The next morning finally came and Azura woke up feeling g extremely nervous. She was nervous about going to school and meeting new kids. So much so she ended up throwing up in the toilet while she was giving herself a pep talk. She didn't know how the day was going to go, and she hoped it would go okay. But she knew there was no guarantees and her fear was primarily due to the bullying she had gone through at the previous school. It was rational, even though she may not encounter the same thing.

The only thing that seemed to make Azura feel happier was by looking at the fish tank. Even though there was no fish, she had filled it the day before and the filter was running rather well. She was really looking forward to seeing different fish in the tank. It seemed to be the only thing that made her feel better.

She got herself dressed in a nice, pink blouse and a pair of three-quarter denim jeans, deciding that would be decent for the first day of school. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and gathered her books and placed them in the bag. She did consider leaving her crystal behind, but decided against it. She never wanted to apart from it.

She had the same dream with Primus again. And he still would not tell her who her parents were. But she was able to focus a little more on influencing the elements and weather, which was good. She knew she needed to practice outside of her dream, but she was happy to be able to know how to control her abilities in the dream before applying that outside of her dream.

Azura emerged from her room as she saw she only had an hour left, and she wanted to be there early. She knew the bots wouldn't let her leave without breakfast, even though she did not feel like eating. She figured just a piece of buttered toast would be fine. She had nothing else that she would want to eat at this time anyway. She made her way to the lobby to head to the kitchen to make herself some toast.

However, she caught the smell of toast on the way and sighed, hoping it was not a big breakfast. But she saw it was as she entered the lobby as Arcee had placed a plate on the table and was about to come to her room. "Ah! Azura, you're up," Arcee said with a smile. "I hope you're hungry, I've made up quite the breakfast today…"

"Not really, no," Azura responded in a quiet voice, surprising the autobots as they heard the nervousness in her tone. "I'll just have a piece of toast. We only have an hour to go before school starts, so I can eat on the way." She smiled at them as she walked over. "Sorry, Arcee…I can probably have it for dinner, I just am too nervous to eat at the moment."

Ratchet immediately looked at her with worry. "I am not so sure avoiding breakfast is ideal…"

Azura smirked at him. "I know, I know, it's the most important meal of the day. But…I really don't want to eat much. Plus, there isn't much time, so I'll just have the toast…" She walked up the stairs over to the table where the plate was and swiped the toast from it. "Um…" She looked at Optimus as he looked at her with worry. "Can you take me this morning? Cliff can pick me up this afternoon."

Optimus was still worried she wouldn't eat much, but he doubted they could force her to eat a heap of food without her getting sick. He simply smiled at her and turned towards the driveway. "I will make sure you reach the school on time and safely, Azura. I have no doubt you want to do things before school starts." She nodded as she walked back down the stairs. "Hopefully you will be able to enjoy dinner tonight. I am worried that you won't get through school without the energy you need."

Azura rolled her eyes as he transformed and opened the passenger side door. "I'll be fine, Optimus. A piece of toast will be enough for me. I'll make sure to eat enough at lunch." She climbed into the cab and sat down, putting the seatbelt on. He closed the door and started the engine. She nibbled on the toast as she looked out the window. "I'll be fine if nothing bad happens in the first few days of school. I am just afraid of…being bullied again."

"I understand." Optimus drove through the dark tunnel out of the base. "It clearly has affected you." She nodded and kept nibbling at the toast. He saw she was not actively eating it, which was even more concerning to him. "You at least are not alone, Azura. We are here, and Fowler will step in if needed. I am sure the other children will not be like the ones you grew up with."

"I know…it's just…it is very had to let go of the bad memories, Optimus," Azura said as she finally took a proper bite of the toast. "And they tormented me because I was an orphan. It hurt. I tried to tell myself they didn't understand and I won't let them affect me…but it didn't work. Especially when they told me I must have been garbage to be thrown away since I was found on the side of the road."

Optimus felt his spark tug hearing her words. "Azura…know that you are now deeply loved…" She bit into the toast again and just stared out of the window. "I know it might seem strange, but you are considered family now. And I want you to know that we love you unconditionally. We are your family now."

Azura did not respond to that. She knew that she felt as though they have been her true family this whole time. Especially with Optimus. She did wish that when they were telling about the origin of the crystal that she could potentially be Optimus's daughter. She would accept that she isn't with grace, but she hoped that they weren't lying to her to try and spare feelings. She would not like it because she preferred the truth over a lie.

"I know…and I am happy…though, it kind of feels too late as well…" That worried Optimus as he listened to her. "I honestly did think that I would have to face the world on my own. That's why I got on that bus. But I was going to show the world that I am successful. That being parentless wouldn't hold me back. The dream of the perfect little family faded a long time ago, Optimus. Nobody likes a teenager because we have problems. Especially since I am fourteen and know exactly what is going on."

Optimus was silent for a moment as he processed what she had said. She really was hurting, and it was hurting him to hear her say that. "We don't see you as someone with problems. I hope you don't think that about us."

"No…you aren't humans…so I don't include you." Azura took another bite of the toast even though she was now forcing herself to swallow the food down and keep it down. "It is just how it is for lost children, Optimus. We…some of us are lucky to find a home, to find a family. The rest of us just get scattered around and we have no choice but to survive the best way we can. Even if it takes us years to make the best life we can." His spark was tugged at some more as he listened to Azura. "At least I can say I am one of the lucky ones…maybe luckier, because my family is a family of autobots. No one else can say that."

"No, they cannot. And I feel for you, Azura. I really do. Hearing the things orphan humans go through is extremely sad." Azura glanced at the dash curiously as Optimus referred to the other children as orphan humans. She shrugged, deciding that is just how he was going to refer to the other orphans. "You will never have to have that fear of being abandoned ever again."

Azura knew that he was being honest about that, but she still felt like things were not all as they seemed. She felt at home with the autobots, and she had no real answers yet. She feared that she was going to be hurt by the autobots more than she would be abandoned. If they knew something about her, she wished they would tell her. And she didn't want to be the one to prompt them to say it.

"At least I will have something to look after soon," Azura said with smile. "I am still thinking about what fish I should have in that tank, and I'm doing some research. But I am very excited to be able to wake up to see them swimming around in that tank."

"I am looking forward to it as well, Azura. Ever since you have shown me the different tetras and other fish that you'd like to have, I too am looking forward to seeing them in the tank. And seeing you smile is worth it." Azura chuckled softly and finished off the toast just as Optimus entered Jasper. "Are you sure you don't want anything else to eat? I can pull over at a café."

"Thanks for the offer, Optimus. But I am fine." She was feeling more nervous now that they had arrived to the town. "I hope that I can make a friend today. That is the one thing I wish for…but I have little confidence that it will happen."

"I would like to think you have as much chance of making a friend as anyone else on the first day of school," Optimus reassured her kindly. "You became fast friends with Bee, Bulk and Cliff after all."

Azura chuckled a little. "That's different. They feel more like brothers…well, Bulkhead's actually more like the fun uncle, but the other two are like brothers to me. I've only been living with you for over a week and you are already treating me like that. It made it easier to bond with them, Optimus. And Ratchet, I see him as…well…" She thought about it for a moment as Optimus listened to her. "He's kind of like a granddad."

"What do you see me as?" Optimus asked curiously, and hopefully as he hoped she saw him as a father figure.

Azura tensed slightly at his question. "Um…you kind of come across like a father…but…I am not sure."

It was in that moment Optimus realized she likely could sense that he could be her father. There was no actual connection between him and Azura when she had been created within him from the blast, but there must have been just enough for her to notice something familiar. Plus, the power of the Matrix in her CNA would likely be sensing the Matrix within him too.

"Am I…doing something wrong to make you uncomfortable?" Optimus asked curiously as he turned into the street where the school was. "If I am, I can change."

She shakes her head. "It's…more me than you, Optimus. But…I feel like the answers are there, I am just not being given them." She looked at the school and checked the time. She had thirty minutes until the bell rang, but there were so many other kids already arriving at the school, she was even more nervous. "Oh…I have to go in now…"

"Do you need a moment?" Optimus asked gently as he observed her panicky breathing and rubbing of her hands. "I can wind the windows down for you if you want some fresh air. You have nothing to fear, but I don't want you to be terribly anxious."

Azura just nodded and looked at the school. She saw a lot of kids making their way towards the building. Most were already in groups of friends, and those that show up alone, were met by other kids. She wished she had friends like that. And she hoped that she would get friends like that. She knew she was missing out on not having friends, and hoped that she could make friends within the first few weeks of being here. But she still lacked the confidence for that.

She finally had the courage to get out and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Um…I'll see you back at the base. School ends around three, if you can send Cliff before than so he's waiting for me…"

"I will make sure Cliffjumper is here to pick you up, Azura," Optimus interrupts gently as she pushed the door open and began to climb out. "Have a good day. Try not to think of your fears and only think of being able to make new memories and new friends."

Easier said than done.

She simply smiled and jumped to the ground and closed the door. She turned away from Optimus and held the straps of her bag on her back before she made her way to the door. She had to go to the office first to get her schedule and be shown which locker she would have. She glanced around at the other students who were giving her curious expressions. She knew they were wondering who she was. The town was small, so she was definitely new.

She ignored them for the moment as she did not want to be awkward about interacting with them from the first day. She knew that every new kid goes through it, but she still was nervous. She entered the building and went to the office where she received her schedule, map of the school and shown where her locker was. She put the things she didn't need in the locker and made her way to the library, deciding that was a place she could be for the time being.

By this time she had about ten minutes until the bell rings anyway, so she looked through the library out of curiosity. She found some intriguing books rather quickly, though she knew she would need a library card to take any of these out, so she simply had to wait until she has been here for a few days before she could take out any books. She simply used this time because it was quiet in the library. When it was five minutes until her first class, she made her way to the classroom and arrived before anyone else did.

The teacher arrived shortly after and was surprised to see a student in the room, but the woman was pleased with the punctuality and Azura remained in the middle of the tables, mostly because she didn't want to sit at the back or the front. The other students would pile in only after the bell rings and she would be introduced to the class once everyone was in and she was able to tell everyone where she came from. But she did not go into detail in the circumstances that brought her here.

The first two lessons went well, though Azura mostly kept to herself with the occasional hello to a random student. Though it seemed like everyone was sort of trying to figure out if they wanted to be a friend with her too. But as the second class was history, Azura knew a lot in that area, and she showed it by answering most of the questions from the teacher. This seemed to annoy some of the others, while the rest were curious about her.

At lunch, Azura was happy she didn't need to have the free lunch that the school provided. The card Fowler gave her covered her for the lunch that was provided. It seemed to be hot dog day, and she was happy to have one. She's never had one, so she was certainly excited, along with a proper juice and water bottle and a chocolate cake piece to have. Though she ended up sitting by herself in the cafeteria, mostly because she didn't want to get in the way of the other kids.

However, there was a kid who had noticed her sitting by herself and he walked over to the table. Azura did not even notice him until he spoke up. "Hi, hello…" She jumped and looked up to see a young boy, who looked around twelve or thirteen, with black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a Pokemon shirt. "Mind if I join? The other kids don't seem to want to hang around me either." Azura nodded and the boy sat on the opposite side of the table. "My name's Jack Darby, I think I'm in the year below you. I saw you earlier this morning. You must be new."

Azura nodded shyly as she swallowed the piece of hot she had been chewing on when the boy sat down. "Yes…I am…I moved here from Cheyenne recently. My name's Azura. It is nice to meet you." She smiled at him and glanced around curiously. "Are you new to this school too, Jack? If you say there aren't many people who want to hang with you…"

"Kind of." The boy shrugged a little as he began to eat his food. "My mother's a nurse, and she wanted to get transferred out here. Mostly because of what happened with my father…" Azura immediately tuned in on what he was saying about his father. "Let's just say, a lot of bad things happened, and my mother needed a fresh start. So did I…but some of the boys here, and even the girls, have not liked an outsider like me. Beware, you might get the same treatment."

Azura groaned. "Great…and I was trying to get away from bullies." She sighed and looked at him with a small smile. "And I'm sorry about your dad. I don't know what it is like to have parents, but I know that losing a parent, no matter the reason, is painful."

Jack listened to her and he did not seem bothered by the fact she admitted she was an orphan. "I see, you must have been adopted recently. I don't think there's an orphanage here…not that I know of."

"Yeah, I was. He's a military agent and he lives here when he's not working. Though, he's going to be working a lot, so I won't see him much. But it is better than the place I was living." Azura noticed a few of the boys at a table not far from them snickering and pointing at them. "Uh, is the boy with orange hair one of the bullies?"

Jack looked at her in surprise and nodded. "Let me guess, they noticed that I am sitting with the new girl, and he is laughing about it with his buddies." She nodded affirmatively. "Great…Vince thinks he's the cool dude of the school. News flash, he isn't. He likes to show off because his dad is the sales manager for a local car dealer."

"Oh right, a rich sucker flexing to try and be cool. I know those kinds. Though I dealt with different bullies where I'm from." Azura saw Vince get up with two of his other friends and two girls. "And he's decided to walk over."

Jack tensed a little and knew something would happen. "Uh…I am going to apologize in advance, Azura…"

Azura said nothing as she watched this boy saunter over and flick his orange fringe to the side. "How nice of ya to introduce yourself to the new girl, Jack. I'm a little jealous of ya." He rubbed the boy's hair roughly and Vince glanced at Azura with a cocky grin. "The name's Vince, darling…" Azura frowned immediately when he called her that. "I'm the school's pride and joy. If you're looking for a real man…"

"A real man?" Azura interrupts with a smirk. "Uh, who would be the real man? Point him out to me?"

Vince chuckled loudly while his two friends seem to laugh at him. "I'm talking about myself, honey. A cute, pretty, girl like you shouldn't be seen hanging out with a loser like Jack here. You can do so much better."

"Riiight…if that is true, you had last lesson to even come up and say hi. But you didn't even notice I was there." Azura shrugged a little at him. "So…I think you're only here because you have a problem. A problem with respectable guys."

Vince looked at her in surprise. "I have a lot of respect for those who are respectable. I respect police officers, I respect my dad, I respect the military, I respect nurses…"

"And you think it's okay to disrespect a nurse's son?" The boy growled and glared at Azura for interrupting him. "Oh, and do you think it's okay to come over and bother a military agent's daughter."

"Wait, what?" Vince widened his eyes and Azura chuckled a little. "You're the daughter of a military agent?" She nodded. The boy suddenly seemed worried and backed away. "Uh, sorry…um, forget what I said…"

"That's what I thought." Azura chuckled as Vince walked away, leaving his friends chuckling at him. She glanced at the other two boys. "You should really have a bit more self respect. Laughing at your friend's humiliation isn't nice."

The brown-haired boy shrugged and walked away. "Whatever…it was just so funny how you responded to Vince."

"Yeah, my brother's a jerk at times…" Azura looked up as a girl approached with orange hair and green eyes, just like Vince. "Hi, I'm Emily. I'm Vince's younger sister. I'm the grade below you and I'm sorry about his behavior. He likes to try and get all the pretty girls under his wing."

"I might be pretty, but I am not stupid." Azura looked at Jack who seemed surprised that it worked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…trust me, that's not the worst thing he's done." Jack looked at Emily with a glare. "And it's not like you're very nice either, Emily. You help him with his schemes." The girl snorted and walked away briskly. "I've been here for a little over two years, and people here still seem to want to bully me."

"At least it isn't as bad as what I went through. I had been physically assaulted multiple times by the kids in my previous school. Even run over by bikes…" Jack widened his eyes in shock as Azura told him what happened at her previous school. "I would imagine Vince will come back. I think he's just reeling from the idea that my adoptive father is a military agent."

The boy smirked with a light chuckle. "He will come back…that's just Vince. He flexes, then when someone beats him down, he'll be back. Expect him to try and do something to you after school. Hopefully you can get out before he does anything."

"I sure will. I will have a ride right after school." Azura finished over her hotdog and began to eat the cake. "What class do you have next, Jack? I have biology, it's a favorite subject of mine. I am always fascinated by it."

"That's my least favorite subject. Uh, but my next class is gym actually, so I'll be heading there after lunch." Jack did not seem thrilled by that at all. "I am just glad Vince is older, so he's not in my class. But he's still annoying."

"I imagine he would make life harder for you if he were in your class." Jack nodded in agreement and Azura decided that she likely would be his friend. He seemed nice enough and this was the first time she's had a genuine conversation with another kid. "I imagine you have no choice but to walk home from school?"

"I ride my bike, actually. And don't worry, I don't plan on running you down or anything like that…" She giggled as she knew he would not do that. "But as my mother tends to work a lot at the hospital, she's not home on time to pick me up. So I am fairly independent. I have actually been helping out the neighbors around us with their yards, cards and even a few other houses I help with cleaning their house. Until I get an actual job, that's what I'm doing for a bit of side money."

"I used to do that too in Cheyenne. I am surprised we seem to have a lot in common." Azura liked it though. She glanced at his shirt and looked at him curiously. "Could you tell me about Pokemon?" He looked at her in surprise. "I never got to know about it in the orphanage. I've only seen images, and that's it. I don't know anything else."

Jack smile widened as he listened to her. "I guess you are going to be introduced into quite the story."

Jack immediately began to tell Azura about Pokemon and the story about it. She listened with intrigue as it was something she had wanted to learn about, and she was excited to learn about it. Especially as Jack began to tell how about the Pokemon creatures themselves. Azura hoped to see the show and maybe even get one of the games, because she found herself liking it already, even if she knew very little about it.

When school ended, they parted ways to go about the rest of their school day. When the day came to an end, Azura was feeling much happier as she now had a friend. It was not something she had expected to have by the end of the day, but Azura could not wait to go home and tell the autobots. She could already hear Optimus telling her that she had nothing to worry about and that he was happy she had a friend to spend time with at school. She still could not wait. The only thing she knew was that Jack would never be able to visit her at the base. She would have to figure out a good explanation for him.

She walked out of the building happily with her bag and spotted the red dodge on the curb. Jack was beside her as she walked out and she looked at him. "My ride is here. I hope you won't run into any issue on the way home, Jack."

"I'll be fine." Jack smiled at her as they walk down the stairs and he walked over to the bike rack. "It was nice meeting you. I haven't had a friend in a few years, and I am glad to have met you."

"Me too." Azura smiled at him and glanced up when she noticed Vince looking at them with a frown. She rolled her eyes a little at him. "You can just drop it, Vince." She glanced over her shoulder and looked at Jack. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I hope you don't think you can leave without us properly enforcing the law…" Azura looked at Vince with a frown. "I don't think you're some military agent's daughter. You're just a loser, like Jack." She took a deep breath and turned to walk away briskly. "Walking away will only make things worse. Come back, sweetheart." The girl ignored him as she walked towards the red dodge, at this point Vince noticed. "Oh, I see. Daddy must like classic cars…" He laughed loudly while Azura kept walking. "What a piece of junk!"

Azura shook her head as she reached the passenger door, opened it and stepped inside. "Did that joker just call me a piece of junk?" Cliff asked in disbelief and Azura nodded as she looked out the window. "Too bad I can't show that punk a lesson. I hope he didn't give ya any hard time today."

"Only after I made a new friend…" Azura turned her head and waved at Jack as he rides passed them with a smile. Cliff starts his engine and rolls away. "He's been tormented at this school by that boy. Vince is a bit of a show off cause his father's rich." She shrugged a little and smiled at the dash. "But today's been a good day."

"And I want to hear all about it!" The bot responded enthusiastically. "You are definitely much more cheery than this morning. I have no doubt the others want to hear it all too. So, share the details, Azura."

Azura immediately began to tell Cliffjumper how her day started. It was not the most exciting start of her day, especially since nothing really interesting happened in the first two classes of the day. However, when she told him about how she met Jack, and that they seemed to have things in common, Cliff could see that Azura was really excited to have a friend. He knew that the boy couldn't come to the base, but Azura was really happy to have a friend. She spoke about hoping the friendship will be long term. Cliff was still a little concerned by this Vince, but for the moment, nothing has happened yet. And Azura would tell the same story to the autobots and brighten up their day.