A/N: all will be revealed in its proper time. And yes , Kaitins, I intended it to be spelled that way. Read on to find out why.

Disclaimer: no own. Probably never will. All I own is Nikki. No more giant monkeys!

Ch. 2: Thanks for the Advice

"Lucas, huh? There a last name to go with that or is it like Sting or Prince?" Nikki asked.

He helped her up and got his first proper look at this mystery girl. She was a couple inches shorter than him, but she was wearing boots with at least an inch of lift on them, she had shoulder length, dark brown hair and bright green eyes. The top half of her hair was pulled up into a spiky bun, held up with chopsticks. She was wearing a tank top with baggy camouflage pants. She's pretty, he thought.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Sorry, its Randall," he replied lamely.

"Which is it, Lucas or Randall?" she asked.

"Both, actually. Randall is my last name," he replied.

"Well, boy of two first names, is the principal's office around here, or is it somewhere in one of the other states I passed though in the hour and a half I have been wandering around this labyrinth you seem to call a school," she commented sarcastically in a thick New York accent.

"I can walk you. Need help with your bags?" he offered.

"Yea, sure," she consented, handing him one of her bags and adjusting the other.

"So, are you from New York?" he asked. When she looked at him, he clarified, "You have a bit of an accent."

"Can't put anything past you, can I? I'm born and bred Brooklyn. Till now I haven't lived any where else," she sighed.

"You miss it don't you?" he asked.

"Again, you don't miss a thing. So, are we nearing it, or should we stop for water soon?" she asked.

"Uh," he muttered, realizing he hadn't been paying attention. "We passed it. Sorry," he apologized.

"It makes me feel so optimistic that the kids who have been here for a while still get lost," she replied.

"It isn't really that bad, I just wasn't paying attention. Don't worry, you'll find your way," he tried to assure her. He knocked on the door when they got there. "Principal Durst? I found a new student wandering around the halls," he called.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Randall. Miss Vatrini, I presume?" Durst asked.

"That's what it says on my birth certificate," Nikki replied.

"Of course it does. Well, all the arrangements have been made, here is your class schedule, your room assignment, key, and the name of a student who was supposed to show you around, but since you already seem to know Mr. Randall, I see no reason why he can't show you around. I believe he knows the way to your room, is in most of your classes, and not only knows your room mates, but probably knows where they are right now," Durst finished.

"Really?" Lucas asked, trying to get a look at the piece of paper.

"Let's see, a Corrine Baxter and-"

He cut her off. "Josie," he stated.

"Yes, Josie Trent," she replied, no trace of her accent.

He looked at her puzzled, but her look told him she would explain in the hall. "She is right, I do know where they are. Or at the very least, where they were ten minutes ago. If we go now, we should catch them before they all start doing something else. You can meet the entire science club in one fell swoop," Lucas replied.

"Great, thank you Principal Durst, I'm sure I'll fit in here," she said.

"Good luck, Miss Vatrini," Durst wished.

Once in the hall, he turned to Nikki and asked, "What is with the accent? You've been lying to me the whole time, haven't you? Was any of what you said true?"

"The accents, yes that was plural, come and go. Side affect of being at a performing arts school for the past seven years with a focus on drama. I am a mimic, and that usually doesn't go over terribly well, so I tend to try to stick with the accent that I meet the person on. Yes I am from New York, I was born and raised in Brooklyn, I just usually don't have an accent as I went to school in Manhattan, I took the train in every day. So, no I haven't been lying to you the whole time, I was talking to my mom in the car and she has a rather noticeable accent. So it stuck for a moment. It happens all the time. A week ago my brother thought that our irish server was going to spit in our food because I was the only one not only without a Brooklyn accent, I was the only one other than the server in the entire restaurant that was speaking with an irish accent. You can even call my brother and ask," she replied, offering him her phone.

"That is ok, come on, last time I saw Josie and Corrine they were in the common area, and if we are lucky, Marshall and Vaughn might help us take your bags upstairs," he said, still trying to size up the spunky teen next to him.

"So, what was that you said about a science club?" Nikki asked as they arrived outside the common room.

When they entered the room, he was ambushed by Josie, who started talking really fast, "Ok, I know I was a real jerk yesterday, but I realized you were right, so I went and apologized to Vaughn yesterday and we are kind of dating now, so I just wanted to thank you for your great advice yesterday. So, no defending of my honor is necessary, at least not by you. But thanks. And thanks for not interrupting me. Lucas, are you going to say something now that I'm done, like introduce us to your new friend," Josie finished.

"Hold on, I'm still trying to process what you just said," he replied holding up his hands. After a moment he put his hands down and spoke. "Thanks, I think, glad I could help. I'm not really sure I intended it as advice, but sure. This is Nikki Vatrini. No, I have no idea if that is short for anything, but she is from New York, she transferred from a performing arts school, so she sometimes slips into weird accents without noticing it, and she is your new roommate. Yes you get to keep Corrine as well, yes I already mentioned the science club, as I am aware, rooming with you two, she does not have much of a choice, yes she is interested, and yes, Vaughn, Marshall, and I will carry her bags up to the room with you guys, so you can get to know her better," Lucas replied.

"We will?" Marshall asked, but Corrine smacked him in the stomach. "I mean we will," he corrected.

"Great," Vaughn muttered sarcastically.

"Uh, Lucas, can we have an impromptu science club meeting over here?" Josie asked.

When the five of them were gathered in a corner, she rounded on Lucas. "What was that? What do you know about her? Is she a spy, can we trust her, is she a spy? How do you know we can trust her, is she a spy? It is rather suspicious, I thought it was two to a room? Why did she get stuck with us, and most importantly, is she a spy?" she asked.

"I don't know, but if she is a spy, it is best if we keep her close, make her think that nothing is going on, if we act suspicious, she will think something is going on. And about the room thing, I saw the plans for the school once, your wing is designed to support up to six people per room, if bunk beds are used," Lucas replied.

"He's right. My father once told me that I was lucky to get one of the six person rooms for my self, he said that there were five rooms in each set of the dorms, five on the girls side, five on the boys side that were intended to support six people," Vaughn said.

"Besides, she is living in your room. The two of you have been involved in more of the black hole crap than any of us, she will find out eventually. I'm not saying let's tell her right away, I'm saying let's keep an eye on her. We will have to not talk about black hole stuff in meetings for a while, but I think we will manage. Plus, if one of us is always around her, if she is a spy we will be able to catch her if she slips up. Besides, I have to show her around any way, and you must be crazy if you think I'm showing her where the girl areas of the school are," Lucas replied.

"Fine, but if this blows up in our faces, I'm throwing you into the black hole," Josie replied. "Nikki, how would you like to join the science club?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice, turning around to face her.

"That would be great, I need some friends, and you all seem very nice," Nikki replied. If she noticed the tone in Josie's, she ignored it.

"Super, boys, get the things, we'll go ahead and open the door," Josie said as she started to lead Corrine and Nikki out of the room.

"I really hate you sometimes, Luke," Marshall sighed, picking up a bag, and dragging it to the door.

"Welcome to black hole high, Nikki Vatrini," Vaughn muttered under his breath, following suit.

"This is going to be a long day," Lucas thought aloud, trailing behind.

A/N: I know, that sucked, but it was all I could come up with, the next one will be better, I promise, all about Nikki will be revealed in due time. By the way, the accent affliction is real, the plight of a mimic is not funny, I know from experience. Next chap, they show Nikki around the school. Will she see something she wasn't meant to see? Ponder that for me. Any way, read and review and I will luv you forever- Kat