Chapter 1

Pre-Program Week

WEDNESDAY

New town, new school, new grade ... new everything. This is a total change of scenery, a new life, a second chance. The downside is I have no idea how this will turnout, but the prospect is also full of opportunities to be seized. I'm starting with a clean slate here.

My name is Tyler Spano, I'm a 15 years old, 6"2, 180 lbs sophomore. I'm of Italian and Scandinavian heritage, fair skinned with dark hair. I've been a swimmer for a few years, I like rock music and singing, but pretty shy about it. The swimming helps me with my fitness but other than that, I'm a pretty regular guy.

I just relocated from Los Angeles after my parents divorced. It happened in January of this year but Mom chose to wait for the school year to end to come to this new town, Hartfield, to live closer to her side of the family.

I'm just not sure what to think about all this. The divorce had been a long time coming actually. My parents made sure to protect my sister Lindsey and I from their problems the best they could, but everybody in the family knew it would happen eventually. They were nice enough to make the divorce go smoothly, and I was grateful to them for it. They realized that whatever happened, they'd always be Mom and Dad to us.

I didn't mind changing schools. Last year, Dad put me in a renowned private high school in L.A., Loyola, thinking I'd make friends with boys from rich families and make connections that would help my network later in life. He had meant well but I had soon found that most of them were really pricks who never accepted me as their own. They knew I didn't come from their world. I was soon cast aside by them as well as by teachers who weren't better. I had a reputation as a good for nothing bad boy. I didn't have many friends.

Oh by the way, I forgot one small detail about Loyola: it was an all boys school.

This new town, Hartfield, was more like your typical suburban area, the kind of place where nothing happens ever. I would surely miss the weather of L.A., the beach, the city. On the other hand, I traded these for a chance at a new reputation, the opportunity to make new friends ... and most importantly: girls! Man, did I miss them last year.

The high school I was being sent to was supposedly pretty high standard. Maybe not as prestigious as Loyola but good enough, I guess. My parents told me the facilities were up to date and they had lots of activities available for students.

So, I hoped for the best but to be honest, it was the big unknown. I knew what I was leaving but I had no idea what I was getting into. I didn't know anybody. The first day at school is always stressful, but this time I was integrating this new school as a sophomore. I would be "the new guy". I was all too aware of that.

My sister's middle school was adjacent to my high school so Mom drove us together for our first day. We arrived on campus 15 minutes early. A lot of people were already there. This new school had to be about a thousand students big, and the campus looked pretty nice. Most of the students around me were gathering in small groups. It was a little bit overwhelming, all this people. I caught a few glimpses of conversations. They were mostly talking about their respective summer vacations, and generally happy to see each other.

The bright side was of course the many groups of girls, in all shapes and forms. I noticed a few of them were particularly to my liking, and hoped I'd have them in some of my classes. It's not like I'd have the balls to ask a girl out this year, I was just happy to be around them at this point. I then realized how my years in an all boys school made them look like aliens to me. Beautiful aliens. They were also very different from how I remembered them from 8th grade ... they had grown a LOT.

The first day was just a morning with no real classes, just a way to get us acquainted with the school and everything we needed to know, the teachers, etc ... They'd give us the school Code of Conduct and administrative papers.

I entered my first class and sit down at an empty desk. We were greeted by a woman in her mid-forties, greeting us with a forced smile. She looked uncomfortable but friendly.

She wrote her name on the board.

"Good morning everybody, I am Mrs. Masterson. I will be your English teacher this year. Today we will discuss everything you need to know about this coming school year. I will also be giving you all the papers you need, including the school's Code of Conduct and a map of the school, very useful for new students...

"On that topic, before I start with everything, I recognize some of you from last year but are there any new pupils in the class?" I raised my hand. I was the only one. She asked me to come up in front of the class.

"Hello, can you tell us your name and a little bit about yourself?"

"Well, my name is Tyler Spano, but people call me Ty. I'm 15, and I come from California. I relocated to Hartfield this summer and, well, here I am."