Pixie Hollow High: New Year Part 1
There was an up and a down to everything in life. That was what Tinker Bell's uncle would say to her and her sister Periwinkle a lot when they were younger. The upside to starting a new year at Pixie Hollow High, one of the best schools in all the Province of Neverland, was the opportunity to learn and grow as individuals and to make new friends. The downside was the ever so awkward process of meeting those new friends, adapting to the schedules of the classes that taught them, and finding ways to grow as individuals.
The facility was not old by any standard except the standard of time. It was established several decades ago and had a rich past, but the facility was always incorporating new technology and equipment to its campus. The architecture was elegant and fashioned and quite elaborate, but it was also very much efficient and organized. Many buildings had dome roofs and archways were constructed to feel natural and proper. The monument of the school, a large tree with well-conditioned grass, a small pond, and many types of flowers and shrubbery decorating it, stood in the very center of the school. It certainly was a beautiful campus.
The mascot of Pixie Hollow High was the Fighting Fairy. Despite being known for academic programs, the athletic department was also somewhat well known, and in its time, the school had captured several league titles. The biggest rival of Pixie Hollow High, the "school down the street" as it were, was Clearwater Cove High. The Clearwater Pirates stood up the Fighting Fairies well, and while the Fairies were usually outmatched in sports, the academic edge was almost always theirs. They could be annoying, crude, and sometimes unusually spirited, but the Pirates served to keep the flame of "friendly competition and rivalry" going at Pixie Hollow High.
Going on initial impressions, both Tink and Peri were glad to have the opportunity to attend the school, but neither was truly anxious to get out the door on the first day of school.
As they walked through the gates they were greeted by a girl with a bag at her side and a binder tightly held in her arms. She smiled warmly at their coming and shook hands with both upon seeing the girls.
"Hello, you must be Tinker Bell," She welcomed the girl with blonde hair and a green dress as she took the first few steps in, then promptly doing the same for the girl with white hair and a blue blouse with matching skinny jeans, "and you must be Periwinkle. Nice to meet you both, I'm Iridessa."
"Nice to meet you," Tink greeted and smiled somewhat awkwardly while Peri followed her sister's lead.
"Come on, Principle Clarion asked me to give you a quick tour and get you two your schedules. I hope you're both ready to work, given that classes here started two days ago," Iridessa explained as they went through the school, silently noting the polish and pride that the campus shown with.
"We are," Periwinkle replied, doing her best to keep up after taking a small moment to admire the facility, "and we hope things aren't too far in yet."
"Oh don't worry. This school has a big academic reputation, but the first week or so is pretty easy. You two will adapt in no time," The girl in a pleasant yellow dress assured them.
"So, level with me, how did you know which of us was which?" Tink finally broke down and asked, causing Iridessa to laugh a little.
"Principle Clarion wanted me to give you Pixie Hollow High's kindest and brightest welcome, so I did a little research about you two," Iridessa admitted.
"Wow, I didn't know this school took things so far," Periwinkle commented, more to her sister than Iridessa, but the greeter became flustered at the remark anyways.
"Well not anything too deep, I mean, I only looked up your names in the phonebook and checked your Facebook pages a little bit and maybe peeked at your blog Periwinkle…and….ummm…"
The sisters laughed at how red Iridessa's face was turning and Tink went so far as to pat her on the back, assuring her that they didn't take offense to her actions.
By that time, they had arrived at the attendance office and picked up the schedules for the two. The siblings were relieved to find that their classes were almost all the same. Facing down a new school without each other there would have been much tougher, and somewhat remarkably, they hadn't had to do so in elementary school, junior high, or the one summer class they took a couple years back.
After Iridessa told them where to find Principle Clarion or any of the Counselors and informed them about general school and library rules, she guided them to their first class. Along the way she made sure to mention that homeroom classes were an hour before first period and that starting tomorrow the two would be split up upon entering (for Tinker Bell had Woodshop as her homeroom class while Periwinkle was in Biology with Iridessa).
"Okay, this is your first period class, History with Mr. Kerry. I have to get off to my own first period now, but if you guys want, you can come meet me at lunch today. I eat with some friends in front of the School Monument. Bye!" Iridessa bade them farewell and ran off into the distance as the twins looked at each other and breathed deeply before Tink opened the door.
"-And so if you look at the footnote on page 11 you'll see the correct answer is 114. If you got it wrong, don't fret, that was a harder one. Next-" The teacher cut himself off when the majority of the class looked over at the two newcomers.
"Hi, Mr. Kerry, I'm Tinker Bell, one of your new students," Tink greeted.
"And I'm her sister, Periwinkle, your other new student."
"Hello girls, please come forward and let me get things going here," he said, brushing a hand through his red hair and turning towards his desk to grab a pencil off of it, "In the meantime, class, please greet your two newest students, Tinker Bell and Periwinkle."
"Hello Tinker Bell. Hello Periwinkle," came the generic greeting from the classroom. The students seemed to nice enough as a whole, but one or two of the students seemed to really look at them with piercing eyes.
"Now then girls, why don't you two take the seats beside Mr. Terrence back in row five," Mr. Kerry suggested after handing them textbooks and assignments and waved his hand back at a blonde haired boy with a red shirt and nice, dark brown pants who raised his hand and waved at the girls.
Tink took the seat on the left and Peri took the seat to his right. Terrence greeted the two warmly and even had an almost unnoticeable blush come across his face as the two sat down. In front of Terrence, a girl in similarly brown pants and a short sleeve orange top waved to them both as well, quickly introducing herself as Fawn.
"Alright, let's get back on track…"
…
As class went on and the minimal amount of work slated for them was completed, the students were given free time. Terrence and Fawn struck up conversations with Tink and Peri as a few others came forward as well.
"Hello, I'm Zarina, nice to meet you both. Are you freshmen too?" A brunette girl in skin-tight blue jeans a white top introduced herself.
"Yeah, isn't everyone here a freshman?" Tink replied.
"Nope. I happen to be a Sophomore like Fawn and Terrence here," A girl in an outfit much like Fawn's but purple in color interrupted, "I'm Vidia."
"Hello Vidia," The two newcomers greeted simultaneously, causing the proud sophomore to take a step back and raise her eyebrows a little bit.
"Yeah, Pixie Hollow High works a little differently than most schools. Classes are assigned based subject aptitude and to provide a range of students that can give insight to each other as well as variety," Terrence explained and gestured like her was quoting a pamphlet.
"So…they're kind of random?" Peri asked, to which Terrence and Fawn nodded in affirmation.
"Wow, are there are any juniors or seniors in this class?" Tink asked, her reply being Vidia smugly pointing to a small group of large boys huddled up in a corner.
"Those are Fighting Fairy jocks; they're second to almost nobody, socially speaking, and they're all juniors," Fawn elaborated.
At her statement one jock in particular seemed to take notice of the small group and looked over at them, a confidant and strong smile on his face. He continued to stare while the others ignored it for a second, and then finally got his attention back by force.
"So anyways," Vidia spoke up, cutting off anything that could have been said before anyone could say it, "since you two are new here, I'll let you know something. They may be jocks, but I'm a cheerleader, and even though I'm not in their grade, I'm still in their social class, so you better watch yourselves, got it?"
"Oh come on Vidia, don't be like that!" Fawn urged to no avail.
"Hey, they have to learn their places. Until they do something to get noticed or until they find a group to fit in with, they're outcasts, and outcasts are at the very bottom of the social pyramid." With that, Vidia walked off to join a couple other girls, leaving Peri with a hand up to her mouth and Tink with a gaze of ferocity and a face that was a few shades redder than normal.
"Hey, don't let Vidia get you down, she's just one of those mean girls. Besides, I'll be happy to introduce you two to the rest of our group," Terrence consoled with another warm smile.
"Yeah, you two seem really nice. I want to hang out with you," Zarina concurred and sat down at a desk.
"Are you sure we're okay, I mean we are outcasts," Tink mocked Vidia and folded her arms at her chest, turning her head away in disgust.
"You're not outcasts, because you're with us now," Fawn corrected.
"And what are you guys?" Peri asked.
"We're nothing special, just a regular group of friends who know what's important in life," Terrence stated and got a high five from Fawn and a very approving smile and nod from Zarina.
"Sounds great to me," Periwinkle told them with a small giggle and turned to her sister who looked at the group and felt her anger wash away almost instantly.
"I know you're right, I shouldn't let her get under my skin like that. Show me what Pixie Hollow High is all about," she said with a smile after a short moment of indecision.
With that the bell to leave class rang and the students gathered their materials and headed out the door one by one. The day, full of excitement and noteworthy interaction as it was, was just getting started.
…
After the next three classes passed with much the same irritation from Vidia or other like minded students who felt the petty need to present the cold hard facts of social status at Pixie Hollow High, Tink, Peri, Terrence, Fawn, and Zarina headed out to lunch together.
"Awesome, our schedules match completely; how cool is that?" Zarina asked what was in her own mind a redundant question.
"I don't mind," Terrence commented with a smile.
"Well, I have to swing by the library, can you two show them to the others?" Fawn asked as she stopped herself from moving forward, as if taking another step would plunge her off a cliff.
"Sure thing," Zarina replied and took Peri by the hand, walking her towards the their eating spot, leaving Terrence and Tink alone with Fawn for a moment more.
"Hey, wait a sec! This is the third day straight, and the third day of the year, that you've gone off to the library at lunch. What's going on? Is Dewey giving you a book discount or something?" Terrence inquired, to which Fawn smiled and rolled her eyes.
"I just have to get to the library real quick, it's no big deal. I'll be there in a few minutes, okay," she told them and ran off into the sea of students.
With that Terrence and Tink got back on track to meeting up with the others. The groups, or social classes as Vidia referred to them, had already begun to form. The lankier and less physically imposing guys formed the basis of the nerd group along with the shorter girls, many of whom wore glasses. The basis of the Prep group was made of honor students and the ASB class, most of whom met up in various classrooms to partake in the breaking of their bread. The Average Joe type groups like the one Terrence invited Tink and Peri into also formed, and for the most part, were generally a mix of various types of students at different locations.
All during the beginning of lunch several groups of jocks and cheerleaders began to swarm around as well, exerting their imaginary power over the others and stepping into their roles as school leaders and trendsetters.
Before the blonde pair even made it to their spot Vidia had sniffed them out with several other cheerleaders, forming a circle around them through the crowd and cutting them off. Tink bore a look of disbelief, but the expression on Terrence's face was more of annoyance.
"There she is, little miss big shot herself," Vida commented with a mocking smile.
"She really thinks she's our equal?" Another cheerleader asked before breaking down into a half faked laugh.
"Hey, you guys aren't better than we are just because we don't do sports. What kind of messed up world do you live in anyways?" Tink questioned rather vocally, catching the attention of a few groups nearby and quieting the student traffic around them considerably for standing up to Vidia and her companions.
"We live in the same one you do, honey," one of Vidia's cohorts replied, "except we're not as ignorant about it."
"She's right! Why don't you guys just drop the superiority angle already," Terrence suggested.
"You get to make suggestions when you become one of us, but until then, shrimps like you two should stay out of our way and keep your noses to the ground," Vidia told him and received immediate vocal support from the other girls.
"So letting the school keep a big trophy in the office makes you someone? That's ridiculous!" Terrence shot back.
"That's how it works. If you don't prove to everyone else that you are somebody, you don't get to be treated like anybody," One of the girls told him sharply.
"What's the problem here?" Came a familiar voice from behind several of the girls.
"Oh, look," Vidia feigned fear, "another nobody!" At her statement the other cheerleaders again vocally supported her and laughed at Fawn as she came up to them.
"Terrence and Tink are right. You guys aren't better than we are…but you are real jerks," Fawn shot, causing Vidia to walk up to face the girl; many of the spectators were taken back by Fawn's prowess, yet most assumed she would soon be put in her place like several brave but foolish students before her.
"You want to back that up, braid baboon?"
"You couldn't handle me on any day of the week," Fawn told the cheerleader smugly, giving the bystanders a formidable shock at the lack of fear in her voice and expression while confronting Vidia.
Vidia gnashed her teeth together, got even closer in Fawn's face, and stared more intently into her eyes, but after a long moment of hesitation, backed down and walked off furiously with the other cheerleaders, leaving Tink, Terrence, and Fawn alone.
"Wow, that was pretty sweet," Terrence commented as the three headed onwards.
"She deserved it. She's been that stuck up since elementary school, I can't take much more of it," Fawn replied and rolled her eyes upon recalling some of Vidia's earlier antics.
"She's not really just gonna let this go-is she?" Tink asked in genuine curiosity.
"Of course not, but I meant what I said. She couldn't take me any day of the week."
Before anymore of the subject could be brought up Peri called out to the three and they dropped it as they settled down to have lunch in front of the school monument, affectionately referred to as the Pixie Dust Tree.
"Hey, Tink, Peri, looks like you found some of my friends," Iridessa greeted with another big smile.
"Hey, I didn't know you guys knew Iridessa," Tink said as she faced Terrence and Fawn.
"Well, yeah, there are a few other people in our circle. Guys, since it looks like you've already met Periwinkle, this is her sister, Tinker Bell," Terrence introduced.
"Nice to meet you sweaty, I'm Rosetta," A girl in an elegant and stunning pink dress welcomed.
"I'm Silvermist, but you can call me Sil," A girl in a dress that was similarly colored to Periwinkle's outfit greeted and made a friendly and sure clicking noise with mouth.
"I'm Chloe, the only other freshman besides Zarina in the group," a small but physically tough looking girl addressed herself.
"Hello Ms. Bell-" A slim boy with red hair and thick glasses began, but was cut off by a much more plump student with black hair.
"He's Clank; I'm Bobble!"
"He's Clank, and I'm Bobble," the red head corrected, "lovely to make your acquaintance."
"And that's the entire group, welcome to the club," Iridessa said and took another bite of her salad.
"Thanks for inviting us in, I can't wait to get to know you all better," Tink replied and began taking in her own food as the lunch period dragged on around them.
"What kept you guys?" Peri asked, more so to her sibling than to Terrence or Fawn, but before any of them could respond Silvermist and Rosetta looked at each other knowingly, all while the three in question gave subtle glances towards one another.
"Vidia was giving us a hard time again," the blonde freshman girl revealed in casual agitation.
Periwinkle tried to apologize for not being there, but Tink stood up and took several steps away before her sister could reach out to her.
"It just really irritates me that she acts that way without even getting to know us," Tink proclaimed as she began to lose sight of her friends and the environment around her, focusing solely on the rage accrued by Vidia's actions, "and what have we done to her? Nothing. She just seeks us out and-and attacks us-because we're new. Why do some people find the need to put others down like that? It really just makes me mad enough to-"
Before she could go any further Iridessa, who had previously stood up and approached her, tried to bring her back to the present and shook her a bit by the shoulders.
"S-Sorry. Its just….urgh…I would do anything to get back at her."
"Anything?" Fawn asked deviously.
"Uh oh…I think I know where this is heading," Iridessa said with an anxious look painted on her face.
"Well…yeah. I've only been here one day and Vidia's already making it almost impossible for me to do anything without some kind of problem."
"Watch it Tink; Fawn's great, but she can get into some serious trouble now and then," Iridessa cautioned.
"Hey, Vidia's going to be up in my face now that I've stood up to her too. I'm gonna do something regardless of what you guys think about my pranks," Fawn told the group confidently.
"Wait, you're going to prank her? That's it?" Tink asked and shared the same look of confusion that was written on the faces of Peri, Chloe, and Zarina.
"You don't know Fawn too well just yet, but trust us, when she pulls a prank out of rivalry, it doesn't end very pretty," Rosetta explained.
"She got suspended for two straight weeks in seventh grade…" Sil recalled, almost as if she was in an entirely different conversation.
Tink considered the situation for a moment and looked at the faces of her friends. Fawn was confident and looked like she was already plotting out revenge against Vidia. Iridessa, and to a lesser degree Rosetta, looked concerned, while Terrence, Bobble, Clank, and Sil seemed like they hadn't committed to any side of the situation.
"I'm in," She finally agreed and shook hands with Fawn on it, "let's teach Vidia some respect."