"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you. I can park the car and-" Laughing, I shake my head at my nervous aunt. When I put both straps of the bag over my shoulders, a scene from 21 Jump Street flashes through my mind, my grin widening.

"I'll be okay, Aunt Jane. It's just high school," I say with an eye roll. Josh snorts beside me and makes his way up the stairs.

She gives me a pointed look before turning to her son. "Josh, go with Audrey to the office." My cousin clears his throat and waves his hand impatiently, telling me to hurry up. I scramble up the short set of stairs.

The stitches had come off but the nurse wasn't lying when she said that I would be feeling numb in my leg for a while. Ironically, it's this lack of feeling that will serve as a painful reminder of that day and all that I had lost.

"You know the movie 21 Jump Street, right?" I have to look up to meet his gaze. He squints at me but then looks away, grinning at something in the distance. "What?" I drag my eyes to see what he is looking at. It's a pudgy man in a tracksuit. "Do you know him?"

Groaning internally, I mentally slap myself for the word diarrhea. Despite my attempt at a nonchalant attitude, I'm freaking out. In Oakville, I went to high school with the same people I went to elementary school with. Here, the only person I know is my cousin.

"Yeah. That's my coach. I'll be right back." Giving me a look of sympathy, he scurries away.

"It's okay, I'll be fine," I say and scan the wide hallway for the office. Finding it, I make my way through the sea of students and hurry inside.

The lady at the front desk doesn't return the smile I give her, which makes me slouch in disappointment. She's shorter than me, and with her dark hair and eyes in slits, she almost looks like a dragon. Almost. Shaking my head, I read her nametag. Mrs. Nitto. "Hi, I'm Audrey Moore."

She hands me my schedule and goes back to typing furiously on her computer. Maybe she is just sad, I wonder. A voice at the back of my head tells me to ask her if she needs a hug.

Ugh, my nerves are getting to me. "I believe your homeroom teacher will have an agenda for you." Nodding, I offer her another smile and turn towards the door. I take that moment to look at my schedule: English, Art, Lunch, Gym, and Bio. Not bad.

I spend the next 15 minutes or so looking for my locker but fail miserably. My stomach tightens when the warning bell rings and people begin scrambling to their classes. When the music starts to play over the speakers, I finally decide to ask someone for help.

A boy coming towards me stops. "Hey, you look like you could use some help." He doesn't look so good himself, his face pale and unshaven. Floppy brown hair covers his forehead and his eyes are darting about, not settling on anything. "Not a talker, eh?" Shrugging, I hand him my schedule and he grins. "Cool, your locker is right next to mine."

"Thanks," I mumble as we walk in the direction opposite to where I was going. When the final warning bell rings I stop and gently tap the boy's shoulder. "It's fine. I don't want you to be late for class-"

"Todd. And it's all good. I don't want to go to Math, anyways." He rolls his eyes like this is something that should have been obvious. "Besides, I'm all about helping out a Damsel in Distress."

Smiling at his sarcastic comment, I start putting my stuff into the locker. "Mrs. Mackenzie's English class is right there," he says, pointing to the classroom behind me. He jogs away before I have a chance to say thanks. This is good. I'm actually talking to people I don't know.

Sort of.

"Audrey Moore?" the teacher standing at the front asks, a red folder in her hands. She is young and has bright orange hair. A wide smile is etched across her pretty face. I nod my head and scan the classroom, my eyes landing on someone familiar.

It's the boy from the hospital, the one with the strength tattoo. "Would you like to introduce yourself to the class? Perhaps share some of your likes and dislikes?" No. My heart rate speeds up at the thought of standing in front of the class.

Staring at my feet, I say, "Um...my name is Audrey Moore. I'm from Oakville and I like to read and play soccer." Someone snorts at the back of the class, making me want to shrink and disappear.

"Mr. Minus, I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear that," the teacher says, putting out her hand for my schedule. "It's really nice to meet you, Audrey. You can take a seat next to Tamara at the front." She points at a thin Asian girl with pink stripes in her hair.

When the girl raises her eyebrow elegantly her piercing catches the light and winks at me. I back up a step. Her dark eyes glare at me, daring me to take her on, which I wouldn't even dream of doing.

"What! Mrs. Mackenzie you said I could sit alone for the semester," Tamara pleads.

"Well, I lied. Teachers do that a lot." A few chuckles erupt from the back but Mrs. Mackenzie ignores them. "Now please take a seat, Audrey."

I can't move. It feels as if my feet are glued to the ground. The back of my throat starts to do that thing again, right before the tears come. These days the tears are relentless. I drop my head to let my dark hair cover my face.

"But I don't want to sit with her," Tamara whines. Looking at me the girl says, "No offense, Audrey. You seem like a really nice person and all."

"Shut up, Tamara. Stop being an ass and let her sit down. The poor girl looks like she is going to shit her pants." My eyes widen a little but I don't dare to look up to see who is talking. Probably Mr. Minus. The sad thing is that he might be right.

"Yes, Tamara. Listen to Brandon, minus the swearing of course. By the way, please watch the language," Mrs. Mackenzie says as she brushes away a strand of her fiery hair.

"Fine," Tamara spits, pulling her bag off the seat beside her. I slip behind the desk, making sure I don't brush Tamara by accident, afraid that she might blow up on me if I did.

A tattered copy of the Life of Pi is dropped onto my desk and on instinct, I run my hand over the cover. Just a few months ago I watched the movie with my mom, who had adored the special effects even though she didn't completely understand the movie. "You have some catching up to do but you aren't that behind," Mrs. Mackenzie says with a smile before turning to face the entire class.

"Thank you." Catching up won't be a problem, it's stopping that will be. Any book that crosses my path I devour it.

"Last week we were discussing the idea of religion and how our protagonist has several different mindsets when it comes to religion. There were a few of you that weren't so keen on the idea, Blake I believe you were one of them."

Blake? That name seems familiar. Looking back, I realize that my suspicions were correct. It's the boy I had met at the hospital, the one whose sister had the stomach flu. I wonder if she's okay. "Cynthia, would you like to enlighten us with your opinion."

Cynthia clears her throat. "Being an atheist, I don't believe in the idea of religion or God. I feel that it's all something that people have created as a result of fearing the oblivion. As humans, we aren't able to fully comprehend the things around us and this leads us to have faith in entities that don't exist."

My smile fades and a wave of anger passes over me. I get that she is entitled to an opinion but there is something in the way she delivered it, with a sense of arrogance and an 'I'm right attitude' that has left me feeling a little furious.

"That is very interesting, Cynthia. Just be aware of how you share your opinion," Mrs. Mackenzie says, her ears slightly red. Cynthia tosses her slick black hair over her shoulder and leans back in her chair.

Blake looks bored beside her, with his arms crossed and hood up. Mrs. Mackenzie pulls down the overhead and launches into her lesson about how religion can affect one's view of life. That's when Tamara slides me a piece of paper.

That's Cynthia Wood, a real smart ass. I'm not sure how to respond so I just write, Yeah? A great way to continue a conversation, Audrey. Our teacher is about to switch slides so I scramble to write down the last few things.

Tamara isn't even taking notes, which makes me nervous. She slides the sheet of paper back to me. Sorry for blowing up on you. My friend made this stupid bet with me. Yeah, never mind. What class do you have next? Oh, I can answer that one. Art with Mr. Ackley. She grins at me and points a finger at herself, whispering a "me too." She puts up her fist for me to bump it.

It feels like it's been forever when our teacher says, "that's all for the notes today." Mrs. Mackenzie closes her laptop before she continues. "I want to take the rest of the class to go over the major assignment for this novel." She raises a hand to silence the class. "Before you guys start doing that weird eye contact thing, I want to let you know that I will be making the groups."

"Yay," Tamara says sarcastically. My other classmates also groan. There are even a couple of boos from the back of the class. I bet one came from Brandon.

"It's quite simple, actually," Mrs. Mackenzie continues, ignoring her students' protests. "Your group will be assigned certain chapters from the book, and you will work together to describe an aspect from that section in a creative way, either the setting, characters, plot, etc. You can do a movie trailer or a painting, whatever floats your boat. Of course, you will be required to write a three-page reflection on your section, individually, which will be weighed more."

"Of course," Tamara says with an eye roll. Mrs. Mackenzie goes through her list and I hold my breath until she reaches my name. "Audrey, you'll be with Blake and Cynthia." Wonderful. "Brandon, you will be with Tamara." Tamara drops her head onto the desk beside me.

"Now please take this moment to exchange phone numbers, emails, whatever. I'm going to go around and hand out the assignments." Someone asks Mrs. Mackenzie a question and she nods before saying, "This is going to be due at the end of October, folks." She mumbles something to herself before going around the class and handing out the sheets.

Cynthia and Blake don't move from their spot, both of them engrossed in something on Cynthia's phone. Crap. I hate group assignments, especially if it involves working with people I don't know. My necklace digs into my skin when I turn back to face the front. Pulling it out I clutch it and let out a long sigh before making my way to the back. In my other hand, I hold my phone up, almost like a shield.

"Hey," I say. At first, I think they will ignore me but then Blake looks up and gives me his crooked smile. I know it's not genuine because it doesn't reach his dark eyes.

"Can we help you?" Cynthia seethes, her grey eyes narrowed. At that moment, I regret walking back to them. I should have just waited at the front for them to give me their numbers.

"She's in our group, genius," Blake says quietly. "What's your number?" My number. Crap. What's my number?

"Is your sister okay?" I blurt. My back feels cold all of a sudden and my knees start to shake at their intense gazes. Blake raises an eyebrow at me and looks at Cynthia who is rolling her eyes.

"The hospital! You're Josh's cousin, right?" Blake beams like he just solved an important puzzle.

"You're Josh's cousin?" Cynthia gives me an up-down, making me want to shrink again. "Ugh, I'm bored of this conversation." She grabs my phone, the one my mom bought when I started high school, and starts swiping her thumbs across it.

"How do you not have a lock on this? Here, I put both our numbers in. Now leave us alone." A weight drops in my stomach and my mouth suddenly feels dry.

"Um...thanks...I'll text you," I say, keeping my voice calm. When the bell rings, I snatch my green bag up from the floor and make a dash for the door. I'm the first person to leave the class.

My next class wasn't so bad and I really liked the teacher. There was a seating assignment so I didn't get a chance to talk to Tamara. The whole time I was dreading when it was going to end and I would have to go to lunch. Now standing at the cafeteria door I feel anxious again.

There is a rule at Lakewood High School that the students aren't allowed to eat anywhere but the cafeteria unless they are going off property to eat. Perfect. "Hey, Audrey. You disappeared back there." It's Tamara with her hands wrapped around a brown lunch bag.

"Sorry, I had to go to the washroom." Which isn't a complete lie because I did go there to see if eating there was an option.

"Ugh, Gabriel is still in class." Tamara is looking at her phone.

"Audrey!" someone yells from across the room. Josh is waving his hand back and forth at me.

"Where are you going?" Tamara whisper-yells and wraps her fingers around my arm, making me jump. "Sorry. But those people aren't...you don't want to sit with them."

"Josh's pretty nice," I say. At least when he's not looking down at his phone.

"How would you know?"

"He's my cousin."

"You're Josh Collins' cousin and you're not an asshole?" Tamara seems genuinely surprised, her mouth and eyes wide as she looks from Josh to me.

"Just come." Frowning, I start walking towards the table where Josh is sitting at with a couple of other kids. When Cynthia and Todd take a seat, I stop in my tracks.

"Who told you to get drunk last night?" Cynthia spits to Todd. She glances up at me and her eyes narrow. "What is New Girl doing here?"

"Lay off Cynthia, she's my cousin," Josh says, shaking his head. "Ignore Cynthia, she's a bitch on Mondays."

"And all other days except for Fridays," Todd says with a snort, inspecting me as he does. "What's up? I didn't catch your name before."

"Audrey," I whisper, still feeling Cynthia's eyes glaring at me. That's when Blake and a girl with dark skin and beautiful hair sit down at the table.

"What's up, Audrey?" Todd says with a salute. "Just the ceiling. Ohhhhh." He falls against Cynthia with a groan, who shoves him aside.

"That's Aditi and you met Blake, right?" Josh says, ignoring his hungover friend.

"Okay, I get why Audrey's here but what's she doing here?" Cynthia points a thin finger at Tamara who has been silent all this time. "This table is a no stoner slash loser zone. You here to take more pictures, Tamara." Anger bubbles inside of me, a foreign emotion, and spreads through me like poison.

"Are you having a bad day? I really feel as if you are having a bad day because you have no right to be so rude to her," I mumble. Now I'm the one narrowing my eyes at her. Todd whispers an "ohhhhh" which I ignore.

Blake is staring intensely at his phone, oblivious to everything around him, while Aditi is flipping through a textbook. Cynthia doesn't say anything back, maybe because Josh is glaring at her. Grabbing Tamara's wrist, I pull her towards an empty table. Josh calls my name but I pretend I don't hear him.

"Thanks," Tamara mumbles, looking behind me at Josh's table. I don't dare turn around, afraid that if I will, my sudden outburst of strength will make me crumble. "I'm sorry for treating you like shit in English. You are so cool."

I don't feel so cool. For some strange reason, Cynthia doesn't like me. Ugh, I could think of countless stories I have read where the protagonist is victim to the mean girl's taunting. Moving to Toronto is supposed to be a new start, one where I am strong and I shouldn't let some girl with an attitude problem ruin that.

"Thanks," I say and pull out the sandwich I had made this morning, the same one I had made for Josh. Turning around, I notice that he's actually eating it. At that moment Blake's eyes find mine but when I blink, he's getting up from the table, a gym bag slung over his shoulder.

"No offense. But I kind of don't like those five humans," Tamara says casually. She's now wearing thin-framed glasses and her laptop is propped open on her knees.

"You weren't wearing glasses in the first period," I say as I nibble my sandwich. It's my attempt to change the subject. Both Josh and Todd were nice, at least from the encounters that I had with them. I'm not so sure of Blake and Aditi.

"They put themselves and their posse before anyone else. They could care less about the little people like us." Something on her computer distracts her and she zones out for a bit. I'm about to ask her about 'little people' when a boy wearing all black slides into the seat beside her

"Hey, loser. Audrey, this is Gabriel. Gabriel, this girl is our new best friend." The boy in black gives me a toothy grin before leaning over to look at Tamara's laptop.

A smirk spreads across my face at what Tamara said and I take a giant bite of my sandwich. Maybe living in Toronto won't be so bad.

|| Author's Note ||

New characters. Yay! Thanks for reading; I had lots of fun writing this one. :)