"Dude you're gonna be late!" Jared's voice echoed through the tiled hallway.

"I'm almost ready!" Kate replied.

She finished tying her pony tail off  and looked at her reflection. Brown hair was tied up into a high pony tail revealing a well-tanned face. Bright blue eyes looked back at her, lightly lined with a soft brown pencil and mascara. She stepped back to look at her uniform.

A white button-down was tucked into a black skirt that stopped just above her knees. Black tights (impractical in the late-August heat) met up with a pair of black flats at her ankles. She was struggling to finish tying the crimson tie around her neck when her father appeared in her doorway, a crimson blazer in hand.

"You're gonna need this," he said, holding it out. Vedder hopped up onto her bed and sat, watching them. "Do you have everything else you need?"

Kate did a run-through of her mental supply list. Lunch money? Check. Permission slips for activities? Check. Pencils, pens, and notebooks? Check, check, and check. She and Emma had gone school supply shopping Monday morning after Camp ended and she was kitted out with every piece of expensive supply she could possibly need.

"I think so," she replied. "It's the first day. We've got Orientation all day."

While she had missed the first day of school last year, Kate made sure to grill her friend Olivia on what to expect this year. They'd have the Yearly Welcome in the large auditorium where Headmistress Choi would welcome them all to a new school year and different teachers would speak. Then they'd go to each class for the first semester and their teachers would hand out books or other materials and talk about the class. Finally, they'd head to their clubs, organizations, and teams. Tryouts were well-underway and practices had been going on for weeks already for fall semester teams.

"You've got practice tonight, right?" Jared asked.

She picked up her backpack and walked out of the room. He followed her, Vedder at his heels. "Yeah. Until 7. I'll be home after that."

"Thai for dinner?" he suggested.

"Yeah. Just get me a pad thai with tofu," she answered. "I've gotta go!"

Kate picked up her car keys and gave Jared a kiss on the cheek before dashing out to the Compound's parking lot and getting into her car. She could see Vedder watching her from his post next to Jared as she drove through the gates and headed toward her school. Traffic was bad, as expected, and Winterlake Academy appeared in front of her, standing on top of its hill like a beacon. A large soccer field was terraced off halfway down the hill and Kate smiled as she passed it.

She pulled into the student lot and got out, lugging her backpack behind her. The lot was full of expensive SUVs and newer sports cars and she shook her head. Since they had to wear uniforms, students took every chance they could to show off their wealth. Students in crisp uniforms chatted between cars and she ignored their glances as she made her way into the modern building.

Winterlake Academy was broken up into several different buildings, each one dedicated to a different subject. The original building of the school lined three sides of a square greenspace while another building stood sentry on the remaining side. The original building was three-stories tall with a brick exterior and large paned windows. Kate could remember when Jared had brought her to interview at Winterlake the first time. The school seemed so much bigger during the tour; now she could navigate it with ease.

She walked into the lowest level, passing a couple that was making out heavily in the vestibule. The hallway was full of students milling about searching for lockers, classrooms, and friends. Kate spotteda shock of purple hair at the end of the hallway and pushed her way toward it. Olivia was leaning against the wall, a bulletin board full of information on her left.

"There you are!" Olvia exclaimed. "I thought I was going to have to send a search party."

"It took forever to find a parking spot," Kate apologized. "What are you looking at?"

The bulletin board had several announcements on it but Kate didn't get to read it.

"All students are to assemble in the Fath Auditorium. Meet your Heads of Year at your designated entrance."

The announcement came over loudspeakers in the ceiling. Olivia looked at her.

"I guess we should go," she chuckled, pulling a face.

They walked with the rest of the crowd across the quad to the Arts Building. Large groups of students had lined up with teachers in formal graduation gowns in front of them. Kate and Olivia found a spot in line in front of Mr. Herald, the Head of English. He was an older man with a head of wispy fine white hair and a round spectacles perched on the end of his nose. His voice sounded like sandpaper when he spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen, an orderly line, if you would, please!" he called over the chatter and laughter. "Mr. Rutherford, please stop trying to take an up skirt photo of Ms. Waverley," he added.

Within a few minutes, the doors to the Arts Building opened and the groups of students flooded in. The building was modern with glossy concrete floors and pristine white walls. Immediately to the right an art gallery displaying different pieces of artwork created by students was lit with glowing art lights. The walls in the hallway featured photos from former performances and well-known graduates.

Fath Auditorium had been named after the woman who donated the majority of the money to build it. Judith Fath was a well-known author who had graduated from Winterlake decades ago and donated a huge chunk of money to build the state-of-the-art theater auditorium. Every theater performance Kate had done last year was done there.

The students filed down the aisles to seats in different sections and sat down as the room filled with conversations. Kate looked at the black backdrop on stage with the Winterlake Academy crest on it. A podium stood at center stage and a row of chairs holding teachers sat behind it. Mr. Herald left them in their seats and climbed the stairs to find his seat on stage. As students got settled, Headmistress Choi walked onto the stage and the conversations dimmed.

"Welcome to another year at Winterlake Academy!" she greeted them. A round of applause filled the room. "All of us on the faculty and staff are glad to see you. To our Freshman class, welcome to the best - and most challenging - years of your life. This year will be full of assignments and performances and deadlines, but our hope is also that you meet new friends and cultivate important relationships that will be crucial to your success both here at school and beyond."

She looked across the audience and Kate purposefully look at the floor to avoid her gaze.

"I hope you all had a safe and happy summer break. I look forward to reconnecting with you as the year goes on," the headmistress continued. "This year, I am pleased to announce that we had a record number of students attending Ivy League universities across the country as well as several international students within our graduating class. The standards will only continue to be raised."

"To my Senior class, I hope you put forth your best effort this year; this first semester is crucial for your college applications," she said. "Please do not slack off. Juniors, this is when the work really begins. Your teachers will be pushing you harder than ever to ensure you are ready for the ACT and SAT tests. Sophomores - you have survived your first year at Winterlake. I hope you are smarter this year than you were last year. Please be kind to your underclassmen and remember that you were in their shoes just a short time ago."

"I'm going to cede the floor to each of our department heads so they can make some brief announcements," she said finally, stepping back from the podium.

Mrs. Ross, the head of the Art Department, stepped up. "Good morning! As many of you know, I'm the head of the Art Department. Thanks to a very generous donation, we have been able to expand and upgrade our photography lab and dark room this year. We have several brand new digital cameras and new programs for editing. We also have updated equipment for the dark room. So Photography Club has quite a bit of open space that needs filling. If you're interested, please stop by my office by the end of the day."

Olivia nudged Kate. "You should join. You take pretty awesome pictures."

Kate shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not really into photography these days."

There was something about being followed around and having photos taken of you that took away the magic of capturing images for eternity.

Mr. Thomas from the Athletic Department was up next. "Team tryouts for Fall sports are this week, so please make sure you are present if you intend on playing a sport this season. Please make sure you have all the necessary paperwork signed. Tryouts for Winter sports are in two months; keep the date in your mind."

The assembly continued as the heads of each department stood and greeted the student body. By the time the Senior Class president stood up in front of them, Kate was sure her ass had gone numb. It was a relief when they were released to go to their first classes after ninety minutes of sitting still. Kate and Olivia parted ways, but made plans to meet in the Photography Lab at lunch.

Her first class was AP French and she was already dreading the rest of the year. The teacher immediately launched into French and didn't stop until they were released twenty minutes later. She handed out manila envelopes with information on the AP tests in May before Kate rushed out the door to her second class for Block One. Her second class with Mr. Henshaw, the teacher for AP Comparative Government and Politics was particularly attractive and Kate had never found politics so interesting before. The class was swiftly followed by a trip to the Science Building to her AP Physics 1 class with Mr. Gupta. She only caught about half of what he said, but the general gist was clear: the class was hard as fuck. By the time Kate walked into the Photography Club carrying her lunch (courtesy of Jared), her head was already spinning.

Olivia was sitting at a desk near the back of the room, chatting with an older student as she ate a sushi roll. She waved Kate over when she saw her. The older student walked away and Kate sat next to Olivia.

"I think my brain might explode," she complained, opening her brown paper bag.

While other students had designer lunch bags or had bought food from the school's cafeteria, Kate was happy to carry around the crumpled brown paper bag Jared had shoved at her as she left that morning. It made her feel just a little bit more at home and it was a reminder of what her life had been like just a year ago. If only her mother's cooking skills had magically passed to Jared, too. She grimaced as she pulled out a sandwich on leftover naan bread from the Indian food they'd had the night beforehand. Tomato juice had leaked into the plastic baggie and the flatbread was soggy. Olivia watched her continue to pull out misshapen food items, including a crunched cookie and a bag of slightly squashed grapes.

"Maybe next time you should just use containers?" Olivia suggested.

"Yeah, thanks," Kate snapped back, sticking her tongue out. "Jared packed this."

"Oh, Jesus," the Senior remarked. "Sorry." She held out her sushi roll. "Want a piece?"

Kate took a slice and popped it into her mouth appreciatively as she unwrapped her smashed sandwich. She had to smile; Jared tried. But she still made a mental note to ask their chef to prepare a few things she could take for lunch the next time he was in the house.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Mrs. Ross called. "I'll make this short and sweet so you can enjoy your lunches. Photography Club is open to new members for this school year. In addition to developing photography skills, you'll be working with the Journalism class to produce content the school newspaper as well as the school website and social media accounts with the Web Design class."

Kate looked at Olivia and shook her head. The last thing she needed was another responsibility. At least with Green Club she only had to go around and collect recycling from classrooms.

"In addition to helping with those things, the gallery is always looking for photography to feature and the Alumni Association is always looking for work to sell at auction for fundraisers," Mrs. Ross said. "Meetings are at lunch on Mondays and Fridays, with assignments being given on Mondays and most submissions due Friday. Most of the work is independent, so meetings aren't always mandatory and the lab is open all day, every day for you to use."

"You should totally do it, Kate," Olivia said. "You've got a natural eye for it."

Kate shrugged. "Posting pictures on Instagram from my phone is not the same thing as taking actual photos on a camera."

"Still. I think it would be good for you," her friend replied.

"That's all I've got for you guys. If you're interested, let me know and we can work on specifics," Mrs. Ross called. "Enjoy your lunch and have a great first day back."

With that, she left them alone and Kate continued eating. She wasn't looking forward to her afternoon classes for Block Two. Calculus was a necessary evil and the AP aspect only meant that it would be twice as hard. Unfortunately, it wasn't the only other AP class she'd be taking this year. Her AP Literature class was also going to be difficult. Fortunately she had Senior Orchestra this year and she was actually looking forward to it. The violin had become boring to her and she had been teaching herself piano lately.

The bell rang, signalling that they needed to head to their next class for orientation. She parted ways with Olivia and hustled across campus to sit through twenty minutes with Mr. Herald before going back to the Math and Science building for AP Calculus AB. The class was full of seniors and Kate could feel their eyes on her as she walked in right before the bell rang to start the class. Even though she knew most of them were wondering what a junior was doing in the class, part of her questioned if they had recognized her.

Her discomfort was short-lived and she was soon back across campus in the Music Wing, heading to Senior Orchestra. There were easily at least fifty other students in the room and Kate relaxed and tried to blend in with everyone else. Try-outs for positions within each section had been two weeks prior and the list was released over the weekend. She hadn't looked at it until lunch and she nearly choked on a smashed grape when she saw the results. Her request to take over the vacant piano player's space had been approved. 

The pianist for the orchestra had graduated last year, leaving the space open. With other instruments, there were other students behind the first chair who could cover for them or take their place when they left. But there was only one pianist in the orchestra and somehow, Kate had beat out three other people to claim the seat. One would stay on as an assistant to the conductor, Ms. White, and fill in if Kate was absent or something. 

There were quick introductions and the announcement of concertmaster before the class ended and Kate was free for the day. Well, almost free. She still had several hours of tryouts for soccer to deal with. But she'd take hours of running and drills over being cooped up in a classroom. She was in the locker room at the field house within five minutes of the bell ringing. All she wanted to do was blow off some steam by running and playing. 

"Wexler!" the new head coach called. "My office, please!"

Kate sighed and pulled her practice jersey over her head as she walked through the crowded space to the coach's office. "Yes, Coach?" she asked.

"You're going to be with me, today," Coach Barnes told her, without looking up from his newspaper. 

"Uh...why?" she asked, confused. 

"You're the new team captain," he answered. "Your performance with Santa Clarita over the summer was not overlooked. You're with me to familiarize yourself with the new potentials."

"I-uh-I-thanks?" she asked in shock. "I thought Mel would be taking over when Kenzie left last year?"

"Mel doesn't have your experience," Barnes said. "She wasn't playing in a professional league like you." Kate blinked, too surprised to reply. "Come on, then. We've got some new girls to whip into shape," he said, standing. 

Kate followed him out of the locker room. All in all, her first day back at Winterlake had gone far better than she imagined, even if she was already wishing for Fall break.