As I left World History the image of Castiel with his legs on his desk and tipping his chair on its back legs while watching me come into the room would not leave my mind. Even though I knew it was crazy, it felt like he had been waiting for me. Shaking my head firmly I squeezed the books in my arms and rolled my eyes at myself. He didn't even say anything to me so stop being conceited, Opal, I chided myself. Pushing his piercing grey eyes out of my mind I walked into Shakespeare class and took my seat.

Several students had beaten me to class and were talking animatedly. I watched as the rest of my classmates arrived until Lysander walked in. He was still wearing his Victorian-style clothes and he seemed to be staring into space even as he walked fluidly to his seat. I faced forward, not wanting him to notice how interesting I found him. I wondered where he had gotten his clothes, but even more so I wondered about his entrancing eyes.

When the bell rang Mr. Tremont bounded up to the front of the class. He then twirled around dramatically, making me clap a hand over my mouth to keep my giggles from bursting out. Mr. Tremont flashed me a grin, catching my giggle attack and then spread his arms wide to include all of the class.

"And so the time has come! Let us begin our journey into the depths of attitude adjustment at its finest!"

I pressed my hand even tighter against my mouth because of Mr. Tremont's summation of the "Taming of the Shrew". The first scene went by with many questions and comments on the drunken man who was tricked into thinking he was a nobleman. I had read my lines in scene one with a slightly deeper voice than my usual one since I had always pictured Kate having an alto voice and I had been rewarded with a brilliant smile from Mr. Tremont. Before I knew it there were only ten minutes left to class when we got to scene 2.

"Ah, and now we meet the fearless Petruchio! Mr. Lysander, if you please," Mr. Tremont prompted.

"Verona, for a while I take my leave..." I felt my breath catch as I listened to him speak. Every syllable had a place, every word had a meaning. His deep bass voice was rich and warm, filling the room with a feeling of power; I had never heard a voice like his before in my life. I watched him in awe as he played the audacious and arrogant Petruchio with a hint of dignity that I had never before associated with his character. When the bell rang, signaling the class was over for the day, the harsh sound seemed to grate against my ears after listening to Lysander's voice.

"Make sure you read through the next two scenes tonight, today's discussion was marvelous!" Mr. Tremont said as everyone began leaving the classroom. I sat mutely in my seat and watched as Lysander seemed to glide out of the room with grace I hadn't noticed before.

"He's quite magnificent, is he not?" I blinked and looked up at Mr. Tremont who was giving me an amused look. I felt my cheeks go hot and I stood up quickly.

"Oh well, yes... he... I-I... NO... I mean...." Mr. Tremont laughed as I stammered and made a shooing motion with his hands.

"You'll be late if you keep dawdling, Ms. Opal." I felt the heat turn up a notch in my cheeks and I dashed out of the room.

Minutes later I sat down in Art class and laid my head on the table, covering my head with my arms. What in the world had gotten into me?! It's just that I've never heard someone with a voice like that, I told myself. I'm very sensitive to voices since I listen to music all the time. There was no reason for me to get embarrassed like that!

"Umm, are you... are you alright?" I brought my head out from under my arms to see a girl with bright purple hair looking at me with concern. I felt my blush begin to return and I shook my head vigorously, trying to make them stop.

"You aren't? Oh dear, are you sick? Should I take you to the nurse?" The girl asked nervously, glancing around the room as if looking for the teacher.

"Oh! No, no. I'm sorry, it's nothing like that," I told her hurriedly. "I just... well I was a bit embarrassed, that's all," I said awkwardly as I felt another flush come on. Frustrated at myself I gritted my teeth, willing the heat to subside.

"Embarrassed?" the girl asked quietly, gingerly taking the open seat next to me. I smiled at her and then I realized that I recognized her.

"You're Violette, aren't you? You painted the sunset, right?" The girl's eyes widened and she looked away.

"Oh, um, yes. That was me," she said quietly, not meeting my eyes.

"It was a beautiful picture! It was my favorite project that was presented." She looked up at me and gave an uncertain smile.

"Really? You really liked it?"

"Yes! I've always wanted to see the sunset at the beach. Your picture was just breathtaking," I said sincerely and her smile became genuine.

"Thank you very much. What was your name?"

"I'm Opal. I just moved here."

"So you lived far from the ocean?" Violette asked. I was about to respond when Ms. Kelly walked in.

"Sorry for being late! Let's finish off the project presentations today and tomorrow we'll move on to pottery."

The period passed quickly and Violette gave me a little wave as I left the room first. I grabbed my backpack and headed for home, but as I passed the principal's office a hand grabbed my elbow. Panic enveloped me and I jerked away, spinning to come face to face with the Principal.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for startling you, my dear!" The principal said and I felt myself relax as I mentally chided myself for overreacting.

"It's alright, was there something I could help you with?" I asked politely. It was still a little strange to actually be spoken to without a grimace or a disapproving stare from a teacher and I found myself doing everything I could to help others because this newfound sense of belonging made me feel amazingly happy.

"What a good girl you are! Yes, there is. I know you're new, but there are a few clubs that are struggling to get the numbers they need. I was wondering if you would sign up for one of them," the principal said with a grin. Surprise went through me and I couldn't help but notice that her sentence had not ended as a question.

"Um, which clubs?"

"The gardening club or the basketball club. Not the actual team, of course, it would be more of a team manager position if you chose basketball."

"I don't know anything about basketball..." I began and the principal patted my upper arm, which was closer to her than my shoulder.

"Gardening club it is then. Just go out to the greenhouse and I'm sure you'll find someone to tell you what to do." With that, she retreated back into her office with a decisive click of the shut door. I stood there dumbfounded, not quite understanding what had just happened.

"Opal?" I whipped around and sighed when I saw that it was Nathaniel who was behind me.

"You have an uncanny habit of sneaking up on me," I complained and he chuckled.

"I wish I could say I'm sorry but I actually enjoy watching your reactions. What did the principal say to you?"

"She wants me to join the Gardening Club. Well, that might be putting it a little gently. More like she TOLD me that I am in the Gardening club now." Nathaniel chuckled again and I felt myself smile, liking the fact that I had made him laugh but also wondering if it was a good idea to act so casual with him. Slowly I took a step back and cleared my throat.

"Was there something you needed?" I asked, not quite meeting his gaze.

"Not really, I just saw you walk by and thought I'd say hi." I felt a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth and bit my lip, wondering what to say. "Once you're done with club activities will you be heading home?"

"Yes, there's no reason for me to stay," I said, wondering why he had asked.

"Oh, of course. Well then, I'll see you tomorrow, Opal."

Before I realized what I was doing I had already bowed my head slightly to him and turned to walk out into the courtyard. I sighed, reminding myself that bowing was not normal outside of karate class as I walked past the maple tree and followed the path towards the area of greenery that I noticed when I had first come to the school.

The path took me from the paved courtyard to a green wonderland. I walked into the plot of ground and gaped at all the trees and flowers that seemed to litter the space. I had rarely spent any time outside my house since my father got angry if he thought I was doing something to make him look bad, and living in a large city I had never seen trees like this. One of them even had large red flowers on its branches.

A greenhouse was positioned in the middle of the mini forest and I made my way slowly over. I knocked on the door of the greenhouse but didn't hear any answer, so I stepped in cautiously and stopped in my tracks. Scents bombarded my nose and I stood there, trying to make sense of this new sensation. As if in a trance, I walked through the rows of beautiful flowers and small plants, touching each petal, and leaning in to smell the varying scents.

"Opal?"

Reluctantly I turned around, wondering who was interrupting my reverie. It took me a minute to pull my thoughts from the fog the scents had created in my mind but eventually, I realized that I was looking at Kentin who was holding a large watering can.

"Kentin... what are you doing here?" I asked slowly, still fighting the trance the flowers had put me under.

"I'm watering the flowers. What are you doing here?"

I blinked, wondering what had brought me to this magical place. The principal's face flashed in my mind and I giggled. Kentin was giving me a worried look and my mind finally snapped back into place. I stood up quickly, brushing off the knees of my slacks self-consciously.

"Oh, actually the principal kind of recruited me into the gardening club. She told me to come here and someone would tell me what to do." Kentin broke into a wide grin and his eyes seemed to stretch to the very edges of his glasses.

"You're in the club now?! That's great! We can garden together!" I smiled somewhat awkwardly, but I was a little glad that I already knew Kentin and didn't have to explain myself to a stranger.

"I.. look forward to it, Kentin. So... is it just you and me?" I asked looking around the greenhouse.

"Well, the club president actually goes to a different school. He comes in once a week or so and leaves me a list of things to do. It's over there by the rose bush," Kentin said, pointing to a beautifully shaped rose bush. I walked over and saw a piece of paper on the chair next to the bush and quickly read over it.

"How far have you gotten?" I called over my shoulder.

"I'm almost done. I just need to finish watering and put some plants in the student council room and the principal's office."

"I can do that. Which plants are we supposed to take?" I asked, looking around the packed greenhouse.

"I think the fern and the yellow lantanas over in the corner," Kentin said, pointing to a large potted fern and a small vase of yellow flowers.

"Great, I'll take care of that," I said, placing the lantanas in the crook of my elbow and carrying the large potted plant with both hands. The fern was bigger than usual so I had to look through the uppermost leaves to see where I was going.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Kentin asked, starting to put his watering can down.

"No, no. You finish watering, and then we can go home faster," I said and started back towards the school, leaving the greenhouse and all its wonders behind. Even though I had been pushed into it, I was actually excited to be in the gardening club. Maybe I should check out some gardening books from the library, I thought to myself as I carefully made my way down the path and towards the school building.

"Hey, Opal," a deep voice broke through my thoughts. Blinking in surprise at the interruption I stopped and looked around. A movement caught my eye and I looked over to the maple tree to see Castiel leaning casually against the tree trunk.

"What's with the plants?" he asked while quirking an eyebrow at me. I shifted my grip on the fern so I could see him better through the leaves of the fern.

"The principal informed me that I'm the newest member of the gardening club a little while ago," I said, hefting the fern and getting a better grip on the pot's rim.

"And you went along with it? Again, you disappoint me," he said with a smirk. I shrugged and nearly dropped the lantanas. Castiel laughed at me and I had a sudden urge to stick my tongue out at him. The thought surprised me since I had never had the urge to do something like that before. With a small frown, I tried to analyze why I had reacted that way as I continued walking into the school. Realizing that I had never responded to Castiel I awkwardly looked over my shoulder at him.

"I never expected to impress you anyway," I said honestly.

My thoughts were still mulling over why Castiel's comment had made me want to do something as useless as sticking my tongue out at him when I got to the school door. Cautiously, I turned around, using my back to open the door and keep from damaging either of the plants.

Before I made it through the door, I caught a glimpse of Castiel. He was looking at me and his brows were furrowed, but I couldn't tell if it was out of anger, confusion or... something else. But quickly a smirk replaced the strange look and he waved his hand in a shooing motion, putting his headphones in his ears and looking away from me. I stayed there for a second, not entirely sure how to interpret what I thought I had seen.

Shaking my head I turned carefully into the school and headed for the principal's office. After regarding the closed door and my full arms, I kicked lightly at the bottom corner of the door. I took a second to be grateful that the doors swung in and not out when the door whooshed opened to reveal an infuriated Principal seconds later.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, KICKING MY DOOR!?" she screamed, almost knocking into my fern. I backed up quickly, trying desperately to keep the plants in my arms and not all over the floor. When I had regained control, I turned my attention back to the Principal.

"I'm so sorry, but I didn't have any hands available," I said apologetically, trying to look at her through the ferns bushy leaves.

"GAAAHHHH!!!! Talking plants in the hallway!! It's an invasion!!! NO!!!!!!" The Principal took off down the hallway screaming bloody murder. I stood there in shock, not even knowing how to fix this situation when the student council room burst open and Nathaniel dashed into the hall.

"What? Where? What's going on?!" he asked frantically before finally focusing on me standing there with the plants. "Opal?"

"Uhhhh," was the only response I could manage to get out. I watched the Principal running down the hall before coming to a corner and turning so sharply she lost her balance and dropped to her knees. She was up in a second though, continuing her screams of terror down the science wing. I turned back to Nathaniel. He looked at me, blinking slowly. Without a word, he stood in front of me and then knelt on the ground so he was roughly the height of the principal.

"Could you say something, please, Opal?" he asked politely.

"Uhhhh...." I repeated, feeling more confused than I had ever felt in my life. Nathaniel suddenly and explosively burst out laughing. He laughed so loud and with such vigor, I felt a spurt of giggles bubble up myself. I tried to choke it back but that only made it worse and Nathaniel's laughter grew even more riotous and I couldn't help but join in.

Soon I was laughing so hard I had to put down the plants to keep them from shaking and spilling dirt on the floor. Nathaniel was on the floor, clutching his stomach and laughing so hard tears were leaking from his eyes. Every time we would start to calm down we'd either meet each other's eyes or hear another of the Principal's echoing screams and our laughter began again. After what felt like hours Nathaniel and I were both sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily, occasionally letting a small chuckle escape.

"I... I really didn't mean *gasp* to scare her like that!" I said, trying to catch my breath and keep a giggle fit from erupting again.

Nathaniel chuckled and rubbed his abdomen. "I... don't think I've laughed that hard... ever!" he said.

It was like a switch had been flipped and suddenly all my laughter was gone as I thought about what Nathaniel had just said. I listened to him slowly regain a normal breathing rhythm beside me as I thought back through all the times I had ever laughed, really laughed, in my life. Auntie had always been the one to make me laugh, I realized and I looked over at Nathaniel. He had closed his eyes but was still smiling widely, as if he was re-watching what had happened on his closed eyelids.

"You know, I don't think I have either," I said quietly, still watching his animated features. His eyes opened and for an instant, they met mine. I looked away quickly, clearing my throat and stood up. Feeling somewhat nervous I adjusted my vest and brushed off some dirt that had gotten on my shirt from carrying the lantanas before walking over to the plants I had left in the middle of the empty hall and picked up the little yellow flowers.

"I was just trying to put these in her office. I was going to put the fern in the student council room," I explained, not looking at Nathaniel directly. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him stand and brush himself off as well before straightening his light blue tie.

"Oh, did you know I was allergic to pollen?" Nathaniel asked, staying near the wall and eyeing the flowers in my hands.

"No, I didn't. I just figured you'd like a fern more than some flowers. I'm glad I didn't stick these in your room. That could've been awful for you!"

"Yah, I would've been sneezing like crazy," Nathaniel said with a grimace, but it was soon replaced with a smile. "Hey, I'll take the fern in for you. It must be heavy, I'm surprised no one offered to help you with it."

"Oh, you don't have to. It's my gardening club duty, and besides, it's not that heavy," I protested but Nathaniel skirted past me, holding his nose, and then picked up the fern A mild amusement filled me as I watch him back up a couple of paces before daring to breathe.

"No, really, I've got it. You go put those in the principal's office and then head home. You are done, after this, right?" Nathaniel asked and I smiled.

"Yah. Kentin, the other club member, got the rest done before I got there. Thanks, Nathaniel. You're always so nice. I'll see you tomorrow then," I said and went into the Principal's office, placing the flowers on the corner of her desk.

Seeing a stack of sticky notes next to her computer I quickly wrote an apology note and stuck it on her computer. Closing the door gently as I left, I glanced over at the student council room. Nathaniel had left the door open and I hesitantly took a step towards it, but quickly changed my mind and headed for my locker. I had already said goodbye after all. No point in talking to him anymore. I wouldn't want to bug him, I told myself.

A/N I love this scene :P Thanks for those who are reading this!