Hope you like! I'm sorry for keeping everyone waiting... I don't know when I'll be able to post next, prob. the weekend. Review, folks!

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"Principal O'Maley?" Booth asked, his hand on Brennan's back. They were in the principals office, and Booth was introducing Bones.

"Seeley! I've told you, just call me O'Maley!" The tall, bald, bespectacled man said accusingly. "Ahh, so this is Temperance!" He exclaimed, noticing Brennan for the first time. "We got the enrollment, and everything is all set." He handed her a piece of paper. "This is your schedule, and I'm sure Seeley will show you around." Booth nodded in confirmation, and they started to the door, as not to be late for homeroom. "Seeley-" O'Maley started. "I don't want to see you in here this year, ok?" Grinning sheepishly, Booth nodded again and pushed Brennan out of the office.

They were immediately swept up into the current of students pushing and shoving to get down the hallway. Feeling more like cattle than students, they were shuffled along until Brennan felt Booth's arm wrap around her waist and tug her into one of the classrooms that lined the hallways.

Weaving in and out of the lab tables in the science class, Booth pulled Brennan up to a desk where a teacher was lounging with his feet up, writing in a notebook.

"Hey Mr. Yaz! This is the new student, Bon- I mean Temperance. She's in our homeroom."

"Well hello! I'm Mr. Yaz. Some call me Yazimoto..." Mr. Yaz said, holding out his hand which Tempe shook. Booth chuckled in the background.

"What's so funny, Iceman?" Mr. Yaz asked with an addicting smile.

"Nothing, Yaz. I just remember when we dubbed you 'Yazimoto'." Booth pretended to be thinking fondly for a few seconds before saying. "It was when the iceblock I was holding 'slipped' and landed on your foot, and you walked around the rest of the day bent over because you were holding ice on your broken foot..."

"That's also where the Iceman came from. You've got to study extra hard this year, mister, we're heading into forensics-" Brennan perked up "- and I don't want to see another D from you. You can do it, Seeley."

"Bones has promised to help me." Booth explained as the bell rang. Grabbing Brennan again, he shouted over his shoulder as they left the class. "See ya, Yaz!" When Brennan looked at him questioningly, he explained.

"Mr. Yaz gives everyone nicknames. I happen to be 'Iceman'. Come on, your first class is Geometry, and I'll be right next door with-" He shuddered and then said in a hushed whisper "- Ms. Gates. She hates me. I couldn't remember what a past participle was and she CURSED me with the evil eye for the whole day! It was horrible..." Booth shuddered again, and Brennan patted him on the arm.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. No one can possibly give the 'evil eye'."

"Oh yes she can. You sure you're not cold?" He asked, concerned. She shook her head headed to her class with a small wave. Booth smiled back.

Brennan settled into a seat in the back of the class room and waited for class to start. A tall, tough looking girl sat next to her. She was dressed in all black, had spiked hair, and was chewing gum rather obnoxiously.

"You the new kid?" The girl asked, snapping her bubble gum.

"Yes. I'm Temperance Brennan." Brennan replied, wondering what the girl wanted.

"Why are you hanging around Seeley Booth?" The girl asked, leaning towards Brennan, dead serious.

"I-"

"He's mine. You can't just walk up and steal someone's boyfriend. So you'd better watch your back, Brennan. If I see you with Seeley again, I'm gonna come after you. You've been warned." With a snarl, the girl stalked away.

Far from intimidated, Brennan settled into her seat as a short, dark haired man walked briskly into the class room and immediately started writing on the white board. He had a white dress shirt on, with rolled up sleeves, and a tie loosely around his neck. When he spoke, it was more of a bark, which is why people called him Slydog. He was the kind of teacher that could get total silence by just walking in a room. Everyone respected him immensely, and no one dared to act up in his class.

"Alright, you're in Geometry now. No more Algebra one, this year is going to be significantly harder. I want you all to take out your books and follow the instructions on the board. When you are done, come see me." With that, he stalked to his desk in the back of the room and started rooting around the piles of papers, looking for something. Brennan approached him cautiously.

"Excuse me?"

He looked up. "What?"

"I don't have a book." Brennan said.

"Cabinet on the left, top shelf." He said, not questioning her lack of materials. Brennan nodded, and glanced at him desk briefly before heading to the cabinet. She had noticed the nameplate, buried beneath the clutter. It read Sly Keenan.

Thinking nothing of the name, Brennan retrieved her book and started back to her desk.

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It was lunch time, and the day was half over. Brennan and Booth were sitting side by side, eating off each other's lunch trays.

"So, how was math?" Booth asked through a mouthful of spaghetti. Leaning over, he grabbed one of Brennan's fries.

Slapping his hand away, she replied, "It was ok. Mr. Keenan is nice. He's a good teacher." She stopped talking as a loud 'Ding, dong' rang out from the loud speaker. The whole lunch room went quiet as Principal O'Maley's voice rang out.

"Seeley Booth to the office. Don't even think of stopping in the bathroom, mister."

Booth winced and sent an apologetic look at Brennan as the other boys cat called.

"What cha' do this time, Booth?"

"Oooooohhhhh... busted Seeley!"

Ignoring them, Booth turned to Brennan. "I'll be right back, Bones. And if I'm not, we have forensics next with Mr. Yaz. Okay?" She nodded in confirmation. Booth put his tray away and headed out of the cafeteria.

The girl with the spiked hair was back. "I thought I told you to leave him alone! You're in trouble now, you little slut." The girl said threateningly. Brennan stood up in front of her, trying to make herself look taller.

"Don't talk to me like that! He's my friend. As far as I know, that's not illegal." Brennan spat venomously. She was too late to stop the fist that shot out and punched her in the face. Stumbling back, Bones brought her hand up to her face, and saw the blood from her nose. With a snarl, she launched herself over the lunch table at the girl, knocking both of them to the ground. By now they had attracted the attention of the lunchroom, most of which was shouting 'Fight, fight!'.

Both of the girls managed to get in some good punches and scratches before the bucket of cold water was thrown over them. They broke apart, gasping. Brennan rolled over on to her back, panting. Above her hovered the face of Mr. Keenan. She gulped.

"My office. Now." He said. Sly Keenan didn't need to speak loud or yell, he simply commanded the attention. Defeated, Brennan slouched after him, her hands shoved in her pockets as she shivered slightly. This was not the way she had wanted to start out school.

"In." He said, once they had reached his dimly lit classroom.

It was peculiar how the mood of the room could change. When she had walked in that morning for her first class, it had looked enormous. When she was working hard on her math problems, the room had seemed exceedingly bright. Now it seemed dark, dreary, almost dungeon-like. The mood matched the weather outside, where it had started to rain heavily.

"Sit." She sat.

"What happened?" He asked simply. He was leaning against his desk, arms crossed as he gazed down at her.

"She provoked me, sir." Brennan replied, her eyes on her shoes.

"She must have said something pretty bad, Brennan, because that was an impressive right hook you clayed on her." She looked up, startled to see a mischievous glint in his eye. It was as if he was proud of her, in some strange way. Brennan got the impression that Sly Keenan wasn't one to follow rules unless they were his own.

"She insulted Booth."

"You two are pretty close. I would have done the same thing. Why did Valentine approach you?"

"Valentine?"

"That's her last name." He explained.

"She told me to stay away from Seeley. That's kind of difficult." Brennan answered.

"Difficult?" Sly prompted.

"I-..." Brennan stalled, thinking wildly on the spot. "I'm a friend off the family, I'm staying with the Booths for the school year. I needed to get away for a while, you know?" Surprisingly, all of this was true. So she wasn't really lying, she just wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Yeah, I know. My family is like that too. One minute, they're your best buds, the next they're dumping you somewhere and saying 'Have a good life! See ya in ten years!'." Mr. Keenan said. Brennan noticed that he was far away, lost in a memory.

The silence was broken when the door slammed open. "Bones!"

Brennan whipped around to see Booth stalking towards her. "I'm fine, Booth."

"You always say that, Bones. What happened?" He asked, concerned.

"Well, you two'd better head over to science. I hear old Yaz is doing something with a blowtorch today, should be a good show." Mr. Keenan suggested, tilting his head towards the door. Both students nodded and shuffled through the door to the adjoining science room. Class had already started.

Mr. Yaz, clad in bright yellow hard hat, white lab coat, wielding a blowtorch and large, green, safety goggles looked up when they entered. "Take a seat, Iceman, Tempe. We were just starting."