I just stared at the bare wall in front of me clutching my necklace with my gloved hand.

Wow. This is fun.

I made the mistake of adverting my eyes to the wall to my right. The bathroom door was opened with the hug broken mirror showing how horrible I looked.

My hair was a dark brown with golden natural highlights. I was very skinny for my age but don't take me for granted I could beat your butt in a second. My clothes consisted of a hoodie and a pair of blooded and ripped sweatpants with black and white converse.

My face was a whole entire different story.

My eyes where a piercing barfed up dark, dark brown with slights of silver in them. My face was a pale color that never went away. I had a few sprinkled freckles on my face. I did not have any pimples or zits so that is good.

Huh. I guess not everyone can have model faces. There is always one in the crowd.

I started to fiddle with my necklace again. I turned it over again to read the words that encouraged me through so many days.

I had found them on the back of my necklace the next night after...the incident.

It said, "Live life to the Max"

Then is said, "Voice of an Angel" in smaller letters.

I smiled. That had brought through all the punishments and such. I don't know why though, it just did. I didn't even shed one tear all these years as the punishments just happened to get worse.

My Mike, my "dad", and me just moved to a small town in Arizona named, Ajo.

What joy (note the sarcasm).

Also, guess what.

Tomorrow is my first day of SCHOOL!

Kill me now.

That night I stayed up cleaning the whole house. So in the morning I was uber (A/N: My brother says that all the time) tired.

It was all Mikes fault.

So now I am walking to a school that is a whole entire mile away, But I am not the only one.

There are many groups of kids and teens walking to school. Some of them are eyeing my choice in clothing.

I am wearing a pair of dark jeans, my gloves -of course-, my necklace -of course-, and along sleeved dark purple shirt in 89-degree weather.

I looked around at the groups of people.

There was one group that stuck out to me the most.

It consisted of: a male teen wearing all black –even jet-black hair-, age 14, another very colorful male teen still asleep, hair a strawberry with black tips, age 14, a black tween girl animatedly talked to anyone (she looked like she ran a fashion studio), age 13, a little boy all dressed in camo with bite me on the back of his blond head, age 6-8, and a little angel like girl wearing all white with a set of angel wings her blond curls bouncing with each step, age 6-8.

I wondered what there names where.

The one with jet-black hair turned toward to me. Probable feeling my gaze.

His hair was in his face making him look cute- WAIT! No, Max- Stop it! I said to myself looking away as I blushed.

Why would he be interested in you? I thought snidely to myself. No wants you. No one.

After than not e the school finally came into view.

It was ignoramus (A/N: sorry guys I think that is how you spell it)!

There where three buildings.

I kept my mouth shut so I would not catch flies.

Then again flies are better then no breakfast any day- so that might not be such a bad idea.

I smiled ever slightly to myself as I walked into the school building.

There was a huge statue of a Raven in the middle of the huge corridor then hallways branching out everywhere.

I was looking for a big neon sign that pointed to the main office.

No such luck.

"I bet your looking for the main office." I voice said behind me.

I spun around to find the colorful teen wide-awake standing near the doors.

I nodded.

He pointed to a hallway with large trophy cases running along side of the walls.

"By the way, I am Iggy." He stated holding out his hand. I shook it (just to thank him though). Strange name.

"You are?" He asked.

I just smiled and walked down the hallway that he pointed to.

Apparently the office is in the middle of the school so it took me, like, five minutes to navigate my way past the students down the hall to it.

By the time I got there I was ready to run right back out.

A lady was talking on the phone inspecting her newly polished fingernails.

I rolled my eyes trying not to laugh.

She, without even looking at me, put a schedule with my name on the top left corner and a map. She then flicked her hand to the door wanting me to go.

I sighed and grabbed my stuff and left.

1st class: Homeroom (that is a class?)

2nd class: Math

3rd class: Gym (OHH YA!)

4th class; Social Studies (history)

Lunch (favorite class of the day if I had a lunch)

5th class: Study Hall

6th class: Art

7th class: English

8th class: choir

"What no 9th block," I muttered as I moved threw the over crowded hallways.

The first bell rang, and immediately everyone filed out.

Thank God I was standing right in front of my homeroom.

I gulped. Here goes nothing.

I put my hand on the doorknob and twisted it.

I stepped into the room. Everyone eyes where on me. Great.

I spotted Iggy in the back row with the jocks.

"Ah, students this is the new student I was talking about." The teacher, Mr. Werner, said.

There were mumbled and jumbled hellos and welcomes.

"Please take a seat- Maximum?" He was wondering about my name.

I nodded.

A few of the girls snickered. Great. Just what I needed.

I took a seat quickly, but of course fate is against me today.

The seat I took was right next to Mr. Black.

"Hi, I am Fang." He had a deep voice that I use to imagine Ma- I shook my head to get the thought out of my head quickly.

Though I tried desperately- failing miserably- to forget the voice the name seemed to fit him.

It played over and over in my head.

"Max." I stated. He looked surprised and something else I couldn't match.

I hadn't used my voice in over five years. Huh, did I sound that bad.

Just then I noticed that some of girls drooling over Fang.

My stomach tightened and my fist clenched under the table tightly. Huh?

I just tried to listen to the teacher, but I could feel Fang's eyes on me ever once in a while.

Turns out when they say homeroom they mean a quick update on what is new, which takes about five minutes, then you get to talk and do stuff for forty minutes!

All the girls immediately huddled together- after winking at Fang I might add- to gossip.

For the boys they just lounged around flexing ever once in a while in my general direction and talked about sports and games that where coming soon.

One word: sexist pigs (O.K. maybe two.).

Ugh.

I noticed that Fang was not next to me or in the group with the jocks.

I turned around to inspect the room a little more for him.

I caught him talking to Iggy and a few other girls, but they didn't dress like the other ones and weren't flirting around them.

Something hit me in the back of the head.

I turned around to face a pretty big dude. And by big I mean HUGE! And by pretty I mean ugly.

"Sorry, my paper flicked out of my hand," he said in a husky voice that sounded pathetic compared to Fang.

Great. Now I am comparing people to Fang.

The other boys at the table were now laughing there heads off.

How did he fit through the door?

I was about to ask that when the bell rang.

The boys where still laughing as I walked out of the room.

Any thought that school might not be so bad went out the window.

I sighed inwardly and walked to my locker.

I took out my textbook and stuff for math and was bout to shut my locker when some stupid guy leaned up against the opening.

"Hi, I am Ari." He said.

I just glared at him.

"Hey I was wondering if you needed help finding your way through the school?"

I shook my head no and pulled out my map.

One of the worst mistakes that I made during this day.

He took it and ripped it into little pieces and through them in a garbage can near by.

I looked at the garbage can then looked at him.

I opened my mouth to say something but the back of my neck prickled and I spun around.

There was Fang flanked by a dark skinned girl on the right and Iggy on the left.

"She doesn't need help," Fang said in a deep voice.

Wow. I did not know that Fang could sound so scary. But why is he sticking up for me.

Then the dark skinned girl started to talk. "Yeah, cause we are going to help her all around the school and she is going to eat lunch and have sleepovers with us and the band and- Oh M Gee I just love sleepovers. You get to do fingernails and toenails or we could just go to the mall and have a professional do it. And-" Iggy put a hand on the dark skinned girls mouth muffling her rant and muttered a sorry.

I turned back around to my locker to find a surprise.

Ari wasn't there.

Fang shut my locker and grabbed my elbow. Starting to rush down the hall. I resisted a wince from the bruise I had forming under the thin but solid shirt I was wearing.

"We have to hurry to class or where dead meat." Iggy clarified to my confused expression.

I nodded.

"By the way, I am Monique but all my friends call me Nudge. So call me Nudge." The dark skinned said.

I smiled and Fang stiffened his hand on by elbow.

I winced ever so slightly.

Was my smile that bad? Probably.

Ohh well, I had at least on friend, or maybe three.

There is a chance that school might not be so bad after all.

And maybe, just maybe I wasn't going to be so lonely anymore.