AN: Alright, this is my new story. The chapters are going to be pretty long, because I'm trying to fit as much as possible—but not too much—in here. I want you all to get the gist of what's going on between four characters each update. By the way, my updating schedule might be a little off because I'm back in school. That's why I haven't updated for the past two days; I was busy trying to get back in track for school. So…yeah.

Before people start to criticize me, I know what I'm doing. I know I have older characters mixed in here with newer characters. Remember, this is fan fiction and I can write what I want. It may seem a little…strange to have Darcy and Peter or whoever in the same school with Katie and Jake and whoever although she's been gone long before they got here. I just need you all to bear with me and try to look past that.

If you feel that I haven't covered everything in this chapter, feel free to ask me any questions in my PM or in a review. I will make sure to respond to them when I get the chance. School is here for me and my updates might start to get a bit hectic. I'm a senior this year, so this is very important for me. I want to work hard and make myself—and my family proud—when I walk across the stage. Okay, I'm rambling, I know; sorry, I'll shut up now.

Review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Stephen Stohn owns Degrassi.

—Welcome to Degrassi Academy—

(Clare)

"Darcy, take good care of my baby girl," my mom cries as she pulls me into a tight hug.

I wrap my arms tightly around her and sigh sadly. My older sister, Darcy, and I are getting ready to board the train and head off to Toronto to go to school. We won't be that far away from mom, but it's a pretty good distance.

I will be attending Degrassi Academy with my big sister. I'm a little nervous about starting over and going to a new school, but I hear this is the best high school to be at. They say that just about everyone who goes here graduates and succeeds. I want to be one of those people who succeed. From the grades I got in catholic school, I know I will succeed.

"I'll take care of her mom, but we really have to get going," Darcy says while removing mom's hands off me.

"Please, call me when you get there."

"We will, mom," Darcy says impatiently as she picks up her luggage. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Darce—I love the both of you," she whimpers.

"I love you, too, mom," I tell her in a soft voice.

Darcy takes my hand and we walk to the train. Before I climb in, I take one last look at my mother. She's holding her hand to her mouth and tears are streaming down her face. I blow her kiss and wave goodbye to her before walking inside of the train. I find Darcy and go take a seat next to her. She informs me about Degrassi, telling me what to expect and who to stay away from. I nod my head, taking in all of the information she was giving me. Before falling asleep, I remember her telling me to beware of Holly J. Sinclair—whoever that is.

I'm awakened by Darcy nudging me. My eyes pops open and I rub my eyes sleepily.

"Come on, kid," Darcy says. "We have to catch a cab to Degrassi."

I stand up and stretch before grabbing my luggage. Darcy follows behind me and we step off the train. After ten minutes of trying to get a cab, we finally get one. When we arrive at our destination, my mouth drops. This place is freakin' huge! It's about six floors, but the place is wide and super long! Around the school are different sorts of flowers, all in different colors. It makes the school stand out more. The bricks are reddish-brown and there's a few, red wood double doors. There are tables on the outside of the school were students can sit and learn or just eat lunch. There's a fountain standing in the middle and on the front of the school is a statue of a man. He's standing tall and wearing a scowl on his face. I'm assuming he is the founder of the school.

Darcy pays the cab driver and we exit the cab. I look around, gawking at the school. There are a handful of students lingering on the outside of the school. They're talking and laughing. I stop as I look around, still gawking at the school.

"Come on, Clare!" Darcy snaps impatiently.

I snap out of my trance and run to catch up with Darcy. I'm struggling as my heavy luggage drags on the concrete behind me. When I catch up to Darcy, I realize we're in the school.

"Wow," I say softly as I look around. There are about over four hundred kids here! Everyone is talking, chatting, hugging, and even kissing! This school is way bigger than the catholic school I just graduated from. This school is four—maybe five—schools in one!

"I'm going to lead you to the front desk where you need to check in, and then you're on your own, kid," Darce tells me.

"Okay," I tell her as I trail behind her. Once we get to the front desk where I can check in, Darcy ruffles my hair and leaves me alone. I stand in line, waiting to get registered and go to my dorm.

The line goes by pretty quickly and before I know it, I'm next in line.

"Clare Edwards," I state to the man sitting behind the table.

He flips through his papers and smiles when he finds my name. He hands me papers with my schedule and stuff on it.

"Here you go, Clare Edwards. Your dorm is on the third floor; here's your key," he says as he hands me my key. "Welcome to Degrassi."

"Thank you," I say with a grin.

I put my key in my pocket and drag my luggage on the floor behind me. I walk towards the elevator and push the up button. Once the elevator doors open, I step inside. As the doors get ready to close, I see a girl running, crying for me to hold the elevator. I hold the doors open with my foot, waiting patiently for her to struggle with her luggage to the elevator. She basically collapses inside and exhales a breath. She turns to me and I notice she looks just as young as me, but dresses like Darcy. She has brown skin and jet black hair with bangs. She's wearing a pink, mini skirt with a white top. I look down at her feet, noticing that she's wearing heels. If my mom seen me in that she'd have a heart attack and then she might kill me.

"Thank you for holding the elevator for me," she says as she holds on to her luggage. "I'm Alli."

"Clare," I say with a firm nod. "Are you new here?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah," I answer and we fall into an uncomfortable silence.

"What's your room number?" she asks.

"Um," I look at my paper, searching for my room number. "103."

Alli squeals and I raise my eyebrow questionably at her. She tells me that we're roomies. I smile, happy that I've made my first friend on my first day here. The doors to the elevator open and we step out. We shove through the crowd of the talkative girls to find our room. When I spot it, I sigh in relief. I sit my bags aside as I get my key out of my pocket to unlock our room. I let Alli step inside first before I step in. I close the door behind me and stare at the room. It is painted pink with a hot pink trimming. The carpet is a soft crème color. There are two bunk beds and a single bed. The bunk beds are on the left side of the room and the single is on the right hand side. Standing in the far left corner of the room are three pink dressers—they're big enough for us to put our belongings in there, but we have a huge closet to make up for the stuff we cannot fit in there. On the farthest right hand corner is a computer stand with a computer decorated on top.

As I look around the room some more, I realize we have an adjoined bathroom, also. It has a nice size tub on one side and on the other is a shower. I smile, already enjoying my stay here.

"So, why do you dress like you're wearing a uniform? You know we don't have to wear uniforms, right?" Alli asks.

"I know, but I like it and my mom kind of makes me wear it. She doesn't want me being like my sister, Darcy."

Alli nods her head understandingly. We fall into a comfortable silence which only lasts for about a few seconds.

"I wonder who our third roommate is," Alli says.

Right on cue, the door opens to our room. A scrawny girl with blonde hair and glasses struggles while entering the room. In one hand are two luggages and in the other is another luggage and a huge case with something in it. Alli and I decide to go over to help her. She smiles at us and lets us take her luggage. Once we get inside, she closes the door behind her and thanks us.

"No problem," I say as I wave it off. "I'm Clare and this is Alli."

"I'm Maya," she says shyly.

"Nice to meet you," I say as I shake her hand. Alli does the same.

"Are you both freshmen or are you sophomores?"

"I'm a freshman," Alli says.

"Me too," I add.

"Great," Maya says as she exhales a sigh of relief.

The three of us talk more, getting to know each other a little better. As we decorate our room, we learn a lot about each other. I tell the girls about my mom raising my big sis and me alone since my father walked out on us. I tell them about how I turned to writing since it was the only thing that made me feel better and escape all of the negativity. Maya goes next, telling us about how she loves to play the violin. She tells us about her grandfather teaching her how to play before he passed away. Alli goes next, telling us about how she's a science geek. Maya and I are shocked at that fact, but you can't judge a book by its cover. The next thing doesn't shock us as Alli tells us about her being boy crazy.

About an hour and a half later, we choose our beds and have our room decorated neatly. I chose the bottom bunk while Alli chose the top and we gave Maya the single bed. We post posters and pictures of the people we knew back home on our walls, also, making our dorm more roomy and comfortable.

"I wonder where the boys sleep," Maya comments as her cheeks turn a shade of red.

"At the end of the hall are these wooden, double doors. The security guards keep the doors locked at night. On the other side of here are their rooms," Alli answers as she files her nails.

"And how would you know that?" I ask, earning a laugh from the two girls.

"My older brother goes here; he told me about how he used to sneak to see his girlfriend and stay there until the doors opened again in the morning. He almost got caught once, but he says it's unlikely to get caught at night. The security guards are never doing their jobs at night."

I laugh at how excited Alli is at that. She talks about how she can't wait until tomorrow where we get to go to class and meet all of the hot boys. Maya and I blush at this, being obvious that neither of us has gone far with a boy. I don't know about Maya, but I never even kissed a boy before. It wasn't that I didn't want to, because I'm extremely attracted to boys, but none of them has taken a liking in me.

I'm a scrawny girl—a little bigger than Maya, though—with long, auburn hair and oval framed glasses. I keep my hair in a pony-tail, mostly because I don't want to deal with it. I dress...conservative. I wear buttons up with cashmere sweaters and skirts that go to my knees. I also wear knee-highs and baby doll shoes. It's the only way my mom will allow me to dress, not that I mind though. The clothes are pretty comfortable.

We talk a bit more, before there's a knock on our door. Alli goes to answer it and a lady with a pixie cut, blonde hair pops her head into the room. Alli steps aside and let her in. She's wearing a white, button up shirt with a black, pencil skirt. She has on a pair of black pumps and to top it off she's wearing glasses to give her the conservative look.

"Hello, ladies, I'm stopping by every room in this section to introduce myself. My name is Gretchen Hale and I am your dorm adviser for this year. If you need anything, my room is at the very end of this hall, on the left. It shouldn't be hard to miss since it says 'Dorm Adviser' on there. Do you have any questions at the moment?"

Maya shyly raises her hand. Gretchen smiles and walks into the room.

"Yes, dear?"

"Will there be a meeting where we get to meet everyone and get to know the school better?"

"Actually, yes, Mr. Simpson has arranged for everyone to meet in the main hall in an hour. You will all get to know each other and get to know a bit more about this school. There will be snacks, refreshments, and music there so you all will be comfortable. Any more questions?"

"I have one," Alli says.

"Yes?"

"When will we know when it's breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"

"Okay, there's a paper that was giving to you at the front desk. It has the entire schedule on there and on your schedule it'll tell you what time you'll have lunch, because everyone's lunch is sort of different. Is that it?"

We nod our head, because she has answered pretty much all we needed to know.

"Great!" she exclaims. "I will see you all at the get together. Until then, get relaxed and get to know each other a bit better."

Gretchen smiles and makes her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. I like this school already!

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(Eli)

I toss my luggages on the single bed, claiming this one as mine since I'm the first one in the room. I look around the room, noticing how it's painted a dark blue with soft, gray carpet. They have definitely changed the colors of the boy's room, again. Last year it was a lighter blue; this one is much better.

I take off my shoes and push my bags on the floor. I hop on the bed and put my arms behind my head, feeling my body starting to relax.

This is my second year at Degrassi Academy and I'm a sophomore. Last year was a little hectic since I had to deal with a lot of bullies—one particularly being Fitz. Hopefully I won't have him as my roommate this year.

The door to the room opens and my heart starts to beat frantically. I close my eyes, hoping that Fitz isn't my roommate. When I hear a soft voice calling out, my eyes pop open as I look at the guy standing there with his bags in his hand. His brown hair is swept over his eyes and he has a red beanie on top of it. He's wearing a baggy Dead Hand shirt with baggy pants and white sneakers. With his head, he sweeps his hair away from his eyes and clears his throat.

"I'm Adam," he introduces. "I'm guessing we're roommates."

"I'm Eli," I say. "You like Dead Hand?"

Adam grins and kicks the door shut. He hauls his bags farther into the room and sits them near the closet. He sits on the bottom bunk and starts to talk to me about how Dead Hand is his favorite band.

"Paisley Jacket is the best song ever," he grins.

"Yeah, no kidding," I tell him grinning just as wide as him. "I've been to their concert once—I had front row seats. It was pretty awesome."

"Dude, lucky," Adam gasps. "My mom wouldn't dare let me go to a Dead Hand concert. She says they're too dangerous for someone like me."

"Someone like you?" I question.

"Y—Yeah," he stammers. "Someone young and doesn't have a good sense of direction."

"Ah, I'm assuming you're in the 9th grade?"

"Yeah; aren't you?"

"Nope, I'm in the 10th."

"So, you went here last year? How was it?"

"It was pretty…intense," I say with a sigh. "I was new here and always got picked on, because of the way I looked and dressed. I'm into the dark colors—as you can see. I love heavy metal and I like to stay myself or surround myself with people who get me. So far, no one has. It was pretty lonely last year. This one bully, Fitz, made sure to make my year a living hell. He would hit me, call me names, and steal from me since we were roommates also. I couldn't tattle on him, because I knew someone would find out and tell him. I didn't want to get bullied even more than I already have."

"That sounds pretty sucky," Adam comments as he scrunches his face up. "I sure hope he isn't our roommate this year."

"Yeah," I say with a sigh, "me too."

Adam and I talk a bit more. He seems pretty cool. We actually get along very well and it's the first time I've made a good friend in a while. The only friend I had before I entered high school was a girl name Julia. She was my best friend—my only friend. She understood me and together we were the loners. Her family had moved three years before I entered high school. It was a sudden move and I never understood why the reason they moved. Later that year I found out Julia had cancer—leukemia to be exact. Her family moved, because Julia didn't want me to see her dying. Before she died, she had her family send me a letter. When I finally received it, I was angry and heartbroken. My only friend had died and there was no way I was going to get her back.

Thinking about that tragic memory sends a chill down my spine. Sighing, I decide to brush those thoughts out of my mind.

"So," Adam says as he adjusts his beanie, "tell me a bit about this school. How is it, besides the fact of you getting bullied last year?"

"The school isn't that bad, actually. We have a lot of dances and there are a lot of activities."

"Are we allowed to go off-campus?"

"Technically, we're not, but a lot of us do anyway. The only places we all go are to the Ravine or sometimes Above the Dot."

Adam furrows his eyebrows and cocks his head. He obviously has no clue what those places are.

"The Ravine is a place where you want to get high, get drunk, or just be free. It's a place of relaxation. Above the Dot is a teen club where we all go if we want to party."

"What happens if you get caught sneaking off-campus?"

"Nothing, really. Simpson will talk to you and lecture you about following the rules. He wouldn't dare expel anyone, because he wants to make the school seem like it's the best damn school ever. He knows about his students sneaking off-campus; hell, sometimes he lets us."

"Wow!" Adam gasps. "This school sounds amazing already. Where are the girl's dorms?"

"There are wooden double doors at the end of the hall; on the other side of those doors are the girl's dorms. The best time to sneak to their dorm is at night, a few minutes before the doors close."

"Why is that?"

"Because, that's when the security guards change shifts. The midnight ones come and they don't really care much, as long as they're getting paid. If you get caught, they'll laugh and send you on your way."

"Has anyone ever gotten pregnant at this school?"

I chuckle at the eagerness Adam has. I feel somewhat important as he asks me questions. His eyes sparkle and get a hint of amusement in it when I answer his questions.

"Once; her name was Mia Jones. Last year, Simpson found out through the gossip, about her getting pregnant by her boyfriend Lucas Valieri. He had to call her parents to come get here, because she wasn't allowed to stay here while she was pregnant."

Adam opens his mouth to speak, but the door to our dorm opens. Anxiety fills the room as Adam and I hope silently that it isn't Fitz as our third roommate. When the guy is revealed, we sigh in relief. A guy with brown skin and dark brown hair comes into the room. He has a lot of bags behind him. Adam and I get off our beds to go help him. When we have every bag in the room and the door is shut, we decide to make introductions.

"I'm Eli," I tell him.

"I'm Adam," Adam says beside me.

"Hey, what's up? I'm Mike, but I prefer if everyone called me Dallas."

"Okay, Dallas, are you a freshmen or sophomore?" I ask.

"How do you know that I'm not a junior or senior?" he retorts.

"There aren't any juniors or seniors on this floor. The third floor is for the freshmen and sophomores. The fourth floor is for the juniors and seniors."

"Well, that just made me feel dumb," he chuckles. "I'm a sophomore. What about you two?"

"I'm a freshman and he's a sophomore," Adam answers for me.

"I've never seen you around here before," I tell Dallas. "You new here?"

"Yeah; my parents just heard about this school and decided to send me here."

I nod and we fall into a comfortable silence. There's a knock at our door and Adam decides to answer it. Our dorm adviser, Steve, makes his way into the room. As usual, he has a scowl on his face—almost as if this is the worse job he has ever had.

"Boys, my name is Steve and I'm your dorm adviser for the year," he says dryly. "If you have any questions, please, keep them to yourself. All of your questions will be answered at the gathering which begins in an hour. If you need anything from me—please, try not to—my room is down the hall. It's not hard to miss, because 'Dorm Adviser' is in bold. If you've walked through the double doors then you've gone too far. See you in an hour at the gathering."

He walks out of the room and closes the door behind me. I chuckle, seeing that Steve is still the same, boring dorm adviser from last year. From what I hear, he has always been this way. He has no enthusiasm and he doesn't care about what we do or say. He's part of the reason every guy on this floor basically gets a chance to do what they want.

"Has he always been such a drag?" Adam questions.

"Yeah; he's gotten a bit better since last year. At least he told us where his room was located and he let us know when the gathering begins."

"Yeah, because that's such a big change," Dallas says sarcastically. "What's the gathering about?"

"It's where you get a chance to mingle with all of the students. You become familiar with the people you will be going to school with for the next year and Simpson—the principle—will go over a few minor rules that he expects you to follow. He'll tell you stuff like how you're lucky to be accepted into this school and other crap like that," I explain.

"When will we know when it's been an hour?" Adam asks.

"There will be an announcement. Simpson will let everyone know to come to the main hall. The gathering usually lasts for a couple of hours. The first hour is Simpson talking to us and the second is for us to mingle."

"We get to mingle will all grades?" Dallas questions as he gets a grin on his face.

"Yup; from 9th to 12th," I answer.

"Cool," he says as he rubs his hands together. "I can't wait to see all the hot women of Degrassi."

"There are a lot of them, too, but beware of a few of them."

"Like who?" Adam asks.

"Like Holly J. Sinclair, Anya McPherson, and Fiona Coyne. They're all juniors and very taken, well, Fiona isn't, but she's un-dateable. Besides, they're very snobby, too. They won't date anyone who they think are below them."

"Well, we are technically below them," Adam says in a snide tone.

I chuckle and shake my head. "You know what I mean."

Adam laughs and we all talk more. We get to know a bit more about Dallas. He tells us about his passion for sports and women. He says at his old school he was the ladies men. Adam and I laugh as he tells us about his hookups. I have had a few of my own being here, but most of the girls wouldn't mess with me because of Fitz. Adam tells us about how he loves to rock on the guitar and at home he writes a few songs. He tells us it's what makes the ladies melt. I tell them about my passion for writing and directing plays. I tell them about last year when I got the chance to write a school play.

It was the most exciting time of my life! Simpson read over my play and eagerly agreed. He said it was brilliant, but it needed a little help. He called in Declan Coyne, a junior at the time, and told him to help me direct the play. With two brilliant minds working together, the play was one of the best plays ever written here. Well, that's what Simpson told us. He said he hasn't seen a standing ovation like that since he was going here.

This year, I'm hoping to top it. Besides tending to his girlfriend, I know Declan will be a bit busy trying to prepare for graduation, prom, and other things. I just hope he won't be too busy to help me a little with the play.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please make your way to the main hall. Unless you are on the fifth floor, the elevators are not allowed to be used. If anyone isn't at this gathering, you will have severe punishment. Remember, I will know."

"I guess we better get going," Adam says as he walks towards the door.

"What happens if we don't go?" Dallas asks.

"That, I don't know. I guess we'll have to try to ask the upperclassmen."

We walk out of room and into the chaotic hallway. Boys are swarming around, shoving their ways through the hall. My body stiffens when I see Fitz making his way towards me. I try to turn and run, but he catches me.

"Eli, I'm here to make amends. I know I was…intimidating last year and I'm willing to start fresh. Maybe you and I can be friends or something?"

I stare at him blankly. The guy who made my life a living hell last year is trying to make amends with me! I guess it would be nice to start fresh and put all of this drama behind. Sighing, I hold my hand out. Fitz grins and we shake hands. He pats me on the back and we join with Adam and Dallas. As we walk down the steps, we meet up with Fitz's friends Bianca and Owen. They, too, apologize about the way they acted last year.

I'm guessing this year is going to start off pretty well.

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(Maya)

We walk down the steps and into the main hall, which is huge by the way! All of the students can fit in here! There are chairs lined up for us to all take a seat at. Clare, Alli, and I pry through the crowd and find empty seats next to a couple of boys. Alli immediately starts to talk to them, causing for Clare and I to laugh. I guess it's true; Alli is boy crazy!

It took a while for everyone to come into the main hall and take their seats. Once everyone is seated, a guy with a 6'2 frame walks into the main hall. He walks on the stage. He taps the microphone and everyone quiets down.

"Good afternoon students of Degrassi. For those of you who don't know me, I am Principle Simpson. You will be spending the next school year here with me, your teachers, and your peers. I have a gathering every year so you all can get to know each other and myself."

Simpson goes on about the school. He tells us about activities and sports that go on here. He also tells us about the teachers and the classes they teach. He lays down the rules he's giving us and tells us about how he expects us to follow them. Afterwards, he tells us to exit orderly and go to the gym.

Everyone stands up, chattering at once. Alli leaves us, catching up with the boys she was talking to.

"She's very eager to talk to boys," Clare comments.

"Yeah," I say as we walk slowly together.

"But, I guess I can see why. Her parents are so strict."

"She's lucky to even have strict parents," I say with a sigh.

"Well, at least you're away from you parents for a while."

"Yeah, and I'll barely get to see my sister while I'm here."

"Oh right! You're sister does go here. What grade is she in, again?"

"11th."

"My sister is in the 12th. Maybe they're friends or something. Whoa, this gym is huge!"

Clare and I stop in our tracks as we stare at the huge gymnasium. It's big and wide; it's the size of three and a half gyms put together. Most of the students are in here and they're dancing to music, drinking, eating, or talking. I get bumped in to and my glasses go flying off my face. I reach down to get them when I see a hand grabbing them for me. I mumble thanks as I put my glasses on. Crouching in front of me is a boy with shaggy, brown hair and he's wearing a beanie on the top. I stare into his eyes, noticing how they're like an ocean blue. Around his nose are a few specs of freckles.

He stands up and smiles at me. From the corner of my eye, I see Clare smiling before walking away.

"I'm Maya," I tell him shyly.

"I'm Adam," he says in the same tone. "Sorry for knocking you down. My idiotic friends were shoving me through the door, but I'm kind of glad they did."

I bite my lip and my cheeks grow hot. Adam grins at me. I start playing in my hair nervously and I look down at my worn Chucks. I awkwardly turn my foot and start to hate the fact Clare left me alone with this boy. I'm so shy around boys that I tend to get very quiet and a little awkward. It's one of the reasons I've never even kissed a guy. Katie used to tease me about it. She would tell me that I'm a kissing virgin and I'll probably be a virgin when I get older too. It did hurt me when my sister would tease me. I thought big sisters were supposed to help their little sisters out and prepare them about growing up.

My sister never did that.

Since Katie gets all of the attention at home, I don't get any. When we were younger, Katie used to say it's because they only had enough to give to her. When my grandpa was living, I use to always visit him. He would shower me with attention and he made sure Katie knew that I was going to get most of the attention. When he died, no one paid attention to me. They didn't care about how I was grieving; they only cared about Katie.

As I grew older, I began to resent Katie. She still gets all of the attention while my parents leave me in the shadows. I'm glad to be attending Degrassi this year. Not only am I away from my parents, but I hardly get to see Katie since she is a junior.

"Maya, are you okay?" Adam asks, snapping me out of my deep thoughts.

I blink twice and smile, feeling my cheeks heat up, again. "I—I'm fine," I reply shyly. "Just doing a lot of thinking."

"Well, I'm going to go find my friends. Want to come with or…?"

"Actually, I'm going to go find my friend, Clare—or Alli. One of them should be around here somewhere. I—I'll see you around?" I say hopefully.

"Yeah," he says with a goofy grin. "You'll see me around."

I watch him walk away and I sigh. I search through the gym and I find Clare. She's talking to a boy and they seem to be very engrossed in their conversation. I walk over towards them, listening to their conversation better. They're talking about science and comparing their I.Q. scores to each other. When Clare spots me, she has relieved written all over her face. She pulls me towards her and wraps her arm around my shoulder.

"Connor, this is my friend, Maya. Maya, this is Connor. He's a freshmen like us," Clare introduces.

"Nice to meet you," I say.

"Did you know cheese has four different types of bacteriese has four differnt a?"

"Remind me not to eat cheese, then," I laugh awkwardly.

"Connor, Maya and I are going to find our friend. We'll catch you later," Clare tells him as she links her arm with mine and drags me away from Connor.

Once we're away from him Clare says, "He's so annoying. Who was the guy you were talking to? He was cute."

I blush. "His name is Adam."

Clare nods her head and we search for Alli. When we spot her we see she's standing in front of a cute boy with spiky hair. When we get closer I see Adam. Clare grips my arm a bit tight and flashes me a smile. I blush and we giggle in unison.

"Guys, there you are," Alli says with a squeal. "This is Drew and this is his brother—"

"Told you you'll see me around," Adam grins and I blush, again.

"Y—Yeah, I know."

"You two met already?" Alli asks.

"Yeah, I accidently bumped into her."

"Okay, well, Drew, this is my roommates Clare and Maya," she introduces.

"Nice to meet you, Clare and Maya," Drew says.

"Nice to meet you, too," we say in unison.

We all begin to talk, getting to know each other more. Drew and Alli have a lot in common—they're both full of their selves. Adam and I have a lot in common too—especially our passion for music. He loves playing the guitar and drums. I told him that we should collaborate sometime. I swear I saw his cheeks turn red.

Adam and Drew's friends come over towards us. We meet Bianca, Owen, Fitz, Eli, Dallas, and K.C. Clare is talking to Eli—well, they're bickering. She huffs in frustration and storms away from him. The group laughs at him and he just mumbles something about us girls being weird before walking off.

"So, are you girls freshmen?" Bianca asks us.

"Yeah," Alli answers for us.

Bianca flips her hair over her shoulders. "How cute," she grins. "I remember when I was a freshman."

"That was just last year, Bianca," Eli says, causing the rest of us to laugh.

We all talk more. Before I know it, I'm getting pulled away from the group by Adam. He's facing me and I smile, looking at the little freckles sprinkled across his face and around his nose.

"S—So, I was wondering if you wanted to, um, get to know each other better—alone?"

Wow, I never knew a boy could take an interest in me. I'm little Maya Matlin; I'm skinny and my body hasn't even developed yet. Instead of looking 14, I look like I'm 10. I wear glasses to hide my blue eyes that my grandpa used to coo over. No boy has ever liked me before. They only talked to me when they found out Katie was my sister. Even then they hardly talked to me. They just wanted to know what it was like to have such an "amazing, soccer prodigy" as my sister.

So, this was new to me. This was very new. I'm not used to a guy blushing when I say something to them or asking me out. How the heck does this crap work out?

"I—um, sure," I tell him.

Adam grins and says cool. An announcement echoes through the gym, muting the music and all of the chattering. Simpson tells us that the social time is over and that it's time to go back to our dorms. He says anyone who is caught down here in the next thirty minutes is getting detention for the week. We all scurry out of the gym and go to our dorms.

When I get there I see Clare is there, but not alone. She's standing outside of our dorm talking to Eli. I see her face cheeks are red, but not from blushing. She's yelling at Eli, waving her hands around. I clear my throat, seeing as the two of them aren't paying attention to me.

"Guys, trying to get in the dorm here," I say, but they still don't hear me. "Hello!" I try again.

"You're such a stuck up little brat!" Eli yells at Clare.

"I'm a stuck up brat? You almost made me fall down the steps!"

"I said it was an accident! I apologized. You're not making it any easy to apologize."

"Why should I? I could have been hurt!"

"Well, you're not. Instead you're arguing with me!"

"Still trying to get in the dorm," I say softly.

I didn't notice that Alli had come up behind me. She startled me when she giggled. I jumped and she laughed.

"What's up with those two?" she questioned.

"I have no idea," I shrug. "They're too busy yelling at each other that they haven't even noticed me."

"Break it up love birds," Alli yells, shoving them apart.

She ignores their protests and opens the door. I slip between them, thanking Alli and go inside of the room. Alli tells Eli goodbye before pulling Clare into the room and closing the door behind them.

"He's so…ugh!" Clare fumes.

"We get it, Clare, you're in love with Eli," Alli says.

"I am not," she huffs while folding her arms across her chest. She mumbles that she's going to shower, leaving Alli and I to ourselves.

"So," Alli says as she climbs on to her bunk. "What's up with you and Adam?"

"H—He asked me to hang out sometime," I blush.

"Ooh!" Alli squeals. "Just think if you marry Adam and I marry Drew we will be sisters!"

I laugh at her, knowing that that's not going to happen. Alli goes on about Drew. She talks about how hot he is and how she can't wait for them to be together. She gloats about him being a sophomore, also. She says he's going to try out for football. She squeals, saying that she can try out for cheerleading and then she can cheer for him. I nod at everything she says and smile when needed. I'm nowhere near interested in this conversation.

Thankfully, the bathroom door opens and Clare emerges from the shower. Her long hair is hanging loosely over her shoulders.

"Oh my gosh Clare," Alli squeals, "you should totally wear your hair down."

"No," Clare says while putting her hair into a ponytail. "I hate dealing with it. I can't wait until I'm old enough to chop it all off."

"Why would you want to cut off your pretty hair?" Alli asks.

"Yeah, you look nice with long hair," I tell her. "I wish my hair were that long."

"I hate it. I keep it in a ponytail, because it keeps getting in my way," she huffs.

"So, what was up with you and Eli?" Alli asks. "You two were going at it."

"He thinks I'm a prude and a stuck up brat, just because I yelled at him for making me almost fall down the steps."

"Well, I can understand why he thinks you're stuck up," Alli chimes in. "Do you see how you're dressed? You dress like you don't want anyone looking your way."

Clare face falls. She mumbles something under her breath and walks out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Alli turns her gaze to me and see that I'm giving her a disapproving look.

"What? It's the truth!" she says defensively.

"You shouldn't have said that," I tell her and run out of the dorm to find Clare.

.

.

.

(Adam)

"So, you and that Maya girl," Dallas says to me while changing out of his clothes and into his night clothes. "She's…adorable."

"She's beautiful," I gush. "I asked her out."

"What did she say?" Eli asked.

"She said yes."

"First day here and you already have a date," Dallas chuckles.

I nod my head. "So, Eli, what's up with you and Clare?"

Eli groans making Dallas and I chuckle. "Don't even mention her. She's so annoying and stuck up. I hate a girl who has their nose so freaking turned up. They think they're better than everyone."

"She seemed pretty cool to me," I shrug.

Eli goes on about how they been at each other's throat since they first laid eyes on each other. He talks about how she snapped on him because he scared her and almost made her fall down the steps. He goes on about how she wouldn't accept his apology no matter how much he apologized. Once he finished, a smirk spread across his face.

"She totally wants me," he comments.

I realize that Eli can be very confusing.

.

.

.

"What classes do you have?" Dallas asks me.

It's 5:30 in the morning. We all woke up early, deciding that we need to look over our schedule and get an early start for school today. I'm a bit nervous, because I'm a freshman and I'm new to this school. I have no idea how to adapt quickly to these huge surrounding.

"I have English, Algebra 1, French 1, Lunch, Study Hall, Music, History, and Biology. What about you?"

"I have Physical Education, Spanish 2, Algebra 2, Chemistry, Lunch, History, and Study Hall. How about you Eli?" Dallas yells loud enough for Eli to hear.

Eli comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his body. He goes over to his bed and grabs his clothes. "AP English, AP Chemistry, Writing, Trigonometry, Lunch, Study Hall, and History."

"Jeez, you must be really smart," I comment.

"Well, when you have parents like mine you kind of have to."

I nod my head and grab my clothes, going into the bathroom. I take a quick shower and get dressed in a plain, black t-shirt with a pair of jeans. I throw my flannel shirt on top of my t-shirt and emerge from the bathroom. I look at the time on the clock; it's only 6:15. Classes don't start until 7, but I want to look around and make sure I know where all my classes are.

"Are you sure we're allowed to wander around early?" I ask Eli.

"Yeah, I done it last year and nothing happened. Relax, Adam."

Dallas and I follow Eli out of our dorm and to the elevator. We pile in and Eli presses for the fifth floor. We watch as the elevator changes, letting us what floor we're on. Once it stops at the fifth floor, we step into the empty halls. We take a look around.

"You guys have your schedule, right?" Eli asks. "Your schedule should tell you what floor your classes are on."

"Mine are all on this floor, except lunch and study hall," I say.

"Mine are on this floor and on the sixth floor," Dallas sighs.

"Yeah, mine too," Eli groans.

We all wander around some more before students start to pile in the halls. Eli and Dallas leave, telling to have a good day as a freshman. I laugh at them and shove them playfully. I head to my first class, which is English.

I'm the first one in there. I greet the teacher with a warm smile and head to the back of the classroom. I look around seeing more people walk into the classroom. These are all familiar faces, but I don't know any of their names. The next person to walk into the classroom is a name I know. When she catches my gaze she blushes at me and gives me a shy wave. I wave back and motion for her to sit next to me. She looks reluctant at first, but she walks to the back of the room and take a seat next to me.

"Hey," she says so soft that I can barely hear her.

"Hey, Maya," I grin. "I see you have first period with me. What's the rest of your schedule?"

Maya hands me her schedule. We have every class together except Algebra and Biology. It's like the two of us are meant to be together.

"You have all the same classes as me," I tell her. "Well, except Algebra and Biology."

She smiles and takes her schedule back. "Great! I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other."

"Yeah."

The bell rings and the teacher close the door. He walks into the classroom, giving us a warm, welcoming smile. He sits on the edge of his desk and clasps his hands together, resting them on his lap.

"Good morning, class, I am Mr. Clarks and I will be your ELA teacher for this school year."

He goes on with his boring introduction, telling us where he grew up and what he likes to do for fun. He tells us about his grading system and how he's very lenient towards students who try. He tells us about how long he's been teaching and how he loves teaching, especially at this school. He tells about how this school never ceases to amaze him. Once he's done, he has us go around the room and introduce our self and tell one thing that stands out about us.

I hardly listen until its Maya's turn. She stands up and gives the class a shy look. I watch as her cheeks turn red from all the eyes that are on hers.

"H—Hi, I'm Maya Matlin," she says.

"Tell us one thing about you, Ms. Matlin, that stands out about you?"

"Well, um, I guess my obsession for playing the cello. I'm very good at it—some say I was blessed with playing."

"You know, my wife knows how to play the cello really well. She's fantastic at it. She records herself playing the cello sometime and even has made CDs. If you want, I can have her come up here, take a look and maybe, record you."

Maya smiles at this—it's a huge smile. I feel my hearts do flips. I'm already head over heels for this girl and I've known her for a day.

"That would be great! Thank you, Mr. Clarks."

He nods his head and Maya takes a seat. She looks over at me and I smile. Mr. Clarks' eyes land on mine. He gestures to me and I stand up. I clear my throat and shift uncomfortably. All eyes are on me, now, and they're waiting on me to speak.

"I'm Adam Torres and I guess one thing that stands out about me is my passion for video games. I'm a gamer—a true one at that. I love playing the guitar, but video games are where my passion belongs."

Mr. Clarks smiles. "So, do you want to go to school and do something with video games?"

"I want to be a video game designer," I tell him proudly.

"That's good."

I nod and take my seat. Maya is smiling at me the entire time. I turn to her and she blushes while quickly turning away.

Maya Matlin, you have such a wonderful effect on me.