One thing my Uncle learned very quickly when I moved in with him was that I needed to sing myself awake in the morning.

                "I just keep biting my tongue 'til all you want is done, alright, and you just wanna leave me!" I sang as I washed the shampoo out of my hair.

                There was a banging on the bathroom door. "Hey, rock star, do you want bagel?"

                "Yes," I called back. "Should I sing louder so you can hear me from the kitchen?"

                "Please spare my poor ears," Brian said.

                I laughed to myself and finished showering, getting out and drying myself off. I pulled on clean clothes and headed downstairs, where Brian was just buttering our bagels.

                "Here," he said, sliding one to me and checking the time. "I've got to get going soon. You're on your own for dinner again. I won't be home until late tonight."

                "Good, then I'll have the house to myself to practice my singing," I said.

                "The new rule is that you can only sing when I'm not home," Brian said, biting into his bagel.

                "I'm a young man with hopeful dreams. I need encouragement and enthusiasm from my family," I said.

                "And I need some peace and quiet in my house." Brian hurriedly ate his bagel and got up, mouth still full of his last bites. "Gotta go."

                "Bye," I said, watching as he left the house. I finished up my bagel and grabbed my school stuff.

                I left the house, getting in my car and driving myself down to Braxton. I'd figured out by now what time I had to get here to secure a good parking spot without risking too much free time for people like Drew to find me.

                I parked the car and got out, heading into the school. I found a safe place to hide and took out my phone, checking my email.

                I didn't have anything knew from my advisor or from the teacher advisor for the Social Action Club. Maybe she hadn't gotten a chance to meet with the teacher advisor yet?

                Not that it really mattered. I tucked my phone back in my pocket, reminding myself to just be patient. If it took a few days or even a week to get me into the club, at that was fine.

                Still, it'd be nice to have something to do afterschool. I hated going back to Brian's house and just sitting around alone for the rest of the day.

                "Hiding?"

                I jumped in surprise, spinning around with my hands up. "I have the power of god and anime on my side. Step back."

                The boy in front of me raised an eyebrow. "Someone has been on the internet too much."

                "Sorry, Henry. You know I get jumpy with Drew and his friends around," I said, dropping my hands. "I'm just trying to survive until the standings are out and he realizes I'm not an academic threat."

                Henry was another kid I talked to around school. Not a friend, but someone I felt comfortable hanging out with in the hallways.

                "Drew will never be top of the class anyways," Henry said. "You better get running, though. He'll come through this way if he's walking with his friends to their lockers."

                "Thanks for the warning. I'm off to go hide like the brave soul I am," I said, scurrying away and down a different hallway.

                I took a seat on a bench, keeping an eye out for Drew or any of the other far too aggressive students at this school. This is why I needed a club though; I'd hopefully make some friends that I could hang out with in the mornings. Right now, I was the new kid with no good friends to keep me safe. I was easy to go after.

                I took out my phone again and checked my emails, wondering why I was even bothering. There wouldn't be a new-

                "Email," I said in surprise.

                I tapped on the email. It was from someone named Daniel Bishopp, and the subject was Social Action Club.

                My eyes rapidly scanned the email and widened a little. Well, that certainly happened faster than I thought it would.

                Mr. Bishopp said he was the teacher advisor for the club and that, after talking with Mrs. Parisio, he had agreed to sign me into the club as a member. He said they were holding a meeting today afterschool and sent me the room number they met in. I'd be introduced to him and the members at the meeting, and they'd catch me up on everything.

                I felt my mood brighten. I liked to be around people, so it'd be nice to have something to do outside of school. Plus, volunteer work made me feel good.  And it certainly never hurt to have volunteer work on a college application.

                This news lifted my spirits and I wouldn't even mind if Drew shoved me into the lockers today. I might actually have friends soon. I'd finally get to meet people and do things outside of school. How could I not be excited?

                I hid out until the bell rang, hurrying my way to class. Once I was in class, I was usually safe from any lingering bullies.

                I didn't let anything get to my mood the rest of the day. I wouldn't be in a bad mood when I met new people today.

                Not even the mountain of homework I got assigned, or the carton of milk Drew chucked at my head, or the three tests that got announced put me down. The way I saw it, the homework would give me something to do at home, Drew gave me a free carton of milk, and the tests meant three less lectures I had to endure those days.

                By the end of the day, I'd managed to keep my spirits high. I gave a cheerful goodbye to the kids from class and gathered what I needed out of my locker.

                After checking the email again, I started down the halls to get to the room the meeting was held in. Braxton High School was a private school for freshman through seniors, and the classroom the Social Action Club met in was down the junior hallway.

                The room was nearly at the end of the hallway, but I managed to find it. I took a deep breath before pushing the door open and stepping into the room.

                I wasn't quite sure what I expected to see, but it certainly wasn't the sight in front of me.

                A boy stood on a desk, his tie wrapped around his forehead, his shirt unbuttoned down his chest, and swinging his blazer around his head. "Like it's Las fucking Vegas!"

                "For the last time, we are NOT doing a strip show as a fundraiser," a girl said impatiently. "Put your clothes back on."

                The boy threw his blazer at her. "That one's for you, little lady."

                The girl swatted his blazer to the floor. "You're lucky I don't wrap that tie around your neck and strangle you to death with it."

                Another boy was typing at one of the computers in the back of the room. "Too incriminating. Take him out on a boat, get him drunk, push him in, let him drown, sob to the authorities about the tragic accident that ended his life."

                "You've given this way too much thought," the boy on the desk said. "I think I've been threatened. Do you think I've been threatened, Nyssa? I think we should let his technology take a little swim to test the waters."

                "Waterproof case, because I'm not a peasant like you," the computer guy said, holding up his phone without even looking away from the screen.

                "Put your clothes back on. We have a straggler," the girl said, tossing the blazer back to the boy on the desk. "Who are you?"

                "Who are you and did you enjoy the show?" the boy said, pulling his blazer on and buttoning up his shirt.

                "I'm Nolan, and I'm a bit disturbed," I said, stepping into the room. "I thought this was the Social Action Club, but maybe I ended up in the Stripping Action Club instead."

                "Is this about the fundraiser? The flyers have the club's email on them. Just send us an email about it," the girl said.

                "Oh- no. I'm the new member," I said.

                "New member?" The boy on the desk furrowed his brow. "That's impossible. Isn't that impossible?"

                "That's impossible," the girl confirmed.

                "What's impossible?"

                The new voice came from behind me and I turned to see another boy entering the room. He eyed me curiously.

                "Fundraiser? The flyers have our email," he said.

                "So I've been informed," I said. "I've also been informed it's impossible that I'm a new member."

                He looked as confused as the others. "Because that is impossible. We're not open to new members. We're a five man show."

                "Four man show," the boy on the desk said. "Don't be inconsiderate to my sister, Tyson."

                "Four man and one woman show," Tyson amended. "Either way, the last time I checked, five doesn't equal six."

                "I'm not the best at math, but I'd say that sounds about right," I agreed. "Still, I have an email from Mr. Bishopp confirming I'm a member now."

                "Bishopp?" Tyson said, narrowing his eyes.

                "Uh-oh. Drama time. I think Tyson is about to make Bishopp a target," the boy on the desks said.

                "Shut up," the girl said, throwing a notebook at him. "And will you get off the desk already?"

                "I can sense the tension from down the hall," a boy said, entering the room. "Who's this?"

                "Our new member, according to Bishopp," Tyson said.

                "I'm...not quite sure I heard that right?" the boy said.

                "None of us are," Tyson said. "Everyone take a seat until Bishopp gets here."

                They all obeyed, the kid in the back even getting off the computer to join them. I sat down, trying to keep my hopes up. This wasn't exactly what I had been expecting.

                Every head turned to the door with a mixture of accusation and curiosity as a young teacher walked in. He noticed them and then his eyes slid to me. He bit his lip and forced a smile.

                "I see you all met our new member," he said.

                "Five does not equal six, Bishopp," Tyson said, drumming his fingers on the desk slowly.

                "We'll talk after the meeting, Ty," Bishopp said. "Everyone, circle up."

                They began rearranging their desks into a circle, and I hurried to copy them. When we were done, Bishopp took a seat to join us.

                "I'm Mr. Bishopp, I'm the teacher advisor for the Social Action Club," he said, holding his hand out to me. "I apologize we couldn't meet before this."

                I shook his head. "I'm guessing this whole decision was a little sudden and unusual."

                "It was," Bishopp said, nodding. "Why don't you tell us your name, and we'll introduce ourselves?"

                "I'm Nolan Fletcher, I'm mildly uncomfortable, and I'm still wondering why I walked in on someone stripping," I said.

                "Oh, I guess I should start off then! I'm Talon Zigor, I make people mildly uncomfortable, and I was helping us come up with new fundraising tactics," the desk boy said.

                Bishopp groaned. "Talon, for the last time, we are not holding a strip show to raise money. Alright, you know what? Just don't talk for the rest of this. Next."

                The girl next to Talon punched him when he opened his mouth and he winced. "I'm Nyssa Zigor and any money made off a strip show fundraiser would go directly to me as payment for putting up with Talon my whole life."

                "Farren Corr," the boy next to her introduced with a smile.

                "That smile? Don't ever trust it," Talon warned me.

                "You're banned from talking," Nyssa reminded, pinching him even harder.

                "Ow, oh my lord woman! Cut that out!" Talon said, shoving her hand off. "Bishopp, I'd like to report abuse."

                "Denied. Next," Bishopp said.

                The computer guy looked up from his phone. "Connor Scully."

                "And the best for last," Tyson said. "I'm Tyson Strazio, president of this club that you're somehow a part of."

                "Look, we have a new member, so we'll have to adapt to that, alright?" Bishopp said. "Don't worry too much. We'll figure it out."

                Was it really so overwhelming to have a sixth member? Mrs. Parisio made it sound like I was going to be making their workload easier, but they were acting like I'd just made everything a bunch harder.

                "So how do we conduct our meeting with this sixth member here?" Connor asked.

                "Very carefully," Talon said.

                "Enough," Tyson said. "Fundraising business. Nolan, right? We're having a bake sale in a few days and we're trying to get everything together for it. Who has donations to the bake sale?"

                "My dad said he'll ask at the station and see if anyone or their spouses want to donate baked goods," Farren said.

                "Our grandma said she'll donate," Nyssa said.

                "Old people baked goods are legit," Talon said. "I'll ask granny if she can get her senior friends to whip up some cookies or whatever."

                "Just get me a list of everyone donating by tomorrow. All baked goods are due by Friday, and we hold the sale on Saturday," Tyson said. "Nolan, if you know anyone who would be willing to bake goods for the sale, we'll email you the instructions."

                I doubted Uncle Brian even knew how to bake. "Uh...I could try baking something? I can't promise it'll be edible."

                "We're not trying to give anyone food poisoning. This isn't a time to experiment," Tyson said. "Con, the raffle prize?"

                "Secured. It's in my house," Connor said.

                "Farren, volunteers?" Tyson said.

                "Secured. I'll send you the list tonight," Farren said.

                "Bishopp, venue?" Tyson said.

                "Secured. We'll be able to set up two hours before the start of the sale, and we'll have the venue for a few hours. You and I can figure out the schedule later," Bishopp said.

                "Nolan, Saturday is our bake sale fundraiser. The money is going to help hurricane victims. Once Bishopp and I have the schedule, I'll email it to everyone along with instructions of when to show up. Since you're new, you can work the raffle with Farren," Tyson said.

                "Sure," I said. I didn't see how these guys really needed any help. They seemed pretty organized.

                "Do you have reliable transportation?" Bishopp asked me.

                "Unless Drew Pawlikowski cut my brake lines, I have a pretty reliable car," I said.

                "Ah, that prick," Talon said fondly.

                "Um...did your bag just move?" I asked Connor. I could've sworn I saw his bag shifting out of the corner of my eye.

                Tyson and Bishopp both shot Connor a look. Connor gently nudged his bag behind his chair.

                "It's a long day," he said defensively.

                "You know what? I didn't hear anything, I didn't see anything, I don't know anything," Bishopp said.

                "A solid policy you like to rely on," Talon said.

                "How often do you guys meet?" I asked.

                "Whenever we have something to talk about," Tyson said.

                "Nolan, give me your number. I'll have Tyson add you to the group chat so you'll know when meetings are going to happen," Bishopp said.

                I wrote my number on a piece of paper and tore it off, handing it to Bishopp. He passed it along to Tyson, who shoved it in his pocket without even looking at it.

                "This was just a brief meeting. I'm calling it for now. We'll meet again tomorrow afterschool and I expect everyone to have their jobs done and reports ready," Tyson said. "Bishopp, with me. We need to have a little chat."

                Bishopp stood up. "Nice to meet you Nolan. I'll see everyone here tomorrow."

                "This was a waste of time," Connor said impatiently. "We could've just done this all tomorrow and not bothered meeting today."

                "Quit complaining and go take your backpack home. It's crawling towards the door," Nyssa said.

                Connor picked up his bag, cradling it in his arms. He got up and left the room without another word to the others.

                "Well, I'm out. This has been quite a day," Farren said, glancing at me. "Good to meet you."

                "Yea, it was nice to meet all of you," I said, trying to sound sincere despite how confused I still was. Why did they all act like it was so bad I was here?

                "Let's go harass grandma into getting the whole senior center to bake," Talon said, nudging Nyssa.

                "I hope grandma stabs you with her cane," Nyssa said. "If you start stripping to convince the seniors to bake, I'll snap your neck myself."

                "You are so aggressive," Talon said with a sigh, following her out of the room, Farren taking his leave after them.

                "Thanks for letting me join," I said to Tyson and Bishopp, standing up. I slung my bag over my shoulder and they followed me to the door. But instead of leaving, Tyson shut the door the moment I stepped out.

                I looked around, but the others had gone out the side door at the end of the hallway, leaving me alone here. I knew it was bad, but I was too curious about their behavior towards me.

                So I crouched next to the door and pressed my ear against it, listening hard.

                "-can't have new members!" Tyson was saying.

                "I didn't have a choice, Tyson. Mrs. Parisio said if I didn't let Nolan join, she'd take it to the principal. I doubt you want him getting involved," Bishopp said.

                "Why was she so insistent on Nolan joining?" Tyson demanded.

                "I don't know. I told her there were other clubs for him to join, but she said this was a good place for him. I told her this is the only exception we'll make. Just play it cool for a bit. This doesn't change anything. We're still a club dedicated to social action," Bishopp said.

                "I'll get Connor and Farren on it. What a pain," Tyson said impatiently.

                I could hear them shuffling around the room now, so I got up and hurried out of the hallway. I didn't need them to catch me eavesdropping and piss them off anymore.

                I left the school, heading down to the parking lot and getting in my car. I started it up but didn't back out of the parking lot just yet.

                What the hell was going on? Why did they all seem so shocked and annoyed that I'd joined their group?

                I let out a sigh, finally backing out of the parking lot. So much for making friends and lifting my spirits.

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A.N.- Thanks for the feedback on the first chapter everyone! Let me know what you think of the new characters!