Ashley was a bit nervous as she drove her jeep into the school parking lot. School wasn’t starting for another twenty minutes and the parking lot was a bit empty. One thing she could count on was high school students were the same everywhere. Nobody wanted to be there any earlier than they had to be. But she didn’t make it ten feet before a horn honked at her, making her jump. She turned around and saw someone waving to her from an old beat up truck.

“Hey Ashley!” The truck parked near her and out stepped Shoren. “What are you doing here so early?”

“Looking for my classes. What about you?”

“I always get here early. I like to be on time. If you’d like, I can show you around.” She smiled nervously.

“Sure.”

“Great! Do you have your schedule?” She pulled out her list of classes from her pocket and handed them over. Shoren looked over them and frowned. “We don’t share any classes, but I can show you around.”

Ashley didn’t think that was a bad thing. Shoren was a nice guy, but they weren’t friends. He seemed more interested in her than she was in him. Ashley barely got a word in as he described how great the school was and the many experiences he’d had in it. She couldn’t help but feel that he was trying to show off a bit. They found all of her classes just in time for the first bell to ring.

“I guess I’ll see you later,” said Ashley.

“Hopefully! I’m usually in the library at lunch if you care to drop by.”

Ashley waved goodbye and headed into her first class of the day which was English. She sat prepared for the boring class that was inevitable for every first day of school. To her joy, Liz entered and took a seat next to her. At least she’d have a friend here.

Next was history for which she perked up a bit more. She’d always loved history since she was a little kid. Unlike other kids who spent their childhood watching cartoons, Ashley was watching history documentaries with her mom. She didn’t know why she liked them so much, she just did. She felt a slight tap on the back of her head.

“Good morning,” said Nathaniel as he sat behind her in class.

“Good morning.”

“So I get to bug you all semester?”

“You better not. I like this class.”

“Relax, I’m just teasing. From what I’ve heard, our teacher is quite the lecturer so I doubt we’ll have time to talk.”

Ashley looked back to the front of the class as the teacher started talking. She didn’t hear from Nathaniel throughout the whole class. He appeared to be taking notes steadily behind her and looked very focused. When class ended, he waved goodbye to her and they headed off in different directions.

Ashley’s third period was PE where she didn’t know anybody. The coach went over the usual list of rules and activities they’d be doing over the year. It was the exact same thing every student had heard every year in PE and realistically no one was listening. She didn’t expect they’d do anything on their first day, but the coach surprised them all.

“Let’s head out to the track.” He was met by multiple groans as the students rose to their feet. Ashley felt she was one of the few excited to get outside and run. She wanted to get some use out of the muscles she’d been working on.

“Alright everyone,” said the coach, “four laps. I want to get a measure of what level you’re all on. Take your time and take it easy. You can go starting…now.”

He clicked his stopwatch and they all took off as one giant mob. After the first lap, the mob began to stretch out. After the second lap the students truly became separated. The overweight or lazy ones had stopped to walk by then. The semi-athletic ones were keeping up the casual pace like the teacher wanted. The better runners were taking up the front, but only the best were keeping up with Ashley.

Ashley loved the feeling. Every lap she found herself taking longer strides. Her breathing stayed at a steady pace like she’d trained. Her muscles burned like a cool fire, nowhere near at their limit. Every breath she took in was a mixture of hot and cold. She grinned and ran faster.

She took a second to see who was keeping up with her. There was a boy nearby with a determined look on his face. He had the lean, runner build like her, but he seemed much tenser. He took running as a mission whereas she took it as a joy. The name on his shirt said Mark R. There were a few boys a bit behind him, but he was the only guy close to her.

The other runner close to her was a girl and a young one at that. She was a freshman by the looks of it, but she was easily as fast as Ashley. Her legs weren’t as long as Ashley’s but they pounded furiously to keep up with her. She had long dirty blonde hair and a fuller body. Ashley would’ve never guessed the girl would’ve been a runner by her looks. The girl was fast though, there was no denying that. The name on her shirt was Mary L.

They came to the last stretch and Ashley urged herself to go faster. Mark started breathing loudly as he increased his speed to close the gap. Ashley grinned as she realized he was racing her to the finish. The coach was cheering for them to go faster, but they were both at their limit. Ashley’s rush of energy was fading though and she started to fall behind Mark.

Mary suddenly blew past both of them as she headed for the finish. She skidded past the coach who shouted out in surprise. Mark crossed the line and Ashley came in a few seconds behind him. Mark put his hands on his head and started walking to get his breath back. Ashley followed his example and headed over to Mary. She was sitting on the ground breathing hard and her face was red. But she was grinning at the both of them.

“I can’t believe you’re so fast,” breathed Mark.

“Everyone says that,” said Mary.

“I haven’t seen someone beat you until today Mark,” said the coach. “And Ashley here was a close second. I think we’ve got some new runners.” Mark tried to respond, but he was still out of breath. He nodded instead. “Either of you girls thinking about running track?”

“I used to at my old school,” said Ashley.

“Well we could use you here. What about you Mary?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Don’t say that,” said the coach. “When is your brother Kevin going to come play football for us?”

“Probably never,” she said with a laugh.

“No,” complained the coach, “we need him. If I had him on my team I’d never be worried about another game. I tried to get your other brother too, but he won’t budge.”

“They don’t like sports.”

“They need to learn. I better have you come try out for track. Same for you Ashley. I’m tired of losing.” Mary looked at Ashley and shrugged. Ashley looked back at the coach and smiled.

“I’ll think about it,” she said, echoing Mary.

“You two are killing me. You three can go get changed. I’ve got to wait for these slowpokes.”

“I’ll keep in touch with you two about track,” said Mark. “I’m going to wait for some people.”

“Okay,” said Ashley. She walked off the field with Mary before shooting her an amused look. “And I thought I was fast.”

“I’m not that fast,” said Mary. “I’m a better sprinter.”

“Better than me,” admitted Ashley. “So are you going to try out for track?”

“I don’t know, maybe.”

“Same. I’m Ashley.”

“Mary. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. Are you a freshman?”

“Yeah, I’m new here just like you.” Ashley looked at her confused.

“How’d you know I was new?”

“You came to the little town. We know everybody here and you’re new. Most people know that even if they don’t know you.”

“It’s going to take a while to get used to that.”

“I bet. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Mary went to a different section of the locker room to get changed. Ashley stripped out of her PE clothes and welcomed back her casual clothes. She was a bit embarrassed about how sweaty she was, but she hadn’t brought any deodorant today so there wasn’t much she could do about it. She’d just have to wave her shirt fiercely to air herself out before her next class.

Her next class was psychology and she’d taken it on a whim. She had a free space and it sounded interesting. She came into the class and was met by Kara waving furiously. Ashley thought it was a bit strange that the class was mostly filled by the time she got there, but the area around Kara was clear. Ashley took her seat next to her and received her share of weird looks.

“Hi,” said Kara. “What are you doing here?”

“I have class, why else would I be here?”

“I thought you might just be stopping by to say hi.”

Ashley smirked and put her head down on her desk. She thought she was in better shape than this. Her legs were still tingling from running and she felt she might’ve overdone it.

“Why are you taking psychology?” asked Kara.

“I thought it’d be fun. What about you?”

“I don’t really have any interest, but everyone keeps telling me I should look into it.” Ashley laughed and sat up straight. Kara’s eyes were blank and she seemed oblivious to the joke. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.”

The teacher came in and all focus went to him. Ashley was beginning to learn something new about Kara. She was definitely a little strange and she seemed to have a reputation for it. Most students didn’t want to sit near her unless they had to. The teacher even slowly said her name and seemed surprised that she was in his class. Ashley wondered if Kara was famous for something she didn’t know about.

After class ended, Kara led Ashley into the cafeteria. This wasn’t where Kara usually ate, but this was where Liz was. “I prefer quieter places, but Liz likes the spotlight.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Ashley could believe that. It didn’t take them long to find Liz amid the crowded tables. She had a small table of four for herself and another girl Ashley didn’t recognize. She was a short, plump girl with pink dyed hair. She waved at Ashley as she joined them.

“Ashley, this is Caitlin,” said Liz quickly. “Caitlin, this is Ashley.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Caitlin in a somewhat childish voice.

“Nice to meet you too.” Ashley started to unpack her lunch when she saw Kara fidgeting and constantly looking around her.

“Something wrong?” she asked. Kara looked at all of them like they were crazy.

“How can you sit in here? There’s so many people moving around behind me it’s driving me nuts.”

“No one is going to attack you,” said Liz calmly.

“You don’t know that.” Ashley and the others just shook their heads and went about unpacking their lunches.

“They really don’t,” agreed a sinister voice.

Ashley looked up to see Nathaniel crouched between Liz and Kara. When he’d gotten there or how he’d gotten there so quietly, she’d never know. Liz gave a loud “eep!” and sat up straight. It was the normal response for being so suddenly surprised. Kara, of course, wasn’t normal in anyone’s book.

Kara threw all of her weight into a right elbow aimed directly for Nathaniel’s face. It probably would’ve broken Nathaniel’s nose if he hadn’t somersaulted backward away from her. He stopped a few feet back and sat grinning at her. Kara looked furious.

“Don’t do that to me!”

“You’re fast,” laughed Nathaniel.

“Come back here and I’ll show you how fast I am,” said Kara. She balled her hand into a fist and held it out to him. Liz patted her on the head.

“Oh relax.”

“He started it!”

“I would’ve deserved it.”

Kara nodded and seemed pleased that Nathaniel was willing to get hit for scaring her.

“Are you joining us?” asked Liz.

“Nope, just saying hi. Kevin and I are getting some food off campus.” As if on cue, Kevin appeared nearby.

“We better be. You promised me lunch.”

“Don’t worry, I’m hungry too. Are you ready?”

“Of course.”

Nathaniel hopped to his feet. Ashley thought they were still a strange pair of brothers. They had the same looks in the face, but they looked so different otherwise. Nathaniel’s blondish white hair clashed badly against Kevin’s midnight black hair. Kevin was a little shorter than his brother, but he was built broader. He had the body of a wrestler and looked like he was packing enough muscle to take down most football players.

Nathaniel bowed to the girls as they left. Kevin hardly bothered to wave and the two went on their way. The girls watched them go and Ashley noticed they weren’t the only ones. A lot of people, boys and girls, watched the brothers walk. Voices became quieter and she was sure she felt the tension in the room rise. Nathaniel and Kevin passed through the doors and the mood in the room instantly became softer.

“Did anyone just feel that?” asked Ashley.

“Of course,” said Kara. “Those two can make the air feel like thick butter.” They all looked at Kara.

“What?” asked Caitlin.

“The tension in the room,” explained Kara. “Those two together really get people going.”

“Why?” asked Ashley.

“They both have a reputation,” said Caitlin. “People who start fights with either of those two usually end up on the floor. They’ve never been in a fight at the same time, but people don’t like to think about it happening.”

“I could see Kevin as a fighter, but Nathaniel?” asked Ashley.

“Sometimes,” said Liz.

“I can’t see it. He seems more like a fool than a fighter.”

“He’s both,” said Kara. “He may be a goofy idiot, but he’s no slouch when it comes to fighting. I seriously meant to hit him a minute ago.”

Ashley considered that and realized Nathaniel’s reflexes must be incredible. Ashley couldn’t even compete with Kara’s speed when she was expecting her. Nathaniel had moved out of her reach when he didn’t even know it was coming.

“I guess I have a lot to learn about everyone.”

“Just remember if you need to know anything, speak to the gossip queens here,” said Kara. Liz and Caitlin beamed at the compliment.

“We know everybody,” said Caitlin proudly. “Let me show you some people.” She pointed to the corner where a large group was sitting. “Over there you’ve got your classic popular group. The girl with the curly brown hair is Monica, cheerleader and tries to pretend she’s a princess.”

“In reality she acts like a whiny runt who thinks the world belongs to her.” Ashley almost choked on her sandwich from laughter. Kara’s honesty was brutal.

“You should learn to watch what you say,” said Liz.

“Why?”

“Because someday it’ll get you in trouble.”

“By who? Monica? Ha, I’d like to see her try something.”

“Anyways,” interrupted Caitlin. “Next to Monica is her boyfriend, Marten. He’s on the football team and most of the people around him are jocks of some kind.”

“The dumb, but strong group,” said Kara.

“And you wonder why you have trouble making friends?” asked Liz. Kara nodded sincerely.

“I do. I can never figure it out.”

Ashley couldn’t believe how well Kara could say that and keep a straight face. It occurred to her that Kara might actually believe it.

“I’m not very interested in the school hierarchy,” said Ashley. “I’m only going to be here for a year. I’ll just figure out the basics before we all graduate.”

“Ask them about Shoren,” said Kara with a smile.

“Shoren?” asked Liz.

“That creepy guy?” said Caitlin.

“Yeah,” said Ashley. “He’s an instructor at our martial arts group and he helped show me around school today.”

“Woo boy,” said Caitlin. “Shoren is an interesting guy to say the least. I think he’s nice, but he seems a bit obsessive.”

“He is,” said Kara.

“He’s not bad looking though,” said Liz.

“Neither are Nathaniel or Marten, but you don’t see me going after either of them.”

“You don’t go after anyone,” said Liz. “Do you even have an interest in dating?”

“Not if my choices are those.”

“Nathaniel wouldn’t be bad, or Kevin,” said Caitlin. “Marten is taken. Shoren…Shoren might be a little much for me. I get the feeling he’d stalk me.”

“Well if a gossip thinks that, you might want to close your windows,” Kara said to Ashley. “Shoren definitely likes you.”

“No he doesn’t,” responded Ashley defensively. “He’s not even my friend.”

“You can see it in the way he looks at you.”

“Only here for a month and the boys are chasing you,” smirked Liz. “Way to go Ashley.”

“Nobody is chasing me.”

“When you open your eyes a bit wider, you’ll see them,” said Kara nonchalantly as she tore her sandwich apart. She ate her food like an animal, slurping it all in before chomping down ferociously. Ashley just rolled her eyes and changed the subject. She was learning there were some arguments she couldn’t win with these girls and the best solution was to just move on.

The bell rang and lunch came to an end. They all packed up and started to head off to their separate classes. Ashley moved to leave with Caitlin since they were headed in the same direction when she heard her name called out.

“Ashley.” They turned to see Shoren appear out of the crowd. “How’s your first day going?”

“Good, how about yours?”

“Good. How are you liking school?”

Ashley just answered automatically as they walked to class. Shoren was just talking for the sake of talking and didn’t need real answers. She considered what Kara had said about Shoren liking her. He did seem unusually jittery and chatty around her.

Her ears twitched and suddenly she stopped hearing Shoren. It seemed as if all the students talking had become muted as she heard just one noise. Someone was whistling. It wasn’t just someone whistling any tune, it was a specific song.

It was her mother’s song.

“Ashley?”

“Not now.”

She rushed away into the crowd in search. It was a unique song that she’d never heard anywhere else. Her mom had told her she’d learned it from her mother. How could it be here? Most students were in class by now which was the only reason she could probably hear him. Nathaniel’s distinctive platinum blonde hair caught her eye. He whistled cheerfully before stepping inside and the song stopped.

She walked back to her class confused. She couldn’t understand why he was whistling that tune. She had to find out. She had to know where he learned it. The bell rang halfway back. Ashley tried to concentrate on getting to class, but her mind was buzzing now. How?

“You’re late,” said her math teacher.

“I’m sorry.”

“Have a seat.”

Ashley took a seat and kept her eyes in front of her. The teacher went over the usual introductions. The class passed and she went to her next one, keeping a careful eye out for Nathaniel. He was nowhere to be seen and she sat through her next class just as uninterested in learning.

School ended and she met up with Kara and Liz at the lockers. Liz was buzzing with the back to school gossip while Kara was just staring at her blankly. Ashley doubted Kara was listening, but she gave Liz someone to talk to. They started to head for the parking lot when she heard the magical words from Liz.

“Hey Nathaniel!”

She turned and saw Liz waving in the other direction. Nathaniel’s distinct hair stood out and he turned around to notice them. Without waiting for Liz to move, Ashley ran after him.

“Hey!” shouted Ashley. Nathaniel stopped walking and waited for her.

“Hey Ashley. Enjoy your first day?”

“Never mind that, where did you learn that song?” Nathaniel looked at her confused.

“Um…what?”

“The song you were whistling earlier.” She started to hum it just as Liz and Kara arrived. A few seconds in and Nathaniel pursed his lips and started to follow along. She stopped and pointed. “Yes! Where did you learn that?”

“I don’t know. I just kind of picked it up somewhere.” Ashley glared at him.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“It would be a poor thing to lie about. It’s a beautiful song, I just can’t remember where I heard it. I think my mother used to sing it to me.” Ashley’s eyes widened.

“No way. That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“Because…because that’s my mom’s song.” Nathaniel raised an eye.

“Really? That’s strange.” He started walking and looked at her to keep up. Ashley and the others followed. Liz struck up a conversation with Nathaniel about being back at school and Kara stayed back with Ashley.

“Is it actually your mom’s song?” asked Kara.

“Yes. I can’t believe someone else would know it.”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“Not like this Kara. This was her song. I’ve never heard it anywhere else.”

“Have you ever told it to anyone else?”

“No, I’ve played it a few times here on my flute though.”

“That just proves Nathaniel is a weird stalker,” said Kara with a smile. Nathaniel turned back to her.

“Hey, no telling lies to the new girl.” Nathaniel shot back playfully. “Besides, if there’s anybody I’d follow around it’d be you Kara.” Kara narrowed her eyes.

“I’m sure of it.” Nathaniel grinned and looked at Ashley.

“I’ll ask my mom tonight if she taught me that song, okay Ashley?”

“Okay. I want to know where you heard it from.”

“Outside your window,” hissed Kara.

“Oh will you stop,” snapped Liz. Kara smirked.

“That one just speaks and never listens,” laughed Nathaniel.

“Which one of us were you talking about just there?” asked Kara. “Liz or myself?”

“Both.”

Everyone but Liz laughed. Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley caught sight of Shoren. He was turning away from her and looked upset. She knew he was parked near her and she wondered where he was going. As they entered the parking lot, Liz squealed.

“You brought it!”

“Of course I did. How else would I get to school?”

Ashley wondered what “it” was when Liz pointed enthusiastically. Close to the school was a small cornered off lot for motorbikes and one very much stood out. Ashley didn’t know anything about motorcycles, but even she admitted it looked nice. All of the work on it looked to be custom. The pipes running along the back looked bigger than they should have as did the tires. The white paint had a glossy look to it and there were a mix of dark blues and greens shooting down the side.

“This is yours?” asked a very surprised Kara.

“Yup. My dad and I started working on it when I was just a kid. I worked for all the parts and he taught me how to put it together. The paint job was a bit out of my league so he did that for me.”

“It’s awesome,” said Liz. “When are you going to take me for a ride on it?”

“When I get a second helmet.”

“So get a second helmet already.”

“Those are expensive,” said Nathaniel. “I’m still working on paying off the work on this.”

“Well…hurry it up,” whined Liz.

“I wouldn’t mind trying it out,” said Kara as she licked her lips.

“Get in line,” said Nathaniel.

“I don’t want to ride in back, I want to ride it. Lend me your helmet.”

“You’re funny,” scoffed Nathaniel. “Not in a million years.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Try driving Ashley’s jeep. Now that thing is fun.”

Ashley met Kara’s look and quickly shook her head. Kara had an insane gleam in her eye when it came to fast vehicles that Ashley didn’t like. She agreed with Nathaniel. Letting Kara behind the wheel of anything powerful would be bad.

“Alright ladies, I must be off,” said Nathaniel cheerfully. “I’ll hopefully see you all again soon.”

“Not too soon,” said Kara.

“So cold Kara,” laughed Nathaniel. He held out his arms to her. “Does this mean I don’t get a hug from you?” To everyone’s great surprise, Kara walked over and gave Nathaniel a big hug.

“Until next time,” said Kara in a cold tone. Kara moved away and Liz eagerly jumped on Nathaniel.

“Bye! I’ll talk to you later.” Liz parted and Nathaniel looked to Ashley. He grinned and held out his arms to her.

“Sorry,” she said with a smirk, “I’m not the huggy type.” Nathaniel crossed his arms and laughed.

“No love.” He pulled his motorcycle helmet off his bike and put it on. He hopped on and revved the engine a few times. “Enjoy!” he yelled through his mask. The girls watched as he gunned the engine and practically flew out of the parking lot.

“Show off,” said Kara.

“I think he’s just speed crazy,” said Liz. “He does that every time he’s on his bike. I’d be terrified to drive off at the speeds he does.” Kara gave a toothy grin.

“I wouldn’t.” They started to walk towards Ashley’s jeep when Liz looked at her.

“I’m surprised you didn’t take a hug.”

“I don’t hug people I don’t know well. I’m more surprised you took one Kara.” They both looked at Kara.

“Yeah, what’s that about?” asked Liz. “I thought you didn’t like Nathaniel.”

“Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer,” she said with all seriousness. Both Ashley and Liz looked at her in shock.

“Really?” asked Liz. A small smile crept onto Kara’s lips.

“I also want that bike.” All three girls burst out in laughter.