Disclaimer- I don't own ADJL, but all OCs belong to me!

XxXxX

'Selena, toast is here!' Emily's voice called up the stairs.

I'd been up for a few hours already helping her get Nicky ready for the day. I picked up my bag and went downstairs, Snow close at my heel.

'Thanks Em' I said, plonking myself down and grabbing some toast.

'How are you feeling then Emily asked, taking a sip of coffee

'Nervous I suppose, how else can I feel?' I shrugged

'Don't worry about it, you'll make friends easily enough' Emily said

'Yeah. It'll be fine, anyway Jake said he'd walk to school with me so I don't want to be late' I finished my toast, refusing to allow my nerves to get to me 'See you later'

'Good luck honey!' Emily called

I crouched by Snow, scrunching her ears and absorbing all her encouraging thoughts before I picked up my bag and left the house preparing to walk the three blocks to school.

Jake stood waiting at the bottom of the path. I remembered our previous collision with a cringe and went down the front steps to greet him.

'Morning there Lee' He grinned

I had gotten used to the nickname now he'd christened me with it a few days ago after hearing Nicky call me 'Leena'. Over the last week we'd hung out a lot but his friends had been busy. It had been me, him and Snow, unless we actually went somewhere dogs seriously couldn't go.

'Morning Jake' I greeted

We walked side-by-side, chatting casually until we nearly got the school. I dreaded schools. All the smells mingling and the noise. Emily had described the way her ears buzzed after spending a night in a club. My ears often felt like that after a day in a crowded place. It was the only place that could truly put me on edge and I stopped walking once we were in sight of the building. Jake took a few steps forward before realising I hadn't carried on and looked back.

'Lee?'

I stood frozen, looking ahead. He walked back and stopped in front of me. I looked up at him and he looked down sympathetically.

'What's up?' He asked

I struggled to find a decent answer without telling him about the smell and the noise 'I just don't like schools' I said

He sighed 'No one likes new places. Come on, it'll be fine. Filmore isn't such a bad school if you discount Professor Rottwood and the canteen food'

I smiled slightly at his optimism, still not quite comfortable but continuing to walk forwards all the same. Jake fell into step beside me and continued to chat but he walked closer, his arm almost brushing against mine. I hated myself for it but his scent surrounded me at the proximity and calmed me while I braced myself.

We entered the school I could feel eyes everywhere boring into me. I ducked my head, allowing my hair to cover some of my face. I was bombarded by all the different smells and I tried to tune out the muttering that wouldn't reach anyone else's ears.

'Come on, we'll get your schedule and locker number and code' Jake said, leading me down a couple of corridors before opening and door and holding it open for me.

The receptionist looked up and smiled warmly. It eased my nerves slightly and I realised she probably knew I was new, if she didn't then she would in a moment. I could smell a strong smell of toffee.

'You must be here for your schedule and locker number' She said, opening a folder and handing them to me

'Thank you' I said

She simply smiled and went back to work. Maybe nothing surprised her anymore. Out in the hallway we inspected my sheets.

'Ha cool, your locker is right next to mine. And most of your classes are with me. If they aren't then you're with my friends' Jake said 'C'mon, I'll show you your locker and introduce you to my buds'

'Okay' I said feeling nervous again.

Jake led the way to our lockers. There were two teenagers waiting for him.

One was a dark skinned girl slightly shorter than me, with a slim feminine build despite her tomboy clothes and a pretty face. Her eyes were a chocolate brown and her hair was tied up into two very curly bunches. She smelt like vanilla perfume and strawberry hair products.

The other was a tall lanky boy wearing a beanie with floppy mouse brown hair sticking out of it. He had hazel eyes that sparkled with intelligence but a vacant looking grin on his face. He smelt quite strongly of musky shower products and also the acidic smell of antipersperant.

'Hey Jakie babe, what up?' The girl said, her voice was husky but in a feminine sort of way. She and Jake bumped fists and she smiled toward me.

'Nothin but the ceiling baby' Jake said the cheesy retort. I didn't need to force a grin at the chuckle this earnt from the girl.

'Hey bro, who's your new friend' The boy said, his voice sounded slow almost dim. I realised this must be a facade; you couldn't fake the intelligence in his eyes. He looked curiously at me.

'Yeah guys this is Selena, she's the one who moved in next-door. Lee, this is Trixie and Spud, my best buds' Jake said pointing them out

'It's nice to meet you' I said politely, entering the code for my locker. I hesitated before opening the door. A manky smell was drifting out of the edges and I braced myself.

The smell hit me hard before I'd even got the door fully open and I recoiled, holding back a retch as quietly as I could. There was a smelly old lunch bag in the bottom, I grimaced, my eyes were watering.

'Ew man' Spud said looking over my shoulder in sick fascination.

'Aw, that's nasty' Trixie said looking at me sympathetically.

Jake leaned past us all and picked it up with a disgusted look on his face. He tossed it into the nearest bin and Trixie pulled out her perfume, spraying out the locker with the vanilla smelling liquid. It must've made it better for them but I wasn't so sure whether the two mingling smells or the bad smell on it's own was better.

'Well, that was a nice welcome' I said sarcastically, recovering with as much grace as I possibly could 'Thank you Jake and Trixie' I smiled

Spud chuckled and Trixie had a weird look on her face. Jake smiled at me encouragingly.

'You aren't from around here' Spud said

'No, I'm from England' I said 'But I did spend about ten years in California so you would've thought I would've managed to drop the English accent'

'It's not outrageous, kind of refreshing really' Spud complimented

'Well mama Trixie's here to help' Trixie said, putting her arm around me and leading me down the corridor

'I'm in her first two lessons with her, you're in her art class and Spuds in her science classes' Jake said pointedly

'Okay well we'll catch you both at break, holla!' Trixie said, taking her arm away and leading Spud off

'They seem nice' I said

'Yeah, they're the best' Jake said

The first lesson was English Literature and me and Jake were allowed to sit by each other, we chatted as we read the Shakespeare passages. It was Romeo and Juliette. The next was Math and I helped Jake with his calculus sums.

The bell rang and we packed our stuff away and headed out into the crowded corridors.

'Thanks Lee, I never got calculus before' Jake thanked me

'Don't mention it' I replied

'So, how you finding the first day?' Jake asked

'I like it. It's different to California' I admitted

I followed Jake outside and he made his way over to a bench. Trixie and Spud were already there.

'Hey dude's, what's crackalatin?' Trixie shouted from her seat on the bench

'Shakespeare' Jake replied as I smiled

'How do I compare thee to a summer's day?' Spud said enthusiastically

'More like O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? I said tragically making Spud fall about laughing.

'You should've done Act 4: Scene 15 with her' Trixie muttered at Jake as I laughed with Spud still quoting verses.

'What's Act 5: Scene 15?' I asked, cutting myself off

Jake twitched. Clearly he hadn't expected me to hear. I looked between him and Trixie, confused.

'Oh it was a scene from a school play one year that involved a k-oof' Trixie cut Spud off with a sharp elbow to the stomach

'A kick. That's what Spud means' Trixie said in a rather pointed way

'Oh yeah. A good kick up yon olde gluteus maximus' Spud said

I laughed at Trixie's incredulous face and Jake's awkward smile. I decided to let it slide.

'Ya'll can stop quoting ye olde English now' Trixie laughed at us 'Selena, what you got next?'

'Art, with you!' I said, checking on my schedule

'Ooo mama Trixie gon show you how to paint old school' Trixie said

'What? finger paint?' I teased

'Naaaa, you don't put yo fingers in paint!' Trixie said in mock horror

I felt pleased, happy I was fitting in as if I'd been there forever. Jake's friends seemed to be accepting me fine but the only problem I was having was getting past all the completely odd smells in the classrooms. I knew I'd get used to it but I didn't fancy my clothes smelling like an old trash bin.

We used sculpting clay in art and despite getting a decent amount of work done, Trixie and I still spent most of the lesson throwing clay discreetly at each other.

Lunch came around and Trixie was showing Jake a new skate trick she had learnt. I watched as Jake pulled it off after the fifth try. Me and Spud cheered at his success.

'You were slightly off on your left leg there Jakie' Trixie said jokingly

'Aw man can't a guy have his moment?' Jake said in dejection

'Well I thought it was good' I praised. I noted Jake got a slight blush in his cheeks and his scent suddenly increased tenfold. I blinked slightly in shock; I'd never known a smell on a person do that before.

The bell went and me and Spud went off to science. It was chemistry and Spud managed to convince our science teacher to let us be lab partners. Dressed in goggles that were too big for our faces and white lab coats I had push the sleeves back on so I wouldn't dip them into anything. We had to mix some chemicals to create a stable liquid.

'Steady hand there Selena, we don't wanna blow the school up' Spud said, stretching his beanie hat down over his ears, mock fear in his voice and eyes, making me shudder with laughter.

'I said careful!' Spud said indignantly taking the vial away from me

'I'm sorry Spud, but I doubt we could blow the school up' I giggled

We managed to mix the mixture and produce a stable liquid. We had biology afterwards and had to identify certain bacterial cells in gone off food, making us cringe about what might've been festering away in that mouldy old lunch bag. After lesson Jake was waiting by the main entrance for me.

'How was your day?' He asked

'I've actually enjoyed it' I said 'It's certainly different to Californian education'

'Wait till tomorrow, we have mythology with Rottwood. That will blow your mind away' Jake said

'Why?' I asked

'I think his work is based more on opinion than fact' Jake said, a slight bitter tone to his voice I didn't miss.

'Okay then' I said, deciding not to go there.

We stood chatting a bit when we got back and Jake looked over my shoulder at the house and laughed.

'You have someone waiting for you' He chuckled, pointing at the window.

I turned and saw Snow with her nose pressed eagerly against the glass and laughed 'I'd better get going, she needs a walk'

'Okay, see you later' Jake said

'Bye' I called, unlocking the door.

I shut the door behind me and Snow greeted me by sitting at my feet and pawing my leg. I crouched down and put my arms around her neck; she rested her head on my shoulder and sniffed me all over.

Like I predicted I was covered in odd smells and my ears were ringing unpleasantly.

'Ready for a walk?' I asked dumping my bag and reaching for her lead

She bounced happily at the sight of her lead and bombarded me with enthusiasm. I laughed at her and I clipped the lead to her collar and locked the front door behind us. I looked at my watch, Emily wouldn't be home for another few hours with Nicky so I had had plenty of time to walk Snow, do some wolfing about myself and make a start on dinner.

I jogged with Snow who trotted happily beside me. I entered the park and found a secluded area. I took Snow's lead off and I took the time to look around the clearing again and then transformed happily.

I think I could get used to this.

XxXxX

As usual, review please!