Zwei

"Hello, class. What are we learning today?"

Alana woke up from the nap she was indulging in with a start. Luckily the teacher hadn't noticed, then again, the teacher was asking the students what they were supposed to be learning, not exactly what she would call responsible and authoritative.

"With the Decades Dance tonight we've been covering the sixties all week," One of the students said and Alana jolted. Decades dance? They've been studying the sixties all week but the teacher had no clue? And this student was apparently so used to it that she didn't think twice before telling the teacher what they were studying?

What kind of shit school was this?

"Right. The sixties. The, uh, ahem..." The teacher looked oddly dazed and began writing on the board. "The sixties. I wish there was something good I could say about the sixties, but...Actually, they kind of sucked. Except for the Beatles, of course. They made it bearable. Uh, what else was there? The Cuban missile thing, the...we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."

"Watergate was in 1974 even though it is considered to be a part of the cultural decade of the sixties." Alana interrupted. "The sixties are also important because of the Stonewall riots that mark the start of the gay and trans rights movement in America to say nothing of the Civil rights movement and Second-wave feminist movements. Outside of America, the sixties were a decade in which the decolonisation of Africa grew faster, the Berlin wall began construction, coups in South Korea and Vietnam lead to temporary military rule, there were multiple civil wars all over the world, there was the destabilisation of the Middle east and of course China and the Soviet's relations becoming hostile. The sixties were revolutionary and important for the development of counterculture movements that lay the foundations of the equality in society that we strive for today. So, I'd say there's more than just the Beatles making it a bearable decade."

"That's going to be hard to fit onto your outfit for the dance but whatever works ." The teacher snarked and Alana cursed in her mind.

There was going to be a lot of self-study in her future, she could just tell.

"So, new girl, what's your name again?" Blondie asked her.

"Alana."

"I'm Caroline, this is Elena, Bonnie and Stefan." Blondie flipped her hair.

"Where's the cafeteria?"

"We'll walk you there, we have lunch too." Elena said sharing a look with the pale boy who was obviously her boyfriend. "So what brings you to Mystic Falls?" She asked, clearly interrogating.

"My parents are gone and my uncle lives here so here I am."

"Oh," Elena said with sympathy, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder, "I understand, my parents are dead too and it's-"

"Uhh, before you say anything too personal, my parents are gone as in marine biologists on what is very likely going to be a year-long expedition in the middle of the Pacific Ocean kind of gone." Alana said and there was a bit of noise from Blondie's general direction that sounded a lot like a muffled snort and the hand that had been patting Alana's shoulder stopped. Awkwardly Elena looked away and pretended to dust something off Alana's shoulder before letting it fall back to her side.

"Are you excited for the dance tonight?" Blondie asked, taking over the conversation for Elena. Blondie was quickly becoming her favourite if only for the fact that she wasn't as touchy feely as Elena nor was she looking at her with barely disguised suspicion like Bonnie.

"I have been awake for the last," A quick glance at her watch and Alana shivered, "thirty three hours, twelve minutes and forty six seconds, I will spend the dance sleeping like the dead. It's going to be so amazing." There was still a bit of time left for her to be able to go back to her uncle's place and sleep so she decided to be pleasant to the group of far too interested in the new girl considering they were part of the popular clique to be normal, bunch. "So Mystic falls is supposed to have a considerable of biodiversity, is there some kind of nature club in your school?"

"Umm, I don't really know-" Elena started and Blondie took out her phone and her fingers flew over the keyboard at the speed of sound while the other three stuttered out many different ways of saying 'They weren't nerdy enough to know about it'.

"There's a Nature Conservation Club that also doubles as the local charter of this amateur nature photography group, Patrick is the club head and the biology teacher Ms Lane is the coordinator, I have their digits but you're better off meeting them in person. The next meeting is during fifth period next tuesday."

"If I ever turn to theism, you will be the first goddess I worship." Alana promised Blondie who immediately lifted her arm and gently waved it in benevolence.

"I like the sound of that, the Goddess Caroline."

"Establish enough followers, have a few meetings and you could set yourself up with a tax haven of a religious institute."

"I could make cheerleading the form of communion." Blondie said very seriously, looking absolutely enamoured with the idea and Alana knew it was no time to move as far away from her as she could. Alana got up from her seat ignoring the almost full lunch still in front of her and slowly backed away, "Write a new bible full of new rules, better ones. We could have a subsection on rules to not dressing like a tarty whore!"

Alana ran.

Zwei