senses.
"Geoff?" a heavy-set boy, wearing a leather bikers jacket asked. "Yo, Geoff, what are you staring at dude?"
It took Bridgette a moment to realize who the heavy-set boy was talking to, but then she focused on the boy in the cowboy hat again, noticing that he was staring at her with a mixture of surprise and intrigue. Nikki noticed this as well and she moved to break the awkward silence that had fallen over the group. "Guys, I would like you to meet Bridgette Wells, our newest transfer student."
The boy named Geoff smiled again and moved to shake Bridgette's hand. "Hi, I'm Geoff Martin." he said. "It's nice to meet you Bridgette."
Bridgette flushed, but managed to collect herself. "It's nice to meet you too."
Geoff smiled and nodded, tipping his hat. "Well, might as well introduce the rest of the gang." he said. "This is Owen Gregorski." The heavy-set boy nodded. "Owen's girlfriend Izzy Sharpe." A girl with long curly red hair smiled and waved. "And Ezekiel Almos." A short, scrawny boy dressed in rather dirty clothes nodded and shook Bridgette's hand. Bridgette smiled and returned each of their greetings, growing more confident with each new friend she made.
"Well, we should probably get going to class." said Gwen. "Don't want to piss of Ron on our first day back." The others nodded in agreement and they headed off in different directions, Bridgette joined by Nikki and Gwen. As they made their way to their next class Bridgette thought about the sensation she had felt the first time she had seen Geoff. She had not intended to fall in love on the first day of school, but some things are just destined to happen.
A/N: Alright, so this is my new fic and my first crossover. Obviously I don't own Total Drama or 6Teen and all that. If the point of this fic seems a bit cliche or confusing at the moment, don't worry, all will be explained in time. Please leave reviews.