"Opal, your Aunt has to be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen! She pulled off that mini dress way better than I ever could! And her skin is perfect! And her hair was so stylish!" Iris gushed as we walked to lunch. I beamed, delighted at Iris's reaction to Auntie. "She looks Asian though, where is she from?"

"She was actually born in Japan. Her family moved to the states when she was young."

"Wow! That is so cool. Why are you living with your aunt, by the way?" Iris asked with her usual forwardness. My stomach clenched in knots and I forced a smile.

"Well, my parents are getting divorced and I didn't want to choose between them, so Auntie let me come live with her."

"Oh, Opal. I'm so sorry," Iris said sincerely. "My parents got divorced a few years ago too, but they're still friends. I hope things don't get too awkward for you,"

"Honestly, I'm not super worried about that. I'm extremely happy with Auntie."

Iris gave me a sidelong look as if she didn't believe me, but she shrugged her shoulders and let it go, which I appreciated.

"Sato, Iris, wazzup?"

I stopped and looked back to see Dajan, Brandon, and Troy. Troy was a sophomore and the shortest player on the team, barely hitting 5'8", but he made up for it with speed and incredible jumping skills.

Iris grinned widely at Brandon. "Hey guys! Are you going to eat lunch with us today?"

"Of course. Sterling and Jason have our table saved, go ahead and join us when you've got your food," Dajan replied as he leaned his arm on my head. I sighed dramatically and folded my arms, looking at Troy.

"It's like my entire purpose in life is to be his armrest," I said dramatically and Troy laughed.

"Nah, everyone knows your purpose is to save my Math grade and keep me on the team!" Troy quipped and I grinned.

Troy was in Algebra 2 and he couldn't grasp the information at the speed his teacher taught, so I had been tutoring him twice a week during lunch or after club activities. The first time he got an A on a quiz he had run all the way to my locker to show me.

"Come on guys, quit hogging Sato," Brandon said testily, shoving Dajan off me.

"It's fine, Brandon. I really don't mind," I said, trying to pacify him. He had been in a foul mood all week and I couldn't figure out why. He turned away and walked over to stand in the pizza line.

"See you in a bit then, girls," Troy said brightly, jogging to catch up with Brandon.

Iris went to the hamburger line with Dajan and I chose to try the cafeteria's version of spaghetti and meatballs. Once my tray had been filled with noodles and cooked carrots I searched the tables for a familiar face. At the far end of the cafeteria Dajan raised his hand and waved to me. I headed over and wasn't surprised to see Iris sitting in between Brandon and her friend Rosalya, with Melody sitting across from them.

I sat down in the empty space between Melody and Dajan, settling in to listen to the conversations around me. More often than not during lunch, I wouldn't say more than a few words. I would just listen to the conversations and store away any information I thought could be helpful later on. This time though. I turned my attention to Melody and Rosalya.

Melody was Iris's best friend. From what I had heard they had been friends all through elementary and middle school. Melody had long chestnut brown hair, bright blue eyes, and was quick to smile. She was also very popular, many times people stopped by to say hi to her during lunch. In the infrequent times we had spoken she had been polite to me, but we didn't have any classes together so I hadn't gotten to know her very well and she seemed to prefer to talk to Iris.

Rosalya was an exotic beauty. Her hair was a shimmering white, making my own hair look yellow in comparison, and it reached all the way to her thighs in glorious splendor. Her eyes were a light brown and she always wore custom-made dresses that were daringly short. From a previous conversation, I knew they were made for her by her boyfriend, Leigh, who she was completely in love with. She had a big personality, outgoing and personable, and she was also insatiably curious and a bit mischievous. I honestly thought she didn't even remember who I was since I was so quiet she never acknowledged me. But even so, I admired her.

"Opal, is it alright if I invite Melody and Rosalya?"

I looked up quickly, surprised to be brought into the conversation. I swallowed my bite of carrots hurriedly, trying to figure out what Iris was talking about.

"Uh..." I began but Rosalya cut me off.

"Who's Opal?" Rosalya asked Iris with a puzzled look. Melody shook her head and Iris giggled.

"Rosalya, Opal is right there. I introduced you a month ago!" Iris said while pointing to me. Rosalya looked at me and blinked, cocking her head to the side in puzzlement.

"We've met?"

I smiled at her and nodded. "Only briefly. I'm pretty quiet, so I understand why you forgot," I explained and Rosalya grinned.

"Aw, you're so nice! And your eyes are incredible!"

I blinked in astonishment at the compliment. "Oh well... thank you. You are really beautiful, too. Your hair is amazing." Rosalya beamed in response to the compliment.

"Oh, I like you. Yes. You'll have to speak up more often!" she said with a definitive nod. "Now, what were you saying about inviting us to something, Iris?"

"Well, Opal's aunt invited me to come over for a sleepover at Opal's house and I thought it'd be more fun if there were lots of us!" she said excitedly.

I immediately plastered a smile on my face to hide my swirling thoughts. I had completely forgotten about the sleepover!

"Oh, that sounds fun! When is it?" Rosalya asked in excitement.

"Tomorrow..." I started, but Melody interjected.

"Iris, it's not polite to just invite us without asking Opal first."

Iris looked sheepish and I quickly shook my head. "Oh no, it's fine! Auntie told me to invite whoever I wanted. If you want to come then I'd be happy to have you over. Violette is going to be coming too."

"Oh, the purple-haired girl? She's so cute! We have to go now, Melody," Rosalya said with finality and Melody nodded reluctantly. I watched her and wondered if something had upset her, but soon she was smiling like normal and I decided to let it go since I didn't know her well enough to say anything.

"So, where do you live? When should we come over?" Iris asked and I blinked mutely.

This had never EVER happened before. Bringing a friend home? How was this supposed to work? Are there rules I need to know about? What do you even do at a sleepover? I wondered in a mild panic.

"Uhh well, I walk to school every day so if you wanted we could head over right after school?" I suggested hesitantly, watching the girl's reactions to see if I had said something wrong.

"Sure, that sounds good. My car seats five, so as long as you aren't planning on inviting anyone else then I can drive us all over," Iris offered while Rosalya and Melody nodded.

"I usually drive to school too, but if you don't mind giving me a ride home on Saturday Iris then I'll catch a ride with my mom to school tomorrow," Melody said and Iris agreed readily.

Soon the three girls were chattering about all the sleepovers they'd had. I listened attentively as they described pillow fights, pajama competitions, making blanket forts, eating junk food, and talking until the early hours of the morning. I tried to imagine something like that happening in my old house and a cold sweat ran down my back. If I had brought a friend home for a sleepover while I was living with my father... I shuddered, forcing myself to bury those kinds of thoughts.

To my surprise, the bell signaling the end of lunch hour rang out and I jumped in surprise. This was the first time I had stayed in the cafeteria the whole lunch hour. If I wasn't tutoring Troy I usually left as soon as I was done eating and went out to the courtyard. Some days I would talk with Castiel if he was there, but most of the time I would just sit quietly and think or read a book.

I stood and my tray was suddenly lifted from my hands. I looked up at Brandon in surprise, who was holding both his and my trays. He quickly snatched Iris's tray as well before turning without a word towards the window that led to the kitchen. I opened my mouth to call out a thank you but Dajan placed a hand on my shoulder and steered me out of the cafeteria.

"Come on, nerd. You'll be late if you hang around here too long."

"I like being a nerd, you know, Dajan," I said and he smiled sadly at me.

"You can be whoever you wanna be, Sato. I've got your back."

A silent understanding passed between us and he patted my shoulder before heading to his next class. I watched him go for a minute. It made me sad to think that Dajan blamed himself for what happened to his cousin, but I hoped that letting him 'protect' me was helping him in some way.

I made my way to World History where we watched a documentary and I allowed my mind to wander. Something that the girls had said at lunch was bothering me. They had mentioned 'pajama contests' and my mind wandered to my comfy grey sweatpants and yellow tank top that I usually wore to bed.

Is that what normal teenage girls wore as pajamas? I wondered to myself. I made a mental note to ask Auntie about it when I got home.

The bell rang and I slowly packed up my things, still trying to figure out what to do about this sleepover. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I looked over to see Castiel leaning on the desk behind me, giving me his usual smirk.

"Can I help you?" I asked with slight trepidation. Castiel hardly ever talked to me in front of other students and if he did it was to make a snide remark about my nerdiness.

"I didn't see you take a single note during class. You sick?" he asked with a slightly mocking tone. I stared at him in bewilderment.

"You were watching me?" I asked in surprise and he rolled his eyes.

"It's better than watching the alternative," he quipped and I chuckled.

"I guess it was a little dull today. And no, I am not sick. I'm just a little preoccupied," I said, taking my stack of books and notebooks into my arms and heading for the door. To my surprise, Castiel followed right behind me.

"Preoccupied with what, exactly? I thought you were Miss Goody-two-shoes who takes school seriously and never skips class." I could see the wicked gleam in his eyes and now I knew he was mocking me.

"That's right. And I don't know a thing about rock bands either," I replied sarcastically and he nodded gravely.

"Exactly. An upstanding student like you? What could possibly have distracted you from the opportunity of taking meaningless notes on a movie we won't even be tested on?"

"Just because we're not tested on it, doesn't mean we might not be able to use the information later on in life," I retorted stoically. He scoffed which made me laugh. "It's nothing really. And why are you following me? You never walk this way," I pointed out. He lifted an eyebrow and gave me a look as if asking if I had just been born yesterday.

"Since when do I care about being on time to class? Enough with the dodging and tell me what's on your mind," he demanded. I felt my cheeks grow warm and I cleared my throat.

"You'll just laugh," I mumbled as I shifted my books in my arms.

"Probably," Castiel said bluntly before fixing me with his steel grey eyes, "Now tell me."

Sighing, I glanced down the hall at my Shakespeare class and wondered if I could stall him long enough to get there. But then a vision of Castiel sitting next to me in Shakespeare class and pestering me all period flashed through my mind and I sighed again.

"Fine. It's just that... well, my auntie invited some of my friends over for a sleepover, but I've never been to a sleepover before. So I'm trying to think of things to do and trying to figure out what I need so it's not completely boring," I confessed quietly, glancing around and hoping none of the girls were passing by.

Just as I had thought, Castiel started laughing. I wrinkled my nose and turned away from him, picking up my pace.

"Wait, wait, stop," Castiel said between laughs as he placed a hand on my head, keeping me from going any further. I stood still but kept my gaze straight ahead. Castiel walked in front of me and smiled triumphantly, leaning down so we were almost eye to eye.

"You're telling me that the girl who stood up to Amber and her posse, didn't miss a beat when your pictures were drawn on and plastered all over the school, and blocked my punch without batting an eye... THAT girl is afraid of a sleepover?"

I thought I could feel steam coming from my ears from how embarrassed I felt. I looked down, desperate to get away from Castiel's penetrating gaze.

"It's just that... I've never done something like this before."

"What, host a sleepover?" Castiel mocked.

"Had friends," I replied without thinking.

Castiel straightened up and looked at me with confusion. "What..." he started to say, but I quickly went around him and spedwalked into Shakespeare class. I nearly sprinted to my seat next to the window and sat down, not looking at anything, just staring at my desk.

What on earth made me say that?! No one needs to know anything about my past, I scolded myself, shaking my head. Why did I say that!?!

"Kate."

I looked up automatically and found myself staring into a pair of green and caramel colored eyes. I jerked back in surprise and Lysander let a ghost of a smile slip out as he sat at the desk next to mine. He studied me openly and I found myself fidgeting, meeting his gaze for a second then looking away, only to look back again.

"Umm, can I help you, Lysander?" I asked awkwardly.

"You seem troubled," he said simply.

I opened my mouth but couldn't think of what to say. Lysander watched me intently and I again looked down at my desk, rolling my pencil between my thumb and finger nervously.

"It's nothing really. I just... said something I shouldn't have," I mumbled, glancing at Lysander out of the corner of my eye. He nodded seriously.

"That's why I don't speak very often. Misunderstandings can't be had when there aren't any words said in the first place."

I blinked a couple of times, wondering if I dared debate that. Before I had decided though the bell rang out and Mr. Tremont swept up to the front of the classroom.

"Dearest students of mine! It has come at last. Today we read the final scene of Taming of the Shrew! After we are finished reading we will all go to the computer lab and I want you all to come up with a rough draft of an adaptation for Taming of the Shrew. It could be anything. A poem, a short story, song lyrics, a skit, whatever your creative hearts are bursting to emit! We will work on this project all tomorrow and I want them turned in first thing Monday morning, any questions?"

I raised my hand and Mr. Tremont beamed, pointing at me with a flourish. "Yes, Ms. Opal?"

"Is there a length requirement at all?" I asked curiously.

He assumed a pose of deep contemplation which made me grin. Mr. Tremont and his overly dramatic antics were always the highlights of my day. It made me sad to think I only had another two weeks with him as my teacher.

"Since it isn't a structured assignment I can't really assign a length requirement. However, I do expect you to work on it with your full attention both today and tomorrow. So as long as you do your absolute best, then the length doesn't matter," Mr. Tremont said with a satisfied nod, looking at each student in turn. He then clapped his hands. "And onto the finale!"

We finished reading quickly and Mr. Tremont shepherded us all to the computer lab. Lysander sat next to me, but I hardly noticed. Writing had always been something that I enjoyed. First, I wrote down all of my ideas for the project and then sat back and slowly crossed them off until I was certain I had a solid idea.

Once my brainstorming was done, my fingers flew over the keyboard. I'd always loved the sound of typing, especially when it took on an almost rhythmic sound. I used the sound of tapping on keys that was coming from all around me as a pacer for my project.

"Alright, everyone! Better wrap it up for today, the bell will ring any minute," Mr. Tremont called in a sing-song voice.

I frowned as I saved what I had written, wishing I could have kept going. I had chosen to write a short story in a poetic form, using stanzas instead of paragraphs. At the moment it was just free form, words seemed to flow from my fingers hardly without thought. Tomorrow I would go back and reread it and try to put it into a rhyming structure if possible.

The bell sounded right as I was shutting off my computer, but as I stood to go to Art I caught a glimpse of Lysander's computer screen. His was also organized in a stanza format but his stanzas were much longer than mine.

"Is that a song?" I found myself asking while bending down to get a closer look.

"Yes. The relationship between Kate and Petruchio really inspired me," he replied, closing out his document before I could read more than a few lines.

"It is quite the story. He basically tortures her into falling in love with him," I mused as Lysander rose from his chair with his quiet grace.

"He wouldn't have had to use such tactics if she hadn't been so stubborn," Lysander said matter-of-factly as we walked out of the computer lab together.

"Well, he could have just let her be herself. She was a strong and independent woman; she didn't need him," I pointed out.

"But I think that Petruchio needed her. And once she saw past all his outward roughness and bawdiness, she realized that she was happier with him too."

I looked at Lysander with surprise and smiled. I wished I could crawl into his mind and see the world from his point of view, just for a day. What must it be like?

We parted ways and I settled into my seat next to Violette. Today we were decorating masks that we had plastered, shaped, and sanded, so I retrieved mine along with paints. I had used the cat's face mold for my mask and was painting half of the mask with flames and the other half with water in a loose yin and yang shape.

"Hello, Opal," Violette greeted quietly and I smiled at her.

"Hi, Violette. Did you still want to come over for the sleepover?" I asked as I carefully painted the division line of my yin and yang sides of the mask.

Violette blushed slightly and nodded, carefully gluing a feather onto her half mask that she had painted purple with black designs around the eyes.

"I was actually wondering, could I maybe invite my friend Kim?"

"Of course, the more the merrier! But who is Kim? Have I met her?"

"Ah. No. She's been my friend since kindergarten. I always eat lunch with her," Violette explained with a shy smile.

"She's more than welcome to come. I'm excited to meet her," I said with a smile of my own but it faded and I chewed my lip, looking around slightly. Of all the girls I felt most comfortable asking Violette my questions about sleepovers since she was the least likely to laugh at me. Gathering my courage I cleared my throat, pulling Violette's attention back to me.

"Umm, Violette. I was wondering... what usually happens at a sleepover?"

"You haven't ever been to a sleepover?" she asked, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. I shook my head and she smiled softly.

"I haven't been to many either. Mainly because I don't like to sleep without my stuffed lamb and some girls made fun of me for it when I was a kid," she whispered, glancing all around her.

"I sleep with my teddy bear too!" I whispered excitedly. Violette blinked in surprise and then she smiled in relief.

"Really? So, you won't think I'm a baby if I bring my lamb?" she asked quietly and I shook my head vigorously.

"Not at all! Um, also, do you have to wear special pajamas at a sleepover?"

Violette tilted her head to the side in thought. "Well, the last sleepover I went to was Melody's birthday party, and all the girls had really cute pajamas. But I don't think it matters too much," she said as she fixed a small green feather next to the black one she had placed moments before.

I carefully painted a red flame that seemed to lick the eye hole of my mask and decided that I would take Auntie out shopping with me to pick out a new pair of pajamas, just to be safe.

"When would you like me to come over?" Violette asked, holding the feather in place so the glue would dry correctly.

"Iris and the others will come right after school, but you can come whenever you want."

"Kim has a car, we can drive over together," Violette offered with a small smile. "I'll bring my things in my backpack."

"We have plenty of pillows and blankets at home, so don't worry about that," I said as I switched to the water side of my mask and threaded some silver paint in between the water droplets, giving it a bit of luster to contrast the darker flames of the other side.

Violette and I worked in companionable silence until the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. We returned our masks and gathered our things. I was about to head to my locker when I felt a small tug on my shirt. Turning around, I was surprised to see Violette blushing slightly as she released my shirt.

"Would you like to meet Kim, today?" she asked nervously.

I smiled and nodded enthusiastically. She walked towards the science hall and I followed her, wondering what Violette's friend was like.

"Violette!"

I barely held in the urge to jump at the loud voice. Violette's face relaxed into a smile and she walked towards a very tall, dark-skinned girl with black hair cut short in the back and longer in the front. She wore a short turquoise tank top, exposing her midriff, and jean short shorts. She had one blue and black thigh-high sock, and the other was a pale orange that matched her scarf, and a black hat she wore tipped to the side. Black, thick-heeled boots completed the look.

I looked at her edgy style, then back to conservative, shy Violette, and felt myself grin widely. They certainly made an odd pair, but I thought it was wonderful that two people so obviously different could look past that to the person inside and be friends. Violette turned to me and motioned for me to join them. I walked up hesitantly but Kim grinned widely.

"Who's your friend, Violette?" she asked in a boisterous voice.

"This is Opal, Kim. She's the girl I met in Art," she explained and Kim stuck out a hand with a smile. I took it happily, trying to guess how tall she would be without the three inch heeled boots. My guess was around 5'10" or 11".

"Nice to meet you, Opal. Violette's told me all about you. Thanks for being so nice to her."

"It's my pleasure, actually. Violette helped me a lot in the pottery section," I said and Kim grinned proudly at Violette who blushed.

"Um, Kim, are you busy tomorrow night?" Violette asked, and I noticed that her voice was more confident than usual.

"Nope, why?"

"Well, Opal is having a sleepover tomorrow and she said it was fine if you came. Would you like to?" Violette asked with obvious hope in her voice.

"You sure it's okay if I come?" Kim asked me and I nodded. "Well then, great! How many are coming?"

"Iris, Melody, and Rosalya are coming beside you two. If you include me and Auntie there will be seven of us."

"Sweet. Sounds like a blast. Do you want me to bring anything? Snacks? Games? Movies?"

"If you have any games you want to bring then that'd be great, but Auntie and I will get everything else. Is there anything specific you like to eat at a sleepover?"

"EVERY decent sleepover has to have ice cream," Kim said energetically and I was immediately glad I asked. The only times I'd had ice cream were when Auntie took me out during the summer. I didn't even know that people COULD bring it home.

"I like fruit," Violette volunteered. "But it's not necessary or anything!" she added quickly and I smiled.

"I like fruit too. We're all going to head over to my place after school tomorrow if that's okay with you."

"Sure thing! I'll pack my cool pajamas," Kim said with a grin and I resolved again to buy a new pair of pajamas.

"Okay, well I'll see you two tomorrow then!" I said and left the two friends.

I made quick work of my gardening club duties. I had yet to meet the president, but I always found a little task list at the beginning of each week. After everything was done I nearly sprinted home and burst through the door with excitement.

"Auntie!" I called, looking around until my gaze found her. She was lying on the living room couch, her face buried in a fashion magazine but she looked up and grinned at me, tossing her magazine onto the coffee table.

"Opal, you're home! Thank goodness, I was about to die of boredom!" she exclaimed as she gathered me into a hug. "How was your day?"

"It was great! But we need to go shopping," I said, placing my backpack on the floor by the door.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" she responded enthusiastically while grabbing her purse. "What are we shopping for?"

"Fruit, candy, chips, pizza, maybe some movies, ice cream, and a new pair of pajamas," I said, touching a finger as I listed each item I had decided on during my run home.

"For the sleepover? Wonderful! Let's go, we'll take my car," Auntie said while opening the door.

"Okay! Wait, what? You have a car?" I asked in surprise. "I've lived here for almost two months and you've never mentioned a car."

"Well, it's cheaper to take the subway to work, and I pick up groceries as I need them so driving myself anywhere isn't really necessary except for special occasions. And this is definitely a special occasion!" Auntie said, pulling me out of the house.

She locked the door and then led me to the parking lot right up to a sleek black Honda Civic Hybrid. She clicked the unlock button with a grin.

"Let's go!"