A/N: Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review my story. I am doing my utmost not to disappoint.

Chapter Four: The First Night

"Finally! Dinner time!" the American, Russian and Scot seated themselves at a table near a corner of the Dining Commons. The American had been grumbling most of the day about how hungry she was and now she sat at the table, her plate piled to overflowing with food and looked at it as though she had not eaten in days.

The Russian spoke a few words under her breath, crossed herself in Orthodox fashion and helped herself to a blini.

The Scot dug into his nearly raw steak as a predator upon the savannah.

"I'm Anna," The American said in between mouthfuls, "Anna Fiddler, from upstate Maine in the U.S."

"Katya Tymoshenko," the Russian replied. "I was born in Voronezh, Russia."

"Robert Bruce, Glasgow, Scotland," The boy replied in turn. "My friends call me Bobby."

"Well, then," Anna began." We seem to have a problem."

Katya and Robert looked over at Anna.

"What d'ya mean, lass?"

"That Human lover, Aja whatever her last name," Anna replied. "She made us all look like idiots."

"Aye, but…" Robert began, but was immediately cut off by Katya.

"You are not proposing something drastic, are you?"

"Just a little roughing up," Anna said, a sly smile playing on her lips. "Just to let her know that here, monsters have the upper hand and that any sentiment towards the humans is not tolerated."

"But the point of this school is to show us how to get on with the humans," Robert finished at last.

"Don't go all mushy on me, Bobby," Anna glared at Robert. "Are you a real monster, or not?"

"Aye, I am, but that's not the point."

"What is the point?" Katya interjected.

Both Anna and Robert blinked at her momentarily before she continued.

"I fail to understand your logic, Anna. What point are we trying to make?"

"That humans and their apologists have made life for monsters like us dangerous," Anna replied with a snort. "We need to pound that information into Aja's thick skull."

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Anna mumbling under her breath every few moments while glaring at her companions made the other two uncomfortable.

"Fine," Katya said at length, growing tired of the game being played. "I will go along, but you make the first move, Da?"

"Agreed," Anna smiled at Katya. She then turned a curious face to Robert. "What about you, Bobby?"

"I do na' like it, but…"

"Then it is agreed," Anna said triumphantly. "We need to get this Aja girl by her lonesome and then teach her a lesson."

"How do you propose we get her alone?" Katya asked.

"Simple," Anna grinned cryptically. "We pretend to want to make amends privately and then…wham." To put additional emphasis to her point, Anna smacked her right fist into her left palm.

"Again, how do we get her alone?" Katya pressed.

"We catch up to her between the main halls and the dorms," Anna explained casually. "All we need to do is a bit of recon, find out her schedule, route to her dorm and then we strike."

"A plan worthy of Marshal Zhukov," Katya sniffed, a hint of sarcasm creeping into her voice. "So, General, when does this grand offensive go into effect?"

"I will let you know the day before," Anna smiled. "Can I count on you two?"

Robert sighed resignedly then nodded reluctantly.

Katya, still unconvinced, only relented after further pressure from Anna.

"I am doing this under protest," Katya said. "I will only help you get out if this…how is it in American…'goes south'."

"I should be able to handle one little girl," Anna chided, the snark dripping from her lips.

Robert and Katya glanced at each other nervously. This wasn't what they had in mind when they transferred here. They only wanted to finish their education away from the mistrustful eyes and open threats of the humans.

A/N: hmmmm, so Robert and Katya aren't as bad as I had planned, but Anna more than makes up for this. Sadly enough, this is the sort of bullshit I experienced when I went to high school. Still, perceived slights are fair game in the land of teenagers and more so when they happen to be monsters. Sorry about the name Robert Bruce…I couldn't help myself. As for Marshal Zhukov…you obviously have the internet, Google is now your best friend.

As always, please read and review. Flames will be doused ASAP