Zoe stared back at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, surveying her appearance with a sceptical eye. She wanted to avoid attracting unnecessary attention to herself on her first day of school, just like any new kid would. She decided on her slightly faded grey jeans and a pale lavender blouse as her first outfit; it flattered her fair skin without drawing anyone's eye.

Her dark eyebrows were knitted together in a frown as she stared helplessly at the silvery-gold mane of hair hanging in wild locks around her shoulders. She turned her head this way and that, watching her hair almost shimmer in the sharp bathroom light. What to do, what to do... Zoe sighed, her posture slumping into one of complete impatience. Trying to tone down her appearance and blend in with the crowd was a skill she still had to obtain. The first thing that made people's heads turn was her hair; the palest of blonde, almost white, but with the glittering warmth of honey undertones. Maybe no one will notice if I wear it down. This is California, after all, there are bound to be hundreds of blondes, right? Even as she thought it, the expression on the girl in the mirror altered into a mocking smirk. Yeah, right.

Maybe if she wore her French-style beanie to cover up most of it... and it would be less noticeable if she pulled it into a braid. Zoe set about the task of expertly weaving her hair with long slender fingers. She looked up when she heard her mother in the hallway, rattling the car keys loudly.

"Zorada, are you coming or not?" Mrs Rudolfse's voice drifted toward her.
"In a minute, Mom!" Zoe called back, gritting her teeth as she quickly finished the braid. She skipped across the hall to her room, snatched her schoolbag off her bed, and sent one last helpless glance at her reflection before hurrying down the hallway to the front door.

Her mother always seemed to be in a rush, and this morning was no different. Zoe doubted her mother ever spent much time in front of the mirror with her low maintenance looks; her chocolate brown perm was still holding firm, her lips were coated in dark rose, and her grey eyes were sharp and narrowed in annoyance. She was dressed in a smart two-piece outfit you'd rather expect to see in a board room instead of on someone in her mother's line of career.

"Come now, Zoe, I'm going to remove all the mirrors from the house if you keep this up. Honestly, you look fine, I don't know why you're always fussing." Mrs Rudolfse grumbled as they stepped outside.
"Oh, I forgot my beanie..." Zoe abruptly halted in her tracks.
"Get in the car, Zorada." Mrs Rudolfse ordered curtly, and Zoe glumly obeyed.

It was as she closed her door and glanced in the rear view mirror at her mother circling the car, when her eye landed on the figure crouching in the backseat. It was a guy, college age, dressed in clothes that seemed off-colour and washed out. Zoe didn't recognize the scruffy ash-blonde hair or the wide, pale greenish-grey eyes. If he hadn't been in the odd position he was in – literally crouching on the backseat so alert as though he was going to leap right out one of the doors – she would have turned around and asked him who he was.

Instead, her gaze caught the deep gash running from behind his ear across his throat ending beneath his right collarbone. One side of his face seemed to be a dried mask of blood, cracking in places, and half his hair was matted with dark crimson. Zoe moved her gaze away from the figure the moment she saw the blood. His breathing was ragged and halting, whistling behind her eerily. She turned her attention to the single story ranch-style house instead.

The once white walls were stained with brown and grey watermarks, and some local ivy clung to the pillars and beams surrounding the wooden front porch. The windows appeared empty, but Zoe couldn't help wondering if there was something looking back at her. The house was a few miles out of town, surrounded by thick bush that formed a cocoon of isolation around them. Cut off from civilisation, the thought unsettled her.

"Where's dad?" Zoe asked the moment her mother got into the car.
"He's gone out fishing with the neighbours." Mrs Rudolfse glanced at Zoe dismissively as she started the engine. "Are you nervous about your first day of school?"
"Not really." Zoe lied, watching out her window as they pulled off the driveway and into the street.
"Why are you all dressed up?" Zoe asked a minute later, watching her mother distractedly touching her throat with a finger.

"Off to work, sweetheart. It's an old woman in a wheelchair, so I'm going to see her at her home this morning. Poor thing," Mrs Rudolfse shook her head, her voice softening as she said the last.
"Have you had time to connect with the spiritual world yet?" Zoe asked, shifting uneasily as the hair on her arms rose. She didn't have to look to know the guy in the backseat was looking at her.
"Not properly, but I've had this strong energy around me since I woke up this morning. I think it might be male, closer to your age. I won't be sure until I can tune in completely." Mrs Rudolfse said conversationally.
"Hmm." Zoe mumbled, fidgeting with her hands.
"It might have been a car accident, or a murder. I feel this horrible burning across my throat, like I've been cut with something."
"Hmm, okay, Mom." Zoe said quickly. "I'm not up to discussing your work in detail before going to school. I've got enough on my mind as it is."
"Of course, sweetheart." Mrs Rudolfse sighed.

Zoe felt herself becoming tense as they continued driving. The silence was disrupted by the wheezing breathing in the back, and when her mother pulled into the parking lot at Vista Grande High, Zoe leapt from the car with a quick goodbye over her shoulder. The relief of being free of that horrible breathing sound was short-lived as she made her way into the busy halls of the school.

Unlike her previous prediction that there would be an over-abundance of blonde girls, Zoe found that there weren't too many of them. Or, not enough to make her disappear, to be more precise. Zoe kept her head down and stuck close to the walls as she headed in the direction of the school office. Collecting her schedule and obtaining a map of the school from the office went down without a hitch. It took Zoe a good five minutes to memorise where her classes were and with who. She wandered down the halls toward the lockers, in search of the locker assigned to her. She found it easily and turned in the number she was given for the combination lock. The door came open with no problems, and Zoe stood staring at the contents of the locker in dismay. There were a couple of old worn text books lying in the back and something that resembled a burrito, only it was oozing mould and something impalpable.

"Wonderful." Zoe muttered to herself. She would love to know who the moron was that didn't bother to clear out their locker. She could picture rubbing the rotten burrito in their face – the stench of it was nauseating – and she'd enjoy watching them gag.
She was just bracing herself to launch an attack on the burrito with the text books, planning to dump all of it in the nearest trash can, when a voice behind her stopped her.
"Oh, that reeks," a male voice scoffed in disgust.
Zoe turned to look up into eyes as dark and warm as coffee, and felt her cheeks flush – in embarrassment or annoyance, she wasn't sure.
"Did something die in there?" The boy asked, peering cautiously past her shoulder at the locker.
Zoe stepped aside to allow him a better view of the contents, and opened her mouth to defend herself when the guy turned and shouted over his shoulder.
"Hey! Brucie!"
"Yo!" The reply came from somewhere down the buzzing hallway.

"Get over here!" The guy called, then turned back to Zoe with a look of contempt. "Sorry, I'll get this cleared out for you in a second."
"Oh," Zoe said weakly in surprise. She stepped further aside when a guy with broad shoulders and blue eyes joined them, and she noticed they wore the same green blazers. Football players, then. She knew then the redness in her face was to blame on embarrassment. She saw several students glance their way curiously as they drifted past. So much for not attracting unwanted attention, Zoe thought to herself.
"Whoa, dude, what died?" Broad Shoulders asked, wrinkling his face in disgust.
"Your lunch from last semester." Coffee Eyes remarked, unimpressed.
"Right, sorry about that," Broad Shoulders said, offering an apologetic glance at Zoe, and then doing a double-take. "Are you a new student?"

"Yeah." Zoe said, shifting her weight from one foot to the other uneasily.
"Cool. Welcome to Vista Grande High. Hey, do you need a chaperone around school..."
"Get a move on, Peterson. We've got class in another minute, and you know what Mr Ashwell said last time you were late..." Coffee Eyes chided.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Bruce cut him off, and scooped the contents of the locker into his arms. "See you around, new girl." He called over his shoulder as he jogged down the hall, students clearing a path in front of him as he went.

"Don't mind Bruce, he's got issues with an overweight ego." Coffee Eyes said apologetically, and Zoe finally turned to look at him again. He had a friendly smile on his face; a cute smile with dimples. She wondered for a moment if he got picked on as the 'pretty boy' by the other football players, but his confidence was too dominant for her to believe he would put up with it.
"I'm Kyle, by the way." He said, almost as an after-thought.
"Zoe." Zoe replied with an uncertain smile.
"Pleased to meet you, Zoe. Are you from out of town? You have a slight accent."
"Yes, actually I moved here from Texas."
"A Texas girl," Kyle arched his eyebrows, surprised.
"What's your position on the football team?" Zoe asked in an attempt to divert the topic away from herself.
"I'm the quarterback." Kyle shrugged modestly as the bell rang through the halls. "Hey, I'll see you around, Zoe."
"Sure, see you." Zoe said, watching his dark head disappear down the hallway.
She closed the locker, resolving to put a bag of dried lavender and sandalwood oil in there to clear out the stench sometime, and turned to walk in the opposite direction that the football player had gone.

She found the World History class a moment later and was about to step inside when a firm hand pulled her out of the doorway. Zoe turned, startled, and stared into a pretty face with blazing green eyes and bellowing golden blonde hair.
"Hey, new girl, I'll give you a heads-up. Don't try anything with Kyle. He's off-limits, understand?"
Zoe blinked, caught off guard. "What?" She asked dumbly.
"Look, he's my best friend, and I'm just looking out for his best interests. He's the star quarterback on the football team, way out of your league, so don't even try anything on him. Or else." With that, the girl whipped around and stepped into the classroom, leaving Zoe stumped in the hallway.

Zoe chewed her lip, trying to ignore the curious glances other students sent her way as they filed into the classroom. She finally forced her feet to move, suppressing the urge to flee to the bathroom and hide in one of the stalls the rest of the day. She walked into the classroom and slid behind the nearest empty desk. She wasn't sure what to make of the unprovoked attack, and Zoe wondered if she'd crossed some invisible line without realizing it.

It felt strange being back in school and having someone feed her knowledge with a golden spoon. She'd gotten so used to studying and teaching herself at home, that she found the teacher far too slow to keep her mind stimulated. On her way out of the history class, the angry girl from earlier roughly brushed past Zoe, nearly pushing her into the wall. Zoe narrowed her gaze, watching the girl's retreating back.

Her next class was English, which Zoe found she shared with Star Quarterback Kyle. She didn't know what to do when he casually struck up friendly conversation with her, and she couldn't help but find his personality magnetic. Still, it was uncomfortable with the green-eyed blonde pretending to be curious and friendly when she joined in their conversation, and sending dagger looks at Zoe whenever Kyle would look away.

"It's good weather to go for sundae's on the beach," Kyle was saying as the English teacher, Mrs Howell, entered the classroom with a stack of papers in her arms.
"Are you suggesting we go after school?" the blonde girl asked with a knowing smile.
"Sure, Tanya, if you're keen." Kyle said with an easy shrug, before his warm gaze rested on Zoe. "How about it, Zoe? I've got to meet up with the boys on the field for a quick football meeting after school, but if you're interested to hang around for a few minutes, I can give you a ride."
"I..." Zoe started awkwardly, and stopped short when the teacher interrupted them.
"Care to inform me on the whereabouts of a certain somebody, Mr Locke?" Mrs Howell demanded, her thin lips pursed and her arms folded across her chest expectantly.

Kyle turned to look at her, and then scanned the room. His face went a slight shade pale, then flushed angrily as he lowered himself back into his chair.
"No, ma'am. I haven't seen Haley since this morning." Kyle turned back to the teacher.
"You tell that young lady to report straight to me when you do. This is utter nonsense..." Mrs Howell trailed off, irritated as she shook her head.
"Yes, ma'am." Kyle sighed and straightened in his seat when the lesson began.

Zoe tried to envision a shield around her throughout class. Tanya was glaring death-rays at her, and she wondered if the girl would physically assault her once they were outside in the hallway. The vibes she was sending off made Zoe weary that a fight was inevitable either way. Well, what does the girl expect me to do? Ignore him when he's obviously trying to be nice to me? What would that say about me? Zoe's thoughts danced around in her head as she absent-mindedly took notes of the reading material they were going to dissect that semester.

Chemistry class was less awkward when Zoe discovered she thankfully didn't share that class with Tanya. Not that Kyle was all that conversational, now that they weren't under scrutinizing eyes. Zoe got the impression he was fuming inside. It didn't show in his tone of voice or in his posture, but his eyes were blazing and it was clear in his silences. Zoe thought for a horrible moment that it was her fault he was so furious.
"I see Haley has decided to take some time off from her educational career," Mr Mackie's words pulled Zoe out of her silent debate.

Kyle tensed next to Zoe, and replied with a steady stare at the teacher.
"I don't think she realizes how fortunate she is to have been moved to a higher grade. It is a privilege that will be short-lived if she keeps up these obscure absences, you'll make sure she's aware of that, won't you, Kyle?"
"Yes, sir." Kyle muttered through his teeth.
"Good. Now, we have a new student, I believe." Mr Mackie shifted his glasses on his nose, looking down at a clipboard on his desk. "Zoo-rada Ruu-dolphs?"
"Zorada Rudolfse," Zoe corrected, cheeks flushing bright pink as all eyes swivelled to rest on her.
"Ah, of course. Welcome to Vista Grande, Ms Rudolphs." Zoe cringed again. "I'm sure you will find our school to have the highest standards in town."

Zoe didn't realize she was still tense when the lesson began, until Kyle nudged her lightly with a warm smile. "It's okay to breathe. No one is watching," he whispered jokingly.
Zoe managed a colourless smile in response. "I hate introductions."
"So do I." Kyle gave her a playful wink.
Zoe was about to ask him who the Haley girl was he was obviously taking a beating for, but bit back her curiosity. It was clearly upsetting to him, and she didn't want to bring it up again.
"I've got practice during lunch, but I'll meet you in the parking lot after school, right?" Kyle asked when the bell rang to announce lunch time had come.
"I don't know if Tanya would be happy with me tagging along." Zoe admitted.
"Tanya?" Kyle repeated with a blank expression. "Why not?"
"I... don't know. She just gave me... the impression that she wouldn't like my company."

"Well, stuff Tanya." Kyle frowned in dismay. "It's not like she's into ice creams and junk food anyway. Don't mind her, seriously, Zoe. We can ditch her, no problem."
"Ditch her?" Zoe repeated, surprised at his straight-forward and nasty remark.
"Yeah. I mean, it's not like she'll actually join us unless Haley is there."
"I don't get it." Zoe frowned, confused. "I thought you two are best friends or something."
Kyle blinked and burst into hearty laughter. "Me and Tanya? No way! I barely know the girl. She's one of Haley's entourage, not mine. Look, I'll catch you in the parking lot, okay?"
"Okay." Zoe said weakly. She watched him stride from the classroom, students exchanging friendly words with him as he went. She realized she was staring once he was out of her sight, and at the same time she recognized the warmth his presence left behind. Oh, great. My first day isn't even over yet and I'm already crushing on Mr Popular, Zoe scolded herself as she filed out of class along with the other students.

But she couldn't blame herself for it. It was his fault, if anyone was to blame, Zoe reasoned. He was being too nice toward her. Sure, he seemed like a good guy and he was probably nice to everybody else, too. But she didn't see him inviting any other girls to the beach after school, either. Her heart fluttered in her chest when the word date flitted through her mind. Was it a date? What else could she call it – a get-together with a guy she just met?

Dad will have a stroke, Zoe berated herself. Her last boyfriend had been the boy-next-door type, sneaking up to her room at night to visit her because Mr Rudolfse had forbidden Zoe to get romantically involved with any boy until she graduated. Zoe would never forget the look on her father's face when he popped his head into her room to say goodnight.
Not that they'd been doing anything – she'd been sitting by her computer desk, the guy across the room from her on the edge of her bed. Still, just the look on her father's face had made the guy jump from the window and he nearly broke his leg in his fall. Zoe herself had nearly bolted right after him; her father had a nasty temper when it came to the topic of boys, and finding one in her room at night must have been one of his worst nightmares.

But then Kyle appeared to be more confident and charming than any of her previous boyfriends. Maybe he would be different, and maybe her father would respond to him differently, too. Wishful thinking, Zoe. The guy invited you to have ice cream with him, he's not proposing or anything. There is no reason to attach any thought of him being a potential boyfriend to the matter. The internal dialogue was confusing and frustrating as she made her way to the cafeteria. She was letting her emotions get the better of her. Stop thinking, Zoe. It's your first day, there is a lot to take in still.

Zoe picked up a tray and stood in line with a couple of other students. She glanced around the cafeteria, looking for a table that might be empty where she could sit. She hadn't exactly made any friends, and inviting herself to sit with complete strangers wasn't in her nature. She picked out mashed potatoes and a salad from the array of food presented. Zoe carefully made her way to one of the smaller tables near a large glass window overlooking the school parking lot. She just poked her fork into her salad when the sound of a loud engine thundered outside. She glanced up as a black car pulled into a parking space. Zoe wasn't an expert on cars, but she thought it was one of the older sports cars that had gone out of fashion a long time ago. She looked away from the car, and froze when she noticed a lot of people looking toward her as they ate their lunch.

It took her a few minutes to note they weren't looking at her but at the car. She heard a door slam shut, and glanced out the window again. A petite girl with flowing mahogany brown hair was locking the car, dressed in a soft purple blouse, pale grey jeans and black leather boots that came up to her knees. Zoe blinked, surprised as she glanced down at her own clothes before looking back up, her cheeks flushing.

The girl turned, and Zoe swallowed nervously when the girl paused, staring back at her. Or maybe she wasn't looking at her; Zoe couldn't tell because the dark sunglasses hid the girl's eyes. The girl strolled past the window, and Zoe felt her stomach churn when the girl's head literally turned to watch her as she walked by. I feel like a clown, Zoe thought miserably. Her first day just wasn't going smoothly, she might as well give up hope that anything would change.

The girl entered through the door in the cafeteria where a large red sign read emergency exit. She didn't look toward Zoe again, but Zoe watched in disbelief as the girl pushed in front of the line of students.
"No cutting in line!" one of the guys complained.
"Hold your nuts in a bag, man, I'm just getting a drink." The girl retorted, and appeared a second later with a carton of milk and a tall glass.
The girl glanced over her shoulder when the guy called something back to her, but she glided toward one of the tables instead of turning to face him. Zoe noticed Tanya seated at the table where the girl planted herself down. Zoe looked back at her food, poking at her mashed potatoes listlessly. She'd suddenly lost her appetite.

Maybe she should have just continued home-schooling, like her parents wanted her to. As the thought crossed her mind, movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention and Zoe looked up. She went rigid when she saw the petite girl coming toward her with her glass of milk, Tanya right on her heels with her own tray of food. Great, now what? Zoe thought anxiously.