"Remind me again why you've enrolled me at Fortuna Lake High instead of at a regular public school," I tell my mother as she turns her car into a parking lot close to Toronto Union Station – the very parking lot where I'm meant to catch my new bus. Thankfully, we've arrived early enough that she doesn't have to struggle too much for a space.

"For one thing, the opportunities you'll have there," my mother Raven responds, "and for another, it's a chance at a fresh start. I know you're nervous right now, but it's a really good school, Sidney, you'll love it. I promise you."

"I hope you're right," I mumble as she and I exit the vehicle and get my luggage out of the trunk. The bus hasn't arrived yet since it's scheduled to arrive at 5:00 PM and it's only 4:25 now. "Especially since this is a 2-hour and 40-minute long bus ride. Staying up there during weekends is an optional thing, right?"

"Yes, it is," replied Mom, "although I will warn you, spending weekends at home would mean long bus rides every Sunday and Friday."

I grimace. "How about we just keep in touch over Skype?"

She laughs. "Sounds good. And you know I'll come up and visit you when I can, too."

My grimace turns into a smile at those words. "Good, I'm glad. Just because I don't like the idea of all those hours on a bus doesn't mean I don't want to see you."

Since it's a nice day, neither of us has a problem with waiting for the bus outside the car. This also allows me to notice how many other people are arriving to wait for the same one. I can't see who most of them are since they've chosen to stay in their vehicles, but the ones who want to enjoy the warm weather like us are hard to miss, particularly a pale girl with platinum blonde hair meditating in a stretch of grass lining the edge of the parking lot, and a tall, thin boy with dark hair and a rather nervous posture.

Part of me wants to approach one of them, since I figure having someone familiar to talk to on the bus will make the trip more bearable, but I'm honestly pretty nervous myself. Mom was right about this being a fresh start for me and, after how things went down at my old school, that's something I definitely need. I really don't want to make the wrong impression.

Fortunately, before I can start struggling to build up the courage, the platinum-haired girl opens her eyes and almost instantly spots me. It doesn't take her much longer to get to her feet and make her way over to me, either. In fact, it's almost like she's gliding. "Hello, there," she says sweetly, "You must be Sidney. It's good to finally meet you."

"I, er – yeah, I am," I reply, hating the way I stutter a bit when I do, "How'd you know?"

"We heard we'd be getting a new student this year, and when I sensed an unfamiliar aura and looked around, I figured it had to be you," explains the girl. "And don't worry about making the wrong impression. There are lots of wonderful people at Fortuna Lake High who you're bound to get along with."

I raise my eyebrows, a little unnerved by this ability of hers. How the hell is she able to read auras, anyway?

"Anyway," the girl continues, "I can introduce you to a couple of the others if you're interested?"

"Uh, sure," I nod, trying not to show my discomfort, "Yeah, that'd be great. Speaking of introductions, what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Dawn," she says, and takes me by the hand. She leads me directly over to the dark-haired boy I noticed before. He's quick to spot us but is just as quick to avoid eye contact. "Hello, Mike," Dawn greets him, "I'd like you to meet Sidney. She's the new student this year. Sidney, this is Mike."

"Hi," I chime in somewhat awkwardly, not sure what else to say just yet. I swear to God, normally I'm a lot more socially adept than this.

Thankfully Mike saves me from scrambling for too long. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. So, um, have you ever been to Muskoka before?"

"No," I admit, "but I hear it's nice. Not a fan of long bus rides, but I went camping at the Pinery a lot when I was a kid, so at least that part won't be new."

"Fair enough. Hopefully it's a peaceful one today," says Mike, "but considering everyone who's on our bus, you never know."

"Thank God for headphones, then."

"Yeah, no kidding. Oh – hey, Zoey," he adds to a redheaded girl who's just jogged over to us.

"Hey, Mike! Excited for the new year?" she replies, and from the way she's beaming at him, I can tell she's got a major crush.

"I guess so, yeah. I'm honestly just praying it'll go better than last year did," says Mike.

"Oh, trust me, it will." The redhead then spots me. "Oh, hi! You must be the new student. What's your name?"

"Sidney." I hold out my hand for to shake and she gladly accepts.

"Nice to meet you, Sidney," she says. "I'm Zoey."

"So, uh, if you don't mind my asking, what happened last year? Anything I should be concerned about?"

"Oh, no – not at all," Zoey assures me, "Just some drama that's been over and done with for awhile now. It's not really worth getting into at this point, and it wouldn't be my place anyway."

"Ah, fair enough. Didn't mean to pry," I say.

"Nah, totally valid question, Sidney, you're good. Anyway, the three of us and Cameron usually sit at the back of the bus if you want to join us. It's usually quieter there than up front if you can believe it."

I smile and feel some of my earlier nerves dissipate. "I'd love that, Zoey, thanks."

As if on cue, the large white bus arrives, stopping not far from where the four of us are standing. It looks like one of those Greyhound buses with the comfy seats and the little TVs here and there, but the logo on the side reads Coach Canada in big bold letters. Afterretrieving my luggage from the car and saying a final goodbye to my mother, Ijoin the rest of the group in boarding, following them directly to the back. Tomy relief, there is a tiny bathroom in the back corner. Zoey and Mike choosethe pair of seats two rows in front of it, while Dawn invites me to sit withher directly across the aisle from them.

I don't have a whole lot of time to wonder who Cameron is and what he looks like, because he soon joins our little gathering, sitting directly in front of Mike and Zoey. "Hey, guys," he greets us a happily, "and welcome, Sidney, it's great to meet you. Zoey texted me you'd be back here with us. I'm Cameron, but these guys usually call me Cam."

I smile and shake his outstretched hand. "Great to meet you, Cam. So how long have you guys been at Fortuna Lake High for?"

"Since the beginning of grade 9," replies Cam, "I can't lie, it's a good school. Most of the people are pretty nice. I mean, you do have some people to be wary of, but I guess it's like that everywhere."

"Oh, God, tell me about it," I agree, "Be glad none of you were at my old school. It was kind of a shit show a lot of the time."

"Oh? How so?"

"Ehh, just a lot of shady stuff going on, especially if you fell into the wrong crowd...like I did," I mutter the last part. If he hears it, he doesn't comment.

Zoey, sensing the mood shift, pulls out her phone and asks, "Everyone okay if I put some music on? I've been super obsessed with the Life is Strange soundtrack lately and there's this one song I'm dying to listen to again."

I grin. Looks like someone just ID'd my comfort tunes! "Oh, hell yeah, go for it! Life is Strange is the fucking best!"

So, she does so, and the rest of the bus ride consists of us listening to the gorgeous songs, occasionally singing along, and making light, cheerful conversation. I have to admit, hearing 'Crosses' by Jose Gonzalez totally fits with today's events. It's like this fresh start is casting light, replacing the darkness of last year, and telling me I'll be okay now that it's here. In this moment, I feel like I can finally breathe.

The bus ride might be almost 3 hours, but it sure doesn't feel like it by the time we arrive, thanks to how much fun we've been having. Throughout the trip, I catch glimpses of some of the other students, such a Snow White lookalike in a pink floofy dress, a few different guys who look to be jocks, and a tough guy with several piercings and a green mohawk.

I'm full of energy and itching to move around by the time the bus door opens. As I drag my suitcase behind me and struggle to find the bus hall doors, two students almost bowl me over in a race against one another - presumably to those same doors. Because that's what I want on my first day, getting knocked to the ground by two people and all their luggage. Oh, well. At least in a way they're showing me where the doors are.

The students, a boy and a girl, reach the doors just as I round the corner that brings them into my line of sight. The girl, has short, dark blonde hair cut short and looks rather tough – especially since she's the winner of their race.

"Nice try, Brickhouse," the girl tells her opponent, "Sorry you had to lose to a girl."

When I look at the boy, I see he has black hair, specifically a crew cut, and looks to be just as tough as she is. He notices me at the same time and, ignoring the girl's comment, says, "Hey, there. Are you new here?"

I nod. "That obvious, huh?"

"A little," he admitted, "You look a bit lost, is all. I'm Brick," he added.

"Sidney," I reply, accepting the handshake he offers. There'sbeen a lot of that going on today. I turn to address the girl. "And you are?"

"Jo," she replies flatly before turning and heading inside. "See you around, Brick-for-Brains."

Huh. Someone's in a mood.

Brick smiles apologetically. "Don't mind her," he tells me, "she's always like that, try not to take it too personally."

I shrug. "It's cool, I've dealt with worse. She seems competitive more than anything else."

"Oh, she is. Sometimes to a fault, I'll admit, but she's fun to race with."

Okay, so it looks like Zoey's not the only one with a crush.

"Greetings, Heather," Brick addresses the gorgeous black-haired girl approaching the doors.

"Oh, great, a new kid," she says sarcastically upon seeing me. She's completely ignoring Brick. "Name?"

"Sidney," I say yet again, this time a little defensively.

"Whatever. I'm going inside. Don't follow me." And she heads inside without another word.

Well, then.

Luckily, Zoey and the others choose that moment to catch up to me. "Hey, so where do I go from here?" I ask. "Do I sign up for a roommate, or...?"

"We don't know our roommates for this year yet, but we're about to find out. We have an assembly in the auditorium first, though," says Zoey. "Speaking of, we should get going. Brick, you want to walk with me and Mike?" Mike walks over just as she says this.

"Yes, Ma'am," says Brick, saluting her. The three of them walk inside with everyone else. Dawn gives me a friendly smile as she passes me.

"Mind if I tag along?" I ask, "I don't really know my way there yet, so..."

"Of course!" Zoey smiles back, and the four of us begin walking, leaving our things in the bus hall as instructed. When we get to the auditorium, I sit in the fifth row next to Brick and Zoey. Mike is on Zoey's right, and next to him is a girl with a can of strong-smelling hairspray. On Zoey's left are Brick and I, with me at the end. A short, curly-haired boy with a DSi and a blonde who looks like an aspiring supermodel are sitting together in the row in front of us along with some of the other kids from the bus. Several more people from the bus are seated in the row directly behind us as well. I'm betting I'll get to learn more about them once we get into the residence, I think to myself as the principal steps up to the microphone positioned at the front of the room.

"Good afternoon, everyone," the principal begins. "We would like to start off by welcoming all of you back. I hope you all had a wonderful summer, and that you're all ready to begin the new school year. To start off, we have a few announcements. Firstly, you will all be given your locker keys after the assembly, and you will also be told your locker number. And if you forget the number, you can also find it engraved on your key."

As he continues, students begin to either doze off or converse quietly with others, which is something that's been the case in every assembly I've ever been to. However, they perk back up when he says the next announcement.

"Now, we would also like to welcome a new student into our little family this year. Sidney McLean, if you could please rise."

I stand up slowly and feel my face heat up as everyone turns to look at me, except Mike, Brick, Zoey, and Heather, who already know me. Plus, I assume Heather just doesn't care either way. She made it abundantly clear she and I are probably not going to get along.

"Thank you, you can sit back down now."

"Nice piercings," I hear a male voice whisper in my ear. I turn to see the boy with the piercings and green mohawk smirking at me.

"You too," I whisper back. "Do them yourself?"

"Yeah. You ever want another one, I know a guy."

"No, I'm good. And in case you're curious, I did my ears myself, but after that I decided to get the rest done professionally," I explain, then hold out my hand over the back of my seat. "Nice meeting you, by the way. What's your name?"

"Duncan," he replies, though ignores the offer for a handshake.

After the assembly is over, we file out of the auditorium and wait to receive our locker numbers. Mike and Zoey talk while I take out my journal and begin writing. As I write, I notice Zoey glance at the cover where I've scrawled my name.

"Hey, do you know Chris McLean?" she asks me, "I wanted to ask before, when the principal called your name."

I shut my book quickly. "Yeah," I mutter, "He's, er, my dad."

"Oh," Zoey looks mildly surprised, but only for a moment. "Not trying to be nosy or anything," she adds, "I was just asking since he's actually one of the staff here."

"I didn't think you were, Zoey, no worries," I assure her, even as I think to myself, Great. Way to leave that little detail out, Mom.

As if on cue, Chris then comes over to us and hands me a key, as well as a small piece of paper with a number on it, presumably for my locker. He also hands me a copy of my schedule.

"Thanks," I mumble, taking it from him. As he walks away, I look at my schedule.

Period 1: English

Period 2: Health

Lunch

Period 3: Science

Period 4: Gym

"I don't get why they put gym at the end of the day," says Brick. "That's when everyone's the most tired and anxious to get back to their dorms. Or home, depending."

"Yeah, doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me either. I like gym, though, so I still can't complain," I respond. The thing that's got my attention is how they use the semester system with 4 classes in each instead of just having 8 classes that run for the entire year. Not complaining about that either, though – just means less scrambling to find our next classes this way.

Chris chooses that moment to return, apparently having handed out all the schedules and keys he had. "If all the res. students will follow me, " he says. We all get up at once and follow him back to the bus hall to retrieve our luggage. Then we keep following him until we reach a separate building with a sign reading 'Residence'.

The building looks to have multiple floors, and when we get inside, I can tell each floor would be its own mini residence, with our group getting the second floor and other groups of students getting the others. Clearly the school's population must not be that large. That, or there are other residential buildings and maybe even students that just live close by and come to campus for classes and such.

The first thing Chris does is show us around. I really like how the place is set up, since when you walk in the door you have a small hallway that opens to two possible directions. To the left takes us to a longer hallway that is home to most of the bedrooms and the three bathrooms that are on this floor. To the right takes us to the kitchen/dining area, on the other side of which are a few desks with computers on them – probably for the staff. When facing the kitchen from where the hall opens, the common area is on the left, with a door to the patio in the very corner of the building.

The common area itself looks pretty comfortable; there are several couches and armchairs around and a flat-screen TV with what appears to be a PS2 Slim, its controllers stored in the shelf below. From here I can see a collection of CDs, movies, and board games on the tall shelf next to the TV stand. On the other side of the TV stand is a keyboard. I can't help but wonder if the keys on it are weighted or not. I'm personally hoping for the former, though, since it's easier for me to play songs when the keys are weighted.

"Okay, so Zoey and Anne Maria will be rooming together. Staci and Dakota, you're also together. B and Scott. Sam and Cameron. Lightning and Mike. Jo and Sidney. And Brick and Dawn will have rooms to themselves. That's for the second floor. Third floor people, head upstairs and get your instructions there."

I raise my hand. "Are you the only staff on this floor?"

Please say 'no'.

Mercifully, Chris shakes his head. "Nah, there's other ones too. They're just not in here yet. Anyway, there's some other stuff I'm supposed to go over with you guys too, but I figure you'll want to get settled in first. So, meet me by the white board over there in an hour."

My room, which I share with Jo, turns out to be one of the two closest to the kitchen. It's actually pretty nice, with cream-coloured walls and medium grey carpeting as well as a large, shuttered window on the left wall. The area for our stuff makes up most of the same wall the door is on, being a mix of shelves, drawers and cupboards that are part of the wall itself rather than separate pieces of furniture.

An electrical outlet sits between these and the door, the light switch above it. Above both sits what appears to be a red speaker for the fire alarm, with a large bulb that I can only guess is for a flashing light. Ugh, I seriously dread hearing what that thing looks and sounds like.

I pick the side of the room closest to the window and begin unpacking. When I'm finished, I collapse onto my bed, now covered in a grey weighted blanket patterned with stars. Inspiration seems to hit me like a lightning bolt, because the next thing I know I'm jotting down lyrics to a new song in my black leather-bound notebook.

"You like Nirvana?" asks Jo from her side of the room, glancing at my wall. She doesn't sound entirely interested in the poster, but I get the feeling she's been trying to find a subject for conversation to break the silence, so I disregard that.

"Yeah, they're pretty good," I reply, not looking up from my book. "I like Seether and Thousand Foot Krutch, too."

After that, though, we lapse back into silence and I continue writing my lyrics down, not wanting to forget my ideas. After a few moments, however, a knock on the door causes me to look away from my work. The door opens to reveal a petite woman with light blonde hair and friendly green eyes. "Hi, I'm Miss Collins," she says. "I'm one of the staff here. What's your name?"

"I'm Sidney McLean," I reply, shutting my book and placing it on my desk. I get up and proceed to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Sidney," says Miss Collins, "I look forward to working with you this year. I'll let you be for now so you can unpack and get settled, but if you need anything just let me know, I'm always around to help."

"No problem, I'll keep that in mind," I tell her, "Thanks."

She nods and with that, she shuts the door softly and I hear her footsteps fade as she walks down the hall. As I put my schedule in my bag, I take a look at the number on the little piece of paper Chris had given me before, since I hadn't had a chance to yet. Locker #252. I place the paper in my bag as well, along with my pen and notebook. Jo is nowhere to be seen, so I'm guessing she's already finished unpacking her stuff and gone somewhere else. I hear some other students' laughter from the common area, and I smile. This really will be a fresh start for me, and I couldn't ask for anything more.