"I'm going to be late, on my first day of high school!" Tali shrieked, as ran out the door and charged out of the local Quarian RV fleet as fast as she could. Along the way she noticed a young Turian, also running in the direction of the high school, when suddenly, a piece of buttered toast went flying from and landed on her mask, butter side down. The toast slowly smeared down her visor, blinding her vision, and causing her to trip over a crack. The Turian, to his credit, noticed her fall, and went over to help her up and offer a napkin."

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I was in such a rush, and I lost my grip on my toast" he told her, as he gave her the napkin he had been carrying.

Tali accepted it, and began to wipe the butter off of her visor. "It's alright, at least you stopped to help. Most people don't care when a Quarian is hu- wait, why are you eating toast if you're a Turian?"

"Well, I'm late to school on my first day, and I figured it would be a convenient excuse if I just died from an allergic reaction." he said with as much of a grin as a Turian can make.

"You're willing to risk death to get an excuse from being late?"

The Turian was about to respond when a new voice came from behind her. "Oh Garrus, quit scaring your fellow freshman. It's just a dextro-amino imitation of toast that he likes to eat to freak out people who aren't aware of it. Name's John Shepard, by the way, and you are, miss?"

"Oh, it's Tali. Are you both going to Citadel High School too?"

"That's right, I guess we'll be classmates. I hope we can be good friends."

"Thanks, I hope so too, but we should really get to class now."

Tali couldn't deny that she felt a bit of an odd connection with this random human. He had a charismatic aura about him, and not many people bother with Quarians like her. Garrus seemed nice too, but he wasn't winning any points for nearly scaring her to death like that.

They had all been late to class, and it turned out that they just so happened to share biology together as their first period. Doctor Solus was the teacher. A Salarian who seemed to relish in his ability to talk as quickly as possible, and frequently had to stop himself to explain all the jargon he was using. She took a seat in between Shepard (He preferred his last name to his last) and Garrus, and took to trying to figure out his lecture together. They were both intelligent enough, though she could tell that Garrus was more street-smart and his talent was definitely in other subjects. Shepard was about average, though he did grasp the material quicker than most.

She took a glance around the room at the other students. She saw Jack, a girl who was a delinquent in her middle school, and she hoped she'd never have to interact with her more than a quick greeting. There was Miranda, who was largely ignoring all the looks guys were giving her as best as she could. Jacob was next to her, and she had no idea how a freshman could be as buff as he was. There was a Krogan, one bigger than she had ever seen. He went by Grunt, and he was shooting spitballs at a sickly looking Drell named Thane. She heard that Drell had perfect memories, and wondered if he would remember the impact from those spitballs years later. Next was Kasumi. She heard about her before, and knew there were rumors her grades were because she was stealing test answers, but it could never be proven. She was busy staring at Jacob, and with muscles like those, she couldn't blame her. There were more classmates, but those were the only ones that seemed particularly interesting, even if some of them were for bad reasons.

The bell rang, and they all left. On her way out, Tali could overhear Grunt yelling loudly at Doctor Solus about the genophage. He seemed like a bully but, that gave her pause on if he was really such a bad guy. Then he headbutted the teacher, and her sympathy ended. Heart's in the right place on that subject, but he could use some debate skills.

Next was English with an Asari named Samara. She was a serene woman, with a touch of sadness to to her every word. There was a rumor around the school that her children were malformed somehow, but it was unknown how. Samara began her lecture.

"In my class, we follow a code of conduct. Break this code, and I will not hesitate to push for your expulsion."

Well, that was extreme. Tali had never been a troublemaker, though she couldn't help but wonder how long Grunt and Jack would last in here. Or what would happen to Kasumi if she got caught. Hopefully, Shepard wasn't a troublemaker, because she really wanted to stay with him. Garrus could hang out too, so long as he kept his comments to a minimum.

Gym with Mr. Massani was certainly an experience. He was an old war vet, and wasn't shy about sharing disturbing stories with the class. He would say it was to properly motivate people to stay in shape, but she was convinced he just wanted to ensure some students would be kept up in night. She was also sure he would kill her if he had to. He kept multiple swear jars that he had filled over the years in the locker rooms. Most of it was from himself, though Jack was on track to rivaling him. He didn't seem to mind, and in fact, it seemed they were forming a very odd friendship pretty quickly.

Thankfully, today was just running, and she couldn't help but notice how fit Shepard really was. Garrus was too, she guessed, but Shepard just continued to be an all around impressive human. She also couldn't help but notice that while most of the guys had been fixated on Miranda, Shepard had made more than a few glances her way during the run.

It was lunch time, and Tali was sitting with Shepard and Garrus. She had a dextro-amino paste, while Garrus went with more imitation food. Shepard was eating a sandwich and some chips that his mom had packed for him. They were supposed to be above having their parents baby them, but she couldn't help but find it cute.

"So Tali, what do you like to do in your spare time?"

Oh, Shepard seemed to be interested in getting to know her. Maybe that was a sign of something?

"Well, I have an interest in the mechanics of starship engines, I like science-fiction, writing my own stories, and my favorite movie is Fleet and the Flotilla"

Great, now he thinks your a weird geek with a inter-species fetish. She could hear Garrus snort at that last bit, and she thought for a moment that they would both burst out laughing.

"Really? I want to go into the Alliance after school and someday be in charge of my own ship. Maybe you can be my chief engineer?"

That was unexpected.

"I think I would like that, make sure you get a good ship, because I won't settle for some third-rate cruiser."

"It's a promise."

"Rather odd promise to make to a girl, don't you think? 'Hey babe, I'm going to get a highly advanced warship just for you!'"

He grinned, "Well, maybe I just think some girls would like that."

"Then you'd be right."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Garrus making gagging motions.

"Oh shut up Garrus" Shepard told him off.

Lunch ended, and now it was time for Geometry. She walked, sat at a table with Shepard and Garrus, and all was going well. Then she noticed it. A Geth was sitting at the teacher's desk. She screamed and ran out the door.

"We must inquire what has troubled that young creator so much?" the Geth asked Shepard and Garrus.

Garrus shrugged, and Shepard hesitantly responded, "Um, maybe something just spooked her. I'll go get her."

"Please hurry Shepard-Student, we will be beginning class shortly."

Unfortunately for Shepard, he was still searching for Tali thirty minutes later, when he found her on the other side of school.

"Hey Tali, is everything alright?" he asked.

"Nothing's alright, a Geth has infiltrated the school, and we're all about to die at the hands of a Geth terrorist attack, and I want to go home, and hide under my bed with you, where it will be safe, and I won't have to worry about Geth ever again." She was rambling like she always did when she got nervous, and letting certain things slip out that she'd rather remain a secret for now.

A slight blush appeared on Shepard's cheeks before he responded, "Tali, this might sound strange, but I think that Geth is out Geometry teacher.'

"What?"

"I'm not joking, it seemed concerned about how you reacted and told me it was about to start class."

"This school is seriously bizarre, and I don't know how to feel about this." she responded.

"I don't either, but surely there was a good reason for hiring it? Maybe this is part of those peace talks I heard that the council was initiating with the Geth?"

"I guess, but I'm not expecting it to grow on me. Let's get back before we get in trouble."

"Sure, but what was that about hiding under the bed with me?" he responded with a big, shit-eating grin on his face.

"Oh, that, was... well, uhhhhhh" she started to stammer, and for once, was thankful the mask was in her way to hide her blush.

"You know, the stage production of Fleet and the Flotilla is in town. Want to see it with me?"

Now she was really grateful to the mask that was hiding her blush, and stammered out her approval, "S-sure, I-i w-would love to go."

Not knowing what to do next, she gave him an awkward hug, and he eagerly returned it.

A new voice suddenly came out of nowhere and brought them back to the reality of the situation.

"I don't suppose you have an excuse for ditching class to engage in public displays of affection, do you?"

Oh Keelah, it was Samara.

Her first day, and she managed to get Shepard and herself introduced to Principal Hackett and Vice-Principal Anderson. Way to go me, she thought.

"Considering it's the first day, and the understandable nature of young Miss Tali overreacting to Legion's presence, I'm going to let this slide for her." Principal Hackett stated with authority.

Vice-Principal Anderson then chimed in, "We also received word from Legion that it gave Mister Shepard permission to retrieve her after her incident, and only didn't go itself because it figured it would only further upset Miss Tali. But please, don't take this as an excuse to continue skipping class. Legion is harmless, and it only wishes to understand and help organics."

"You both may be dismissed back to class. Don't worry about Samara's threats of expulsion, she's strict, and there's a reason she can only suggest it, but she is a good English teacher." Hackett continued. "I will recommend that if you continue to have issues with Legion, and we won't blame you if you do, don't hesitate to speak to our guidance councilor, Mr. Sheen."

A new human entered the room, "Please, it's just Tim." He then turned to Shepard. "I'm glad to have you here Shepard, I expect great things from you and what you can offer humanity in the future."

"Um, thanks?" Shepard responded with some confusion.

"Now then, I suggest you get back to class you two."

They both left the class, and on the way back chatted a bit more.

"You know, have you ever watched Star Trek? You said you like sci-fi earlier, and it's right up your ally, despite how old it is." Shepard asked.

"No, not really. Most of my sci-fi is Quarian in origin, and I never really looked into human sci-fi. Maybe we can introduce each other to some of our favorites sometime? Tali replied, feeling a bit giddy about where she was heading with this boy she only met today.

"I'd love to, come on, let's get back before Mr. Massani tells us about how being late once meant that he had to watch his entire unit get eviscerated before his very eyes."

She'd definitely have to be doing some research about human-quarian relations after school. Funny, she never once thought about doing this kind of thing with even other quarians, but this human got her interest in a single day. High School was certainly going to be interesting.