"What's this?" Silver asked.
"Um, a notebook?" Annie replied meekly.
"No, this," Silver said tapping the sticker.
"It's a Division 8 sticker," Annie answered testily.
"How is that even possible? They have like 8 fans total… Where'd you get the sticker, new kid?" Silver demanded.
"I found them on The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus' celebrity playlist… And could you give me back my notebook?" Annie asked.
"Hmm, tough girl… I like it," Silver retorted. "That's exactly how I found them too!" she admitted, smiling for the first time. "My name's Silver," she offered as she sat next to Annie and stole one of her fries.
"Silver…?" Annie questioned as she moved her fries over so they could share.
"Well," Silver said contemplatively. "You could call me Erin, but I won't respond."
Annie laughed. "Okay."
"I wasn't planning on making you feel welcome or anything, but I saw the sticker and thought 'ah, maybe the Principal's daughter isn't such a big loser after all!'" Silver said with a smirk.
"Gee, thanks!" Annie remarked, laughing.
"That and I felt sorry for you after Mr Matthews stuck you with the Anti-Christ all morning. It was rather amusing watching for awhile but then it turned sickening," Silver said sympathetically.
Annie laughed. "So you're a fan of Naomi's as well I take it?"
Silver shook her head and looked away. "Hardly. I'm sure you can understand why after spending the morning with her."
"Yes, luckily Miss Taylor sent her and her friends packing. Mr Matthews forgot to let Naomi in on the secret that my Dad's the new Principal… Very funny stuff," Annie conceded.
Silver laughed. "Yeah, he's pretty cool. What do you think of Kel – I mean Miss Taylor?" she asked.
"She seems really nice. She told me to come see her if I need anything," Annie said. "I guess she knows it's not easy being the new kid here, especially the new Principal's kid."
"Yeah, Kelly's good like that," Silver said smiling wistfully, thinking back to her wonderings the previous day.
"Kelly? You're on first name basis with the counsellor?" Annie asked curiously.
Silver laughed. "I'm no mental case, don't worry. As well as being the guidance counsellor, she's also my big sister."
"Really?" Annie said incredulously. "Well then I guess you know what it's like to be under 24/7 surveillance at school then huh?"
"Yeah… Kelly tries to not butt into my school stuff. Sometimes she can't help it, but she's pretty harmless. I'm sure your Dad will keep his distance," Silver offered.
"Yeah, I'm not going to get my hopes up," Annie concluded.
The bell rang, ending the girls' conversation. Silver saw Annie's face flash a look of panic at the realisation that she was about to be lost and alone again. It was all Silver could do to suppress a giggle.
"What class do you have now?" asked Silver as she stood up.
"Um, I have Biology with Mr Katz," Annie answered after consulting her schedule.
"Me too," said Silver with a smile.
A look of utter relief came across Annie's face. "Oh thank God!"
Silver stretched out her hand to help Annie up. "Thanks," she said as she rose.
"Don't be grateful yet," Silver scoffed. "Katz's class is a total bitch. There's research that supports the notion that Mr Katz is really the son of a Nazi war criminal," joked Silver.
Annie laughed. "I'm sure it won't be that bad, I'm pretty good at Bio," she said.
"Great! You can be my lab partner and bring my GPA up," quipped Silver as she linked her arm through Annie's as they left the cafeteria.
Annie looked at Silver as they walked to class – she seemed really cool, and she was the first person who was openly kind to her.
*Oh my God… I made a friend!* Annie realised as her smile grew.
They arrived at Bio just as the tardy bell rang. Mr Katz met them at the door, ready to shut it.
"Ladies, welcome! Enter," he ordered Annie and Silver. He watched them head to a lab bench and sit together. "Ahh, Miss Wilson! Smart move buddying up with my most impressive student!" he stated.
Silver groaned and looked around. Luckily no one else was paying much attention and didn't hear Mr Katz's praise. She turned to see Annie smirking with an eyebrow raised.
"I think you might have things mixed up… Apparently you're going to be the one helping my GPA!" she teased Silver.
"Shhhh… Be quiet! I have a reputation to uphold here," Silver hissed.
Annie nodded knowingly. She understood; Silver didn't want to be the teachers pet anymore than she wanted to be the Principal's daughter.
"Your secret's safe with me," Annie whispered with a wink.
Silver smiled.
*Annie seems really nice,* Silver thought to herself. *Very sweet, but can I trust her enough to let her in?* she wondered. Silver sighed, so many people she'd trusted in her life had left or let her down. But she knew that the only way to find out if someone was worth trusting was to lower her defences in the first place. But that was easier said than done for her.
The bell rang shrilly and pulled Silver out of her thoughts. As she packed up, she turned to Annie.
"One more class, then freedom till 8:30 tomorrow morning. What class do you have?" she asked.
"I have… Um… Absolutely no idea," Annie realised as she rummaged through her bag looking for her timetable.
"Oh, here we go, I have Math with Ms. Kessler," she moaned. Annie hated Math with a passion.
"Well aren't you lucky to have the pleasure of my company all afternoon?" Silver exclaimed.
"You're in my class?" Annie asked hopefully.
"Better believe it," Silver confirmed. "Onwards and upwards," she said leading the way to their Math classroom.
