A/N: I would like to apologize for not updating for three weeks. I recently got addicted to Naruto and have been spending all my free time watching. (I watched the first two seasons - 104 episodes - in one week) I've been on vacation for the past week, so this is my first chance to start writing. It took me two hours to write this, which is longer than usual, so I actually think this is going to be my best chapter.

Edmund woke to the door shutting. He rolled over and saw a suitcase and bags piled on the bed across the room. There wasn't another person in the room, so he assumed he had just missed his new roommate. He looked at the clock on the wall: 6:17. Lying back down, he tried to go back to sleep. When he was still awake ten minutes later, he got dressed.

His roommate had not yet returned, so he decided to go for a walk around the grounds. Last year he had hardly given his surroundings a glance, but since Narnia he had developed an appreciation for the beauty of nature. The morning air was crisp as he walked outside. The fog was thick, which made seeing difficult. He made his way toward where he knew the pond was. He remembered pushing a kid into it. The trees next to the pond were swaying with the breeze.

Looking out at the beauty he has never given thought to before, Edmund felt compelled to ask Aslan for help. He opened his mouth to pray, then shut it. He was no longer in Narnia. Aslan had said he would always be with them, but did that only apply to Narnia? Could Aslan hear his prayers from another land? Up until now he hadn't thought about Aslan much. He had only been focused on proving himself to his parents, and now his peers. Did he still pray to Aslan while in England?

No longer noticing his surroundings, Edmund made his way back to his room. He didn't pay attention to anything until he got back to his room. Light was streaming out from under the door. He would finally meet his new roommate. He opened the door. The boy was facing away from him, unloading his bags. From the back, Edmund could see they were the same height. The boy's hair was black and longer than the common English haircut. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. He must not have heard Edmund come in. Edmund was surprised as well. This boy looked familiar. His hair was flat on his forehead, almost in his eyes, which were a bright blue. Under his blue eyes were dark circles, indicating sleepless nights.

Not wanting to appear rude, Edmund held out his hand. "My name's Edmund. Pleasure meeting you." The boy tentatively shook his hand. "Jacob."

Why couldn't he place where he had seen this boy? Jacob turned back around to finish unpacking. Edmund was about to say something when Jacob spoke again. "I am sorry I wasn't here last night. I believe there was a misprint on some of the papers. When I went to the front office to get my schedule this morning they asked me what say my papers said to arrive. Apparently it was only after they had printed most of the papers that the mistake was realized. The secretary just changed the rest and left the printed ones the same. She didn't think it would be a big deal if we were late since classes don't start until tomorrow." That explained why there weren't many people here. Edmund felt relieved to know that he hadn't gotten the wrong date, though. It wouldn't have started his year well.

"Well, I hope you don't mind that I claimed my space already. I was going to wait on you, but when you didn't come before night, I had to just pick."

Jacob laughed. "I don't care. I am so focused on not messing up and making a fool of myself today that as long as I make it through the day without embarrassing myself, you can have anything you want."

"Well, the only things that could get you in trouble with the principal is cheating, goofing off in class, and fighting." Edmund had broken two of these three rules himself. At least he never cheated, right?

"What are your classes?" Jacob had already pulled out his list. Edmund went to his dresser and picked up the list. "I have English first period, Algebra second, Science third, lunch fourth, History fifth, and Geometry sixth."

"We have English, lunch, and Geometry together." Three out of six classes was more than Edmund had expected. "Are you planning on taking any extracurricular classes?"

"I was thinking fencing." Jacob didn't sound like he wanted to. Edmund had thought of fencing too. He had even gone so far as to study a few techniques. In the end he had decided his Narnian style of sword fighting and fencing were too different to combine. He had been over a little of the list, but nothing else had appealed to him. He realized Jacob was looking at him expectantly. "I don't know. I had thought of fencing, but decided against it.

Jacob was quiet for a while, clearly in thought. "I don't know anyone here, so would you like to find something to do together? I understand if you want to spend the time with your other friends." Edmund bit back dry laughter. Other friends. The only person here who even liked him was his own brother. Edmund agreed to Jacob's idea, wondering what Jacob would do when he realized everyone hated him.

NARNIANARNIANARNIA

They spent the next hour pouring over the list of activities. By the time they went down for breakfast, they were no closer to a plan. As the entered the cafeteria, Edmund scanned the room for Peter. He was sitting with other upperclassmen. Peter waved them over. The boy sitting next to Peter, McNair, looked confused. Edmund understood. A year ago Edmund and Peter wouldn't be caught near each other unless Peter was lecturing Edmund.

Edmund sat down next to Peter, and Jacob sat next to Edmund. Edmund leaned back so he could make introductions, "Peter, this is my roommate Jacob. Jacob, this is my brother Peter. This is Jacob's first semester here." The older boys whom had been staring at them, went back to their meal, though Edmund suspected they were still listening. Jacob seemed oblivious to the stares. Edmund and Peter started conversing. They were talking about broad topic, like the weather or which classes they were looking forward to, so Edmund expected Jacob to join in, but he never did. Looking at him from the corner of his eye, Edmund noticed he looked uncomfortable. He had reverted back to the shy boy Edmund had only seen for a second that morning. Jacob had seemed to warm up to him immediately, and Edmund was sure Peter was easier to talk to than himself, so he had no clue as to why Jacob remained quiet. Maybe it was just that they were roommates and Jacob had been forcing himself to open up to make the year easier.

"Jacob and I are going to go finish setting our room up." Edmund stood up. Jacob was only a second behind him. He had one strange roommate.

NARNIANARNIANARNIA

After Edmund and his friends left, McNair turned to Peter. "What is up with your brother? Last year he avoided you at all costs, this year he purposely sits next to you. Since when did you get along?"

How to explain without including Narnia? Peter had run into the same problem when he was talking to Mum. Edmund had gone through a radical transformation that really could only be explained by what happened in Narnia. He settled on an answer similar to what he had given his mother. "Between getting sent away due to the war and our mother's illness, he grew up." I wasn't a lie. It was between those two events that they went to Narnia.

McNair shrugged. "We'll see."

It hurt Peter to know that Edmund would be under constant scrutiny again. He had only been in Narnia for a short period of time, and, except for Mr. Tumnus, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and the fox, no one had known him until after he had repented for his betrayal. He had put his own life on the line in the Battle of Beruna, which showed his dedication to righting his wrong. There were a few Narnian's that had taken longer to convince, but by the time they had ruled for a year, Edmund was known throughout the land as King Edmund the Just, the greatest diplomat Narnia had even known.

Here in England most people had known Edmund for years. He had the reputation of being a bully, for picking on the weak. Now he was here, just a year later, claiming to be different person. It would take a while for people to give him a second chance. And if he made a single mistake, there would be no third chance.