"Here goes nothing," Zoey Parker said as she reached for the eyeliner setting on top of the bathroom counter. It was her first day at Dakota Union High and she wanted to look decent for her first day at the new school. Her parents had gotten divorced that summer and her mother had decided move to Dakota in order to be closer to her new job. It was going to be a hard change since she just gotten used to attending high school her freshman and sophomore year. And now, as a junior, she was going to have to adjust to another school.

Despite the change, Zoey tried to be optimistic, which was becoming increasingly difficult with what was currently happening in the bathroom. The struggle to look decent on her first day of school, where first impressions always matter, definitely wasn't helping. Her dishwater-blonde locks were frizzy from the humidity of the late-summer air, and her hand refused to stop shaking while she was trying to put on eyeliner. She grimaced at the mistake she had just made in the mirror. The smooth, perfect line she had wanted to achieve was bumpy and uneven. She stared at her reflection in disgust.

"I look like a clown," she declared. "Guess I'm not wearing makeup today." The world would just have deal with it.

She sighed, stooping down to the cabinet under the sink and found a container of makeup remover wipes and started wiping the messy smudges off her face. After she had removed the excess makeup, she examined her hair. There was nothing she could really do about it, since she was already running late. She decided to tie it in a ponytail, revealing her natural light brown hair-color underneath, for the time being.

After she was finished with her morning routine, she checked the mirror one last time. Satisfied, she headed downstairs, sliding down the banister of the town home in the process. She passed by the kitchen on her way to the door, noticing that her mother appeared to have left for work already. She caught a glimpse of the microwave clock. 7:21. She was definitely going to be late.

She ran to the front door and snatched her purple backpack, which was resting on the floor next to the coat rack. Slinging the backpack over her shoulder, Zoey looked back at the interior of the house and realized that her older sister, Crystal, probably had already left for school. Crystal was attending community college and always drove her red Camaro to school. It would've been nice to get a ride from her, but Zoey preferred to walk anyways. After all, the school was so close. A little exercise couldn't hurt anyone. She opened the front door, locking it behind her, then stepped out onto the front porch. This was it. The first day of her brand new life in Dakota. All she could do now was hope for the best.

Zoey was desperately searching for her first period class. To her, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. All the halls looked the same, and she felt like she was wandering in circles. Of course she had been to a high school before, but it was set up completely different than her old school. A strand of hair had escaped the hold of Zoey's hair tie and dangled in front of her eye, tickling her nose. She blew it away in frustration, hoping she would find some enlightenment soon.

Both Richie and Virgil were standing by their lockers, waiting for the bell to go to class. Richie had his nose in a book titled Cyber Mechanics and was furiously taking notes, scribbling every precious word onto a little yellow sticky note. Virgil was listening to his iPod, more specifically, one of Adam's new tunes. It was about this time of year when he had first become Static, which reminded him of how difficult it was to keep his secret identity after all the chaos that had happened. Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he and Richie's identities were discovered. How safe would they be afterwards? How safe would his family be? Or Richie's?

Virgil shook his head; he did not want to think about this right now. He wasn't going to agonize over something that probably was never going to happen. Besides, it was the first day of school. No need to get worked up about anything. Talk about pressure.

He leaned against his locker, his foot tapping to the beat of the song and tried to enjoy what little time they had left before they had to start heading to class. He observed his surroundings, his mind lost in another world. Everything was normal, no different than last year. He recognized many faces, most of which who had been in his freshman class as well. He watched the sea of people pass by, though there was one student who seemed out of place. Her bleached blonde hair was tied in ponytail and she was dressed in a blue T-shirt and black yoga pants. She looked lost. Virgil had been taught to help others, especially after his mom had died in a crossfire several years ago. Therefore, he felt it was his duty to help the girl who was obviously struggling. He tapped on his friend's shoulder.

Hey, Richie."

Richie glanced up from what he was doing, obviously distracted with new discoveries in reading his book. He was probably coming up with new ideas for new inventions or for upgrading the condition of the abandoned gas station that was also known as their headquarters.

"Yeah, Virgil?"

Virgil nodded off into the sea of students making their way to their class. "See that girl over there?"

Richie adjusted his glasses to make sure he saw what Virgil was pointing at. He followed his friend's gaze and zoomed in on a girl with her dirty blonde hair up in a ponytail. "Yeah...what about her?"

"She looks lost. Maybe we can help her."

Richie didn't respond immediately. He appeared to be analyzing the situation. Unlike Virgil, he had been taught, mostly by his father, to mind his own business and to let people solve their own problems. But like Virgil had said, she did appear to be struggling. And just like his hero self, his civilian self couldn't let an opportunity to help pass him by.

"Sure," he finally said.

Virgil nodded and, without hesitation, began walking in the girl's direction, with Richie tagging closely behind.