"Wait, you're telling me there's a new girl back at the house?" Jerome was the first to react to the news that Fabian and Joy shared when they walked into the classroom. "And she's already gotten in trouble?" He smirked. "I think I'm liking this girl already."

"But don't you think it's weird, why would they let an American come here?" Joy responded, still a little bewildered from their encounter with the girl.

Mara spoke up. "Maybe she got good grades or something. It's really not that unusual."

Patricia rolled her eyes. "Great. I just can't wait to meet her."

"Have they said who's her roommate yet? I'm not sure I'm comfortable sharing with a complete stranger." Amber was holding a mirror up to her face, probably checking her makeup.

"Obviously she's sleeping on the floor." Alfie joked, making some of them laugh.

Joy wasn't seeing the humor in this situation. Why add another girl to the house this late in the semester? Why didn't she start when everyone else did? It was just annoying. And there wasn't like there was any room for her, anyway. There were only two beds in each room, and they were all occupied. Patricia and Joy were in one room, and Mara and Amber in the other. Unless Victor and Trudy did some rearranging. She was irritated at the thought of someone else touching her stuff.

"Why don't we give her a chance? None of us have even met her yet." Fabian tried convincing the group, which surprised Joy.

"I thought you two already did. What was her name again?" Mick paused in an attempt to remember.

Fabian wasted no time answering. "It's Nina."

"Right, right." Mick nodded. "What'd you think of her?"

"Weird, if you ask me. She was poking around the attic door. Who does that?" Joy stated, showing her distaste for her.

"Well I thought she seemed nice." Fabian ignored Joy's words. "A little awkward, but we barely had a conversation with her."

"I'm sure she's nice. Fabian's right, we should give her chance. Especially since she's new, she must already feel like she doesn't belong." Mara said. "So, let's all do our best to make her feel welcome, alright?"

Joy could see her point and nodded in agreement when Mara looked at her. She would give this girl a chance and be nice. Surely that wouldn't kill her.

Classes dragged on through the day. At one point Joy could feel herself falling asleep during math, but luckily Patricia had shaken her back to her completely alert state. She paid attention for the remainder of her day and went back to house along with the rest of her housemates. They were all curious to see what she was like and couldn't wait another second. Joy wished she felt that way, but this was starting to feel like a tedious task. Trudy would make everyone introduce themselves one by one, and she had already met the girl. There was no excitement.

Once they all got to the house, Trudy came to them and said to stay in the common room. Joy wanted to sigh, but she stayed quiet and obeyed like everyone else. It was a good two minutes of awkward silence before Trudy and the girl entered.

"Hi, I'm Nina Martin, it's so nice to meet you all." The girl had a smile on her face, and she seemed much more energetic than she had been earlier. "I hope I won't be too much of a bother for anyone."

"Of course you won't be." Trudy reassured her. "Everyone is excited to meet you."

Trudy eyed the group, as if she were signaling for them to join the conversation. Jerome began the introductions, and they ended with Mick, who left quickly since he wanted to get in a work out for the day.

"Did you really get detention on your first day?" Alfie asked while Jerome silently laughed to himself, looking forward to her answer.

Nina shook her head. "No, just another lecture." She was surprisingly upbeat for someone who received a scolding from the big, scary, guardian of Anubis House. "And an old toothbrush, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with it."

Joy laughed to herself. The poor girl had no idea what she was in for.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Patricia said, an amused expression on her face.

"I'll explain it to you later." Trudy tapped Nina's shoulder affectionately. "Are you hungry? Dinner's not for a few hours, but if you want something, I can make it for you now."

Joy noticed that the rest of her housemates looked like they were getting ready to leave, grabbing their bags and standing up. She did the same, already tired of this whole situation. But she'd never hear the end of it back at school. Especially since she was American.

"I'm okay, thanks." Nina was still smiling. Looking around at everyone's faces one last time, she bid her goodbye, losing her grin. "I'll see you all at dinner. It was nice meeting you."

It was quiet for a moment after she left. Joy could tell Nina didn't feel she was welcomed, which was kind of true, and the guilt was already forming. Then she shook it off. Whatever, it wasn't like Nina was trying to get to know them or anything. A simple introduction and she was already by herself.

"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot." Trudy broke the silence. "Amber, Nina will be rooming with you. Mara, would you be okay with moving into Joy and Patricia's room?"

"What? But there's no room-" Patricia began protesting, only to be cut off by Trudy.

"They've already added another bed this morning. It might be a bit cramped, but I'm sure you'll make it work."

It's not like they had any choice either, Joy thought.

Dinner didn't start out as bad as Nina thought it would have. Trudy brought in another chair for her and she sat in between Fabian and Alfie. She was surprised to see how quickly she had remembered all their names, being that there was eight of them.

Her conversations were brief, mostly with Mara trying to make her feel included by asking her about life in America. Nina wasn't sure if she was genuinely curious about it, but she was grateful that Mara made an effort. That's more than she can say for the other three girls. Although Amber didn't seem as cold as Patricia and Joy.

"Do you miss your parents?" Mara asked, and Nina froze. "I know when I first came here, I bawled my eyes out for like a week straight. I can't even imagine how much harder it is for you since you're from another country."

"Yeah, you know, Alfie still cries for his mom every single night before he goes to sleep," Jerome let out a laugh when Alfie retaliated by throwing a piece of lettuce at him.

"Please don't start another food fight, this dress costs more than everything you own combined." Amber picked up a few napkins from the table to protect what little parts of her dress she could. Mara cleared her throat and looked at Amber, gesturing with her head to Nina. Amber looked confused for a second, then realized what she meant. "Sorry Nina, you can speak now."

"It's okay. And actually, I live with my grandmother. My parents passed away when I was young." Nina hoped she wasn't oversharing, even though most people asked about her parents anyway when she only mentioned her grandmother. "I do miss her a lot." She'd give anything to see her at that moment.

"So why would you leave her all alone? Or did she send you away to get rid of you?"

Nina looked up, unaware of whose voice it was. Not that it mattered to her. The social exhaustion she was feeling combined with the ever-so hostile environment was more than enough to make her move her chair back and leave in a hurry.

Would it ever get any better?

A/n: I hope this was good, I'm worried it's not haha. And I know there haven't been any Fabian/Nina moments yet, but those are coming next! I'm excited, they're my favorite. I hope you enjoyed!