Hullo! I couldn't fall asleep, so I updated! No sleep = 1more chapter. Equivalent exchange, right? Unfortunately, humans can live longer without water than they can without sleep, so don't get used to the fast chapters. :D Again, me no ownie FMA. Got it? U no sue. Enjoy! 8)

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It was a beautiful day. Not many days were like it around the small town of Eelityl.

Yes, a simply gorgeous day... Shining sun, blue skies, cool grass, and not a cloud to be seen. Absolutely perfect in every imaginable way.

And I'm stuck inside.

Remind me, why did I even bother showing up at school?

Anna sat, staring miserably out the same window she always stared out, in the same desk she always sat in, trying for the life of her to pay attention and finish re-reading her notes while her teacher was busy prattling. It wasn't working.

"Anna? Anna? ANNA!"

Shit! What?

She looked up, and saw Mr. Eric leaning forwards on his desk, white knuckles gripping the fake wood edge board.

As usual, he was trying to scowl menacingly, and pulling it off fairly well, in Anna's opinion.

After all, the guy was the school's volunteer football coach.

Who the hell volunteers to teach testosterone-pumped, hormone-driven, gorilla-built teenage boys to tackle and maim on command and didn't have a pants-wettingly terrifying 'angry scowl'? Even if the guy was half-bald and didn't look like he could chase down an ice cream truck, much less a rogue teenager on a Red-bull buzz, Anna knew that messing with his mind was a bad idea.

Still, bad ideas were her specialty. She had trained every acquaintance she had come across to run away at a simple phrase-

"Hey guys, I've got an idea."

Any friend that survived a week with her lasted forever.

She didn't have many.

"Anna, no reading in class. Pay attention."

She refocused on the grumpy man at the desk.

"I am paying attention."

The scowl deepened.

"No, you're not. What's that book you're reading?"

The whole class turned to face her. Lovely: captive audience. A full house, too.

This is gonna be fun.

She sighed, and turned the book so that the scribbled pages faced the board.

"This is my notebook. It's what I've written my notes in. I've already written down what you're talking about, now I'm just re-reading it in words I understand."

She flicked her brown eyes up to come in perfect contact with the man's dull blue ones.

Eye contact: a sign of challenge. Challenging authority, establishing dominant pack status.

You look away first, you lose.

"As I said, I am paying attention."

After a long silence, he looked away.

Anna cheered inside, rolling in the win.

However, instead of resuming in his monologue, his eyes narrowed dangerously at her feet.

"Where are your shoes?"

Whoops.

She wiggled her toes self-consciously, only just remembering a small detail from the day before.

"Uhhh-" DOKDOKDOK.

Mr. Eric shot the small brunette a final look of disdain, and turned to answer the door.

Anna sighed, letting out all the breath she had been holding in.

Saved by the bell.

Well, the knock, she admonished.

Shut up, crazy.

Okay.

"Well class, we have a new student in our class."

Whuh?

Oh, look. The guy from the library.

About 5'7. Pale skin, but not unhealthy. Still has his book bag. Ponytail? She hadn't noticed that yesterday. Still kind of cute. Black hoodie. Cargo pants. Construction gloves? Must have an after-school job. Practical black boots. Probably walks to school.

One by one, she ran through his appearance, and not seeing anything overly unusual, she flipped her notebook back open, randomly flicking to a page she had written on animals.

Bullfrogs, ants, fish, and sharks never sleep.

Cows can sleep standing up and laying down, but they only dream laying down.

Ants don't have lungs.

Sheep are born with long tails.

A group of cats is a pride.

A group of dogs is a pack.

A group of crows is a-

"Pardon me?"

She looked up again.

Mr. Eric was currently attempting to 'show off' the new kid. He was failing miserably, and everyone knew it, but the kid in question seemed amused.

"I said, Edward. My name is Edward."

"Do you sparkle?" came a cry from the back of the room.

The blond frowned in puzzlement at the question, as though he had no clue what the speaker was talking about.

"Um, no. Can't say that I do."

"Got a girlfriend?" came a breathy voice from Anna's right.

His cheeks reddened slightly.

"Uhhh…."

"HEY! That's enough!" Mr. Eric interjected.

Now Edward, where are you from?"

Edward shuffled his feet, seeming to be a bit nervous from the crowd.

"Germany… Hohenroth," He stated, after a second's hesitation.

"It's a pretty small village, in Bavaria."

"I see," said Mr. Eric, bobbing his head and fake-smiling stupidly.

"Well, you can sit back there, next to Anna Johnson. Maybe you can teach her some manners."

Anna scowled, fuming at the comment. This wasn't a therapy group; he had no right to 'discuss' what he so openly considered to be her flaws. She'd get him for it later.

Edward nodded uncertainly, and made his way down the isle. Anna paid him no mind, opting to continue her death glare at Mr. Eric.

"Oh, by the way…" Mr. Eric drawled, turning back to his lesson.

"A pair of brown leather hiking boots were found yesterday, one with red laces and one with black. They were fairly worn, so I assume that the owner must have a pretty rough walk home. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, so whoever lost them may feel free to pick them up here after school."

….

….

….

FUCK.

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So, good, bad, nausea-inducing? Let me know! : ) I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, and I know you guys have been reading, so pleasepleaseplease respond!

(I'm basing a load of this off my own school, so please understand that 'Mr. Eric' really isn't all that evil, he just has grudges just like many other people do. Don't hate him too much?

REVIEW!