DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dark Angel. But I do own both seasons on DVD.

A.N. My other story, 'Faceless Anonymity' is getting a face-lift; I want to get a solid plot established before I carry it on. Many thanks to all those who read and reviewed.

Manticore High: Enrollment

Chapter One: The Roommate

Manticore High…Manticore High… Manticore High for the Young and the Gifted… Manticore High…No matter how many times I say it or think about it in my head, it just never really seems to feel real. I'm going to Manticore High for the Young and the Gifted! Ok, now that just sounds sad…

I'M GOING TO MANTICORE HIGH!

I just had to get that in before I went to pack.

I'm gonna blaze, then… I'M GOING TO MANTICORE HIGH!

MG

Max Guevera had her eyes closed and allowed her long dark hair to fly freely behind her as the wind coasted in from the open car window, blowing a pleasant cool onto her hot cheeks. Outside, it was a sweltering forty degrees centigrade, and though Max was (at first) pissed that the air conditioning in the supposedly high-tech SUV was not working, soon decided that the billowing air through her window was a lot more refreshing. After all, she reflected, a small smile pulling at the corners of her lips, she was not used to all this posh and so well-refined way of life. Having a car and a chauffeur was a massive step up the status ladder for her, and so was going to a boarding-school, or indeed, any kind of private school at all. Her father, Donald Lydecker (she never knew her mother even though she takes her surname), could never have afforded the fees for a place at a school that was as prestigious as Manticore High for the Young and the Gifted, had it not been for her hard-earned scholarship. Max's smile widened at the memory of the day when they had received her acceptance letter; the colonel (her dad) got a bit too excited, proceeding to further broadcast his pride with an exuberant celebration and soon, the neighbours eventually had to complain of excessive noise pollution.

The chauffeur interrupted her thoughts by whacking the horn at some random driver who had jumped into his lane without warning. He was a heavily uniformed man, with a stiff way of driving and speaking, though if that was only for Max's benefit, she didn't know. After all, she was only dressed in a pair of cropped trousers and a casual T-shirt, and had felt horribly awkward when she first saw the chauffeur and the sleek black SUV pull up in her front drive. He had something that resembled a vague twist of a smile plastered across his face when he first laid his eyes on Max, as if she were something that he wanted desperately to haul into the rubbish chute and watch get carted away for incineration. Max only smirked back and threw her bag into the trunk, refusing to let the stuck up man touch her stuff, as well as showing that she could hold her own against snobs.

A whole day passed by excruciatingly slowly, what with the intense heat and the fumes from thousands of vehicles traveling in and around the city. Max had to put up with the irritable chauffeur (though she did not know why he was so aloof) for what seemed like forever before she realized that they had been driving through empty private lanes for quite some time now. Not a single thing moved in the grey twisted roads leading to who knew where, and there were no lampposts to light the way. The car she was riding in was the only source of light, the headlights cutting through the quickly descending darkness like a pair of huge moons in the night fog. The tyres rolled onto crunchy gravel a few minutes later, and Max knew instinctively that they had arrived at the academy. She immediately ceased the flow of rude thoughts that were aimed at her chauffeur, as the hushed silence of Manticore High washed over her and held her mind in its steely grip. She could not see the institute through all the midsummer mist, but she could make out a couple of tall towers shooting off into the sky from some point in front of her. All her excitement about coming to the school was suddenly lost, engulfed by the darkness that rushed up to receive her.

Max clambered out of the car into the humid night air. She dragged her suitcase out of the trunk of the car and didn't bother saying goodbye to the driver as she made her way up what were, presumably, the steps leading to the main entrance of the school. The car drove away quickly, and the area around her dissolved into shadow. She shivered despite the warm air and climbed towards the dimly lit door that was situated at the top of the flight of steps.

Once inside the building (which was filled with extremely bright white light, painful for Max's eyes after being so well-adjusted to the dark) , she wandered around a bit, before coming to stand before a modern-looking office-type area, where a woman was tapping away at a computer and a few security guards were standing guard. One of them, a beefy man with a thick bristly moustache, noticed her at once and started stomping purposefully towards her with a menacing gleam in his eyes; the rest looked up and followed, pounding their fists into the palms of their hands. Max had the training to take on any man that was twice her size, but she didn't fancy the odds of three or four of them fighting her at once. But why were the school's security guards challenging her anyway? Didn't they know she was coming?

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," flustered the woman on the computer suddenly. She had just peeked up at the subject of the guards' attention, and had started to click rapidly with her mouse. She glanced up at Max again, and then at her screen, probably trying to compare her face with images on the file that had been given to the school by her father.

"Come closer," the secretary barked, sounding authorative, and waving the guards aside. Max rolled her suitcase with her as she stepped up; a subtle look to her right told her that the guards were watching her warily, with mildly confused expressions on their faces.

"Max Guevera?" the woman at the computer asked, once Max had come to stand by her desk. Max nodded. "The new girl?" Max nodded again, wondering why she had stressed the 'girl'. The woman's brow creased as she read more from her computer, then she clapped her hands and opened a drawer which contained a lot of cards, as far as Max could see. After rejecting a couple, the secretary 'ahh-ed' and selected a blue one, handing it to Max along with a manila envelope.

"Room 946," she said, her hand already returning to its mouse. "You have a roommate who'll answer all your questions. Oh, and you must report to the Headmistress tomorrow at 0900 hours."

Max frowned and opened her mouth to say something, but she had already been dismissed; a guard had yanked her suitcase out of her hands and was holding the elevator doors for her to step in. The teenager shrugged and walked into the lift, which clanged shut shortly after she had cramped herself inside. The guard ignored her, which was just as well, considering Max was not in the mood for much conversation that didn't involve the stuffy manner of the staff and the stupid driver that had been sent to pick her up. Best not to insult the systems in this school on the first hour of your stay, she reasoned, as a bell pinged loudly, signaling that they had reached the ninth floor.

The guard had enough grace to wheel her case to her room for her, whilst she trailed behind, eyes glancing everywhere, trying to take everything in. They passed rows of cell-like doors, the rooms inside blackened out and silent, like they were meant for something more sinister than dorm rooms. Room 946 was no different to any of the rest, and Max felt her stomach clench at the prospect of living there. All those thoughts of a nice comfy suite just went soaring out of the window, as she pushed the card into its slot and opened the door to reveal darkness and a cold chill that did not go with the warmth of summer.

The guard left her abruptly, but she didn't notice his departure. All her attention was fixed on the sleeping body in one of the beds in the room (which was small and only contained two beds, a window, and a room off the side which served as a bathroom). Her roommate was snoring, a crumpled shape tangled up in the bedsheets, broad and noticeably muscular. Max wondered how a girl could have grown to have so much muscle, and was already planning to spar with her if she had the chance; it would be fun to test herself against a more chunkier foe. Obviously, her roommate worked out a lot.

Max went back outside and shoved her case into the room, dumping the envelope on top of a pillow on the spare bed. She flicked on the lights, but that did nothing to rouse her roommate from her deep sleep (she had her head stuck under a thick pillow). Max frowned at the hairs on her roommate's legs, but refocused her thoughts on unpacking her things and taking out things for a much-needed bath. Glancing at her watch told her it was past midnight, but she was not tired (and rarely ever was). Max was just extracting a towel from her case when she heard a slight scuffle behind her and had a hand thrown over her mouth a split second later. Maybe her roommate was not as fast asleep as she thought.
Her attacker's free arm gripped her torso and prevented her from using her hands; struggling for breath, she rammed her heel into her attacker's foot and pulled her elbows back into its sides, hard enough to leave bruises in the morning. She delighted in hearing the sound of a gasp as she broke free of her foe's hold hold. Her aggressor didn't give up though; Max felt a slight whoosh of air escape her lungs as she was tackled to the floor, cracking her head against the cold concrete. Her roommate/attacker grunted, straddling her by the waist, and pulled back a fist to punch her in her face…

"What the hell…?"

Max was braced for the impact, but it didn't come. She quickly used her aggressor's obvious confusion to her advantage and rolled over, so that she was on top instead, and this time, she wouldn't hesitate to do some healthy skull-bashing. Her hands bunched into fists and where just about to make contact with his nose when…

Max froze. His nose? She retracted her arm and examined the body she was sitting on; a wide, muscled chest, toned legs and arms, slightly bronzed skin and… Max dragged her eyes away from the boxer shorts that were just about visible from beneath her ass, no doubt concealing a very important part of the male anatomy. She was blushing when she jumped off her aggressor's torso, and he also got up, his face coming out of the shadow.

"You're a guy!" Max exclaimed, just as he said, "You're a girl!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed," said he said sarcastically, not in the least bit embarrassed that he was dressed only in his underwear in the presence of a girl. He circled Max suspiciously. "Why are you here?" he said curiously, ready for an attack if Max chose to throw one. "How did you get in? Speak up quickly, before I call security on you."

"Security brought me up here," Max told him shortly. She studied his face; dark blond hair, finely chiseled nose and a mouth that looked like it smirked a lot, not to mention his inhumanly glowing hazel eyes. He was extremely good-looking – too bad his attitude said otherwise.

"But who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded again.

"I was trying to unpack, but you went all psycho and attacked me!" Max yelled at him. She took several steady breaths to clam herself. "I'm your new roommate. I've just enrolled here."

Her roomie's eyes widened and a touch of incredulity entered his voice though his demeanor remained neutral. "What are you talking about; you can't go to school here!"

Max was starting to get really pissed off; this just wasn't her day. "And why not?" she asked him dangerously. All she wanted to do was take a nice long bath…

The boy looked her up and down cautiously before saying anything. He seemed to think she was lying to him, or joking around, but, either way, he gave her an answer.

"You can't possibly have enrolled at Manticore High because…"

He shot a look into Max's eyes that told her that whatever he was about to say was truthful and sincere, regardless of whether she was lying or not. She sighed impatiently and he opened his mouth to finish.

"…because Manticore High for the Young and the Gifted is an all boys school."

A.N. The storyline for 'Manticore High' has been nagging me all holiday, and will have a sequel (which I have already planned out), so, if people like it, I will happily keep posting chapters Please review and tell me if I should write more; thank you for reading my first chapter – hope you enjoyed!

Daygoner