Meteor Heights was one of those towns that, if you don't know it's there, you don't notice it. Population: no one cared to check. Paige's father had moved there after his divorce with her mother to get away from the busy life of Toronto. Or, at least that's what he'd told her.
Her mother's version played it like he'd up and left them when Paige was twelve. It didn't really matter because Paige couldn't remember either way.
When the small plane landed, Paige got her things together and quickly left the airport. Outside, her dad, Blake White, was waiting for her. After a few stiff greetings (Blake introducing himself and Paige asking for proof), Paige's bags were in the back of Blake's car and they were driving the hour trip it took to get to Meteor Heights.
"So," Blake tried to start a conversation, "excited to be starting at your new school?"
"Not really." Paige sighed, looking out her window. She'd almost flunked out of school when she'd gotten amnesia.
"Aw, come on." Blake urged. "You used to get so excited about school. Remember?"
Paige just shot him a look. "No." She said flatly. After that, they sat in silence. When they got to the house, Paige got out and went upstairs, finding a door with her name on it.
She stayed in her room until Blake called her for dinner. After that, she got a shower and went to bed. She didn't have anyone to text until three in the morning and she didn't feel like unpacking her laptop.
Paige dreamed about a lazy boy with wild brown hair. He wouldn't look at her directly, but glanced at her through the glass of the pet store window. He said he liked cats, but that he also liked her.
When she woke up the next morning she groaned, remembering what day it was. When will I ever be free of high school? She thought as she pulled some clothes out of her bag.
Blake was sitting at the kitchen table when she came down, drinking a cup of coffee. "Morning." He offered.
Paige nodded in response and grabbed a cup for her own coffee. "Where's the school?" She asked, not looking up from a cereal box.
"Just down the road, past the grocery store." He looked over what she was wearing. "Paige, are you sure you don't want to wear anything more… prominent?"
"Who are you to comment on my wardrobe?" She snapped, defending her green cargo pants and brown sweater. "Are you saying you want me to wear some skimpy dress or something?"
"What? No!" Blake tried to backpedal. "I just meant, it's your first day. Are you sure you want to blend with the trees?"
Paige sighed. "To blend with trees, I'd have to stand on my head. Dad, I'm sorry I don't remember anything, but I'm trying to live my life, not focus on the past."
"And that's what you should do." He smiled. "Things will get better, you'll see."
Things did get a bit better. When Paige got to school, no one noticed that she was new. She slipped into the front office without so much as a glance from anyone. The receptionist gave her a schedule and a map, then sent her on her way.
First period, she had History, so she found the room and went to class. Nothing interesting happened, except one student complained that the text book got the facts wrong. Paige didn't really pay attention. When the bell rang, she left to find her next class.
"Hey!" A girl clapped Paige's shoulder, making her jump. "You're new!"
"What gave it away?" She asked, holding up her map. "My lack of direction?"
The girl giggled. "No, that's nothing. Everyone's lost in the mornings." She flipped her blond hair and Paige noticed she had a pink streak in it. "But you had to talk to the teacher before class. That screamed Newbie. I'm Jackie Scott. I'll be your guide."
"Thanks. Paige White." Paige glanced at a clock mounted on the wall. "I need to find Accounting with Mr. Väinämöinen."
"You're in Mr. V's class?" Jackie laughed. "Well, you should know, he's a bit of a pushover. I have him, too. C'mon."
Jackie led the way to the lab that was used for Mr. Väinämöinen's class. It was tucked away in a corner of the school. Most of the students seemed to be annoyed that they had to be there. Jackie immediately went to sit by a boy who seemed a little more interested in the class than the others.
Paige went up to Mr. Väinämöinen's desk and introduced herself. He looked a little surprised at first, but dismissed it and started the class.
Paige went to sit by Jackie, who introduced the boy as Kevin Brown. After that, Paige didn't hear much about the lesson because Jackie was telling her all about the school.
At lunch, Jackie dragged Paige to the cafeteria, where she introduced the rest of her friends. The boy with shaggy black hair was Oliver Ridge and the girl with red hair to her shoulder blades was Lynn Thomas.
As Paige quietly ate her sandwich, the group talked about tests and projects for their classes, and about what a group called 'The Princes' were up to.
"I saw Felix at the library during first period." Lynn exclaimed. "He was reading a book about retreat strategies."
"Alfred was at the diner last night." Oliver interjected. "He ordered almost ten burgers!"
"Who?" Paige asked.
She was met with astonished faces. "How can you live in Meteor Heights and not know who the Princes are?" Jackie sounded horrified.
"I only got here last night." Paige defended. "It's not like I exactly had time to look everyone up."
"Whatever." Lynn waved it away. "The Princes are—" She stopped talking, having caught sight of something behind Paige. "Well, speak of the devil."
Paige turned and saw that a group of boys had come into the cafeteria and were walking toward a far table.
"Okay, here's what you need to know." Kevin pointed at a blond boy who's hair was jelled back and who looked mad at everything around him. "That's Ludwig Müller. Stay away from him. He hates everyone, except Felix, who he can barely stand."
"That's Felix." Jackie pointed to a red head who had one strand of hair curled out from his head at an odd angle. He looked really zoned out. "His real name's Feliciano Vargas, but we all call him Felix. He's always asleep in class and is almost never seen without Ludwig far behind."
Paige watched as Feliciano pestered Ludwig about something. The blond finally snapped at him and he sat down quickly. Ludwig seemed to apologize, because Feliciano looked happy again and started talking. The exchange made Paige smile.
"See the two who look almost the same?" Lynn asked. She pointed to a pair of blond boys as the one with shorter hair left the group. "The guy who just left is Alfred Jones. The other one is his twin brother, Matthew. They go everywhere together."
"That's their cousin, Arthur Kirkland." Oliver nodded toward the blond boy sitting beside Matthew, who's eyebrows were the most prominent feature on his face. "Don't make him mad. I swear, he uses black magic."
"He's always with Francis Bonnefoy." Jackie gestured to yet another blond boy who's hair reached his shoulders. "Don't even try talking to him. No one can understand what he says half the time."
"That last boy is Kiku Honda." Lynn said, meaning the boy with short black hair. "He's really quiet and doesn't show much emotion. But he's great friends with Alfred and Henry." She looked around, suddenly realizing something. "Hey, where is Henry?"
"He's usually with the rest of them." Kevin looked around quickly. "Maybe he's still in class."
Paige glared at the group as Alfred returned with about six hamburgers. "They're all boys." She grumbled. "Hey, are there any 'Princesses'?"
"Yeah right!" Jackie laughed. "Around this school, the Princes rule."
"But there are some girls around here that are a bit…" Oliver trailed off, thinking of an appropriate word.
"Stalker-ish?" Lynn giggled, pointing at a girl with long pale blond hair who was following close behind a boy with matching hair, only shorter. "Man, she's still at it."
"That's Ivan Braginski and his sister, Natasha." Kevin rolled his eyes. "Word of advice, if you value your life, don't go near them. If Natasha sees anyone talking to Ivan, she gets really possessive and threatens them."
"And they aren't empty threats." Oliver shuddered. "Some kids last year actually dropped out because of her. Remember Ravis?"
Lynn nodded, wincing. "Man, that was scary."
"Natasha brought a knife to school." Jackie explained. "She started waving it at Ravis Galante. The next day, he didn't come back. The official story is he's being homeschooled. But no one ever sees him around town."
"There he is!" Lynn chimed, pointing to the doors that led from the cafeteria to the field outside.
"What? No way he's back." Kevin looked over to where she was pointing.
"No, Henry." Lynn made sure Paige was looking before continuing. "His real name is something like 'Hercules Karpi', but no one can say it." She started scribbling on a napkin. "He never shows any emotion and never talks more than absolutely necessary." She passed the napkin to Paige.
"Heracles Karpusi?" Paige read aloud. "It sounds kinda Greek. Cool." She looked up to find that everyone was staring at her. "What?"
"You said that perfectly!" Jackie exclaimed, wrapping Paige in a bear hug. "That's so cool! What else can you say with foreign accents?"
"What are you talking about?" Paige was confused. She'd never said anything with an accent in her life except in French class. "I just read what was written."
"Lynn, make a list of all the foreign names in this school." Kevin ordered and Lynn started writing. "Maybe it's a natural gift that you're not aware of."
Paige shrugged it off, letting her eyes wander as her new friends contemplated her 'gift'. Her eyes landed on Henry once more, this time really looking. His brown hair was a bit long and hung in front of his eyes. He didn't seem to notice as he walked over to the group of 'Princes'. His clothes were plain-looking, but more older-times-like than Paige's nature-walk-like style.
When he sat down, he immediately looked up and met her eyes. Paige saw that he had green eyes which, she thought, really suited him.
Paige looked back at her lunch, not wanting to seem rude. For the rest of the period, she couldn't shake the feeling that people were watching her.