My morning wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that great either. It was so-so. It was an average, uneventful morning really. It was the kind of morning you expect to have on the first day back. Everyone pretends to be so happy and all the teachers act like they're thrilled to see you. By the second week, however, the bad moods set in and everyone quits pretending to be happy.

Okay, back to my morning. I went to my first block health class. It was a total snooze fest. Boring as all get out. And that was before we began learning anything. By that time, the class was falling into a tired stupor. One kid actually fell asleep and then fell out of his desk. He was then sent to the office and the rest of us learned that there would be no sleeping in class.

Second block was a whole lot better. It was science class. Normally, I don't like science too much, but I figured I would like this class. Harm was in there and we got to sit next to each other. We decided our teacher, Mr. Pillot, was very awesome and cool. So far, he was our favorite teacher ever.

Third block was split for second lunch. I had to suffer through an hour in social studies class, listening to Coach Levi drone on and on. I had to keep pinching myself so I wouldn't fall asleep. Soon though, we got out of class for a half hour for lunch break.

Lunch was good. Not the food. That part was gross. Harm and I sat at a random table with a bunch of random kids. We talked about our day. I was happy that Harm was having a boring time too. It made me feel better. Unfortunately, the fun was short lived and I had to go back to social studies for another agonizing half hour.

Then came the last class of the day, Geometry. Most of the other freshmen had to take two semesters of Algebra I. I, on the other hand, got one semester of Geometry. I was a genius when it came to math, a fact everyone liked to point out.

After I had a fight with my locker, I had to run to my class, through a sea of kids I might add, to make sure that I wasn't going to be late. Being late on the first day was never a very good sign.

I barely made it inside, out of breath, before the warning bell sounded shrilly. I looked around the classroom for a seat. I groaned in agony when I saw that the only seat left was busted. The plastic was cracked, there was no basket underneath for my books, and the bar on the right side was gone. However, it couldn't be in a better position. It was in the exact center of the class. I sighed as I put my books on the desktop and sat down just as the teacher walked in.

"Good afternoon class." Ms. Middleton said brightly. "Now, before I take roll, I would like to know what grade levels I have in here. So, who are my freshmen?" she asked.

I was the only one to raise a hand. I heard someone mutter, "Brainiac", and I slowly put my hand down, embarrassed. I did not like being made fun of, especially not for being smart. I'd had enough of that as a little kid.

"Okay, one freshman. Sophomores?" The majority of the class raised their hands. "Juniors?" Two kids in the back. "Okay, no seniors then."

Ms. Middleton walked over to her desk and grabbed some note cards. "Okay, today I will take roll with these. You need to write your name, address, parents' names, phone number, e-mail address, grade, and class schedule." She passed them out and waited for us to write down all of that information.

"Everyone finished?" she asked after about fifteen minutes. We all nodded. "Okay, pass them up." We all did so and she picked them up from the first person in each row and then placed them on her desk.

She rummaged around on her desk for a moment and then picked up a stack of papers and started passing them out. "Now, this is just a little review test on what you learned last year. It's just so I can get to know you all as students. There are twenty-five questions. You can start now." She walked over to her desk and sat down.

I sighed and wrote my name on the paper in front of me. I then looked over the contents of the test. It seemed easy enough. I began and, in no time at all, I was on the last question. I laid my pencil down for a moment to rest my hand and, of course, it rolled right of my desk.

I took in a frustrated breath and leaned over the right side of my desk to pick it up. However, someone else had leaned over to get it and our hands touched. I looked up and stared right into the eyes of Collin Main and, oddly, he stared back at me, transfixed.

I had known Collin for a very long time. When we were younger, he used to pick on me a lot. It didn't stop until I was almost eleven and Harm blew a fuse. She punched him in the face, giving him a black eye. He never bothered me again. In fact, this was the first time I'd seen him up close since then.

He stared at me for a second longer, smiled, and then handed me my pencil. He slowly sat upright and then went back to his test.

I shook my head and then sat back up too. That had been the weirdest thing in the whole world.

I sighed and regained my composure. It was no big deal. Just a dropped pencil. I quickly finished the last problem, turned over my test, and waited until Ms. Middleton collected them at the end of class.

"I'll grade these tonight." she told us just before the bell rang. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

I gathered my things and started walking out of the classroom. I couldn't wait to get home and rest for a little while before Harm came over and our babysitting job began.

"Hey, Scout! Wait up!" I heard someone shout to me as I made it out into the dangerous and crowded hallway.

I turned around to see Collin, several feet behind me, trying to catch up with me. I turned back around and walked faster. Then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. How had he managed to catch up with me that fast?

"Hey Scout." he said, his breathing even. He began walking alongside me. "Didn't you hear me calling for you?"

Of course I had heard him. Everyone in the hall had probably heard him. I sighed, cutting to the chase. "What do you want Collin?" I hoped he noticed the exasperation in my tone.

He smiled brightly, kind of like I just told him he had won the lottery or something like that. "You actually remember my name?" he asked incredulously.

Was he on drugs or something? It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he were. "How could I forget the person who tortured me for most of my childhood?" I asked, agitated. Why was he talking to me? What did he want?

His face fell. "Oh, right. Sorry about that. I was just a stupid little kid then. I feel awful about that now."

"What?" Was he apologizing? Why was he apologizing? What could he possibly want with me?

"Uh, I said I was sorry that I used to be such a jerk to you." he told me. Oh my holy cow. He was being serious. But why?

"Oh." I said, feeling a little bad. "Well, what do you want anyways?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I was wondering if we could maybe do something together sometime. Maybe now if you're not busy or anything."

We had made it to my locker. I opened it, shoved all of my books on the shelf, and grabbed my backpack. I was purposely avoiding answering him. Maybe if I didn't say anything he'd go away. I turned back around. No such luck.

"Well, I'm babysitting actually." I told him, glad that I didn't have to make up an excuse. For once, I was glad that I was not an only child.

"Cool." he said, smiling. "Well, some other time then?"

"Uh, maybe." I said, not really meaning it at all. He was really starting to freak me out.

"Awesome." he said. He stared at me for a minute and then said, "Gotta go I guess. Tell me how that babysitting goes tomorrow." He then walked away slowly. It was almost as if he didn't want to go.

I turned around again and stared into my locker, dumbfounded. What had that been about? Why would Collin Main want to hang out with me of all people? He had to have some kind of motive.

I felt another tap on my shoulder. Great. What else could he possibly want? I whipped around, coming face to face with Harm.

"Oh, thank goodness. It's only you." I said, breathing a sigh of relief. I slammed my crappy locker door shut and we began walking down the hall.

"So, I saw you talking to Collin Main." she said when we made it outside. She had been really quiet up until this point, which was unlike her. Normally she'd be complaining about something or other. I had just been about to say something to her.

"Yeah, he was bugging the crap out of me." I told her, not giving out details of the way he had been looking at me and other things. "He's in my fourth block Geometry class."

"That's a relief." she told me. "I thought maybe you two were friends now or something."

I stuck my tongue out. "No way. I hate that jerk."

She laughed. "Good." She then frowned. "So, what was he talking to about? He wasn't teasing you again was he? We can report him for harassment now you know."

I rolled my eyes. "I wish he was bugging me." I sighed. "He wanted to hang out with me after school."

Harm put on her 'deep in thought' face. "Wonder why?"

I shrugged. "Probably just wanted to get on my good side so I'd help him out in Geometry or something like that." There. A rational explanation.

Harm nodded vigorously. "That's probably it. I mean, he's not exactly very bright is he?"

We both laughed hard and made fun of Collin until we got to Harm's house. Then we stood in the middle of the road for a few more minutes and made fun of him some more.

"Better get going." Harm said after we had calmed down some. "I can see Karen peeking through the living room curtains."

"See you in an hour." I told her, waving good bye as she walked into the house and left me alone outside.

As I walked across the street to my own house, my thoughts wandered back to Collin. My theory made perfect sense except for one thing. Why did he stare at me like I was the most interesting thing on the face of the planet?