CHAPTER ONE

Artemis

Confidence. It was all about projecting confidence. I just needed to relax and pretend that I wasn't standing in front of a room full of people who were all focused on me.

Easier said than done.

Calm down, I told myself. Relax. They can probably smell fear.

"So, Artemis, just choose any seat you want and we'll help you get caught up on the curriculum."

I glanced over at the teacher as she turned around and walked toward her desk, leaning against the edge and smiling at me like nothing was wrong. Well, maybe nothing was wrong technically. But mentally and emotionally, I was a complete wreck. Of course, I didn't let this show on my face. No, that would make me seem weak—vulnerable to the others. However, like it or not, I was all on my own in a new school, a sea of strangers waiting to envelope me and drag me down into the dark pits of rejection and social exile.

Thank you, mother, for moving us across the freaking city so we could have a "fresh start." This whole transferring schools and uprooting my entire life thing was just the cherry on top of the sundae that was my pathetic life. At least back in Gotham West I had friends. I had a school where I fit in with my peers. It might have been a low-income institution located in the slums of Gotham City, and maybe most of the students had been criminals and delinquents, but at least they accepted me. They knew who I was. That place was a part of me. I was a Gotham ghetto girl.

Now I was stuck standing here, staring at all of these people who obviously didn't give a rat's ass whether or not there was a new kid in class.

I glared loathingly at the clock hands, which somehow had not moved a centimeter in what seemed like years.

The teacher—whose name I hadn't bothered to remember—continued to smile and gestured toward the desks occupying the rest of the classroom. I struggled to keep from rolling my eyes. Perfect. Just fan-freaking-tastic. She was leaving me to fend for myself, to pick a seat in my most dreaded subject: chemistry. I mean, not only was I choosing my seat for the rest of the year, but I was also getting the added bonus of a chem partner as well, seeing as there were allowed two students per table.

I knew that I had about two seconds to choose how I wanted to spend the rest of my sophomore year in this class and face my fate, and the pressure was making me incredibly nervous. Well, more nervous than I had been before being given this seemingly trivial task. I felt like everyone's gaze was boring into me, creating little holes that seared my skin, making my palms slick with sweat and my hearing dull. They were waiting.

I took a moment to scan the room and counted four possible candidates for seats along with potential partners. In the very back corner of the room was an empty desk, no partner whatsoever. I rejected this choice immediately. For starters, all of the delinquent-looking kids were in the back, and I already had to deal with behavioral problems at home, thank you very much. Second, I would seem like a creepy loner back there. And lastly, I really sucked at chemistry and was banking on the idea of a partner to help me catch up with the class and hopefully keep up as well.

The next candidate was a seat next to a pretty girl with chocolate-colored skin and dark kinky curls in two pompom-like pigtails on her head. Her dark almond-shaped eyes were focused elsewhere for the moment. She wore a cheerleading tank top over a white oxford shirt, and matching pleated skirt. As she saw me glance at her, she lifted an eyebrow and shook her head just the slightest bit, as if daring me to sit next to the school's resident queen. I let my eyes roll this time and knew that if I were to sit next to this bitch—I mean girl—I would probably end up smashing my skull against the table, if only to keep me from strangling her.

I quickly skipped to the next choice of seating. It was a desk next to the window, a table already occupied. The first thing I noticed about him was his hair, a bright red color, ends hanging slightly in his face. He was actually pretty attractive, but in a boyish sort of way. He had spectacular green eyes the color of spring leaves, and freckles dotted his cheeks. His chin was balanced in his palm, elbow resting on the table as his gaze wandered out the window, watching the blue sky spread out before him. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to what was happening at the moment, but as I zeroed in on the score of the test that was in front of him, I knew he was perfectly adequate in the class: a one-hundred-ten percent. I resisted the urge to smile. This was the best choice yet.

And as my eyes wandered to the last available seat, I knew that my third choice was really my only choice. The boy sitting here was large, bulky, dark-skinned, and sporting a football letterman's jacket. His eyes were glued to the girl who had snubbed me earlier, and he didn't even seem to realize that I was standing there staring at him openly. The girl didn't seem to give him the time of day, and I almost felt pity for him as I noticed the puppy dog look in his eyes. However, the sixty percent marked at the top of his paper was enough to drive me away.

I rolled my eyes again. This was the easiest decision I had ever made.

I made a beeline for the empty seat next to the redheaded boy gazing out the window. Sighing with relief, I was grateful for the blessing after seeing the other desks I could have been assigned to. If I had been placed at the table in the back, I would've committed suicide within the week. Had I been seated next to the other two students, I would've probably committed murder instead.

As I arrived at the desk next to the window, I pulled back the empty chair, its legs squealing loudly against the tiled floor. The obnoxious noise seemed to jar my new partner from his silent thoughts, bringing his clear green gaze in my direction. One auburn brow rose as he took in my appearance as I sat down next to him, confusion in his stare.

He leaned toward me, giving me a whisper. "Uh, no offense, Beautiful, but who the heck are you?" He seemed undecided as to whether he should be pleased or upset.

I stared at him for a long moment before looking around the room to make sure that Ashton Kutcher wasn't here trying to Punk me. After making sure I had spotted no cameras, I turned back to the redhead. "You're kidding, right?"

He raised his other brow, his expression now one of surprise.

The teacher called us to attention. "Please open your books to chapter ten. We will be continuing our lesson about electron orbitals."

I felt my gaze narrow. Was she just making up words to make me look stupid, now? She must've noticed the vacant look in my eyes because she frowned as she looked at me. At my old school, the only science class offered to my grade level was sophomore biology. I was pretty sure whoever got my old transcripts must've been blind.

"Wally, why don't you get Artemis up to speed on what we've done so far this week, will you?" she suggested with a smile. But I could tell that it was a smile of pity. She could clearly sense my lack of comprehension for the class.

My obviously confused new lab partner, Wally, turned to me, his nose wrinkled like he'd just eaten something sour, before looking back at the teacher. "Um, can you move her somewhere else? Like with Malcolm, or something," he protested, gesturing to the love-stricken jock a few rows up.

My mouth fell open in shock before I shot him a deadly glare.

Malcolm didn't seem to hear Wally as he continued to try and woo the snotty girl from before, but that wasn't what bothered me. A hot surge of anger flooded my veins. What the hell? I had only said three words to this Wally guy as of yet, and now I was officially on his shit list?!

Our teacher sighed in exasperation, as if she had dealt with this behavior before. "What is it now, Wally?" She leaned forward, resting her head in her hands as she looked up to the heavens.

"She can't sit here," he persisted, throwing me a heated glance of his own. "This is Roy's seat."

I was really starting to get pissed. The more he seemed to protest me being there, the more I wanted to smack him and get him to shut his trap.

"Wally, Roy has chosen to drop out of Happy Harbor High School, you know that. And as much as you don't like it, the fact is that he is no longer a part of this class, meaning that Artemis is now your new AP chemistry partner."

I gave him a triumphant smile, gloating at my victory. He responded by pouting and sticking out his tongue. I scoffed and rolled my eyes at his childish behavior, elbowing him hard in the arm. "Suck it up, you big baby," I whispered in frustration.

"Crawl back into the hole you came out of, Blondie," he shot back, his voice quiet but harsh as he rubbed his sore arm.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides. "Why don't you try and make me?" I taunted with a sneer.

"Bring it on." His eyes were deadly and serious. All of the boyish innocence had drained from his face in the past minute.

I barely knew this guy, and already we were threatening each other. What the hell was his problem? Was he really that upset that I had taken his buddy's old chemistry seat? I was guessing that was a yes after the way he'd just acted. But even still, how could he be so completely upset by my presence? I mean, just a few seconds before he realized I was his new lab partner, he had flirtatiously called me Beautiful. That wasn't the kind of nickname you went around calling people that you hated. This was complete madness!

Wally, on the other hand, was stubborn, completely oblivious to the fact that I was about to Chuck Norris him in the face. He glared, pouted, and grunted in disdain without a care, as if he was clueless to the fact that he was a complete moron. Did the teacher, and for that matter, the other students, have to put up with this behavior all of the time?

I took a quick look around. Kids stared blankly at walls, drool hanging from their open mouths, others with fingers shoved up their noses like no one was looking, and more still just having silent conversations with one another, like this whole dilemma wasn't even a blip on the map of their own little worlds. That showed how special I was in the eyes of my new classmates. They probably didn't even realize there was a new student joining them today. I think the kid snoring in the corning proved that theory.

My gaze slowly drifted back to Wally, and as I glanced toward his face, our eyes met, meaning he had been watching me as well. We both quickly turned away, Wally growling in the back of his throat as I scoffed in contempt.

This was going to be one long-ass year.

There better have been a fucking pony waiting for me when I got home.