A fuming Hazel pushed her way through the crowds in the hallway. She no longer cared about attempting to remain affable for the rest of the day; after all, if people like him were dealt with on a daily basis, then she clearly wouldn't be such a big problem when she was at her meanest. She reached her locker and entered her combo, and after taking out her calculus textbook, she slammed it shut, a resounding clang causing several passersby to look at her.

And those several included Anton. "Wow, you're angry. Tell me, what did he do?"

Just the fact that he immediately knew Cody had ticked her off spoke for itself. "He kicked someone out of his seat. Literally. And I just so happened to be carrying on a conversation with that someone." Hazel decided to keep quiet about the remark about her chest.

Anton looked a little skeptical. "Wow. I thought he did something to you. How was that other guy anyway?"

Hazel shrugged. "He was kind of hurting, but in general, he was cool about it."

"...Then why are you so mad?" Anton obviously suspected Hazel to only be giving out half the story.

"What, I can't be mad for someone who was completely innocent?"

"I see your point. Who is this person, by the way?"

"A boy named Conrad. Montgomery, I think."

Anton was silent for a moment, and then he said, "You know, I'm suddenly a lot happier that Cody attacked him."

Hazel stared. That certainly wasn't a reaction she was expecting. "Why? What's he done to you? He's nice."

"Don't fall for it, it's all an act. He's really the type of guy who'd be more than willing to sleep with a girl for a measly two bucks then dump her the next morning. He's cold, manipulative, and heartless. Get on his bad side and he'll try to destroy you."

"Gee, why do I get the feeling that you're on his bad side?" Hazel wondered sarcastically.

Anton looked away. "He's friends with Samson Fisher, the school bully. I'll be honest here, I was too. But then I left once I grew some balls. They're both furious at me now. Samson wanted to try something, but I guess he gave up soon after. As for Conrad, he's been shooting me death glares when no one's looking lately. I just know he's got something up his sleeve."

"Well... Maybe he didn't understand the situation. Maybe, to him, it just looked like you ditched them," Hazel suggested. "He's probably just worked up over that. He's friendly enough, so he'll likely forgive you if you explain the whole story."

"Hazel, there's no such thing as a teenage boy who's that social, that friendly, and that...perfect. At least, not one who means it," Anton stated matter-of-factly.

Hazel bit her lip. "But he seemed so...genuine."

Anton gave her a raised eyebrow. "You only met him this morning and you're already that trusting of him? I wouldn't be so open if I were you. This is high school, and high school means you're going to run into a couple backstabbers along the way. And you have to believe me when I say that Conrad is one of those people."

"You just told me I shouldn't trust people too quickly," Hazel retorted, "but now you're telling me that I should trust you, even though I haven't known you any longer than I knew Conrad."

Anton sighed and ran a hand through his red hair. "Okay, but don't come crying to me once you find out that I'm right about him." Before Hazel could react to that, he added, "Oh, and Hazel? Don't mind Cody too much, alright? He's sort of like that with everybody. And if you ever find yourself about to snap, just compare him to Christian Grey from that Fifty Shades of Grey book." He grinned. "It always works."

"So do you want to sit with me during lunch?" Cici asked kindly, as she packed up her bag once fourth period was over. "I wouldn't want you to be all alone and left out on your first day."

Hazel smiled. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Thank you." Well, at least now I wouldn't be lying if I told Dad that I made a female friend. "Oh, but first, can we stop by my locker so I can put away this thing?" She held up a thick English book.

"Sure, but you should know that we don't really need that for this class. We have a class set," Cici informed.

Hazel turned her head to look at the shelf of about thirty textbooks right beside her. "Yeah, I kind of figured that once I walked in."

The two of them exited the classroom and headed down the hallway towards Hazel's locker. As they neared it, Anton had their back facing them, as he was talking to someone. Once they got even closer, a dismayed Hazel realized that he was carrying on a conversation with none other than Cody. She thought she could just put away her book and leave as fast as she could with Cici, but then she noticed that Cody was leaning against a locker—her locker. Great, her resolution to avoid him was already crumbling.

"Um, are you okay?" Cici asked, seeing Hazel's unhappy expression.

"Just...fine," Hazel sighed.

"Over the weekend, when I took Kayla back home from Jack's place, Dad saw me driving down the road and told me that if I didn't start driving slower, he'd take away my car keys," Anton was saying. "But the thing is, he's seen me drive a bunch of times and I've always been driving this fast. What do you make of that?"

"Depends on how that went. Did he say that after you almost accidentally ran him over while going up the driveway?" Cody said, looking like he couldn't care less.

"No... At least I don't think so." Anton's eyes widened. "Are you saying I almost killed my dad? The vice principal of this school? Oh god, I could've gone to jail for that!"

Hazel looked at Cici. "His dad's the vice principal?" she whispered.

Cici only nodded in response.

"Wouldn't you have gone to jail no matter who you ran over?" Cody asked testily. "Come on, I used to have a friend who ended up going to jail. Though to be fair, he called up his rich cousin to bail him out immediately after."

"That's the thing! I don't have a rich cousin!"

"I don't think it matters whether or not you know anybody who's rich, I don't see how they would be willing to bail out someone like you." Cody shrugged.

Anton looked like he wasn't sure if he ought to be offended. "But...do you think I drive too recklessly?"

"How should I know? I don't drive. I got my learner's permit, then I just gave up. Everywhere I want to go to is in walking distance anyway," Cody replied, still looking bored out of his mind.

"But I live all the way on the other side of town. So if Dad means it when he says he's willing to take away my driving privileges, then that means I can't come to school anymore." Anton paused, then corrected, "Well, I can, but that involves waking up extra early and riding with Dad to school at six in the morning. And I'm not a morning person, so that's going to be insufferable."

Hazel decided she had more than enough of listening to this conversation (She suspected that the two boys didn't even notice her presence), so she meekly piped up, "Um, excuse me?"

Too quiet. Neither of them heard her.

"But wait, didn't you say that one time that your own dad drives like me? So my driving habits are perfectly normal, right?" Anton continued on.

"As far as I know, in all his thirty years of driving around town, he only got about forty-eight speeding tickets."

Hazel didn't want to know. "Excuse me?" she said again, louder this time.

Still no response.

"Forty-eight?!" Anton's jaw dropped. "You're not...exaggerating, are you?"

"I don't exaggerate when it comes to statistics," Cody answered nonchalantly. "Come on, you'd expect a driver like him to get tickets every time he drives. So he's incredibly lucky to have only gotten forty-eight."

"'Driver like him'? Are you saying that I deserve as many tickets as he does?" After a pause, Anton added, "And you know, I had a crappy driving instructor, so I only found out what tickets were when Jack told me. If I knew that those kind of things existed, then maybe I would pay more attention to the speed limit signs."

"You know, another reason why I refused to get my license was because I didn't trust any instructor my mom called to hire," Cody informed offhandedly. "Who knows, if I wasn't so stubborn, maybe I would've gotten the same one as you did and been an equally careless driver."

"Excuse me?!" Hazel didn't realize how loud she shouted until the two words were already out of her mouth.

Apparently, Cody really did hear her every time she spoke, because he completely whirled on her and snapped, "Will you shut the fuck up?! Hasn't your mother ever taught you that it's wrong to interrupt a conversation?! You're that new girl in my class this morning, and don't try to deny it because even though I didn't really pay attention to your face, I recognize you because of those plains where your mountains are supposed to be!" Cody's eyes trailed down, and Hazel hastily held her textbook against her chest. With a roll of his eyes, he turned to a face palming Anton. "Can we talk about this in the cafeteria? Maybe you'd want to ask Jack or the twins about this instead." Without waiting, he left.

Anton lifted his head and wearily asked Hazel, "Did he just insult your figure?"

"How rude of him," Cici frowned in the direction Cody had gone.

"...He did that this morning too," Hazel reluctantly admitted, as she opened her locker and inserted her textbook inside. "It was the first thing he said to me, actually. It's the real reason why you saw me so angry. I just used the Conrad thing to cover it up because..." She looked down at her flat lands. "It's a sensitive topic that I feel uncomfortable with talking about."

"I can't believe a girl I just met today is opening up to me about her insecurities over her body," Anton deadpanned.

"And that is why she's coming with me," Cici interjected, linking her arm through Hazel's. "Come on, let's go."

As they entered the cafeteria, Hazel immediately spotted Cody sitting with Jack on the far end. She was absolutely dumbfounded when she saw that he appeared casual, as if he didn't just yell at her for simply trying to get him to move out of the way. And that made her angry. Why did Jack and Anton hang around someone like him? He was utterly loathsome and foul. What made everyone around him deserve that kind of treatment?

She probably would have continued staring if Cici didn't pull her along to an empty table. When both of them sat down opposite each other, Cici promptly said, "Please don't take anything he said to heart. It's not like you're the only one he stomps into the dirt. He does that to everyone he knows."

Oh yeah, Anton said something similar. "I know that, it's just..." Hazel sighed. "How do the rest of you deal? Whether or not I'm the only one he treats this way, he's still being cruel. I can't stand cruel people. Why is he like this?"

Cici stayed silent, then softly said, "I don't know, actually. If you plan to find out, then I'm sure he's the one who understands best."

Hazel sighed again and looked at the lunch line. Changing the subject, she asked, "Is the food here good?"

"Good is a relative term. What exactly are your expectations for school food?"

Hazel snorted. "Not very high, I'll give you that. I'm certain my old school carried lunches that contained rotten fruits."

"Well, at least that's not how it goes for our school. Still not above average though. The best thing we have here are the smoothies. But that's probably because the lunch ladies order them from Smoothie King." Cici rolled her eyes. "In other words, I have a feeling they themselves know that the frozen pizzas they have suck."

Hazel laughed at that. "So, uh, shouldn't you be with your other friends? Where are they?" She looked around, but Cici stopped her.

"They're all members of the cheerleading squad. We have practice today, so I'll meet up with them anyway. They won't mind."

"Right." Hazel tried to stay away from the subject, but... "Do you think I'm too flat?" she blurted out quickly, looking down at her chest.

"What?" Cici looked taken aback by the question. "No!" It was obvious to both of them that those were blatant lies. "Okay... Uh..." How should she phrase this so it didn't sound offensive? "You are a little bit, but it's not anything to panic over. Mine aren't very big either, so don't fret," she reassured.

"Yeah, but at least people can still tell you have them!" Hazel wailed. "I'm flat like a piece of cardboard! Nobody wants to marry a girl with a cardboard-like chest!"

"That's not true! Guys don't just focus on the body! They also focus on the personality!"

"Cici, stop lying to the poor girl. A lot of guys concentrate on three things: tits, ass, and leg," a boy spoke up casually. He had been standing there for the past few seconds and just had to put in his own opinion.

Seeing Hazel headdesk, Cici glared at him. "Zander, you are not helping the situation at all."

Zander seemed to realize his mistake, because he then said, "Oh. Right, sorry. Don't take offense to that, I was just trying to give my own input since you guys were so into the conversation." With some hesitation, he added, "But you know, what I say is true. I think it's one of the reasons why you girls often find men disgusting. But don't worry, not every guy is like that. So don't overreact."

"Why are you here anyway?" Cici asked.

"Spencer's out in the hallway being manhandled sexually by the Robinson triplets near his locker and I need you to stop them," Zander simply stated.

"...What?" Hazel was completely stupefied.

Cici's eyes narrowed. "I thought they liked Jack."

"Didn't we all?" Zander deadpanned. "I think they're trying to make him jealous by involving Spencer in this. Which is a stupid idea from the start, but hey, these are three sisters whose names all rhyme ridiculously like their parents didn't even try."

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," Cici hissed, getting up and leaving.

"...Um, who are the Robinson triplets?" Hazel managed to inquire.

"Just some crazy fangirls of my friend Jack," Zander voiced. "Sorry, I didn't get your name."

"It's Hazel. Hazel Campbell."

"Oh yeah, Jack mentioned you. I'm Zander. And Spencer's my loser twin brother. He's gone on several dates with Cici, just so you know. And by several, I mean one, and that one kind of ended on a bad note. Don't ask." Zander rolled his eyes. "He's such a wimp."

"...Shouldn't you go out there after Cici so you can make sure your brother's okay?" Hazel awkwardly said.

"Yeah, I should. Mind getting Jack to come along too? I mean, he is their object of affection."

Hazel nodded, and Zander turned to leave. The former stood up and went over to Jack and Cody's table, then, doing her best to ignore the latter, told Jack, "Your friend Zander just came up to Cici and me and told us his brother Spencer is falling prey to three of your fangirls near his locker."

"Let me guess, is it those annoying triplets?" Jack promptly caught on. "And Zander wants me to come along because I'm the one they're trying to make jealous?"

"You catch on fast," Hazel remarked.

"They're very persistent, and I deal with them often," Jack sighed wearily. "They need to step back into reality. Fine, I'll go." He turned to Cody. "Are you coming?"
"Why the fuck should I?"

Shooting him a flat look, Jack muttered to Hazel, "Yeah, he's not coming." He turned on his heel and left.

Hazel found herself extremely uncomfortable being stuck with Cody (Luck was definitely not on her side that day), so she decided to follow Jack. She could have just gone to stand in the lunch line, but her appetite was down. Might as well go witness something that was bound to be at least slightly interesting.

Hurrying to catch up to Jack, she tried to make conversation. "So how exactly are the Robinson triplets?"

"They just never give up," Jack exhaled. "I got used to them, but still, I wish they'd stop bugging me. And another thing, I find it really freaky how they're so identical to each other. They pretty much finish each other's sentences. I mean, Zander and Spencer are twins but they're very different from each other. Flo, Bo, and Jo don't seem to have any sense of individuality."

As he rounded the corner to Spencer's locker with Hazel trailing behind, a thoroughly annoyed female voice, which obviously belonged to Cici, was becoming audible. They turned a left just in time to see Cici huff in frustration while a dazed glasses-wearing boy stood behind her, whom Hazel presumed was Spencer.

"What happened here?" Jack asked.

"Cici yelled at everyone. My brother included and myself excluded," a grinning Zander explained. "It was honestly really entertaining to watch. Too bad you missed out."

"Really, Spencer, if you're just going to let yourself be played around like that, you might as well quit that dream of becoming a doctor and start going to the local club to work yourself on some bimbo's lap!" Cici snapped, clearly not done yet.

"I'm sorry that I'm timid and quiet!" Spencer apologized profusely, looking about ready to get on his hands and knees.

"Zander... Let me just say something to you in private," Jack whispered before dragging Zander away from the others. In a louder voice, he uttered brilliantly, "Cici's scary when she's angry."

Zander rolled his eyes. "You wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with me that involves stating the obvious? But yeah, she is. Isn't this the first time you've seen her irritated?"

"I think so."

"Right. Just tell your little fangirls to not do this again."

And with that, they rejoined the rest of them. Fortunately, Cici looked to have calmed down by now.

As Zander ordered him to, Jack managed to politely say to the triplets, "Flo, Bo, Jo, can all three of you not involve my friends into your quest of trying to win me over? To me, that's not a very big turn-on, so please, don't try to make me jealous like that. I'm not too into becoming jealous over something so blatant."

"As you wish, Jackson," Bo Robinson giggled flirtatiously. Jack was pretty sure she wasn't even listening to what he was saying. "It's just so to get your attention."

"I figured," Jack replied dryly. Was it just him, or was Bo trying to not-so-subtly inch closer to him step by step?

At that moment, Hazel emitted a tiny, awkward laugh, having stayed silent until now. This really wasn't anything that happened at her old school.

Bo's eyes zeroed in on her, noticing her for the first time (Just like how Cody didn't notice her when he was too busy being a jerk to Conrad. Hazel was beginning to think that she just blended in very easily). And at that moment, all niceties dropped. Bo frowned, dismay clear on her face. "Who's this?" She turned to Jack again, only she seemed a little accusing this time. "Your girlfriend?"

"Oh my god, can't I meet a female without you triplets automatically assuming that every time?" Jack groaned. "I'm not doing anybody!"

"Maybe not, but what about dating? Doing and dating are two completely different things," Bo pointed out rather nastily.

Jack couldn't help but face palm.

Unfortunately, that gesture gave Bo the wrong idea. "So she is your girlfriend!" By now, Jo and Flo were exchanging troubled looks, seemingly not so pleased with their sister's behavior.

"Actually, I'm not—" Hazel tried to say, but was rudely cut off by Bo.

"Don't you try to cover it up." Bo narrowed her eyes. "That's what all girls do when they realize they have competition. What's your name?"

"Hazel..." Now Hazel was becoming even more uncomfortable.

"Well, Hazel," Bo spat out that name as if it were acid, "I don't see how Jack could ever like you. I mean, I'm so much prettier, while you're so...so average. And where'd you get those shoes anyway?" She looked down at Hazel's brown, leather, lace up boots. "They look like they were bought at a lousy thrift shop. Do you not possess any fashion sense at all? Or are you just this dumb? You don't seem too smart to me." She addressed Jack, "I thought you had higher standards than this, Jackson."

"Bo, that's enough," Cici said in annoyance. "Hazel's new here, and she just met all of us today. I doubt either she or Jack would be so quick to engage in a romantic relationship."

"Are you telling me something, Celine?" Bo snapped. "What exactly are you implying? That you have the right to be protective of your man while I can't be protective of mine?"

"I'm not your man," Jack growled, his patience having worn thin when Bo started directing that string of insults at Hazel.

"And what's wrong with thrift shops in the first place?" Zander added. "Half of my clothes came from thrift shops!"

Cici turned out to have been still a little indignant from the whole Spencer incident, since she flared up at Bo's retort. "You're being out of line. I think you and your sisters should go."

"Aw, are you trying to play mommy with everyone here?" Bo began to taunt. "You've always been like this, Celine. You're a wannabe. You try to be so mature, and so perfect. Well, let me tell you this. You've annoyed so many of your peers because of that. Believe me when I say that nobody likes the girl who oh-so-desperately tries to be without flaws. Tell me, why do you do this? Is it your inferiority complex?" Seeing Cici wince slightly at this, she smirked triumphantly. "I'm right, aren't I? Why do you have that complex? Were you naturally born this insecure? Or is there something you're trying to keep secret?"

"Bo, stop it," Jack tried to interfere.

"I hate to say it, Jackson, but stay out of this. I'm talking to Celine right now," Bo haughtily said. "But I can't help but be a little curious. Do you, by any chance, happen to know what I'm hinting at?" She attacked Cici again, "You told him but not anybody else? I always knew you were a slut—telling men your dirty, little secrets in order to tempt them."

"He confronted me about it. I had no choice but to tell." Cici tried to stay strong, but her voice wavered.

"Oh, really? Couldn't you have just refused? I don't see that as not having a choice."

"Bo, Cici really couldn't weasel out of it. I kept on pressing until she came clean," Jack attempted to defend once again.

"Jack, what are you guys talking about?" Zander finally questioned.

"Yeah, what secret is there?" Spencer frowned.

"Not much, except that her own mother is a revolting, rotten whore who was impregnated by a random guy she happened to be dating when she was only a teenager," Bo loftily dropped the bomb. "Like mother, like daughter, am I right?"

A few seconds of stunned silence followed, until Cici shakily asked, "How do you even know about that?"

"Word goes around," Bo cryptically said, smiling maliciously. "Just some advice though—make sure your diary is safely put away somewhere other than your backpack. You never know when it might fall out and end up getting picked up by someone else." She searched through her bag and pulled out a miniature, black notebook. "After all, who knows how you'd feel if that someone would eventually read it out loud in public? Then all those tiny things you've kept hidden inside of you would be out, floating along with the daily gossip that goes around."

Spencer finally found his voice. "Okay, you know what, you can't just do that to someone who's never done anything bad to you."

"And why not? I've already read every entry in here, so what difference would it make if I did it again, only out loud this time?" Bo teased, feigning innocence.

"Give that back to her!"

Spencer made a grab for the notebook, but Bo was faster. She held it out of his reach, and at the same time, Zander and Jack realized their own opportunity to take it while she was busy handling Spencer. Simultaneously, they lunged for it, and probably would've collided against each other if all movement didn't freeze when a familiar voice sounded over the noise of the scuffle.

"What the fuck is going on here?!"

All eyes landed on an exasperated Cody, who was holding onto a smoothie. "I let you guys go for one minute and I find this?! Is this what goes on when I'm not around?!"

"Things aren't much better even when you are with us," Zander muttered.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Jack asked.

"You all took too long," Cody bit out. "Either you're extreme slowpokes or something happened. I bet on the second option, and surprise, guess who was right. Now can someone tell me what's going on?"

"Fine, if you're dying to know. Bo Robinson is threatening to expose Cici's secret, which is conveniently one that she feels very sensitive about, by reading her diary out loud in front of a bunch of people. The rest of us were just trying to get it back," Jack breathed.

"Are you shitting me?" Cody deadpanned. "How does something involving those stupid triplets hitting on Spencer turn into something involving one of said stupid triplets causing drama?"

"I'm not stupid," Bo huffed.

"It kind of started with me, really," Hazel piped up. "I made Bo think that there was something going on between Jack and me, and Cici was only trying to stand up for me."

"Think? What do you mean by think?" Bo questioned scornfully. "We all know that what I say is true. Looks like Celine isn't the only slut around here." Her eyes left Hazel's face and trailed down to look at—oh god no. "He'll dump you soon enough, surely. There's no way he'll stay with a girl who doesn't even have the proof that she's a girl."

Tears welled up in Hazel's eyes. She fought them down though; there was no need to have herself labeled as a crybaby next. But this really wasn't one of her best moments. Not only did she have a grumpy boy point out her lack of a chest, but now a girl was doing it too. And that made it about ten times worse, because girls should understand that not all of them could have big busts. Maybe guys couldn't get that through their minds, but girls were supposed to be different. She had believed her first day at Burgess High would be pretty good at first, but those thoughts were beginning to turn around. She may have met a few nice people, but right now, they seemed like nothing compared to the mean ones. However, her train of thought dissolved once she heard Cody speak up.

"Okay, that's it. I have a perfectly good smoothie right here, and it'd really be a huge waste if it went from in this cup to onto someone's head," he said casually. "And currently, this hand is growing more and more tempted to make sure that happens. If you want to avoid that, then you might want to scram before I lose control."

"Yeah, right. I'm not scared," Bo scoffed, thinking Cody was bluffing. No boy she'd ever met had possessed the guts to carry on with their threats when it came to girls.

"Don't think I won't do it. After all, I've done it before. I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about, considering everyone was in the cafeteria when I dumped this shit right on to Samson Fisher. Just because you're a female doesn't mean I'm afraid of making sure you get what you deserve." Cody's eyes narrowed as he completely defied exactly what Bo was thinking. "You said you weren't stupid, didn't you? Then prove it to me. Prove that you have enough sense in that little brain of yours to realize that I'm not fooling around. Because even though the thing you value most is your dignity right now, I know that that's going to change once I actually do what I keep telling you I'll do. You wouldn't want that hair you worked so hard to style this morning to be ruined all because you refused to heed my warning, would you?"

Bo glared. "You know, you—" she began.

"Bo, just drop it," a voice, one that had been silent before, abruptly sounded. Bo turned to look at Flo, who had a defiant expression plastered on her face. "We really ought to leave. Just give Celine back her diary."

Bo's face contorted into a huge scowl, but she complied—by throwing the black notebook right at Cody. It hit him hard on the elbow of the arm that happened to be holding that smoothie, causing him to accidentally splash the smoothie right onto his own face. Bo chuckled cruelly, Jo, who was still quiet, seemed uncomfortable, while Flo simply looked plain old horrified.

His expression still unchanging, Cody wiped his eyes clean with his free hand. "If my face wasn't dripping with slush right now, I'd slam you into the wall."

"Come on, girls, let's go," Bo announced, flipping her hair. She was about to sashay away when she whispered severely to Cici, who was quick to pick up her diary after it landed on the floor, "Don't think you're safe now. I had suspected that I would be forced to give it back. I've made copies of your most personal writings, and you wouldn't want them to get out, now do you?"

Cici's voice caught in her throat. Satisfied with the reaction she got, Bo strutted off. After some hesitation, Jo followed. However, Flo stayed behind.

"I'm so sorry about her," she quickly said. "She can be an utter bitch."

"No shit," Cody voiced flatly, now attempting to wipe off the remaining contents with his sleeve.

Flo took a napkin from her pocket and offered it to him. She half-expected him to stare at it like it were some kind of bomb, but thankfully, he took it without pausing.

"Flo!" Bo barked from a distance away.

"Coming!" Flo called back. "Keep the napkin," she hurriedly told Cody before rushing off.

Done wiping his face clean, Cody gave the napkin to Jack. "You can have this."

"Why?" Jack had visible chagrin on his face, not enjoying being offered a dirty napkin.

"She's your fangirl."

"Just throw it away! Nobody's going to find any use for it now that it has your mango smoothie all over it!"

"I swear this is the first time I've seen you get hoisted by your own petard," Zander remarked.

"Oh yeah, she's good, I'll give her props for that." With a pause, Cody spoke again, this time with obvious irritation in his voice, "Do you think it's good revenge if I fill this smoothie cup up with rocks and chuck it at her—"

"Please don't do that, you don't have to sink to her level," Jack interrupted.

"I thought I've already sunk deeper than that."

"You... Did you just stand up for me?" Hazel finally found her voice. "She... She was insulting me and then you just..." Maybe he's not so bad after all...

Cody looked at her as if she were crazy. "What? No. She was just wasting my time. I wanted to be done with her and go back to finishing my lunch as quick as possible."

I stand corrected. He was just being selfish, Hazel thought to herself bitterly.

"Hey, what are all of you doing, standing out here?" Anton appeared, then stopped once he saw a tearful Cici, a Cody who still had some small mango stains on his face, and the uncomfortable expressions of everybody else.

Ignoring his question, Zander asked, "Where the hell have you been?"

"I was talking to my dad about my driving issues. And I missed something, didn't I?"

"One way to sum the whole thing up is that one of the Robinson triplets is a complete bitch," Jack stated. "Come on, let's all head back to the cafeteria. We'll give you the full story then."

"So how was school today?" Colin greeted his daughter the minute she stepped in through the front door.

Hazel sighed. How was school today? "Okay, I guess."

Colin frowned. "That's always been your answer whenever something bad has happened. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing huge, honest," Hazel insisted. "Just... I met a whole bunch of people today. Most of them are really nice, but some of them... Not so much."

Colin's frown deepened. "Do you need me to call their parents? Tell me, who are they?"

"Dad, no, don't do that," Hazel sighed. "Nothing too terrible has happened." To be honest, I think Cici had it far worse. "Besides, this is high school. Undoubtedly, things aren't always going to flow well for me."

"Honey, at your old school, you were picked on by a group of girls because of your introverted personality the first day you became a freshman, and you refused to tell me until I found out about it during your sophomore year. Remember that?"

Hazel nodded. She had experience with being flung some rather vicious words in her life.

"Exactly. And you promised that the next time you get bullied, you'll tell me. You're right that drama is almost mandatory when it comes to high school, but don't you think that it's about time that things got better for you?"

He had a good point. But...she was sure she met at least one person today who was more than willing to defend her like a true friend should. After all, during lunch, Cici had stood up for her, and then Jack, Spencer, and Zander stood up for Cici. "It's really not that big of a deal," she finally said. "It really has been getting better. Like I said, I've met some good people today. And they all seem genuinely sweet. If something does happen, they'll jump in for me. And if they don't, then I'll tell you what's been going on."

...What the hell...did I just type. This chapter was originally meant to be a really boring one that was supposed to be a buildup to the more interesting things later. It was never meant to contain so much drama in it, but apparently my fingers like to type on their own (Fuuuuuun).

On the bright side, I like it better than what I had planned. So I'm keeping it.

Happy (early) New Year to all of you, by the way. I might end up updating again either on the Eve or on the 1st, but no promises, so don't get your hopes up. You guys got enough chapter presents for Christmas from me already.

Out of the main five guys (the twins, Jack, Cody, and Anton), who would manage to hold in their liquor the best? Legit question that I'm seriously asking.

Replies:

Brass Sparrow: Congrats on being the first one! Not going to lie, I'm going to enjoy writing this far more than I enjoyed writing Powerless Guardian (assuming my motivation doesn't end up deteriorating). It'll get a whole lot darker too. And, maybe, somewhere along the line, there are going to be some character deaths... ;] (Don't worry, it's not any of the main five, I like them way too much) AND YES I HAVE SEEN THE HTTYD TRAILER. HOLY FREAKING CRAP. Frankly speaking, even though I do find Hiccup attractive, I'm sort of not used to seeing him post-puberty at the same time. As for Astrid, I kind of preferred her old look. My friends and my mom all think they both look weird though :/

Maximus Potter: What did you expect? He's Cody Gray, and he oozes negativity and insults lulz.

Blue Torpedo: We'll see.

Faliara: I can guarantee that these new OCs will end up being developed more. It's only the second chapter, and I can't exactly make them very well-rounded like the Hell's Angels (who are the main five). Remember when Cody and Anton weren't as rounded at first in Powerless Guardian? Ah... Good times (not. I prefer the current Cody and Anton way more).

Rigoudon3: Hm... Well, Adrenaline (to the other people reading this, that's not really her name, though it's similar to it), considering you have just read this for the first time with no previews whatsoever, you'll have to leave a longer review this time around, am I right? (Okay if anyone other than Addie is reading this I have a good excuse for why she's allowed a sneak peek at my chapters before the rest of you... She's my school friend *wandering eyes*)

mandamichelle: My money's on Anton. Cody will be canonically taken soon.

ArkieR: Yeah, there's still something about her that I haven't mentioned yet...

Rainflower: Hm... I don't know, I mean I don't really have that many plans when it comes to the Guardians and Manny, so yeah, there's a chance that that could work out. My love for Nightlight helps, but you know what doesn't? The fact that I haven't read any of the books. The only thing I really know about Nightlight is that he's a boy who's around Jack's age, he's the messenger for Manny, and he's as quiet as Sandy. I can't really think of a way for him to communicate with Jack without it ending up as a game of charades, haha (Fun fact: Back when I had that Cody obsession, I briefly wondered what it would be like if he were Nightlight. Then it just became hilarious once someone told me that Nightlight was created by bursting out of Pitch's stomach and we all know the relationship Cody has with Pitch lol).

DjinnAtwood: Sit in a tree doing what? Lol I'm kidding. It's not just you ;)

Sloppy Joe 313: Sort of. But conflicts aren't all they're going to have...if you know what I mean...

Sol's Darkness: I like the way you think. Judging from my author's notes, what do you think of my personality? :] Anyway, no, Samson isn't going to be a problem. I mean, he'll appear and stuff involving him is going to happen, but he's not really going to be messing with our heroes this time around. I think Conrad is more or less the bad guy here.

Lolxxx: Rapid-fire question—Which one of the main five would you want to go to your school with?

Novalunni: Hopefully you do.

storygirl99210: Oh yes. This will get very funny.

Artimes' Thorn: Like I said at the end of the last chapter, it's not. If you really think about it, what's so insulting about 'I'll slap you black'? I find it harmless and not racist at all. I mean, it's not like I made Jack get all offended. That would've be racist.

leafninja667: As much as I would love to, I can't do that. If I do that, then Hazel will become a rather pointless character.

Doctor Skittles: ...What reasons?

ReganRocks: Believe me, I feel you. I'm not like in love with him like you are, but I am attracted to him. But since I've had him and Hazel in my mind for a long time, I've kind of began to ship them. (But hey, if you want to imagine them eventually having a huge dramatic break up, be my guest.)

Byeeee and review~