Disclaimer: I don't own "Make It or Break It," anything related to it, or anything else referenced unless otherwise mentioned.

A/N: So… Long time, no update! Sorry for that, I've had a bit of writer's block recently. It's a rather nasty case, but I think I'm starting to overcome it. I just made a flow chart (yay flow charts!) outlining where I want HoaC to go, and I've gotten up to chapter 16 so far, which means you have definitely at least 8 more chapters coming your way. This chapter is going to seem rather pointless, but it sets the plot in a new direction that I think the producers should have explored if they really wanted to send Payson to high school. Let me know what you think! =)

As the bell rang to end first period, Payson leapt out of her seat. After receiving no less than three additional scathing looks from Ben, she needed to get out of that classroom, and FAST. Motoring down the hallway as quickly as someone in a back brace could, she used her map and her schedule to locate her second period class, Honors Pre-Calculus.

The rest of the morning was a blur to Payson as she rushed from Pre-Calc to Honors Physics, and then to Media Arts (which her mother had signed her up for as a way to find Payson a new hobby). After completing her morning classes, she walked to her locker to retrieve her lunch and head to the cafeteria. While rummaging through her locker, she felt the eyes of two classmates upon her. Closing the door to her locker, Payson turned to find one of her classmates from this morning's history class standing there with a strawberry-blonde girl in tow.

"Hi!" The girl said in a chipper tone.

"Hello," responded Payson, obviously confused by the attention. "You're… Umm…"

"Caitlyn," she supplied. After seeing Payson's nod of acknowledgment, she continued on, "You're in my first period APUSH class!"

Payson's puzzlement showed on her face. "APUSH?" she questioned.

"Oh, it's just an acronym we like to use to shorten the name of the class. Saying Advanced Placement United States History gets a little annoying sometimes," came the response. "Anyway, I just realized that I never got your name this morning."

"Oh… Umm… I'm Payson," Payson finally managed to answer.

"Well, it's good to meet you!" Caitlyn enthusiastically replied. "Like I said, I'm Caitlyn, and this is Melissa," she continued, motioning to the slight girl standing next to her.

"Hello," Melissa said quietly, in obvious contrast to her loud and friendly companion.

"Hi," Payson replied. The longer this conversation went on, the more confused she grew. What do they want? She wondered. Could they possibly know who I am?

Her mental questioning was answered by Caitlyn's next statement. "Well, Melissa and I have lunch this period," she began, "and we saw you pulling out your lunch bag, so we guessed that you do, too." With another nod from Payson, her new classmate continued on. "So, seeing as you're new and everything, we just were curious to know if you'd care to sit with us at lunch today."

A huge sigh of relief escaped Payson's lips, and she replied, "That would be great! Thank you for asking me."

Caitlyn beamed as she said, "Great! To the cafeteria!"

As Payson followed the two girls to the lunchroom and to a table in the corner of the large room, she caught sight of a table of girls that were staring at her. The chuckles that they tried to hide from her eyes weren't as well hidden as they may have believed, and Payson's heart sank. Sinking into her chair, Melissa followed Payson's eyes to the group of giggling girls clustered around the center table.

"Watching those girls over there?" Melissa inquired. Taking Payson's silence as an affirmation, she continued on with disgust her in tone. "Don't bother with them; they're nothing but a waste of space and oxygen." As Payson turned in shock, Melissa kept going. "They're the plastic little Barbie doll girls who are more occupied with guys and drama than actually doing something, whether in high school or with their lives in general. The 'queen bee' would be Morgan Galloway, head cheerleader. The rest of them are just her minions, considering they have no brains of their own and follow her every command."

As Payson kept her focus on the girls who had now turned their attention from her to their latest issues of gossip magazines, a short girl with glasses and dark blonde hair approached them. "Hi, Caitlyn! Hi, Melissa!" she said while pushing her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose.

"Hi, Heather!" Payson's new friends replied. As Heather took the seat next to Caitlyn, she caught sight of Payson.

"Hi! You must be new!" Heather gushed at Payson. When Melissa confirmed this fact, Heather turned her direct attention toward the new girl and practically screamed "Do you know anything at ALL about gymnastics?!"

Startled and scared that Heather knew who she was, Payson responded "No!" immediately. Melissa turned her head and gave her a strange look, and Payson began to panic slightly. Rushing on in order to put her abrupt denial to rest, she asked, "Why? Are you a gymnast or something?"

Heather laughed hysterically at this question. When she finally got her laughter under control, she stated, "That's the funniest thing I've heard all month! No, I'm not a gymnast. I don't have that kind of talent… Or physical ability… Or coordination… But I am the manager for the school's gymnastics team, which is why I asked if you knew gymnastics at all. Our coach just quit, and we need to find a replacement."

Melissa groaned and put her head down on the table. "This coach search is not going well at all! We need a coach, and Mr. Chess just isn't going to cut it!"

Caitlyn turned to Payson and explained, "Mr. Chess is the school's football coach. He's a good coach for football and everything, but he knows absolutely nothing about gymnastics. He's willing to be the faculty sponsor for the team, but without a coach, the team won't be able to learn anything new or do well at competitions."

Melissa heard this and commented, "Hence why we're asking people if they know anything about gymnastics. I don't want my season to be ruined before it even starts!"

Shaking her head, Heather said, "Well, maybe we can ask Morgan if she knows anyone who can coach us."

"NO!" Melissa vehemently exclaimed. "It's bad enough that she's on the team in the first place, much less our 'top gymnast'. We are NOT asking her for help! That will only inflate her ego more!"

"Wait a minute, you mean that the girl you said is the school's 'queen bee' and resident bitch is the top gymnast on the team?" Payson queried.

Caitlyn answered, "Yup, and that's probably the single reason their old coach left: couldn't stand dealing with her anymore."

Melissa groaned again and said, "Can we stop talking about this? I don't want to even THINK about gymnastics right now. Can't we just go for a walk in the courtyard?"

Heather explained to Payson, "Here at Union, when you're done with lunch you can go outside in the front courtyard and relax, as long as you're back in time for your next class." She laughed. "Of course, that last provision doesn't seem to faze Ike Benziger and his crew," Heather finished, motioning to the group of leather-wearing boys standing outside. "So, up for a walk?"

Caitlyn eyed Payson's brace and said, "Unless you aren't supposed to? I mean, with your-"

"I'm fine," Payson cut her off. "Let's go."

The girls walked to the door, dumping the remnants of their lunches in the trashcans as they exited the building.

"See?" Melissa asked, obviously re-energized by the fresh air. "Isn't this more fun than sitting in there talking about Morgan the Bitch Wonder?"

As Caitlyn and Heather laughed and agreed with their friend, Payson's attention was drawn toward the scowling group of tough guys that had been pointed out to her earlier as major rule-breakers. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the member whose scowl seemed permanently etched onto his face, and who caught her eyes as he had multiple times this morning. Payson took a deep breath and, leaving a confused group of girls behind her, began to walk over to Ben Lawrence with the intention of making sure he never gave her that look again.

A/N: Not one of my best chapters, but it sets the stage for later ones. I just want to thank all of my reviewers for your encouragement, and please keep it up! Thanks! =) Oh, and for da Panda: More names! Yay! =D