It was Kaito Lee. The Kaito Lee. The super famous movie star and aspiring singer. He was even more famous than Levana, at least in Cinder's opinion. Literally every time his name was mentioned Iko would go into her full-on fangirling mode. And there was a reason he had so many fans, including Cinder. He wasn't like other teen movie stars, who tended to be spoiled brats with overinflated egos. He was incredibly kind to all of his fans, taking the time to reply to every comment on his social media accounts and YouTube channel. Even if he was pressed for time, he would always stop to sign an autograph or take a selfie with a fan. It was his genuine goodness that caused him to be such a popular actor. And yes, Cinder had to admit, he was also very handsome.

Cinder stared at his back as the pack of popular kids retreated down the hallway. And then he did something she never would have expected. He actually turned around and winked at her. Like, smiled and winked at her.

Her mouth dropped open. Why would he even notice a nobody like her?

Cinder shook herself, trying to rouse from her fangirling stupor. She was not normally the type of girl who got all weak-kneed and giggly over boys. But her morning classes still passed in a daze, her brain replaying that moment over and over again. She told herself to forget about it. She was sure it didn't mean anything. After all, from what Cinder had seen, he was dating Levana Blackburn! But her stupid heart refused to stop fluttering.

Sometimes your heart tells you something different than your brain does.

When the bell rang signaling lunchtime, it was like a mass prison exodus. The classroom was filled with the sounds of chairs screeching on the floor as kids hurried to pack up their bags. Out in the hallways, it was even worse. Cinder shrank against the wall to avoid being trampled by the stampeding hordes of kids racing to meet up with their friends.

She got her tray of food from the cafeteria ladies as fast as possible, wanting to get to a table and decompress. Her teachers had quickly introduced Cinder to the class, and then they had gotten right on with that day's lesson. It had been nearly impossible to follow along since all of her classes were in the middle of units, and no one had offered to catch her up.

Cinder was about to sit down at the first empty table she saw when a girl materialized out of nowhere and held out a hand to block her. "Sorry, this is our table," the girl said.

"Oh, okay," Cinder muttered, backing away. She didn't know there were reserved seats in school cafeterias.

Now she had to find somewhere else to sit. Cinder instinctively looked around for Peony but changed her mind about sitting with her when she saw her sister entering the cafeteria surrounded by a bunch of other girls, laughing and chatting like they had known each other for years. So when she heard someone calling her name, telling her to come to sit with them, she was immediately grateful.

It was Thorne. Cinder's stomach flipped over when she realized that he was sitting with the popular group that had passed her in the hallway. But she couldn't exactly ignore him, so she awkwardly edged over to the table. No one except Thorne and Kai made any move to let her sit down. The two boys squeezed apart, making a spot for Cinder at the already crowded table.

"Hey," Kai said, smiling at her as she sat down. Levana glared at her.

"Everyone, this is Cinder," Thorne announced, breaking the tension. "She's new here at Commonwealth High, so let's make her feel welcome!"

No one said anything for a second. Then all the kids at the table continued their conversations as if nothing had happened, completely ignoring Cinder. Thorne tried to include her, asking some questions about how her day had been, but she gave the shortest answers possible and soon he gave up. She sat there picking at her food, listening to the high schoolers talking and trying to ignore the fact that the side of Kai's leg was pressed against hers.

The conversation at this table seemed to follow a very rigid pattern. Someone, usually a girl, would squeal "Oh my gosh! I totally forgot to tell you guys that (insert random bit of gossip here)." Then everyone would go on to discuss that, some people might argue a little, and then a new person would offer up a topic. Cinder, a careful observer, soaked in information about everything from what kind of dress some celebrity wore to a press conference and who was dating who at Commonwealth High and more. By the end of lunch, she was thoroughly sick of it.

Another bell rang, indicating it was time for kids to stack their lunch trays and go run around outside. Thorne's table got up, still chatting among themselves. No one was paying attention to Cinder, who decided to slip away and go to the library or something.

She ended up heading to her next class, mechanics and engineering, early. Maybe she could talk to the teacher, try to get a grasp on what they were learning at this time of year. Cinder stopped outside the classroom, about to knock on the door when she heard voices coming from inside. Curious, she opened it cautiously.

"Why hello there!" a jubilant voice called from the front of the classroom. Cinder looked up to see a man standing in front of a SmartBoard displaying a diagram. A handful of kids were sitting at desks around the classroom. To Cinder's left, there was a wall of windows and a door than separated the mechanics classroom and the tech lab.

"What brings you to Nerdville?" a boy called from his seat. Cinder was incredibly confused.

"I - my next class is here, and since I'm new, I wanted to talk to the teacher..." she tried to explain, stumbling over her words.

"Well, since you're here anyway, want to join our meeting?" the man at the front, who she guessed was the teacher asked.

"I don't understand," Cinder said. "Join what?"

"Robotics club," came a soft voice. Cinder glanced over to the speaker. It was from a tiny girl sitting in the corner, with a sweet heart-shaped face and long blond hair. She noticed that the blonde was the only girl in the room.

This was Cinder's chance to finally be a part of something. To be accepted by some people - even if they were also nerds. Everything had felt wrong when she was sitting with Thorne and his friends because that wasn't where she belonged. This was what she was meant to do.

Maybe she could even make a friend.

She met the other girl's gaze and smiled.

"Of course I'll join," Cinder said.