Gabriel would be alive.

Chapter 3

The remaining days of summer seemed to fly by for Sam, filled with a flurry of researching for the case and getting ready for the upcoming school year, where it seemed he was guaranteed at least a whole semester, and maybe if he was lucky an entire year. John Winchester had been less than pleased to learn that Sam had already registered without his knowledge (hadn't that been a sight to see) but with a few well-placed words from Peggy and a call from Bobby, things smoothed over. His placement testing had not only placed him in the 8th grade honors classes but he had also been informed that should he choose, the school offered for him to do extra studies in the subjects of his choice with help from the teachers if the classes weren't challenging enough for him. Trac and Dean had made another detour during a trip for the case to buy him school supplies, which Trac insisted on paying for saying that out of the three of them she was the only one who had a job that actually paid her and left it at that. On the case's front, nothing new had turned up but there had also been no other murders so while waiting for new information the Winchesters had begun doing other smaller cases in the area, as it turns out, Sam's new school had once been a graveyard that was built on top of and though the original building had been a church, the three hunters had their work cut out for them. Trac had also taken Sam and Dean on a sightseeing trip through the colorful state and had shown them a few of the caves that she regularly explored. But the summer days had come to an end and it was once more time for studies and wistful looks out the window of a classroom and freedom it presented just out of reach.

"You're gunna be great Sam, just mention me to the teachers when they ask about how you heard about the school and they will take to you right away. " Trac said seeing the nervous poster of the tall boy next to her. He cracked a weak smile.

She sighed. "You have science first, Mr. Myeloma is amazing you'll see."

"Go get 'em nerd." Dean grinned.

"Jerk"

"Bitch"

Sam smiled again before walking away from them and over to the Middle school building that stood separate and perpendicular to the main buildings, separated by the playground and black top. Trac had explained that the building was added as the school expanded so it was much newer and nicer than the old building.

There was already a crowd of kids who were catching up about their summer vacations while waiting for the doors to open. Luckily for Sam, the TA was already opening the doors of the school so he was able to avoid socializing straight off the bat, but then he was faced with a very different problem. He didn't know where the science room was. Approaching a group of blonde girls who looked about his age he spoke up:

"S'cuse me, my name is Sam, Sam Winchester and I'm a new eighth grader and I was wondering if you could direct me to the science room…?" He shifted awkwardly as one of the girls stepped turned slightly towards him, her eyes perusing his form in predatory manner.

"You must be in the honors classes," she tugged on her carefully glossed lip with her teeth as she looked at him through her eyelashes. "I'm Samantha, and it looks like you're in the same class as me and my friends." Here she was interrupted by her friends giggling. "I would love to show you where the science lab is Sammy." Sam felt his face start to turn hot as she puffed her chest out in an attempt to make her barely there assets appear more noticeable.

"It's Sam, not Sammy." He muttered

"I like that… Saaam" she rolled his name around her mouth and batted her eyelashes at him once more.

Sam slowly began to edge away from her

"You know, I just realized I have no idea where my locker is, I think I'll go find that and then figure it out from there so I'll see you around." The words were barely spaced out to make themselves understandable as he tried to politely excuse himself and get away from the Aryan-esque group of blue eyed blondes that were all looking him up and down.

"You will most certainly be seeing us around Sam, see you in class, and if you need any… help… just let us know." she replied in breathy voice as she leered after him.

The youngest Winchester fairly fled down the hallway nearly knocking a raven haired girl down in his hurry. He muttered an apology before he realized that the only difference between before and after that conversation was that he was significantly creeped out. He pulled out the paper that the office had given him days earlier and nearly slapped himself when upon opening them, the page was a map of the school with his locker number and combo written on it in pen.

Locker number: 212

Combination: 11-28-30

Well, there were some perks to being the tallest kid in the school, even with the hellish stampede of students it shouldn't be too hard to locate his…. Bottom locker. Sure enough, odd numbers were on the top and evens on the bottom. Well, wasn't this a fantastic start to the school year. He began to run his eyes across the numbers he could see: 201, 203, 205, 207… there! 213! Following their set up, he reasoned that his locker would be located beneath it. With a grimace he crouched done and started plugging in the combination.

"I'm sorry, to bother you but I think have the locker above you." A timid voice with an Eastern European lithe to it interrupted Sam's actions. He turned to face the speaker only to be confronted with the girl he had nearly bowled over no more than a few minutes ago, her hands firmly clutching the top of her bag as she shuffled her feet nervously, glancing everywhere but his face.

"Oh, yeah, sure… sorry about early again." His cheeks began to heat up a little at the reminder of he's previous encounter with the indigenous students.

"N-not a problem, those girls were kinda weird. I-I'm Natasha by the way, Natasha Chernyyina." She stuttered slightly

"Sam Winchester, it's nice to meet you." He responded automatically with a polite smile.

She glanced at his position on the floor as the kid beside him jostled his awkward frame.

"I-if you want we could switch lockers, I'm really short anyways and since you're taller it might be easier…" she saw him glancing at his paper. "We could switch locks too and tell the office later… But only if you want to! If your fine were you are we don't have to, I just thought since your taller—."

Sam cut her off "Your new here too aren't you?"

"That obvious? Yeah this is my first year here." She blushed.

"The locker thing sounds great if you really don't mind." She brightened instantly before bouncing forward and removing her lock and opening the empty locker wide for him. He gratefully stood up and stretched his frame only then realizing how much shorter Natasha was to him. She stood at a height of barely four feet to his total of five feet six inches, with loose inky curls that contrasted her pale skin and golden eyes.

"Where's your accent from?" He blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Originally Russia, I've moved around since then, but the accent stayed." A small shy blush stained her cheeks.

"That's cool I've moved around too." The first real smile all morning began to work its way onto his face.

The pair worked on organizing their lockers, as the school provided an half hour to do so on the first day, in a companionable silence until Natasha shut hers with a bang and crawled around Sam's legs before standing up and turning to leave.

"Oh, and Sam, the science lab is behind us." She stated with a small grin that was not unlike Trac's with the hint of mischief it presented.

Though the bell had already rung, signaling the beginning of classes, the door of the lab had yet to open and judging by the noises of crackling electricity, maniacal laughter, erratically flashing lights, and smoke that had clouded the window on the door without setting off the fire alarm, Sam wasn't so sure he wanted to know why the door wasn't open. Glancing around at his classmates, he noticed none of them seemed extremely worried, but all had slight hints of apprehension in their eyes, except for Natasha of course, her golden eyes were wide and her frame was once more shaking. Their eyes met and Sam gave her a quick reassuring smile which seemed to calm her slightly.

EeeeeeCKKKKK

The door swung open and crazed laughter and organ music poured through the doorway with multicolored smoke creeping closely behind it. Through the doorway he could see the faint silhouette of a man in a lab coat with wild hair, holding a beaker of glowing chemicals while he laughed, the growls of monsters echoing through the room set Sam's hunter instincts off, putting him on high alert.

"Welcome to the Laboratory." The booming voice greeted them as the fog began to dissipate. "I am Mr. Myeloma…" he blinked at them through glasses. "…Annnnd you are the not the sixth grade class."

"The Pixies are last period for you M!" one of the boys in the class called out as he strode into the room and dropped his books on the nearest table.

The man turned to the table that sat at the front of the room and peered at the schedule that sat on top of it.

"It would appear that you are correct Mr. Raine, I seem to have wasted a perfectly good surprise on you and your classmates." He stated in a much quieter voice then before, a disappointed frown across his face.

Still on edge from the scare, Sam began to examine both the teacher and the classroom.

Mr. Myeloma himself was a tall, broad man with wild silver hair that made him appear slightly crazed, adding to the effect of a mad scientist, the lower half of his face was hidden by a beard that matched his hair and large square glasses sat on the edge of his crooked nose while joyous gray eyes danced above rosy cheeks. He wore a dark blue plaid shirt with black dress slacks and a ty-dye lab coat with a pocket protector and old worn military grade combat boots. Despite his jovial appearance, he carried himself like a soldier in a way that reminded Sam of his father.

The room itself had blue and white checkered tiles that contrasted the rest of the school's green carpets along with eight tables each double sided with four chairs per a table. Each table had a different creature a dominate color. The nearest two tables depicted a Red Griffin and a Blue Sea Serpent, the next set with a White Pegasus and a Green Troll, followed by the last with a Purple Fairy and a Black Dragon. The room was surrounded by cabinets with another door in the back. Each cabinet had a color scheme corresponding with the tables. Around the room itself, there was a variety of odd ends and strange objects not unlike Bobby's, but where the grizzled hunter kept amulets, spell-books, and cursed objects across his home; the science lab was covered in various scientific instruments, whirling and bobbing toys, and collectors' items from all the sci-fi that Sam knew and more he didn't recognize. From the Millennium Falcon on top of the cabinet to the starship U.S.S. Enterprise and Battlestar Galactica that hung from clear string from the ceiling, while Daleks were scattered across the room with the complete justice league and Avengers assembled on his desk and the X-men and Guardians of the Galaxy spread out strategically on the edges of the whiteboard whose border was edged in a mix of Klingon, Gallifreyan, and Quenya elvish.

As the rest of the class poured in behind the first, the seats were quickly taken, leaving Sam with two problems. One, he was now the only student standing and his height certainly didn't do him favors now; and two, the only empty seat was at the fairy table that was occupied by the blondes.

He was beginning to resign himself to his fate when a movement from the back of the room caught his eye. Relief flooded his system when he saw it was Natasha motioning him to the empty seat beside her at the dragon table. In fact he was so relieved he didn't see the ugly expression that painted itself on Samantha's face when he brushed by her on the way to the empty seat.

"Now! It appears that we have two new students joining us so if the two of you would be kind enough to share with everyone who you are, where you're from, and how you heard of our school; then we can be on our way with the curriculum this year!" Mr. Myeloma's cheerful voice dragged Sam's attention back to him. "And as my mother taught me; ladies first!"

Natasha stood up and glanced around the class as she wrung her hands nervously.

"M-my name is Natasha Chernyyina. M-my grandmother and I are originally from Russia, but have moved around a lot since then. I was h-h-homeschooled up until now, b-but grandmother said I could go to a r-r-regular school this year if I wanted to and so w-we looked up schools in the area-a and found C-C-Clara Brown Academy..." Her whole body was shaking as she stuttered it out through her thick accent.

"Thank you Ms. Chernyyina, welcome to our school." His voice was soft as he gave her what was probably a reassuring smile hidden by his mustache and beard, before turning to Sam. "And you sir?"

Sam waited for the black haired girl while she fumbled with her chair in her rush to get back into her seat before he stood up, hunching down to hide his height.

"Young man, straighten up right now." Mr. Myeloma said sharply.

"Wha—." The teen began

"You're slouching because your height sticks out from everyone else. Don't lessen yourself on the account of others. Straighten up." There was a fierce look in his eyes.

Sam straightened up.

"My name is Sam Winchester. I've moved around a lot too, due to my dad's job, and uh, I was recommended coming to Clara Brown Academy by Trac Linh."

The professor threw his head back and laughed, his previous sternness having melted away. "Tell that little trickster that she needs to come back! Things have been far too docile without her around here! What she did to the bathrooms was inspired!"

Sam felt the smile begin to creep its way up onto his face. "She says that until there is evidence she didn't do it."

"She's as sly as a fox, that one." The scientist chuckled. "And creative too, she did the art on these tables."

"Really?"

"Yes, she would come in and ask me about various scientific theories when she had the time, couldn't sit still though so one day he brought in her paints and well, you can all see the outcome of that." He swept his hands out motioning to the tables. Continuing the motion of his gesture, he bought his hands together with a clap.

"As we were! I am Mr. Myeloma, though many call me M, I was raised here in the Rocky Mountains, and after I… quit… my first job, I did a few odd ends in different places before I decided that I wanted to help future generations do better than mine did and picked up teaching. Clara Brown was the best place I could find for that. Now! On to the registrar!"

By the end of the day, Sam realized that this was the most eccentric school he had ever attended.

Besides Mr. Myeloma, who apparently really liked to make things go boom. There was also the identical twin teachers who both taught English, Mr. Parker F and Mr. Parker G, and they dressed identically so no one could tell them apart. The math teacher Ms. Bradford who had a certificate on her wall for alligator wrestling, a feat that was hard to imagine based off the mocha skinned teacher's willowy frame. The history professor Mr. Williams who walked into class dressed as a Roman Centurion yelling in Latin. Mrs. Zuria was startlingly similar to Peggy in her no-nonsense personality, but outwardly the tall strongly built French teacher was aged regally, like a lady of old, a sharp contrast to Peggy's gentle, if deceptive, appearance; she seemed to reign over the school, a single look from her was enough to get anyone to settle down. The final teacher was the art teacher, a man whom Sam was more than partially certain was higher than a kite on a breezy day; but when he had asked the boy from earlier, Michael Raines, he simply looked and Sam and rolled his eyes saying "He's from Boulder." As if that had explained everything. The Winchester had resolved to ask Trac to elaborate on that when he next saw her.

The other thing the fourteen year old realized was that he had somehow managed to make a friend on his first day as Natasha had continued to stick to him like a shadow, and he really couldn't find a problem with that. Especially when he began to hear her smart-ass the teachers in a whisper from her desk next to his. None the less he was glad that the first day was over, because as much as he loved learning and school, it went without saying that the first day was always the worst.

A smile broke out across his face when he spotted Dean and Trac leaning up against the gun smoke gray Bel Air that glinted in the sun as Trac waved at him, a maniac grin on her face while Dean smirked cocking an eyebrow in Sam's direction before looking pointedly at… Samantha. The girl was leering at him from where she was trying to lean against the school building seductively… until Natasha may have slightly less than accidently knocked her over as she made her way towards the main school.

Definitely not an accident

Sam thought as the short girl turned her head to him just enough to see her wink. With a brief wave of gratitude to her, he made his way to the car.

"So who's that clever girl that did a take down on what appears to be the Blonde Hyenas part II?"

"Blonde Hyena—do you mean Samantha? That's a surprisingly apt name for her and her group based off my experience with them today… Anyways the girl who knocked her down is a new kid too, her name is Natasha.

"I had the pleasure of attending this school with her older sister and her identical posse… The name was deemed accurate and completely applicable to the Queen Bitch of the school."

"How did you deal with them?"

A wolfish grin spread across her face.

"Let's say that they shouldn't have tried to compete with the master."

They were half way home before Dean turned around in the passenger seat to face Sam and smirked.

"So wait, the queen bitch at your school is named Samantha? I always knew I was onto something!"

"Shut up jerk."

A/N:Sorry about the original post! I didn't realzed that had happened!