Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or anything else from Sky High, and make no financial gain from this story so please don't sue.

A/N: YOU MUST READ OR YOU WONT UNDERSTAND! I'm not too good with the American school system (being Australian and all) and so I have taken creative liberty and decided that Sky High has a two year system, Junior and Senior. Most juniors are 16 or 17, and most seniors are 17 or 18. Story takes place after the events of the movie.

I Know My Place

I sat on the edge of a fence waiting for my bus and listened to my all time favourite band, The Cranberries, on my mp3 player, while playing absentmindedly with my tongue bar. There was still about 5 minutes before my bus was due to arrive, and so I waited in silence, staring down at my pink converse shoes that peeked out from the hem of my black hipster cords (which were an inch too long, one of the pains of being short).

I guess I had better introduce myself. My name is Jessica Day, but everyone calls me Jessie, and am the daughter of Martin Day and Tamora Bright (otherwise known as the Lady of Light, famous Super Heroine from the 80's, now retired). My father is a simple guy, he doesn't have super powers, but he is still my hero. I know that sounds so gay, but he is one of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met, one of those people who gets their kicks out of helping other people. I got lucky in the parent department.

I got my powers when I turned 12, and they surprised me a lot because they weren't anything like mum's. Instead of the power to fly and to manipulate light to create strong, and potentially lethal beams, I was a pyrokinetic. Unfortunately for me and my school, I discovered this during PE...the new gym has only just been paid for. But because all the schools in the area collaborate with Sky High (so any student's who manifests powers can be dealt with immediately) I wasn't punished and the school came up with a wonderful little cover story for me. After that my parents worked with me every day for the following four years so I could learn to control my powers, and so before I ever went to Sky High my skills were already far beyond those of all the other pyrokinetics in the school (granted there were only 3 others, but best is best).

The bus pulled up in front of me, snapping me out of my reverie and back to reality. First day at my new school. At my old school I had friends, but we were friends by default, a strange mix of people who sat together because at the end of the day, once all the groups had formed, we were the ones left over. We sat in a secluded corner talking, joking and being ourselves without any pressure to be something we weren't. And for those reasons, and probably more, we were colourfully referred to as "The Rejects". Each of us had a very unique, individual personality. There was Mel, the emotionally dependent, internet junkie who always had some sort of ailment, last time I talked to her she was having bad headaches due to her neck being out ... or something to that effect.

Thames was the token guy in the group, but he was more like one of the girls that a few of the actual girls, he was also bisexual (and not the only one) and was my personal confidant.

Kerry was the closest thing to a nerd in our group, and was also in a class all of her own, whereas we were people who didn't really fit in anywhere, she was quite normal, and could have had good friends, if she wasn't so damn annoying. She was, as harsh as it sounds, a pity a friend, and lunchtime just wasn't normal if the phrase "Shut up Kerry!" wasn't shouted at least once.

Then there was Beccy, the loud, overpowering one who loved a friendly fight, but when anything got serious she would run away claiming she hated confrontation, go figure. But we all loved her, she was a softie at heart.

Sophie is the sweetest person I have ever met in my life, so quiet and considerate. Of course, anybody who mattered couldn't see past the fact that she was slightly over weight (ok maybe a bit more than slightly, but I'm trying to be nice).

I would have to say though, Samara was my favourite, and probably for the simple fact that she was the most like me, we had a special connection, along with sharing a lot of the same interests. We never ran out of things to talk about, and when there was something wrong with one of us, the other knew instantly. She is the only one that knows about my powers, and she is the only one of my friends that I have told about my being bi. It's not that I'm ashamed, it is just something that I am not comfortable with being public knowledge.

Choosing a seat close to the back of the bus, I sat down and resumed listening to my music, it was Dreams by the Cranberries, I loved the way it sounded, so soft, harmonious and yet strangely haunting.

All my life,
is changing every day,

in every possible way.

And all my dreams,

are never quite as it seems,

never quite as it seems.

The people that were slowly filling up the bus (god how I hate buses) looked, on the whole, like normal conventional teenagers. I found myself analysing each one, wondering what his or her power was. And for that reason, I didn't notice when the bus turned onto a blocked road that ended with a rather nasty drop off a half finished bridge.

Ok, I might want to explain something before you see my reaction. When I was little I developed this horrible fear of buses, it seemed to me to be a very understandable phobia, afterall isn't there something very unsettling about a large cumbersome vehicle filled with screaming children and a slightly unhinged driver? I think so, and for that reason I could never tolerate more than half an hour on a bus, otherwise I would begin to hyperventilate, scream and once I even fainted.

Now, how do you think I was going to handle my bus flying off the end of a bridge? You guessed it, not well. As soon as the seat belts appeared from nowhere and the metal bar dropped down over my lap I noticed where the bus was headed, and I swear, my heart almost stopped. My parents had NOT warned me about this. Needless to say I was screaming long before the bus flew off the bridge, and I was hyperventilating by the time the two minute ride was over. Before the seat belts strapped over my shoulder had a chance to retract my entire body was ablaze and they melted in the heat, and just as the bus touched down i was up, grabbing my bag and storming to the front of the bus, ignoring the indignant yelps of those who got burned in passing.

I was still on fire as I stalked up the stairs to the entrance on Sky High, and only powered down when the principal demanded I do so. It was at that point, as the other juniors were reluctantly approaching that I quietly informed her that she would have to organize alternate transport for me, unless of course she wanted an entire bus full of students to go crashing down to earth in a fiery heap. I think she got the point, although it earned me a detention.

After a short speech on what a wonderful journey we had ahead of us, Principal Powers directed us towards the gym, the new junior class was larger than usual (around 150 students), and so it was expected that power placement would take up at least half the day. We were the last bus-load to arrive, so we were sent off quickly to join the rest of our year.

When we arrived the gym was already packed, I groaned inwardly, after the bus incident I was feeling particularly claustrophobic. It's at time like these when I am glad my last name begins with a letter so close to the beginning of the alphabet, so with any luck, I could get power placement out of the way within the next hour, then disappear for a while to get back my bearings.

The first girl off the list was a tall brunette who could levitate, unfortunately for her, she could only get a few inches off the ground, and therefore Coach Boomer (in his ridiculously short gym shorts) loudly announced the dreaded word "SIDEKICK!" The next guy, Brent-something could transform his skin into an impenetrable exoskeleton that could withstand having a car dropped on it. He obviously got "Hero." And so it went on, I kinda zoned out, only noticing the most interesting super powers, like the girl who was her own personal bubble machine. Boomer almost announced her as a sidekick until he noticed the highly acidic effect of said bubbles. When it came to my turn, I was lost in my own world, and so Boomer quite literally had to BOOM to get my attention. Scared the shit out of me. I sheepishly made my way onto the platform, then turned to meet the expectant gazes of the rest of my year.

"Power?" Asked coach Boomer, not very nicely I might add.
"I'm a pyrokinetic." I powered up, allowing my entire arms to be encased in wicked red flames. Coach Boomer smiled.
"CAR!" I squeaked, (oh the shame) but instantly reacted, sending a short series of basketball sized fire balls at the offending vehicle, effectively destroying it. I smiled triumphantly when Boomer loudly announced me as a hero.

On my way to the gym I had noticed a sign pointing to the girls bathroom, so as soon as I got off the platform I was on my way. I found it easily enough, and was even more relieved to find it empty. I stared at myself in the mirror for a few minutes, taking in my long black hair that was held of my face by two strands pulled back behind my head in what Samara had always referred to as a 'very elf-like hair style', and the complimentary black eye make up. Nothing drastic, just some black eyeliner and mascara to highlight the deep indigo colour of my eyes. I was wearing my trademark colours, black and pink. More exactly, a pink singlet with a long sleeved off the shoulder black top over it, hipster black cords, and my treasured pink converse basketball shoes. I also wore some jewelery, the permanent things such as my labrette bar (a small stud just under my lip, in the centre of course) and tongue bar, the sterling silver sleepers in the second holes in my ears, and my silver necklace with Irish Harp pendant. I was also wearing pink drop earrings in the first holes in my ears, as well as a few silver bracelets and rings.

I sighed and pulled my hair over one shoulder then splashed some water on my face (ahh the wonders of waterproof mascara!). Just as I straightened up to grab some paper towels the levitating tall brunette entered the room. Up close she was even taller than I had estimated, at least 6''2, which made me feel even shorter than I really was (5''4). Ok so I am short, big deal! Good things come in small packages. Tall brunette smiled at her and extended her hand.

"I'm Jane." I smiled back, feeling more friendly after securing some time to myself.
"Jessie." Her grip was firm, and she had a nice strong shake. My dad always used to say that you could tell a lot about a person from the way they shook your hand.

"You're the girl from the bus this morning." Oh god. "Don't worry, If I could control fire I probably would have had the same reaction." I smiled, at least she wasn't judging me for it. I opened my mouth to respond when the door opened again and another tall (albeit not as tall as Jane, but still taller than me) brunette entered.

"Oh my god, are you like, actually talking to that sidekick?" I blinked, realising the question was directed at me. "Coz you know this school runs on a certain etiquette code, which clearly states tat heroes and sidekicks do not associate with each other!" She strode over to me confidently and extended her small, perfectly manicured hand. "My name is Amy, I'm a shapeshifter."

"Jessie, pyrokinetic." I stated very matter-of-factly. A bell rang, and Amy cheerfully announced it as the bell that signals lunch, and then she linked arms with me and literally dragged me out of the room. Ugh, as much as I felt like I was betraying myself, I really wanted to get off on the right foot at this school, so with an apologetic glance at Jane, I allowed Amy to escort me to the cafeteria.

A/N: Ok, slow first chapter I know. But I wanted to get all the icky set up done before really threw myself into the actual story, so please review and tell me what you thought.