So, this is my first Starship fanfic. A couple of friends got me into it... this week, I believe... and it's now my newest obsession. :) This fic will also be posted on my tumblr- takethesebrokeneyes- and my deviantArt (where I'm also raptoregg64.) This chapter wasn't edited much, as I really wanted to get it up. Please enjoy. :) And remember- constructive criticism is always welcome!

The hallway was lit with a bright, white light and painted a dull grey. It made a sharp contrast to the warm colors of his house as he walked through it, backpack slung over his shoulder and various papers in his hand. Various students lounged against the walls, chatting in groups. He could hear snatches of conversation as he passed them.

"- I heard that Dr. Lecter's son is joining the school-"

"- hey, did you see that Mexican chick earlier today-"

"- nineteen robots, he killed, all in ten minutes! Amazing, my Dad is-"

"- she punched a guy in the face when he asked where she was from-"

"- Mom says he was homeschooled before now-"

The sixteen-year-old bit his lip as he looked around the school's hallway, trying to find his way around. He ran a hand through his short, brown hair and sighed. There were two things that he disliked about the school already. One was that their uniforms- metallic, grey-blue jumpsuits- were extremely itchy and looked horrible on everyone except some nearby blond girl, who seemed the type of person that would look good in absolutely anything. The second was the students themselves; they were a loud, annoying group of teenagers who seemed to be more obsessed with their gossip and appearances than with the destructive Robot Wars. It was a humongous change from the quiet, clean home that he was used to.

He supposed that the school was a good idea, though. Attached to G.L.E.E.'s main base, it was built so that the children of many Starship Rangers could be with their parents while still getting a good education and preparing for their own training at the Academy. At least, that was what his father had told him. He wished that education there wasn't compulsory for G.L.E.E. families, though. He had liked learning at home.

"Uh, excuse me," he asked, trying not to tug on his uniform as he attempted to get the attention of that blond girl. "Excuse me!"

She looked up from where she was talking with her friends, glancing over him briefly before meeting his gaze. It made him mildly uncomfortable, having people stare at him like that.

"Hi," she greeted cheerfully, flashing a pearly white grin at him.

"Er, hi," he replied awkwardly. "I was wondering… do you know where the science classroom is? It's my first class, and I'm kinda lost…"

"Oh my Dead God, science is my first class, too!" she squealed, taking him by the arm and dragging him off. "Follow me!"

"Uh- yeah- okay," he replied lamely, stumbling after her and desperately clutching onto his bag and his map (which had been no help to him whatsoever.)

"My name's February," she chirped happily as she ran towards the science classroom. "February March. Like the month, but a person! It's great to meet you!"

"Uh… it's nice to meet you, too. My name's Junior. Maybe you've heard of me?" he asked hopefully. At her blank look, he added, "Okay, maybe not." He looked at the door they had stopped in front of- a slightly darker shade of grey than the walls- then looked back at his guide. "Is this the science classroom?"

"Yep! C'mon, the bell's about to ring!" she cried, grabbing him by the hand again- he wasn't sure if he'd be able to use it after this; she had an extremely strong grip- and dragging him into the room just as the bell rang. They quickly went to the two seats left under the stern glare of the teacher, an old, grey-haired lady dressed in an even older Ranger uniform.

"Alright, class," the teacher began once everyone was seated, "Since today is the first day of the new school year, everyone is going to come up and introduce themselves. When I call your name, please come stand in front of the class and state your name, as well as telling us something about yourselves. First up… Mr. Abernathy."

Junior watched with very little interest as students came and went from the front of the classroom, none of them looking particularly unusual until an incredibly short, Latino girl stalked up to the front.

"My name is Taziana Garcia. I am from Puerto Rico. Jou stay away from me, and I stay away from jou, entiende?"

With that, she walked back to her seat, angrily flicking her black bangs out of her eyes. He edged away from her as she passed- she didn't seem like a happy camper.

Sometime later, the teacher called his name.

"Mr. Lecter, please come forward."

He stood up from his seat, trying not to cringe as all eyes immediately went to him, and strolled forward.

"Er, hey," he greeted awkwardly. "My name's Junior Lecter. Maybe you've heard of me."

More blank looks came from the various students.

"Well, you've probably heard of my dad," he continued, a small hint of pride creeping into his voice. "He's the head of the whole Galactic League."

Murmurs of interest rippled throughout the classroom, and he could feel February's eyes on him, a curious smile playing on her lips as a light went on in her eyes.

"Tell us something about yourself, Junior, not your father," the teacher sighed, distracting him from the blonde.

"Oh, right. Er… this is my first day at school- I was homeschooled before now," he added, though it came out more like a question than a statement. With that, he hurried back to his seat, although people still continued to stare at him. He squirmed in his chair as their gaze didn't shift- he hated being the center of attention. He tried to concentrate on the other students that introduced themselves, hoping that his watchers would be distracted soon enough.

"Hi! I'm February March- like the month, but a person," February bubbled excitedly once it was her turn. "And my fave stores are Spacey's and Forever 21,000, so if you want to go shop with me, give me a call!" She smiled that brilliant smile again before skipping to her former spot.

After introductions had been finished, the class continued without incident. It was mostly review, and Junior found it incredibly boring. He knew all of it already. Couldn't they do something interesting?

The rest of the day passed in much the same way. Everyone introduced themselves and then they started reviewing everything that they had learned the last year. It was mind-numbing, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. He didn't need a stressful first day.

Of course, the only class that didn't conform to this schedule was Phys. Ed.

"Twenty laps of the gym, stat!" the coach bellowed, pointing a hairy arm towards the starting point. "Get going, or it's pushups for all of you! If robots were chasing you, would you hesitate to get moving?"

Junior started to run after the others, mild panic evident on his face as he started to fall behind on the fifth lap. He had never been an athlete, despite his parents' best efforts to have him join some sport or another. Really, the only one he had been any good at was baseball, and he had always preferred being the pitcher because it didn't involve so much running.

Halfway through lap number fifteen, he was sweating buckets and trying desperately to get enough air. The sweat stung his eyes, making it hard to see, and he could barely run anymore.

"GET A MOVE ON, LECTER!" Coach Jackson yelled, waving his fists at the boy. "MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!"

He let out a whimper, but somehow managed to drag his exhausted body across the finish line five laps later.

"Water…" he croaked. "… need… water…" He couldn't see. His vision was blurred, and it didn't help that he was lying face-down on the ground, either.

"Here, Junior," a girl's voice giggled, lifting his head up and putting a bottle of water to his lips. Half of it probably spilled onto his shirt, but he did feel better afterwards. A lot better.

He blinked slightly, his vision clearing, and gave an exhausted smile as he saw who had come to help him.

"Thanks, February."

"No problem-o!" she replied, grinning as she stood up. She was also dressed in the gym clothes, consisting of a white t-shirt and red shorts. She held a bottle of water in her hand and sipped happily at it as she waited for him to recover.

Junior quickly sat up, ignoring his spinning head, and shakily pushed himself to his feet.

"Thanks again," he told her.

"Like I said, no problem! I've got gym next, and you looked like you were about to pass out, so…" She shrugged, still smiling widely. "See ya later!" She tapped him playfully on the nose before walking over to her classmates, leaving him somewhat confused as he stumbled out of the gymnasium.

"Mom! I'm home!" Junior called as he pushed open the door to their house. He wearily dropped his bag down next to the door, staggering through to the kitchen and sinking onto one of the metal barstools lined up next to the granite countertop.

"Hey there, Junior," his mother replied with a smile, turning from the oven where she had been baking something- brownies, he thought as he caught a whiff of the smell, his mouth already watering- and walking over to him. She gently ruffled his hair. "How was your first day at school?"

"It was okay, I guess. Kind of boring, seeing how we just reviewed stuff. P.E. was hard."

"It's alright, you'll get used to it soon enough," she assured. "Did you make any friends?"

"There was a girl, February, who showed me to class," Junior told her tiredly. He suppressed a groan as a mischievous grin appeared on her face.

"A girl, eh?"

"It's not like that, Mom!"

"Sure it isn't," she teased gently before changing the subject. "I'm making brownies. They're nearly done; you can bring some down to Ariana in a bit."

Junior nodded, shoving aside the salt and pepper shakers to make room for his head as he laid it down on the countertop, closing his eyes to rest.

The beeping of the oven startled from his nap five minutes later, and he looked around, wild-eyed, as his mother gave a laugh.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. Brownies are done." She quickly pulled the tray out of the oven, grabbing a knife and slicing the marvelous-smelling contents into squares. "Get some plates out, if you can move."

He managed to make it to the cupboard where the plates were kept without collapsing and took out three plates, setting them onto the countertop.

"Thank you, Junior," his mother replied with a smile, putting two brownies onto each of the plates and handing two plates to her son. "Take one down to your sister for me."

He nodded.

"Thanks, Mom." He carried the plates down the stairs to the basement, trying to resist the temptation to begin eating. He walked over to the girl lying on the couch, huddled in blankets.

"Hey, Ria," he greeted, handing her a plate. "Mom made brownies."

"Great! Thanks, Junior," his sister replied with a smile.

Fourteen-year-old Ariana Lecter resembled their mother even more than Junior did. She was a frail, thin girl with pale skin and curly hair a shade darker than her brother's that tumbled down to her shoulders. Her large, brown eyes were set into a delicate face that seemed to be perpetually on the edge of emaciation. No matter how much she was fed, the many fevers and sicknesses that Ariana was subjected to kept her from gaining weight. It was rather worrying, but there was nothing that the family had been able to do about it.

"How was your first day of school?" she inquired, picking up a brownie and taking a bite.

"It was fune," Junior replied with a shrug, sitting down next to her. "I'm exhausted from gym, but nothing interesting happened."

"Except he met a girl!" their mother called cheerfully down the stairs.

"Ooh, a girl, Junior?" Ariana teased, grinning. "Was she pretty?"

"Mo-om!" Junior cried, his face turning a somewhat pinkish color. "You had to tell her?" He sighed, turning back to his sister. "Yes, a girl. And I guess she was kind of pretty." That was a lie- February had been very pretty. Not that he really cared about that sort of thing. Nope. Not at all.

"Ooh!" she giggled. "Are you going to ask her out? Buy her flowers? Chocolate? Pine over her, proclaim your undying love for her at the nearest opportunity?"

"Ria!" Junior scolded. "I only met her today!"

"Romeo and Juliet fell in love at a single party," Ariana pointed out.

"I hated Romeo and Juliet, you know that. They were both idiots." He rolled his eyes, standing up and grabbing his plate. "If you won't stop teasing me, I'll leave."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Just one more question- what's her name?"

"February. February March." Ignoring his sister's snort of laughter, he began to walk out of the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat my brownies and get out of this stupid jumpsuit."