Chapter 1

Day one. Thursday, why they started school at the end of a week only an educator would know but I would wager that it had to do with money somehow.

I arrived at the front of school in a older model limo. I had decided pretty early on that buses were out until and unless I had made friends to keep me company (and watch my back(hey, you're not paranoid if they really are out to get you, lol)). I was wearing what I thought of as bait for my first conquest/friend. Doc Marten boots, black cargo pants, dark gray wife beater and a black untucked dress shirt. It would take a good eye to tell that the Doc Martens were a custom 1 of 1000 order, the pants were tailored and the shirt was silk. Wanted to make an impression, you know.

First class was Trig, I had tested out of Algebra I and II and Geometry I and II. All my classes were Honors/AP classes. Hell, as far as the school was concerned I had a 4.0 average back to kindergarten. I used the class time to check out my peers and spotted her pretty quick. Dark hair, Goth head to toe, and the hunched over posture of a beaten dog. She wasn't real pretty, her skin and teeth were bad, ugly glasses but every time the teacher called on her, she had the answer almost before questions was finished. Definitely my kind of girl and obviously under appreciated at this school.

Second class was World History. The teacher was a little bit further left wing than Stalin so I knew that I would have to keep my mouth shut in class to get an A. But, score, I got her name, Lana Turner. She was sitting in the back of class again, head down and trying to disappear. If I got my way, in a week or so that would never happen again.

Third class was Biology. No Lana but when we got assigned lab partners I got lucky again. My lab partner had on a tee shirt from J-List I recognized so I asked him if he was anime/manga fan. He was and I promised to bring in the new copy of Jump magazine that I had a subscription to. His name was Craig Bell and I could tell we were going to be buddies. He also invited me to meet some other otaku's at lunch but I told him that I had plans, I hoped.

Fourth class was German. I had to take a foreign language class and I liked German better than Spanish or French. Plus I got lucky, Lana was back in my class. I grabbed a seat beside her and waited for a chance to introduce myself. No luck during class but lunch was next period.

Heading towards the cafeteria, I heard what I had been expecting all morning.

"Hey, new kid, was that your limo this morning? I bet you think you're pretty cool." I looked up at the speaker, typical football jock. He had about 6 inches and about fifty pounds on me so I knew he figured he could take me in a fight.

"Well, it was my father's limo. As for cool, I do okay, why?" I asked.

"Yeah, so you're rich, huh. So how about you just give me all the money you got on you and we can call it rent for you using my hallway?" he replied.

"Not going to happen, Bubba." I answered. "So just move along and pick on someone else, you're making me late for lunch."

I was watching him pretty close, even though it wasn't really necessary. He telegraphed the punch so much that a blind person would have known what was next. Now, I haven't bragged on myself too much but remember I said I was different. Part of that is I am a lot faster and stronger than I look. So I just stepped to the side and let him punch out the wall behind me. From the cursing that he was doing, it sounded like the wall won. I wandered off while he was holding his hand and howling. I knew that wouldn't be the end of that but I had a plan for that too.

Ah, school lunches, the first day and I could tell that I would be bring my lunch a lot in the future. Looking around, I spotted my new buddy Craig who patted a chair next to him. I headed that way when I saw who I really wanted to set with. Pretty little Lana (well, pretty to me) was sitting all by herself. Waving off Craig, I walked up to her.