Dini here again. Yup, it’s exam time again, and of course my muses decide now’s the time for another little tale. This one’s again, just for fun, but I’m not posting up the whole thing at once, basically cuz it’s not even halfway done yet. I know, I hate posting uncompleted work and everything, but if I know that the beginning’s up here, then it’ll motivate me to finish it off for real if I decide to give up or something. Thanx.

.:Trouble and the Crew:.

.:Prologue:.

It was amazing how far the span of five minutes could stretch.

Sixteen-year old Joan McVeigh was getting tired of doodling utter nonsense on her Biology notebook. The drone of the ancient teacher's voice echoed within the boredom-filled lab; no student was paying any heed to the wonders of tRNA activating enzymes in the process of translating the human genetic code.

Joan's eyes swept toward the Mickey-Mouse clock atop the blackboard, willing the second hand to get a move on. Her whole being was itching to launch into its typical raising-hell mode, but with a sigh she remembered it was just Jesse and Beck who'd taken this class with her. The others had known better. And Joan knew it wouldn't be worth it without all of them in sync.

Suddenly, the dried-up teacher had directed his monologue toward Jesse, who'd been, as usual, sprawled in his seat, his shoulder length blonde hair swaying against the back of the chair. All eyes immediately lighted with unfeigned interest.

"Mister Blythe", the old man was croaking, "Can you name one codon base that serves as a stop signal in DNA translation?"

Joan had to suppress a smirk. Let's see you pull yourself out of this one, Jesse.

Jesse Blythe was as blonde and beautiful as he was unavailable and uninterested. There was always a lot of controversy going on around this boy, like constant rumors about what appendages he'd had his tattoos imprinted on, which was something not everyone in his own crew knew either. Not to mention he had a shadow of a small sword-shaped scar running across his left eyebrow, which people suspected was a result of some fight he'd gotten into. That was complete bullocks, Joan knew, for Jesse had had the scar since birth, but she supposed that people would think that less romantic than the theory they'd come up with.

Oh yes, he had a healthy percentage of females at East Tamroth lusting after him, and it was often unfortunate that he knew it. Jesse Blythe happened to be one of Joan's friends, as well as being a prize loser in Genetic Biology, though he was quite adept at other subjects.

"Mister Blythe?" came another croaky inquiry, "I asked you a question, and we'd appreciate it if you made an effort".

Joan saw the blonde boy turn lazy eyes through thin, blonde bangs up at the teacher, still in oppressive silence. Joan heard the tired, almost surrendering, sigh the old man gave, and she felt a pang of pity for he who failed to stop trying.

"Sir?", she called out boldly amidst the silence, raising her hand as all eyes shifted on her.

The old man swiveled stiffly towards her, probably aware that the waifer-thin brunette was saving Jesse Blythe's skin yet again.

"Yes, Miss McVeigh?"

"Wouldn't a base codon consisting of the enzymes Uracil, Guanine and Adenine be a suitable stop sequence for the translation process?"

Joan could've almost slit the air with a knife, (the Swiss knife tucked in her right combat boot, for example), so thick was the silence that followed her answer.

"Uh, yea…", came in a familiar voice from the back.

Joan didn't have to look at the back of the class like the others to know that Beck was joining her in aiding their friend.

"Yes, Beck?" the old man said, his eyes delighted that at least two members of the most notorious group in East Tamroth were literate.

"Nah, just wanted to add", Beck said loudly, (for he had one of those big, boomy, showman-type of voices), sending a braces-filled grin at Joan, "that the combinations of uracil, uracil, and adenine and also uracil, uracil and guanine could also suffice in terminating the process".

Jesse grunted out, somewhat belatedly, something that sounded to Joan like, "Yeah…what they said".

"Very good", the old man wheezed, a twinkle in his eye. "I'm glad to see you've been doing some backup reading".

Mercifully for Jesse, the bell rang just then, and Joan slammed her binders closed, uncharacteristically eager for her next class.

"Class", the old man croaked out one final time though, "I want a two-page write-up on polypeptide elongation by Friday…everyone except Joan and Beck. Yes, both of you are excused…Remember class, due Friday..."

Joan cheriched her classmates' groans as chair legs scraped against cheap black tiles, and Beck had come up to her, slapping her a high-five as he yelled, "Alriiight! No homework!"

"Really smooth, Jesse" Joan said, smirking at their audacious blonde friend, and who was now shrugging well-built shoulders at them.

"Gimme a break…", he said in his usual careless baritone, before starting to grin back at them knowingly, "Just couldn't be bothered…but thanks though. Later".

"Yeah, man", Beck said, looking at Joan in a way she totally understood. Jesse Blythe was no man of words, it was true, but he was still the epitome of coolness.

"I gotta go too", Joan said, making her way towards the hall, "History and all…"

"Uh huh, okay", Beck said, looking down at his watch briefly, "I got math…" He made a face, before adding, "Wanna swing by the Deck right now? It'll sure as hell be better than history or math". Joan laughed, shook her head at his proposal, (not that it was inconceivable), and headed towards her history class.

As usual, she was a few seconds late, and Miss Thea, as usual, ignored her as she made her way towards the back, where Calsy and Noor were sitting in customary silence. Calsy gave her an overly bright smile as she sat down, while Noor gave a typical raised eyebrow.

Two more members of their lovely cult.

So Jesse was their ringleader, and Beck was their main spokesperson because of his brilliant calls for the public's attention. Calsy was like the school slut, or as their clique put it, "Free Service in Heels". However, Calsy also happened to be Jesse's girlfriend, (which, frankly, Joan never came to entirely comprehend) and could be counted on to get the insides of any side they chose to oppose because Calsy, though a trademark blonde, was anything but dumb.

Noor, on the other hand, was a tall drink of bitter gall. She was lean, and mean, and one hell of an information machine. Noor had African, Asian and Arabian roots, thus she was quite an exotic specimen, with chocolate-smooth skin, long, long black hair which constantly was in a plaited bun atop her head, as well as having a pair of cool, unforgiving dark eyes that seemed to see all. She was their walking encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, and thesaurus, all pretty much rolled into one, fine-looking chick whom every guy knew better than to piss off.

"How is it", Noor was saying now in her deep, thick accent, "that you always manage to haul your sorry ass in here five seconds after the rest of us?"

But Joan, who'd long since come to learn that Noor's hostility was 40 usually totally unfounded and totally unintentional, ignored her.

"Today, class", the beautiful redheaded Miss Thea was saying, "Let's transfix our minds with the Spanish Civil War of 1937, when some people decided to kick the government's ass, starting with this dude called Franco…"

Joan grinned.

This was what classes were to be like, how teachers should be like; not bad to look at, easy to listen to, and easier to tune out from.

Sixty-five minutes later, the bell rang, finally signaling for the high-school's recess, and Joan, Calsy and Noor made their way for the huge cafeteria room, one floor above. The large oval-shaped room was already filling up with kids, most of whom swung them the usual apprehensive glances. The cafeteria wasn't usually Joan and her companions' base for their lunch hour, but yesterday's heavy snow had no doubt submerged their haven on the school's roof.

"There they are", Calsy suddenly cried out, pointing one perfectly manicured finger at the other end of the lunch hall, where Jesse and the others had claimed (with little protest, no doubt) the old raised dais facing the whole food hall.

The three girls weaved in and out of the lunch tables, completely ignoring the stares and looks of their fellow high schoolers, until they made it to the dais.

"C'mon up, ladies", Beck was calling, stepping forward to give them a hand up the platform, "Ready for some actual buzz in this pathetic human beehive?"

"What do you mean?" Joan asked as she got up on the dais, brushing off the dust off her knees as her eyes swept past Jesse, Colossal Cal, Willis and the others, and towards what looked like a microphone stand and one huge boom box.

"Yes, Beck", Noor said, (who'd gotten up all by herself, miracle of miracles), "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I am talking, ladies", Beck said, his braces partially visible, "about some rocking tunes that Calsy here is gonna pull for us right now…"

"Really?" Joan asked.

"Really?!" Calsy squealed excitedly.

"No, really" Noor added flatly, her eyes unbelieving.

"It's true", Willis coolly called out from his perched self at the large window. His blue eyes shimmered from the sunlight coming in, and an age-old black beanie that read "Rage" covered all his hair as usual. Willis was a technical prodigy, their pride and joy upon successfully hacking into the mayor's offices, and their relief when any rave party came rolling around, for he was one hot DJ too.

Remembering this, Joan's eyes fell towards the ground below him, where a length of some cords ran extensively from the boom box, and mike stand, to somewhere off the stage. Joan couldn't see the end.

"Hold on", Joan said, "There aren't any amps around...except those loudspeakers in every second room or something...is there? And there's only like, three…" She swept her eyes across the food hall, counting, "Yeah…four in here".

"That will only bring in some average volume scale, Willis", Noor said frankly, "In fact, the only projector efficient enough for this little stunt of yours is if we get hold of Dickhead's office and use his speakers for the whole school to hear instead".

Colossal Cal-(known so due to his impressive 'stature')-suddenly coughed. "Well", he said with a shy smile, "Where d'ya think Nel and Flo are right now?"

Joan and Calsy burst out laughing, and even Noor looked impressed. Nelson and Florence were the lovebirds, both tall, both silent, and both more than capable of any task as long as they were together. It still made Joan a little sick though, just looking at how hooked the pair were.

"Wait", she said, stepping towards Jesse, who was lounged against some large boxes, which had carried dozens of the corn-beef cans the cafeteria used. "Is this your idea, Jess? We're gonna have Calsy sing? Now?"

Jesse shrugged. "Why not? She's been nagging me for weeks…it won't harm anyone…"

"You've got to be kidding", Noor snorted rudely, her tall form leaning comfortably against a wall, "The whole school administration will have our heads…The students will love us…hate us…totally rat us out to Dick and his people and we'll get into a bucketful of shit again…"

They all looked at each other then, before sharing identical malicious grins.

"K…which song?" Calsy asked Joan, the two of them moving away to speak quietly.

Joan had been the first to really hear Calsy sing, at some old recital of their school's, and it had been Joan who'd seen the potential the pretty, if not a tad obnoxious, blonde had, and it had been Joan who'd given the time to coach Calsy every week.

"Donno…what do you feel like?"

A few minutes later, Nelson and Flo swept up on the stage from nowhere. Nelson nodded once at Willis, who immediately slung his legs down from the windowsill, and stationed himself at the boom box. It was probably toddler work for someone of Willis's technical know-how, but he was a good sport.

A few seconds of relentless screeching, (this was a spur of the moment thing, after all) and then every single loud speaker within the school, and even on the roof, had revved to life. Confusion set in amongst the student population as they probably thought it was another excruciatingly boring speech by Dick head, but as few heads turned towards the dais, and more heads did so…and more…

Everyone understood.

"Ladieees and gentlemen…" Beck boomed out, without a mike for he never needed one, "Allow us to rev up your pathetic, mundane…academic life as we cordially present to you, a little musical hors d'oeuvres…by our very own…Miss...Calsy...Baker!!!"

The whole cafeteria erupted into enthusiastic applause, (Joan suspected that it was more out of fear of the consequences if they didn't), and Calsy waltzed up to the mike stand at the center of the dais. Some soft bars of a tune started swarming into the hall, and Joan smiled, standing near Noor, who was wearing one of her famous expressions, of half scorn at the spectacle that was about to take place, and half amusement because of it.

"I'm sure you all know this song", Calsy purred into the mike, flipping her hair back once for maximum star appearance, "Feel free to join in anytime you like…Just so long as you don't drown me out…"

Joan laughed along with the student population, and then Calsy struck right into the opening of the theme song to the movie Fame, "What a feeling", which, though always being one of Joan's most despised songs, remained one of Calsy's most cherished.

The famous song blared out of the speakers, and some kids even got right up and started dancing. Joan herself was swaying to the great vocals Calsy was giving, wondering just how long it would take for Principal Dick to haul his usually purple-raged head in there and put a stop to it all.

Pretty soon, pretty much everyone in the whole cafeteria was dancing or shouting out the chorus with Calsy, minus a few, (Noor, who never danced, and Colossal Cal, who couldn't).

A few minutes into the dramatic break of the typical, East Tamroth lunch hour, and Joan finally saw the great cafeteria doors open at the other end of the hall, a surprisingly normal-colored Principal Dick stepping in.

"Doesn't look so shocked, does he?" Colossal Cal said, coming up next to Joan.

Joan nodded, suspicions slowly drowning out the music in her head.

Principal Dick stepped into the room, and Joan saw him turn back to the doors as two official-looking men in business suits entered as well. She raised an eyebrow at Noor, who also had her brows furrowed in concentration at the scene. Calsy, of course, was in her element, and thus could not be considered to even take notice of the visitors.

Principal Dick was looking up around the room, his eyes evidently scanning the loudspeakers…

Before focusing on them.

Then he did the unthinkable...he smiled.

Joan let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Every stunt they intended to pull and did pull always made her a little nervous at the possible consequences that could arise. Of course, it was never more than a detention or two at the very worst, mostly due to Jesse's parents and Florence's grandparents having been a few of the co-founders of East Tamroth Public School. But it had also been partially due to the irrevocable power Jesse and his crew wielded at Tamroth that had never pushed the administration off the cliff.

But Principal Dick was not rushing right into one of his tirades...Miracles did happen.

Joan was most uncomfortable at the uneasy smile the spindly man was giving them, and more uncomfortable as he made his way towards them with the two men following. If Dickhead was going to blow at them again, he already would have.

Noor, in typical logical mode, made a soft hissing noise with her teeth, the signal for any motion to halt gradually but fast. Calsy and Willis swept their eyes at them once and nodded surreptitiously, Calsy then ending the song on a dramatic note.

There was only a rustle of scattered applause as most eyes were on the Principal once again making his way towards the usual rule breakers.

"Mr Dickens", Calsy started, lowering the mike a tad and flashing a brilliant smile at him, "Why, whatever are you doing here?"

Joan grimaced as the man continued to smile, actually stepping up on the dais next to Calsy.

"Well, kids", he said, turning to look at them briefly with the smile, "That was quite the…uh, show…you put on here for us all just now. Quite…quite good", he said, looking somewhat distracted.

Something was wrong, Joan knew. This was so out of the normality of what East Tamroth endured. Even Jesse was raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Uh…May I?" Principal Dick said to Calsy, motioning for the mike in her hand, which she did gracefully in a second. Principal Dick threw one estranged look at the two men who had taken station near the dais wall, before firmly gripping the microphone and turning towards the student population of East Tamroth.

"I'm sure", he started, his eyes scanning the place, "that you're all wondering what on earth I'm doing up here, on an abandoned old platform, in a cafeteria room, no less, but I have…something to share with you today…a few changes…"

"Normally I would take to broadcasting this by the public speakers from my office, but seeing as how…" he turned back to face Jesse and his 'underdogs' with a strange amused look, "seeing as how they were already…in use, I find I'll have to resort to…this". He paused to smile again.

"So", he continued, "It has come to pass that there will be a few changes in our dear town Tamroth…not dramatically concerning our school, though", he added quickly, "However, it so happens that one renowned engineering company based in Germany has just lost one of its most prominent CEOs, a Mr. James Hulbrook, who has decided, for relatively unknown reasons as yet, to establish and co-found a new school with his brother…right here in Tamroth".

Joan raised an eyebrow, not having to turn to know that her compatriots were probably equally mystified. Their town wasn't like a major hotspot for establishing academic centers, after all. Why would they care who these people were? Plus why was Dickens being so uncomfortable about it?

She found out why as the middle-aged principal spoke again, with, what appeared to Joan, a somewhat forlorn look.

"I don't know how to say this, children", he said, wringing his hands slowly, "But…for reasons that are as yet unimportant to you all, I'm sure…the Hulbrooks will also have quite a hand at…certain things…around Tamroth, from now on".

Joan stiffened as she heard Noor inhale suddenly. What the hell was going on?! A hand at what things? And what the fuck did it have to do with them?

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to step down as Principal of East Tamroth Public School", Dickens said all in a rush, as if saying it in one rushed sentence would ease the difficulty it evidently brought.

There was an immediate wave of whisperings around the food wall, even a little protesting shouts sent toward the dais.

Joan blinked slowly, regarding the increasingly tumultuous cafeteria of East Tamroth, which had, but apparently only a while longer, the most eccentric, easily-enraged, but infinitely kind principal anywhere.

Even Jesse Blythe was looking out of it, and not because he didn't know squat about DNA transcription phase.

Dickens raised both arms to quiet the hall, which did in a second. "Vice Principal Staples will, of course, be in charge from my dismi…" he stopped abruptly, "I mean, departure…until further motions can be cleared for a next Principal". He paused again, looking profoundly thoughtful, before adding softly, "Take care. You really are the hope of tomorrow, although I know how dreadfully boring that sounds to you. But…", he paused again, with another smile, "Maybe you won't think so…later on".

And then in one swift motion, he was down the dais, and once more escorted by the two suited men, across and out of the hall in a matter of mere seconds.

And that was how, one fine day, East Tamroth public school became Principal-less.

And that was how Jesse and his crew wanted to get to the bottom of why East Tamroth became principal-less.

But more importantly, that was how, one fine day, Hulbrook Academy-with its expensive background, studies, and rich, condescending students-came to being, and made Tamroth town the living hell it soon was.