I looked up at the decorative letters, forming "Hollywood Arts". It was so towering and almost frightening. The thought of going to a school like this was so… overwhelming.

My twin brother and sister were looking up at it too, obviously not as impressed. Kayla had her arms crossed, her one brow rose, while Garrett just squinted at it.

"Funny," remarked Garrett, cocking his head. "I thought the sign would be bigger."

Kayla and I looked at him, our eyes narrowed. He shrugged at our looks, walking towards the building. I sighed, taking in a breath and looking down at my dark green jacket, white shirt, jeans and sneakers.

"I hope I fit the dress code," I said.

My older sister looked at me. "Trust me, you're overdressed."

My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

She scoffed. "You didn't look at the brochure, did you?"

I was slightly confused, but then understood, when we walked into the building. There were short shorts everywhere. I was not used to so much skin being shown around me. Kayla was right.

My brother turned to his twin. "Unfortunately, we're both in the same classes."

She smiled, innocently. "Oh, Garrett. It's like you don't know my little, angelic self at all!"

He rolled his eyes, before looking at me. "Are you gonna be alright on your own?"

I swallowed, taking in all the art and other people dancing. "I guess."

Kayla put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, don't get all nervous. It's just a school. It's no different from the past schools we've been in."

Garrett held up a hand. "Actually-

"Say another word and you lose the hand," snapped the blonde.

He put his hand down, smirking.

"We'll see you later," said Kayla, walking towards a hall.

I smiled at the squabbling twins. "See ya!"

Nervous didn't describe how I was, at that moment. I had never been around rich kids before. We had never even been rich, until my grandfather passed away and we inherited his mansion and fortune. Needless to say, I was having difficulty adjusting to the rich life.

Kayla and Garrett would fit in with the popular crowd quickly. They always had. They were both very talented in sports, singing, both the acoustic and electric guitar and were very attractive. You can't go wrong with curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. I don't know how many guys Kayla had turned down, but the number was growing. She was not the type to date in high school.

I glanced down at myself again. I was built bigger than my older siblings. Much bigger. It was not like I was overweight, but I had wide hips and a bigger… well, upper torso. I didn't get much blonde hair either. It was more of a copper red with a bit of blonde highlights. My eyes weren't blue either. They were a light green.

After a moment, I took in a breath and began to find my locker. It was early enough for me to put my books in the locker and then go to class. I glanced at the paper with my classes on it, finding the scribbled locker number.

I noticed that the lockers were all decorated, while mine was a plain gray. I just shrugged, unlocking it and starting to unload my books.

"Hey!"

I looked to my right, finding that a thin, brown-haired girl was beside me. She smiled, holding her laptop carrier against her chest.

"Hi," I greeted back, wiping a curl behind my ear.

"Are you new here," she asked, glancing at my locker door.

I smiled, a slight blush appearing on my cheeks. "Yeah."

"Yes," she practically shouted. "Yes!"

I took a little step back, while other students glanced at us. The girl blushed immediately and gave an embarrassed laugh.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I've been the new girl for so long that having one, who is newer than I am, is just so exciting."

"Oh," I said, slowly understanding.

"I'm Tori Vega," she said, opening her locker.

"Gwen Buckley," I responded.

She pulled out a book. "Oh, you're Irish?"

"Three quarters."

"Cool," she said, closing the door. "You don't have the accent, though."

"I only lived in Ireland for ten years and that was only periodically," I explained, closing my locker.

"So you're American," she asked.

I nodded. "I was born in Ireland, but my parents were born in America."

"Did they live in Hollywood?"

"My mom did," I answered. "My dad lived in Texas and went into the military."

"Ah, so you guys travel a lot," she said, catching on. "My dad said that military families travel all over the country onto different military bases."

I nodded, smiling. "Yep."

"How long will you be staying here," asked Tori.

"Permanently," I said, almost sighing. "My dad just retired and we're living in my grandfather's house so… yeah."

The bell rang. I looked at my paper, realizing that I hadn't even found my first classroom yet. Tori leaned over to look at the paper.

"What class do you have?"

"An Improvisation class," I answered.

"With Mr. Sikowitz?"

"Yeah."

She stepped back, beaming. "That's my first class! Come on!"

I gave a confused smile, as I followed her down a hall. She turned and entered a classroom, me following close behind. When I walked into the room, I was surprised at how many kids were in there. I was used to there being more than twenty kids in one room. There were probably only ten.

Tori sat down and patted the seat beside her. "Sit!"

I obeyed, setting my backpack beside me. "Thanks."

"Where is Sikowitz," she asked, looking around the room. She shrugged. "Oh, well. What other classes do you have?"

I handed the paper to her. "Here."

She scanned the classes and then looked up at me, smiling. "I have all of your classes!"

I couldn't help but feel relief. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said, excitedly. "I'll be able to show you classes and everything!"

"Yo, Tori!"

A young man with dreadlocks sat on the other side of Tori. She smiled.

"Hey, Andre," she said. "Andre, this is Gwen. Gwen, Andre."

"What's up," he greeted.

I smiled. "Hi."

A man in strange clothing and bare feet walked into the room. He got up on the platform.

"Alright," he said. "Before we begin, we need to introduce a new student, Miss Gwen Bucky."

I glanced at Tori and then correct, "Uh, its Buckley."

"Same meaning," he retorted.

My brows furrowed and I looked at Tori. Her one brow rose in confusion.

He grabbed a book from a stand nearby. "Since you are from a rather active acting background, here is the Bird Scene. You must pass it in order to act in the other plays, during the school year."

Ah, I though. The Bird Scene. Mom said that they would pull this out.

"Drive-by acting exercise," said Sikowitz, suddenly. "You're all monks, sworn to silence, and are trying to communicate with each other!"

The others stood up, pointing and trying to do sign language. I stood, following the gestures. This was rather… odd… to say the least.

"Very good, class," said Sikowitz. "You may put your rumps in the seats."

I looked over at Tori. "Is this normal?"

She smiled. "As normal as you can get."

Author's Note; Here's my first and maybe only chapter of my new fanfic, "Shine". This will have Christianity in it. If you do not like it, then don't read. It will slowly turn into a "romance" over time, but for now, all fun and nerves!

Review and comment!