Chapter Four: The Bug in the School

Sometimes in the dead of night, she would track the shadows against the backdrop of the darkened bedroom. She would pretend that the unfamiliar surroundings were the cause of waking from a dream. It was that confusing, unsettling moment where the brain couldn't decide between the fantasy of sleep and the reality of consciousness. Then her eyes would adjust to the inky blackness, and she'd take in the foreign room with disgust. It was in these times that were lost to the night that she discovered her hatred for the unknown. She'd trace the outline of everything in the room from her position under the covers like you'd lay in the grass and trace the clouds on a bright summer afternoon. Usually it was dawn before she had memorized every corner, every ledge. This attention to detail would serve her well later in life. But at the time, it never made the room feel anymore like home.

Linoleum tile flooring, fluorescent lighting, and the lingering smell of moldy crayons mixed with bleach... normally these conditions didn't exactly sound inviting. Oddly though, the timeless familiarity of the setting comforted her. After the shock of waking up in a strange bed in a strange house once again, she welcomed the mundane and stereotypical characteristics that seemed to inhabit schools all across the country. The couple that child services had placed her with - she refused to think or refer to them in any parental capacity - had insisted on accompanying her to her first day of classes. She had the small inclination to believe that they were instructed to do this for fear that she would runaway at the first opportunity. She wanted to tell them that she wasn't that stupid.

She needed a good strategy first.

"I was thinking that now that school has started, I could get an after school job." She didn't want to be indebted to these people in any way. Plus, she needed money to get to New York as soon as possible. She shrugged one shoulder in an attempt to look casual, as if she hadn't been planning the words all morning. "I want to be able to contribute."

The wife of the couple she had been placed with, Anna, turned in the little plastic waiting area chair to look at her. "Let's see how today goes first, hm? There's no need to rush everything." In the short time she had been with the couple, she had come to recognize that Anna desperately wanted to mother someone. Brad, the husband, seemed indifferent to the entire situation. "Who knows," Anna continued, "you might be too busy with clubs or friends for a job. I was a cheerleader when I went here. Maybe you could go out for the squad? Legacies hold weight in try outs."

Thankfully, the office door opened, cutting off Anna's hopeful tone and any need for a response. A woman with dark, frizzy hair emerged from the inner office. She approached the three waiting for her in the hall. "Mr. and Mrs. Bernstein?" she asked with her hand outstretched for the man to shake. He did so limply and she felt his eyes hover briefly on her bare legs beneath her skirt. "I'm Sherry Mayor, the school's guidance counselor. I'm happy to see you both here. It's great when our students have a wide base of support."

"Oh, of course! We plan to be very involved." Anna piped up helpfully.

Sherry smiled to restrain her chuckle. She wanted to tell the woman that if she wanted any chance at winning over the teenage seated beside her, she needed to turn down the eager dial about five notches. The key word in dealing with these kids she had learned was nonchalance.

"Wonderful. But in these types of instances, the school also feels that it is important to let the students stand on their own two feet." She glanced at the girl between the two adults. So far she hadn't spoken a word. Sherry redirected her attention to Mrs. Bernstein. "I promise she will be well taken care of." She shook hands with the couple again - her personal foolproof method of politely ending a conversation with parents. "Oh, and carpool picks up at a quarter to three in the back parking lot."

She waited until the Bernsteins had exited the building before motioning the girl back into her office. She took a seat behind her desk and gestured toward a chair for her guest. Opening the new student's file, she said, "The situation sucks, I won't beat around the bush and try to tell you otherwise."

"Yes, it does." The girl's words were simple and courteous. There was no laughter nor hint of a smile.

"Your guardians seem pretty okay."

"They're..." her blue eyes were quizzical as she searched for the right word, "nice."

Sherry grinned. "Nice can be good." She slid a piece of paper across the table. "Here is your schedule. I know today will be bizarre, but try to remember that it's everyone's first day as well. Since you managed to miss out on orientation, lucky you, I've nabbed a senior from the secretaries up front to show you around."

As if the person knew they were being talked about, seconds later whistling was heard coming from the hall. "That sounds like him now."

It was his last, first day of high school. He felt that it should have been different somehow, felt different, more significant. In truth, the only thing he could think about was that he only had nine months left to figure out a plan. How was he going to get out of this town and go to college so that he could save his family? School was his reprieve from life. It was where he could be like the rest of his classmates. He knew that everyone had their secrets, dirty laundry that didn't like to be aired. But inside these halls they were all just students.

Although he wasn't quite as psyched as some of his peers, he was excited. He had a kick ass schedule - student aid first hour and football was the only thing after lunch. It pretty much guaranteed that he could arrive late or skip out early once, maybe even twice a month without getting in trouble. Plus, his student work program at the police station allowed him to leave school after sixth hour anyway to go to work.

"Seeley, be a dear and bring these to Ms. Mayor please," Mrs. Watkins said, placing a stack of books in his arms. She was a bone thin woman who showed an inappropriate amount of skin for someone who worked around hormonal teenagers. Today it was a red, polka dot wrap dress that clung too tight and with a v-neck that was too low. It was rumored that she was having an affair with the vice principal. And based on what he had seen of her husband, he figured the rumored was true. "I told her you wouldn't mind showing around a new student."

The stack was large, and he guessed by the titles that the new kid was a junior. Whistling the school fight song that they had blared over the intercom this morning, he weaved around the other front desk ladies milling in the hall to reach the guidance office. He knocked softly before nudging the door open with his foot.

He recognized the over sized jacket and tattered backsack immediately though he had only met her once. He was so thrown off at seeing her that he stumbled over the area rug. He managed to catch himself by grabbing the back of the other guest chair, but the books were a lost cause as they went colliding onto the floor.

Smooth, Seel.

Mayor chuckled from behind her desk while the girl jumped up and whipped around to see who had caused the commotion. Her mouth dropped open on its own accord as her eyes widened. No sound came out. Booth knew that he needed to retrieve the books that had spilled across the carpet, but he couldn't bring himself to pull his gaze from her face. He didn't know if her fish-out-of-water expression was one of outrage or shock at seeing him again. He removed the grip he had on the black vinyl of the chair to straighten out his letterman jacket and hold his hand out to her.

"Seeley Booth, at your service."

The girl looked at his outstretched hand briefly and took a quick glance at his face before bending to pick up her textbooks scattered at their feet. She knew that Pittsburgh was the second largest city in Pennsylvania, but it was starting to feel very much like a small town. It seemed that her bad luck (did she even believe in such frivolous things as luck anymore?) continued. Of course out of all the possible students she could have seen on her first day, it had to be him. Her plan to be completely anonymous had already fallen apart. The best she could do now was to keep moving forward, leaving no ties in her wake. She didn't need others. They didn't need her. She already had a family and friends, and what good had it done? Nothing.

"I got it." He hastened to say, grabbing the books before she could pick up too many.

"Booth here is one of those 'it boys' you see in the movies. Decent student, football star, good at helping damsels in distress. I think the school is even saving up to buy him a white horse." Mayor merely smiled when he sent her a pointed look. "He's the perfect choice to be your tour guide."

She, Roxie - he still didn't know her true name - was silent as Mayor tossed some more last minute information her way. He could feel her eyes barring into his back as she followed him down the hall as he led her to her locker. He made a mental note of the number, 47B, which wasn't that far away from his on the next hall. He set the books in the locker and took the padlock he got from the front office out of his pocket. "So Roxie," he said turning... wow. If the weight of her eyes were heavy, it didn't compare to staring into her blue lazer beams dead on. Since he had seen her at the precinct, he had told himself that he only imaged them being that intense. His fingers twitched to draw her closer. What was it about her that was so magnetic? He plucked her schedule out of her hands to prevent him from doing something really crazy and scaring her off for good. "Chess match or science fair?"

"What?" She nabbed the paper back before he could get a good look at it. "Why did you act as if you haven't been introduced to me before?"

"Ya mad?" Booth grinned as he continued their tug of war contest on her schedule. He peered at the top right hand corner where it listed her guardians. "I can't believe you were sent to live with Buggy Bernstein. I hope he didn't drive you here in the pest control, mosquito mobile."

She ripped it back, again. "No. Of course not. I was merely curious. And, no, they drove me in a normal car."

"Look, I didn't say I already met you because although Ms. Mayor is pretty alright, I didn't think it was any of her business to know that you were dragged into police headquarters because you were sleeping at Penn station."

"Oh. Thank you," she murmured softly, looking down at her shoes.

At that moment, Booth knew that whoever this new, mysterious girl was she would surely keep him on his toes. One minute she's defiant, defensive. The next... a flicker of vulnerability would surface and he fisted the leg of his jeans from keeping his hands from reaching out and encircling her. "So," he asked a second time, "chess match or science fair?"

"I don't know what that means."

"How Caroline tracked down who you are in the paper. I figured it had to be some sort of award."

She tried to keep her face passive, but inside she was seething. She had won first place in the state science fair last year and came in third the year before that. The news article had hung on their fridge until Russ had taken it down, saying it was going to give her a big head. Thinking of her brother, she used one of his favorite tactics when their parents asked him something he didn't want to answer - deflect.

"How do you know Ms. Julian?"

"Oh, she's one of my many admirers." Booth waited, but she didn't laugh at his quip. He shrugged. "I intern at the station, and she's a social worker. We run into each other from time to time, help each other out occasionally."

Magnetic or not, he still had only just met the girl so he played his cards close to the vest. There was no reason for him to reveal that he was also one of Caroline's cases. He didn't exactly think the two of them would be swapping tearful life stories over lumpy oatmeal in one of Child Services halfway house suites anytime soon.

"The last time we interacted you were telling me to give the police officer a fake name. Then you helped track me down… that's a quick change of heart."

Booth moved toward her. Tall with wide shoulders, he knew he could be seen as an imposing guy. Most people would have shyed away, yet as he had already learned, the girl inches in front of him was anything but the norm. He put his hand on the locker beside her head and leaned in. "I meant what I said the other day, I'm not trying to play you. Mullins – the officer that pulled you in – I wouldn't mind if he went and played in traffic. Caroline, on the other hand, is good people. She's loyal." He felt the left side of his mouth lift into a crooked grin. "Plus, I had something to gain by helping her."

"Oh yeah," the girl challenged not daring to flinch at his close proximity, "what's that? Another golden boy award to add to your jacket?"

"No. I knew it would raise my chances of seeing you again."

She ducked under his arm and stepped back but kept her gaze pinned on him. Her eyes were hard. "I'm not a damsel. I don't need saving. I'm sure your attractive physique and charming smile works satisfactory with other girls, but I didn't come here to swoon when pretty words are thrown my way." She blew out a frustrated breath. "I appreciate you showing me to my locker."

Polite, so polite. He thought as he raised his hands in the universal gesture for surrender. Although she was socially awkward, a little on the weird side, she couldn't be called rude. "Down girl," he said, his grin slipping for a moment before suddenly morphing into a smirk. "Roxie, did you just call me hot?"

"My name isn't Roxie."

He noticed she didn't deny it and stole her schedule once again. "Is that so," his eyes zoomed over the page looking for her name, "Temperance Brennan."

Her head jerked up so fast Booth was surprised he didn't hear an audible snap. "Temperance," he said again, rolling the name around his tongue. "It doesn't fit you." He could see her frown in the corner of his vision. "I like it, different and a lot better than Seeley I'll give you that. But, it's too... it's too tame. You're not an old lady knitting in the corner."

"It means moderation."

He laughed. "Do you do anything in moderation?"

She tilted her head to the side as if she was seriously thinking about it. "Not that I can recall. I like to give every task the best of my ability."

"I can see that," he murmured, looking down at the list of her classes. He whistled. "AP English and AP Physics, Latin. What year are you in?"

"I'm a sophomore."

"And you're taking Anthropology too?"

"Yes," she nodded. "It's the study of -"

"Humans, I know." Booth cut in. "I'm not a total bonehead."

She smiled. It was the first true smile he had seen on her. If I thought she was captivating before... Her smile lit up whole entire face and made her eyes freakin' blaze. At the station he had thought she wasn't atypically pretty, but now with her alight with happiness every guy in school was bound to hit on her.

"I see that." She repeated his words, her lips quirking. "Although bonehead is supposed to be an insult, the skull of a human can actually tell you a lot about a person. Forensic Anthropology is my favorite field, though they are all fascinating. It's the branch of biological anthropology that scientifically studies human bones in-depth to conclude how they died and/or lived."

"Thanks for the history lesson, Bones." Even though the subject sounded pretty boring, it was the only piece of personal information she had given to him so far. It was almost weird to see her demeanor change immediately. He wondered if her awkwardness always fell away when she talked about something she was passionate about.

"We just established that my name is Temperance, not Bones."

"It's a nickname. Ya know, because you want to work with bones."

Her gaze turned curious and Booth thought he should be able to hear the gears turning in her head. "Well, I'm not sure if I like it."

"Nickname? You're not always supposed to like it, it's part of the appeal." He finally gave back her schedule, trading it for the last of her books for him to hold. "Come on, Bones. Let's get you to your first class."

Speeding her steps to catch up with him, she shouted, "Don't call me Bones!"

So... did you like their little reunion? I'm going to stop apologizing for the sporadic updates since I keep doing it over and over again anyhow. Thank you for continuing to read this story, it's been therapeutic to write in a crappy time of my life. Please catch me on twitter at isagrasshopper. Also, check out my profile on here for the updates on how the WIP chapters are coming along.

ps: I was thinking of creating a threat/forum topic to add extra tidbits of info like their schedules and such. What do y'all think. Hit me up or press the green button below to lemme know! Thanks :)