Cascore's Note: Woohoo, another new story from me! I can understand your excitement! Yes yes, with three other projects that I still need to complete, taking up a fourth seems a bit overachieving, but, well, sometimes I just get overzealous. Anyway, I've always wanted to write a story about the Mario characters in high school (yes, it's been done before, and yes, I usually enjoy reading stories that are based in high school), and now I've finally gotten around to doing it. So I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Chapter 1: "New Girl"

"So what do you say? Me. You. Seven o' clock. Dinner and a movie?"

"How about this? You. A pair of scissors. Five o' clock. Castrate yourself?"

"Come on baby, don't be like that. I've noticed you noticin' me lately. And now I'm putting you on notice that I'm noticin' you too."

"Oooh, as smooth of a pick-up line as that was, I feel the sudden urge to pour gasoline all over your body and drop a lit match on you."

The first bell rang out all over the school and the scene showed Daisy to be leaning back against her locker wearing an orange hoodie and a pair of baggy blue jeans. She smirked as she held her blue backpack over her right shoulder and spoke with this Doogan boy who thought he had a chance of convincing her to go on a date with him.

"So are we done here, because I don't want to be late for class," Daisy asked sweetly as the boy backed off, feeling utterly defeated about the failure. He soon turned his own insecurity into anger, feeling determined to win this encounter.

"Man, I dunno why I bothered," he shot back as he began to walk away. "My friends told me you were a frigid bitch anyway."

"Nice talking to you too!" Daisy called after the boy as he walked off. He stuck his middle finger in the air, making Daisy scoff and head for the other direction. "The joys of high school. Best years of your life."

Despite constantly being around over three thousand other students throughout the day, high school was a lonely place for Daisy. The way she acted, everyone thought she was sarcastic to the point of being heartless. The way she dressed, everyone thought she was a poser and most believed she was a lesbian. Just because she had a slightly different sense of humor and because she dressed for comfort and not for looks, everyone assumed all these things about her that simply weren't true. And eventually, she'd given up on making any friends at all.

The biggest wall in her way though was the fact that she turned down every guy that approached her. She was a Freshman, only starting school a mere two weeks ago, and already two Sophomores, a Junior, and even a Senior attempted to ask her out on dates. And on every single occasion she turned them down, using varying degrees of sarcasm depending on how they asked: the sweeter, shyer guys that asked were turned down softly, careful not to hurt their feelings. For guys that appeared haughty however, she didn't hold back her true feelings and used her acidic tongue to turn them away, not caring if that guy would ever speak to her again. Why would she want him to anyway?

She knew exactly why so many guys appeared to be interested in her too. She was a very pretty girl. Her skin was soft and flawless and her hair always appeared to be perfect. Even her large clothes were kept tidy and in order, somehow managing to attract a number of guys despite the fact it didn't show off her figure at all. However, it wasn't only the fact that she was pretty that so many guys pursued her. She knew that one of the biggest reasons was the fact she was a Freshman. In other words, fresh meat, or, more accurately, as the Junior commented while hitting on her:

"Freshman? Haha, more like fresh piece of ass!"

Like a fool, he actually attempted to cop a feel, only to be met with a strike that would make him double over and cry in the middle of the hallway for several minutes. He would later wobble off to class with weak knees, where the teacher would mark him tardy before sending him directly to the nurse.

Yes, Daisy was certainly not setting herself off to a good start as far as popularity went, but really, how much could she care? So she didn't bother making friends with people who couldn't accept her for who she was. And she wasn't the typical bubbly Freshman girl who would giddily accept a date from a Junior or a Senior in a second. She had no previous interest in boys, and being in high school didn't change her ways in the slightest. And somehow, because of this, she was automatically made an outcast, forced to wander the hallways alone and to sit by herself during lunch.

She didn't mind though. She always carried a smile everywhere she went, never letting anything truly get her down. So guys thought she was a bitch and girls thought she was just odd. It didn't matter. Being alone wasn't truly as bad as people seemed to make it out to be.

For one, she wasn't forced to talk to anyone if she wasn't in the mood to, and she could easily avoid the unnecessary drama that constantly plagued the hallways of the school. Countless were the times that she passed by a group of girlfriends, all focusing their positive energy on one of their ranks that just recently had her heart broken because some guy used her just to get her in bed and dump her shortly thereafter. Hearing the empty promises of "cutting his balls off" or "killing him in his sleep" made Daisy wonder why none of the girls offered any constructive advice, like to think twice before trusting a guy like that again. And the astounding thing was that, the very next day, that heartbroken girl and that suddenly remorseful ex-boyfriend would be caught talking again, and, before anyone knew it, they were holding hands and making out in front of classrooms all over again. And worst of all, the girl's friends would just accept it. Honestly, how naïve would you have to be to get back together with this guy that just completely betrayed your trust? Daisy just couldn't understand. And, fortunately, the way things were going for her, she would never have to.

Maybe all this crap that people put themselves through could simply make an interesting story someday, when they realize they didn't have to go through it all in the first place.

For now though, she would simply take a seat in her algebra class. Front of the room, near the teacher and the whiteboard, where she always sat. Like every other, this was simply a normal day of high school. And Daisy couldn't be more excited to learn about the Pythagorean Theorem and it's many uses in the world of arithmetic.

–

Gym was Daisy's favorite class. It was the only one where she was actually admired and graded well for her tough and competitive nature.

Running laps? No sweat.

Playing basketball? Sure thing.

Dodgeball? All for it.

As a matter of fact, dodgeball was the game of choice this fine day, and the chosen captains always automatically clamored to add Daisy to their team first. Today, Toad was the lucky captain. He was granted the first choice, and he picked her right off the bat.

Toad. A truly good guy all around. He was a Sophomore and was currently happily involved with a Freshman Toad girl that he'd known since the seventh grade. Forever optimistic and a very good sport, it was hard not to like him really. And so far, he was the closest thing Daisy had to a friend. Sure, they never really saw each other or chatted outside of gym class, but they had a pleasant acquaintanceship during that hour of the day.

Daisy made her way over to Toad's side as a number of the males left behind in the group waiting to be chosen made their typical hormonally charged silent comments, staring at her more attractive parts. Unlike how she dressed for the rest of the day, Daisy wore a tight yellow jersey and a pair of orange shorts that hugged her skin comfortably for gym class. The clothes were nice and light, but, as a price, it did expose the body she hid most of the time. She really didn't care that she was showing so much skin, but, coincidentally, all the guys that tried asking her out just so happened to be from her gym class.

Once Daisy joined Toad, the team selection came to a stand-still. Everyone could hear the door into the building open up and close softly as someone made an entrance. The entire room turned to see who it was and excited whispers among the guys seemed inevitable as the new figure was another human girl, dressed in a pink T-shirt and a pair of matching pink shorts. She had her blond hair tied in a ponytail with a blue scrunchy, revealing pools of light blue eyes remarkably similar to Daisy's. The boys counted there lucky stars for having a girl as their new student as the green-shelled Koopa coach made his way over to the new arrival.

"Sorry I'm late Sir," the girl apologized, stepping forward a bit to meet the approaching instructor. "I got a little lost trying to find my way here."

"It's fine, it's fine," the Koopa coach muttered as he read through the names on his attendance sheet attached to his clipboard.

"I'd tap that," Daisy could overhear the Doogan that hit on her that morning mutter to his friend in the small crowd. The boy he was speaking to chuckled as a Koopa girl next to him nudged him in the ribs roughly.

"Shut up. God, you're such a pig," she whispered back. Daisy redirected her gaze over to the new girl, who appeared to hear what the Doogan said, for she blushed lightly, though she continued to keep her attention on the coach.

"Peach? No last name?" the coach asked after a few seconds of searching. Peach nodded in response and the coach made a mark next to her name on the clipboard. "Well, we're playing dodgeball today. Hope you don't mind."

After the slightly sarcastic remark, the coach led Peach back over to the group of students waiting to be picked for the game. The second captain, a pink Bob-Omb girl, picked her Goomba friend out of the crowd. Before making his next choice, Toad turned to Daisy, a common action, for the two usually consulted with each other before deciding on who would be a good addition to the team.

"Hey, think we should ask her to join us?" Toad whispered. Daisy looked over at Peach, who was being spoken to by the Doogan that just made the disgusting remark about her.

"Yeah, it couldn't hurt," Daisy responded.

Toad nodded and pointed out Peach from the small crowd. She made her way forward from the back of the group and smiled meekly as she joined the duo in front of the rest of the students.

"Thanks for choosing me," Peach muttered as she stood behind Daisy, who turned to have a small talk with her.

"We couldn't leave you to suffer while Doog actually talked to you," Daisy responded with a smile.

"Oh, is that his name?" Peach asked. "He called himself a 'smoking hot piece of man meat' when he spoke to me." Toad couldn't help but chuckle as he eavesdropped on this tidbit of information and Daisy rolled her eyes.

"He's a special case," Daisy informed. "Just ignore him when he says stuff like that." She appeared to think for a moment after making this statement. "Actually...ignore him when he says just about anything."

Peach's smile grew more natural as she couldn't hold back a giggle. Toad called out a blue-shelled Koopa boy once it was his turn to choose again as Daisy extended a hand.

"I'm Daisy by the way." Peach grasped her hand rather weakly as she shook it.

"It's nice to meet you," she responded. "My name is Peach."

Peach. The new girl. Like Daisy, her royal status as a princess was kept low-key by simply registering her to the school without a last name. Also like Daisy, people asked why she didn't have a last name. And, like Daisy, she gave varying responses, usually involving heritage, though, occasionally, Daisy liked to toss out, "The last time I checked, this was the Mushroom Kingdom," before walking away, leaving the person who asked to wonder exactly what just happened.

Over the course of the class, Peach would prove to be rather useless as a dodgeball player. If it weren't for a few of the other students feeling sorry for her utter lack of coordination and purposefully lobbing the ball over her head, she would have been a sitting duck in the heart of the game. The only thing worse than her skill at dodging was her ability to throw. Daisy couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl as she attempted to use the ball as a projectile. Sadly, what was meant to be a bullet turned into a dud as the ball dropped to a roll before even getting across the halfway point between the teams.

Despite her lack of skill or strength, Daisy and Toad couldn't say that Peach was a bad addition to the team. During the entire game, she smiled and laughed at herself about her own shortcomings, realizing she wasn't good at the game at all. Having her around felt like a breath of fresh air, for she was even able to get Daisy, who always focused on winning, to not take the game quite so seriously.

After a while, Peach proved herself to be a pretty stand-up girl.

–

Donned in her comfortable hoodie and jeans, Daisy emerged from the girls' locker room after class let out. Toad passed her by in the hallway before she departed and the two said their goodbyes to each other, letting each other know that they'd see one another again the next day.

Daisy began to head out for the cafeteria as Peach hurried out of the door just behind her. Dressed in a pink spaghetti strap tank top and tight blue jeans, Peach made her way over to Daisy quickly while securing her backpack over her shoulders. She tapped Daisy on the shoulder, causing her to turn and face her.

"What's up?" Daisy asked with a friendly smile.

"Um," Peach began rather shyly, looking away from Daisy as she spoke. It was obvious she hadn't done something like this before and Daisy could tell that her face wasn't only red because of the strenuous activity of the class. "I was just wondering if I could join you for lunch. If it's okay with you and your friends," she managed to ask rather quickly.

What friends?, Daisy wanted to say as she heard this. She refrained from letting the comment slip however and nodded instead. "Of course you can join me," Daisy responded cheerfully. Peach smiled brightly as she received the answer. She didn't notice, but she suddenly stood up a bit straighter and had more of a confident look as she walked alongside Daisy to the cafeteria.

Before transferring to this high school, Peach attended a small, all-girls private school that supported students from kindergarten all the way through the twelfth grade, and even provided several college courses for girls that wanted to stay at the location. After spending so many years at this same school, Peach felt the need for a bit of change. She was always a quiet girl and she did have her small group of friends, but she kept herself so absorbed in her studies that she was rarely able to give them the time of day. Growing up virtually alone and being taught to always mind her studies first, Peach became bored with her life in general as she approached her Freshman year of the high school program.

Entering a new academic stage of her life, Peach begged her father to let her transfer to a different school. He wasn't adverse to the idea, but didn't seem to listen to his daughter's wants as he began listing off other private girls-only schools that Peach could attend, a few of which that provided boarding for the students. In the initial conversation concerning the change of schools, it took Peach roughly ten minutes to get her father to listen and discover that she was just wanted to go to a public school; a school that had more than just a couple hundred students and that was accessible to anyone, not just girls from upper-middle to high class families.

Hearing this from his daughter, King Toadstool simply wouldn't stand for it at first. A proper princess could only be raised under the best that education had to offer, and away from the foul minds of adolescent boys that would bring nothing but harm to her innocent soul. Everything was stated with the intent of protecting Peach, but he was quickly countered with the idea that education in public schools was honestly no worse than that provided at a private one, and if she was meant to take a king when she was Queen one day, how could she hope to meet and attract a suitable man if she was always kept so isolated from them for the duration of her life? The argument made the king stop and think, and after several moments, he proposed planned marriage. Needless to say, Peach was appalled by the suggestion, for she was raised with the idea of marrying for love, not obligation.

Despite her fortitude, she had to wait until the weekend before the current morning for her father to allow her to leave the private school and enroll at this one. Being a princess herself, Daisy felt that she could relate to the story as she bit down into her juicy red apple. The pair rested in the courtyard provided specifically for lunch. The area consisted of about half a dozen tables, numerous low walls on which students could sit, and was situated next to a grassy lawn where the kids could play various sports if they so wished.

"Yeah, I had to get pretty rough with my dad to make him let me attend public school too," Daisy commented. "He started seeing things my way by fourth grade though."

"How did you convince him?" Peach asked from across the table, chewing on a morsel of her salad.

"We wrestled," Daisy responded nonchalantly. "I won two out of three rounds, so he had to let me attend public school from then on."

Peach was shocked that Daisy could impart this information as if it were completely normal. She had trouble picturing Daisy at the age of nine wrestling her father, the king of Sarasaland, and actually winning. Twice. That must have been very embarrassing for him.

"I was so glad too," Daisy continued. "I couldn't stand having to dress up for school every day and being around nothing but girls all the time." She gave a quick glance over to a group of Freshman boys squirting milk out of their noses and laughing like it was the most hilarious thing in the world. "Well, maybe that part about being around girls constantly wasn't really so bad."

"Are all the boys here really so bad?" Peach asked as she looked over at the same group with a disgusted expression. Daisy shrugged.

"Not really," she admitted. "I'm sure there are plenty of good guys around here. Like Toad for example, he's pretty decent."

Daisy could hardly finish her sentence before a stray soccer ball flew right at her, smacking her harshly in the side of her head and knocking her completely off her seat. Peach immediately dropped her fork and stood in surprised as several girls who witnessed the event nearby burst out in laughter.

"Mama-Mia!" a male voice could be heard a fair distance away from the table. Peach knelt down to help Daisy to her feet worriedly.

"Are you okay!?" she asked with a shocked voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Daisy assured, holding the left side of her face, which had gone red thanks to the sudden hit. Despite her efforts to sound okay, it couldn't be denied that the ball hit her rather hard and left her cheek stinging.

"Sorry sorry sorry!" the male voice apologized over and over again as the boy carrying it came closer and closer. Both Daisy and Peach looked over to discover a pair of boys running over to them quickly. They both looked rather similar to each other. They were both humans, both had the same brown hair color and hairstyle, bore the beginnings of mustaches, and had the same blue eyes. However, one was taller and skinnier and wore a green long sleeved shirt with blue jeans while the other was shorter and pudgier and wore a red long sleeved shirt with blue jeans. And upon their heads, they wore similarly designed hats. The boy in green wore a green hat with an "L" resting in a white circle on the front and the boy in red wore a red hat with an "M" resting in a similar white circle. They both also wore their own pairs of thick white gloves.

"Are you okay?" the one in red asked once the pair reached the girls.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Daisy reiterated for the boys. The one in red knelt down to pick up the ball, which came to rest a few feet away while the boy in green inspected the large red mark on Daisy's face.

"I'm really sorry," he apologized once again. "I didn't mean to kick it that hard and it just kinda flew over here."

"Really, it's cool," Daisy said with a chuckle as she observed the worried look in the boy's face. He obviously didn't know just how used to rough contact she was by now. As she looked at him though, Daisy realized his expression suddenly changed. Before he realized what he was doing, the boy blushed a slight red as he gazed into her large blue eyes. He found himself staring at them until the boy in red grabbed him on the shoulder.

"We should get back to the game Luigi," he suggested just before glancing over at Peach, who looked back at him as well. Their shared glance only lasted for a moment before Luigi shook his head roughly.

"Uh, yeah, you're right Mario," Luigi agreed hesitantly. "Um, sorry again. But it was nice to meet you..." he continued, leaving off the rest of the sentence to allow the girls to impart their names.

"Daisy."

"Peach."

"Right..." Luigi muttered mostly to himself as he and Mario began to leave. Daisy and Peach took their seats once more as Daisy stopped rubbing her cheek.

"Well that was weird," she said, looking at her wasted apple resting on the ground nearby. Peach was still watching the boys leave however, appearing to focus on the one in red, who stole a quick glance back at her at the same time. Moments later, the boy in green looked back as well. Upon seeing that Daisy was more focused on the dropped apple though, he turned back around. He could be seen staring downward at the ground shortly thereafter.