Degrassi. My old definition of hell, but this year I had to change. After Spin and I got expelled, I wasn't so agitated by it, I mean, it was only school; something I always had sucked at. After Spin tried to torch the school and went sappy trying to get his friends back, taking summer school courses to help for make up for our lost year, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I had nothing left to lose, really. So I joined the summer classes with my supposed friend, and even got a job with the The Dot working on the Degrassi set for whatever movie they were shooting there. To keep a long story short, I needed the cash, and it gave me something other to do then sit around my dump of a house.

Here I was, in the old, rickety chair that I had left my stamp on, wondering what the hell I had gotten into this time. It would have been easy enough to skip out on this entire gauntlet. Part of the deal to coming back to Degrassi was that A. I had no freedoms, and B. I would be monitered by none other than Mr. Simpson who would not only make sure that I was fulfilling my terms of averaging a C and helping out with odds and ends around the school, just like I promised. I didn't really pay that much attention to any of the lectures I was given that morning, the warning countenance on Ms. Hatzilakos' face. I really just didn't care. The principle sent us outside of her office so she could talk to a few other students that were what one would consider one of those rational kids that rarely screwed up. I guess there was some sort of last minute details she had to work out or something.

I lifted my head up out of the chair's headrest from counting the ceiling tiles, which as I found out wasn't really pleasant on the neck. I drew my hand to the back of my neck and shoulders to try and alleviate some of the pressure, when I saw her. She was just standing there, but ten feet away, staring at me. The look on her face was priceless, but I didn't have the will to laugh. Instead, I just stared back, watching every movement she made until she finally snapped out of the trance we had been sucked into. Even as she tried to pretend I wasn't sitting here by merely glancing down every five seconds, which, might I add, was a dead giveaway that she was nervous, I still followed her fidgeting. Well, maybe she wasn't exactly nervous; more like wanting to die, with the expression she had when she first saw me.

I could feel my comrade next to me watching us, his head pivoting back and forth, wondering what I had suddenly taken an interest in.

"Uh..dude?" he said, waving his hand in front of my eyes as she walked away, "you okay?'"

I simply nodded a yes, and gave him a "doesn't matter" look, before looking back down again. Spinner wouldn't know the difference anyways.

"Mr. Mason, Mr. Hogart, you may come back in now." Ms Hatzilakos told us as we dragged ourselves up.

"Now that you both are back, there are conditions. One screw up," she paused, her eyes glancing back and forth between the two of us, "and I mean one, and you both will be out... for good."

At this Spinner eagerly nodded. I didn't know why exactly he was so hyped up about this. Oh yeah, now I remember; he wanted his old friends back. I didn't exactly want to spoil his great mood, but I knew it was a very slim chance that everyone would find forgiveness for him. Me? I didn't really care either way. Not like I had much of a support-system here anymore. After the ravine business came out into the open, things had only gone downhill.

"You both will start by going to your respective homerooms, and I will check with all of your teachers that you are doing your school work and maintaning your C average, as well as participating," she emphasized greatly now shifting her gaze mostly to me, "in your extra-curricular activites."

I could tell this school was going to be everything I had imagined. I knew this year was going to be bad, with Spin's complaining, teachers always on my ass, and the spiteful glares in the hallways, but all of this shit she was putting us through was only egging on the temptation to just get up and go. It would be so easy to just walk right out that door.

"You may go now," she finished, returning to the stack of papers on her desk.

As I checked my schedule, Spin brought the sheet of paper that was handed to him, and brought it next to mine, matching up our classes together. We had homeroom and Kwan's class, but that was it. Which meant I would be alone for the rest of the day.

We walked down the hallways, with Spinner looking like he would die of the shame he got from the passerbys. I wanted to shake all of that out of him; just grab him by the shoulders and tell him it wasn't our fault. I knew though, no matter how hard I tried, he would always reprehend himself, putting all of the anguish on him, and no one else. Didn't he remember that it was the freak who had brought the gun to school and tried to shoot everyone? It was pathetic really. I was beginning to thing that I was the only sane one between the two of us, which, in some opinions was something to laugh at.

Finding homeroom wasn't hard. We were placed in the MI lab, my absolute favorite. I could tell I would be Simpson's darling this year, because he loved me that much. You know, I was always the one to be called a brown-nose or what not. I sighed and shook my head, walking in the familiar backrow across the room, until I stopped, well, more like commanded to halt in my tracks.

"Up here boys!" Simpson pointed to the front row, right next to where he loved to stand to lecture us, and just looked at me, this weird smile spread across his face. This was great. This could be the payback that he wanted from me; there was no doubt he had found out what had happened. I sat down, threw my bag beside me, and looked up, scanning the room. I didn't get very far in my canvas; right across from me was an open-mouthed blonde, looking right in my direction. I wanted to rub my eyes, or even steal someone's glasses just to make sure I was seeing clearly. There was no doubt who I was looking at. Directly across from me, was none other than Emma Nelson.

Unbeliveable.