August eventually rolled around and I thought about it the whole summer, and it just made me want to scream louder every hour this dreaded time got closer.

It's currently 5:37 in the morning and I still haven't fallen asleep yet. I was so scared. Scared of the possible outcome like in the books. I don't want to be that person who's always by themselves and I don't want a guy or girl to sweep my off my feet. Or do I?

The private school I used to go to was all girls. It wasn't catholic, if that's what you're thinking, but you had to be rather wealthy to attend it due to how much money it takes. It was a good school; very strict, but I know a lot more than Marcel and I'm going to be a freshman in three hours while he's going to be a junior.

I groaned and sat up, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. Marcel said that you don't need a uniform, but that just leaves me to think about what I can wear.

I pulled my knees to my chest and rest my head on them. People are going to try to talk to me about subjects I most likely don't know about. Marcel explained to me as I'm "book smart" and not "street smart" and the fact that I didn't really know what that meant, proved his point.

Sure Marcel said he wouldn't let anything happen to me, but we won't be in the same classes. How can this junior leave the middle of class to help his little, freshman sister who doesn't even understand what a lunch line is?

I was tempted to go and wake up Marcel to flood him with yet another round of questions, but I figured that I should just let him sleep.

What if he's super popular and never hangs out with me because I'm a nerd? What if he didn't want people to know I was his sister? What if he meets someone who doesn't like me? Will he still help me when I need it? Who will he choose?

My door creeped open, bringing reality back to me as my door showed more and more of Marcel.

"Why are you still up?" He asked, himself not sounding tired.

"Why are you still up?" I said.

He sighed and walked in, closing the door behind him. He hustled to my bed and sat down next to me.

"I can't sleep." He squeaked.

"Why?" I asked, "What's keeping you up?"

He shrugged and after a long pause, he sighed, "I don't want to get to school and have you become really really popular and forget about me."

I raised a eyebrow, "Marcel, that's impossible. 1) there's no way I'll be popular when I even asked what the dress code was and 2) not only are you my brother, but you're my best friend. I wouldn't leave you for all the money in the world."

"But this isn't about money," he said, "this is about attention and you hanging with people that might not like me."

"What makes you think I want attention?" I said. He didn't answer and just shrugged. I sighed and said, "I was honestly just thinking about that though?"

"If you left me because you were popular?"

"No, if you left me because you were popular."

"Y/N, that's ridiculous." He said.

"Why is popular even a roll and how come you wouldn't mind if it happened to yourself, but if it happened to someone else, it's bad?" I asked.

He stared at me for a while, then looked away once again. "Your old school must've been so easy." I opened my mouth to say something but he put his hand up, indicating he didn't want to here it. "In a social way, not educational."

I took a deep breath, but my face still had the look of confusion. "I don't understand."

"You didn't have popular girls, outcasts, or nerds, did you?" He asked.

I shook my head, "Our school wouldn't allow it."

"Exactly, but my school does. And you had teachers everywhere, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"We don't, and no one actually watches the cameras so if you did something and the teacher didn't see, it never happened." He said.

"So it is like the books." I muttered.

"No," he said, "their are some people who actually try and help and there's other who'll never want help. Plus, not everyone's skinny and cute."

I took a deep breath. "We should be fine if we have each other, right?"

He finally looked back at me and smiled, throwing his arm around my shoulder, "Of course."

"We are Dipper and Mabel." I laughed.

"Except we're not twins." He added.

I laughed and sighed, "We need to get some sleep. Mrs. Mom's going to kill us."

He nodded and chuckled. He laid back and cover himself up, "I ain't getting up."

I giggled and did the same and we turned our separate ways. "As long as you don't roll over on me, I don't care."

I stared at the wall as I pushed back all the negative thoughts with all the strength I had. I finally closed my eyes and let a wave of slumber cover me.

~

"You two better get up!" Mrs. Mom yelled as she slam opened my door, "It's nearly eight! You're going to be late!"

My eyes sprung open and realized that Marcel and I have slept through all of Mrs. Mom's warnings. Marcel and I bolted up and he sprinted out the door.

Mrs. Mom yelled as we got dressed. I put on a white, collar shirt and a maroon, long-sleeved shirt over it. I pulled on a pair of black jeans and slipped on my shoes, running out the door. I grabbed my backpack from Marcel and we rushed out to his car. Before we left, he handed me a comb and we waved at Mrs. Mom.

I looked at him when we stopped at a stop light, "How do I look?"

We looked at me and said, "Adorable."

"Too much?" I asked.

"Nah," he responded, "looks like you, so it's just right."

I nodded and fixed my shirt along with my hair. I sat back and slouched as the light changed.

"I'm not ready for this." I said.

"Neither am I, but we've got time." He said.

I looked at him, "Mrs. Mom said it was nearly eight."

He pointed to the clock on his radio: it read 6:55 and school doesn't start till 8. "She probably heard us last night and knew that we weren't going to willingly get up."

My stomach growled and I looked out the window, "Do you think we can stop at a McDonald's and get some food?"

He nodded, "We can bring food into school so I don't see why not."

I nodded as he turned to go to McDonald's. We soon got our food and headed to school.

"We can eat when I show you your classes." He explained.

I nodded and took a sip of my drink as I saw the school form in the distance. I took a deep breath as it got closer. All I could think about was the fact that this is my school now. I'm a freshman and I go to this school.

We pulled into the parking lot and got out. We walked to each other and met in front of the car and he locked it. I gave him his food and we went into the school.

My heart was racing as well as the thoughts in my mind. It was a lot bigger and brighter than my old school. Posters for clubs lined the walls along with trophies and metals. Some teacher roamed around, going to their destination.

I saw these metal box thing and they had what looked like locks on them. They were all blue and outlined with gold. I pointed at a set of them and said, "What are these?"

Marcel looked at where I was pointing and grabbed his face with his hands, "You didn't have lockers back at your old school, did you?"

"Lockers?" I asked.

He sighed, "Its where you put books that you don't need at the moment. You can stop by it anytime, but you better not be late to class."

I pulled out my schedule and said, "Can we got to my locker first?"

He nodded as he took a bite of his burrito. I told him the number and followed him to it.

If you compared us with each other, you'd be surprised to know we're family. Marcel had a slight slouch while I stood straight. His shirt was crooked and his jeans didn't quite fit while my outfit was neat and fit well.

Thinking of clothes reminded of how we have to change for gym.

Oh no.

"Marcel." I stopped suddenly, scaring him a bit.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"We forgot our gym clothes." I reminded him.

He widened his eyes for a second, then relaxed a bit and said, "We never dress on the first day, we can bring them tomorrow."

I sighed in relief and said, "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's fine." He said, "At least you remembered." I nodded and he continued, "Your locker is right up here."

I nodded lightly and followed him as we stopped in front of one of the little boxes.

"Okay, so you want to got right, left, then right." Marcel said.

"What's the combination?" I asked.

He pointed it out on my schedule and I nodded. I quickly did it on my first try and smiled, "Like that."

I saw Marcel nod as I opened the tall, thin metal door to revel a grey, scratched up metal box with a small shelf on the top and a total of five tiny hooks.

"You can decorate it any way you want as long as you can take it off later on." Marcel said.

I nodded and Marcel made me take off my backpack and explained to me how many times I was able to stop by and what I should put in it right now.

We finally finished and I closed my locker, now holding just a notebook and an empty binder.

"Mr. Cunningham?" A deep, rough voice asked. Marcel and I turned and met a tall, old man.

He had a grey bread the matched his grey hair. He had a bony figure and wore an attire for a couch of some sort.

"Yes, Mr. Jewells?" Marcel answered, not exactly having an emotion.

"Why are you here so early?" He questioned.

"I'm just showing my sister around." He explained, motioning to me.

He made a face of disappointment and looked at me, "Another Cunningham?"

"She's nothing like me so don't compare us." Marcel said, throwing his arm over my shoulder.

"She better not be." He said. He turned his attention to me and said, "I'll be looking forward to having you in my class if your brother is right, Miss Cunningham."

I nodded once, "Until then, Mr...?"

"Jewells." He finished.

I nodded once again, "Mr. Jewells."

He nodded and walked away. I looked at Marcel when he was completely gone and he said, "He's a dick."

"What subject does he teach?" I asked.

"Health." He answered, rolling his eyes.

I knotted my face in confusion, "They teach you how to have good hygiene?"

He shook his head, "No. It's basically a second science class; he teaches the reproductive systems, the bones, muscles, and what certain drugs can do to your body."

My confused expression never changed, "What's the point in that?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, but I hate it."

I nodded, "So, where's my advisory?"

"A what?" He asked.

"Sorry," I said and looked at the schedule, "I meant homeroom. We call it advisory back in my old school."

He laughed, "I feel like you're making up stuff now."

I laughed, "I could say the same with you and your 'lockers'."

We laughed and he showed me the rest of my classes as the school started to fill up with students.

Marcel was right, unlike the books, there were people of all sizes. Some were tall and big while others where short and thin, the other way around or in between. They all kind of dressed the same though. Half the girls wore nice, and rather short clothing while the others wore dark clothing that covered up a lot. Most of the boys wore sport branded shorts while the rest wore a regular shirt and jeans.

The thing that made me really confused was that some people would look at others and laugh while someone else behind them did the same, but scolded instead.

I looked at Marcel, "Why are they all dressed the same?"

"Because none of them have a mind of their own." He explained as we headed to the cafeteria-where you're supposed to sit before going to homeroom.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They'll copy their friends and whatever their friends do, they do. One will be considered the leader and they get their style from the Internet." He explained.

I looked at the little groups that sat together and saw how similar they all looked. I nodded, understanding what he meant and was about to ask something else when I was interrupted.

"Marcel!" A smoky voice cheered.

Marcel and I both looked at the direction it came from and saw a rather tall student with the brown scruff of a starting beard that mixed into his hair. He peered at Marcel with big, beautiful brown eyes. He had a grey sweatshirt along with some faded, blue jeans.

"Ohm!" Marcel returned.

He did a quick-as Marcel put it-bro hug and his eyes soon stopped on me.

"Who's this babe?" He smiled.

I widened my eyes, not really knowing how to react. Marcel did, however.

"My sister, and she's off limits." He chuckled in a serious tone.

Ohm laughed awkwardly, "Understandable." He walked to me and put his hand out, "I'm Ryan, but everyone calls me Ohm."

I grabbed his hand and said, "I'm Y/N and I don't have a nickname."

"Well Y/n's a cute name so it makes sense." He chuckled.

"Ohm!" Marcel growled.

"It's not flirting!" He defended himself, "Its a fact!"

Marcel grabbed me and pulled me to him, "He's a flirt so watch it."

I nodded. I kind of know what flirting is but it's never really happened to me, so I don't know how to react.

Ohm smiled and pointed to a table with a few people at it, "You guys want to come sit with us?"

I looked at Marcel, worried about it considering I didn't know these people. He glanced at me, acknowledging my face and nodded at Ohm.

"Of course." He said, "I didn't really get to talk to you guys over the summer anyway."

He smiled and Marcel follows him to the table, pulling me along. We got there and I recognized two people.

One was Scotty. He had light brown hair and usually wore blue to show off his eyes. The other was Anthony. His curly, auburn hair was freshly cut and his white shirt showed off his caramel, brown eyes.

Before anyone could say anything, Scotty said, "Y/N?"

Him and Anthony got up and hugged me.

"No more private school?" Anthony asked.

I shook my head, "Mrs. Mom couldn't afford it. It's great to see you guys again."

"Great to see you too." They laughed.

"Guys," Marcel said, pulling me away from the two, making me look at the table, "this is my sister, Y/N. Y/n, this is Delirious and Luke."

Delirious had a childish smile on his face and it honestly looked adorable. He had ocean blue eyes and they flew with excitement, wonder, and possibly insanity. Luke had the start of a beard too and had the biggest puppy-dog eyes I've ever seen. He smirked, but in a she's-cool way. Delirious had dark hair, but it was completely buzzed off and Luke had a nice amber glow to his hair.

We all sat down and I sat in between Marcel and Scotty.

"I didn't know you had a sister, Marcel." Delirious said.

"I literally talk about her all the time." He said.

"No, you usually say her name." He explained, "I never knew you guys were siblings."

He nodded, acknowledging his mistake.

"Y/N," Ohm said, "Anthony said something about you going to a private school?"

I nodded, "I lived in an orphanage till I was ten and we used to have to go to this private school for girls. When I was adopted, going to a public school scared me so bad that Mrs. Mom and Mr. Dad said they would pay for me to keep going to my private school. However, we didn't have the money this year and this is the first time I have ever been to a public school."

"If you don't mind me asking," Luke said, sitting up straight, "but why were you scared of public schools."

"Books don't exactly give public schools the best impression." I explained, "Plus, I'm used to uniforms and acting...what did you call it, Marcel?"

"Like a princess." He said.

"Proper." I finished, sending him a quick glare.

"Hey, I'm the scary dragon, and you're the princess." Marcel whined.

I turned to him and said, "You're the reason I'm anti-social."

"No! I'm the reason you're safe." He laughed.

We all laughed and Delirious asked, "How are you holding up so far?"

"Not the worst. It's not exactly like my old school, but it's not so different where I need to read the rule book." I explained.

"She didn't even know what a locker was." Marcel said, rubbing my back.

"Why is that necessary?" I asked, "How many books do you have where you need to store some for later?"

Suddenly, a bell rang out the halls of the school and everyone around me stood up.

"Your about to find out." Marcel said, "We'll see you at lunch, meet us at this table."

I nodded and grabbed my books for my first few classes off the table and headed to my homeroom.

I walked in and was immediately sent looks of confusion and curiosity. I gulped and looked at the board that had a seating chart. I saw my name and took the seat where it said: at the front on the right side. I felt people glance and stare at me and it made me feel so uncomfortable and unsafe.

An adult walked in and he had on a nice shirt, dress pants and tie to match. He looked around his late twenties to his early thirties, and wasn't exactly the skinniest guy. He was bald and his head looked really shiny!

"Hello freshmen," he greeted, "welcome to high school. Our school has many activities that I hope you will decide to join. Let's go around the room and introduce ourselves."

Most people quietly groaned while others weren't even paying attention. His eyes roamed the room and laid on me.

"Do you mind leading us?" He asked, motioning to me. I didn't respond, but e continued, "Just say your name and three things about yourself."

I forced a smiled onto my face as he motioned for me to stand up. I slowly rose out of my seat as everyone planted their eyes on me.

I'm so lucky that I get to go first.