"Eve. Eve. Eve."

An impatient voice coaxes me from my slumber. Dammit not again.

"Eve do I need to send you to the nurse again?" My bug-eyed teacher asks me slightly concerned (but more annoyed).

"No ma'am. I didn't get enough sleep last night. I apologize." I reply meekly. Everyone was looking at me and some girls in the other corner were laughing at me.

"Try to get some tonight. I don't want to have you falling asleep on me anymore."

"Yes ma'am." I duck my head down just a bit more for her to get that I'm finished with this conversation. She seems to get the message and walks back to the front of the classroom. She looks so awkward up there. She's such a small person and everything around her is huge in comparison. Her short little bob is such a dreary color, and her 'nerd' glasses tell me that she wants to connect with us but really doesn't know how. She opens her mouth to begin another boring lecture on William Shakespeare, when the door opens and the principle pokes his bald little head in.

"Hello Leila. Sorry to interupt, but that student I was talking to you about earlier has finally arrived." He says the last part with a little emphasis on 'finally'. 

"One distraction after another I see. Well bring him on in. May as well waste the rest of the period." Our teacher (I never bothered with her name) says irritated. 

The principle widens the door and steps aside. A boy about my age walks in. His dark brown (almost black) hair covers his face and his army jacket could eat him.

"This is Julian. He just moved here from... where was it again Julian?" the principle asks probably to get him to speak (or at least look up).

"New Jersey, sir. It was New Jersey." the boy in the army jacket finally looks up. His eyes immediately find mine, and I gasp. 

Akakios.