"Ms. Rockwell, what is the answer to this equation?"

Fuck you, Ms. O'Harra.

I stood up timidly from my seat and picked up my notebook, flipping through the pages before realization hits me like a flash of lightning.

I didn't do my homework.

Turning my attention back to Ms. O'Harra, I gave her a forced smile.

"Uhh..." I blushed in embarrassment when a few students snickered at my idiocy.

Well, excuse me for being not-so-smart unlike all of you.

She frowned in disappointment before gesturing me to take a seat.

"Well, may I call on Ms. Gabehart to answer the equation then?" Glancing to my right, I could see Meredith letting out a sigh, looking bothered as she stood up with a bored expression.

"The final answer is x= π/4 + 2πn,
x = 3π/4 + 2πn, x = 5π/4 + 2πn, and
x = 7π/4 + 2πn." She said bluntly without looking at her notebook. Ms. O'Harra clasped her hands together in delight.

"Correct! You may now take your seat, Ms. Gabehart." I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

An extraordinary genius yet cold-hearted. What a contradicting combination.

Lunch rolled by a few hours later and I was feeling pumped up as I made my way towards the campus area. Soren gave me a call early in the morning before I left for school, saying that he wanted to meet up at lunch period. Walking aimlessly around the water fountain area, I caught a glimpse of red hair behind a nearby tree. I jogged up to him.

"Soren!" I called his attention. My brother looked behind him and grinned widely upon seeing me.

"Hey, sis! It's been so long!" He gave me a small wave. He was sporting a red and white varsity jacket with a white shirt underneath, blue denim jeans and a pair of black sneakers.

"Well, duh! You were in Singapore for like a month! Anyway, how was your tournament?" Soren shrugged his shoulders casually.

"Placed as champions as usual. How about you? How's Rosewood so far?" I huffed, crossing my arms.

"I hate this place. Being surrounded by genius prodigies and popular jocks makes me want to puke." He chuckled.

"Well, try not getting involved with them. Those kinds of people tend to be intimidating and have high self-esteem."

"Right. And yet I have a clever but cold-hearted roommate." Soren raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Seriously?"

"You're damn right. She always gives me the cold shoulder and whenever I'd try to start a conversation, she wouldn't acknowledge it!" I exclaimed.

"That's really troublesome. Dealing with people like that can be complicated." I nodded in agreement.

We sat on a bench near the water fountain as we continued to chat throughout the lunch period. Soren mentioned that he'll be quitting his current soccer team to join Rosewood's team which made me feel saddened by the news. Knowing Soren has been with his team since first grade, bidding farewell to them wasn't that easy.

"Have you met your roommate yet?"I asked.

"Yeah, he was really nice. He told me that he liked acting and has been a member of drama club since freshman. He dreamed of becoming a professional actor one day."

"That's amazing! Good luck for him!"

"Man, he even recited a monologue of Macbeth from Shakespeare and god, it was so hilarious and I didn't even understand his lines because it's full of Shakespearean terms!" He said as he rubbed his temples in disbelief. I burst out laughing.

"Oh, wow. Mind showing me an example?" I teased. Soren groaned as he stood up then faced me.

"You better not tell anyone." He warned before clearing his throat.

"Is this a dagger which I see before me? The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee! I have thee not, and yet I see thee still." He recited, making exaggerated hand movements as he also attempted to make his voice sound deeper. I laughed harder.

"Oh my god! My stomach hurts! You should join the drama club, Soren! For sure they'll let you do a comedic monologue." I joked. He glared as his cheeks turned red that matched his hair.

"Very funny, sis."

English class has gotten me pretty excited. Greek mythology was one of the stories I've read since I was little and I'm pretty much a big fan. Ms. Sanders was currently discussing about an ancient Greek epic poem which is The Iliad, specifically about the Trojan War.

"The war was between the Greek and the Trojan armies, with the Trojan army defending the great city of Troy, led by their king Priam. The Trojans had help from the gods, receiving assistance during the battle from Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares, and Leto. Now on the Greeks' side, the army was led by King Agamemnon. The Greeks were aided by several Olympian gods which were Athena, Hera, Hermes, and Poseidon."

Smiling like a complete idiot, I eagerly jotted down notes while highlighting a few key terms on the long excerpt hand out given to us. I could tell that most of the students favored the Greeks since they were making 'oohh' and 'ahh' sounds whenever they'd eliminate one of the Trojan soldiers, especially when the oh-so-famous hero, Achilles would be mentioned.

Although in my case, I favored the Trojan army as I grew fond of Hector, King Priam's son. If someone were to ask me who is more heroic between Achilles and Hector, that would be Hector. Compared to Achilles' narcissistic and arrogant personality which led to his best friend's death, Hector leads with a mature sense that gives his men a reason to respect him.

"Alright, we'll stop at this point since I still need to discuss your performance task." Ms. Sanders then flashed the next slide of her power point, showing a rubric table on the screen.

"For your first performance task, you'll be writing a narrative essay of your favorite scene in The Iliad. I'll be grading your paper according to its content, grammar, accuracy, and its organization. Deadline will be on monday next week." I grinned.

Finally. Something that I'm good at.

I've never been so terrified upon a teacher's appearance before. I mean, sure I get terrified with a teacher that has a strict and intimidating demeanor but this is a whole different story. The moment our Foreign Language teacher enters the classroom, I almost peed my pants. A tall, lanky figure, long jet black hair that reached up until her waist, big, round, onyx eyes and I swear they're about to pop out of their sockets by any minute. Lastly was her wrinkled features. I felt goosebumps creeping onto my arms when she smiled at the class, showcasing her yellowish teeth. She's undeniably a definition of a witch.

"Buenas tardes, clase! I'm Ms. Lozada and I'll be your Spanish teacher." I fought the urge to groan out loud. I've never even studied Spanish during my homeschool years since I never thought about giving it a try.

Oh well. Shit's about to go down.

Ms. Lozada flashed her power point presentation, a set of 3-digit and 2-digit numbers flashed on the screen. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Ciento treinta y cuatro, setenta y ocho, cuarenta y cinco, ochenta y nueve. That's the Spanish translation of the numbers flashed here on the screen. Now, I want you to memorize it before I start calling out random last names." My mouth went agape in shock.

Unbelievable.

I racked my brain for a few moments, trying to recall the Spanish translation of the numbers but nothing came to my mind. I groaned in frustration but kept trying.

Ciento.. Treinta... What's the Spanish word of four again? Uno, dos, tres.. cua--

"Okay! May I call on Ms. Rockwell to recite the Spanish translation?"

You've gotta be kidding me.

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I rose up from my seat nervously.

"Uhh.. C-Ciento.. Treinta.. Cuatro.."

"Y cuatro." Ms. Lozada corrected sternly, raising an eyebrow in annoyance as she stared at me skeptically. I gulped as a few students snickered behind me.

"... S-Setenta---"

"Ms. Rockwell, have you ever studied Spanish before?" She cuts me off in a rather rude manner as she crosses her arms. I shook my head timidly, earning loud gasps from the students.

"I see. You should already know about this especially since Spanish is part of Rosewood's academic curriculum. Take your seat, Ms. Rockwell." She said with a disapproving expression across her wrinkled features. A few students snorted and giggled in a mocking manner as I sat back down, my legs wobbling as I did so. I crossed my arms and glared at Ms. Lozada as she calls another random student.

This is gonna be a death of me.

A stack of textbooks were piled up on my desk as I tapped my pencil against the notebook absentmindedly, my mind floating elsewhere. I've already finished all my homeworks except trigonometry.

"Why the heck is this so hard?" I exclaimed angrily as I stared down blankly at the equation. For the last thirty minutes, I've been having a staring contest with my math notebook. I heard a sigh behind me.

"You still don't get it?" I jolted in surprise upon seeing Meredith standing beside my desk, staring at my blank page notebook in disbelief. I chuckled awkwardly.

"Well, yeah. Math is not really my thing." I admitted shyly. She frowned before sitting down on an empty chair next to me.

"Give me your pencil." She said bluntly. I blinked at her in confusion.

"What for?"

"Just give it to me." She said sternly. Not wanting to anger her, I complied.

"With 2cosx + 1 = 0 as equation, what you need to do first is to transpose the constant to the other side. With 1 transposed, the sign will turn into negative, therefore it will be -1." My brain couldn't process as to what's happening because of the fact that Meredith, my cold-hearted roommate offered to help me out on my trigonometry homework.

"Eyes on the notebook." She said coldly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"R-Right."

"Now you'll need to divide both sides by 2 to eliminate the number in 2cosx. -1 divided by 2 is -1/2 and that's your answer, cosx = -1/2." I nodded thoughtfully, beginning to understand the solving process.

Meredith continues to tutor me in trigonometry, she would often glare at me for being slow-minded but nonetheless, I was grateful of her for helping me out.

"And there you go. The final answer is x = 2π/3 + 2πn, and x = 4π/3 + 2πn." My mouth formed into an 'o' shape as Meredith dropped my pencil on the notebook.

"Wow, I finally get it! Gee, thanks Meredith. I owe you one." I said sincerely and without thinking, I pulled her into a quick hug. I felt her tense slightly in my embrace before I pulled away, grinning widely.

"You should teach me trigonometry more often. You're a way better teacher than Ms. O'Harra." I said and nudged her arm playfully. Meredith was unsure on how to respond to my gestures as she scratched her arm awkwardly, a bashful expression written across her face.

"Y-Yeah."

Suddenly, a loud knocking sound echoed from the door. I glanced at Meredith.

"I'll take that." I said before walking up to the door and opening it slightly.

"Hey there, sis!" Soren greeted with a salute, he was wearing a plain white shirt and some green PJ's, and he was bare footed. I stared at him, bewildered.

"Soren? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted you to visit my dorm and meet my new roommate!" He exclaimed. I checked my watch.

"At this time? Soren, it's already 10 o'clock in the evening."

"Oh, come on. Don't be such a killjoy. It'll only be for a while." He whined as he began pulling on my arm, making me stumble out of the door.

"Okay, fine. Just let me tell my roommate, okay?"

"Oh, you mean your clever but cold-hearted roommate?" He said, creating finger quotes for emphasis. I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up. She'll hear you." I said before going back inside my room to see Meredith twiddling with her fingers awkwardly.

"Hey, I'll be just going to my brother's room for a while." She nodded, still avoiding eye contact. I tilted my head.

Does she still not like it when I talk to her? Man, maybe I shouldn't have went too far earlier, it's not like we're close friends already.

I sighed. "I'll see ya later." I said before shutting the door behind me.

* * * * *

Soren's room was on the second floor so we had to go downstairs. Before entering his room, I glanced at the door briefly, it was designed with cut out paper soccer balls and a few music notes around the peep hole.

"Let me guess, you and your roommate did this." Soren grinned.

"Exactly."

A blonde haired guy was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding up a bunch of papers while reciting something repeatedly.

"Yo, Mason! This is my sister, Ash." Soren introduced as he gently urges me inside the room before shutting the door behind him. The said guy looked up and burst out laughing upon seeing me, I raised an eyebrow at him skeptically.

"Dude, I never knew your sister was the one who screwed up in Spanish class!" He exclaimed between laughter.

"Wait a minute, what?" Soren said, glancing at me with widened eyes.

"Well, excuse me for being dumb in Spanish." I huffed, crossing my arms. Mason raised his hands in front of him in defense.

"Whoa, chill there. I'm not looking for a fight here. I should've known better than to mess with redheads."

"You're damn right. Insult me again and I'll wipe off that pathetic smile on your face." I growled, shooting him an icy glare. Mason seemed unfazed as he doubled over in laughter.

"Holy cow! Your sister's something else, Soren!" My brother sighed as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Jeez, calm down sis. Don't take it too seriously. Mason just seems like a jester type of guy." I sighed and decided to let it go. I sat down on Soren's bed and glanced at the thick pile of papers Mason was holding.

"What's that for?" I asked curiously. Mason stopped laughing and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Oh, I was practicing my lines for an audition at the drama club. I chose Romeo Montague's monologue." This time, it was my turn to burst out laughing.

"You? Playing as Romeo? Sorry but you don't seem like a romanticist to me." I said sarcastically. Mason smirked when I mouthed the word, "Payback time."

"Shall we find out, then?" He said, raising an eyebrow in a challenging manner. I flashed him a competitive smirk.

"I'll be the judge." Mason then cleared his throat, glanced at his papers before taking a deep breath.

"But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon. Who is already sick and pale with grief. That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady, O, it is my love!
O, that she knew she were! She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?" His eyes were filled with longing and love as he gazed from afar, as if he was really in love with Juliet. His voice sounded poetic and soothing and his hand movements were graceful and natural. My jaw dropped.

Man, this guy is good.

Mason then dropped his romantic acting and gazed back at me with a smirk.

"Well?"

I sighed in defeat. "Eleven out of ten. You're really good, way too good. I didn't expect that. You totally blew mind." Mason chuckled.

"Well, thanks for the compliment."

"See? I told you he's good, sis!" Soren added.

"Wait a minute, you told your sister that I'm into acting?" Mason asked.

"Yeah, he did." I answered instead. I extended my arm and offered him a fist bump.

"Good luck on your audition, Mason." I said with a playful smirk. He smirked back as he connected his fist with mine.

"Thanks, Ash."

ʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔʕ•ﻌ•ʔ

A/N: Annndd another chapter has been published! Hope you enjoyed it guys! Look forward to the succeeding chapters 'cause more characters will be introduced!

Word count: 2793