Disclaimer: I do not own Saved By The Bell or any characters, media or anything other related to the canon of the original show. The only things I own are the original characters featured in this story and the plot of the story I have written.

It's all right, cause we're saved by the bell!

Zack was unusually early for school the next morning. He had spent the remainder of the previous day staring out of his window to catch a glimpse of Amelia, trying to figure out where her bedroom was going to be. Of course, he kept his fingers crossed that she would be taking Jessie's bedroom which was conveniently accessible to him through the window. He wasn't going to risk accidentally climbing into her brother's room or the parental room, he wasn't that desperate.

He had been waiting around Belding's office door, hoping to catch the girl as she walked out but by the time the first bell was about to ring, he had yet to see any sight of her.

"Did you get into trouble already, preppy?" Slater couldn't help but chuckle as he ushered his way to the blond. "That has to be a new record."

"I'm bad but not that bad," Zack replied, though shaking his head. No, not even he had achieved a detention slip before the first class had even started.

"So what are you doing, standing here in front of Mr. Belding's office?" Kelly wondered, leaning in as Slater wrapped his arm around her waist. Zack had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, he had admitted his defeat over her heart but still had a long way to accepting it.

"I'm waiting for the new girl to show up," He explained, sounding slightly impatient. He hadn't seen the two teenagers leave for school in the morning, hadn't seen them enter Belding's office nor seen them exit so far.

"New girl, huh?" Slater wondered, his dimples popping out as he carried a mischievous smile. "Is she hot?" His comment earned himself a soft hit to the chest from the smaller brunette, which he replied with an apologetic smile. "What? It was just a question! You're still the hottest, Kel."

"Honestly, that's who you dumped me for?" The blonde scoffed, pointing at his slightly bulkier friend, shaking his head in disbelief.

"How come I haven't heard of this?" Lisa drew the conversation back to the main topic, as the school's biggest know-it-all trendsetter, she was usually the first to know about all the gossip, rumors and changes going on around the school. But she had yet to hear about any new students aside from the standard freshman who wasn't exactly newsworthy.

"They moved into Jessie's home over the weekend, she and her brother are supposed to transfer to Bayside."

"A brother, hm?" Lisa's attention was drawn to the mention of a boy. "Was he handsome? Was he hot?"

"What?" Zack frowned at his other childhood friend, but before either one of them could speak up, the first bell rang signaling it was time for their first class.

"C'mon guys, let's go before we're late." Kelly urged, holding onto Slater's hand as she guided him towards the first classroom, Screech, Lisa and a reluctant Zack following.

↭/↭/↭

Amelia and Jordan had arrived at Bayside about a half hour before Zack had done and had been held hostage in Belding's office for the standard welcoming speech and information about the school rules. How they were encourage to do their best in school and sign up for after-school activities, that if they had any issues his door was always open and - honestly, at some point Amelia had zoned out from the conversation, trying to ignore the somewhat annoying fact that Belding seemed to find his own jokes hilarious when in fact they were on a cheesy dad-level at most.

"I will escort both of you to your first classes from which one of your classmates will show you around for the remainder of the day." Belding finished, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "I'm sure you'll be calling Bayside your home in no time!"

"I'm sure we will, Mr. Belding," Jordan nodded, faking his most polite smile. Amelia glanced at her older brother, he was so easy to read and most likely had stopped listening around the same time she had but had the polite courtesy to pretend to go along with whatever their new principal had said.

"Are you excited?" He now turned to Amelia, awaiting her reply as she stared back at him for a moment. Honestly, he had to be the most upbeat principal ever.

"A-ah… Yes, very excited, Mr. Belding!" She nodded, flashing her own polite smile to humor him. But did this man really believe a teenager like her would seriously be excited about going to school, much less one she just transferred to?

"Great! Then let's get you kids to class!" His smile widened as he stepped away from behind his desk and headed for the door, marching out with big proud steps.

"Is this guy serious?" She couldn't help but whisper to her brother as the two of them tagged after him. "I think he's a few fries short of a happy meal..."

"Lia, be nice," Jordan chuckled softly at his sister's questioning. He could appreciate the principal trying to hype up something that most students loathed, in an attempt to make them feel at home.

"I am! I'm just saying-"

"This is your first class, Jordan if you would wait here, I'll go introduce your sister to her new peers." Belding stopped, his hand already on the knob of the door as he gave the wood a few knocks before entering the classroom.

"It was nice knowing you, big brother..." Amelia sighed somewhat dramatically before following Belding into the classroom.

↭/↭/↭

The first class of the year was English and just like the previous years was taught by Mrs. Simpson, the older and nearly deaf British woman with a love for anything Shakespeare. Most students didn't mind her classes as they were usually spent just chatting and hooking up, seeing as their teacher was unable to hear anything under a shouting level.

The knocking on the door by Mr. Belding went fully unnoticed by the older teacher as she continued writing a sonnet on the blackboard. He proceeded to the class and stopped right next to the teacher.

"Good morning, Mrs. Simpson, excuse me for interrupting your class." he cleared his throat in a semi-polite attempt to grasp the teacher's attention, who continued writing. "Mrs. Simpson?"

Amelia had followed after him, feeling as awkward as a person could feel in any new situation. Even though no one had bothered to look up when Belding himself entered, the new girl had piqued quite a few people's interests.

"Bro, that's the new girl!" Zack whispered to Slater, who was seated one seat in front of him.

"Cute outfit, I like her already!" Lisa peeked up, her eyes drawn to the outfit the new girl was wearing. In her eyes, if a person had a good sense of fashion, she would be able to get along perfectly. There was no such thing as too many shopping buddies.

"MRS. SIMPSON!" Belding's voice almost echoed through the entire room as the teacher finally responded. The poor old lady was startled, though not by the sound of her name being called but rather by the fact that Belding had proceeded to inch close to the elderly lady to have his voice be heard. She dropped her chalk and made a startled hop into the air before clutching her chest.

"Mr. Belding! You know better than to sneak up on people!" She practically scolded him, her voice still shaky from being startled. "What can I do for you today, Mr. Belding?"

"My apologies, Mrs. Simpson, I'm just here to introduce the new-."

"What?" The woman leaned in slightly, his tone of voice being too low for her to understand.

Belding let out a long, exasperated sigh. "I AM HERE. TO INTRODUCE. OUR NEW STUDENT."

Mrs. Simpson waved her hand in the air, almost insulted at the fact that she was being yelled at, "No need to shout, Mrs. Belding. I can hear you just fine."

It took Belding a moment to keep his calm before turning to the class. "Class, this is your new classmate!" He then turned to Amelia, "Good luck, kid!" After which he marched out of the class.

Amelia followed him with a somewhat curious look but returned to face the elderly lady as Belding promptly shut the door behind him. "Welcome, dear. What's your name?"

"Amelia Connor, ma'am."

"Class!" The elderly woman piped up, turning to the other students with a very righteous smile on her face. "Meet your new classmate Maria Banner!"

"Not even close..." Amelia muttered, the name her teacher had misunderstood was quite far off from her real name but since she didn't feel like making a spectacle out of herself by shouting out her own name, she just accepted her fate and prepared herself to correct plenty of her fellow peers once she had the chance.

"Now, let's see… Where would be a good place to sit?" Mrs. Simpson hummed as her eyes hovered over the seats in the classroom.

Zack got up from his seat with his hand raised. His lips had curled into a mischievous smirk as his eyes met hers. "There's a free spot next to me, Mrs. Simpson!"

Amelia stared at him, recognizing their next door neighbor though he left quite an unforgettable first impression with his persistence the other day.

"Now, now, Mr. Morris, class has just started," Mrs. Simpson replied, completely missing his suggestion for the new girl to take a seat next to him and interpreting his raised hand as another inquiry. "There will be no bathroom breaks until the bell rings."

"Oh, no… I don't have to go to the bathroom, Mrs. Simpson, I just-"

"Mr. Morris, I said no bathroom breaks until after class, now please sit down." Mrs. Simpson's voice turned slightly more stern, which was amplified with her British accent. Zack gave up, sinking back into his head while sneaking a quick glance over to the girl in front of the class who seemed to be hiding an amused grin.

Amelia was seated at the empty chair at the front of the classroom, much to Zack's dismay, and spent the remainder of the class trying to keep up with whatever Mrs. Simpson was babbling. She enjoyed English class, it had always been one of her favorite subjects but it wasn't the subject itself that kept her amused. To her, Mrs. Simpson was a very lovable person, albeit with her occasional quirks such as the misunderstanding in a conversation or her constant scolding that one should not raise their voice to be heard as if the world is deaf when speaking at a normal volume would cause the same misunderstanding.

The bell rang eventually and students were quick to make their way out of the classroom, though it left Mrs. Simpson for quite a confused surprise as she failed to hear it ring in the first place. How students never came up with the idea of just pretending the bell rang and get out of class early was a mystery, really.

"Hey! Hey, Amelia!" Zack caught up with the new girl who left the classroom and proceeded to try and figure out where her next class was going to be. Again, he tried to charm her with his signature smile, something many girls had fallen head over heels for but she seemed to be one of the few that managed to resist so far.

"Oh… Zack, was it?" Amelia asked carefully, vaguely remembering the name in the back of her head.

"The one and only!" Crossing his arms, he leaned against one of the lockers casually. "So, welcome to Bayside! Stick with me and I'll show you the best places to hide and make out!"

"Oh, so you're my personal welcoming committee here too, hm?" She mused, once again resisting the urge to roll her eyes at his antics. It somewhat amused her how this boy seemed to have no shame whatsoever in confidently flirting with her so shortly after her arrival. She had heard a lot about the supposed valley boys, who used their looks, charm, and wittiness to score with as many girlfriends as they could. Zack definitely qualified as such, sure his smile was charming and his quick-wittedness did amuse her so far, but she wasn't going to fall for it that easily. She wasn't the typical valley girl, after all.

"I guess it's your lucky day, huh?" Zack replied, casually snaking his arm around her shoulders as he tugged her along on his path. "The odds of being both my neighbor and my classmate, well, it almost feels like… fate."

"I must admit, I didn't take you as someone who would believe in things like fate and luck," The brunette noted, stepping away from his smooth embrace. "Some might call it… badly timed coincidences."

"Playing hard to get, I see how it is..." Zack feigned hurt at her comment, but he had to admit he enjoyed a bit of a chase. It's what kept his interest in Kelly all this time, any other guy would have given up halfway through but Zack stuck it out till the very end because he enjoyed the challenge and competition he had with Slater. Girls were at his feet, but being a person who often bit off more than he could chew, he actually enjoyed not taking the easy road.

"Zack Morris, you leave our new student alone this instant!" His voice echoing through the hallway prompted a protesting groan from the blond haired student as the two were soon joined by Mr. Belding ready to scold Zack for any and all mischief he had caused.

"C'mon Mr. Belding, I was just welcoming my new classmate! No harm in that, right?"

Belding turned to Amelia with a worried look on his face, she couldn't quite tell if he was being serious or if both of them were fooling her. "Is this boy bothering you? Because if he did, I will personally send him to detention!"

So it seemed Zack must have had quite the reputation as a troublemaker if the principal would threaten with detention that easily. Did that mean there was more to Zack than just flirting and confidence?

"No need for that, sir, Zack was just welcoming me to Bayside."

"Are you sure?"

Zack rolled his eyes, as usual, Mr. Belding found it hard to believe in his innocence. "Cut me some slack, Mr. Belding! I wanted to make a fresh start this year and you accusing me of a misdemeanor is really kicking my motivation."

Amelia glanced over at Zack, taking note of how well he was feigning his insult. The boy was a natural, all tell-tale signs of a real troublemaker. "I am very sure, Mr. Belding."

Belding almost seemed disappointed that he didn't get to send Zack to detention, but surrendered to the answer nonetheless. "Well, alright then. I have found someone who could guide you around on your first day, all your classes align so it will be easier to tailgate."

"Oh, so you mean Zack isn't my welcoming committee after all?" Amelia couldn't help but tease, glancing over at the blonde once again with an amused grin tugging at her lips.

"The offer still stands, like I said, I know all the best places to make-"

"Zack, heel!" Belding ordered, cutting off his advances before turning back to the girl. "No, I picked someone more trustworthy and appropriate. Oh, Kelly!"

As if on cue, Kelly Kapowski turned the corner after having rushed to the gym to get changed into her red and white cheerleading outfit. After all, the first week of school had to be celebrated with lots of school pride and cheer and the cheerleading team took every second they got to practice for the big assembly at the end of the week.

"Yes, Mr. Belding?" Cheerful as ever, Kelly joined the fray as she flashed the principal a sweet smile. Amelia recognized her from English class before, figured she was a cheerleader.

"Would you do me a big favor and show Amelia around today? And keep her away from..." He glanced over to Zack once more. "Trouble."

"Sure thing, Mr. Belding," Kelly smiled brightly before looking over at the slightly shorter girl next to her. "It would be my pleasure. It's nice to meet you Amelia."

"Ah… Likewise." Kelly seemed so pure, bubbly and friendly, Amelia admittedly had a bit of an issue adjusting to the radiance of positivity in every word and gesture the cheerleader made. It wasn't a bad thing, though, but it took a bit getting used to.

"Since you two share most of the same schedules aside from the club activities, I'm sure you'll get along nicely." It was a typical adult reasoning to expect that two individuals who happen to have the same mandatory and pre-determined schedule would automatically get along, rather than the two of them bonding over mutual interests. But then again, maybe the two would share some mutual interests.

"I'm sure we will," Kelly agreed before turning to the girl once more. "Come on, let's check out where your locker is first and then head over to our next class."

"Sure..." Amelia nodded hesitantly, mostly out of the sheer awkwardness rather than anything else. Kelly seemed nice, and she wasn't against making a new friend in a new place other than the boy who had been hitting on her since she arrived in town.