"Seriously?" Marigold 'Mari' Lane scowled as she crossed her arms over her chest. The seventeen year old girl was having a stare-down with her older sister, thirty year old Bluebell 'Blue' Lane. The Lane family had just arrived in Beacon Hills the night before, and now the three youngest children were being expected to go to school, which Mari thought was ridiculous. "We don't even get a day to adjust the time zone or anything? You do know that we are now nine hours behind Italy, right? Jetlag is a thing."

"Yes, and it's only 4 PM there. You'd be getting out of school right about now. It's hardly an excuse for you to stay home and be lazy. Besides, the best way to combat jetlag is to push through it." Blue had always been the rational sibling, and it'd always been one of her most annoying qualities, at least in the eyes of her younger sister. This time, her logic made Mari scoff.

"I'm sure that's it. It couldn't be that you want some time away from your siblings." She'd had a month to prepare for the move, but she was still bitter. Mari was the supreme grudge-holder of the family. She felt like it was her right, especially now, after having her entire life uprooted and shipped halfway across the world.

Mari had been attending schools in Senise, Italy for as long as she could remember. Senise was a rather small town of about seven thousand people, and it was a town where nothing ever changed. Of course, the Lanes hadn't actually lived in Senise. They lived in the neighboring village of Colobraro, which was so small that there wasn't even a school. Colobraro, commonly called the "village without name", was known to the masses as the most haunted town in Europe, and few dared visit there. But it had been home to the Lanes. Well, all the Lanes except for the oldest daughter, Blue.

Blue had moved to the United States eleven years ago, just after graduating from the Liceo classico Isabella Morra – Senise's more traditional high school. The rest of the Lanes hadn't heard much from her after that…until their mother passed away. And then Blue had jetted back home to make funeral arrangements, sell the house, and pack her siblings up to move to the "Land of the Free". Luckily, Mari and her other two siblings (twin brother Jonquil and younger sister Camellia) had excelled in their English lessons in school, so the language barrier wouldn't be much of a problem here. But that didn't mean any of them would enjoy their new home.

Well, that wasn't necessarily true. When they had landed in LAX early yesterday evening, Cammy had been fascinated by the wide variety of people surrounding them. And Jon was usually okay with whatever as long as he had his iPod and access to sports of some sort. So maybe Mari was the only one throwing a fit about the whole thing. It wasn't her fault that all of her siblings were clearly deranged!

Mari loved Colobraro. She felt in tune there. Her mother had felt the same, which is why she'd moved them all to Italy shortly after Cammy was born and their father left. Colobraro had always called to her, said Hyacinth Lane, and the feeling had passed down to her second-eldest child.

The short brunette was startled out of her reminiscing when Jon let out a shrill whistle. "Come on, Goldie. We're going to be late if you don't get your ass in gear. And you know how Cammy gets about being even a minute tardy." She scowled at the use of her nickname, but snatched her backpack off the staircase nonetheless. She did know that Cammy was obsessed with all things school-related, and her younger sister was dying to dive into the American education system so she could compare it to the Italian model. Cammy was the resident genius of the family, and had been moved a year ahead because of her stellar grades and IQ.

"Don't get your boxers in a twist, Quillie. I'm coming." One despised nickname demanded another in kind. She followed her brother out to the garage, where their blue 2010 Mustang convertible was waiting. Getting the twins a car had been one of Blue's few concessions. She had originally wanted them to take the bus, but the two had point-blank refused. Especially since they planned to try-out for activities – cheerleading for Mari and lacrosse for Jon – and they were sure that Cammy would find something to interest her, as well. Besides, busses were dirty. In Italy, they'd had a beat-up 1995 Fiat Duna, but Blue was making more than enough money to cover the cost of the convertible. Plus their mother's life insurance payout had surprisingly been quite large.

Mari headed towards the driver's seat, but a smirking Jon beat her to it, so she made her way to the passenger side. She refused to sit in the back, claiming it made her nauseous, and Cammy was more than happy to concede. The younger girl claimed that sitting in the backseat made her feel more important anyway, like she was a famous person being chauffeured around. Cammy was an oddball, but she was also the beloved baby of the family, so she got away with a lot.

The drive to school took about ten minutes, giving them about twenty minutes before school started. It was the perfect amount of time to go to the office and get their schedules, or so Cammy said. It was late October, meaning school had already been in session for almost three months. Being the new kids hadn't exactly pleased Mari, but it had taken much longer to get all their affairs in order in Italy than anyone had expected.

They had to park near the back of the school parking lot, because all the good close spaces had already been taken. Just another problem with being new: everyone already has unofficial assigned parking spaces. It hadn't been much of a problem back in Senise, because most everyone walked to school. The differences between Italy and California were becoming more and more blatant with every second.

The three siblings sat in the car for a few minutes, taking in the crowds amassed in front of the entrance to Beacon Hills High. Though none of them were willing to admit it, they all felt a bit of fear at the thought of being stared at by everyone. Especially since the school principal had told Blue that they didn't get new kids often. It had been only a month since their mother had passed away, and they all felt that walking into the school was really just distancing themselves further from her memory.

Mari let out one of the sighs she was so famous for in her family. "There's no sense in waiting. We just need to get this over with. Like ripping a band-aid off, right?" She looked at Jon and Cammy, and was relieved when they both nodded slightly. Opening the car door, she decided to take the lead as she often did. "Come on. We have to go check in at the office."

A/N: Nothing particularly exciting, I know, but I've already got chapter 2 started, and it will be a lot better. I don't know when I'll update again, because I move back to college in two days. Maybe if I can finish chapter 2 fast enough, I can post it late tomorrow or sometime this weekend. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!