Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi, but the characters I create are mine.

A/N: In this chapter I'm going to introduce two new characters. They are Alexandria Knight, Allie for short, and Brandy Jamison.

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It was a typical Monday morning and Degrassi was abuzz with students and teachers returning to face another school week. Nadia was at her locker getting some books that she would need for her morning classes. Just then, a young girl came up behind Nadia, who caught the eye of some of the boys in the hallway. She had red flowing hair and a build that made some of the guys think that she was a grade or two older than she really was.

"Hi Nadia." she said.

"Oh, hi Allie." Nadia replied, "How was your weekend?"

"Great! I met this really cute guy at the mall and we spent the whole day hanging out, him and his friends. How about you?"

"Well, I spent Saturday at Kendra's. I stayed overnight and than came back home Sunday. We had sooo much fun, you should've been there."

Allie asked, "Where is Kendra anyway?"

"I don't know? She hasn't made it to school yet." Nadia told her.

"Well I've got to get to class, I have a killer test in English this morning, so I'll see you at lunch." Allie said as she turned to walk down the hallway.

Nadia thought to herself about how happy she was to have friends like Kendra, Brandy and Allie. They didn't treat her like 'that girl in the wheelchair', but like 'one of the girls', who happened to be in a wheelchair. That's why Nadia had been trying so hard to hide the pain that she had been recently experiencing. Of them, only Kendra had seen her when her health had gotten really bad. Nadia remembered one time when Kendra came to visit her in the hospital. Kendra actually broke down crying at the sight of her friend in that hospital bed. Nadia vowed to herself that, if she could help it, she would make sure that the usually strong and poised girl wouldn't have to see her like that again. But Nadia knew that things were getting pretty serious. Which meant a trip to the hospital, and it scared Nadia every single time that she went. She never told anybody about the horrible nightmares that it gave her sometimes. Just then, the tardy bell snapped her back to consciousness and she realized that she had better get to class.

At lunch, the cafeteria was full of students moving about between the chairs and tables, trying to locate their friends. Brandy, a lean and athletic young girl, entered the lunchroom through its' huge doors. She had beautiful, chocolate toned skin and her hair was tied back in long braids that had light brown highlights. She stood at the door, looking for her friends when she spotted Kendra, Allie, and Nadia at a table outside of the cafeteria on the grounds. She strode through the cafeteria to another set of doors that led her outside.

"Hey guys, I see that you decided to start the party without me." Brandy proclaimed.

"What party?" Nadia answered, "We're just listening to Kendra wow us with her tales of tardiness."

"It's all because of my stupid brother!" Kendra exclaimed, "If he didn't spend the entire morning trying to make himself look perfect for Paige, we both would have been here on time. I even told Mr. Simpson that, but he didn't agree with me and he gave me a warning telling me not to be late again."

"Speaking of Simpson," Brandy stated, "How's your fundraiser with the spirit squad going?"

Nadia began, "Well we've raised twenty-five dollars, and our goal is fifty."

"I heard that the group working with Ms. Hatzilakos has already reached fifty dollars and expects to triple that by the deadline." Allie informed them.

"Just great, Liberty's gonna have a cow!" Nadia sighed, "I'd better go tell her."

"I'll go with you." Allie said.

The two girls went inside the school building and found Liberty walking through the hallway towards the foyer, where a lot of students liked to assemble during lunch.

"Liberty, wait for a minute." Nadia called out to her.

"What's the matter Nadia? I was just on my way to the foyer to meet with Simpson." she replied.

"I have some bad news" Nadia started, "The latest news around school is that Ms. Hatzilakos is in the lead for the fundraiser. I wanted to let you know and see if maybe you or Manny had any ideas that would help us catch up."

"That's unfortunate, but I'll brainstorm with Mr. Simpson and see what we can come up with. Thanks for the message, I'll talk to you later." Liberty said, as she continued down the hall.

"Well, do you want to go back to the cafeteria?" Allie asked.

"No thanks, class is about to begin and I had better get a head start." Nadia replied.

"Alright, are you coming to the girls soccer game after school?"

"I wish I could, but I have a doctor's appointment today and my Mom is picking me up early." Nadia explained.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Allie told her.

"See ya." Nadia said as she wheeled away.