"RISE AND SHINE, LAST ONE OUT OF BED SCRUBS THE ENTIRE PLACE DOWN."

Andre groaned and turned over.

"OKAY, I WAS KIDDING ABOUT THE SCRUB DOWN, BUT ALL OF YOU GET OUT OF BED."

Andre groaned again and this time he opened his eyes. Kowalski was rubbing his eyes. Skipper was standing at the doorway, fully clothed, with a grin on his face. It seemed a bit dark still.

Andre looked at the clock. "Oh come on, it's five in the morning."

"School starts at 0800 and I will not tolerate lateness."

"You couldn't have given it another hour and a half?" Andre complained. "I like to get up at 6:30."

"That's a negative, Private."

"And stop calling me that." Andre said grumpily as he pulled his covers up to his chin.

"You can get out of bed my way or Rico's way."

Andre looked at him. "W-what's that supposed to mean?"

"Actually, I don't think we want to know." Kowalski said, getting out of bed.

Rico laughed from the other room. Andre sighed and picked himself up.

By the time Kowalski and Andre had showered and gotten dressed, it was ten past six. Rico had his bag ready and waited for the other two.

"Are Kenny and Barry even up?" Andre asked.

"I don't know, I'm not their mothers." Skipper said. "I've never even met their mothers."

Kowalski glared at him.

"Alright troop, let's move out!"

Andre reluctantly followed his roommates to the elevators. He heard music from Julien's room again.

"The only time I commend those lemur for brains boys. They aren't afraid to get up early." Skipper said. "That being said, they also can't resist partying 'til all hours of the night."

Andre let himself off at the third floor to see if Kenny and Barry were awake.

He knocked on the door and waited.

"Brains…" a moan came from behind the door.

Andre raised an eyebrow.

"Stop doing that!" Leonard's high pitched squeak came from the door.

"Can we go now?" Kenny said in a bored voice.

Andre knocked again.

Barry opened the door, "Thank you for calling 1800-I want to eat your braaaaaains- how may I help you valued vict- I mean customer?" he said in a slow doleful tone.

"Yes, I was looking for the International House of Can we get some breakfast already?"

Kenny and Barry laughed.

"Funny kid. Now for the real deal, what do you do when a girl who's wearing a leopard seal pin comes up behind you?" Barry had a mischievous grin.

"Wait, what?"

"BOO!"

Andre jumped and swiveled around. "H-Hunter!"

The girl laughed. "Sorry, I love scaring people." She gave Barry a high five. "What was your name again? I'm pretty sure it's not I-um."

"Andre. My name is Andre."

"Well Andre my name is Andre; you might want to get down to the dining hall before they run out of chocolate chips."

"WOMAN! You will not jeopardize his first tasting of a pancake!" Barry shouted.

"I had banana pancakes yesterday morning."

"Oh, then she shall not jeopardize the tasting of your first chocolate chip pancake!"

"With whipped cream." Kenny added.

"Whipped cream?" Andre said.

Hunter turned around. "You've never had whipped cream." She said with plain shock on her face. "Get him to the dining hall STAT!"

The three of them rushed Andre to the elevators where they met Ramona and two other girls. Leonard and Izzy had to catch the next elevator.

"Why are you shouting, Hunter?" One of the girls asked, staring in the complete opposite direction.

"No time, we need to get him down there fast!" Hunter responded, pointing to Andre. "By the way, save the leopards." She put a pin in Andre's hand.

"Is this about chocolate chip pancakes?" Ramona asked.

"COMPLETELY!" Barry thundered.

"With whipped cream!" Kenny said.

Andre flushed and shrunk to the back of the elevator.

"Oh Kenny, you are exactly like my brother described." The other girl said. Her black hair was in a braid and she had dark blue eyes. "My name's Roxanne, but everyone calls me Rocky." She said to Andre. "And you must be the new roommate he was telling me about."

Andre turned a deeper shade of red. "W-what has he said about me?"

"You're a blond kid from Britain." Rocky said. "And this is Rikki." She said, indicating the girl next to her.

"I am not Rikki, I am MELON LORD!" The other girl said.

The others broke down into laughter.

Rocky rolled her eyes. "No more TV for you. Even if it is on audio tapes."

"Wait." Andre said. "Are you Rico's sister?"

"Yup, has he said anything about me?"

"Er, no. Julien did."

The others scowled. Kenny shook his head. "Andre, whatever you heard from Julien is probably a big fat lie." He said.

Before he could respond, Barry grabbed his arm and tore off through the opened doors to the breakfast line.

Andre panted once they stopped.

"Get the pancake." Barry said.

Slightly nervous, Andre put two pancakes on his plate and found an empty table.

Barry joined him with five hastily stacked pancakes. He passed Andre some butter and grinned. He put his orange juice next to Andre's milk.

Kenny came over a few seconds later with a bowl of cereal, some bacon, and water. He glared at Barry.

"What? I'm a growing boy." Barry said.

"Eat all of those and you'll be a throwing up boy." Kenny responded.

Barry rolled his eyes. He snapped a picture of Andre eating his chocolate chip pancake with a satisfied smile. He then began to wolf down his pancakes.

Kenny ate his cereal and nibbled at a piece of bacon. He and Andre watched Barry eat with an expression of distaste.

"Dude, you could have saved three of those for the people who wanted some." Kenny said.

Barry mumbled something, causing food to tumble out of his mouth.

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full." Kenny said.

Barry gulped. "I'm fine, Mr. Mom."

Kenny gave Barry another glare. "I'm full." He said. He gave the remainder of his bacon to Barry who wasted no time in putting in his mouth.

Kenny ripped the piece he'd been chewing on and gave the untouched part to Andre and the rest was thrown away.

"Why didn't you eat it?" Andre asked once he had finished chewing and swallowing.

"I wasn't hungry. A certain someone was making me lose my appetite." He looked pointedly at Barry.

Barry looked up. "Wha-?"

"Never mind."

Andre looked at his watch, it was nearly seven. "I suppose we could start walking. I have to pick up my books and gym clothes." He said.

"Alright." Kenny agreed, picking up his bag.

"Didn't you pick up your books yesterday?" Barry asked.

"I forgot." Andre said sheepishly.

Before Barry and Kenny could respond, their path was blocked by an annoyed looking redhead.

"You two, did you get rid of the pizza like I told you?" Alice snapped.

Kenny was about to answer, but Barry stepped on his foot.

"Yes Ma'am, last night," Barry said, "right after you left."

"Good." Alice said. She walked away without another word.

"You took it out after I told you to stop bothering Leonard. And you did it really fast." Kenny said.

"Yeah, I dumped it in another room." Barry smirked, running ahead of them.

"What? Whose room? How did you do that?" Andre asked, walking faster.

"Simple, I found a key and the occupants were still out to dinner." Barry said, allowing the others to catch up.

"How did you know which room?" Kenny wondered.

"Because I saw the king of all things dance drop it."

Kenny laughed. "Seriously, he doesn't know his key's missing?"

"He's more concerned with showing off his moves than getting in his room. Even if he noticed, he's always with his friend." Barry said.

"That's a bit harsh." Andre said. "Even if he's bossy and self-centered, you should give him his key back."

"Bossy? Who are you talking about?" Kenny asked.

"Julien, why? Who were you thinking of?" Andre said.

"Alex."

"Who?"

"Alex, he's a senior here."

"Oh."

Barry laughed. "Don't worry about it."

"Wait, you threw smelly pizza in a senior's room?" Andre wondered. "Isn't that against social rules or something?"

"To be more precise, four seniors."

"WHAT?! And you have one of their keys? You have to give them back!" Andre squeaked.

"Don't worry, Alex isn't like the seniors from yesterday. Though his constant chants of 'Melman, Melman, Melman' in the morning is really annoying." Barry said. "We live next to them and he can be loud sometimes." He added. "The other two are Marty and Ted."

"Melman's like an older version of Kowalski." Kenny said. "Except he's afraid of every germ known to man. And he thinks he's going to die because he has brown spots on his face."

"He has yet to learn that they are only freckles." Barry sighed. "And that getting a cold doesn't mean he's going to die. You should see him in the lunch room. He sanitizes everything within a foot of his lunch and the seat before eating."

"Wow, and I thought my mum was obsessed with cleanliness." Andre said. "She wanted to bathe my goldfish."

"You can't bathe a goldfish." Barry said.

"I know, but she wanted to. I had one when I was five, but it died when Mum and I went to visit my Gran and my dad was left in charge."

"Andre if you ever have kids, don't let him babysit for more than three days." Kenny said seriously.

"My family owns a bakery so they should be able to get their own food." Andre said. "If they were babies, I'd ask my mum to help. Though she'd try to schedule everything."

"Yeah, until the baby poops off the schedule." Barry said. "And then cries until you realize there's a really soggy diaper and a fresh rash."

The boys laughed as they entered the school.

Andre hurried to the front office to get his books and gym clothes, and then he walked outside to find Barry and Kenny gone.

He looked around, but they weren't in sight. It was barely ten minutes and they're gone. If I ever have kids, those two are not babysitting.

"Kenny? Barry?" He called. "Where are you?"

"They're never coming back." A deep voice said behind him.

Andre yelped and jumped back. "W-who are you?" he said with his eyes firmly shut.

"I have come for your soul."

"Stop it! You're scaring him. You can't scare middle school kids, that's my job." A female voice scolded.

"Aw, you're no fun."

Andre opened his eyes curiously. "Why'd you do that?"

"It was fun." Izzy said. "And you shouldn't have ditched me and Leonard for a bunch of girls, unless you're dating them."

"No, I just met them."

"Is it Hunter?" Izzy teased. "Aww, so cute. Andre and Hunter sitting in a tree-"

"Real mature." The girl next to him said. She had dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Says the drama queen of ninth grade." Izzy retorted.

"Go away."

"Oh that's nice."

"Excuse me, who are you?" Andre asked.

"I'm-"

"Oh Miss NAAAAAAATALIE!" Julien called, waving to her.

"He's asking for it." the girl growled.

Izzy seemed to know what was coming and held onto the back of her shirt. "Let him go, Nat."

"THIS ISN'T OVER!" Nat screamed at Julien. "YOU ARE GOING DOWN!"

"I love you too!" Julien said.

"How many times do I have to tell you this? I was ACTING."

"Oh yes you say that now, but your true feelings-"

"Are that you're a NINCOMPOOP!"

"You can call me all the poops you want, but we both know how you truly feel."

"Really? Because I don't think you do."

Izzy gave Andre a look that said he should get a move on.

Andre picked up the hint and ran to the middle school as fast as he could. He still couldn't find signs of-

"Barry?"

"Hiya, pal!" Barry said, walking over to Andre.

"Where have you been?" Andre demanded.

Barry lifted up his hand and Andre groaned.

"A muffin? Really? You just ate!"

"Yeah, but that was a whole twenty-five minutes ago."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up in the nurse's office before lunch." Ramona said, coming from around the corner.

"Have any of you seen Kenny?" Andre asked.

"Yeah, he came after me, but then he had to go to the bathroom." Barry said. "What happened with you anyway?"

"I ran into Izzy and a girl named Nat. She doesn't seem terribly fond of Julien."

"Yeah, she's not. I don't know why. Maybe you should as Kowalski."

"N-no." Andre said. "I don't need to ask anyone anything."

"Alright, I'm going to class now." Ramona said.

"See you soon little duckling!"

The back of Ramona's neck turned red as she zipped to Math.

"Barry." Andre said.

"Sorry, it was a joke." Barry chuckled.

"No, I want to ask about Rico. Do you know anything about him?"

Barry's grin slid off. "Depends, what have you heard?"

That doesn't seem encouraging. Andre thought. "Well, Julien came up with this wacky story about him being a murderer."

Barry hesitated. "I don't think he actually murdered, but it's been said that he's expressed… violent...tendencies and that he was kicked out of his last school because he almost blew it up." He said in a hushed tone, looking around as if Rico might pop up. "I can tell you more about Skipper."

"Okay." Andre said.

"Skipper's the kid of a war veteran and he builds his life on that. That being said, he's completely paranoid. He might seem calm to you, but he might turn up one night with a flashlight in your ear to see if any spies planted chips in your brain."

Andre stared at Barry.

"Kowalski's weird too." Barry said. "He hardly ever gets in trouble and he looks pale to me. I think he's a vampire."

"We were playing basketball in the sun yesterday." Andre said, "Don't you think we would have noticed a pair of shoes and a pile of ash where Kowalski stood?"

"He's a computer nerd with a crush on a girl way out of his league. When he talks about his crush is the only time you will see him unprofessional." Barry added. "And maybe he's not a vampire, but he's definitely got something going on."

"Who's got what going on?" Kenny asked. He had managed to approach them silently.

"Nothing, let's go to class!" Barry said. He took off immediately.

"He's actually excited for class…that's a first." Kenny said. "Sorry we left you there, but I had to stop Barry. Judging by the crumbs on his face, I didn't do such a great job."

"No, but I'm sure he'll get sent to the nurse's office. Maybe Ramona's prediction will come true." Andre said as they proceeded to class. He decided against telling Kenny what Barry said about his brother.

"Ramona's right most of the time." Kenny said. "But Barry's a bottomless pit."

"Is he truthful?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can I rely on him?"

"I'd say seventy-five percent of the time. Did he say something?"

"He said Rico's violent and nearly blew up his old school; and Skipper's so paranoid he'd stick flashlights in people's ears to check for spy work."

Kenny laughed. "Skipper is no doubt paranoid, but he wouldn't do anything like that."

"And Rico? Julien told me Rico was a murderer and caused his sister to become blind."

Kenny scowled. "Julien's an idiot. Ramona told me that Rikki had eye problems when she was a few months old and lost her sight at the age of two. Rico's a year below her. Do you think he really could have done anything but pull her hair?"

"No." Andre admitted.

"And Rikki's told Ramona that she lost her mother at a young age, like five or six. I think it might have been a car crash or something. In any case Rico was at least four so you can kick Julien's theory away."

"Ramona's told you this?"

"Yeah, I had doubts about Rico and she wanted to set me straight. I still think he's a bit scary though."

"Me too."

"SCARY?!" A booming voice said. "You wouldn't be talking about me, would you?"

The boys turned to find their teacher smiling at them.

"Still not funny." Andre grumbled.

"Why?" Kenny asked. "Just because Mort drives you crazy, doesn't mean you have to practice your insanity on us."

"Oh yes it does." Mr. Campbell said. "Kids want a teacher they find funny and reliable. Good old reliable Randy, that's me."

"Every part of that is true." Kenny said.

Andre gasped. "He didn't mean it."

"Don't you worry; I actually find it quite hilarious, especially considering I haven't given you the test yet. Gosh, I must be so old." Mr. Campbell said.

Kenny blushed, muttered something and sat down. The class was failing to contain their laughter.

Andre followed him in.

"Hilarious, isn't he?" Allie said.

"Er, I guess. Why weren't you at the apartments?" Andre asked.

"I live nearby." She answered. "Is he your roommate?"

"Kenny? No, mine are high school guys. Skipper, Rico, and Kowalski."

"Rico?" A boy asked from behind. "No, you can't mean THE Rico. I wish good luck to you." he shook his head.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Andre asked. He saw Barry shake his head a few seats over.

"Nah, it's best if you don't know. Whatever happens will be fast and painless."

"Painless?!" Andre squeaked.

"Stop it now." Allie said.

"You know as well as I do-"

"Don't listen to him, Andre." Kenny said.

"I have wisdom to share, Taro." The boy said.

"Would you like to share it?" Mr. Campbell said, "Or can I pass the tests to the class?"

Everyone was silent and put their attention to the front.

All in all it was a pretty normal day for them. Andre didn't question Barry or Kenny about his roommates again. He was still unsure if they were the truth, but confident that Rico was not a killer. He got homework today, sweat in PE, and had a good lunch. He got a hotdog at lunch and Barry snapped another photo. What he was going to do with the pictures was a mystery to Andre, he tried getting Barry to spill the beans but to no avail.

Ramona's prediction of Barry being sent to the nurse's office came true right before the last class. She, Kenny, and Andre told him 'I told you so' which caused him to scowl at them as he left.

Andre had noticed that Kenny barely ate his hamburger, but when asked about it he became silent and still. Kenny looked pale, but he maintained that he was perfectly fine.

Barry came back for the last fifteen minutes of class and commented that Kenny looked like a pale pastry.

Kenny had turned pink and refused to speak to Barry. As soon as the bell rang, Kenny zipped out of the classroom before any of them could stop him.

Ramona told Andre not to worry too much and Barry kept making jokes about Kenny the Pastry.

Eventually, Ramona became frustrated and marched ahead of them.

"What did I do?" Barry asked.

Andre raised his eyebrow.

"Alright, I'll apologize to her after I throw pizza in her room." Barry said.

"So that WAS you."

They turned around to find two seniors standing behind them.

"Hey Alex, what's up?" Barry laughed nervously.

"Can I have my key back, please?" Alex asked.

"Key? What key?"

"Denial's another river in Egypt." The boy next to Alex said.

"Denial…ha, that's funny…De Nile…haha…you're hilarious, Marty…" Barry said.

"Key please." Alex said.

"What's up with the poofy hair? You should cut it."

"Barry, just give him his key back." Andre said. He was staring at Marty's hair which had white stripes on it.

"Fine." Barry huffed. He took a key out of his backpack and gave it to Alex.

"Thank you." Alex said.

"Why did you say that?" Barry demanded as the seniors left. "Andre, I could have gotten away with it!"

"Actually, I think Leonard would eventually have said something." Andre said. "What's up with Kenny?"

"I don't know, I'll ask him!"

And Barry ran to the apartments without another word.

Andre sighed and walked the rest of the way. He crossed the street and saw a man on the sidewalk staring at the building.

"If you want to enroll your kid, you can talk to the fussy redhead." Andre said.

The man broke into a wide smile. "Didn't your mom ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"

Andre didn't answer; he turned and walked across the street and into the building.

"Alice." He said once he located the grumpy redheaded lady.

"Huh? Oh it's you. What do you want, Alvin?"

"It's Andre."

"I don't care. What do you want?"

"Do you know that man out there?"

Alice looked to where he was pointing. "I don't see a man; I see a bunch of kids."

"He's past the kids, standing across the street."

"Well, is he doing graffiti on the wall?" Alice asked.

"No, he-"

"Then leave it alone. If no one's interfering with my job, it's fine."

"But I think he was staring at me."

"He's probably wondering if you're a real blond."

"But what if he has a sinister-"

"Stop."

Andre held back his words.

"I don't have time for crazy stories, I have to make sure you kids don't burn the building down. I am not your mommy, Alvin. Don't expect me to hold your hand when you feel scared."

"I wasn't-"

"Because that is not my job. You have to deal with life on your own kid; I guess that's what your parents wanted you to learn. It's not my fault they threw you at life and went back to the comforts of home."

"That's not-"

"I don't want any crybabies, I get that enough with the kids younger than you. I don't want any whining either."

"Aren't we supposed to approach you for problems?"

"Tough." Alice huffed. She returned to her office, closing the door.

Hot tears threatened to fall from his eyes. Andre blinked rapidly as he approached the elevator.

"HOLD THE DOOR!"

Andre looked up and he saw a blond girl running towards the elevator. He quickly pressed a button and the doors opened again.

"Thanks." She said as she entered. "Hey, I haven't seen you before."

"My name's Andre, I'm a transfer student." Andre said.

"Ah, I'm Doris." She said.

Andre looked up. "Doris? You wouldn't by any chance know Kowalski, would you?"

Doris's face had a slightly pink tinge. "I would. Has he been talking about me?"

"Skipper mentioned you." Andre said.

"Oh, well um…Kowalski's nice." Doris said.

"Do you like him?"

"Only as a friend, but he doesn't seem to get it."

Andre nodded.

Doris smiled. "I get off here, do you?"

"Yeah, you live on the fourth floor too?"

"Yes, my roommates are Gloria, Shelly, and Pinky."

"Pinky?"

Doris shrugged. "See you later!"

Andre returned to his room to find that Skipper was the only one there. He was lifting weights in the living room.

"Oh, hello."

"Hey." Skipper said, not really paying attention.

Andre worked on his homework while Skipper continued. Kowalski came a little while later and started typing an essay. Rico was the last to come and he immediately went in the shower.

"Meet anyone new today?" Kowalski asked.

"Huh?" Andre said. "Just a few people. Your friend Nat and two seniors named Alex and Marty and Doriswasontheelevator."

"What?" Kowalski turned around to see Andre determinedly staring at the computer.

"Um, I said I met someone on the elevator."

"And what was the name?"

"It might have been…well…it was…Dor-"

"DORIS?!" Kowalski said. "You saw Doris and didn't mention it?!"

"Y-yes, but Skipper said you were obsess-"

"Obsessed? Me? NEVER!" He fled from the room. "Skipper, what have you been telling him?!"

Skipper grinned. "Nothing that wasn't blatantly obvious."

Kowalski's face was extremely red. "I can't believe- my personal- WHY?" He demanded.

"It was OBVIOUS; do I have to spell it out for you?" Skipper said.

"I- just- you- GAAAH!"

"I saw a man on the street." Andre said, desperate for a change of subject.

Skipper looked a little sad. "Well, unfortunately there are people who don't have homes and-"

"No, this guy looked perfectly fine, he was staring up at the building. Then he stared at me." Andre said. "I told Alice, but she said she couldn't care less."

"Here's a hint, don't tell Alice anything and you won't run into Doris on the elevator and NOT TELL ME!" Kowalski said.

"Stop freaking out!" Skipper said. "And she doesn't like you that way; she said she just wants to be friends."

Kowalski squeaked and went back to his room, closing the door.

"What about the stranger?" Andre asked.

"I think you're worrying too much." Skipper said. "He was probably confused as to whether you were a boy or a girl."

"What?!"

"Your hair is so long." Skipper eyed the blond hair that came about an inch below Andre's chin.

Andre stared at Skipper. "It is not!"

"Yes it is, he was probably trying to ask a question, but he was confused because he didn't know if he should say 'sir' or 'ma'am' so he just stared." Skipper had a huge grin.

"That's not funny." Andre turned to leave and he bumped into Rico. "AAAHHH!"

Rico blinked as Andre hurried back to his room.

Kowalski was in complete silence while he finished homework.

As his first week went by, Andre was pretty sure his roommates didn't care about him. They didn't seem concerned when he'd come back from the second floor. They didn't talk to him much, and he was afraid to talk to them.

Kenny stopped walking with him to and from school which made Andre think he we was angry. Barry kept trying to crack jokes, but that only seemed to further push Kenny away.

Barry's plans for the photos were indeed to put them on Facebook. Andre had a long talk with his mom on Friday afternoon. That was after he stopped talking to Barry.

He felt so alone that he'd actually considered calling his parents, but he knew he'd be babied by his mother if he did so. He kept himself sane by emailing and texting his friend and tried to hang around with Ramona and Allie. They weren't very fun company because all they wanted to do was talk about the homework and boys.

By the middle of the second week, he felt more alone than ever. Completely sure that Kowalski had stopped talking to him; he avoided his room as much as possible. He was also still upset at Skipper's comment and confused on what to think about Rico.

He began to miss his friends. He didn't know how long he'd take to forgive Barry as the photos were still not taken down. Kenny seemed to be avoiding Barry and saw no way around avoiding Andre since Barry was apologizing every five minutes.

Right when Andre wanted to forgive him, Barry snapped at him and refused to talk to him or Kenny.

He'd almost called his parents, but thought he could handle it a different way. He found a friend in Hunter and started hanging around her. They mostly stayed in the small garden behind the apartments, talking about Antarctic mammals. Even though he loved animals and Hunter's company, he still wished he could have his friends back.