The rest of the day went relatively smoothly. The lessons were easy and I spent time talking to Simon, Kat and Dylan at different points in the day.

Kat introduced me to her friends Shauna and Jessica. They were both really nice girls and made me laugh. Shauna had cropped black hair and dressed in a very sexualised way. I didn't judge her though. It was her body after all. Jessica on the other hand was the total opposite. In her cute purple dress, her long blonde curls wrapped round her face to frame her crystal blue eyes.

Kaila definitely had some contest for beauty with these three around. And they were naturally so, without need for enhancements or changes to their bodies and faces.

My classes were relatively easy for me, since my family were so varied in their cultural knowledge and what they valued. It allowed me to learn many different subjects and skills before entering the world. But learning like everyone else made me feel closer to my family. They all went to school at some point. And now, I was like them.

Lunch rolled around and I knew my family would be desperate to hear from me.

But I didn't call them first.

I couldn't help but want to talk to Jake. I rubbed my bracelet as I stood in front of my locker holding my phone up.

The ringing was incessant.

"Jake?"

"Nessie! How was your first day?"

I laughed. "I haven't finished it yet Jake. But really great. Except the boys keep staring at me."

I could hear him growling at the other end.

I rolled my eyes. "Jacob. I can handle myself. Besides there are some nice ones too. I even made some friends."

He stopped growling and seemed to calm down.

"That's great Nessie. What did your parents say?"

I shuffled my feet at his question.

"I..Um… I actually called you first."

There was silence at the other end of the phone.

"Jake?" I tried to get a response.

"Sorry Ness. I just figured you'd ring them first."

"Well I wanted to call you first." His lack of speech made me on edge. "Well I better call them now. I'll see you later."

"Okay Ness. Bye. Be safe."

I hung up and quickly rang them next. I gave them a summary of my day without too much of the negative stuff. I told them about my new friends. They seemed really positive, which was great. I rushed to get them off the phone as I saw Simon coming to my locker.

"Hey Simon." I greeted him. "You ready for lunch?"

He nodded and I followed him outside to a bench. I saw Dylan sitting next to a lanky, blonde guy. There was also a dark skinned guy with short dreads standing up and giving a very animated performance. I noticed he was also wearing a jersey like Dylan and the other boys. Dylan spotted me coming over and smiled. The blonde boy looked at his feet and the other guy looked super pumped to see me.

"Nessie, this is Kyle." He directed me to the awkward friend.

"And this is Lucas."

Lucas was super peppy and I loved his energy.

"Girl you are gorgeous. Who made you?"

I laughed. His directness was not at all intimidating. I found him quite endearing.

I spent lunch with them all, telling them about myself as rehearsed and hearing about each of them. At that moment I really felt normal. I felt like everyone else. Sat outside eating lunch with her friends. I was normal. And I was happy to finally be a part of their world.

When I finally reached my final lesson of the day, I realised it was gym. I began to worry. With my super speed and strength, this would be a real test of my control.

I could see Kaila's group surrounding her in the changing room, glaring as I walked past. I got the feeling she was going to be a problem from now on.

Jessica waved me over. Thank goodness someone I knew was in this class too.

"Hey Nessie! I'm so glad we have gym together. This is gonna be so great." She was so positive and I really admired that about her.

We changed into some questionably short shorts and a plain black t shirt before entering the large room, which was the gym. It was basically a giant hall for sports.

We gathered around a large man with a balding head.

"My name is Coach Jeffords. I will be teaching you from now on." He declared.

The other students seemed confused.

"What happened to Coach Bean?" Kaila's brown haired drone asked.

"Coach Bean is on maternity leave." Was all he said.

There was tension in the air. Okay then...

"Today we will be playing volleyball. Pair up, and then I will assign teams." He informed us, watching us all carefully.

Jess and I instantly grabbed one another in fear. I was so grateful to have some to pair up with. We were paired up with two other nice girls, and then matched against my worst enemy.

Kaila stood the other side of the net, smirking.

Uh oh.

She threw the ball in the air and smacked it straight into my face.

I had to react quickly, throwing myself back like normal humans would do. I hit the floor with a thud and my team surrounded me.

"Are you okay?" Jess asked.

I nodded, rubbed my head for effect and stood up. Her team were laughing hysterically. And that made me angry.

Bring it on.

She served the ball again, but this time I hit it back over. My team didn't let it hit the floor until it came to me. I smacked it as hard as I felt was human and watched it smack into the box. After that, they couldn't get any point off of us. We were winning. And at the end, Kaila screamed in anger.

"Beginner Luck!" She tried to tell her team as they stormed off.

Everyone in the class applauded and congratulated us. We watched the other teams play, Jess and I chatting about anything we could think of. And when the lesson ended, I was relieved to change out of the ridiculous outfit.

At the end of the day, I did feel slightly drained. I didn't realise this much socialising and study was so exhausting.

Kat and Jessica walked with me to my car. Shauna was in some sort of extra curricular activity, and the boys had left already. Kat stared at my car.

"This is yours?!"

I nodded and unlocked it. "Yeah…"

"Do you realise how much this car is worth?"

"140,760 dollars depending on the model and colour." I blurted out without thinking about it.

They were both horrified.

"My father has a good job and I'm very conscious of my carbon footprint." Considering I'm going to be on this planet a long long time, I thought to myself.

It seemed like the answer had partially quelled their horror.

"Did you invite her to your party next week?" Kat asked Jessica.

Jessica's face lit up and she grabbed my hands. "You have to come. My parents are out of town and I have invited practically the whole school. Please say you'll come."

I looked at them and then at my feet. Would my parents agree to this? I was so desperate to go, and it wasn't like they hadn't been to any parties before.

"I'll try, for sure."

Jessica grinned and clapped. "Yay. Amazing."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.

"Definitely, Nessie." Kat reassured me.

I smiled and hopped into my car.

As I left the parking lot I felt a sense of freedom. I had been monitored my whole life, and now I was free to actually live a fraction of the life that everyone else got to live. What use is an immortal life if I can't experience what it's like to live?

I drove past the town, noticing groups gathering and families laughing. I saw people sad and happy.

I could see life.

And no one was going to keep me from living mine.