Chapter One

Roller Coaster

To some, it was a playground. To others, it was misery. To few, it was a place of academic achievement.

To all, it was a roller coaster of disappointment, happiness, anger, tediousness, elatedness, excitement, fun, disbelief… Up and down in a hectic motion beyond any fair ride.

The words "Jump City High School" were innocently emblazoned on the front wall, giving no warning of the experience beyond.

Bee switched her weight to her other hip, the hints of a confident smile tugging at her lips. Her dark eyes slowly scanned the school, taking in the boisterous crowd and the towering building. Though unfamiliar with this school, Bee had attended other high schools and was familiar with the setting.

She took a step forward, but was quickly intercepted by a flash of brown and yellow knocking her off her feet.

"Oomph," Bee gasped, the breath knocked out of her. Disorientated, she gazed up at the lazy clouds from her position on the ground.

A head, framed by long blonde hair, popped into her vision. "Wow, I'm sooo sorry!" the girl exclaimed, leaning over Bee's fallen form. "Are you okay?" She offered her a helpful hand, which Bee gratefully took, pulling herself up.

It took her a moment to find the girl again, as, at first, it didn't occur to her to look down.

"My name's Terra!" the girl introduced brightly. She was tiny – she didn't quite reach Bee's shoulder. However, despite her delicate stature, her blue eyes shone with hidden strength.

"Hey. You can call me Bee."

"Cool!" Terra squinted, examining her closely, before concluding, "You must be new." Before Bee could respond, Terra exclaimed, "Oh! You have to meet my friends. They'll love you." Grabbing Bee's hand, she pulled her enthusiastically towards a distant metal picnic table.

Surprised and somewhat bewildered at the open friendlessness of this girl she barely knew, Bee fell uncharacteristically silent and concentrated on keeping up with Terra's fast pace.

Around the table was a widely assorted group of people. First, Terra pointed out a pair standing a ways from the picnic table. "See the one in the dark clothes? The one who looks seriously annoyed? That's Raven. And the guy off to her side, trying to get her attention? That's Gar. They're both pretty cool, but Raven can get really moody, and Gar does a lot of incredibly stupid things. Like bugging Raven."

She then led Bee to the picnic table and sat down across from a trio of people. "Hey, guys! This is Bee," Terra introduce, wildly gesticulating.

A girl directly across from Bee leaped up. She was exotically beautiful, with long red hair and enormous green eyes. She leaned across the table and exclaimed quickly, "Hello, friend Bee! I am Kori. Tell me, please, what is your favorite color?"

Taken aback by the girl's sudden close proximity, Bee managed, "Er… Yellow and black."

"Glorious!" Kori exclaimed, throwing her arms wildly in the air. The boy next to her grinned, and grabbing her around her waist, pulled her into his lap. Kori smiled up at him and leaned into his chest.

"I'm Dick," he said. He had impressive black spike hair and wore sunglasses that seemed to blend into his face.

Suddenly, Kori squealed in realization and whipped out a small notebook. "I almost forgot!" she announced and, flipping to an open page, wrote down Bee's name and her two favorite colors.

"Kori makes clothes," Terra clarified, correctly interpreting Bee's strange look.

"Cool," Bee said calmly, flashing a smile at Kori. Kori grinned widely, but erupted into giggles when Dick began tickling her.

Leaning towards Terra, she murmured, "Are they going out?"

"No," Terra replied. "Yes. Well, not really."

Bee raised an eyebrow.

"Well, they've been best friends ever since Kori moved here from Asia, so they're really close. I'd say they're halfway there, though."

Across from them, Dick gently brushed away a strand of hair dancing in front of Kori's face, as smile lighting on both their lips.

"I see." Looking down the table, Bee asked, "Who's the guy down there?"

"Wow, I completely forgot! That's Vic. He's always building things. That or playing football."

"Huh," Bee replied.

Vic was enormous, and seeing her crouched over, tinkering with a miniature machine was almost comical.

She quickly turned her attention back to Terra when the blonde hit herself on the forehead. "I'm supposed to be meeting Roy at his archery practice! I have such a short attention span." Addressing Bee, she added, "That's where I was rushing off to this morning. See ya!" She tore off again, barely more than a blur.

Bee sighed and shook her head. Not wanting to interrupt the pair across from her, and frightened by an enraged Raven yelling at a cowering Gar, she slid down the bench until she was near Vic. "Whatcha making, Sparky?"

Wincing at the newfound nickname, he replied vaguely, "Hold on… Almost done…" Finally, a tiny light flickered on in the device. "Booyah!" Vic shouted. "I did it!"

Gar rushed over. "Dude, you finished? That's awesome!" The two high-fived.

Bee cocked her head to the side. "Well, what does it do?"

After a lengthy victory dance, Vic replied, "It allows us to connect out video games wirelessly across the world!"

"… What's the point in that?" Bee inquired, sarcasm fringing her voice.

"So we have practically unlimited opponents! Now, we can spend more time playing games and never grow bored!" Vic replied heatedly.

"Wouldn't you rather be doing something more productive than video games?"

The duo stared at her blankly.

Silently, Raven walked up to her. "Don't bother. They'll never get it," she advised flatly.

"Well, I still think it's stupid," Bee replied loudly, her eyes twinkling deviously.

The boys, too elated about the gizmo to bother defending their game against the sharp barb, returned to their whooping.

Bee sighed and turned back to Raven. "I'm Bee."

"Raven. Nice to meet you."

Kori bounced up, surprisingly without Dick. However, a quick glance around revealed that he was dancing with Vic and Gar, all of them looking utterly ridiculous. "Friend Bee! I have a question for you!" Catching sight of Raven, she added brightly, "Hello, friend Raven! I hope that you did not inflict too much bodily harm on Gar." Returning to Bee, she continued, "Do you prefer pants of skirts?"

"Pants," Bee replied decisively.

Before Kori could continue, a sharp ringing cut through the air. Bee winced.

"C'mon, you guys! We're gonna be late!" Gar yelled, running past them towards the school. To Raven's dismay, he grabbed her hand and dragged her along with him.

Wasting no time, the rest of the group sprinted behind them.

When they ran, gasping for air, through the double doors, however, no one was in class. Instead, there was a huge crowd gathered by the wall, dead silent. The group slowed their pace, exchanging uneasy glances. The atmosphere in the room was heavy, foreboding something unpleasant.

Vic easily pushed through the crowd, the others following in his wake. The sight in the middle of the crowd was, indeed, unpleasant.

Hanging by a rope around her neck was a dead girl, her long hair covering her face.

Kori gasped and leaned into Dick, who grabbed her hand comfortingly. Someone behind Bee screamed and began to wail, sparking an uproar.

A polished, professional woman, presumably the principal, waded through the crowd with a megaphone. "Everyone get to class! Now!" She repeated it numerous times, lacing in threats. Slowly, the crowd began to disperse.

Bee, one of the last to leave, heard the wail of police sirens as they neared the school.

-

Bee gazed around her first period class. No one was paying attention to the teacher, and the teacher herself was quiet and distracted.

A few girls were sobbing out in the hall, having run out after only a few minutes.

Everyone else, though, was silent. The possibility of a murderer, a serial killer, had been brought up, and no one could dispel it from their minds.

Bee had ridden the high school roller coaster before, but she had never experienced this dip: mass fear.

-

A.N. – Not much romance, yet… Next chapter will be with Raven.

FDG