Barbara stepped into her first class mere seconds before the bell rang signaling school to start. All the kids in the room began taking their seats, and she scanned about looking for an open spot. She'd just spotted one in the back when the teacher stepped forward.

"Are you Ms. Gordon? You're new to this school this year, right?" She asked gently. She looked nice, with long brown hair and chocolate eyes, a sleeveless white dress blouse and black pencil skirt and cute black kitten heels. She was young, and not threatening, and Barbara sighed in mental relief that her first teacher wasn't a demon. She could deal with tough teachers, but not so early on her first day.

"Uh, yeah." She nodded meekly.

Ms. Monroe just smiled kindly. "Excellent! We have two new students this year, why don't you sit together? Richard?" She asked, glancing around the room. A boy with dark black hair and the most vibrant blue eyes Barbara had ever seen sat up a littler straighter in the back and lifted his hand hesitantly to mark his presence.

Barbara simply nodded and walked quickly to the back with her head down, wanting to be out of the center of attention as quickly as possible. As she slid into the seat next to the boy, Ms. Monroe started handing out sheets of paper and explaining who she was, what she taught, classroom rules, etc, etc. The standard stuff about being courteous and hard-working that everyone had heard a hundred different times.

Barbara slipped out a folder for this class and glanced briefly at the boy beside her. He looked uncomfortable and troubled, like he wanted to say something but was opting to just stare at the teacher out of defeat.

"I'm Barbara." She said with a small smile to him. He snapped his head around to her in surprise, big blue eyes blown wide.

He smiled a pearly grin at her. "I'm, uh… Richard. Call me Dick though." He nodded his greeting, his voice sounding unsure.

"So…" She said awkwardly. She hated small talk. "You're new too? What brings you here this year?" She asked curiously.

He shifted uncomfortably, eyeing her carefully. "I, uh… I've never actually been to school before. I was home schooled, and then my father decided I needed to have a 'real school experience' or whatever. Not completely thrilled, but…" He shrugged giving her a lopsided grin. "So… what brings you here then?"

She blushed a little. "Oh, I'm, uh, here on scholarship. I used to go to Gotham East Public School but my grades were good enough that they asked me to attend here. I do gymnastics too, pretty competitively, not to mention they sent a whole packet on their gymnastics team, so I think they want me to join that too." She shrugged, babbling a little out of nerves. She knew 95% of the kids here were here because they were insanely rich and that there were only 17 kids on scholarship attending right now in the entire school, so chances were this boy was living an extremely different lifestyle at home than her. She wondered/feared for a moment if that would put him off, but relaxed as he nodded in understanding, his face not betraying that it was any big deal to him.

"That's impressive." He smiled kindly at her. "You must have some real brains to do that." He complimented, and she blushed even heavier. He only grinned at her discomfort. "And as for the scholarships, I personally know that they'd never withdraw it simply because you didn't join the team. You earned it and it's yours for your time here until you graduate, but if you're as good as you say then I don't see why you wouldn't." He told her with a challenging nod.

She didn't know what authority another new kid would have on this subject, but the confidence he spoke with was reassuring. The pressure to find the team immediately was lifted, and suddenly it was just another personal goal again. It eased her mind.

"Thanks. I think I'll try out anyway then." She smiled. "Are you into any sports?"

He shrugged. "Not really, no… I like gymnastics as well I guess, but not competitively. For exercise and my own personal entertainment more than anything." He smiled. "Perhaps we could teach each other something."

She couldn't help but grin. She had Robin as a friend and sometimes-trainer, she sincerely doubted there was something this kid could teach her that Robin hadn't already gone over with a fine-toothed comb.

"Sure." She agreed. Even though she doubted he could help, it was still interesting that the first person she met was also into gymnastics. It was like it was meant to be. "So, what other classes do you have today?" She asked curiously.

He slipped out his schedule and sighed. "I've got Biochemistry next, AP Calculus, AP comparative governments then lunch, Sociology, AP French, gym and then a study hall." He told her, and her jaw dropped.

"Holy crap, what are you, some sort of superbrain?!" She squeaked, instantly regretting it by the few odd looks those around them were shooting their way. She also realized she wasn't talking very refined-like, the way most rich kids here did, so she was really playing up the gap between her and those around her. Even if Dick didn't mind, it still made her feel uncomfortable.

Richard just chuckled though. "A little bit like that, I suppose." He allowed. "I had a very good home-school teacher. My grandfather actually, and let me tell you he's tougher than nails when it comes to either tracking mud in the house or not doing your homework." He joked, but Barbara was still staring at the paper in shock.

"Well… I guess the good part is we're in the same lunch, gym, and study hall. I take French same time as you, but I'm in beginners 101." She sighed shaking her head in amazement.

He grinned. "Well, you teach me competitive gymnastics and I'll teach you French, deal?" She blinked, looking up at his sparkling blue eyes. How strange that she'd only met him ten minutes ago and they were already making plans on hanging out. And oddly enough, she wasn't put-off by the fast pace or the sudden contact with another person after going years in grade school without any friends at all. Dick was familiar in some way, like she knew she'd end up being friends with him all along.

It made no sense seeing as he was so different from Robin—who was cocky and like a hyper humming bird, while Richard was calm, modest, and put together—but he was also just similar enough to catch her attention. The sly smile and easy-going nature, the cleverness and the puppy-dog eyes (even though she'd never seen Robin's eyes, she could picture the look quite well). He was just different enough to be a stranger, but just familiar enough to make her want to skip over the stranger part and go right to being friends bit.

"Deal." She agreed.