Chapter 1: The New Guy

"Hey Yugi!" Lynda called over to her friend since middle school. Yugi looked her way and recognized her dark brown hair that could be easily mistaken for black. He waved back and waited for her to come up.

"Did you get the homework done?" Lynda asked. She lugged her light blue backpack as she walked next to him.

"Yeah though I have to admit the algebra problems were a little tricky."

"Oh yeah, I remember those." Lynda sighed. "Those were slightly tough but I got it done. Hey you want to duel after class today? I got some really sweet cards and I'm going to beat you this time!"

"I'm sure you can…" Yugi laughed. In horror, both of them heard the school bell ring.

"Aw man! Don't tell me we're late!" Lynda exclaimed as she looked over at Yugi. "I don't know about you but I'm running!" With that, both of them dashed off toward the school, and like friends, tried to outrun each other.

As expected, they were late but only by a few minutes. Sadly their teacher didn't like the fact.

"Late again Miss Lynda Mallery?!" the teacher spat in disgust when they came into the classroom. Lynda winced as she heard his tone. She knew she was late before he usually didn't mind. Lynda looked around the room and saw that there was a new student up next to the teacher at the podium. Now she knew why he was mad. He didn't want to make a bad reputation to a new student.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stevenson." Lynda said. "I apologize for me and my friend Yugi, for it was not his fault we were late."

"Yes, well, I won't punish you this time Miss Lynda but please, would you introduce yourself to our new student?" Mr. Stevenson said with a hint of threat in his voice. Lynda noticed it but went over to the new boy with a smile. She held out her hand.

"They call me Lynda." The boy took her hand and shook it.

"My name's Ryou Bakura." Lynda let go of her hand and made her way to her seat. When she got to her seat, she started fumbling with her golden bangles on both of her wrists. They had this weird imprint of an eye on them. She remembered going to Mr. Moto and asking what it meant. He said they were the Millennium Bangles, the lost Millennium item that was made secretly and separate from the other items like Yugi's Millennium Puzzle.

"Miss Lynda Mallery, stop playing with those bangles this instant! It's annoying the other students!" Mr. Stevenson yelled across the room at Lynda. She rolled her eyes when he wasn't looking. What a stuck up brat, Lynda thought.

"Now there's a seat next to Lynda or a seat right up here in the front where you can meet some new people." Mr. Stevenson told Ryou. Lynda watched as he turned toward her. She just looked back at him with a bored look and drifted her eyes off to the side.

"I'll sit next to Lynda if that's alright." Ryou said to the teacher.

"What?" Lynda and Mr. Stevenson said the same time. Everyone in the room laughed except for Yugi, who thought it wasn't funny. Lynda just looked at Ryou in disbelief. Why was he going to sit next to the complete social outcast of the school? She wasn't attractive in any way, didn't really favor sports, and wasn't really into other subjects other than art and history. Lynda just watched as the boy she just met went to the desk and sat down.

"Hi." Ryou said to Lynda as he set his stuff down.

"Hi to you." Lynda said back. "Um, are you sure you want to sit next to me?" Bakura just shot her a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I'm not really in the social circle." Lynda admitted.

"I heard from the other students that you like drawing and I got a little interested. Especially when they said you liked drawing monsters." Lynda was aghast at his statement. Those creeps in her class…Just because she drew dragons and people with animal ears and tails didn't mean they were monsters.

"They aren't monsters." Lynda said. "I draw normal people with animal traits. I just like drawing things that are different." Lynda saw that Ryou seemed to understand.

"Well can I see them anyways?" Ryou asked. Lynda smirked and slipped him her sketchbook when the teacher wasn't looking. She saw him skimming through it, his eyes scanning the pictures she drew. She felt kind of honored, having someone giving a second opinion of her drawings. He spent some time on one picture she drew of a dragon shooting an array of diamond shards down from the heavens and the one that showed a girl transforming into a wolf.

Lynda started taking the notes Mr. Stevenson was writing on the board. After a couple of minutes, she felt Ryou tap on her shoulder.

"Here's your sketchbook back." Lynda took back her most prized possession and saw that it wasn't messed up like some other kids used to do with her books. She shot him a smile and put the sketchbook back into her backpack.

Making up to him for lost time, she put the notes she took to the edge of her desk so he could copy them. She knew Mr. Stevenson erased his notes immediately when he ran out of room on his board without any notice and she didn't want Bakura to get lost on the first day. Ryou nodded at her and started copying down her notes.

After class, she got up out of her seat and stretched her arms. The run she had with Yugi earlier really stretched the muscles in her legs. As she went to pick up her backpack, she noticed that Bakura was staring at her again.

"What is it Ryou?" Lynda asked. "Is there something you need to ask?"

"Well as you know, I'm new here and I don't know where I should go for my next class." Ryou pulled out his schedule and he handed it to Lynda. She read it over and saw that he was in a class with her.

"Okay the first period's easy." Lynda said to him. "You can just follow me there because I'm next door in the theater department." Lynda led him into the hallway and pointed down a corridor.

"Just in case I'm not here for some reason, you go down three doors and take a left at the corner. The art room should be on the left hand side." Ryou nodded.

"Now when you leave art, go to the left and go to the two double doors on your right. That's the gym. I'm in that class as well." Lynda led him down the hallway and turned right. Ryou saw there was a pair of double doors on either side of the hallway.

"Make sure you don't go in the left one!" Lynda scolded.

"Why's that?" Bakura asked curiously.

"It leads to the auditorium." Kyrin said. "You're going to be on the very top floor and you're going to freak out."

"You're afraid of heights?" Ryou asked.

"Well a little."

"And here I thought you were afraid of everything." Lynda laughed. Where on earth did he get that crazy idea?

"Ryou, I'm not Wonder Woman." Lynda said rolling her eyes. "Back to the schedule, you just go down this hallway and you'll find the cafeteria. After lunch, you head back to the classroom for two more mind-numbing classes then sweet freedom."

"I'm guessing you don't like school that much, do you?" Ryou asked in the same polite tone. Lynda smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it kind of restricts my creativity." Lynda smiled. She saw the clock and grabbed Ryou's hand.

"Come on Ryou!" Lynda said while dragging him back into the classroom. "I accidentally made Yugi late. I don't want you so suffer at well!" Ryou wondered how strong this girl was. She was pretty strong to practically drag him through the hall back into the classroom. Lynda went over to his desk and handed him his backpack.

"Thank you." Ryou said, taking his backpack from her.

"You're welcome now come on!" Lynda said starting toward the door. "We'd better go to class." With that she disappeared from the doorway. Ryou went through the door to see where she had gone and found her leaning against the wall in the hallway and looked him.

"You didn't think I was going to leave you all alone did you?" Lynda giggled as she motioned him to follow her. Ryou started following her and he went into the art room. He then felt the color drain from his face. Everyone was staring at him and it was making him feel uncomfortable.

"Uh why are they staring at me like that?" Ryou asked Lynda.

"Trust me Ryou, these guys are nice." Lynda said. She went to the teacher for a second and whispered something into the teacher's ear that Ryou couldn't make out. Lynda stopped whispering for a second and motioned him over. Ryou went over to Lynda and the art teacher with uneasy steps that he hoped no one noticed.

"Ryou, this is Mrs. Sanchez." Ryou looked at the brightly dressed woman with short cropped blonde hair and light blue glasses. She seemed kind enough.

"Mrs. Sanchez, this is Ryou." She smiled toward him and shook his hand.

"I figured you'd want to get to know the teacher before you started her class." Lynda smiled.

"Thank you Lynda." Ryou checked the clock himself. "I think you have to get to your class." Lynda looked toward the clock and winced.

"Aw man you're right!" Lynda said while heading out the door. "I'll see you in P.E.!" Lynda waved before she ran out of the room. Ryou smirked as he continued on with class.

After the first elective was over and after he changed into his gym clothes in the locker room, Ryou headed out into the field to find Lynda was on one of the tennis courts. She was waiting for him, no doubt.

"Hey Ryou!" Lynda exclaimed, recognizing his face. "You feel lucky at doing a singles match with me?" Ryou got the tennis racket and went on the other side of the court.

"Ready when you are!" Ryou yelled back at her. Lynda served the ball they were in a stalemate. Neither one of them was willing to let the ball get by them. Lynda returned every ball Ryou threw at her and Ryou reflected each shot. When the teacher called them inside and Lynda caught the ball, neither one of them scored.

"That was…fun…" Lynda said panting. She saw Ryou had his share of the workout too. She put the tennis ball into the crate and took her spare racket from Ryou. She waved at him once before she went into the locker room.

Back in the classroom, things were still boring. The teacher was yakking on about something about algebra and Lynda was about to fall asleep. Ryou saw her zoning out on her desk and shook her lightly when he made sure the teacher wasn't looking. Lynda shocked awake and looked over toward Ryou.

"Sorry about that Ryou." Lynda said in a dazed tone. "I'm just a little tired. You need something?"

"No. I'm just making sure you're awake when the teacher's looking." Lynda smiled and looked back toward the white board. Ryou saw that she wasn't focusing on the problems on the board and wondered what was on her mind. She was so distracted by something. He would ask her after class.

When the bell rang, Lynda cheered in her mind for lasting yet another boring school day. She put her books back into her backpack and got out of her chair. The day was another long one but she made it through.

"Hey Lynda?" Ryou asked from behind her. Lynda saw that he was concerned about something.

"What is it Ryou?" Lynda asked softly. "Do you need some help?"

"No it's just that you just spaced out during math earlier about something. Do you mind me asking what you were thinking about?" Lynda looked down into a corner for a moment and Ryou feared that he was prying into a sensitive subject. He was about to change the subject when Lynda spoke up.

"I was just thinking about my father." Ryou saw the scowl on her face.

"Let me just say he's not the strong fatherly type." Lynda continued. "He wants me to live with him but I'm afraid…"

"What is there to be afraid of Lynda?" Ryou asked while sitting her down in the desk, knowing this was an emotional thing to talk about.

"I'm afraid he's going to hurt me or my mom or my friends in some way if he doesn't get what he wants." Ryou noticed she was trembling and he put her hand on her shoulder. He needed to change the subject.

"Well enough about that. Are you familiar with Duel Monsters?" Lynda looked up and smiled.

"Of course I do! I play with Yugi all the time!" Ryou assumed that Yugi was the boy who came in with her at the beginning of the day. She grabbed Ryou by the hand and pulled him over to Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan.

"Hey Yugi!" Lynda smiled. "You know I have to have a rematch with you and Ryou wanted to watch too."

"Nice to meet you Ryou!" Tea said walking over to him.

"Now Yugi, I'm got some awesome new cards!" Lynda said, sitting down across from him. "You're going down this time!" She set her deck down and drew five cards.

"We'll see." Yugi said as he drew the cards from his deck.

Ryou saw that every attack Yugi had, Lynda effectively countered with her monsters and traps.

"Now I play Cold Enchanter and I wipe out the rest of your Life Points!" Lynda cheered as Joey and Tristan stood dumbfounded.

"Good game Yugi!" Lynda said, holding out her hand in a handshake. Yugi accepted it and gathered his deck together and put it away.

"Where did you get Cold Enchanter?" Ryou asked.

"My mom gave her to me on my birthday." Lynda said showing her card. "She said she thought it suited me."

"She's kind of pretty lookin' if you ask me!" Joey said, looking at the picture on the card, gawking at her white hair and pale armor.

"She might be pretty but she's deadly." Lynda said. "Although, seeing how pretty and powerful she is, I wonder how my mom said it suited me." Yugi sighed. Lynda had practically no self confidence whatsoever.

"I for one think it suits you perfectly." Ryou smiled. Lynda felt the heat in her cheeks and tried as hard as she could to make it go away.

"I guess so…" Lynda said. When she felt the heat fade away, she perked back up.

"Is anyone game for some ice cream? There's a shop on the way back to my place."

"I think that would be nice." Ryou agreed.

"Same here!" Joey said. "I haven't had ice cream in a long time!" Lynda packed her cards away and slid on her backpack.

"Come on guys!" Lynda smirked as she ran out the door. She heard the clatter of feet behind her as she ran out the door.

At the ice cream shop, Lynda got there first with wobbly legs and a tired back. She swore that there was a person that would come into her backpack when she wasn't looking to make it heavier. Lynda went over to a table and reserved the seats. A couple minutes later, everyone else showed up.

"Why'd you ditch us like that Lynda?" Tristan asked as he came in through the door.

"I thought we were having a race." Lynda said innocently. Joey was about to say something when Lynda interrupted.

"Anyways, let's get some ice cream." She got up out of her chair and went to the counter. As she was about to pay for her ice cream, Ryou put his money on the table before she could.

"Ryou, what are you…?"

"Consider this a thank you for showing me around the school." Lynda smiled as she went back over to the table.

When everyone finished eating their ice cream, Lynda started heading home when she heard someone call from behind her. Sure enough, it was Ryou. She stopped walking and waited for him to catch up.

"What is it now Ryou?" Lynda asked in a playful tone.

"I was just wondering if I could have your phone number, just in case there's something I need to know." Lynda smirked and took out one of her black ballpoint pens. She wrote her phone number on his hand and she put her marker away.

"I don't have any paper so your hand will have to do. Hope you don't mind." Lynda smiled as she waved Ryou goodbye. She walked back to her house as Bakura went back to his.

As Lynda changed into her nightgown, she reminisced the day. Racing Yugi to school. Meeting Ryou. Showing him around. Beating Yugi in a duel. Getting ice cream. The day seemed to be perfect but she noticed her bangles beginning to glow.

"What in the…?" Lynda rose to a sitting position and looked at her bangles. She saw a pattern of an eye that she'd seen somewhere before. It suddenly came to her in a flash. It was the same mark on Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. Lynda remembered his grandpa saying something about it being a mystical item but she doubted it a little. She did believe it now and took off her bangles. The glow faded slowly as they came off of her wrists. They became normal again as soon as she set them on her nightstand. She wondered if this was something she should investigate or run away from.

Okay so this is the first chapter and I know it's not all that impressive but it's a start right? Let me know if I should continue.