Chapter 1

Grace

"Tag!" Grace shouted, laughing. "Pew pew. You die now." She laughed harder. Her sister, Jo, laughed back and clasped her hands to her chest.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I'm dead, what a shame." She fell to the ground and lay perfectly still. Grace smirked.

"I won, silly goose." She smiled, brown eyes lighting up with excitement. "You can stand up now." Jo smiled back and stood. She clasped her older sister's hand and swung it in a big arch, leading Grace away towards the town. Her green-hazel eyes seemed to glow when she laughed, like now. Grace laughed back. The two were almost twins. They both had brown hair, though Jo's was significantly lighter. They both had freckles, and their attitudes were almost exactly alike. The two sisters were goofy and spastic. They were fun, as Grace said. Her sister was one of her best friends.

"Run faster before I shootchu," Jo called. Grace chuckled.

"Stop being so weird," she warned. But she did as her sister asked and ran faster. It didn't take long for them to reach the town. Grace was the first one to see the flier. She cocked her head. "What's that for?" she asked.

"What?" Jo turned and found what Grace was talking about. "It says, 'Miss Raven's Talent Facility; a School for Rising Stars'."

"Want to check it out?" Grace asked. Jo nodded.

"Let's go!" She dashed off before Grace could stop her.

"Wait for me!" Grace called. "We could use a school, especially since we're not in one right now."

They followed signs plastered all over the town, and they soon found Miss Raven's Talent Facility. There were all sorts of people inside, short people and tall people. Plump people and people thin as twigs. People with hair as black as a raven's feathers and those with hair as white as snow. Confused, Grace walked inside the building, Jo following.

A tall woman with black hair in a bun hurried to meet them. "Welcome, and what are your names?" she asked.

"Actually," Grace began, "We're here to learn more about this place. Could we speak to...Miss Raven?"

The woman bowed. "This is she." She smiled. She had bright blue eyes, and pale skin. "How may I help you?"

"What is this school about?" Jo asked. "You know, like, what subjects are there? Is it a collage, or a high school?"

"All your basic subjects like math and PE, in addition to classes created specially for those pursuing a career in the arts," Miss Raven explained. "It is a school open to all ages. Where are your parents? Have they approved?"

The sisters exchanged glances. Grace spoke first.

"Our parents died, long ago," Grace said reluctantly. "We raise ourselves."

"We say it's OK, though," Jo cut in, fighting tears. Her hand slipped up to a cat necklace on a silver chain around her neck. Grace pulled her close in comfort. Miss Raven gave them a sympathetic glance.

"I'm so sorry, for bringing it up." She smiled warmly and slipped a sheet of paper into their hands. "Here, this is the sign-up sheet. When you've composed yourselves, feel free to fill in the spaces. Take your time," she added as she walked away. Grace placed the sign-up sheet on the table and gazed down at it.

"Name and age is all it asks for," she commented, wiping her eyes. Jo nodded slowly.

"Hand me a pen." she ordered, also wiping tears away. Grace gave her a pen and Jo filled in the blanks.

KellyAnn Josephine Rhyne/Jo-16

Grace took the pen next and wrote down her name and age:

Kimberly Grace Rhyne/Grace-17

She stared at the sign-up sheet. Some people had already signed up. As she stared, a boy about her age, with raven-black hair and soft, orange-brown eyes pushed her aside less then gently and lifted the pen.

"Hey!" Grace snapped. "I was there first."

"And by the looks of it, you're done," the boy replied calmly. He stared at the sheet a little longer, before, finally, he sighed and wrote his name and age. Grace peered over his shoulder and watched him write.

Shun Kazami-17

"Have we met?" Grace asked. "I feel like I've seen that name before."

"Unless you're stalking me, no." The boy walked away. "See ya."

Grace blinked. "OK...well, let's find Miss Raven and ask her what to do now." She spotted the woman giving instructions to two young children. As Grace watched, Miss Raven turned and held up a finger. Grace nodded. She decided to try looking for the boy from earlier, to see if he knew anything about this. She found him leaning against a wall, arms crossed and head down.

"What do we do?" Jo asked.

"I don't know," Grace said, shrugging. She moved closer to the boy against the wall. Jo followed.

"Why are you bothering talking to him?" she asked. "He seems like a jerk to me."

"Maybe he knows what to do." Grace turned back towards the sign-up sheet. Another boy walked over and stared at it.

"Yay, sign-up sheets!" he cheered. He took a pen and scrawled something on the page. Grace stopped walking and watched. "What did I just sign up for?"

"...A turkey, Chazz," Miss Raven said sarcastically.

"Really? I get a free turkey for writing down my name on a piece of paper?"

"No, it's not free. You owe me 100 dollars."

The boy blinked. "Oh...okay," he said, seemingly unfazed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black wallet. After rummaging around in it for a bit before pulling out a one hundred dollar bill.

Miss Raven chuckled. "I was just teasing you, Chazz."

"So you don't want my money?" Chazz tempted.

"No, I do," Miss Raven said quickly.

Chazz smirked. "Well, too bad. You don't get it."

Miss Raven frowned. Grace decided to talk to Chazz instead of the other boy. He obviously knew Miss Raven.

Maybe this is his second year, Grace reasoned. She approached him. He had moved towards a couch in the main room of the school, up against the wall, and laid down on it. A couch in the middle of a school? That's peculiar, Grace thought, but the couch was there. Grace blinked down at Chazz. "Hi there," she began. "Your name was Chazz, ri—he's asleep," Grace realized.

"Chazz sleeps a lot," Miss Raven said. Grace jumped, startled. "Think nothing of it, dear. He'll be fine. By the way," Miss Raven said suddenly, "You'll be in room 208. You're rooming with Shun."

Shun? Great, my roommate's a jerk, Grace thought wretchedly.

"He's not so bad once you get to know him," Miss Raven said, as if she'd read Grace's thoughts. "And tell your sister that she'll be in room 316." She handed Grace two silver keys. Grace noticed that Chazz had one hanging from his coat and Shun had the edge of his key peeking out of his pocket. Grace turned back to the sheet. All sorts of people kept flooding through the doors to sign up. As Grace watched, a girl with long, wavy honey-brown hair and light brown eyes pushed her way to the front. She was quickly followed by a girl with vibrant red hair in a bun and bright blue eyes.

"Move," the brown-haired girl ordered, lifting a pen and hastily scribbling her signature. Grace moved closer and gazed down at her fancy writing. She could just barely make out the girl's name and age:

Celeste Longsworth-18

Her companion, with the red hair, copied Celeste and quickly wrote her name.

Astrid Starfellow-18

Celeste spotted Miss Raven and hurried over. Astrid sped after her.

"Miss Raven!" Celeste cheered.

"Ah, Celeste. A pleasure to see you, as always!" Miss Raven said with a smile. "You're in room 316 now. You're bunking with that girl, Jo." She pointed to Grace's sister, who was eagerly introducing herself to as many people as would listen.

Celeste snorted. "A newbie, oh boy," she said roughly under her breath, rolling her eyes. "And Astrid?"

"Astrid is in room 119," Miss Raven answered. Astrid smiled.

"Thank you, Miss Raven," she said quietly. The two received their keys and Celeste hurried them off.

Grace watched them go. "Oh boy, not only am I rooming with a jerkface, but now my sister is rooming with a diva!" she commented, exasperated. She was so preoccupied with Celeste and Astrid that she didn't notice the next two people to enter until Jo tapped her shoulder. Grace turned and her breath caught in her throat.

In walked two boys. One had bright orange hair that spiked up like a palm tree and dark brown eyes.

The other boy had blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes Grace had ever seen. She smiled awkwardly as he turned her way. He smiled back and waved. Grace struggled to raise a hand and waved back, stiffly. She forced herself to turn away and faced Jo, whose eyes were fixed on the other boy. Both of the boys walked closer to the sign-up sheet and wrote their names.

The boy with the orange hair went first.

Crow Hogan-16

Jo watched him write and then smiled warmly at him when he finished. He smiled back.

"Hello!" Jo said brightly. "My name is KellyAnn, but call me Jo."

"I'm Crow," the boy introduced. "Well...that's my nickname, at least. I've never known any other."

"What do you mean?" Jo asked.

"Come over here, and I'll tell you," Crow said, walking away. Jo followed.

It was just Grace and the other boy now. He signed in after watching his friend go.

Blue-17

Blue. That was it. Grace blinked. Just like his eyes... She shook her head to clear the thought, but despite her best efforts, Blue wouldn't leave her head. She looked up and their eyes met. Grace's heart began to beat faster and her cheeks reddened.

"Hey," Blue said simply, breaking the ice. He held out a hand. "I'm Blue."

Grace forced herself to smile and shook his hand. "I'm Grace. It's nice to meet you," she said.

"You too." Blue stared at her. "Are you okay? You're red as a tomato."

Grace blushed harder. "Well—um...I'm allergic to pollen," she stammered. "There's a lot floating in here."

"Oh—that makes sense," Blue said, smiling back slightly. Before either of them could say another word, Miss Raven was by Blue's side.

"You've just signed in, I presume?" she verified. Blue nodded. "In that case, take this key and head on over to your room, room 113. You'll be roommates with Chazz over there." Miss Raven pointed to Chazz, who was still asleep on the couch. "And you, Grace, should get to your room too."

Grace nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay," she said quietly. Blue smiled at her one last time before walking away.

"Bye Grace, I hope you feel better," he called. Grace smiled for a split second.

"Th-thanks," she stuttered. Hurriedly, she walked to her room and opened the door. Shun was nowhere to be seen. Awesome! Grace thought excitedly. She ran to a bed and collapsed on it, giggling. He smiled at me, Grace thought. She closed her eyes. I'm so happy!

"So it's you," came a voice. Grace's eyes shot open. "The stalker. Of course." Grace sat up and turned to the door. Shun had entered the room.

"I'm not a stalker," Grace protested. "I just feel like I've seen your name before."

"Whatever," Shun sighed. "Just keep quiet while I get settled in."

"Who do you think you are?" Grace demanded. "I have as much of a right to speak as you do. This is my room too, you know."

Shun just shook his head and knelt by his bed. Grace narrowed her eyes. But she decided not to argue further and start bringing things from her house to her new room. She got up and left without another word.