Aaaaaand here's the updated version of the second chapter! You know, I'm pretty much on a roll, and it's not taking very long to update these chapters. I might even finish them all by the end of the day.

Carlos, Ralphie, Wanda and Keesha walked toward the building where Dorothy-Ann and Arnold were.

The six good friends stood together in front of their new school, just imagining the year ahead of them, when...

"You guys, is it just me, or does that look like Tim?" Ralphie said, pointing at someone walking by a few metres away.

"Let's find out." Wanda cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hey Tim!"

When he turned, Wanda grinned and waved. Tim returned the smile and walked over to the group.

"Tim, my man! You're back!" Carlos punched his old friend in the arm.

"Yeah, my dad's company transferred him back here, so we just moved back!" Tim explained. "Hey... where's Phoebe?"

"Oh yeah, you weren't here when... Well, a bit after you moved, she began to favour her friends from her old school, and kinda stopped hanging out with us," Keesha said.

Wanda looked over her shoulder. "Speak of the backstabbing little devil..."

Phoebe was approaching the seven friends hesitantly. When they noticed her, she sped up to reach then, and just stood there uncomfortably for a moment, everyone's attention now focused on her.

"Umm... Hi guys," she said when the silence became too much.

"Did you guys hear something? I could've sworn... No, I guess it was just the wind," Wanda said, dramatically shifting her gaze to the sky.

Phoebe looked hurt. Keesha took compassion and went to stand beside Phoebe. "Don't mind Wanda, she's in a bad mood 'cause we spoiled her flirting with Ralphie."

Ralphie and Wanda reacted simultaneously, eyes wide. "HEY!"

"So Pheebs, what brings you back here with us?" Keesha continued.

Phoebe smiled at her friend's hospitality and the use of her old nickname. "Actually, after I started hanging out with my old friends, I realized that we were all just too different and we weren't as close as before."

"And it took you this long to come back?" Arnold said. There was the tiniest hint of a blush creeping across his face, talking to Phoebe.

"Yeah. Stupid, really. I thought you would all be mad at me for leaving you so I just put up with them, scared that you guys would be really nasty about it." She blushed as well, partly from admitting to her worries, and partly because she was talking to a certain red-headed boy after having missed him for some time. "But today felt different. I felt as if we were back in grade three and everyone was still good friends. When I saw Tim back with the group, that finalized it... I had to come over and make things right again."

The others smiled and welcomed her back. They spent the rest of the morning before the first bell reminiscing about their elementary school days, and how much they missed their lessons with Ms. Frizzle.

The bell rang and the newly reunited gang made their way to their homeroom class, science, which, oddly enough, they all had together.

The eight companions found their lockers then their homeroom. They were the first ones in the room and much to their surprise, nobody else came into the classroom. Apparently they were a very small class.

"You guys, I have a feeling that something is going on here... Like, we're all back together again—Tim moved back, Phoebe came to her senses—and now it looks like we're the only ones in this class! I mean, a little weird, doncha think?"

"Yeah..." Tim said. "This is kind of uncanny."

Before anyone else could say anything, their homeroom teacher for the year came in. A familiar-looking, frizzly-haired, red-headed teacher.

"Hello class," she greeted them. She glanced around the room. "My, there's not many of you, is there? I haven't had a class this small since... Oh well, let's get started. I'm Ms. Frizzle and—"

"MS. FRIZZLE!" the whole class erupted in unison. The teacher looked at the teenagers with a bewildered expression.

"Yes, that's right. Oh, I feel as if I know you all from somewhere..."

"You do!" cried Dorothy Ann. "We were one of your third grade classes at Walkerville Elementary!"

Ms. Frizzle squinted in thought for a moment, then a look of realization came to her face. She smiled brightly. "Why, Dorothy Ann, thank you! It's been so long, I didn't recognize any of you! Are all eight of you here? What a strange coincidence..."

"Yeah! We're all here, Ms. Frizzle! Do you still have Bus and Liz?" Wanda said excitedly. Her best year of school was grade three and she could hardly wait for a year of fun.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I still have Liz. I don't take her to school any more, she's just too old. But Bus was taken away a few years ago, when its engine broke and I couldn't fix it." Ms. Frizzle ended her explanation with a far-away and remorseful look. She was tugged back to reality when Phoebe's hand went up in the air.

"Yes, Phoebe?"

"I was wondering, what will we do this year? Will it be like in grade three, with all of our field trips?" As Phoebe mentioned field trips, Arnold flinched a bit. Too many bad experiences.

A smile slowly spread across Ms. Frizzle's face. "Well, Phoebe, I'm not quite sure myself. But it's always a possibility."

And so their first year of high school began with a twinkle in everyone's eye and hope for a year of excitement, much like they had in third grade.