cene: Hen Tie High. The Present Day]
[A black Maserati pulls up in the parking lot. The passenger pulls his ponytail out of his jacket, and turns to the driver.]
Zoi: I guess this is where we part ways, Mr. High school graduate.
[Kunzite holds Zoi, and Zoi gives Kunzite a quick kiss on the lips]
Kunzite: [Deadpan] Why did I let them pass me? I should have repeated the twelfth grade so we could still be together.
Zoi: [giggles] My dad would have loved that.
Kunzite: You think he's any happier about you dating a college student?
Zoi: Yes. But only a little.
[Kunzite looks up at the sky, which is unusually dark and heavy, even for Hen Tie]
Kunzite: It's definitely going to rain today. You should have worn a raincoat.
Zoi: [shrugs] Are coming over to my place tonight?
Kunzite: Do you want me to come over tonight?
Zoi: I always want you to come over.
[Kunzite reaches out to take Zoi's face in his hands. He presses just the tips of his fingers softly against Zoi's temples, his cheekbones, his jawline.]
Kunzite: How about if I come over and cook dinner for you and your father, to celebrate your first day back at school.
Zoi: We would love that.
[He gives Kunzite another kiss. Then turns to open the door, but Kunzite pulls him back into his arms]
Kunzite: Don't go.
Zoi: I'm going to class. Not to war.
Kunzite: I don't want you to leave.
Zoi: [looks at his watch then shrugs and smiles] We're early. We've got another five minutes. [snuggles close to Kunzite]
Kunzite: I mean don't go at all. Come live with me in Seattle.
Zoi: [giggles] You want me to drop out of high school and move in with my boyfriend on the first day of my sophomore year?
[Kunzite nods]
Zoi: Oh, my dad is really going to love that.
Kunzite: I don't care what he likes. I hate it that we have to have a long distance relationship.
Zoi: [giggles harder] A long distance relationship? You live fifty miles away.
Kunzite: That's too far.
Zoi: Not when we can both teleport…And anyway, need I remind you that I'm still only fifteen, and I weigh about one-twenty? Nobody's going to hire me for anything involving manual labor, so what sort of job do you think I can get without a high school diploma?
Kunzite: What makes you think I'm going to let you work outside the home?
Zoi: [shrieks in outrage] Oh, it's like that then?
Kunzite: [pulls Zoi even closer and grins evilly] Yes, it's like that.
[They start making out]
[Meanwhile, on the other side of the parking lot, the school bus is letting off students, including the latest crop of freshmen. The two kids from the prologue make a slight detour skirting the parking lot on the way to class.]
[The boy has cropped his hair to chin length and has dyed it chestnut brown. He's carrying his books in front of him, and has a guitar case slung on his back.]
[The girl has dyed her hair dark red and has trimmed it to fall to the middle of her back. She's wearing a backpack and is spying on the couple in the Maserati]
Boy: [In an Irish accent] Quit staring. You act like you've never seen two men kissing before.
Girl: [Also in an Irish accent] As a matter of fact, I haven't.
Boy: [grins] Come to think of it, neither have I.
[The continue to watch from a distance]
Girl: Aw. They are so in love. [Smiles at her brother] You know what I think we should do?
Boy: [sighs] I shudder to even guess.
Girl: We should make them break up!
Boy: [shakes his head sadly] Somehow I don't think it will be that simple.
Girl: [grinning excitedly] No, hear me out. All we need to do is hide an old bra and an empty condom wrapper under the seats of that car.
Boy: Great idea. Except the big guy is going to find it, and not the little guy, so he's just going to wonder which of his brothers borrowed his car… Anyway, we're not to mess around with them at the moment. We can't use the crystal yet, so we need to keep a low profile… What is your name?
Girl: I'm Eleanor Heltry. Fourteen years old. From the Isle of Wight. Do we have to go over this again right now?
Boy: You were the one who wanted to make sure we've got our story straight…And mine?
El: You're Devon Heltry. My fourteen year old twin. From the Isle of Wight. [frowns] Dev?
Dev: Yes, El?
El: We've never been to the Isle of Wight.
Dev: That's alright. [gestures to the other students filing onto campus] Neither have they.
El: Well, what if they have?
Dev: You think some high school kid who lives in Hen Tie, WA has been to the Isle of Wight?
El: It's not impossible.
Dev: In that case we are from the Isle of W-H-Y-T-E, which is an entirely different island that I just made up. Feel free to improvise if you're challenged. As long as we sync up our stories later, we should be fine. It's not like we've been a lot of places here on Earth…Tell me about our family.
El: We were raised by our father in a single parent household, after our mother died…[uneasy]…Wait. How did she die?
Dev: She died in childbearing, of course. Giving birth to the two of us.
El: [looks down sadly] I don't like it. Can't we just say she's happily living back home with our daddy?
Dev: No.
El: Why not?
Dev: Because what do we know about growing up in the bosom of a happy family? Besides. The other story is making you tear up already, so nobody will ever believe you're lying through your teeth… Why are we here at Hen Tie High?
El: We're looking for a way to harness the power of the Silver Crystal without melting ourselves into twin puddles of sludge.
Dev: No. Why are Dev and El here?
El: Oh. [Giggles] We're spending a semester abroad in the colonies to broaden our cultural horizons.
Dev: Very good. Except they don't like it when you call it 'the colonies'
El: Yes, I know.
[They walk into the Freshman homeroom and sit in the far back of the room. Next to a frail girl, all in black, with a chin length black bob. The girl is coughing into a handkerchief.]
Teacher: Ok, class. Settle down. Welcome to your first day at Hen Tie High. When I point to you I want you to say your name and share an interesting fact or two about yourselves.
El: [puts her hand on the girl's shoulder] Hey, are you ok?
Girl: I'm fine. I have mild asthma. [She uses her inhaler] I love your accent. Where are you from?
El: The Isle of Wight.
Girl: Wow. That's so cool. I've never been there.
[Dev winks at El and she shoot him a dirty look]
El: Say, we don't know a soul here, aside from our host family. Would you mind showing us around?
Girl: I'd like to, but my father doesn't let me get out a lot, on account of my health.
Dev: [peers out the window at the looming stormclouds] Maybe you should suggest he move some place a lot warmer and drier?
Girl: No, he said the warm and dry would make it worse.
[Eventually the students in front of them have all been introduced so the teacher points to Eleanor]
El: [rises] Eleanor Heltry. I'm from the Isle of Wight and I have a twin brother named Devon. [sits]
Dev: [rises] I'm Devon Heltry. This lovely girl is my twin sister Eleanor. I'm from the Isle of Wight, I play the guitar, and ladies? I'm still single. [winks and sits down]
El: [whispers in his ear] Nice going, horndog. Way to keep a low profile.
Girl: [rises] I'm Hotaru Tomoe, I collect porcelain dolls, and my father teaches science here at Hen Tie High.