-- Chapter One

No.

No.

Never in a million years.

Shit on a stick, no.

Drifting carelessly through a magazine, Alex Davison seemed about ready to fall asleep in his boredom. His eyes were drifting shut, and his fingers were lazily turning page after page. Each article he passed kept his attention only a second before quickly gaining the typical, “Hell no” response.

He just wasn’t that interested in guns.

Sure, he’d had a thing once upon a time for swords, having gone so far as to buy a few replica models from his favorite video games. But that had been short lived. Extremely short lived. And his fascination with knives had gone on for about a year. He’d gathered more than a few hand-crafted editions before that curiosity left.

Now, he didn’t quite care about any of the big-league weapons. Shuriken and Kunai were interesting enough, as was the classic bo staff. But on a more serious level, he just wasn’t into it.

No, Alex liked his video games and he enjoyed his anime on a more-than-normal level. His love for American comics only went so far, of course, but he most definitely obsessed a little too much over caffeine, with his favorite energy drink being a Nos.

He was a teenager with a streak for passion, and he believed exactly what he wanted.

“Alex! Alex!”

Disrupted from his supposedly catchy magazine, Alex faced his caller.

Panting, Winona gasped momentarily before seating herself on the grass in front of him.

“What?” he demanded, hiding the cover of the magazine before she could comment.

“Have you seen a girl pass you by? She’s got, what, brown hair? Kinda nerdy. And she’s wearing that one shirt Melissa gave me last year; the pink one?”

Alex shook his head, “No.”

“God, why do I try?” Winona rolled onto her back and sighed, staring at the sky forlornly, “It’s not like you ever pay any attention to anything.”

“I do too,” he defended, though he knew it wasn’t all that true.

“To your games, maybe,” she supplied, breathing in slowly.

They sat quietly for a few moments before Winona rather suddenly sat up, pointing her arm dramatically to the side, “You! Hey, you!”

She crawled to her feet and stumbled from the grass, her boots clomping loudly against the concrete of the sidewalk. On the receiving end of Winona’s call stood a nervous girl with a pile of books and a plastic bag. She looked frightened.

“You’ve got my stuff,” Winona remarked bluntly, as if it wasn’t obvious that the girl didn’t seem the type to wear anything so utterly revealing. A pink tank top and mini shorts.

Alex found himself smirking as he watched the conversation continue.

“Y-yes,” the girl squeaked, “W-would you like it back, now?”

“No, no, you can wear it all home. And take your time returning it,” Winona laughed.

“I’ll bring it all tomorrow, then,” the girl wiped some hair from her face, looking down. No confidence was the first thought Alex had on her. She was the type of person people shoved around and never cared about. She thought low of herself, so she was treated low. He hated people without backbones.

“You can find me over by that tree tomorrow, okay? See, the one with the cute nerd sitting under it,” Winona pointed his direction. Alex wanted to yell something cruel back, but she wasn’t paying any attention to him.

“O-okay,” the girl nodded and looked about ready to walk away.

“I’m Winona, by the way,” came the belated introduction.

“A-Adelle,” the girl mumbled back.

The overexcited Winona came back only after Adelle had left. She bounced along in her net stockings and sat beside Alex comfortably.

“She’s cute, isn’t she?”

Alex nearly choked on air, “Excuse me?”

“She’s cute, in a quiet, unnoticeable way,” a finger tapped on a chin. “Maybe I can fix her up a bit.”

“She doesn’t need fixing,” Alex cut in before any more ideas could flow.

“But you saw how cute she looks in a mini! Before lunch, she was in a boring t-shirt and faded jeans. She didn’t have anything eye-catching.”

Alex sighed. It was almost too late. Winona’s plotting had begun, and that meant no stopping her.

“What happened during lunch, then?” he asked when her expression grew particularly evil.

“I spilled my milk all over her.”

***

The night passed by far too quickly for Adelle’s liking. She wasn’t looking forward to a possible confrontation with the overzealous girl she’d met just yesterday. She quite liked her peace, and to have it disrupted in such a cruel way was. . . Well, it was cruel.

All yesterday, the attention had been on her. Whispers had passed through the students. Even the teachers noticed the difference in clothing.

Adelle had been relieved to head home.

Now, however, the morning was almost over. Lunch had arrived again, and she contemplated going home sick. She didn’t want another random encounter with an unexpected person, especially someone so awkwardly outgoing.

The bell rang.

Swallowing, Adelle gathered her books and made for the cafeteria, nervously hoping to have a peaceful hour to finish her partially dry book. No such luck. Again.

The girl, Winona, was already seated at the table when Adelle arrived. Her feet, covered with strappy heels, were propped up casually. She didn’t seem to notice any passerby could look right up her skirt without problem.

“Hey!” she greeted as Adelle cautiously set her things down on the opposite side of the table.

“Hi."

"So, I was hoping you wouldn't mind if a few friends of mine sat here today," Winona looked ready to beg, though the girl was too stubborn to take no for an answer anyway.

"S-sure, I guess," Adelle sat and pulled her book close, eyeing the slightly damp pages with intensity.

"Great!" Winona stood and waved her hands in large motions, "Guys! Over here!"

Adelle looked up, surprised to face the oddest bunch of teens she'd ever come across. Besides Winona, with her revealing top and skimpy bottom, there also stood a boy with a Batman t-shirt and, to her surprise, a mask; a gangly girl with a pile of DVDs and a long, almost sparkly skirt; and the boy from under the tree, who held a large can in his right hand and a thick book in his other.

Immediately, Adelle felt out of place.

"God, can you believe what they did?" demanded the one with the Batman mask.

"Don't get me started. It's awful," came the tree boy.

"Don't tell me you're on about the newest Naruto chapter. . ." Winona, herself, looked embarrassed this time.

"They've been talking about it all morning," the DVD girl spoke now. She heaved her load of cases onto the lunch table and sat. "I hardly understood a word, really."

"Hm," Winona leaned her chin against her palm and smiled at the stunned Adelle. "Not what you expected?"

Adelle found herself incapable of answering.

-- So, be grateful I didn't actually spoil anything to any Naruto fans out there. I was tempted to continue their conversation. But because I haven't actually posted anything at all, I cut it fast for an update. The spoilers will be in the next chapter during an "extreme" debate. So be prepared(-ish). And sorry its such a short update. This is sorta like my transition. I haven't written a high school story in over two years . . . I'm stalling.

But anyway, enjoy. I'll have another update much sooner.