As soon as my eyes flicker open, I know I'm late for school.

There are three distinguishable things:

1. I can hear Fitz bustling around the kitchen, getting breakfast. If I had woken up at the right time, he would be brushing, or maybe even humming some cheesy song in the shower.

2. Golden rays of light are beaming right down onto my face, making my eyes hurt like someone had pierced them. If I had woken up at the right time, it would still be dark.

3. My alarm clock is going off like crazy. I had slept through the beeping, somehow. If I hadn't pulled an all-nighter, I would have woken up at the right time.

These factors make it impossible for me to get to Foxfire on time and keep up my spotless reputation. It may not seem like it, but being a Vacker has it's cons. One of them is the pressure.

That's why I go straight to the MintyFresh Mouthwash without brushing. I trade breakfast for a shower, even though I know that I could gain weight from that choice. But again, my reputation is on the verge of being tarnished. I can't stink. I've got only 13 minutes till' school starts and my makeup isn't half finished. But Fitz is calling me. I have to go.

Bye-bye, spotless reputation.

  **

8:00. On time.

Thankfully, Fitz managed to get us to school on time. He's a fast driver. If I had my license, I would go far slower, but in this case, it came in handy.

With our dark brown hair and teal eyes, a lot of people call me and Fitz similar. But while our appearance does have the same features, there's a lot about us that's different. And not just with me missing Fitz's weird accent.

I think about this a lot, for some reason, but now there's no time. I hop out of the car, "Thanks, Fitz."

"Of course, Bee,"  Fitz smiles, and I grin back at the use of my old nickname. A lot of people despise Fitz, and I will say that sometimes I do too, but when it comes to being a brother, overall Fitz is  pretty great. Especially compared to my brother Alvar.

Trying to distract myself from that thought, I nudge Fitz as our friends, who were milling around the school parking lot, get closer. Sophie's almost stumbling. If you ever meet Sophie Foster, you can always tell. She's the sleep deprived one.

"Hey," I say, studying her. "How many hours of sleep did you get last night?"

She holds up a finger. "One".

I nod. "I got three."

The others start to join us as we head to our classes. One night, extremely bored, having finished all my homework (crazy, right?)I made a report of my friends. Here it is:

Sophie Foster: Tries (and fails) to pretend like everything is fine when it's a mess and she's actually making it more dramatic. Gets 1% of sleep each night but somehow gets the best grades and is oblivious to the boys who chase her. Which is practically everyone. Oh, and she's my brother's ex-girlfriend!

Keefe Sencen: Artist, #1 Bad Boy and proud founder of Sophie Foster Fan Club. Is madly in love with Sophie, who is oblivious. Snarky, has a permanent smirk, and thinks his hair is the best thing since sliced bread. I liked him once, but he didn't really care. I don't too, anymore.

Dex Dizznee: Tech geek, redhead, and cinnamon roll. We never talked before, which is all my fault. But we're closer now, and he's one of my best friends. He's also Sophie's cousin, and is surprisingly funny, but super sweet too. As for the tech-part, he's a huge nerd, but a nice one.

Marella Redek: Bold, sharp, snarky, but surprisingly good-hearted. If she likes you, that is. Obsessed with airheads (A/N: Since it's human I replaced flavored air ;D) Careless, doesn't think about consequences, and is never really appreciated. Which is why I made an effort to be kind to her this year. She didn't really like me at first, but we're good friends now.

Fitz Vacker: My brother. Has a British/Australian accent even though our parents and us were born in America. Popular, handsome (ew), smart, and has "gorgeous" teal eyes (nobody notices that I have them too). He's a year older then me, but still has a stuffed animal. Which is sparkly. Named Mr. Snuggles. He dated Sophie once but they broke up on friendly terms.

I can only remember the Sophie and Fitz part right now, I'm so tired. Marella notices.

"Three hours is right. You look terrible." She frowns at me.

"Thanks a lot," I joke, but deep down I'm anxious. I haven't done my History homework. I'm probably going to fail, thanks to my idiot brain. For some reason, it just isn't working these days.

I head to my locker with Fitz. Since we're siblings, ours are right next to each other. The lockers are split in half, and the one below mine is empty. But not today.

I'm opening my locker door, when a boy comes and awkwardly tries to open the one below. "Um, you need some help?"

Still fiddling with his lock, he replies, "I don't know. I was assigned this locker, but it doesn't seem to--whoa..."

He looks up at me. A year ago, I would think that look was normal. Now, nobody really looks at me that way. But, I realize now, I like it.

The boy's face is turned towards me now, and I study him. He has pale blue eyes - like the sky right now - with silver flecks, framed with jet black eyelashes that match his hair, which is embellished with silver tipped-bangs. You're creepy, I tell myself. And it's true. Why do I inspect people so closely?

The boy blushes, and I try not to smile as I hold my hand out. "Hi, I'm Biana Vacker. Who are you?"

"I'm Tam. Just Tam. I'm new here." He shakes my hand and then drops it quickly before like it's a dead fish or something. Is it sweaty?  I wonder, before I realize I don't actually care.

"That locker hasn't been open for years." I say, trying to make conversation. "You should probably ask the janitor for help."

"Yeah," Tam says, with a smile. I'm almost taken aback how much the smile changes his face. He looks so much friendlier--and a bit cute, too, I'll admit, especially with his dimples. "I should."

"So," I say brightly. "I'll see you around then, hopefully?"

He nods as he tugs on his hoodie and disappears into the crowd of kids.

**

As Fitz and I go to our second class together--which is different, given our age difference--he turns to me. "What's your next class?"

Great. It's History.

"It's History," I reply sweetly, and Fitz sucks in his breath.

"Oof. Tough luck. Ms. Ceah is hard unless you're one of her favorites".

Which I'm not. Thanks for making me feel better, Fitz.

But I still wave bye to him as I walk to History to face my failure. This is going to be a long day, I think, sitting down at my desk, where Ms. Ceah is already collecting homework. And who happens to have the usually empty desk next to mine?

Just Tam, apparently.

He smiles at me again, and I try my best to return it. But mine keeps drooping in anxiety, especially as Ms. Ceah comes to my desk. "Homework?" She asks, sharply. I breathe in.

"Um, I don't have it."

She gives me a death glare. "Detention. Unless you want a zero."

Wow, I think, as she moves to the next person. Detention. Just what I need for my reputation.

Tam bites his lip when she asks him. "I'm new here," he says, his voice just above a whisper.

Ms. Ceah nods at him, too. "There's a lot of catching up you need to do." - she waves her hand at me and him - "You two. Detention. 3:15 sharp. My class."

As she pounces on the next homework victim, Tam grins at me. This time, I return it.

Maybe detention won't be so bad, after all.

Author's Note: Whoa, this is really coming along now! The next chapter will be Tam...I hope you like it. Also, the next chapter will include Linh, which I am sUpEr excited about because Linh is my **favorite** character. Yay!!

Fanta

Edits: So, um  yeah, I did some editing, because BIANA VACKER DOESN'T STUTTER. Trust me, though, I've got a plan for Tiana *insert evil laugh here*