Being the new kid in town wasn't exactly new for Rey Kanata. After attending three schools in the last three years, it was starting to become easier for her to not get too attached to anything she'd eventually leave behind.

Of course, that didn't stop her Aunt Maz from trying to convince her that moving to Mishawaka, Indiana was about to be different.

Never despise meager beginnings is what her aunt would always say, though Rey was starting to believe it was simply becoming her aunt's favored choice of words to make the move easier each time.

Rey loved her aunt dearly, but for once it would be nice to stay in the same place rather than having to pack the back half of Maz's classic 1977 Chevy Buick Station Wagon and move, leaving what few friends she had made that year behind. Plus, she was more than certain that the old Buick wasn't always going to be up for making such long-distance trips.

When they finally settled into their apartment in the suburbs outside Orlando, Florida, the opportunity arose for her aunt to accept the position of becoming head nurse for an early day shift at Kindred Hospital of Northern Indiana.

Unfortunately, it was smack dab in the middle of farm country.

Rey begrudgingly traded in the beaches and stifling heat of Florida for the milder temperatures of cornfields and cow pastures in Indiana. If there was one plus side about the exchange, it was that she was more than happy to give up the bus rides and walk the short one-mile distance from their two-bedroom apartment to her new school.

The disadvantage was waking up half an hour early to face the angry red digits reading 6:00 A.M. on the face of her digital alarm clock so that she'd make it there before classes started at 8:00.

After having successfully hit the clock's snooze button in acknowledgment of the resounding, high-pitched beeps, she was left with the steady sound of Bee-Bee's wheel strumming along inside his cage at the far side of her room. As adorable as her little orange teddy bear hamster was, she could admit to being not so fond of him at such early hours in the morning – during weekdays at least – when she was trying to catch some desperately needed sleep.

After the fifth or sixth attempt at slamming her fist on the snooze button, alternating with the squeaks of the annoying rodent's wheel, she grumbled a few choice obscenities through gritted teeth and surrendered to the need of waking up.

She went about her usual morning routine: showering and dressing in attire that was slightly less trendy than those styles favored by the average high school prep. She loved jeans and hoodies and would wear pajamas out if they were appropriate.

It being the first day at a new school, she chose to go with a dark pair of skinny jeans and a loose-fitting white t-shirt with Hawaiian-colored print and a surf board from Ron Jon's Surf Shop along with her favorite navy blue pair of Tom's. She may have also chosen them for the sheer fact that she'd never made the slightest effort to unpack the half-dozen boxes of clothes and accessories that remained stacked in two towers in her room beyond that of her laptop and other daily essentials.

She even made the extra effort to run the flat iron through her hair to straighten out the blow-dried frizz and dabbed a light powdery layer of bronzer over the sun-kissed skin on her face before making her way down the apartment's short hallway to the kitchen for some breakfast.

The dull appearance of the apartment's main living space mirrored that of her bedroom. Other than the 34-inch flat screen TV mounted to the far wall opposite the leather couch and love seat that were accompanied by a small, circular coffee table, the walls were left bare and undecorated. Several cardboard boxes remained unpacked and stacked along the wall near the patio doors from having moved into the new residence not more than a few days prior to Rey starting at her new school and her aunt having to start her job at the hospital.

She had expected her aunt to already be gone by the time she needed to wake up. It was something that she'd grown relatively used to since she'd come into Aunt Maz's custody in the states from London at the age of ten. Now, at the age of seventeen, Rey never allowed the feeling of being alone to subside. In most cases, she sought the comfort of strumming a few soothing chords on her mom's acoustic Fender guitar.

As quickly as the unwanted thoughts came to mind, Rey pushed them aside. She didn't feel like showing up to her first day of classes with bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Flipping the wall switch to turn the overhead kitchen light on, she regarded the handwritten note on a small piece of half-folded notebook paper lying on the kitchen counter next to the microwave by the refrigerator with a twenty dollar bill displayed on top.

Rey, I've only got twenty bucks. Try to make it count for the week's school lunches.

Love you and I hope you have a great day at school!

-Maz

"I will, Maz." Rey muttered to the empty room, as if Maz was standing somewhere behind her and could hear her reply.

She quickly made up a boring bowl of Wheaties with a handful of fresh blueberries to mix in for some added flavor. Taking a seat at the diminutive table that proclaimed the small area as the dining room, Rey took it upon herself to glance over the itinerary of classes that was within the pile of scattered, random papers.

The first three periods of the day looked to be relatively easy, ones that she took an ideal amount of interest in: Language Arts, World History, and Music.

The next class, the longest class of the day accompanied by the lunch hour, was Agricultural Sciences. Whatever the hell had possessed her to choose the class as her last remaining elective that she needed credit-wise in order to graduate, Rey would never know. She chided herself for picking a class that consisted of everything that she hated: getting her hands dirty (on purpose) and learning about plants. Hell, she could never keep the hardiest of indoor plants alive for longer than a week! What was so interesting about fucking corn and soy beans that there needed be a class about them? Wasn't that what general biology or basic science was for?

She took a fleeting glance at the agriculture teacher's name that was among the other listed names of teachers that she would have to suffer listening to for an entire year: Benjamin Solo.

"He's probably some bald dude with a beer gut that spits, and chews tobacco, and prowls dating websites that cater to farmers," Rey declared to the paper, snorting at her own humor.

She looked over the remaining afternoon classes before stealing a needed glance at the stove's timer, which said 7:15 A.M. She quickly mowed down the rest of her cereal and placed the empty bowl and spoon in the dishwasher before tending to the hairy rodent in her bedroom. She gave Bee-Bee a fresh bottle of water and a small scoop of dried fruit and pellets for his food bowl.

"Wish me luck today, buddy," Rey said to the rodent with a sigh, as if he had the ability to talk back like one of the chipmunks from the cartoon. "I'm definitely going to need it."

She chuckled lightheartedly at the orange and white ball of fluff as he wiggled his way out from one of the cage's interlocking colorful tubes to stuff his cheeks full of food, which now looked as if he were harboring golf balls in them.

Making sure she had everything she would need for the day, Rey gave the inside of her backpack a final glance over: class list and locker number with combination, trapper-keeper, and notebooks to designated classes were all held accountable for.

She shoved the lunch money from Maz into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled the straps of her backpack over her shoulders, making certain that she had grabbed her iPhone from the cordless charging dock on the kitchen counter along with her earbuds before taking on the mile-long hike to school. She welcomed the warm, morning breeze of summer's end and focused on the calming lyrics of Oasis to help ease the unwarranted 'first day of school' jitters in her stomach.

**

"Just give it a few good kicks and it should open."

Rey issued a look of annoyance to the owner of the voice coming from the locker on her left: locker number 2187 to be more precise.

She instantly met the friendly face and dark russet-brown eyes of a boy that harbored a more than amused expression. She wondered if her struggle with the locker that she had been battling over the last three periods had been that obvious. "Excuse me?" She blinked while asking.

"I had 2186 last year," he admitted with an acknowledging nod towards the corresponding locker. He gave her an amused smirk that showed off his pearly whites before tending to his own combination. "Sometimes you have to talk a little dirty to it and give it a few good kicks for it to open."

Rey gave him a wary laugh, but did what he had suggested. She gave the locker door a few good punches with the side of her fist and apprehensively pulled up on the handle. Her shoulders instantly slouched along with a noticeable sigh of relief when it finally opened.

"Thank you so much," she stated thankfully. She all but heaved the growing-heavy backpack that had been holding three classes' worth of biblical-sized textbooks from her shoulders to the ground, making her knees bend into a crouched position along with it. "I was starting to think that I was going to have to carry around every textbook from today."

He chuckled as he reached slightly above his head to place his own books on the top shelf of his locker. "You must be new here. I haven't seen you around before."

Rey grimaced at his declaration as she bent to grab her books from her backpack. "Is it that obvious?" she asked hesitantly, fearing that she'd already made a fool of herself before the morning had officially ended.

"No," he stated shortly with a defensive shake of his head. "It's just that after sharing the same hall with the same people year after year, you begin to remember who's in your class." Shoving in the last textbook he had been holding, the young man closed the locker door and turned to face her, leaning against it. "I'm Finn, by the way. What's your name?"

"Rey," she obliged him with a smile. "And yes, I just moved here a few days ago with my aunt from Florida."

"Florida, huh?" Finn asked, giving her a surprised backwards jerk of his head. "Why in the hell would you leave paradise to come up here?"

Rey laughed, finally managing to rid herself of the last textbook on the bottom shelf. Wrestling her trapper-keeper loose from the bag's confinement, she quickly stood to hang her backpack on its designated hook at the back of her locker's narrow interior.

"I wouldn't have necessarily called it paradise," she admitted, shutting the door with an exaggeratedly forceful push of her hand. She gripped her trapper-keeper in a loose cross-fold over her chest as she turned to face him. "The only thing that I miss about that Hell on Earth is the beaches that it had to offer."

"Fair enough," Finn replied with a curt nod. He moved to walk along with her in the direction that she was going down the center of the hall through the crazed hustle and bustle of their quick-passing period. "So, what class are you off to now?"

"Agriculture," she groaned with an acknowledging roll of her eyes.

Finn quickly shot her a quizzical glance, prominently arching his eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I was."

Finn chuckled. "I would ask why, but I would hate to insult you having only known you for less than two minutes. For all I know, you could very much be a farmer."

"Trust me, I would hardly classify it to be an insult," she affirmed, turning sideways just a bit to angle her way through the crowd down the main hallway.

"Well, good luck with Solo as your teacher," Finn stated matter-of-factly. Unlike Rey, he shoved his way through the growing swell of bodies, indifferent as to who he was bumping shoulders with. "I've heard he's been known to even make the linebackers cry."

Rey couldn't stifle the overly dramatic whimper from her lips. "That's what I was afraid of. So, I guess there will be no sleeping with my head down in that class?"

"I wouldn't if I were you."

She sighed at that. Fucking go figure. "What class do you have?"

"World History with Holdo," he mumbled out.

"Oh, I had her for second period! You already have homework," she affirmed with a goading smirk.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less," Finn stated, pausing before the threshold of the ascending stairwell to the building's second floor. "Anyways, if I remember correctly from those that have had Solo's lunch schedule, we might have lunch together. I can introduce you to the rest of my group of friends then."

"That would be great," she stated with an appreciative smile. "I'll see you then!"

"Awesome!" Finn replied with a grin. "I'll see you later, Rey."

They parted abruptly to go their separate ways. Finn's class was located down a shorter corridor perpendicular to the main hallway.

Of course, Agriculture had to be the classroom that was stationed within the furthest remote regions of the school's main floor. It was one of those dimly-lit halls that appeared to be mostly vacant half the time in a sector where she expected to see a tumbleweed roll across the tile flooring with soft and eerie music playing in the background.

She took a needed glance at the class schedule in her hand to confirm the room number that hung off to the side of the door: 501-B. She took a breath before allowing her head to peek hesitantly inside the designated classroom.

It definitely came to her as no surprise that the room was virtually empty of students with only a minute remaining of the current passing period before the bell would ring, marking the beginning of classes. Other than the lone occupant that was squeezed into a ridiculously small seat (for his size) of a desk at the forefront of the rows with his head lowered facing a book on the desk top, she was even more surprised to not see a teacher in sight.

Good, maybe he's off checking the Farmer's Only website.

Rey leisurely passed over the classroom's threshold with hesitant steps, remaining quiet so as not to disturb the student that appeared to be too heavily engrossed within the book that he was reading to notice her presence.

She acknowledged the cold chill from the air conditioning kicking on with a noticeable shudder that traveled up her back and over her shoulders whilst attempting to take in her newfound surroundings. The white walls were surprisingly well-decorated with pictures of vivid sunsets glazing over fields of gold: some had barns, naturally, in the background while others had short phrases which offered words of wisdom over corn fields with bright blue skies.

Not bad for a teacher that's rumored to be so dreadful.

Rey didn't realize that she had been at a standstill just before the teacher's desk at the center front of the room, gawking at the pictures that only appeared to be more enhanced with the late morning sun's rays shining through the half-drawn shades before the low voice jerked her awake from the trance-like state.

"You're early."

Her shoulders twitched embarrassingly with a short gasp as she hadn't expected the room's only occupant to speak. She turned her head just slightly from the wall that she had been focused upon to meet the intense dark eyes that were partially hidden behind narrow, black-framed glasses.

The prominently distinct features of his face were framed by layers of obsidian locks. A black and red checkered, button-up shirt clung tightly to his excessively broad shoulders and biceps. Four clasps that remained unbuttoned at the top around his shirt collar allowed the hem of the white t-shirt to peek out from underneath. Its long sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows.

She allowed her eyes to trail lower to notice the dark jeans that clung snuggly to his muscular legs; which were hilariously too long as he had to keep them outstretched under the desk and crossed at the ankles. Becoming too engrossed within his appearance, she failed to notice that he had been doing the same to her.

Oh God, he's fucking gorgeous!

When her eyes finally met his once again, she couldn't help noticing that he looked to be older than the average student. But then, Rey had always been one that was mistaken to be in her mid-twenties by those that didn't know any better. She estimated him to at least be a senior – at least she hoped. It would certainly make the days of talking dirty about corn and soy beans go a lot smoother.

"Yeah, um –" She laughed a little nervously as she stumbled over her words whilst moving to claim the seat next to his. "Am I not supposed to be or something?"

He shrugged his shoulders with indifference while his elbows easily reached beyond the desk's edges with his hands lightly clasped together over the content that he was reading: hands that appeared to be larger than any she had ever seen on the average high school kid.

Rey began to imagine in her mind what those hands could to do her. Maybe he wouldn't be opposed to sneaking out sometime during class? She may have been a virgin, but it never hindered her mind from wandering off with explicit thoughts at times.

"Typically, nobody ever shows up early to Ag class," he finally spoke. "You must be pretty anxious to begin."

She laughed at the lighthearted mocking as she tucked a chunk of auburn hair behind her ear, feeling herself become surprisingly more comfortable in his presence. "Yeah, well, I guess I better not get too used to it. From what I hear, the teacher is a real prick."

His brows perked up in surprise. She began to wonder if she had inadvertently insulted him in some way before he finally smirked with an added chuckle. "So I've heard," he finally admitted as his eyes flickered lightly over her face.

The intensity that initially lingered in his eyes began to soften. "What's your name?"

The corners of her mouth twitched into a smile that acknowledged the slight flutter in her chest. Catching her bottom lip between her top front teeth, Rey felt a subtle blush creep over her cheeks. "I'm Rey, and you?"

He considered her momentarily with a knowing look on his face before the chattering herd of students flocked their way into the classroom, causing him to break their staredown and slide out of his seat with the book that he'd been reading in hand.

Rey scoffed at his abrupt departure. Had she said something wrong? She was certain that it hadn't been the case as she had only asked for his name, but then who knew with boys nowadays.

She blinked away from the self-proclaimed cowboy that slid into the seat where her former companion in conversation had once been, not realizing that she had remained staring at the empty seat with a puzzled expression on her face. Her nose scrunched up at the staggering smell of manure that appeared to be reeking from the dried brown substance on the soles of his cowboy boots that made her upper lip curl in disgust.

Not realizing that she had still been clinging to her trapper-keeper, she turned her attention to settling it on her desk with a disgruntled sigh and focused on its seemingly better light blue appearance than the filth on the bottom of the boy's shoes.

"Anyone else smell that?" a girl asked no one in particular from her seat directly behind Rey's.

"So, funny story..." the self-proclaimed cowboy next to Rey began to say in apparent defense before he was abruptly cut off mid-sentence at the sound of the final bell.

Silence immediately followed as everyone focused their attention on the man standing in the front and center of the classroom.

"What's up, Mr. Solo?" spoke another male student that was sitting at the opposite end of the room.

Rey looked up to see the same dark eyes boring intently into hers as he took a haphazard seat on the teacher's desk so that his long legs were now dangling slightly over the edge. The book with the unforeseen title that he held before was no longer in his hands as they were now tightly gripping the desk's edge.

Her lips went slightly agape as he smiled at her coyly, but his former reserved demeanor quickly grew serious as he broke their gaze to direct his attention toward addressing the rest of the class.

"Listen up! We've got a lot to cover today, so let's try to make this less miserable for everyone."

Rey instantly felt the color drain from her cheeks.

Oh shit...