Chapter 1: Welcome to The Cavalry

As Jemma steps off the plane, the humidity of the air hits her almost immediately. It's as if someone has placed a fan heater directly in front of her face and blasted it to full power. Given she's from a country where the minute the temperature goes over 10 degrees Celsius people are driving around with their t-shirts off, car roofs down and music blasting, this really tops the charts. Lance in the meantime doesn't seem to be fazed by the drastic change in climate they're currently experiencing. Taking a deep breath, she makes her way down the steps, where she is ushered onto a bus packed full to the brim with excited holiday-makers and families. As she looks around she realises that she has lost Lance in the crowds, but soon catches sight of him pushing his way through the bus.

"Excuse me, excuse me," he repeats over and over again, until he reaches her. He pushes his tinted sunglasses up onto his head and smiles. "So, what do you think, Jemma? You excited to get a taste of American life? I know I am."

"Yeah, I guess so. But what I'm not looking forward to is dealing with this jet lag later on. However, I'm hoping I won't be affected too much. You see, I've been looking into ways in which desynchronosis can be managed, and decided to try a few out. It's ususally sufficient to try timed light exposure. This can be effective to help match our circadian rythms with the expected cycle at our destination. Did you know that light therapy is a popular method used by professional athletes to reduce-" But she barely has time to finish her sentence before the bus comes to a halt and Lance is lost in the hustle and bustle once again, evidently desperate to escape Jemma's constant rambling.

Unfortunately for Jemma, this happens to her quite often. Back home in England, she is top of her class in biochemistry. Every teacher she's ever had has commented on her extraordinary ability to pick up and maintain new knowledge. But she doesn't fit in. There are some exceptionally intelligent people at her college, but none really like her. It bothers Jemma, but she has grown to accept that she is different. After all, being unique isn't exactly a bad thing.

After picking up their suitcases from the baggage collection point, Jemma makes her way through the twists and turns of the airport, occasionally having to increase her speed to keep up with Lance, who is eager as ever to 'experience America to the max', as he would say. "Wait!" She calls as they pass a souvenir shop. "I need to buy some presents for back home. If I leave it any longer I'll forget." Lance taps his foot impatiently.

"Souvenirs? Jemma, you've just arrived here! You've literally just stepped off of the plane and already you're worrying about forgetting to buy presents. Just relax! Have fun while you can." She sighs and trails after him, deciding there's no point in trying to bargain with him.

It's almost 6:00 in the evening when the two walk through the towering gates of The Cavalry Academy of Miami. It's very different to England, and Jemma and Lance take their time to look around the grounds and take in the intimidatingly huge building before them. However, as they near the front doors, they are greeted by a middle-aged woman wearing a suit. She seems as though she has made an effort to come out here and welcome them, and Lance and Jemma respect that. Although, when she starts speaking, she doesn't exactly come across as being friendly. She speaks in a monotone voice, making them feel quite uncomfortable.

"You two must be the exchange students- Jemma Simmons and Lance Hunter? Welcome to The Cavalry Academy. I'm Professor Melinda May. Enjoy your stay." Jemma almost points out the woman's natural poetic talents, but immediately thinks better of it. As they are led inside, they are greeted by yet another professor. He makes a point of shaking their hands in turn before introducing himself.

"Philip Coulson. But you can call me Phil." he seems a lot more welcoming that Professor May.

"Mr Hunter, Professor Coulson will direct you to your dormitory, while I will do the same for you, Miss Simmons. We'll let you settle in and gather your surroundings for tonight, but you must be up early in the morning for first period. After today you will be considered a normal member of the academy. Don't expect any special treatment." Jemma nods her head in agreement.

Melinda escorts Jemma down the corridor and up the stairs as Lance is taken in the opposite direction. After a few minutes of walking through the corridors, May comes to a halt outside a door. "Here we are- room 115," she thrusts a room key into the girl's hands along with a sheet of paper with her timetable printed on it. "Have fun." And with that, she stalks off back down the hallway, leaving a bewildered Jemma to her own devices. Being the polite person she is, Jemma gives a gentle knock before entering. Opening the door slightly, she pops her head inside.

"Hello," she says nervously to the two girls in the room. "I'm Jemma Simmons, the new exchange student from England. I'm so sorry to disturb you, but I've been led to believe that this is to be my dormitory during my stay?" A dark-haired girl looks up from her laptop at the sound of her voice and gasps.

"Oh, yes!Yes, Jemma Simmons, I've been so excited to meet you!" Jemma steps fully into the room with a confused expression upon her face.

"Excited? To meet me?" The girl nods her head happily, taking Jemma by the arm and leading her further inside.

"Welcome to The Cavalry Academy! I'm Daisy, and this is my best friend Barbara." She explains, motioning towards a blonde haired girl sitting on the bed, eyes fixed on her phone.

"It's Bobbi!" She corrects, not even lifting her head from the device.

"Oh, okay. Hi... Bobbi." But the closest thing to a reply she receives is a simple murmur. Daisy pulls her aside to show her where she'll be sleeping.

"Take no notice of her, she can be quite antisocial at times." Jemma nods, looking back at Bobbi, who still has her head down, staring at the screen of the phone.

"You don't say..."

"Anyway, this is your bed. Unpack all of your things and get settled. It's a shame you had to arrive on a weekday. If it was any other any night I would suggest we went out and had a few drinks. You know, to celebrate your first night at the academy. But never mind, there's always the weekend."

"Um, yeah, I suppose so." Agrees Jemma, quite unsurely; she wouldn't really consider herself a going out person, but she doesn't want to ruin Daisy's mood.

"By the way," Daisy adds. "Loving the accent." She shoots her a quick smile, to which Jemma returns kindly, before turning her attention back to her laptop. Jemma finds she quite likes Daisy's nature, even if she could come across a little over-enthusiastic. She supposes it's better than talking to Miserable May. The British girl turns back to her bed and busies herself with unpacking her things. This was definitely going to be an experience, if nothing else.

Lance bursts into the room, not hesitating to introduce himself, unlike Jemma.

"Good evening, boys! The name's Lance Hunter and I believe I am going to be your new roommate for the next few weeks!" He announces, throwing his bags onto a nearby bed. A tall boy with dark hair approaches him with an annoyed expression on his face.

"So, 'Lance Hunter', you think that you're so great you can just barge into my dormitory and act like you own the place?"

"Hey! I'll have you know that this is my dormitory too!" Shouts another boy from the other side of the room.

"Well, yeah," Replies Lance, answering the first boy. He always just does whatever he likes, when he likes. He doesn't see how this time was any different. The hard-faced boy glares at him, picking the bag up from the bed and shoving it back at Lance, so forcefully that it almost knocks the air out of him.

"Well that's just great. You know, you might have been able to get away with that back home, Prance,"

"Um, it's Lance, actually." He corrects, even though he knew that he was already aware of his name.

"Sure. Anyway, this is not happening. Get out of here and don't come back until you've learned who's really in charge around here. Just a little hint- it's not you." He turns a confused Lance around and pushes him out violently, slamming the door behind him. Lance slides down the wall until he is sitting on the carpet of the hallway and produces a can of lager he had bought previously in the day, when he and Jemma had stopped off at a supermarket nearby.

"Well," he says to himself, lifting the can into the air and taking a drink. "Cheers! To the American Experience!"

She wakes to the sound of Daisy bustling about the dormitory. Jemma sits up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Morning!" Chirps Daisy. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Um, yeah, fine." Assures Jemma.

"Great! What do you have first? Did May give you a timetable when you arrived?"

"Ugh, Daisy! Why do you need to talk so loudly?! You know, some people are still trying to sleep!" Bobbi rolls over in bed, clutching the pillow over her ears to block out the sound of Daisy's voice.

"Well, it looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed!" Daisy teases, pulling a face at Bobbi when she can't see. Jemma laughs and Daisy joins in with her, but they get no reaction out of Bobbi, who has probably fallen asleep again by now. "Anyway," continues Daisy. "Your timetable-"

"-I have it, don't worry," Jemma interrupts. "I have Biochemistry first!" She says cheerily, examining her timetable. "What about you, Daisy?"

"Computer Science. Best. Lesson. Ever!" She checks the time on her phone and sighs. "It's getting late, Bobbi! If you don't want to be late you need to move!" Nothing. Not even a sound. Growing impatient, Daisy walks over to the side of Bobbi's bed and rolls her over, causing her to fall out of bed and onto the floor with an almighty thump. She wakes with a start.

"Ow!" She complains. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Get. Up. Now!" Daisy orders, repositioning the sheets on the bed.

"Fine, I'm up now! You happy?" Bobbi moans, getting to her feet and making her way into the bathroom to freshen up.

"It's like that every morning, you know. Get used to it." Says Daisy, once the girl is out of earshot. 'If I wasn't here she would never be in school; she would stay in bed all day if she could.'

"Why doesn't she get an alarm clock?" Jemma suggests. Daisy rolls her eyes.

"She has one- me."

Fifteen minutes later, when both Bobbi and Jemma have pulled themselves together and dressed, there's an unusually loud knock on the door. Bobbi reluctantly answers it to find an angry-looking dark haired girl with her hands on her hips standing outside.

"Ugh, what do you want now, Kara?"

"What was that thump?! It made such a racket!"

"Oh, that was just Little Miss I-Always-Get-Up-Super-Early-And-Disrespect-Other-People's-Sleeping-Patterns pushing me out of bed!" Says Bobbi, sarcastically, earning a frown from Daisy.

"Well, it almost made our roof collapse! We thought it was some kind of earthquake!" Complains Kara, melodramatically. The roommates peer behind Kara to see two other girls imitating her body language, both with identical annoyed expressions on their faces. Bobbi laughs at her, not taking anything she's saying seriously.

"Oh no! You know what, maybe you should move out; find another dormitory to sleep in, far, far away from here. That would solve everyone's problems!" Kara scoffs at Bobbi's insulting suggestion, giving a flip of her hair and strutting off down the hallway, the two other girls tottering after her.

"She's so annoying!" Bobbi remarks, as they all pile out of the room and Daisy locks the door behind them.

Lance wakes up to find that he is still propped up against the wall outside his dormitory. His newly found 'friends' had refused to unlock the door for the rest of the night, so he had accepted the fact that his first night at the academy was going to have to be spent in the hallway, on a very uncomfortable floor. He brushes himself off, using the wall to help him to his feet and dares to knock on the door of the dormitory once again. The same boy that had thrown him out the day before answers. Lance doesn't even need to speak for the boy to know how to reply.

"Come in for 20 minutes, to freshen up. Just 20 minutes though, do you hear me?" Lance nods desperately. "I have a feeling you may need longer to shake that cocky attitude, though, so you will remain banned for the rest of the day." He's speaking to him like a child and although it annoys Lance deeply, he decides not to show it. He's afraid that if he does, he'll end up being locked out for the remainder of his stay here, and he can't deal with another night in the hallway.

Strolling nonchalantly into the girl's locker room, Lance is disappointed to find that it is empty. He had always been a hit with the ladies back home and it is only a matter of time before he used his British charm to his advantage with these American girls. He decides to hang around for a while in the hope that someone shows up eventually. He is startled by a voice coming from behind him.

"Erm, excuse me? What are you doing here?" He turns to find a tall girl with golden blonde hair looking at him strangely.

"Uh...I-I was just...Uh..." He stutters. This was unusual for him, he thought- usually he's cool around girls; he's never faltered once whilst talking to a woman. But this time is different; this time he is utterly lost for words. The girl continues to stare at him, waiting for an answer, until she eventually gives up and begins emptying her locker.

"I have a feeling you're not here because you got lost." She says over her shoulder. There's a long pause as Lance thinks hard about how he is going to respond.

"Yes, actually, I did. I'm one of the new exchange students. I only arrived yesterday and don't know my way around yet." It isn't exactly a lie; he is new, he just isn't in the locker rooms because he got lost. For some unknown reason, he feels embarrassed about the fact that he had came in here deliberately on the search for girls to chat up. He also doesn't know why this girl hadn't done anything but walk in here and tease him and already he is speechless.

He doesn't understand. He is supposed to be the one to make the girl fall head-over-heels, not the other way around! Unsure what to do, he makes for the door.

"Um, sorry for invading your privacy. I'll...um...see around." He mutters, taking one last glance at the back of the girl's head before frowning to himself and walking away.