Turns out all of the detectives live on the same street. We're all neighbors. Family 1 lives in a brick house, one house away from our blue one. A house with yellow siding belongs to Family 2, and then there's ours, Family 3. We're the last house on the block. But on the left side of Krista's house, is Susan and Stephano, who are apparently married (barf). There are two single detectives further down, and then the leader and his wife. The agency had all of the detectives buy a house when this street was built, and the agency pays for everything. I'm really quite amazed.

I start school today. I wanted to wear my favorite blue shirt, but Shauna insisted I wear her old name brand blouse with a blazer, since it doesn't fit her anymore. The shirt would be okay, but blazers really aren't my thing. She ignored my protests, because no child of hers was going to wear worn out clothes in public. Sigh.

Luckily, she agreed to let me wear my Converse sneakers, even though they were old and worn out. She agreed that I shouldn't wear her nice shoes after all of the bad things that were happening to me, just in case something happens again. She just made me wipe the dirt off of them and get my nicest pants. We are going to go shopping in the evening so we don't have to deal with this everyday. Sigh again.

Caylen and I walk to school. It's only a few blocks away. Lenny gets a ride because his school is farther away and he's only six. I have to use Caylen's black backpack from last year. It's still in perfect shape, but Shauna doesn't want to come across as someone who neglects her child's needs, adopted or not. I take the blazer off as we walk, determined not to wear it. That leaves me with a reasonable looking white blouse. It's got some ruffles, making it a little fancier than I'm used to, but it's not outrageous.

"Shauna never made me wear something like that," Caylen says.

"Well, you're not a girl," I say.

"Thank goodness."

I scowl at him.

"It's not that I don't like them," he says. "It's just that I don't want to be one."

When we arrive at the school, Caylen takes me to the office to get my schedule, and then to the library to get my books. The school is large and white, but a little bit run down, so it matches everything else in this town. It's still very nice, with three stories and numerous classrooms.

We sit at a picnic table outside, looking at my schedule.

"Man," Caylen says. "We don't have any classes together, or even lunch."

"What am I going to do?" I exclaim.

"Meet somebody."

"Who?"

"Find some girl who's willing to show you stuff. I'm afraid I can't show you more than your first period."

"Darn."

"Yeah, it's not too cool. But judging on what Cathy sent in about you, they've put you in some complicated classes."

"At the orphanage, I was only taught for like an hour every day. This should go great."

He shrugs. "If you flunk, we might have classes together next year."

"Caylen!"

He laughs. "Trust me. I had a first day here too."

"When were you adopted?"

His eyes begin to show that deepness they held when I first met him.

"Summer before eighth grade. I went to the middle school, and now I've started again at high school. Trust me, you're not the only new kid here. There've been a few."

"Do you have friends?"

"I wouldn't call them friends really." He smirks. "I talk to these guys every so often, but mostly I go around pranking people. But nobody knows it's me, so shh."

I grin. "My lips are sealed."

With this, the bell rings. Caylen points me to my first class. When I enter, it's hard to blend in because I have nowhere to sit. So I stand there like an idiot until a chubby bald man walks in, who I guess is the teacher.

"Ah!" he exclaims. "You must be Natalie! The new girl!"

I try to smile, but I'm hating every second of this. The students are staring at me. They don't look interested; they look bored. Maybe they don't think I'm pretty enough to be interesting. I notice a girl or two staring at my shirt, and I try to fold my arms over it, uncomfortable with the attention.

"You can go sit over there, next to Jessica. She's the girl with the brown hair. See? That empty desk."

I carefully walk to the empty desk, afraid I might trip or something. Once I am successfully sitting, the teacher starts talking.

"I am Mr. London, your English teacher. You'll have my class for two periods, and then two more classes before lunch. Got it?"

I nod. I've already looked at my schedule, old man. Move on.

He goes into a boring lesson and when the bell rings, I still have another period to stay. The girl, Jessica, leans over and whispers, "Hey."

I whisper back, "Hi."

"This class is the most boring. They get better."

"Why can't I stay in a better one for two periods?"

She smiles. "I know, right?"

After a minute, she leans in again and whispers for me to show her my schedule. We find out that we have fifth period together, right after lunch.

"How about we meet at the base of the stairs right before lunch?" she suggests. "Then you can sit with me and we can walk to fifth period together."

"Sounds good. Thanks!"

"No problem. You seem pretty chill."

I smile and then try to pay attention to the lesson without dozing off. I analyze the posters on the wall to keep my mind busy.

Finally! The sweet sound of a bell ringing! The students gather their things and head out. In the hallway, I can see over most everyone's heads. I guess I am taller than the average teenager.

Third period is taught by an exuberant young man who made me want to do nothing but math for the rest of my life. His name is Mr. Sir. He won't tell us his real last name, and it makes everyone rather angry. In this class I meet a girl named Robin, who has short, curly, blond hair. She doesn't have any other classes with me, or lunch. It's quite a shame; she's really nice.

Fourth period is computers. I take a seat in a computer after the teacher introduces herself as Ms. Mayberry. I wanted to laugh at the sound of her name but I had to bite my hand to compose myself. I received a few awkward glares from some of the people around me. However, the blond boy next to me leans over and says, "I know how you feel. I did the same thing. Some people just don't react quite like others."

I take my hand out of my mouth and wipe it on my pants. "Sorry. That was gross."

He holds out his hand, and I shake it. He doesn't seem to mind that I just pulled it out of my mouth.

"My name is Hayden Young."

"I'm Natalie Cace."

"I know."

"Well it's just not fair that I never get to be the one to introduce myself around here!"

Ms. Mayberry sends me a warning glance before returning to her PowerPoint.

"Be sure to wash your hand before you eat," I whisper to Hayden.

"Oh, don't worry. I will."

I chuckle.

When lunchtime comes, I head to the base of the stairs to wait for Jessica. I can't remember which class she's coming from, but it must be pretty far, because when the crowd of students starts to thin, she's still not here. So I wait some more. Eventually I sit down on the steps. When she still doesn't come, I just stand up and leave. The last thing I need is someone to ask me if I'm lost.

I find my way to the cafeteria easily enough. It's on the first floor, like all of my classes (at least I think so).

I walk in and the tables are full of people. If I had gotten here earlier, I might've had somewhere to sit. I just sigh and join the lunch line, which only has a few more kids in it. After I pay for my food, I scan the room for a place to sit. Finally my eyes land on a nearly empty table....

Oh my gosh.

It's him.

It's the boy who pulled me from the creek. The boy with the beautiful dark blue eyes. He's sitting alone.

Before I know what I'm doing, I walk to his table and plop my tray across from him. He looks up at me as if surprised.

"I know you," I say.

Dang you, Natalie! You're gonna creep him out!

"Do you?" he asks. Yep. That's his voice. It's him.

"Yes. You pulled me out of a criver yesterday."

He gives me a funny look.

"Sorry!" I say, mentally slapping myself. "I meant river."

"Oh!" Recognition crosses his eyes. "You look different when you're dry."

"Um...thank you? Why didn't you recognize me when I mentioned the river?"

"Oh, I save people all the time."

"I'm certain that's not true."

He looks me in the eyes, but doesn't protest further. Suddenly I wonder if he's even joking.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"What's yours?"

"Natalie Cace. I'm new today."

"Ah. That explains why your sitting here."

I furrow my eyebrows and ask, "Who are you and why are you sitting alone?"

"My name is Kian Aethelmaer."

"Ian what?"

"Kian." He puts an emphasis on the K.

"And that last name?"

He sounds it out, syllable by syllable. "Ay-thel-may-er."

"That's kinda cool."

He nods but doesn't say anything else.

"On to other things," I say. "Why in the world are you sitting alone?"

"I like sitting alone."

"But this place is packed! Why do people care what you want when there are so many empty seats?"

"I just don't like being around people."

"Do the other students know this?"

"No, they just think I'm creepy."

"Creepy?"

"Yeah. I'm actually waiting for you to leave with a disgusted face and never come back."

"Why would I do that? No one likes to be alone."

"I like to be alone."

I exhale heavily. "I'm so confused."

"That's why they don't like me. You shouldn't like me either."

There's something about the way he talks. He sounds like he's teasing, but he also sounds serious.

"Why do you push people away?" I ask.

"I have my reasons."

"I intend to figure this out. Whether you like it or not."

He smirks, which is the closest thing to a smile I've seen from him. "Good luck."

I haven't touched my food, and Kian hasn't touched his since I sat down. We seem to be having a staring competition. I'm actually trying to open his eyes, not that they're closed, but I want to find the backstory he has that makes him like this. He can say he likes to me alone, but that can't always be true. He has to be under a lot of pressure without ever talking to anyone. Maybe he talks to his parents.

Suddenly he breaks his eyes from mine and takes his food to the trash, and disappears out the door. I then notice that other students are doing the same thing. It's not like me to miss out on details like that.

I pick up my untouched food and throw it away, hoping the cafeteria ladies don't see. I walk out to the school yard, and try to look for Kian, but I find Jessica first. She's jogging toward me, alone.

"So sorry Natalie!" she says. "My friend thought it was a bad idea to sit with the new girl."

"What?"

"I couldn't just jeopardize my relationship with her! She was leaving me!"

"She doesn't sound like a good friend."

"Of course she is! Oh! I'd better go! She can't see me with you!"

She runs away, leaving me feeling utterly horrible and offended.

I spot Kian sitting by a tree. He sees me looking at him and then we seem to be doing the same thing we did at lunch. Just staring. Me, trying to figure out his weirdness. Him, who knows what?

Staring into someone's eyes doesn't reveal their secrets. It only makes them more confusing, to see so many emotions in one place, but not knowing what they mean.

I notice students are bumping into me now, heading for the school. Did I miss the bell?

Kian stands from his tree but doesn't break his gaze. I continue our odd staring contest as I head toward the school. My next period is science. I bump into people but as long as Kian doesn't look away, I don't either.

Then he's gone. He went through a door. Suddenly, I run into a door myself. After actually opening it, I watch the door numbers as I try to find classroom number 17. I open the classroom door a few seconds after the bell rings.

A middle aged woman stands up front. She turns to look at me, and says, "Oh! You're Natalie?"

"Yes," I answer.

"I'm Mrs. Blaise. Please take one of the empty seats."

There are two empty seats. One is next to Hayden, the boy from computers, and the other is next to Kian. Yes, Kian. He looks at me and a little bit of amusement shows on his face.

Who do I sit by? Both of the seats are next to each other. It just depends on which person is closer to me.

Hayden is giving me a hopeful grin, and Kian is smirking at me. Why is this even hard?

I know why. Hayden is friendly, but Kian is intriguing. If I sat by him, maybe I could make him more comfortable with people.

Mrs. Blaise clears her throat. "Natalie? Please choose a seat."

I exhale softly and sit down next to Hayden. He grins at me and says, "Hey."

I smile at him, but I'm all tensed up from trying not to look at Kian. I have a feeling he's looking at me.

About halfway through the lesson, which is boring and interesting at the same time, I risk a peek at Kian. He's not looking at me. If I had to guess, I'd say he's trying not to look either.

Why do I have to enter such awkward situations?

When the bell rings, I realize I don't know where my next class is. So I wander aimlessly through the halls, trying to find it, when I see a familiar person.

"Krista!" I call.

She turns, and when she sees who I am, she looks scared. Yeah, she definitely thinks I'm insane.

I approach her and ask, "Where is Room number 25?"

"That way," she points lucidly, as if worried I might scream at her for some insane reason again.

"Thank you!" I say, and then mistakingly add: "You got home alright yesterday?"

Stupid, Natalie! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"Yes," she says slowly. I can practically hear her thoughts: The agency adopted this?

"Okay," I say, "sorry." I hurry away in the opposite direction, wondering if Krista and I could ever be friends.

I turn around as I walk and call, "I'm actually a very stable person!"

Hopefully she'll see that sooner or later. But after today, it may not be true.

History is taught by an old man who must've been around for all of the things he teaches. I don't know any of the people in that class, and the scrawny kid beside me refuses to look at me.

My last class is PE. I'm thinking I will like it where running is involved. Turns out we weren't going to run today, because the coach has us on the ground most of the time doing push-ups or sit-ups.

When it's time to leave, I meet Caylen at the picnic table we sat at earlier in the day, and we proceed home together.

"How was your first day?" he asks.

"It was okay. I got ditched."

"Huh. Where did you sit at lunch?"

I pause to think for a second. Do I trust Caylen? Yes, I believe so. Alright, I need to talk to someone about this.

"Do you know Kian Aethelmaer?"

"Kian? I've heard of him," Caylen says. "Not that often, but people claim he's really rude and scary. Why?"

"Well, I sat with him at lunch."

Caylen looks at me with a look that says, Wait, you're serious?

"You did?" he asks. "He never lets anyone sit with him! He always scares them off."

"Yeah, well, he tried. I told me how creepy he was and how no one likes to sit with him. He made it very clear that he doesn't like company."

"And you stayed?"

"Yes.... I was trying to get him to crack. He seems a little odd."

"A little," Caylen agrees.

"But I found Krista! I made the mistake of asking her if she got home okay."

Caylen laughs. "Really? She's never gonna take you seriously again!"

"I know! But I didn't know she went to our school. What grade is she in?"

"She's a senior."

"What about the other girl she lives with?"

"Her too; you probably saw her but didn't recognize her."

"What was her name again?"

"Jen. The boys from Family 2 are sophomores. You'll probably recognize everyone after you get the tour of the agency."

"So the tour is just someone explaining a lot of things, yes?"

"Yup."

Now I'm thinking again of the reason I came here. The Red. And I realize.... Their crime committing rate seems to be slowing down. It's only a matter of time before something new happens.