Charlotte frowned as she peeked out onto the stage where Principal Folsom stood, waiting for those assembled to quiet down. What exactly am I doing here? She wondered, clearly not happy. She picks me up directly after art class in her little go-cart then drags me all the way down here, ignoring my questions and telling me that I will find out soon enough and that we must get to the assembly. What's with that? Curious, she watched as some students walked down the isles, selling what appeared to be Styrofoam balls for 50 cents. What could those be for? She wondered, forgetting momentarily her previous anger.

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Ingrid shook her head no at the offered Styrofoam balls, "No thanks."

The kid turned to Fillmore, who just looked at them, "Dawg, are you crazy? I'm on duty." The kid merely gave him a weird look and shrugged.

"How long does this usually take Fillmore? I don't really remember how long the assembly was when I came…"

"It all depends. There haven't been any new kids for a while, so really, everyone's pretty eager to see this one…so this assembly could take longer then usual. Ingrid groaned. For once, the normally attentive girl was tired of putting up with school. "We've got Library Card Duty after school too…." She muttered.

"What's this? Ingrid Third looking forward to Library Card Duty?" Fillmore teased; attempting to cheer his friend up and get her mind off whatever was bothering her.

"Fillmore," Ingrid rolled her eyes, yet couldn't resist letting a small smile form.

"Just checking all the facts," was his only reply, a cheeky grin on his face.

All conversations dulled as Principal Folsom began to speak, "Hello students of X Middle School!" The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles at the mention of their beloved school. "Today, there are a few things to cover before I introduce the new student…" Groans cut into her speech. Furrowing her brows, Folsom impatiently waited until they died down before she continued.

Ingrid tried to focus on what Folsom said, yet she couldn't help herself, her mind began to wander. Where exactly had she left that paper work this morning? Had she remembered to take out the trash? Such questions began to plague her mind, demanding immediate attention. Finding more amusement in reorganizing her usually ordered thoughts, she paid little attention, dealing with each thought as it came and counting on her photographic memory to help her remember the details of any events that occurred.

Fillmore shifted uneasily. He couldn't help but notice the restlessness of his partner, who sat beside him, her green eyes not focusing on Folsom who stood center-stage, but staring off into space. What's she thinking about? Some boy? He thought doubtfully. Somehow, he just couldn't picture his partner drifting off to day dream about some boy, it just wasn't like her. Chancing a glance over at Vallejo, he noted that Vallejo barely seemed to be paying attention either. Looks like everyone's a bit restless today…come to think of it, I've had a strange feeling that something isn't going to be exactly right today…Shrugging, which earned him a quick glance from Ingrid, Fillmore tuned Folsom back in.

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Charlotte tapped her foot impatiently, her boredom growing rapidly. "Man, at this rate, people will be living on the moon before I figure out what's going on. What does 'introduce the new student' mean anyway? She's been talking about the 'no running in the halls policy' for the last 10 minutes! Surely they get the message," she grumbled to herself. Pacing back and forth, Charlotte heard some voices just around the corner.

"Sure glad I'm not the new kid…" One voice said. His statement piqued her interest, and she crept closer to listen.

"Yea…I mean, who wants to have Styrofoam balls thrown at them anyhow? I wouldn't do it willingly, even if they are soft. It's so degrading!" Charlotte frowned, her mind starting to piece together a picture she didn't quite like.

"That's probably why they don't tell the new students about it…" speculated the first voice.

"Yea…that has to be it," the other voice agreed.

So that's your game, Charlotte narrowed her eyes. I don't think so. This assembly won't work out as planned if your walking target doesn't show up, now will it Folsom? Charlotte, despite her appearance, wasn't one for making trouble, but she wasn't about to stand around and be a human target. Glancing around, she made sure no one was around before she made her quick exit out the back door that conveniently was placed nearby. Shading her eyes from the sunlight, Charlotte glanced around. "Now…if I was looking for a nice thing to paint…where would I go?" Whistling a little tune, Charlotte set out on her way, wandering the campus grounds.

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"…and now, the moment you have all so patiently waited for," at this point in her long winded speech, Folsom shot a pointed glance at a few select individuals whom had decided it would be fun to practice their aim in her general direction. "I will now introduce you to the new student…" The sound of rustling clothes could be heard as students sat up taller, all intent on being the first to give their welcoming. "…Charlotte Grey!" While all students readied their Styrofoam balls, Ingrid was jolted out of her mental wanderings.

"Fillmore," Ingrid hissed, looking to her partner for confirmation.

"Yea?" Fillmore asked.

"Did Folsom just say, 'Charlotte Grey'?" An emotion Fillmore couldn't quite distinguish was mirrored in her normally calm eyes.

"Yes…why?" Fillmore couldn't help but be curious about why Ingrid seemed to care so much about the new student's name.

"Oh…no reason," Ingrid said lamely, "I heard the name wrong at first, and I wasn't quite sure if I heard it right. If the name had been what I first thought it was, then the new student would have been my cousin. Since it's Charlotte Grey though, she's not my cousin."

Fillmore just gave her an odd look before shrugging, "ok…whatever you say."

Further conversation between the two was cut short when Folsom returned to center stage, fuming.

"Charlotte Grey, make yourself present on this stage immediately!" Folsom ordered. After waiting a few moments and receiving no response, and seeing no sign of the new girl, Folsom flung back the curtain to reveal an empty stage.

"Where is she!" She shrieked. "Assembly over! Vallejo, report to my office immediately!" Folsom ordered before storming out.

As the group of disappointed kids broke up, Vallejo approached Fillmore and Ingrid. "Looks like we've got another assignment on our hands," he said with a tint of frustration, "new kid must've found out somehow about the ceremony and decided to split…and now we get to deal with the mess and Folsom this kid left behind."

"Dawg this bites," Fillmore commented, looking around the rapidly emptying auditorium.

"Well, we had better get back to class, and you better get to Folsom's office before she gets too impatient," Ingrid suggested, edging her way to the door, intent on leaving. Sighing, Vallejo bid them goodbye and began collecting himself as he made his way to the office.

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"Vallejo! I want this girl found! The press will get wind of this in no time, and if her parents find out I've lost her on the first day, I'll turn your office into a Yoga studio and personally dismantle the Safety Patrol for good! This is nothing to be taken lightly, we've lost a student, and we have no idea where she is! Find her!" Folsom continued to rant until her face was red, and her hair was a mess. All the while Vallejo sat there calmly, waiting to get a word in.

When her tirade was over, Vallejo spoke calmly, "I'll have my best people on it immediately. I understand the urgency and this case will be bumped to top priority, I promise."

"Good," was the begrudged reply from Folsom, signifying their discussion was over.

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A/N: Been a while since I've updated…but here's the next chapter...and again, the wait for the next chapter could be a while, since I am working on an original peice (which I'm hoping to have published) over on fictionpress. com. Nothing exciting in this chapter and I'm sorry about the OOCness of the characters. I'm not very good at writing Fanfics…this being my first one and all. Well, now I shall explain why this most likely won't be a romance and why there will be no pairings of any sort. While I love F/I pairings, I can't write romance, even if my life depended on it. I would totally wreck the pairing for myself if I tried it, and I don't want to do that. So please, understand that as a fellow F/I pairing lover, I don't want to trash the pair with my unacceptably horrible writing skills. Hope you'll like the story and continue to read anyhow….thanks and till next update,

Akiko