Chapter 2

Steph and Amy walked through the entrance gates from the student parking lot into school and into the crowded hallway, B-Hall. There were so many people there, and this immediately made them nervous.

"Middle school wasn't this crowded," Amy said, holding on to Steph's arm as people bumped into them and kept walking without saying excuse me.

"Yeah, I know," Steph replied, preoccupied. "I still can't get over the fact that Chris has a girlfriend!"

"Neither can I, especially not one as mean as that chick Trish," Amy said. She looked down at her schedule, then over at a classroom they were about to pass. "Hey, this is my homeroom," she said.

"Do you think they're splitting us up by last name to determine our homerooms?" Steph asked.

"Probably," Amy replied. She looked down at her schedule again. "Well, I'll see you in first period American Government Honors."

"Later," Steph said. Amy went into her classroom and Steph kept walking, still a bit preoccupied over Chris having a girlfriend. The first bell rang, and Steph started walking quickly down the hall, trying to find her class, knowing that the warning bell would ring five minutes later, followed two minutes after that by the final bell. She had approximately seven minutes to get to class and she had no clue how to get there.

"Hey, watch where you're going, bitch," a familiar female voice said when Steph bumped into her.

"Sorry," Steph said, looking to see who she had bumped into. She couldn't believe who it was. Trish. And standing next to her, with his arms around her, was Chris.

"Hey, chill out, Trish," Chris said, looking apologetically at Steph. "Have you been able to find your homeroom, Steph?"

"No, not yet," Steph answered, looking miserably down at her shoes.

"I'll take you," he volunteered.

"Chris! You're supposed to walk me to class!" Trish protested, grabbing his arm tightly.

"I can meet you there," he replied. "You know the way around here. Steph needs a little help."

"Fine," Trish snapped. She pulled him down and kissed him hungrily. "I'll meet you in class." She glared at Steph, then turned on her heel and headed down the hall, turning right at the end. The crowd of people separated and cleared a place for her as she walked down the hall, waving at people she knew.

"I'm really sorry about her," Chris said, putting his arm around Steph's shoulder. "Let me see your schedule."

Steph handed him her schedule, trying not to look at him.

"Oh, I see here that your homeroom is N-102," he said. "We have to walk across the courtyard to get there."

The people stepped back as Chris and Steph walked down B-Hall together.

"You must be well-respected here," Steph said quietly as they reached the end of the hall and started to walk diagonally across the courtyard of the huge outdoor campus.

"Not well-respected. Just a bit richer than most people," he corrected. "Here at Spritzville High, the richest people are the most popular ones."

"Then how come I'm not popular yet?" she joked. "I'm one of the richest people here."

"Yeah, you and Shane are at the top of the list," he agreed. "But it's just your first day, sweetheart. No one knows you yet."

"But I'd like to know you," came a voice from behind them. Chris and Steph turned around and were face to face with a muscular young man with shoulder-length hair. He was wearing a tight shirt, displaying his muscles, some sweats, and some comfortable-looking slides.

"Paul," Chris said, acknowledging the newcomer.

"Chris," Paul said, looking briefly at him before looking at Steph again. "Now what's your name, pretty girl?"

"Stephanie," Steph answered. The guy was good-looking enough, but he seemed... There was something she didn't like about him already. "Stephanie McMahon."

"Related to Shane McMahon?" Paul asked curiously.

"Yeah, that's my big brother," she answered.

"I'm Paul Levesque," Paul said. "I'm gonna be working for your dad as soon as I get out of high school this year."

"Right," Chris said sarcastically, cutting in. "What do you want now?"

"I was just introducing myself to the pretty lady," Paul said, putting his hands up. "There's no reason for you to be getting your boxers in a bunch."

"Look, Paul, Steph is only 14. You're too old for her," Chris said, pulling Steph tight against him. "Now just go find some other girl to flirt with, 'kay?"

"Geez, Chris, I just saw you making out with Trish," Paul said. "But the way you're acting all protective of Stephanie, you act like she's your girlfriend... Where is Trish, by the way?"

"Don't worry about it," Chris said. "It's none of your business. Come on, Steph, let me take you to class."

"I'll catch you later, Stephanie!" Paul yelled as Chris and Steph walked away.

"Like hell you will," Chris muttered. They were silent as they walked together across the courtyard.

"He seems like a jerk," Steph said a short time later.

"He is a jerk," he replied. "Paul Levesque is nothing but trouble, and I wouldn't advise you to become associated with him."

"You don't have to worry about that," she said with a smile. "I already have my eye on another guy."

"What guy?" he asked sharply as they came to a stop in front of N-102.

"Can't tell you," she teased. She looked up into his piercing blue eyes. "Thanks for walking me to class. I never would've made it here on my own."

"Not a problem. And once again, I'm really sorry about what Trish said. She's usually not that rude," he said, touching her hair. "Nice waves today, by the way."

"Thanks," she replied. The warning bell rang. "You're gonna be late for class."

"I'll make it fine," he said. "Now, when you need to find a class, look for the letter at the beginning of each hallway. Remember that rooms that start with '1' are downstairs and rooms that start with '2' are upstairs. You should be able to find all your classes easily by just that information, but I'll pick you up a map today at lunch from Guidance."

"Thanks a lot, Chris," she said. "Now you better get to class."

"Later," he said, taking off at a run.

She watched him go, then headed into her class and took a seat in the first seat she came to. It was in the first row, right at the front of the class. She looked around carefully, trying to see if there was anyone she knew in there.

The teacher came in to take the attendance. "Hello, welcome to Spritzville High School, home of the Spritzville Spirits. Boo," the man said in a bored voice. He rubbed his hand over the shiny bald spot at the top of his head, then through the blonde hair around it. "My name is Mr. Bollea, I'm your homeroom teacher, and I'm about to take attendance. If you're not here, raise your hand," he joked as he started to call out names.

"What about if you don't want to be here?" a voice asked from the back of the class.

"Then raise your hand. What's your name?" Mr. Bollea asked.

"My name's Rey Mysterio," the guy answered.

"Rey Mysterio..." Mr. Bollea ran his finger down the list of names until he found it. "Ok, I'll mark you absent."

"Hey, no, don't do that," Rey said. "My mom will think I skipped school today."

"Don't worry, I didn't really mark you absent..."

Steph sat in homeroom for two long hours, wishing that homeroom could just be over already. When the bell finally rang, she jumped up happily and left the class.

She stepped out into the hallway, looking down at her schedule. "American Government Honors, room L-104." She walked to the end of N-Hall and looked up as Chris had instructed her to do. "Lucky me, I just have to make a right." She walked down L-Hall and soon found herself in front of room L-104.

Walking inside, she saw some of the people she knew from middle school. Amy was sitting in the middle of the class, talking to a guy with blonde hair that Steph didn't recognize. She walked over to them and took a seat.

"Hey Amy, how was homeroom?" Steph asked, looking at her friend.

"Steph, it was so awesome!" Amy exclaimed. "Oh, and this guy," she said, gesturing to the guy she had been talking to. "His name is Adam Copeland. We met in homeroom."

"I'm Stephanie McMahon," Steph said, reaching out to shake his hand.

They shook hands, and then a guy appeared in the doorway of the classroom. He looked around the room, then made his way over and joined the three of them.

"Matt, I thought you'd never get here," Adam said. He made quick introductions. "Matt, this is Amy Dumas and Stephanie McMahon. Amy, Stephanie, meet Matt Hardy."

They all shook hands and talked until the teacher came to the front of the class and signaled for silence. "I'm Mr. Flair and I'll be teaching you all about American Government. Whoo!" the teacher exclaimed, excited. "This is an honors class so we'll be moving at a fast pace and doing advanced work. Whoo!"

Steph, Amy, Adam, and Matt looked at each other. This was going to be one interesting class!