The day wasn't turning out as well as it could have. My bushy brown waves lay in strands messily covering my face, soaking up tears. I couldn't see anything because of the darkness, but I kept my eyes open all the same. My eyelashes were glued together with tears; I could tell every time I blinked. I quickly took a suck of air into my nose, making a louder- than- hoped- for sniffling sound. I wiped angrily at my face, my hands smeared with crusted dry tears. Patricia rolled over in sleep, the soft shuffle of blankets alerting me. I tried to do the same, but the tangled covers made me feel trapped and claustrophobic instead of warm and reassured. I pushed them off in frustration. Why did she hate me so much? My body heated up with rage and frustration. Why couldn't she just understand how I felt? How I know nothing about Joy, how my first day here was ruined, how I just wanted to make friends. Now instead, Patricia hated me, Amber thought I was hopelessly geeky, Mara thought I was stupid, Jerome and- what's his name? Alfie? Yeah, Alfie- made fun of me, Mick completely ignored me, and Fabian thought I was weird and a crybaby. I thought that when I received this scholarship that it would be the best thing that's ever happened to me. I just lay there in my scratchy quilt, drowning in sorrow and thinking about America.

"Patricia, don't!"

Light shined through the grubby window, falling across my face. I shifted, half asleep, half awake. I had fallen asleep? So then it was morning! Well, maybe this day would be better than the last… somehow. I felt relieved (surprisingly) and anxious to start the new day. Perhaps-

My whole body gave a jolt and I closed in my arms and legs close to my body as a waterfall of ice cascaded onto me, all over my bed and pajamas, everything! I opened my eyes, which were spattered with water, to see Patricia's victorious smirk.

Mara, already dressed and washed up, was standing to the side, an expression of horror on her face. Patricia was holding a jug that was obviously previously filled with ice water. I lay there, completely soaked, the shock slowly wearing away. My face felt hot. Mara looked as though she wanted to help, but she didn't do anything. I felt hot tears rising to my eyes, threatening to pour over. I lifted my damp covers, rose out of bed and stood there, looking at Patricia. She smiled contentedly. I couldn't take this. I pushed past her and Mara, running out of the room and praying no one was there. I collided with someone immediately, however. I felt my shoulder smack someone and an elbow caught me in the nose. I fell to the ground, my nose aching numbly and my eyes blurry. I felt the other unfortunate someone land beside me. Great. Not only had I already made an enemy, but now I was hurting the other residents as well.

Patricia strolled out of our room, smirking with badly concealed laughter.

"Watch out, newbie," her heavily accented voice crowed. "First you take Joy away, and now you're making enemies left and right. Not the best way to start your new school term." It bothered me because it was true. (Well, not the Joy part.) Ignoring Patricia, I pushed myself up to see who I had bumped in to.

Fabian was lying on the ground in a mess of schoolbooks he had been carrying downstairs. He looked a little dizzy, but seemed fine. Aw, man! He was the one person who wasn't mean to me on my first day.

"I'm so sorry!" I said pathetically. He turned to look at me, smiling. His eyes glowed with laughter.

"S'ok." he chuckled. "My fault."

"You're not seriously warming up to the newbie, are you?" Patricia sneered nastily, breaking in to our conversation. Fabian shrugged her away and turned back to me, but his smile faded.

"You're bleeding." he said, sounding concerned. Maybe I did have a friend after all.

"Oh." I said, waving the fact away. I needed to not make a big fuss at that point, show him I wasn't a crybaby or drama queen. Fabian was my only chance of friendship in this house.

"I'm okay."

He shook his head determinedly. Taking my hand, he pulled me to my feet with surprising strength.

"Oh, come on!" Patricia protested in exasperation.

I stared at her in sadness and anger, trying to think of a comeback, but Fabian led me into the bathroom.

"What about your books?" I suddenly remembered.

"I'll get those later." He replied. His accent made me smile.

I watched as he pulled out some toilet paper from behind the sink. I kept an eye out for Patricia at the same time, though, even though she was probably already downstairs. She was the bane of my existence. Seriously. Fabian turned back around, and only then did I realize that a stream of blood was slowly dripping from my nose. I was going to take the towel from him, but he dabbed at my nose before I could.

"You okay?" he asked as he wiped the last of the blood away.

"Yeah."

"Listen," Fabian continued, looking me straight in the eyes. His face was inches from mine, but I didn't feel awkward or anything. "Just ignore Patricia; she's always been a git.

I smiled, no matter how hard I tried not to.

"She's kinda going through a hard time right now; her best friend is missing and everything. But stay by me and I won't let her do anything like this," he gestured to my dripping clothes, "again."

"Thanks." I said gratefully. "I'm so happy I've found a friend. " We walked out of the bathroom to Fabian's abandoned schoolbooks. "That's all I wanted, you know." I added as I bent down to help him pick up his books.

"Well, you've got one for sure." He replied. "But make sure you don't make bad ones. My advice is to stay far away from Jerome and Alfie."

"Yeah, they weren't the friendliest when I got here yesterday." I thought about the spiders in my right shoe.

I picked up Fabian's last book and laid it on top of the others that were piled in his arms.

"Thanks, Nina." He grinned. Right after he finished talking, however, an earsplitting shriek echoed from downstairs.

"Alfie and Jerome, I bet." Fabian accused. "Speak of the Devil."

"Devils." I corrected.

We ran down the carpeted stairs. I wasn't really in a hurry to see who Jerome and Alfie just victimized or what happened to them, but Fabian darted down right away. I trailed behind him, letting him walk into the kitchen first.

I pushed the door open, arriving right after Fabian. No one said hi to me.

Amber was sitting at the table, her hair completely soaked and covered in what was probably some kind of…I don't even know. It was orange and sticky, and dripping down her forehead onto her left eyebrow.

Alfie was grinning from the other side of the table, and Jerome was lying on the floor all flat- looking, holding his sides in laughter. Unless I have them mixed up.

"Amber… are you…uh…" Fabian was smiling slightly, and I could tell he was putting a lot of effort into keeping a straight face. Mara had an expression of worry, and Mick looked like he was trying to do the same, but he looked more like he was constipated.

"This is not what I meant!" Amber squealed unhappily. The situation lost some of its hilarious-ness; Amber was close to tears. However, that only seemed to make Jerome and Alfie more amused. Mick walked over to her, smiling.

"You should ask them to pass the jam more often," he said, wiping off jam with his index finger and swiping it into his mouth. "You're delicious, babes!"

That did it. Amber burst into tears and pushed past everyone, running away in humiliation.

Mara ran after her immediately, and everyone else, even Alfie, looked a little more serious. Jerome and Patricia stood next to each other, facing everyone else. Jerome was still laughing hysterically and Patricia was sniggering nastily next to him.

"Nice one!" her voice echoed around the kitchen.

"That was kinda mean." I said in response, without really thinking it over. I immediately regretted it; Patricia's face fell and she strutted over to me.

"I didn't ask you, American."

"Sorry." I replied, my voice sounding small and sad.

"For what?" she retorted, eyes flaming. "Talking back, or abducting Joy?"

I opened my mouth in frustration, closed it, then opened it again, but nothing came out. I couldn't find the words. Suddenly, without warning or anything, I burst into tears.

Jerome looked confused and amused, Mick was too busy eating to notice, and Patricia looked disgusted and unmoved.

"Nina…" Fabian started. I couldn't even look at him; my embarrassment was too great.

I ran out of the room, hearing Patricia sneer, "That makes two of them."

I had completely forgotten about Amber's little episode seeing as I was wrapped up in my own stupid problems. I ran up the staircase, tears making pathways down my face. My footsteps echoed down the hallway as I padded into the bathroom. I gave a start as Amber whipped around, bright hair a flashing sight. Then I gave a second one as I saw her face. Mascara made dark tracks down her cheeks, and her blush and heavy concealer were smeared and made her look like a clown.

"Sorry…" I sniffed, wanting least of all to annoy yet another someone.

I backed out of the door, but before I shut it, a perfectly manicured hand with flowery nails caught it.

"Nina?" Amber whimpered.

"What?" I said harshly, expecting more criticism.

"Stay here for a sec'."

"What?" I repeated, this time in a gentle voice.

"Why are you crying?" she sniffled.

"I'm not." I lied, wiping at my eyes like an idiot.

"Yes, you are." She accused.

"No, I'm-" I stopped.

"That's right. I knew it." She smiled through her tears in victory.

"Patricia." I explained in one word.

"Oh, yeah. She's seriously, like, a witch." Amber sympathized.

"I figured that out." I raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah, ever since, like, sixth grade she's been like that. That's when I met her."

"Oh. Is that when you first came here?"

"Yeah… I was too good for regular school, I guess."

"Oh." I was positive that wasn't the reason.

"Yeah. Alfie and Jerome are so. mean." She rolled her eyes.

"Figured that out too."

Amber wrinkled her nose and picked a glob of jam out of her blonde hair.

"Are they always all… pranky like that?" I asked her, praying the answer was no.

"Yeah! It's like, so obnoxing."

"Obnoxious?" I suggested.

"Yeah, whatever." Amber waved her mistake away.

I smiled at her.

"Hold on a second." I scooted past her and grabbed a fistful of toilet paper. I moved over to the sink and ran some warm water over the paper. I then returned and pressed it into a confused Amber's hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

"You a big favor." I answered, smiling. "Look at yourself in the mirror."

Amber looked into it and screamed a high- pitched squeal.

"Okay… Amber?" She looked at me fearfully. "Just wipe it off, okay?"

She nodded vigorously.

I grinned at my new friend and picked some orange goo out of her hair.