Hi I'm back! After a month or so… or whatever, here's a brand new fic! And before I go on, credits to Chaotic Lullaby (Kat) for allowing me to write this fic… it was her idea… :D

So… this fic isn't set in the FMA world and it's set in a high school in the modern world:D And as always, I do not own all FMA characters in this story… other characters however, are mine, and are somehow based on my teachers. :D So… that's it for now. On with the story!

Chapter 1: The New Girl

It was that time of year again. September. The weather was getting chillier and chillier as each day passed by. The leaves on the trees were starting to turn from their normal green color to different beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange.

It was the first day of school for students studying at Fountain Hill High School. There was excitement in the air as students were chatting and exchanging stories. After all, it has been 3 months since they last saw each other.

However there was a young girl, probably sixteen years old, who was walking by herself. She wasn't talking to anyone, and neither would she stop and talk to someone. Other students ran past her, hoping to be able to chat with their friends or just hoping not to be late on the first day of class. Most of the students were already inside the building as she reached the school compound. She hesitated before going in the gate, straightened out her blue plaid skirt, which was part of the uniform which consisted of a matching blue jacket with the school crest and a white short sleeved blouse. She fixed her long blond hair which was in a neat ponytail. She adjusted her bag, and then with a deep breath,she went through the gates and inside the building.

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"Um… excuse me, but is Principal Havelock in?" Riza Hawkeye asked as she entered the principal's office of the school.

"Oh yes, he's in there honey. You must be Riza Hawkeye. I'm Ms. Fitzgerald, his secretary." Ms. Fitzgerald stood up and shook hands with Riza. Before the start of classes, Riza was given instructions to proceed to the principal's office on the first day of classes for further instructions.

"Have a seat first, honey… I'll check first if he's free." Riza smiled and sat down on the chair Ms. Fitzgerald pointed at. When she was seated, the secretary left her and entered a door at the end of a rather narrow corridor inside the office. Just a few minutes after she was left alone, the door opened and a male student wearing glasses came in. He too was wearing the school's prescribed uniform: Black pants, polo shirt, a school jacket with the school emblem, and black shoes. When he noticed that she was there, he looked at her, and Riza saw that his eyes were brilliant emerald green.

"Oh, I'm sorry, was I interrupting anything?" He asked. Riza shook her head no.

"New student?" he asked her. This time, Riza nodded yes. He gave a smile. "Well then, welcome to Fountain Hill. I hope you have a great year. I'm Maes Hughes, the student council president." He extended his right hand and Riza shook it and smiled.

"Excuse me first, Ms…"

"Hawkeye. Riza Hawkeye." He nodded and stepped over to the PA System controls which were inside the office. He flipped a few switch while whistling a little tune. Outside, Riza could hear the bell ringing. In fact, that bell was heard all throughout the school: Every hall, every corridor and every classroom. After, he pressed a button and spoke into the microphone.

"Good Morning Fountain Hill students!! This is your student council president Maes Hughes speaking. The morning bell has rung so please proceed to your respective classrooms and your teachers will be checking attendance at exactly 7:30. Class lists can be located on the board beside the faculty rooms. To the students who cannot find their names on the list, please proceed to the Students Council Office, or approach any Students Council member. Late comers will not be tolerated. Thank you and welcome back students!"

He switched of the microphone and flipped the switches. After, he made sure everything was in place before he gave Riza a little wave and a smile and left the office. At that very moment, Ms. Fitzgerald called Riza in.

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"Sorry you waited for quite some time, Ms. Hawkeye. I see you've already met our very energetic student council president, Maes… Good morning, I am Principal Peter Havelock. Please have a seat." He motioned to a chair in front of his table, and Riza sat there. The office was like any typical principal's office. File cabinets, piles of paperwork, famed photos and certificates and several trophies decorated the room.

"I would like to welcome you to Fountain Hill. Your aunt chose a very fine school for you, considering that we do not accept students who transfer on their third year."

Her Aunt Maybelle. She was the one who brought and took care of Riza after her father died, before sending her to the school. Her mother's siblings, including her aunt, had wanted to remove her from her father's custody ever since her mother passed away. They just thought he was to incompetent to take care of her. Riza didn't hate her father. In fact she loved and cared deeply for him, but she accepted her aunts' decision.

"Your homeroom adviser…" Riza snapped out from her thoughts and listened to Havelock. "…has already given me a copy of your schedule." He said giving her a piece of blue paper with her schedule printed on it. "It also has the names of all your teachers. Here, it is the teachers who go from room to room and not the students. To keep the order, somehow. So you will be in Third Year-A. The best class, most often called the Cream of the Crop class… but I'm sure you will manage, seeing on how you got excellent marks on your entrance exams. There are 8 classes in your year. Now let me tell you that you can be nominated and elected for any class or club position. The school allows students, may they be a transferee or not to run for a class position… only those with failing marks and those under probation are disqualified from running. Now… I think that's all that I have to tell you. I'll have Cora call your homeroom adviser." He picked up his phone and pressed the speed dial for the secretary's phone outside. "Ms. Fitzgerald, kindly call for Ms. Ramirez. Tell her to come to my office." When he had placed the call, he faced her again.

"Now as we wait… do you have any questions, Riza?"

"Just one, sir. You mentioned clubs. You need to pick a club in this school?"

"Oh yes. Here, we give the students a chance to develop their skills. And so we have clubs which are designed to help you improve. They are handled by professionals paid by the school, and of course, you are given a grade according to your performance. We have what we call a 'sign-up day' wherein students are given the freedom to choose their clubs and sign up. There are no try-outs whatsoever as we want to develop every students talents and not only focus on those who are very familiar. We believe that every student has a potential, and not just a select few. Do you understand? Ms. Ramirez will probably brief you on this, and all the same, I will be addressing the student body on that day." Riza nodded and said thanks. She looked at the blue clock on the wall. It was 7:35 already.

Just a few minutes later, somebody knocked on the door, and it opened. There stood a woman, probably a bit short of 5 feet or just exactly 5 feet. She was wearing the teachers' uniform: Brown slacks, a light brown blouse and black shoes with probably a one inch to 2 inch heel. 'Either way…' Riza thought. '…She'd still look short.'

"Ah, Ms. Ramirez. You've made perfect time… hold on a moment, you looked a bit flushed." Havelock stood up and acknowledged her.

"I'm sorry for that, as I had to run from the Student Council office. Some of the teachers seem to have misplaced…" She raised an eyebrow. "… Their class lists. And so, I had to ask Maes and Roy to reprint copies. I had to leave them for a while to deal with the, let's say, situation."

"You and your team have been working so hard. You could have called up the registrar's office and ask them to reprint the copies." Havelock chuckled. "Anyhow, I'd like you to meet Riza Hawkeye. As you know she will be in your class." Riza stood up, and gave a small smile. Her teacher nodded and faced her.

"Riza Christianna Hawkeye? I heard that you did rather well on your exams. Well, glad to meet you, Ms. Hawkeye. I am Ms. Diane Ramirez, and as you probably know already, I am your homeroom adviser." She extended her right hand, and Riza shook it.

"Well, I guess that's everything. Oh wait… your students' handbook." Havelock said as he opened one of his drawers and pulled out a thin blue book with the name and emblem of the school. "This is the Fountain Hill High school students' handbook. You need to browse it so that you will be familiar with the rules we implement here. But, I assure you that the contents of that book will also be discussed in your homeroom class. So, I guess I'll leave you to Ms. Ramirez. If you have any problems, you may, of course, approach me or her…"

"…Or any of the Student Council Members. I am pretty sure that they will also be able to help you." Ms. Ramirez interjected with a nod. "So, I think we have to proceed to your classroom now. Your classmates might be partying already in my absence." She said in a rather sarcastic tone and with a smirk on her face.

"I agree. Well, it's been nice meeting you, Riza and I hope you have a good first day here." Riza stood up.

"Thank you sir."

Ms. Ramirez nodded and opened the door. She motioned to Riza to follow her and closed the door after she exited the room.

This was it. The start of a new school year, and a new life for Riza.

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Well, that's the first chapter done. In the next few chapters when I introduce the teachers and so… I'll explain where I based them. They are based on my teachers now. ;)

So happy reading and please, please review. I just hope you enjoyed it,