After a night of constant tossing and turning, Nina was almost relieved to hear her alarm at six in the morning. The opposite could be said for Amber, reaching out from underneath the covers to silence the blaring sound. Nina took this as a sign that she should get in the bathroom before anyone else does, or else she'd be waiting forever. The wait for a shower last night was about a half hour and that was only with a few of her housemates ahead of her.

Nina picked up the uniform that had been placed at the edge of her bed yesterday by Trudy and left to change in the bathroom. Before entering, her eyes were drawn to the attic door. A risky idea was forming in her head. No one was around to stop her from trying to get the door open, though she didn't have a plan for unlocking it yet. And by this point she had been told to stay away from it twice now. If someone spotted her hanging around it again, she'd be toast. She had to fight any urge to go near it.

Once she finished changing, she eyed herself in the mirror. It didn't look as strange on her as she thought it would. The students she saw wearing the uniforms yesterday had looked much better in them than she did. Speaking of which, Nina now had names to their faces; Joy and Fabian. From how close they were standing next to each other when they met her, Nina assumed they were together. How nice that must be. They looked good together.

For a moment, she wondered if there was anyone here for her. Back home she'd been asked out once or twice, but she wasn't interested enough in the idea of dating. Instead, her focus was more on school. Good grades were more important; they got her here, after all. With this mind, she pushed out any thought of dating. She was here to get a good education, that was all. And she was leaving the country at the end of the term. A relationship with her was doomed to fail, so why bother?

"You done yet, newbie? You're not the only one in this house, you know."

Nina's head turned to the door that was being pounded on. How long she had been staring at her reflection in the mirror, she had no idea. It must have been longer than she thought. Feeling both apologetic and annoyed at whoever's voice it was, Nina opened the door to see Patricia standing there with her arms crossed.

"All yours." Nina smiled before moving out of the red-haired girl's way. There was some more noise in the hall, so she decided to go downstairs to get some breakfast instead of trying to stir up any awkward conversations.

The familiar scent of bacon and pancakes hit Nina as she walked into the dining room, making her hungry. Since everyone else seemed like they had just gotten out of bed, she wasn't expecting to see anyone there. She saw someone standing near the kitchen window, his back facing towards her. When he turned around, Nina recognized him as Fabian. They locked eyes for a moment, neither of them speaking.

"Um," Fabian started, "Would you like to eat with me?"

Nina wondered if Joy would be okay with this, them eating all alone together. Surely she wasn't that kind of girlfriend, the one who didn't even let her boyfriend look at other girls without it being a problem. Nina sent him a smile. "Thanks, that would be nice."

"Great." He sat on the right of her when she took the seat at the end, the one closest to the door. "How are you finding everything so far, okay I hope?"

"Not sure yet, actually. I haven't even attempted to find my way over to the school, let alone any of the classrooms." Nina was dreading the inevitable embarrassment of getting lost. Then another thought popped into her head, and she spoke again before Fabian could respond. "By the way, could you tell me what's up with that toothbrush Victor gave me?"

"Oh, that," His tone changed. "Basically, you'll be cleaning the toilets with it. The two in this house, and the ones at school. It's not fun."

Her eyes widened. Nina had never heard of such a punishment. "Just for trying to go in the attic?"

Fabian nodded. "He takes it really seriously. No one's allowed up there."

"Figures," Nina couldn't help the annoyance in her voice. "I guess I'll be doing that during lunch time."

He laughed, not mockingly from what she could tell, and she smiled as well.

When he stopped, he spoke again. "Good luck with that. And would you like to walk over with me? I can help show you around."

"Wow, you're being so nice to me. Thank you, I would appreciate that a lot." Nina was so glad there was at least someone with a decent attitude towards her in this house, besides Trudy. But then she felt odd. This was someone else's boyfriend offering to help Nina out, with his girlfriend nowhere to be seen. "Wait, are you sure Joy would be okay with that?"

Fabian looked confused. "Why wouldn't she be?"

"I thought you and her are-"

"Fabian, could you come help me set the table?" Trudy's warm voice called from the kitchen, causing a halt in their conversation.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" He called back. "I'll be right back, okay? Hold that thought."

Nina's only response was a smile and a nod. She still felt guilty for some reason, as if she wasn't supposed to be talking to him. There was just this nagging feeling that wouldn't go away. Almost unable to bear it, she stood up and went back upstairs to her room. Amber was nowhere to be seen, so Nina assumed she was in the bathroom. Nina picked up her bag and glanced one last time at herself in the mirror on Amber's vanity, adjusting her hair.

She went back down the stairs and opened the front door, only to pause and turn around when she heard her name being called. "Nina? You're leaving already?" It was Trudy. "Why, school doesn't start for another hour, sweetie. Breakfast is ready too, you haven't eaten yet."

"Oh, um, I think I'll be fine. I need to go get myself familiar with the school and everything anyways." Nina was actually itching to get out of the house for a bit. So far everything was about her housemates, and she did not want to cause any drama at breakfast today like what happened with dinner the previous night.

Fabian appeared at the door of the common room, holding two bagels. "I'll walk over with you. Here," he handed her one, "You can eat it on the way."

"Well, off you two go then. You're in good hands, Nina. Good luck today!" Trudy waved as they walked out the door together.

For some reason, Nina believed her one hundred percent.

She was in good hands.

A/n: Yayyy our first Fabina moment! Lol I hope this chapter was good, I wanted to get it out asap bc I started a new job, and I also have college and some other stuff. And to the guest that asked, yes the cup will be a part of this story! The whole mystery will be, just a little different from the show haha. I hope you will look forward to the next chapter! Thank you for the lovely reviews everyone. They inspire me so much!