Hey people! Sunny's back! And I'm sorry, I know this has taken literally forever. But it'll speed up after the first chapter. I have about a billion alternate beginnings, but you don't care about that. So I'll shut up and give you what you really came here for...

So this is me; almost thirteen, mini-celebrity, and completely confused, again. I'm confused about the way people go about doing things without really understanding whatthis whole life is about,and why "I love you"is such a hard thing to say. But as many confusing things as there are in this world, so many things make perfect sense.

I doubt there is anywhere else I would rather be than sitting in the branches of the old oak tree. About a month ago I would have rather been drooling over Evan. But now I've changed. Not that I'd rather be dating the tree, I still like Evan, a lot, but it was so peaceful and serene sitting up in the highest branches, reading or watching the busy world below, the shadows of the leaves dancing in the breeze. The tree happened to be in the park directly across from the mansion that I called home. I had discovered the oak's magic one day when I was searching for a quiet place to read. I had seen the tree from my bedroom window and decided to explore it. I had looked at it before, just never really saw it, until then. I remembered that day. It had been a week or so ago. Evan was on vacation and I was trying my best to enjoy the last few days of summer vacation.

I sighed and smiled, thankful that I had found such a wonderful place. I practiced writing poetry like Isadora had taught me. I bit thoughtfully on my pencil and watched figures walk along the street. The gentle breeze made the leaves rustle softly. I suddenly thought of something.

This quiet, beautiful tree is heaven

Where I can sit and think about

I frowned, staring at what I had just written in my commonplace book. I erased it and closed the notebook. I continued to watch the busy people below until I discovered a branch, almost completely covered in carvings of pairs of initials in hearts. Most were wearing away and growing a thin layer of moss. I read them to myself:

B.L. and T.B.

P.R. and G.Q.

F.N. and L.R.

V.B. and Q.Q.

I stopped,

V.B and Q.Q.

It had to be…but I was the only one in my family who knew about that tree. I pondered the idea and soon gave up. But something distracted me from my thoughts: a piece of folded up paper was tucked between two other branches. I reached up to grab it but my hand knocked it onto the sidewalk below.

"Damn it," I murmured and quickly covered my mouth, surprised at what words had just come out. But I laughed as I realized no one else was around. I climbed down the tree and walked to where the paper had fallen. I picked it up and was about to open it when something shot past me so fast that my hair blew in a mess around my face. I stared after whatever it was and noticed it was someone on a bike. I was about to glare, until the person turned and smiled.

"Evan!" I shouted and ran towards him, stuffing the folded paper into my pocket.

"Hey, Sunny," he said climbing off the bike.

I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"We came home early," he said, "my mom's work wanted her back and…and I missed you"

I just about melted.

"I missed you too," I said, "it's been so boring here."

"Really?" he said walking his bike as I walked beside him.

"Yeah," I said, "I'm almost wish school would start sooner. Then we could see each other every day." I added

"You know what?" he asked

"No. What?"

"You're messing up my entire life," he sighed

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked defensively

"No, I mean in a good way. I've never-I mean… I- never mind."

"I know what you mean," I said softly and grabbed his hand.

I woke up on the morning of the first day of school with mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness. Either way, I was up way before I was supposed to. I got up, got dressed, and stood in the bathroom fixing my hair.

I walked to school with Ellie. We excitedly compared schedules and found that we had two out of six classes together.

"Not bad," Ellie shrugged.

"Science, P.E., English… History, math, Home Ec.," I recited carefully, resisting the temptation to peek at the schedule in my hand.

When we arrived at school, a wave of recollection crashed over me. The most popular girls were grouped around each other, screeching, hugging and showing off their new outfits, the nerds were already swapping trading cards they had collected over the summer, and there was a few guys including Grant Parson, Dylan Birch, and Evan standing and not saying much to each other. It was a great contrast between the squealing greetings of the girls and the manly grunts of the boys. I hurried over to Evan and tugged on his empty backpack. He spun around and faced me for an awkward moment. I didn't know what to do or say.

"Um, hi Sunny," he said

"Hi," I said staring into his green eyes. I saw Dylan sneer out of the corner of my eye.

First period was science with Mr. Benson. He was a tall, skinny, balding man

"Welcome to first period, seventh grade biology, so if you don't belong here, please leave." He said. A few people laughed at the thought of getting classes mixed up, but a small, bright red girl stood up. Everyone watched as she headed for the door. Mr. Benson stopped her.

"What are you looking for, then?" he asked

"Um," she trembled, "I'm in sixth grade…"

"Yes," Mr. Benson said calmly, "but what's the class."

"Um, it says Avery," said the sixth grader peering at her schedule

I had had Mrs. Avery last year. I smiled as Mr. Benson directed the girl to the proper classroom.

"Remember, it's J203," he called out as the sixth grader walked away with a late pass.

Second period was P.E. with Mr. Perez, third was English with Mrs. Fosters, or so I thought. I rushed to her class, which wasn't anywhere near the rest of my classes. A bunch of people I didn't know were filing into the classroom when I got there. Most of them were a lot taller than me, which usually wasn't that much of a big deal. But as I pulled up a seat in the back a very tall boy with spiky brown hair turned in his seat to face me.

"Are you like a sixlet or something?" he asked

"No," I said, wondering if his hair could pop a balloon, "I'm in seventh grade."

He snorted, "Then, you must be smart or something, cause this is an eighth grade class."

I felt my face getting hot and I looked around the room. It was an eighth grade class.

"No, I'm not smart- well, I am but-" I stammered

"Yeah," the boy said, "You need to tell the teacher, or something."

I hid my face in my hands "This is bad," I said in a muffled voice.

"What?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer he said, "Fine, I'll do it,"

I looked up from my hands to see the boy with his hand in the air.

The bell rang and everyone settled into their seats. The boy's hand was still up.

I was about to object, not wanting any more attention, but Mrs. Fosters gestured towards his hand.

"Uh, we have a seventh grader in this class," he said pointing at me, and Mrs. Fosters looked a bit annoyed.

She gestured for me to come up and pairs of eighth grade eyes followed me as I walked to the front of the room.

Mrs. Fosters looked at my schedule and sent me to the office.

"By the way," the boy said as I got up from my desk, "my name's Jack."

"Thanks a lot, Jack," I said somewhat bitterly

A couple people laughed as I walked out of the room and I suddenly felt bad for laughing at the sixth grader in Mr. Benson's class.

"Yes, yes," said Mr. Julius, the vice principal, "We have you in Ms. Dean's class in your file, there must have been some mistake when your schedule was printed."

I sat across from him at his desk in the front office. He handed me a pink slip of paper and signed it in fancy handwriting. I walked to Mrs. Dean's class and pushed open the door, double checking the room number. As soon as the door opened, about thirty heads turned to face the door and Mrs. Dean stopped talking. I looked around the room, to find myself feeling like I'd rather go back to Mrs. Fosters. The walls were covered with posters that said things like "Wanted: Terrible actor with one eyebrow and a suspicious tattoo…" or "Vaguely Familiar Dread" and pictures of a girl with a ribbon in her hair, or a boy with glasses and a book, or a baby with a spatula. Even Mrs. Dean was wearing a shirt that said, "Run, Orphans, Run!". I walked towards the front of the room with a knot in my stomach the size of a small dog. I pushed my schedule and the pink slip forward and Mrs. Dean signed the pink paper but stopped at the schedule.

"Sunny Baudelaire?" she asked incredulously and I gave a weary sigh and nodded. Her eyes widened and she pointed wordlessly at a seat in the front row. I walked over to the desk and more people stared, obviously assuming that I had done something. I was hoping that the floor would open and I could fall through. I sat at the desk and the class faced Mrs. Dean expectantly. But she just stood in the front of the room staring directly at me. She finally spoke:

"Sunny Baudelaire," she repeated, "any relation…?"

"Yes," I said plainly

"My, my, Sunny Baudelaire. In my class!" she gushed

I glanced at the floor, praying for something, anything, that would get me out of that class. Usually, no one really noticed, or else they didn't care that I am a not-so-fictional-character. Because, although the books are somewhat popular, without reading them, I'm really nobody special.

Mrs. Dean shot another glance at me, and went on with introducing the class. With all that going on I didn't noticed Evan, who was sitting in the row behind me. After that lovely incident, I made my way to history with Ms. Remors, a rather uneventful class that I shared with Ellie, then to a well needed lunch break. I met up with Ellie and we sat in the amphitheatre, where we weren't allowed last year. Brooke Nolan, a girl Ellie and I had known since primary school, came over and we greeted each other.

"Sunny," she said pulling me in so others couldn't hear us, "Are you really going out with Evan Michels?"

I nodded.

"Omigod!" Brooke squealed, "How'd it happen?"

I told her everything that had happened over the summer and we got into a whole conversation about the past summer that got me really wishing it was still summer. We were right in the middle of hearing about Brooke's cruise ship vacation when Evan rushed over.

"Hey, Sunny," He said sitting down next to me as Brooke gave an involuntary squeal

"Hi," I said, "Brooke- Evan, Evan- Brooke" I introduced them.

"Hi," said Evan and Brooke blushed and pushed her blond hair out of her face.

"Hi, Evan," she said

"I wonder how much longer lunch is," Ellie said

But before anyone could answer, the bell rang and we said good-bye to Brooke and headed to class.

After Lunch was Mr. Ivan's math class, which seemed like it was going to be an annoying bore, Ellie was in that class too, and finally to Home Ec. with Mrs. Rhubarb, the same teacher I had the previous year. And when the bell finally rang, it seemed like it had been several light-years, instead of just six hours. I walked lugging my almost empty backpack that felt like it was filled with heavy weights as well as the weight of what was going to be a long, hard year. But something deep inside me told me that things were going to be different- maybe better- than last year.

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