"So where exactly is this 'surprise' place we're going to?" Paula asked, leaning across the religion desks at school. The teacher, Mr. Fuller, turned at frowned at us. We grinned and waved at him.
"Girls..." he scolded. We giggled and poked Alicia, who was sitting next to us. She made a face and a very strange sound...kind of like a turkey. Paula and I responded by grinning like fools and clapping our hands. Mr. Fuller - or 'FULLA!!!!!' as we called him - gave us a look that clearly told us that we were loonies and that he wanted us to shut up. The bell rang and we started for the playground yelling "BYE FULLA!" behind us. We walked along the path, looking at the barbed wire fences to our sides.
"Looks like a concentration camp." Paula muttered. "Anyways, where is this place you're dragging us off to for the next five years?"
"It's only three years and besides...I dunno." I replied, throwing my hands in the air.
"You're going to be there for three years and you don't even know where it is?" she asked. I nodded.
"Basically." I said. I girl walked past and called out
"Ania sucks!" I turned and blew her a kiss. It was Abby Kernahan, one of the only people I would not miss. Paula laughed.
"You're such a dick..."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We stepped out into the airport and gaped at all the people bustling around, hugging each other, waving goodbye, crying, laughing and smiling. Never had I seen an airport so big. It was the same with Paula, I think - I'm not too sure how big the airports are over in Europe - but she was definitely gaping. We looked around for little signs with our names on it, since that's what everyone was holding. I saw my name on a sign and I jumped in the air. "Woo! I found my host family!" I cried, clapping my hands. There were a man and woman holding the sign - I'm guessing they were the parents - with a boy that looked my age. I looked around for the other family member that was supposed to be there.
"I thought you were joining a nice family of four, Ania." Paula said I nodded.
"I was..." I murmured, Paula cried out.
"My family is next to yours!" she said, and then added "Wanna swap families?" looking at my host brother with a hungry look on her face. I laughed and punched her. She punched me back and then I saw her host brother...Oh, how I wanted him; oh, how I needed him...
"Hell yeah!" I said with way too much enthusiasm. She laughed and grabbed my arm. We started towards them. When we reached them we were faced with critical eyes. The parents looked me up and down and smiled in approval. Dad shook my hand and Mom gave me a hug. Brother - who's name I didn't know yet - just kept smiling and I think I saw his eyes wander over to Paula a few times too. Wouldn't she be happy?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So, Ania, I'll meet you at the third table from the window in the second row at lunch in the cafeteria, okay?" Jake asked. He rushed off to class without telling me where I was supposed to go. I looked at the slip in my hand; it was for a locker. I made my way over quickly to stuff some books in. As I was walking I managed to bash into someone, spilling the contents of my hands all over the floor. Luckily the person was nice enough to help me. I looked up to thank them. It was Paula's host brother, Tobias; I had met him just briefly at the airport.
"Thanks." I said, trying not to blush. "I've been trying very hard not to be a complete klutz but-"
"Don't worry, besides...you're babbling." He said, smiling.
"Right, okay. Sorry. I'm not going to babble from now on, starting from now there is no-"
"Ania..." he said teasingly. I laughed.
"I'm sorry! I'm just not fitting in at all here." I explained. He nodded.
"I know how it feels, I was a new boy not long ago." He said, "I moved here from my Aunt's house and I had to change schools."
"Oh, then you may not know where to find my locker..."
"Nah, it was a month ago that I moved here, so I know."
"Gosh you found your way around in just a month?"
"Yeah, but the school isn't that big. You'll find your way around in no time."
"Thanks, Tobias."
"No problem."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Well that was a complete waste of time." Paula said, sitting down with us, she had gotten lost and the cafeteria was just where she had started. We all laughed. "How did you find your way here, Ania?" she asked.
"Oh I had Tobias to show me." I said, giving him a light punch on the shoulder.
"Oh Ania, I'll show you around!" Marco said in a mock macho voice, puckering his lips. I laughed.
"Okay Marco, but only if you're a good boy!" There we were, the five people who were going to be put in charge of saving the world that very night. Ania, Paula, Jake, Tobias and Marco.

Okay so here we go with the descriptions, personality as well as looks. All the people I have just named are the main characters in the tale I'm telling and right now, at this very moment, they're crowding around the computer screen to see what I'm writing. Just so they quit yelling things at me like 'do my description first', MARCO, I'm gonna say a little about me first off.

Hi. My name is Ania; I am a fourteen-year-old Aussie Girl living in Yankeeville just for the next...well it was three years back then. Right now, I'm seventeen and it doesn't look as if I'll be going back anytime soon. I am tall - but not as tall as the guys are - and I have very long hair - it reaches my butt - and it's dark brown, curly and it has red highlights. My eyes change colour according to what mood I'm in, it's really a very good fashion accessory. They colours range from very dark brown - when I'm in a really bad mood - to green - when I'm in a really good mood - which looks really cool because I'm a fairly dark-skinned person and when my eyes go green they go bright green. People would like to describe me as a violence-prone sociopath...I, myself, agree to the fact that I'm just a bold, aggressive young female. As the story goes along you'll understand that...I hope.

Next is Paula. She's the girl I dragged off to Yankeeville with me. She's really a quite funny person to have around, although she's sitting here now saying, "No I'm not!" Don't listen to her, she has no idea. Paula is tall too, just a bit taller than me. She's dark skinned too and she also has long brown hair, but hers is dead straight. Her hair has copper highlights that were originally red, but they faded away to copper. Her eyes range from very dark brown to dark brown, according to the light she's standing in. People would describe her a complete wacko with too much of a taste for life. I think - and everyone agrees on this - that she is a very humorous person with a whole lot of depth and appreciation for life.

Then, there's Jake. Jake is my host brother from when I came here three years ago on exchange with Paula. He's a really good person to have around in a crisis. If you were in a burning house it would be him you'd turn to and ask, "What do we do?" He'd have an answer too. Jake is very, very tall; he has a family history of basketball players. Jake is
basically the polar opposite of Paula in looks. He is very pale skinned with blonde, wavy hair and ice blue eyes. He's actually quite cute if you ask me...he's gone bright red now... People would describe Jake as a natural born leader and a peacemaker. That, he is. For once the people are right about something.

Okay, now for Tobias. The best looking person on the face of the Earth...In my eyes anyways (I had to write that). Tobias was Paula's host brother in the exchange program. Tobias is a good person to have around when you're feeling way to hyped up or angry over something. His presence just makes the whole world calm down (he's walked away now...). Tobias is a really mysterious guy - not depressed as my friend from Australia said when she heard about him- and he's a living impersonation of 'tall, dark and handsome'. Even Jake agrees on that one...Jake is it time for you to come out of the closet? Just kidding. People would describe Tobias as a weirdo with no life. He's not. He's just confused, deprived and deep. His whole family is gone, along with basically his whole life as a human.

Finally, there's Marco. Marco is the funny guy and is Jake's best friend. He's a good person to have around when you're feeling blue because he thinks the whole damn world is a joke and he'll make you believe it too. Marco is a strange guy, he's deep, yet, he manages to take any serious situation and make a joke of it. Marco is the smallest one of us, he's just a tad shorter than I am (right now he's chucking a fit saying "Jeez, Ania, just tell the world I'm short!), and he has dark skin, very dark brown hair and brown eyes. He's Mexican or something. People would say that Marco is just immature and wouldn't survive the 'real world' if he tried. The truth: Sure, Marco is immature but he's been through a lot and compared to his life - and all of ours - the 'real world' is a picnic.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ania, I'm going down to Cyberia, Tobias says you should come along. I'm not sure if that means Paula's gonna be there or if it means...something else." Jake said, smirking as he said 'something else'. I laughed.
"Ok, I'll come... I mean, if it's okay with you that I hang with your friends."
"Yeah, it's cool. Come on." Jake said, putting his coat on.
"Where is Cyberia anyway?" I said as Jake shut the door. "Hey Tom!" Tom was my other host brother. He was playing basketball with a couple of his friends. I stole the ball of him and scored a three-pointer. His friends laughed as I jumped up and gave Tom a kiss on the cheek. I patted Homer and was about to start up a conversation with Tom when Jake told me to hurry up. "Okay, okay...Bye guys!" I said, waving and walking away. I heard a chorus of 'Bye Ania''s and I linked arms with Jake.
"So what's up with you lately?" I asked him. He shrugged. "Oh come on, Jake, you can't expect me to believe that the way you've been acting lately is normal."
"There's a way I've been acting lately?"
"Don't be dumb, just spill it."
"Maybe I don't wanna 'spill it'."
"It's Paula, isn't it?"
"What?"
"You like her," I said and watched Jake's face go just about as red as a tomato. I laughed, "You just can't help the way you face goes red whenever you're guilty of something." Jake sighed and I linked arms with him.
"Okay, Ania, I like Paula...A lot...but that's not what's been making me all strange and touchy lately."
"I never said anything about you being strange and touchy lately but if you notice it something really bad must be going on so you have to tell me right now or I'm outta here."
"Ania, you'll be outta here in three years anyway..."
"Shut up," I said, frustrated, "Now, tell me what's going on."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jake didn't tell me what was wrong that night, but I know it must be something serious because of his face when he was about to tell me. I don't know why he didn't tell me. Tom came along and he suddenly decided that it was a bad idea to talk about it, and even when Tom left, he didn't want to say.
"So, how's the new school over in the world of Yanks?" asked one of my very best friends, Stefanie, when we were talking on the phone. I was doing my dancing exercises in my room while talking to her.
"It's good, not much different to Australia...actually, it's just like all the movies we watch."
"Well, mum and dad say it's okay for me to come for your summer vacation...the whole time."
"They're letting you take time off school?" I asked, with a hint of amazement in my voice.
"We are, Ania." It was Stefanie's dad.
"Oh! Hi Dean!"
"Hi, do you think it would be okay if she stayed with you?"
"Um, maybe. I mean, we have a pretty big family here but Paula's host parents are barely home so I think it's here or one of the many hotels we have. I'll just go ask."
I went downstairs, asked and got the answer. Yes. I practically screamed the answer into the phone and headed off to Paula and Tobias' house.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I picked Stef up from the airport with Tom and we drove back in almost complete silence after a scream fest. Tom cringed the whole way through it and hinted a few times that he wanted us to shut up.
"So..." he said, grinning evilly.
"Tom, whatever you're thinking of saying just shut up now, while you're ahead." I said and Stef stifled a laugh. Tom kept his eyes on the road, still grinning.
"You like the world of Yanks yet, Stef?"
"Well, duh!" She said, I rolled my eyes. We arrived at the house of the Jake family. Okay fine, their last names aren't Jake but that's just me. I told Stef to dump her stuff in my room and we then went to Jake's room, since Paula would probably be there, too. Although I'm not sure I wanted to know what they would be doing...
"Hello! How is..." I trailed off in mid-sentence when everyone stared at Stefanie and me. A bird was on the bedpost. "How the hell...did you get a big birdie thing on your bedpost?" I said, "and why is Marco here?"
"Ania, haven't you ever heard of knocking?!" Jake cried.
"Shh! You'll scare Mr Pretty Feathers away! And yes, I knocked anyway."
"You're supposed to knock before you open the door."
"Oh well!" I said.
"Um, why hasn't the bird flown away?" asked Stefanie, "Don't they get scared of shouting people? Cause usually they do..." The bird flew out the window. I raised my eyebrow.
"Okay, so the strange bird can understand humans now...Jake what's going on?"
"Nothing! Just get out of my room!"
"Don't give me any bull-"
"Ania, telephone!" Mum's voice floated up the stairs. I hesitated.
"Yeah okay!" I shouted, "Hold that thought." I ran downstairs and grabbed the phone from the bench. It was Tom. He invited me to this club meeting thingy called the Sharing. It sounded pretty cool. I grabbed my jacket and went to get Stef; Tom said I could drag along anyone I wanted. I leapt up the stairs and threw Jake's bedroom door open. "You know what? Whatever you and Paula and Marco and that dumb bird are up to...I don't care, you don't have to tell me. But I'm going to the Sharing with Stefanie." I said, grabbing Stef by the wrist.
"You? We? Um, okay..." stuttered Stef. We headed to the door.
"Wait!" called Paula. I turned on my heel.
"You're not coming." I said simply, "You're hiding something from me and you if don't wanna say, I don't wanna know you. Okay?" I turned again and Jake grabbed my shoulders. Marco shut the door and Paula pushed us both onto the bed. "Ok, whatever sick, twisted, sexual thing you're planning to do to us..." I started.
"Just sit down, shut up and listen to what we have to say."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Does Tobias know all this?" I asked. I'm not even going to try to explain what Stef and I had been told. You'll get it as the story unfolds. Marco laughed.
"You know the big birdie, pretty feathered, strange, dumb bird that was in here?" he asked.
"No way..."
"Yes way."
"Mother of God..." Stef uttered.
"Let's not bring her into this." I said, I'm not a very religious person. I believe in no God or lots of them. No one strange, mystical person-thing could have created everything. Throughout the rest of the night I was in a daze. I even forgot to
ring Tom and tell him I wasn't going to the Sharing. The Sharing was a front for an evil alien organization. Pretty bizarre isn't it? Tom's one of those evil aliens...I was closer to an alien than I was to a human. What a great feeling. When Tom came home, he was seriously pissed off and he didn't talk to me for the rest of the week. Stef and I continued our famous dance lessons in the school hall every day for about an hour. During the lessons we also write and perform our own songs. It's pretty cool, that's what Jake says anyway. Our newest song is called "Me, Myself and I" and we were gonna perform it that weekend with two guys. Yes, they dance, too. Their names are Christopher and James. I'm partnered with Chris and Stef with James. Miss Roberta says we're the best in the academy. I don't think so...Okay fine. I do.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So are we gonna go stop them?" I said to Jake, stuffing a French fry in my mouth. We were in the mall
food court discussing the latest situation with the Yeerks, those evil sluggy alien things. They just found a way to catch us. An anti-morphing ray. Oh right, you don't know what morphing is yet. Well, the big news that Jake brought us was that the Yeerks were out to take over the world and we were the ones to save it. And oh, by the way, we can 'morph' into any animal we touch. Crazy world isn't it? Anyways, The anti-morphing ray will cause us to return to our original forms when we're hit with it. What's the big deal? The Yeerks think we're a fellow bunch of aliens called Andalites, not humans. If they find out, we're in deep doo-doo. And they're planted at every entrance to where we go to kill them. Damn. I reached over the table and slapped Stefanie over the head. She was staring at Tobias. Again. For the millionth bloody time.
"Stop it!" I snapped. Jake and Paula stared. "Don't even try, guys." I said to them. Stef and I both stared down at the table when Tobias and Marco came back to the table. Tobias slid in next to me and I grinned up at him. Stefanie kicked me hard from under the table. I tried not to cry out and threw her a death glare in the process.
"Ania, Sal...what's with the bitch fight?" Jake asked.
"Nothing!" we snapped in unison.
"Oh, Tobias you want to go to the movies tonight?" Sal asked. Tobias nodded and I stood and left. I didn't mean to be so dramatic but I had to stop myself from killing Sal right there and then. Oh, Sal is Stefanie. Don't ask why we call her that. We just do and that's all you need to know. Sal stood up.
"Fine, you go to the movies with him!" she yelled after me. I froze in my spot. Oh, if only I had a gun...I turned, threw my hands in the air and kept walking.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ania, can I talk to you?"
"Nah! You can't talk to me without saying something that'll ruin my life."
"Oh please."
"I'm serious. That's one friendship you've put down the drain and-"
"I thought you said..."
"I said you couldn't talk to me...I'll talk as much as I like."
"Well I don't wanna hear it."
"Fine!" I stomped my way down the hall and slammed the bathroom door shut. What was I doing in the bathroom? I probably just needed a door to slam. Well, mission accomplished. I walked out where Sal was waiting forme.
"You only needed a door to slam, Ania." She said. Dammit! She knows me too well. I made a face at her and walked out the front door. Tobias and Paula were they're talking. I turned and went back inside.
"Tobias is outside, by the way."
"Yeah, well thanks for the bloody news flash, Sal." I stomped back up the stairs, into my room and shut the door. I sprawled myself on my bed and just waited for the knock. 5...4...3...2...1...Here it is. There was a knock at the door right on my signal. "Who and What?" I asked.
"Tobias and-"
"No...sorry, wrong damn answer. You can go the hell away now." The door opened.
"You're being very bitter about this."
"About what? There's nothing to be bitter about, now go away."
"That's my point."
"Bye."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Yes you are."
"Oh, really. Where am I going?"
"Out the door or the window or something, Tobias. I just want to be alone right now before I hurt you."
"What physically?"
"Yes, physically, I've already damaged your psychological side." He laughed.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Go away." The door shut. "Thankyou."
"What made you think I was gone?"
"Tobias!"
"What?"
"Go away!"
"No." God, I could have killed him.
"Why bloody not?" I groaned.
"Cause I want to talk to you."
"Then talk as I disappear." I said, pissed off. I started to get up and walk out but Tobias caught my hand and pulled me into a hug. I wanted to push him away but I couldn't. "I'm walking away right now." I said. Tobias laughed.
"Yeah you look like you're walking." I finally got up the strength to push away from him and jumped out the window, shutting it behind me. No, not a sad suicide attempt. My house is very low and I tend to do it a lot to get away from dad when he's bugging me about something.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Where are you going?" I asked a dressed up Sal, who was walking out the door.
"Out."
"With who?"
"None of your business."
"Well it can't be Marco, cause he's here tonight along with Tobias and Paula and you hate Jake...so...I'm guessing either Chris - who you can't stand - or James..."
"Like I said, none of your business."
"Oh Sal, trust you to take another one of the very few decent guys in town."
"Who said I've taken him?"
"So you are going out with James... I thought you were leaving." Sal walked out the door and I laughed.
"What's so funny, my strange sister?" Tom walked out the kitchen with a mouth full of food.
"Sal." I said, walking off. I couldn't even look at him without picturing a slug. I hated it, but there wasn't really anything I could do. He was too strong to let us tie him up. We had to weaken him somehow.
here was a knock at the front door and I pulled it open. It was a very messed up Paula. "Paula...are you drunk?" I asked. My question was answered when a psychotic Jake put his arms around her and kissed her. I shut the door. "Mum! Jake's drunk...Paula too!" You believe the trouble they got into. I don't even know how they got the alcohol. Oh, just for the record. I lied to Sal. No one was coming over. I just knew she would be going out with James sooner or later. I'd caught her staring and flirting numerous times the only difference was that James stared and flirted back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was asleep on the couch when Sal walked in. It was 3am. She tried to tiptoe past me but I grabbed her leg.
"Holy..."
"Boo." I said bluntly.
"Oh, I'm on the goddamn floor laughing."
"I'll bet you are in your head." I said. "Tell."
"Later."
"Now."
"It's three in the morning."
"That's why I want you to tell me now."
"What?"
"You've come home at three in the morning from a date with a perfectly gorgeous guy, Sal. It's three-o-clock. In the morning."
"Yeah I get that part."
"Hello? Are you dumb or something? What were you doing at 12 and 1 and 2 in the morning?"
"Nothing."
"Oh, yeah. I bet you had a great time doing nothing at 12 and 1 and 2 in the morning."
"Would you shut up with the 12 and 1 and 2 in the morning?"
"See? You're tired. You were doing something to make you tired."
"Oh God you're sick."
"I didn't say a thing."
"You're saying we had sex."
"You said it, not me."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So what do you think they did?" Tobias asked. I had just finished telling the story of Sal's late night date.
"Exactly what she said, nothing."
"Then what was the point of pressing her about it?"
"It's fun seeing her get all flustered over it." I said, throwing a rock in the water. We were sitting on the edge of the rocks at the beach. "Wanna go fly?"
"Not today."
"But the thermals are so..."
"Dead."
"How do you know?"
"I was out flying before." He said looking up at the sky.
"You really love your hawk morph don't you?"
"Yeah, I just love the feeling of being free."
"Doesn't everyone?"
"I really want to meet this person you call everyone."
"What? Are you taking my saying mister?"
"You took it from Sal."
"That's different."
"Okay, whatever you say."
"Yes, whatever I say." A stick hit Tobias' head and I burst out laughing. I laughed so hard my stomach ached.
"Don't laugh, Ania, you'll only encourage the stick." Said Tobias when I was done laughing my head off. Another stick flew up and hit his back. It was then that I had to get up and jump up and down so that I could breathe; I was laughing that hard. Tobias pushed me and I almost fell into the water, but luckily I grabbed onto the pole thingy close to the edge.
"Okay, okay I'm sorry, that was mean. I shouldn't have laughed so hard at you, I should have laughed that hard with you right?" I asked, taking Tobias' hand and pulling him closer.
"Right," he said, leaning in close. And yes, it was just about to happen when.
"Tobias, you're needed in the house for a moment." It was Tobias' mum, Loren. Right on bloody time.