It was just an average day in the Wawanakwa High School cafeteria.

Trent Kort sat at a table with his friends. "Dude, I'm telling you. She kissed me!"

Tyler Barr, Scott Summers, and Cody Jameson all exchanged glances. "Um… are you sure that she kissed you?" Tyler asked curiously.

"Yeah. Maybe the lights were off and she slipped… or maybe you just dreamt it… or maybe you accidentally kissed your mom again…"

Trent punched him hard in the shoulder. "You swore to never speak of that again!" As Tyler and Cody laughed, Trent added, "And the lights were on! She knew what she was doing. What she was doing was kissing me!"

"Maybe she was drunk," Cody suggested. "That's what girls do. They drink, do some stupid stuff they'll later regret… Not that she'd regret kissing you, but hey, why else would she?"

Trent threw his hands into the air. "You guys are all assholes! Zoey kissed me. Zoey. Kissed. Me. I swear! It was the best party ever."

"Dude, you've been chasing Zoey since freshman year and you've been totally friendzoned. And now two years later we're just supposed to believe that she decided to kiss you?" Tyler asked.

"As if," Scott retorted. "Unless she admits it – which no sane girl ever would – I'm not buying it."

"Stupid Scott," Trent muttered, and the others laughed. Seeing a girl walk past their table, he called over to her. "Hey, Anne Maria!"

Anne Maria de la Cruz walked over. "Oh, hey Trent. Boys," she said. Being one of the popular girls, she was unfamiliar with the names of Trent's unpopular friends.

"You were at Lindsay's party last night, right?"

Anne Maria gasped. "Of course I was there! You can't expect me to miss a party! Come on, Trent, I thought you knew me better than that."

Trent grinned. "How could I be so silly. Anyways, did you see me there last night?"

"Oh, did I see you there," Anne Maria giggled, playfully patting his cheek. "You and that redhead girl! I saw, I saw!"

"Thank you," Trent replied as the popular girl walked away. He turned back to his friends and all three of them were staring at him with their mouths gaping.

"Is the entire world falling apart at the seams?" Scott called out to the skies.

Zoey Fitzpatrick sat with her best friend LeShawna Winters. "So girl, what's the big news you gotta tell me?" LeShawna asked sassily.

Zoey sighed. "Well, it's about something that happened at Lindsay's party last night."

"Damn, girl! I heard that party was off the chain! I wanted to go but I was sick. What happened?"

"I kind of kissed someone…"

LeShawna gave her mock applause. "Well good for you, pasty! It's been forever since you've had some fun. First guy since Mike. I'm proud of you!"

"You won't be so proud when I tell you who the guy was," Zoey added with a nervous chuckle.

LeShawna narrowed her eyes. "Was it my Harold? Did you kiss my Harold? So help the power vested in a bodacious sugar, I will strangle your string bean white girl neck -"

"No!" Zoey interrupted, shaking her hands. "It wasn't Harold!"

"Better not," LeShawna scoffed. "Just spit it out already! Who was it?"

"Um… Trent…"

"Damn, girl!" LeShawna exclaimed. "You've had him on a leash for years! You're crazier than I thought!"

"I have not had him on a leash!" Zoey replied.

"How did this happen!"

"I just kind of… kissed him. I don't know… and then I kissed him again… and there was some tongue…"

"Red, you've got game," LeShawna replied with a playful wink. Zoey rolled her eyes.

"That party was just insane."

"That party was just insane!" Izzy Adamson exclaimed. "Geoff got some drinks in, and things just went… insane!"

Izzy Adamson had a reputation as a wild party girl. Some students would claim that they've seen her more frequently drunk than sober, even at school, but to the surprise of many she was also in line to be the valedictorian the following year.

Izzy's friend, Bridgette Romalotti, made a disappointed face. "Geoff brought drinks in? He promised me that he was done doing that after what happened at Katie's party…"

Izzy just waved her off. "Chill out, Bridgette! It was nothing. Just one bottle! And it was nothing like Katie's. Nobody -"

"We don't speak of it," Bridgette interrupted darkly. A few seconds passed and the two girls laughed. "So, did you do the physics homework?"

"Pfft, physics homework! That's a good one," Izzy laughed. "Nobody does physics homework. That old bat doesn't even check it."

"Really?" Bridgette asked, surprised. "You used to be so conscientious about your work."

"Yeah, well… it's physics! Chill out, Bridge, don't be so hardcore!" The bell rang. "Hey, I've got Spanish. Wanna come over after school?"

Bridgette smiled. "Yeah, sure. Meet you by your locker!" As Izzy happily bounced away, Bridgette shook her head. "I hope she isn't throwing her life away," she muttered.

Five minutes after the bell rang, Duncan Stevens opened the door to his French class and sauntered in. Most of the class laughed; it wasn't the first time Duncan had been late. Mr. McLean was substituting the class and was presently asleep at his desk.

As Duncan took up his seat next to Owen Shields, Owen giggled loudly. "Ha, good one, Duncan, buddy!"

Mr. McLean snorted awake. "Huh? Shields – what exactly is just so funny that you had to wake me up from my beauty sleep?"

"Well, um…"

"Wait a second," McLean called out. "Stevens! You weren't here for roll call." He turned to Beth Pensky. "Was he?"

"No, sir," the goody-two-shoes replied with a gross smug on her face. Duncan had continually made fun of her over the years and it felt good to get one over on him.

McLean grinned. "Sorry, dude, but looks like you've got de-ten-tion! After school. Be there." Everyone made that sound that kids always make when somebody got in trouble.

When the noise settled, Duncan groaned. "Thanks, big guy. I really needed another detention."

"Hehe, sorry," Owen replied meekly.

"Yeah, whatever. It's no big deal. Who let McLean be a teacher anyways?"

"My thoughts exactly," came a quirky voice. The two boys turned around to see Dawn Cassidy. "He's a cruel, unfair man!"

Duncan and Owen exchanged glances. "Um… no offense, creepy girl, but I don't believe we've ever spoken."

"There's a first time for everything," Dawn replied with a smile. Owen giggled and Duncan gave a slight grin.

"I appreciate your wit," Duncan commented.

Beth, sitting at the desk right in front of the teacher's, as she always did, turned around in her chair and saw Duncan laughing and talking with Owen and Dawn. Dawn! Of all people to get roped into Duncan's jerkiness, Beth certainly hadn't expected Dawn to be one of them.

"Look at him, pretending like detention isn't even a bad thing," she muttered. "Oh, Duncan! You've tormented me far too long. I will get back at you!"

McLean, asleep again, snorted. "Hmm?"

Beth quickly lowered her voice and the substitute was out again. "Just you wait, Duncan Stevens – just you wait."

Geoff Deneuf and DJ Gabriels were spending their gym class shooting hoops. "Dude, Lindsay's party was off the chain!" Geoff exclaimed with a grin. "The drinks were pretty good, and the dancing was insane!"

"Dude, you got a girlfriend," DJ playfully reminded him as he made a basket from the three-point line. DJ was thinking of trying out for the team this year. "Remember? Kinda short, blonde, really pretty – think her name's Bridgette?"

"I know dude!" Geoff replied as he attempted the same shot and missed. "I'd never cheat on Bridgette, trust me. I just like to get loose!"

"As long as it didn't turn out like Katie's party…"

"Man, we promised never to speak of it again!" Geoff whined, stomping his foot. The two dudes laugh.

"Katie still refuses to acknowledge that I'm friends with you," DJ pointed out. After another couple of shots, he added, "How do you think Bridgette's gonna like it when she finds out you brought drinks to another party?"

Geoff waved it off. "It'll be fine. If anything, Izzy can calm her down. Man, that chick can party!" He took another shot and it ended up knocking into the head of one of the guys sitting on the benches. "Sorry, Noah!" Geoff called out.

Noah Kumar rubbed his head. "It's fine! No, really, I wanted a new concussion!" he attempted to throw the ball back to Geoff but it barely made any distance.

Geoff ran over and plucked it off the ground. "Oh, cool, then. Hey, did you do the psychology homework?"

"Yeah, why?" Noah asked suspiciously. He suddenly caught on to what was being asked of him. "No way, man. I spend all night working on my homework because I don't have a life. I'm not going to just hand it off to some pretty boy who spent the weekend partying."

Geoff flashed him a smile. "I'll give you twenty dollars for it."

"Would you like it now or later?"

Courtney Guinness, a wide, fake smile on her face, was giving the new girl a tour. "And there's the science lab… oh, and look, over here is the computer lab… and my favorite, the math lab!" She sighed. "Oh, aren't labs magnificent?" As the Student Council president, it was her duty to give tours to the new students as she was currently doing.

The girl, Dakota Peterson, looked extremely uninterested. "Um, yeah. Sure. Whatever."

"What school did you used to go to?" Courtney asked, pretending to be nice just for show. Every idiot is a voter, she thought to herself.

"Boney Island Preparatory Academy," Dakota replied, bored.

"Oh, I think I know some people that go there! Do you know -"

"Nope," Dakota replied.

Courtney glared. "Whatever. Now let's just wrap up this tour."

After walking for a few more minutes, Dakota suddenly stopped. "Um, Courtney? What's that?"

Courtney turned to her. "Oh, nothing. Just the gym. Full of sweat and physical activity."

"No, I mean… what's that?" Dakota asked again, pointing.

Courtney followed her finger and giggled. "Oh, that. His name is Geoff."

"Is he single?"

"I don't think so."

Geoff noticed the two girls. Smiling, he waved at them before continuing a 1-on-1 game with DJ.

Dakota grinned. "Well, that's never stopped me before."

Thanks for reading! This first chapter I'm using to set up the running storylines – Trent and Zoey's romance, Izzy's partying attitude, and Dakota stirring up trouble. I hope everyone enjoys this and I'll update soon, and reviews would be appreciated.