[[EDIT: Author's Note: Holy crapo-la guys! I usually try to do 'Narrator's Notes', which are in character to the narrator, but I'm going OOC here to apologize. To anyone that read the chapter when it was first posted an hour or two ago, holy crap, I'm sorry. It was so riddled with errors. You'd think this was my first draft. But I swear, I've gone through the chapter dozens of times, on paper, on the screen, silently, out loud, but soooo many errors still managed to slip by me until I went live today. ;-;

I've fixed every one I found while reviewing the live release. To anyone who noticed the errors, whether it missing words, repetitive phrasing, or small inconsistencies like Joey having a backpack or a school case, I hope it didn't ruin the immersion for you. ; ; ]]

[ONE] ["AMY 'IDGAF' MERCED"]

The way Joey Wheeler's day began was hardly unusual. He got up on time and laid in his bed listening to the other room's drunken snore. Placed his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling, just like every other day.

His apartment smelled normal. Joey had to take a whiff of the air to figure out what kind of night it was, and the scent of feet that came back was hardly unusual. The apartment always had one of two smells: feet or cheap Vodka. "Pachinko", Joey's dad called it. As if the teenager had never opened the front door to find suspiciously Yakuza-looking debt collectors. If it's a good day at the "Pachinko machine", his father would kick off his shoes, have a little drink, and fall asleep. If it's a bad one… Joey peeled the blanket off and threw his window open to let in some fresh air. If he lost everything but (or including) his shirt, Mr. Wheeler has a few big drinks and fell into an unwakeable slumber. The blond took in one more sniff. That was definitely feet.

His breakfast was normal. His egg didn't cook any different than usual and the pile of dishes the cast iron sat on was just as towering as always. His uniform slid on normally, leaving the blazer unbuttoned a flowing in the morning breeze. The woman a floor below their apartment said goodbye to him on his way out, just like every other day.

It wasn't until half way through his routine that Joey's first impressions would be proven wrong. One, two drops of rain was all it took to leave him with distinct sense that this day was going to be rough. When those two drops turned into many, many drops, "rough" couldn't begin to describe it.

"Make way, make way! Nheey!" Joey shouted as he wove through the crowd. It was almost comical, really, the way he threw his backpack over his head as if it would help the situation. Dripping wet, Joey passed other Domino students snuggled under their umbrellas.

A figure became apparent to Joey as he approached the school gates. She was standing perfectly still in the middle of the gate, holding her school case in one hand and an umbrella in the other. By the looks of her unbuttoned pink blazer, she was a Domino student, but not one Joey recognized.

Typically, this wouldn't have warranted his attention; only the student seemed to be staring at Joey. Glaring even. She lifted up her school case and pointed in his direction.

The blond paused, "Me?" he asked, his mouth slightly agape. Sure enough, the other students had all moved on. It was just Joey and the plethora of water pouring down on him. She seemed to be saying something. If he squinted he could see her lips moving, but any words were lost to the roar of rain. Something about it was mesmerizing, almost unnatural, as if she was a ghost or a figment of his imagination.

Then the sound of a horn snapped him out of his trance. Joey barely had time to jump out of the way of a black car as it flew by. "Hey, watch it" he shouted, shaking his fist, "unplug and drive, ya jerk!" As if to respond, it kicked up a splash before disappearing into a cloud of exhaust. Leaving Joey to look down at his muddy clothes and grumble. "Great, Just, great! Now I'll have to borrow Tristan's spare uniform. Again."

After wiping the bangs out of his eyes, Joey peered back past the gate, now barren of any students. He had to blink and rub his eyes again just to make sure they were working.

"Next time don't stand in front of a moving car."

"Nhey?!" He jolted around and to the side, scooting as close to the gate as his jump would take him.

It was umbrella girl, standing straight with a look of dumbfoundedness. Which quickly morphed into annoyance. "[4filter], is there any bone in your body not fueled by drama. It's not like I snuck up on you."

The blond could hardly compose himself under the weight of his blazer. "How's that not sneaking up on me?! You came from out of nowhere!"

She pointed as she scowled, first at the gate, then at the spot where they stood. "I walked from over there to over here. That's hardly out of nowhere. Next time I'll just let you get run over and save myself the trouble!"

"Like I could hear what you were sayin`!"

The two inched closer to each other until they were practically butting heads, each word screaming a little louder. Heads popped up from the classroom windows and door of the building, curious and mesmerized by the ruckus.

"Not my fault you're deaf."

"If you hadn't been calling me, I wouldn't have been standing there!"

"If you hadn't been standing there, I wouldn't have called you, Airhead!"

"Who you callin` an Airhead?! I happen to have a name, and that's Joey Wheeler."

For a brief second, he could see her jaw snap into place. That was how long it took her to clench her fists, completely red-faced, and zip back towards the school. "You wanna play the name game?! Well, mine's 'IDGAF,' short for 'I don't give a flying [4filter]'."

Joey paused for a second, calculating the acronym on his fingers. IDGAF rolled her eyes, an ungraceful stomp in her step. By the time he looked back up, she was halfway to the door. "Hey! Where are you goin`? I'm not through with you yet."

IDGAF didn't stop her march, not even for half a second, but she did raise her hand and flip Joey the good ol' American bird. Then, she elegantly slammed the school doors behind her.

He was left to grumble a stale, "geez, what was her problem?" as he brushed his hair out of his face again.

The hallways were nearly empty when Yugi Muto got to the classroom. It took him a little longer than usual to finish switching shoes, disposing of his wet sneakers into his school locker. And, more importantly, checking his Duel Monsters cards. When a majority of the other students had finished changing and cleared out, Yugi pulled out his deck box.

He couldn't help but beam when he saw the deck box. What sat inside was his third most prized possession. The first being his friends, undoubtedly waiting for him in the classroom. The second being the giant golden puzzle hanging from his neck. The puzzle was a gift from his grandpa, a wish-granting artifact that gave Yugi the friends he always wanted. And finally, his Duel Monsters' cards.

Opening the box, Yugi slid his hands passed the cards. They were all dry, thank god for that. He had no idea what he would have done if any of them were damaged by the inclimate weather. He tucked the deck box back into his bag before any of the teachers could see it and slipped his school shoes on quickly.

There was barely anyone else in the hall at this point. Most of the other students had retired to homeroom or finishing up their morning club activities. All except one, apparently. She was standing in front of the 2-B door, adorning a scowl.

Yugi shifted as he approached her, "Um, excuse me."

Her eyes seemed distant; puzzled thoughts plastered all over her face. They snapped back into focus the moment he spoke. "Jesus Christ WHAT. "

Yugi froze, unsure of how to proceed without making more conflict. Years of passive isolation left him with a distaste for conflict. Although to be honest, he was starting to get used to it. Even if it did leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth.

Luckily, the Yugi didn't have to do a thing. She took one hard look at him and sighed. "Um, sorry, I thought you were someone else. Some wet headed moron was bugging me this morning. Is this your classroom?" she gestured to the doorway.

He nodded, "I don't think I've seen you around. Are you a First Year?" and put on a friendly smile.

"Do I look like a First Year?" Her scowl reappeared, only to melt away shortly after, "Actually, don't answer that. Can you just point me towards the teacher's room."

"O-oh, ah… sure. You're on the wrong floor, but it's easy to find once you get downstairs."

"Easy. Yeah. Sure. If anything were [4filter] easy I wouldn't be here," she mumbled.

Yugi blinked slowly, "What do you mean?"

"Forget it." Taking one more long look at him, the girl readjusted her school case and rolled her shoulders. "Nice necklace, by the way, thanks, Yugi." Next thing the tri-colored teen knew, the only remnants of her was the sound of her shoes squeaking down the stairs.

"Necklace…?" Yugi looked down at himself. At the upside down puzzle hanging on a loose rope around his neck, whose solo decorative eye was locked in the direction she had gone. One steady, unphased stare.

The door to the classroom slid open, and out popped the face of Yugi's childhood friend. "Hey, Yugi. There you are. I was just about to come looking for you."

"Oh, hi Téa." he couldn't take his frazzled eyes off of the stairway.

Which made Téa Gardener awkwardly pause and wave her hand in front of the boy's face. "Hello? Earth to Yugi. Are you coming in or what?"

"O-oh, right. Sorry."

Ryo Bakura was a small boy. Not "small" regarding "short." Rather, it was his presence, or therefore lack of, that made him such a tiny teen. A fragile looking one at that. He looked like the kind of kid that stayed up too late at night. Working. Not attending wild parties. The white haired boy's face was too sweet for that. "Sweet" may not be the correct term here. "Sweet" implies a person that is pleasant. Kind. Thoughtful. Ryo was relatively average in those departments - although he was known to be incredibly polite and a ridiculously tolerant. Like a doormat.

"Innocent" would probably be a more suitable word. Ryo never seemed to have the intention of doing any harm to anyone. Anyone could see that in his big soft eyes and hear it in his inappropriate British accent. It was as if he were a doll that was made to sit on the shelf, and the girls in class treated him just so. They were always around the albino, with not even a meek complaint from him, always looking. Never touching.

This is why when Ryo's friend worked up the nerve finally to talk to one of the girls, Ryo was enlisted as his wingman - if to do nothing but break the ice. Ice that cracked, shattered, and dropped Tweedledee and Tweedledum right through it. All Tristan Taylor could do was sigh as he looked at the stack of papers in his hand, "Man, I can't believe Miho asked us to deliver her late homework."

Ryo gave him a sympathetic pat, "Cheer up, Tristan, at least she noticed you." Although, his meek smile didn't count for much, seeing they both knew that wasn't entirely accurate. Tristan hadn't gotten two words out between "Ryo, hi, Miho's so glad to see you!" and "Miho hasn't had time to bring this to Ms. Chono, could you do it?"

Tristan groaned, defeatedly shoving his head into the paperwork.

When they reached the Faculty Room, Ryo opened it gently like he would any other day, saying, "Pardon our interruption, we were lookin-" before it was partially blown back closed by all the hot air in the room.

The Faculty Room was usually bustling about with chatter. At least two teachers ran around making copies at a time, one was always napping at his or her desk, and the rest talked as they sorted through student papers. With dozens of desks pushed together like cubicles it was hard not to. Especially when you elbowed a stack of book, and it tipped over onto someone else's, spilling coffee and forcing that hot history teacher to talk to you.

But not today. There were no flirts or so-cliche-they're-funny romcoms brewing the Faculty Room. Many of the teachers were frozen in stunned silence. Some in their chairs, some half standing up in awkward positions. All of them with blank sweaty faces.

"Vice-Principal, arriving at school by car is a clear violation of school policy. It's a distraction to the other students. Even our most astute student doesn't bring a car to the gate." elegantly screeched a woman.

Ms. Chono - Mega-Bust-Sensei - shifted around the Vice Principal's desk. She was stern with her movements, severe, and enforcing, but there was an uncomfortable way her lips twisted, and hips swung. Alarmed and unsure of what to do, Ryo looked over at Tristan, who merely gave him a gesture to be silent.

In front of the teachers stood a student, short and completely red-faced. Whether it be out of anger or embarrassment, Ryo couldn't tell. Maybe a mix of both. "And this is only in addition to her uniform violation. All girls must fully button their jackets at all times. I'm against letting students break the rules without repercussion." Other teachers stayed frozen at their desks, silent. Like the boys, they were outside the bubble, and it was oblivious that an inch in the wrong direction would create unwanted attention.

The VP's face slightly flushed as he cleared his throat, leading the girl to roll her eyes, "I understand your concern Ms. Chono. However, it's only Ms. Merced's first day, and she comes highly recommended. Perhaps we should let today's incident slide."

"The rules are clearly stated in our handbook. There's no-" I'm sure that if either Tristan or Bakura took a sniff of the air at that moment, they'd get a fresh scent of [4filter]. And I don't mean they'd smell a female dog rubbing her butt all over the carpet. I just mean [4filter].

"Ms. Chono, please."

Mega-Bust-Sensei scoffed and swung her Mega Bust towards the door. Her red-lipped smile kept its composure except for a tiny twitch. She didn't stop to acknowledge Tristan but still snatched Miho's worksheet out of his hands. If Ryo weren't so tense, the albino's jaw would have been swinging.

The Vice Principal sighed, scratching his head. Everyone in the room winced as the door slammed closed, but once it did, he began talking again. "Know that this is a one-time exception. Please try to avoid any other rule breaking offenses, including our uniform policy," his eyes went to her hanging blazer.

Clearly as thrilled as her teacher had been, she huffed out an impatient, "Can I go now?" while slowly fixing her jacket, one button off.

"Of course Ms. Merced. Give my regards to your fa -"

The girl wedged her way between Ryo and Tristan, whose eyes followed her as she did. She didn't look back, not when Tristan sidestepped, not when she shoved Ryo, and not when she slammed the faculty room door closed.

"Okay Yug, it's time to duel."

A phrase that was somewhat redundant for Joey to shout out as he picked up a card because it wasn't just 'time to duel.' It had been 'time to duel' for the past forty minutes of lunch break. This was in addition to the fact that Joey wasn't beginning a 'duel,' he was smack in the middle of one. What he should have said is "it's time to continue the duel where it previously left off during the commercial break," or something of that nature.

He placed the card down on the table, revealing a light brown surface. On that surface heald a picture of a man, naked for save for some green cloth pants and his weapon, kneeling down. The top read 'Kagemusha of the Blue Flame.' Placed at the bottom of the card, as if not to draw away from the beautiful portrait, were the numbers 800 and 400.

Tristan, with his hands in his pocket and back, bent over towards the table seemed unimpressed. "This game is called Drool Monsters?"

"Duel Monsters," Téa corrected gently, "Yugi's been teaching everyone how to play." Her bright blue eyes scanned the surface. "Yugi's an expert, but Joey's just starting to get the hang of things."

"That sounds like Joey."

The busty brunette unwrapped her hands from behind her back and pointed in the air as she spoke - a gesture that was known as the "Lecture Finger." It was famous inside the classroom for being the most sexist gesture in 2-B. The boy's "squishy boob hands" and the girl's "pig oinks," while both painfully stereotypical, couldn't begin to match the loaded weapon that was the Lecture Finger. It was the embodiment of the woman's ability to correct, inform, and nag. Maternally of course. A weapon that's so cliche that it caused the girls to groan as much as the boys.

This was by far the most formidable arrow in Téa's quiver.

"See, each card has an attack and defense number. The first player to eliminate their opponent's life points wins the duel," she stated, swooshing that famous finger down and around. Her nose pointed just as high. That soon melted into a grin, "Did I get that right, Yugi?"

He nodded, putting a card down of his own.

Joey stretched his arm to the back of the chair with a confident smirk. "Pretty good move, am I right?"

"Yep! Pretty good move…" it really wasn't, "but not good enough!" the short, tri-colored teen replied. A student in the back snickered as Yugi's monster revealed itself. A fierce looking green dragon known as 'Blackland Fire Dragon' entered the battle with 1500 attack and 800 defense points.

"What?!" Joey nearly dislocated his arm jolting forward. "No way!"

"Yell a little louder, please. I don't think the teachers can hear you outside." The busty brunette shook her head.

"Sorry Joey, but way." Yugi smiled so wide that he definitely wasn't sorry.

The other slumped over in exhausted defeat. His head banged so hard on the table top the entire desk shook. When he finally looked back up, poor 'Kagemusha' stuck to his forehead. "A card that powerful totally wipes me out! Man, I just can't win today."

Tristan wrapped his arm around his best friend's slumped shoulders and peeled 'Kagemusha' off his face. Which, on the outside may appear to be an encouraging gesture, if not for the fact that it was accompanied by waving the card in Joey's face. "Is that a sore loser I hear?"

"Lay off! I could use a victory after getting run over and rained on. How `bout it Yug, best six out of ten? We still got time."

The Lecture Finger got waved hard in the air as Yugi smiled nervously. "Well…" he started to say, a fault in his expression, "I mean…" That was when Téa asserted herself between the two. "Oh no you don't. You've already lost six out of ten!" she said, "Yugi hasn't even eaten lunch yet and the period is almost over. Do you want to get caught?"

Despite Joey's whimpering Yugi gathered up his cards, a ruffle in between his eyebrows, "Sorry Joey. How about tomorrow?"

The blond's eyes darted from one classmate to the next. The entire group of onlookers took a huge step back, unphased by his wide begging eyes. Ryo Bakura waved a polite 'No thank you,' Téa's stern upper lip did all the talking necessary, Tristan was so bored he was practically cleaning out his ear with his pinky, and a handful of other students merely raised an eyebrow.

Whether the nonverbal hints didn't click, or he just couldn't care to acknowledge them, Joey Wheeler refused to give up. "Someone else then! You, in the corner - how `bout it? No?" Finally, his pointer landed on a student sitting rigidly at his desk, "What about you Rich Boy? You wanna give it a round?"

'Rich Boy' - a term which was both derogatory and incredibly physically accurate - referred to a short-haired brunette who was staring intently at his book. Not because he seemed interested in it. His eyes didn't scan along the page, and his mouth didn't move with any of the words. If anything, the textbook was being used as a wall.

Tristan pulled his blonde friend down. "Heel boy, Seto Kaiba ignored your last plea to duel, and I'm sure he hasn't changed his mind. Let's not irritate the guy."

"It wouldn't kill him to socialize more." Joey grumbled, his head being flattened on the desk, "If Mr. Eletist is too good to join us, why'd he bother coming to class in the first place."

Finally, Rich Boy put his book down. He merely released it from his grip, and it fell to the desk with a thud. Téa nearly jumped out of her chair at the surprise of it. Tristan sighed resting his head on his palm in exasperation. Even Yugi seemed nervous. Kaiba gathered up his bag, pulled out his flip phone, and began scrolling through emails. Never once did he look at Joey in when he said, "I don't have time for mutts."

Unsure surprise murmured throughout the room. Seto Kaiba rarely spoke in classes. "What'd you call me, ya stuck up jerk!" Joey snarled back, practically flying over the desk. But before steam could even come out of his nose, Kaiba already closed the classroom door.

"What did I tell you?"

He plopped back down, "What`a corporate jerk. I bet Kaiba's so busy being better than us that he doesn't even duel. That would require the capacity to have fun."

That was when inspiration struck. You'd never know that moments ago he was declaring revenge against his nemesis. As Joey glared intensely at Kaiba's seat, his vision suddenly caught hold of the student sitting behind it. Much like Kaiba, she had her face in a textbook. Unlike him, however, she was also accompanied by a stack of worksheets. "Hey, Umbrella Girl! How about you, do you play Duel Monsters?"

She didn't stop writing, counting out a couple of numbers on her fingers. There was no apparent indication that she had heard anything he had to say. Or maybe she did and just didn't care.

"Hellllo? New kid?"

"No." She said finally.

"No, you don't duel?"

She looked up, and her eyes were sharp, "No, I just won't duel you, Airhead."

All of the competitive cheer quickly drained away. The other students buried their faces into their lunches and ignored it. Except for Joey's friends. They all looked at each other. Tristan with an eyebrow up, Téa with exasperation, and Yugi with worry.

Joey, meanwhile, stiffened. "For the last time, my name isn't 'Airhead.' My name is Joey Wheeler."

She became just as rigid, "For the last time, I don't care. Dot. Period. No question mark. No exclamation point. The end."

Joey placed his deck on the desk and stood up. She followed in turn, letting her pencil roll off the surface. When it hit the ground, the sound was small - but it had all the power of a starter pistol.

"You've had a beef wit` me the moment we met. What's your deal!"

"Yeah, that seems like a common occurrence, doesn't it? Ever wonder why you're not exactly class favorite," she sneered, "Hint. Whenever you open your mouth, all that comes out is excessive air horning. You ever heard someone blow an air horn for an hour straight? Well, you should listen to yourself sometime!"

The two were nearly clashing forehead to forehead. With each word the girl rose further on her toes, leaning on the desk surface with her fingers tip to maintain an equal and powering height. Even his friends please couldn't bring Joey and the girl down.

Not for lack of trying. Téa had her hands on her hips when she said, "Cool down you two." and Tristan threw his hands in his pockets and muttered, "Come on man, don't start something." Yugi uncomfortably shifted to the side of the table and held his ground between the two. "Let's not argue about it."

Even with the door to the classroom slamming open, another student running in and frantically shouting, "Crap! Everyone, hide your decks. Ms. Chono's coming back early" didn't separate them. Although it did catch the attention of the other students, who had been boredly watching the argument unfold. Their expressions changed to that of mixed annoyance and worry, instantly throwing the math books open and trading cards away. As such, a majority of them were caught off guard at the loud crash that echoed through the room moments later.

One of the strangest - no, scratch that - one of the dumbest - things in this world is how one small incident can ruin everything. A tiny, thoughtless action can create an entire future. I'm sure it's happened to you before. It may have been a choice. It may have been an insult. Maybe you carelessly called your friend by an offensive name, and it blew up larger than you ever dreamed. Or you touched something you knew you shouldn't. Or put a pot on the stove to boil that would change your whole life in an hour. I'm sure if you looked back right now, you could find the insignificant moment that leads to you to the chair, couch, floor, bed, or car you're currently reading this on.

Not that those examples are specific to anything. I definitely wouldn't pay any attention to them because they're obviously random, with no relationship to anyone or anything whatsoever.

Then there's something even more obscene: when it's not your seemingly pointless choice that sets your life in motion. Instead, it's another person's choice. There's a specific word for this experience.

Fate.

As fate would have it the student with his unkempt ruffled uniform and unbrushed hair, bolted to make it to his desk as quickly as possible and found the shortest route there: to scooch behind the new girl, standing on her toes and tips of her fingers. When he squeezed behind her, they barely touched, just the broad of her back bumping harmlessly against his arm. A harmless bump that would make the new girl lose her balance, and in a desperate attempt to catch herself lean on the first surface she could get to. However, that surface would turn out to be the edge of her desk, sending her, her worksheets, and Joey Wheeler's deck flying to the ground as it flipped.

Joey and the gang froze as it played out. No one could process what was happening, even the new girl, half under her desk, didn't figure it out until she was on the ground.

"Whoops. My bad." The student said blurted, turning around suddenly at the sound. Not that she paid any mind to him. She was too busy looking up at Joey and the gang, the edges of her cheeks turning red.

Before any of them could say anything, the girl rolled over and started to gather up her things. Without another word. Tristan lifted the desk back up, Yugi and Joey got on the ground with her to help her start collecting, Téa tried to help her to her feet. They had many words. Including, but not limited to, "Hey, you alright?", "Do you need to go see the nurse?", and "Let me help."

"Leave," she said finally, completely crimson and eyes glued to the jumbled mess of cards and paperwork, "leave me be. I don't want your help."

"But-" Yugi said quietly, picking up another page.

"I said I didn't want your help." she snatched a paper out of Yugi's hand, "Grab your [4filter] and leave me alone!" She pushed a handful of cards his way and grabbed the other items.

"We're just tryin` to be nice." Joey was annoyed.

She stood up, hugging her papers, adjusting her desk down from here Tristan had placed it. Only to slam the set of worksheets onto the surface. "What don't you get? I don't want you to be nice, I don't want your help, and I don't want your pity."

"Whatever. Didn't realize being friendly would be a waste of your time." Joey grumbled, gathering up the rest of his cards

The entire classroom had their attention on the scene. Some had their mouths agape. Others wore a frown. The students who had come back from break were standing in the doorway confused. They all seemed like one, collective, giant eye on her. All except one. Yugi Muto's brief glance back at the new girl before returning to his desk was singled out from the others. She dared a glance back to him.

Everyone could see that when Ms. Chono walked in, she was apparently in a bad mood. There was just an aura about her that the students could feel. Someone had pissed her off, and obviously, the only way to blow off steam was through a pop quiz. Which, by this point happened so often that it should have ceased being called a "pop quiz" and instead be known as a "ridiculously inconvenient quiz."

They could feel it when she slammed the papers down on the podium. A majority of the students were frozen, too tense to even go for their pencils. "I've heard some just terrible rumors that our school's been plagued with inappropriate distractions recently. Which we're all aware is against school policy. You good students would happen to know anything about that?" her tongue clicked.

There wasn't so much as a squeak across the room.

"Excellent, then I'm sure none of you should have any problem completing today's quiz." the beauty mark under Ms. Chono's eye seemed to twitch as she curled up a faulty smile. Everyone could feel it. The frustration. The deceit. She knew, and those with Duel Monsters could feel it burning a hole in their pockets.

As the teacher separated the tests to be passed down by rows, licking her fingers with every bundle, the students nervously passed up their worksheets from the night before. The Cho-Nator stood at the podium staring down her students as some looked over the test. She glanced especially harsh at those like Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor, blank and stone-faced at the first page. All the while jogging the stack of worksheets on the podium.

Click. Click. The sound of her dropping the pile of sheets, again and again, was the only noise in the room. It overpowered even the student's nervous breathing.

Click. Click. Some began to fill questions out. Others felt their eyebrows cross at the wave of unfamiliar materials this quiz presented. Ms. Chono watched their eyes shift slowly back and forth.

Click. Click.

Slide.

Ms. Chono looked down at the unfamiliar sound and watched a small, familiar object slide out of the pile. One that landed with its half-naked Warrior in full view. Her heavily make-uped cheeks grew into a satisfactory smile.

"Well, well, what's this?" she picked up the 'Kagemusha of the Blue Flame' card and held it up for the classroom to see. Yugi felt his blood freeze and quickly looked over to Joey, who was glancing in up and down from his back pack. Téa mouthed 'It couldn't be.' to the rest of her friends, who merely frowned back.

Ms. Chono put on a shocked face, one that nobody was fooled by. "That's no good at all! It looks like there is a student in this very room who's broken the rules. I suppose I've got no choice but to issue a mandatory inspection."

Now all of the students were glancing at each other, with an even more nervous sweat than before. (If that was even possible.) The number of guilty students could be counted by those clenching their teeth. A few had their eyes fixated on Joey.

Meanwhile, the blond cursed to himself and tried to subtly reach for his bag. He hoped his 'Kagemusha' would be right on the top, staring back and looking as dumbfounded as he felt. But it was hopeless. In his gut, Joey knew the card was his, even if he couldn't figure out how the [4filter] it got into Ms. Chono's diabolical hands.

Then, the sound of a chair cut through the room, and everyone glanced in its direction. Ms. Chono included. The new girl stood up from her desk, appearing resolved. "It's mine. It's my worksheets the card fell out of."

Ms. Chono couldn't even try to mask the wave of pleasure, even if she wanted to. "Ms. Merced, are you admitting to you brought a game to school today?"

The new girl reached down into her school case, pulled out a thick stack of Duel Monsters cards, and placed them on the desk, saying, "What do you think?" The two locked eyes, unblinking, unflinching, and unintimated by the other with shoulders broad and high.

"That's hardly an appropriate tone to use against an administrative figure." She rounded the podium again, her hips swaying with spice, "I'm aware you're new to the school and its rules, but this is unacceptable behavior. I'm not sure you understand just how serious we take these offenses."

The new girl bit her tongue.

"I expect to see you in the Advisor Room immediately following classes." were the words Ms. Chono's lips formed, as she picked up Amy's Duel Monsters deck. But her eyes had a much less complicated message. Gotcha.

When she swayed her way back to the front, the beautiful teacher jogged the cards as she was once doing the worksheets. Her cherry lips beamed brighter than they had all day when she turned to the class and said, "Ten more minutes on your quizzes."

The Advisor Room was the complete opposite of the Faculty Room. Where the Faculty Room was cramped and cluttered with teachers desks, the Advisor Room was one open space. The chalkboard and desk indicated that it might have once been a classroom before adding the clunky television and coffee machine. There were only four or so tables connecting to each other to make a square. It was even barren of chairs, most of them being folded up and placed on racks in the corner.

Ms. Chono sat far away from Amy, both occupying edges of the square. Each was commanding their space, although Chono's command was done with elegance. Even if it was fake. She certainly looked like an adult, sitting straight up with her hands folded on the table. She certainly sounded like an adult, saying smoothly, "Ms. Merced, thank you for joining me this afternoon."

But there was this feeling of pettiness behind it all.

Amy's pettiness was much less subtle. She sat on the opposing chair, legs crossed, arms crossed, and huge scowl wrapped her feelings up in a nice bow. "Do you honestly think bringing a trading card into school is a punishable offense?"

"It's not what I think Ms. Mercade; it's what the rules think. Rules and disruptions are connected. If we don't follow the rules we can't possibly hope to achieve our academic best." she replied, never dropping that bitter smile.

Even though this room looked different from the Faculty Room, it was just as suffocating. Where it lacked in the prying eyes of frightened onlookers, it made up with Ms. Chono's insufferably subduing weight.

Amy straightened, though refused to uncross her legs. "I don't think holding a pillow over your students will help them 'achieve their academic best' either. The only thing I've learned at this school is how to marry a textbook. You don't allow clubs to meet for more than an hour, and god forbid you let them compete with other schools. The students can't bring anything fun and relaxing in this school without having to hide it in their underwear. You know it is possible to get a good education without holding a firearm to your own head, right?"

"Oh?" Alright, so Amy still wasn't the pillar of respect. But at least it was nicer than what she wanted to say, "I'm sorry you feel that way."

"I'm sorry 90% of your student body feels that way."

Alright, sure 90% may have been an over exaggerated estimate. It was more like 60% or 70%, if the number of students that brought in games, took detours after school, and had secret boyfriends said anything.

"Is that a fact?"

Pardon? Amy now felt her arms untangle and grab onto the edges of the folding chair. "What's that supposed to mean."

"What kind of school would we be if we weren't open to progression." Chono couldn't have looked anymore wicked if she was suddenly painted green and riding around on a broomstick. "If you're telling the truth, you've got to have some evidence. Prove that the students think the rules are too strict. Start a petition, gather enough signatures and present it at the next staff meeting. If you can demonstrate that the student body feels the rules are unreasonable, then I'll give you a lighter sentence. A punishment to suit the crime as they say."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop a couple of degrees. And it wasn't from the open windows. Amy couldn't help it, she even placed both feet on the ground and leaned forward. But no matter how hard she looked, or how many times she gazed over Ms. Chono's stone cold features, she couldn't unravel what was behind them.

But there was something behind them. From one schemer to another.

No one knew why the crowd of 2-B students was standing with their ears glued to the Advisor Room door. Most didn't care enough to ask. Even if they had, the 2-B students would have a beginning and middle to the story, but not an end. Only a few lucky enough to get right up against the door could hear anything, and even at that, it was 90% Ms. Chono's shrill babbles.

After two minutes, most of the students began to file out, becoming less interested in the climax of the new girl's story. Another thirty seconds later, more wandered off. Then a minute took more away. This pattern continued until there was only the gang of familiars faces standing in the doorway.

"You know I'm not sure, but I think Ms. Chono has it out for her." Ryo Bakura, one among the dwindling group, spoke softly.

Tristan exchanged a sarcastic look with the albino, "Well, duh. What was your first clue?"

Ryo beamed, all too excited for the inquiry, "We saw it, remember? We walked in right as she was being scolded before.." The other only held up a single baffled eyebrow, but before he could say anything Joey 'shhhht'ed them. He was the only one lucky enough to still have his ear up against the door.

Téa had her arms crossed in front of her chest, shifting back and forth. "You don't think she's going to get expelled, do you?"

"I hope not. Guys, I don't feel right about this." Yugi fidgeted with the golden puzzle around his neck, only looking up to see Téa's reassuring smile, "We shouldn't of let her take the fall."

All that goodwill evaporated when Tristan sneered, "Why? It's just as much her fault as it is anyone's."

"Tristan!" the female hissed.

"What? If she weren't messin' around with us in the first place, none of this would have happened."

"I don't think she was messing with us," Yugi interjected quietly.

Bakura nodded in thought and he added, "Maybe she's just not good at talking to people."

"Doubt it," Tristan grumbled back, straightening his position.

"You don't know that, Tristan. Could you at least try to be a little considerate? She just took a major bullet for one of your friends." Téa's voice was starting to rise with each word. Not so much angry, rather like a nagging mother. A Mother Goose if you will.

A gesture that Tristan apparently didn't take with grace, "Look, I'm just sayin` there's not good at making friends, and then there's being an angry loner."

"Will you loud mouths can it already! I'm tryin' to listen here." Joey barked, louder than any of the others combined. The group only blinked, slightly startled, before Téa put her foot down. Literally.

"Don't you tell me to shut up Joey Wheeler! You have the loudest mouth of all of us! Why don't you get off the ground and wait like a human being instead of all fours."

Before Joey's mildly frightened face could come up a response outside of "Nh," the door slid open. And of course, he and all the weight he had been leaning on it fell face first on the floor. The new girls stepped out, not giving the slightest attention to the blond as she stepped over him.

Although, as it would soon become clear, Joey Wheeler never stays down. He was back on his feet in a matter of seconds, rushing to catch up with her. "Hey. New Girl! Wait up!"

"Why." her arms swung stiffly while she marched. There wasn't a second of eye contact between them, despite Joey's efforts to come up on her side.

"I wanted to thank you for helpin' me out back there."

This caused her to stop, so suddenly that Joey almost rounded the corner without her. The of stiffness of her own olive complexion and the locking of her cheekbones made it clear that she was clenching her teeth. Then her fists. "I'd never 'help you out' Dogbreath, but when I make a mess, I clean it up. That's all."

The others caught up and subsequently surrounded her with their inquiring eyes. If anyone looked the least interested, it was Tristan.

Yugi finally let go of the golden puzzle although it hardly faded from attention. The new girl quickly realized that no matter what direction she looked there was someone extra staring at her. After darting this way and that, they finally landed on the giant mystical eye on the puzzle, no less unsettling than the dozen of real eyes. So, when Yugi asked cautiously, "You didn't get into serious trouble, did you?" she opted in for staring out the window and down at the near empty courtyard.

"No." her statement was rigid.

Joey Wheeler apparently couldn't feel the tension. It bounced right off of his optimistic disposition while he gave her a congratulatory whack on the back as if she were one of his big, brony, buffoons. "Allllright!" he added a cheer for good measure, "That means we've got today to celebrate! I say we go down to Burger World and eat our weight in fast food. Téa's treat."

"Why is it my treat!?"

"From one rule breaker to another, right?"

"How am I the rule breaker here?"

"Well, you're taking us out for food aft'a school, and that's against the rules. Hense, you're a rule breaker."

"That makes no sense, you blockhead. In that case, we're all rule breakers and should pay equally."

Their voices faded out as the new girl fell behind. She silently watched them continue down the hall without her, trapped in the flow of their lighthearted bubble. All except one. Yugi paused a few steps later and turned around to look at the invisible wall between them.

He tightened his hands around his backpack strap, pulling it up to fit better on his shoulders. "Aren't you coming?"

"How dense are you! Or is your brain oxygen deprived from your head stuck up on the clouds? I don't want anything from you or your pals." she didn't sound bitter anymore… just dull.

So Yugi did the only thing he could think to do, shoot her one of Téa's famous reassuring smiles. "I know they're a little overwhelming, but they mean well. I think everyone just wants to thank you."

A gesture she returned with a deep frown, "Holy [4fiter]. The lot of you are under some grand impression that I made a great gesture by telling a crap-tactic lie for your friend. But here's a news flash, Sport: I didn't. I wouldn't. Not for me, not for you, and certainly not for Dogbreath up there.

"Lying is most unreliable, twistable, and unstable way to go from knee deep in [4filter] to elbow deep. Only Grade-A morons tell bad lies."

His face could only sour slightly, eyebrows dropping. "Then in the classroom, what you said to Ms. Chono…"

"It was the - a - truth. I said it was mine. The worksheet. The Cho-Nator filled in the rest of the stupid blanks on her own. It's not my fault they were the wrong blanks."

Before Yugi could say anything, Joey's voice cut down the hall, "Whatya' two waiting for, a formal invitation? If ya` don't keep up I'm gonna eat all the burgers without you."

"Coming, Joey." the tri-colored boy started to move forwards before sucking in a deep breath, "Um, well, you still helped us out, even if you didn't mean to. So the invention is still open. I think the others would like you to come." That reassuring smile stayed stapled on his face, even if her frown melted away with puzzlement.