Krista's ponytail flew through the wind as she rode her bike home. The air was still warm, and would probably lead into a warm autumn. The edges of leaves were just beginning to change color.

Before school had started, Krista had learned the side roads to ride to and from school by heart. Avoiding traffic had become easier, and she had learned more about the new area of town.

Still, her stomach twisted when she rode up in front of her home. Her mother's silver Honda was out front.

Of all the days to get home early, Krista thought, why today?

She got off her bike and walked it to the garage. The inside was mostly empty, save a small table in the furthest right corner to hold tools. She parked her bike up front by the stairs, leaving room for her father to park his car.

Her hand shook as she unlocked the garage door leading into the kitchen, and it took her a few tries to get the key into the lock.

The kitchen was empty when she got inside, but the smell of food engulfed it. Something was in the oven.

"Historia, is that you?" her mother called.

"Yes." She adjusted the weight of her backpack. "You're home early."

Her mother, though it was hard to call her that, entered the kitchen. She had yet to change from her work clothes. Rachel Reiss was tall and dark haired, always standing up straight and exerting confidence. No one questioned her role as a CEO, nor did they doubt the power that she held. Her ebony hair was completely straight and her makeup perfect. There was not a single wrinkle on her suit.

And as much as Lod wanted Krista to think more of her, she just could not.

"I'm home."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "School has yet to stop you from saying the obvious."

For a moment, Krista looked up to her. She kept waiting and waiting for a question or another statement. Instead, the older woman remained silent. The longer Krista stared, the harder Rachel's glare became.

"I'm going to my room."

Rachel nodded.

Compared to the rest of the house, Krista's room was small. It was not nearly as fancy, nor did it have much style. It had no wallpaper (though Krista had started to stick movie and video game posters to make up for the blankness), only a beanbag and a mattress to serve as furniture, and a small closet. Compared to the mansion, it seemed like a forgotten room that never should have been built.

Maybe that was why it was the perfect place for her.

Rarely did anyone come in, leaving Krista in peace. It was always quiet, meaning that she could read her library books and do her homework in peace. There was also a good Internet and phone signal.

Turning on her laptop, Krista looked around the room. It wasn't perfect, but it was her own place.

Once her laptop had turned on, she got on the Internet and went to her blog. Rather than posting about about her life (who would want to hear about that?), she posted book reviews. Occasionally, whenever she saw a movie trailer for something that looked good, then she would go to a nearby theater and then later post a movie review.

She had gotten two new comments on her newest review of the latest Levi Rivaille novel.

tightans49 commented: Thanks for this review! I was really nervous that this book would be awful, just a way for the author to cash in on their previous success, but you helped to reassure me. I'll definitely be picking this up.

Krista grinned. It had certainly been an exciting book.

fighterstyle17 commented: This review rocked. The jokes peppered in between were hilarious; I'm glad that someone enjoyed this as much as I did. Still, I'm nervous about the upcoming movie.

There was going to be a movie?

Quickly, Krista got on Google.

Well, a couple months from now it seemed that she would be posting another movie review.

The library was mostly empty. The librarian, a tall, dark skinned woman had said hello to her when Krista walked in. Krista had waved.

The book selection was pretty decent. A number of books looked rather old, but they could still be read. Parking herself by the hardcover fiction section, Krista immediately got to looking for something to read.

She hadn't expected to finish her book last night. She had been sure that something would come up to take her away from her book, but nothing had. If Lod wanted to hear about her first day of school, then he did not mention it.

A review was still in the works, but she would not start working on it again until after school. A book would help to shorten the day.

"Want some help?"

Krista froze, her eyes glued to the books in front of her.

"Actually, forget that, I barely know what's in here. I definitely don't know what that Doay De-"

"Dewey Decimal System?"

"Yeah, that. Thanks, Krista. Sorry if I accidentally scared you."

Turning back, Krista looked to Ymir. She had her own backpack with her, along with a brown paper lunch sack in one hand.

"I was looking for you."

"Why?" Krista's voice shook.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were still up for cleaning out Professor Hanjii's lizards' cages this afternoon. It is a Wednesday."

Krista nodded. "Of course."

"Okay, just checking. Some students skip on that stuff."

"It's only the second day of school; it's not like I'm drowning in homework yet."

Ymir smirked. "Me neither. See you at lunch again, Krista?"

She nodded.