Jake Puckerman. How would one begin to describe Jake Puckerman? Well, if you asked a random student at William McKinley High School, they probably wouldn't give you a very detailed answer. That's because no one really knew Jake Puckerman. He was a mystery to the whole school. The one thing that everyone pretty much knew was that he drove a motorcycle and was late to class all the time. Sometimes he never even showed up to school. Sure, people thought he was bad kid who didn't care about school, but nobody knew about his dark past that's been following him around for almost his whole life. One person, however, was about to find out.

Marley Rose stepped out of her mother's car on a cold, windy Monday morning. She shivered violently, as she wasn't used to the harsh weather in Lima yet. Marley had just moved to Lima, Ohio from Los Angeles, due to her mom's new job. She was hardly thrilled. Los Angeles was always her home. Lima was nothing compared to the palm trees and the sunny beaches of the west coast.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, sweety?" Ms. Rose gently asked after Marley closed the door.

"I can find my way," Marley hissed. She instantly regretted it. It wasn't her mother's fault that her new job was halfway across the country. "I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean to be rude."

"It's okay, honey. I know you're going through a lot." Ms. Rose smiled. Just try to have fun this year. You're a senior. It wouldn't kill you to loosen up a bit."

"Thanks, mom," Marley laughed. "See you at home." With that, Ms. Rose drove away, leaving Marley standing in front of her new school all alone.

"Um, excuse me? Can you tell me where the office is?" Marley asked a girl in a cheerleader uniform once she entered the school.

The girl rolled her eyes and kept on walking, like she didn't even hear her.

Wow, that was rude. Was everybody at this school like that? Marley silently wondered.

After a couple minutes of walking around and asking students, she finally found the main office. She didn't realize the school was this huge.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The secretary asked.

"Um, my name's Marley Rose. I'm not really sure where I'm supposed to go."

"Oh, Marley! You're the new student! We've been waiting for you!"

Creepy, Marley thought.

"Here's your class schedule, and you're locker number," the secretary said, handing Marley some papers. "Your first class starts in five minutes."

"Thank you," Marley said as she walked out of the office. At least someone at this school was nice. She turned the corner, looking for her locker, when suddenly she bumped into something hard.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Marley said as she bent down to pick up the papers she dropped. "I didn't see you there."

The boy she bumped into grumbled something about how she should watch where she's going, and walked away.

Even though she only caught a glimpse of the boy's face, she was strangely affected by it. She wanted to know more about this guy, even though he was pretty rude to her.

Marley walked into her first period class and groaned audibly. It was European History, her absolute worst subject.

As soon as Marley finished introducing herself to the class, the teacher made her sit in the back of the room, next to a pretty Asian girl. "Hi, I'm Marley Rose," she said, reaching out to shake the Asian girl's hand.

"Tina Cohen-Chang," the girl answered back, gripping Marley's hand lightly. "Nice to meet you." She smiled.

"So, what are you guys learning about now?" Marley asked, a little concerned that since the class was already two months into the school year, she wouldn't be able to catch up.

"The Holocaust," Tina said. "Don't worry. We just started the unit. You're not that far behind."

"Thanks. So..." Marley said, looking around the class, "are there any fun things to do in Lima?"

"Where are you from?"

"Los Angeles."

"Ah. City girl." Tina nodded. "Well, the malls aren't quite as fabulous and expensive, and there aren't any beaches, but you can still find some fun things to keep you busy."

"Like what?"

"There's The Lima Bean. It's the coffee shop here."

"Is it like Starbucks?" Marley asked hopefully. Man, she would do anything for a Starbucks right now.

"What's Starbucks?" Tina asked innocently.

Marley gasped. Like, she actually gasped out loud. "How could you not know what Starbucks is?"

"Well, I mean the only coffee place we have here is The Lima Bean, and I've never been out of Lima before," Tina explained.

"Well, the next time I go back to LA, you're coming with me, and i'm getting you a Starbucks coffee," Marley said.

"You would seriously take me to LA?" Tina asked in astonishment.

"Yeah, of course. I've never really had a friend before," Marley confessed. "It's nice."

Tina smiled so big, the corners of her mouth almost touched her ears. "I've never had a real friend either."

"Hey, would you want to come over to my house after school today? I kinda need help unpacking my stuff."

"Yeah, I'd love to!" Tina exclaimed. She was about to say something else, when the teacher cleared her throat and glared at the two girls. Marley actually forgot she was in European History class for a couple minutes. She was having way too much fun with her new best friend. Maybe this school wouldn't be too bad after all.

So, do you like it so far? Sorry this chapter was so short; the rest of them will be much longer. The first couple of chapters are more about Marley, and her experience first moving to Lima, but Jake will be in the picture very soon. Stay tuned!