Chapter One

Conner Kent let out a deep breath as he stepped onto the bus that would take him to Smallville High School. The inside of the bus was almost full with teenagers. He sat down on the third row and set his blue backpack on the floor. He knew he could have ran to school, but he decided against it because it was his first day to ever attend school. He was excited and nervous about going. Clark had told him so many stories about his high school that it sounded adventurous. Conner doubted, however, that he would have any adventures at Smallville High School.

The bus stopped and two students stepped on. It was a boy and girl. They both had dark hair and were holding hands. It was obvious that they were a couple. The boy was wearing a blue and black plaid shirt with blue jeans. The girl was wearing a red shirt and a denim skirt. They sat down in the seat that was in front of Conner.

The girl turned around in her seat. "Hi, I'm Zoe," she told him. "Are you new to Smallville High? I have never seen you around before."

Conner nodded. "My name is Conner. Nice to meet you," he replied.

Zoe grinned. "Good to meet you too. This is my fiancée, Clayton," she said as she pointed to the boy beside her.

Clayton turned around. "Hi. So where are you from?"

"I am from Star City," replied Conner. He was sticking to the story of the fake identity that Tess Mercer had given him. The thought of her death made him sad.

"Really? Zoe and I are moving there after we graduate this year," Clayton said. "That is when we are getting married."

A big grin appeared on Zoe's face. She showed Conner her ring finger. A beautiful diamond ring was on it.

"Congratulations!"

Zoe and Clayton stared at each other and smiled. Clayton gave Zoe a kiss on the cheek.

"So are you thinking of joining a club or anything while you are here?" Zoe asked casually.

"Well, I was thinking of joining the Torch. Do you know if the Torch is in need of more people on the staff?" Conner asked.

"Yes, it is," the engaged couple replied at the same time.

"We are the editors of the Torch. We are in need of some more journalists, and we are going to have to find someone to 'carry on the Torch' once we get married." Clayton said.

Half an hour later, the bus stopped at the school. The students quickly got off, and went to their classes except for Conner. He went to the principal's office instead so he could get his class schedule. He knocked on the principal's door.

Terrence Reynolds opened the door. He smiled as he saw the young man before him. "Conner Kent, come on in," he said.

The black haired young man obeyed. He was about to say something when he saw a blonde girl who was about his age. He smiled at her.

"Conner, this is Rachel Anderson. She just moved here," the principal said. "Now if you two will excuse me, I will send some students to escort you around to your classes." He handed them their class schedules then left the office.

A few minutes later, two students walked into the principal's office. They looked like they were the same age as Conner and Rachel. They smiled at the new students.

The boy gave Conner a firm hand shake. "Hi, I'm Simon. This is my girlfriend Beth. We are here to show you around to your classes. What is your schedule?"

Conner showed Simon his class schedule, and Rachel showed Beth hers.

"Looks like we have the same class schedule," Beth said shyly. "Well, except for the end of the day. I am taking a foreign language class then."

"Well," said Simon, "it looks like we have pretty much the exact same class schedule; so we will show you around." He opened the door. Beth, Rachel, and Conner followed.