First Day of School

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro walked in the front doors of Danville High School, trying to project more confidence than she had. She'd been well-known at Jefferson Junior High, but four different junior high schools fed into Danville High, and a boundary realignment had sent half the kids from Jefferson to Archer High instead. She waved to Alexandra, who had been second-in-command of her Fireside Girls troop, but Alex was too busy trying to flirt with Ricky to notice. Isabella wouldn't be able to meet up with her own boyfriend, Dave, until fourth period.

She found her locker, and stopped short upon recognizing the girl putting books into the next locker over. Short brown hair, pale skin, and a sleeveless shirt, of course - the things that girl had done to her Fireside Girl uniforms were bad enough, and not even the worst things she'd done.

No hope for it, I guess. I'll be seeing her every day for the next four years. Just my luck to have the locker next to hers. "Hey, Adyson," she said, trying not to sound annoyed.

The girl looked up and gave her a catty smile. "Oh, hi, Isabella. I didn't realize that Troop 75309 girls went here too."

Isabella grimaced as she opened her locker. "Some of us. The troop boundaries crossed over the edge into Archer High territory this year."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for you, losing half your troop like that. All of troop 46231 is here," Adyson said smugly.

A tall redheaded boy with a prominent nose came over and gave Adyson a quick kiss. "Hey, Addy," he said, "got to head to French class, but I'll see you at lunch?"

"Absolutely, Phineas," she said giving him another kiss as he headed off.

Isabella's eyes narrowed. "Phineas? Of Phineas and Ferb? The boys who won the Most Patches award for you four years running? He's your boyfriend now?"

Adyson glared at her defensively, her green eyes flashing. "We earned those patches, Isabella, and you know it."

"If we'd had someone helping us like that, we'd have blown past you every year. I still say they need to change the rules on how much 'help' you can get."

"You're just jealous that your troop got second place for four years running," Adyson said, closing her locker.

"Because you cheated," Isabella said angrily.

"We did not cheat. Phineas and Ferb helped us by setting things up so we could earn the patches; they didn't do any of the work of actually earning them," Adyson said, turning toward her. "Fireside Girls Regional checked into our patches every year, when you protested, and said we were clear."

"You cheated in spirit, Adyson. You're supposed to earn the patches on your own, not have your boyfriend create a biosphere you can do desert survival in."

"You know, Isabella, I don't really care whether you think we earned them. Ms. Feyersied approved, and ultimately, her opinion trumps yours." Adyson turned on her heel to walk to class.

"This isn't over between us, Sweetwater," Isabella muttered to herself as she quickly put her books in her own locker.

Isabella didn't know anyone in her first-period Geometry class. Phineas was in her second-period English class, but she avoided him and he apparently didn't know who she was. Third-period Art had Alex and Ricky in it, but she knew better than to try prying Alex's attention away from the boy.

She met up with Dave in fourth period World History; unfortunately, Adyson was in the same class as well, along with her second-in-command, Gretchen. To make matters worse, the green-haired freak who'd helped them out - "Ferb," and what kind of a name was that? - was there too. She tried to ignore them all as she sat next to Dave. He ran his fingers through his long brown hair and smiled at her, and she smiled back. They'd been going out for just a few months, after knowing each other since elementary school.

She wasn't sure if she loved him. She liked him a lot, but she'd always thought there was a moment when you looked into your true love's eyes and you just knew. She'd never had a moment like that with Dave. He was nice, and fun, and funny, and she liked him, but there was a spark she wanted that just...wasn't there.

After World History came lunch, which she spent with Dave and the remnants of her troop, and then Spanish class, which Adyson was in as well; the two of them studiously ignored each other. Finally, time for the final class of the day: a double-length biology class, which would be biology and then gym three days a week.

Gretchen and Ferb were sharing a lab table, talking in low voices, when she entered the classroom. She picked an empty table across the classroom and waited for class to start, trying not to look at them. They looked like they weren't dating yet, but probably would be soon; Gretchen desperately wanted it, and Ferb didn't look opposed to the idea, but neither had gotten up the courage to make the first move. She saw Gretchen look up at Ferb with wide eyes, and started suddenly. That's the look. She knows. He's the one for her, Isabella thought. Ferb was facing away from her to talk to Gretchen, but she guessed he probably had a similar look on his face.

Great. Another reason not to like her. She's got her One True Love, and I've got...Dave.

Isabella sighed. She was being too hard on Gretchen, and she knew it. Adyson had been the hypercompetitive one, pushing the troop on and leaning on Phineas and Ferb's inventions to accomplish the impossible. Gretchen, as assistant leader, had been the organizer and kept everything working. She'd never admit it to either, but Gretchen was a better assistant than Alex had been.

And, realistically, if they hadn't had those bizarre inventions to help them along...we'd have taken them. No question.

The teacher entered, and went over the basic classroom setup. "So, I'm going to group you in trios for lab work," she began. "I've chosen the trios, and you're expected to stick with them through at least the first lab report. If, after that, you really need to switch, then we'll talk. I'll read off the list, and please go to the appropriately-numbered table."

She started reading off names, and Isabella wondered who she'd end up with.

"Table four," the teacher said, pointing. "Ferb Fletcher, Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, and Gretchen Schneider."

Oh, that is totally not what I needed.

Phineas walked down the hallway as the school day ended, holding Adyson's hand.

"I just need to stop at my locker and drop off books for the night," she said, then sighed. "I just wish I didn't have her locker next to mine."

"Whose?" Phineas asked, confused.

"Hers," she replied, nodding her head in the direction of the girl who was just closing the locker next to Adyson's. "Isabella," she explained in a bitter voice. "Head of Troop 75309."

Phineas nodded, understanding. Adyson had complained about the girl for years, but he'd never seen her before. She looked...well, not as evil as Adyson described. Long black hair with a bright pink bow in it, and large, dark blue eyes. She was wearing a light pink blouse and patterned skirt, and he suddenly remembered that he'd seen her in English class. She was attractive enough, although he flushed with embarrassment a bit as he realized it. He tried not to pay enough attention to other girls to notice such things; Adyson was his girlfriend, and he didn't need to keep window-shopping.

Isabella looked up and apparently saw them approaching; with a grumpy look on her face, she headed toward the exits.

Phineas sighed. She didn't like him, probably. He really didn't like it when people disliked him; he probably should have offered to help Isabella's troop with some patches, but Adyson had always convinced him not to. He'd made plans to help this previous summer, but then Adyson had asked him to go out on a date, and he really couldn't assist Isabella's troop in good conscience at that point.

Adyson finished swapping books and closed her locker, then turned to him with a smile. He put his arm around her shoulder, leaning in for a quick kiss before they headed toward the buses.

Isabella got off the school bus and walked into her house, finding a note from her mother on the table.

Isa -

I need to work late tonight, so you're on your own for dinner. There's frozen burritos if you don't feel like cooking.

Te quiero,

Mama

Isabella sighed. Her friends all lived far enough away that she couldn't really hang out with them - even Dave needed a car, bus, or bike ride to get over here. Another lonely night at home was not what she was looking for, and seeing Ferb and Gretchen's looks at each other really hadn't helped her mood. At least Pinky, her Chihuahua, was happy to see her.

Ferb had not at all been what she'd expected; given his weird name and bright green hair, she'd expected a wild boy, but he was the calmest, most collected person she'd ever met, and stunningly quiet to boot. Much as she didn't want to admit it, having the two of them as her lab partners probably was the best possible thing for her grades - with Ferb's smarts, her leadership abilities, and Gretchen's organizational skills, they'd be unstoppable.