Hey. To be clear this is me. I'm in Creative Writing and this is my semester project. I OWN this story. I've written everything for it. Don't want my teacher being like, 'oh snap, you stole this from the internet, FFFF!'

Anyway, enjoy.

I looked at the building in front of me. My eyelids closed and I forced myself forward. All my life was based purely on this place. A school solely based on scheming, scamming, being a con-artist, and of course, stealing.

You don't come to learn, this isn't the place for that. Here is where you perfect. You have to be at the top to be accepted. It took me three years to get in. I was too young, or I wasn't good enough. I was beat out by one spot last year.

"It's not going to walk to you on its own." I heard.

To my left, an old man. He motioned me to go faster. I nodded and walked quicker. When I looked back he was gone.

Damn hallu's. We call them hallu's rather than hallucinations. Once you even come within this place they follow you for life. Only if you are truly accepted of course. So I guess it's a good thing. Professors call them the 'guiding light'.

I walked into the office. Someone was pressing buttons on a typewriter.

"Ricky Savage?"

I nodded. He typed up more stuff not paying attention to me. Out of no where out shot an ID that hit me square in the face. I bent down to pick it up embarrassed.

The guy snickered. "Yeah, you're definitely a freshman."

I tried smiling. "Where-"

"Auditorium."

I walked into more doors and a smile spread across my face. This was the real school. It was painted brown, occasionally splattered with yellow. A large dome was above my head letting in sunlight.

The school's design like an outlet mall or a flea market. Except everything that would be a store is a class. There were signs of where to go, pointing the auditorium to the left.

It took me like five minutes just to get there. On the way I passed dorms. After orientation my dorm would be assigned.

The auditorium was huge too, painted black with a large stage in front. The sound took me by surprise when I opened the door. It was full. I was...

"You're late." A man in a suit and tie told me.

"Sorry." I apoligized.

He huffed. "Fine I guess. Take the next open seat." He told me.

I listened and walked to the seat next to a redhead.

"Hi." I offered. She rolled her eyes. Figures.

The lights dimmed and a woman walked on the stage.

"Hello students!" She shouted. "Welcome to your future! You've come from different parts of New America. Saia, Renma, and Descara."

The word Descara sent people into a roar. I was from Descara too, but I didn't feel the need to shout.

"Stop, you aren't there anymore. Now, you are home. You are thieves. Many different times you will find jobs that require this."

She held up a scroll. It was hard to see from the back, but in bold was the word Diploma.

"Being a thief doesn't always mean stealing. Thieves are masters at being liars. The military needs thieves. We lie, con, and steal important documents and artifacts from our enemies."

"Come with me." The redhead whispered to me.

"Huh?" I asked her.

"Are you a thief, or a wuss?" She asked.

Didn't need to be labeled a wuss my first day, so I nodded. She smiled and crouched. When she started walking past me she motioned me to follow. I did making sure to mimic her crouching.

We left the auditorium. When we got outside she took off her jacket. Her abdomen was covered with tools.

"Um, what are we doing?" I asked.

She turned to me and I noticed her facial features a little more clearly. Her face was round with freckles across her nose. Her eyes were an olive color with specks of yellow and blue to make it look a little more mesmerizing. When it came to makeup, she had only a small amount of lip gloss on. Really pretty.

"I'd figure we'd get a head start. Smart huh?" She asked me.

"Head start. On what, exactly?" I asked her.

She furrowed her brow. "You don't know?"

I shook my head.

"Oh, well there is this thing at the beginning of school where everyone tries to steal the school's artifact."

"The golden eagle? Won't we get in trouble?"

She sighed, obviously disappointed. "It's a replica dummy! Besides, you never wanted to break the rules a little?" She smiled.

"Right. Can I at least know who I'm committing this heist with?" I asked.

"Yeah, Ki."

My eyes narrowed. "Key? What kind of name is that?"

She walked close to me and punched me in the arm. "Don't be a jackass. Rule number one."

"Alright, sorry!" I told her. "If you would like to know the name of the guy you just assaulted, it's Ricky."

"Nice to meet you Ricky." She told me and tossed me a rope. "Want to know the plan?"

"Please." I told her.

She pulled out what look liked a gun with hooks on it. "Grappling hook. Then I'm going to tie the rope up, and you climb."

"Wait? Why can't you drop the hook down to me?"

"'Cause it's mine."

"I don't agree with that! And also-"

She raised the gun and shot before I could stop her. I rolled my eyes and waited for her cue. I saw her give the thumbs up, and I started my climb. I looked at the school. Outside was like a compound. Tons of buildings. I never figured when I would have the time to visit every nook and cranny. I looked up and walked toward her.

She put her finger on her lips and motioned me down.

I crouched and we walked to the window.

Ki pulled a laser out of her pack and carved a hole. She handed me the glass and I placed it on the ground next to me. She tied the rope to another post and started her descent.

"When we get down there," Ki whispered. "Don't touch the ground! Got it?"

I nodded. She nodded back and continued to the ground. She stopped just above the floor and swung to a large square. Probably a generator. She landed gracefully and silently.

I started my descent down and almost fell off the rope. Heck of a thief I'm going to make. I slid and made the jump, making the generator bend and creek.

Ki giggled, which made my heart jump a little. "Nice jump."

I smiled wacky and looked toward the eagle. It was shining from here. They did a good job with a replica. The eagle with his mouth open taking off. I waited for her next move and tried copying it down to the last detail. Until I slipped. She reached and tried to grab my hand but I hit the ground, hard. I recovered from my back pains quick when the alarms sounded.

"Ah! The games have begun! So soon!" I heard a voice over the intercom.

Ki jumped to the ground and ran to the case. She looked around quickly until she stepped back. I saw her running full force at the case until she jumped into it, breaking it and grabbing the artifact. She ran back to me, a couple of cuts and bruises she chose to ignore, and grabbed my hand.

"Let's go! We have to hide!" She pulled me up and we ran out of the room.

We were running so fast, cutting around the different corners between buildings. Occasionally we saw people on the ends of the corners, yelling for others to help chase us down. Finally we came to a dead end corner. At the end, tiny slits behind two buildings. We got in either one and she put her fingers to her lips again.

We waited for about thirty minutes until we heard an announcement.

"We're done! Ricky Savage, and Kiann Robinson, you have won! Please return the artifact and you will be credited the points.

We walked back together and Ki held it in her arms. "Thanks Ricky! Hopefully we can work together again later."

She smiled at me. She showed the tiny gap in her teeth, another cute feature. Her smile in itself was gorgeous.

"No problem."

We started our walk to the office. On the way she explained the importance of this. This was to scale out the Freshman, who would end up being a star. Though she could have done it alone, it will look better if you work with someone else to prove you can work in teams.

We got to the office, the eagle still firm in her hand.

Inside was the guy who greeted me earlier.

He laughed. "Ms. Kiann Robinson and the guy who got hit in the head with his identity, who would've thought!"

Ki smiled and handed him the eagle. "Thanks Randy."

Randy winked and grabbed it. I was a little stunned they knew each other, but I shook it off when he'd handed us our keys.

"Three seventy-two and two eighty for Ki."

I grabbed mine and we headed out.

"Well, thanks again Ricky." Ki said, orange hair blowing in her face.

I'm not going to sit and lie, I expected a kiss. Not on the lips, but on the cheek or something. No though, I got a handshake.

"You can come find me at lunch. I can tell you don't know a lot of people here."

I smiled which I was sure looked silly because a small smile spread on her face. "Thanks."

She nodded and walked away. I sighed after the eventful morning. If this was just the morning, I can't wait to see my dorm.

My dorm was the size of a four star hotel. Not small, but not big. Two beds, one was already messed up which I assumed my roommate was here, but wasn't in the room right now.

I walked to the restroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. Black hair, not too long, not too short, amber eyes and a pointy nose I wish I didn't have. In my opinion, on my best day I look like a possible super model. Then again my best days only came once or twice a year. I finally was coming into my own skin and not wishing I had someone else's. It took fifteen years though. I've always found myself lesser than the average male. It would help if I had a girl, obviously. That always makes things better.

"Hey!" I heard a deep voice shout.

I walked outside. A guy like five inches taller than me and fifty pounds heavier than me towered over me.

"This is my roommate? Ha! This will be fun." He said with an evil grin.

"Tell me, you scared?" He asked. He bent down, which had to have been hard because of his size. His hair was almost nonexistent. The small amount of hair he had was blond and his breath reeked of tacos.

"Uh. Maybe." I managed.

His eyes narrowed. Then he stood smiling. "Cool. Never admit you are scared, then the enemy will know he has an advantage. Huh? Did I scare you?"

I gulped. "No."

"Nice!" He said. He sat on the bed. "Name's Thomas."

"Ricky." I said still trembling.

"Ricky. You a thief?" Thomas asked.

I nodded. "Aren't you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Do I look like a thief. I'm a con-artist. Best liar in town. I need thieves though. Can you help me out?"

"What is the pay like?" I joked.

He grabbed his wallet and handed me twenty dollars. "Signing bonus."

I felt like I should tell him I was kidding, but I pocketed the cash. They had a store here. "Thanks."

He nodded. "More where that came from."

"Where is it coming from?" I asked curiously.

"Don't worry about that. Worry about the money you will be making." Thomas said.

My stomach turned. What did that mean? For right now, I brushed it off though.

"Maybe I can buy something for Ki." I said.

"Ki? Kiann Robinson?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"Might want to check with her boyfriend first. You will want to be on his good side early." He told me.

My heart dropped. "Boyfriend?"

Thomas nodded. "Yep, a fellow sophomore. Morris Buck, cool guy you'll like him."

"Yeah, sure." I blinked.

Thomas' eyes widened. I guess he figured out I sort of liked her. "Crap. I'm sorry."

I sat on the opposite bed.

"Hey, perk up. Have you seen the many of girls here? Actually, I have one for you. You seem like her type. Her name is Samantha, I'll introduce you at lunch. Gorgeous girl. People who meet her drop on their knees when they see her. Arguably a ten. I'm talking-"

"I get it, she's hot." I said.

He put a finger up. "Nope, not hot, beautiful. You'll see when you see her."

"Do you like her or something?" I had to ask.

He shook his head. "I did. Don't worry about that now though, you can have her. I'll introduce you."

That made me a little happier. "Cool."

"Alright then! See you at lunch. Clean up a bit." Thomas got up and left.

I went back to the bathroom and grabbed a brush. Had to look good for Samantha.