I'd been psyching myself up all week to make an impression on my first day in high school, but so far the closest I'd come to human contact was the girl mid-transformation into a lizard on the cover of my book.

I tried to lose myself in the rattle of the school bus and the overwhelming din of teenage voices, but without anything to distract me, I just felt like a loser. I'd looked up a few ways to start a conversation online and had practiced them in my mirror until Dad caught me doing it. I'd been ready to suffer the deluge of comments about makeup and clothes every article seemed to warn me about, but my resolve had fallen apart the second I'd actually shown up for the bus ride. I'd spent the entire time reading or gazing out the window as the city turned to forest.

At least there was no way Winslow's freshman retreat could end as badly as the last camp trip I'd been on. I just never thought I'd be doing it alone.

Emma had sat near the back, a group forming around her almost naturally. I recognized one of the girls from the last time I'd seen her—how could I not?—but the other three were a mystery.

Did they do modeling too? Was Emma just that good at making new friends? She'd made it obvious enough that she didn't need me for that. She'd acted like I'd been a lead weight dragging her down. Seeing how my current attempts at friendship had gone, I definitely felt like it.

Someone in the group made a joke and all of them laughed. Emma looked so happy.

I opened my book up again and tried to focus on it, but none of the words seemed to stick and I found myself rereading the page a half-dozen times before finally giving up. I shuffled it into the camping bag, pushing clothes, snacks, and knick-knacks out of the way to make room. I fiddled around in there, hoping something would catch my eye, but nothing seemed worth doing. Finally I zipped it closed, content with boredom for the rest of the trip.

A moment before shoving my bag under my seat, I opened a slot on the side and stared at the friendship bracelet that sat waiting there.

I'd made it for Emma this summer. A gift for when I got back from camp, but obviously that exchange had never happened. I hadn't told Dad, I wasn't even sure what to tell him. I'd had a hope that I'd show up for this and Emma would have changed her mind. Maybe she'd come to her senses and tell me that it was all a mistake. Maybe she'd embrace me with open arms saying it was all a joke, if not a funny one, and that she really did still want to be my friend.

Looking at her now, it was hard to believe that was ever going to happen. She looked so much happier without me.

I zipped up my bag and tried to forget about it. I'd never been the best at talking with people. I was always letting my mouth run away from myself when I wasn't clammed up from nervousness. Emma was the one who tended to temper my worst traits and I had been so excited to watch the two of us enter high school together.

I was going to make friends, I just had gotten off to a rough start. Anyway, wasn't the point of these things to let the class get to know each other? I didn't have to worry about finding a group, they'd find me. As the first signs for the campground started popping up on the highway, I promised myself I wouldn't be leaving this trip alone.

We twisted our way down a bumpy dirt road that sent dust clouds trailing behind us. The forest was still thick as ever and despite the sun, I could barely make out anything in the treeline. I got a glimpse of an animal, something big and black huddling near some rocks, but I blinked and it was gone. We continued that way for several minutes before the trees thinned out and our buses finally pulled to a stop in the main campgrounds.

A teacher sitting towards the front stood up and clapped to get everyone's attention. He had his hair in a buzz cut and wore the tackiest shirt I'd ever seen.

"Hello everyone," he said. "I'm Mr. Dail and I'll be one of the four teachers here watching over you. Most of you will be seeing me in a week for English class, but those who won't are lucky enough to get to have me here. Now, is everyone excited?"

A smattering of "yeah"s filled the compartment as Mr. Dail held a hand up to one ear. He was too peppy and exaggerated after a two-hour bus ride. He must have been in theatre at some point.

"I can't hear you! I asked if everyone was excited?"

This time he got a scream of cheers that shook the bus. Everyone started grabbing their belongings and getting ready to force their way past him. Either sensing the mood or being swept up in it, Mr. Dail swung his arms and headed towards the door.

"Well, come on then and let's go have some fun! Grab your things and bring them to the center of the lodges!"

The teacher hurried off the bus and the rest of us rushed after him. Everyone must have been losing it after two hours spent sitting in cramped conditions. I got lost in the stampede of teenagers, all of them happy to get a breath of fresh air and stretch out their legs. I'd picked a seat somewhere near the middle, and even with people pushing and shoving their way off I managed to get out without much of a wait.

I hung a bit to the right and stood for a second looking around at the campground and enjoying the scenery.

I was promptly shoved out of the way for my trouble. Emma's friend, the athletic girl with her long hair in a ponytail, walked past me.

"Excuse you," I muttered to her back.

She didn't stop walking as she turned her head, smirking. "Watch where you're going, Hebert."

I glared at her back as she walked off, looping around to her group and laughing at me with Emma.

Mom had always told me that when someone pushed you around you needed to let an adult know. Dad had said to punch them right in the nose. I wasn't really built for that sort of thing, so if this kept up I was going to have to find a teacher. I didn't want to start off my year getting bullied because Emma's new friend didn't like me.

I was also going to have to figure out what her name was. It felt really uncomfortable calling her Emma's friend in my head.

I got swallowed back up in the crowd as we all gathered in a loose circle around a group of adults standing in front of a fire pit. Four of them had to be teachers by the way they were dressed. There was something about teacher apparel that just set them aside from regular humans in a way I couldn't quite explain. The other five people dressed in tacky, green ranger outfits must have been camp staff. One adult stood surveying our group of arrivals while four teenagers idled around him, feigning anticipation.

The campground was set up in four interlocking rings. There were two groups of cozy cabins off to the east and west that were probably our accommodations for the night. A small circle of buildings further north looked like they were set up for learning and other camp activities. Several larger buildings in the middle formed a circle around the fire pit we were currently gathered at. I assumed they were probably the cafeteria and campwide meeting rooms due to their size.

There were a few other sights scattered here and there like a field sectioned off for sports, some picnic tables outside the cafeteria, and a few work stations that lay outside of everything, but other than that the main feature was woods. The campground was a large open space, but it didn't take long before the towering wall of pine shot up. I strained my eyes, looking for any strange shapes like I'd seen when we were driving in, but didn't spot anything. I guessed animals didn't like being this close to a group of noisy teenagers.

I could relate.

The last of the students dragging their feet finally showed up. A new teacher in a knee-length floral dress stepped in front of us.

"Hey there everyone!" she said, her voice loud and perky. "I hope you're all happy to be here. Welcome to the Winslow High freshman retreat."

She started clapping and the other teachers followed suit. The class joined in soon after, due to either genuine excitement or how awkward it was to watch.

"Thank you! I'm Ms. Glenna and I teach algebra, but don't worry about any math problems… today at least." She waited a moment for the lame joke to land and got a few pity chuckles before she continued. "I'll be the one in charge of this trip so if you have any issues then be sure to talk with me or Ranger Mike here," she said gesturing to a man to her right. "We'll be assigning everyone to a cabin and a teacher you should report to with any problems or questions. If everyone would please split up into groups of five, we'll let you know where you'll be staying the night."

Teens split off in every direction with the typical groups forming. Friends milled around talking about what they'd done during the summer. Jocks formed huddles, slapping backs and cracking jokes. Emma had her entourage swarming around her like they were royalty, giggling at comments and sneering at those beneath them.

I stood by myself, bag in hand and eyes on the ground. Once the initial buzz sorted itself out, only the unpopular kids and small groups were left. Ms. Glenna worked her way around the circle, slowly handing out numbers and pointing at teachers until she got to me.

"No group? I think there's a group of four over there," she said, pointing at some girls I didn't recognize, "you'll be in cabin eight and your assigned teacher will be Miss Harmony."

She didn't have time to say more than that and was off to the next person. I shouldered my bag and walked over, giving a timid wave as one of the girls looked my way. She returned it and I plopped my bag in front of me while I glanced around.

Two of the four had baseball jerseys on. I realized with horror I'd been placed into a group of jocks.

"Are you the one Ms. Glenna assigned to be our fifth?"

"Yeah, I'm Taylor. It's nice to meet you," I said with a smile.

The girl returned it and introduced herself. "I'm Hailey. These are Lyn, Dominique, and Elizabeth."

Each of the girls gave a wave or nod in turn as she listed them off. Hailey was lean and almost as tall as me, with bright blond hair that made me think of a lighthouse. Dominique and Lyn were the two wearing baseball jerseys and had the muscle to back it up, the former wearing a cap and the latter sunglasses. Elizabeth opted for darker colors and eyeshadow to match, and had more of a runner's body.

I felt horribly out of place, lanky and babyish in my Protectorate Pals t-shirt and jean shorts. I had to remember this wasn't little kids time anymore. This was high school.

Hailey glanced back at her friends, obviously unsure of what to say and probably thinking about getting back to whatever conversation I had interrupted. I'd promised myself I'd make this work, so I pushed through the silence. I ran through some of the conversation starters from my guides and started babbling before my brain could make me think twice.

"Thank you for letting me stay with you guys. So how did all of you get to know each other? Were you friends before or did you meet on the bus?"

"We all went to the same middle school," Lyn said. "Hailey and I knew each other back when we were little kids, but we met Dominique and Elizabeth in gym class and we've been together ever since."

"Don't make it sound like we're hanging out after school every day painting our nails. We're all on the softball team," Elizabeth explained, "and call me Liz. Elizabeth is way too long."

"Oh, that's nice," I said. "I don't really know much about sports. My dad wasn't really into it and my mom was an English professor so you know, not really her thing. I mean maybe she would have gone for a softball team more than a football team. I guess I never asked her."

I trailed off. Elizabeth sent a look to Lyn, which made me toe at the ground and play with the straps of my backpack. Dominique jumped in to break the silence.

"You're missing out. I was gonna go for rugby, but Winslow didn't want to deal with the lawsuits. Still, I need something that's gonna get me sweating. Softball is sorta close enough, just without all the beatings."

"That's good. I mean, beatings are bad and should probably be avoided," I said. Dominique gave me a look with an eyebrow raised, so I tried my best to mollify her in case she was upset. "I mean if it's your thing, that's fine. Sorry if I'm making things weird for you guys. I'm not trying to butt in or anything. You just seem like a cool group."

"Don't worry about intruding. If it wasn't you, it was going to be somebody else," Elizabeth said.

My response was thankfully interrupted by Ms. Glenna clapping her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Alright, you should have been assigned your number and chaperone. Come up to me if I managed to miss you. Please follow your chaperone towards your cabin and get settled in. We'll be having dinner soon and then we'll be talking about the syllabus for this weekend."

At that, the students formed another massive crush of bodies as they headed towards their respective teachers. I just barely managed to grab my pack and keep up with my group before they were swallowed up by the horde. Fortunately, Hailey was easy to spot even in a crowd, but in that initial moment of panicked searching, I caught a flash of red hair.

Emma was following along behind Miss Glenna while one of her friends was talking with her. Surprisingly enough, she was staring right at me. I watched her, uncertain if I should wave. The bracelet in my bag was still at the back of my mind. I smiled without thinking.

Emma gave me a cruel smile back, full of teeth.