"Barbara Robbins! Please report to the principal's office! Now!" Principal Perry yelled over the schools intercom. It was my first day at Mission Creek High. How could I have already gotten in trouble? I shifted my books into my other arm and made my way through the schools halls. I saw so many crowds of kids. As I walked I got many glares, a few generous smiles, and even a few dirty looks. I'd seen it all. I was totally used to being the new kid. My uncles had moved around plenty of times because of their stupid job. I've lived with my dad's brothers ever since my parents died in a plane crash when I was two. They're partners for an aid company that makes jingles for various commercials. They had both promised this was the last time they'd move, but she wasn't convinced. I had been too deep in thought to pay attention to where I was going. Before I could stop myself I bumped into a tall, buff looking kid.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I apologized, stumbling backwards. In the process of bumping into him, I dropped my books. I bent down to pick them up. When I looked up, I got a clear look at the kid I ran into. He had dark black hair and a flushed red face. He wore a purple football jersey. He had a few friends with him who wore the same jerseys.

"You should be!" He shouted back at me. "Why don't you watch where you're going!" I had dealt with many bullies in the past and I don't know why, but he rubbed me the wrong way.

"And why don't you learn some manners!" I retorted. He stepped on one of my book as I reached for it. "Move!"

"Why don't you learn some manners? Move? That's not very nice." He pushed his foot down on it harder, leaving a nice big shoe mark.

"Fine, excuse me? Is that better?" I said sarcastically. He moved his foot and I grabbed my book. I brushed it off as best I could as I stood up. "Thanks. At least you're not totally stupid. You can at least recognize when someone has manners!"

His face got redder and he took a step closer to me. "You don't want to get on my bad side." He warned.

"You already got on my, so why can't I return the favor?" I pushed him out of my way and he staggered into the lockers. I began to walk away when he spoke again.

"Oh that was a mistake!" He and his friends started coming at me. I got a little worried but I stood my ground. Before he could reach me, a girl jumped between us. She had light brown hair that was back in a ponytail. Her face was beautifully painted in make-up and her pointy chin stuck up in the air as she glared at the jock.

"Leave her alone. Trent!" She demanded.

"Go away, Bree, this isn't your fight." Trent responded.

"You're right; I'll go get my brother." She threatened.

"No, not him!" Trent trembled. He actually sounded scared. I figured her brother was some kind of muscular wrestler or something.

"Then get out of here!" Before I could blink they ran around the corner and out of sight. The girl turned to face me. "Sorry about him. Football players can be real jerks." She stuck her hand out in front of her. "Hi, I'm Bree." I smiled and gladly shook her hand.

"I'm Barbara, Bobbi for short. I just started here."

"Nice to meet you, Bobbi. Was that you that Principal Perry called down to the main office?"

"Yeah, I'm a little worried. Is she as mean as I've heard?"

"Well…yes. But don't worry, I'll come with you." She started guiding me through the hall.

"Thanks." I liked this girl.

We walked out of the office, giggling our heads off.

"Is she actually that short or was her chair lowered really low behind her desk?" I asked.

"No, she's really that short." Bree declared.

"I can't believe she only wanted to clarify my application to the school."

"Yeah, she likes to keep track of her students. She can be a strange…short woman." We both broke into loud laughter again. As we walked through the hall, we came to a stop in front of a row of lockers. A group of three boys stood talking in front of us. When they saw us, they stopped and turned to us.

"Bobbi, these are my brothers, Adam," She pointed to a tall boy with dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. He was even taller than Trent. "Leo," She motioned to a very short, African American by with a big grin spread across his face. "And Chase." When she pointed to the last boy, my heart skipped a beat. Standing in front of her was the cutest guy she had ever laid eyes on. Out of all the schools she'd gone to and all the guys she's run into, he was the cutest. His short tan hair was spiked up on top of his head. His hazel eyes locked with hers and she could feel her brain melting into a puddle. Her mind went blank and she felt hot and feverish. She had never felt this way before. She was snapped out of her trace by a voice.

"Hi, I'm Adam! What's your name?" The tall one asked.

"I'm Bobbi." I greeted. The bell suddenly rang.

"Well, nice to meet you Bobbi, but we have to get to class. Come on, guys." Leo said as he led Adam and Chase away from the lockers. Before Chase left he smiled at me.

"See you later, Bobbi." He said to me. All I could do was wave. I could feel myself blushing. He turned away and walked down the hall with his brothers.

I stood there in silence for a moment, wondering if what just happened was real or a dream. Then, I grinned toward Bree.

"Your brother is hot!" I didn't mean to say that. I meant to say 'let's go to class', but it slipped out. I'm sure it sounded really odd.

"Which one?" She looked puzzled.

"Chase." I answered, sheepishly. That's when Bree did something I didn't expect. She laughed.

"Chase? Please!" She gasped between laughs. "He couldn't be hot if he was stuck in a volcano!"

I disagreed but I didn't want to start off a good friendship by making things awkward.

"You're right, I was kidding." I proclaimed, nervously. "Let's get to class." Bree didn't give it a second thought. The two of us headed for math class.