Author's Note: Hi everyone! This is my first time ever writing a fanfiction story, so I hope you will take the time to give it a shot. Comments/questions/concerns...if you've got them, I want to hear them!

"You're sending me to Beacon Hills?," the girl said, as she looked on with displeasure.

"Well Rina, its not exactly like you can be picky after getting kicked out of St. Mary's. Fancy private schools don't exactly take in your kind either, and there's no way in hell I'm homeschooling your ass. Besides, public school should be nothing compared to where you just got out of, Rina," stated the older woman.

The girl rolled her eyes at the woman's obvious dig. Yes, she had a past. A not too recent past that involved eight months in an all girls detention center. But the girl still had standards.

"Though your condescension is just so on point, I would much rather be dodging forks and fists in juvie than going to school in the death trap that is Beacon Kills. Seriously, do you know how many people have died there in the last few months alone. Let me do the math for you. Take the number of people on the police force, divide it in two, and then add any number to that you want because thats how many! Not to mention one of the kids from the school was the killer."

"Stop being so dramatic and watch your language, young lady. Beacon Hills..." she said with a hard emphasis on the 'h,' "is a fine place to live. Most of the people who live here are rich and-"

"I didn't peg you for such the obvious gold digger, Julie" Rina said, cutting her off.

She continued on, pretending not to be phased by the girl's jab. "And one psychopath doesn't mean everyone here is crazy. You will start this Monday, so that gives you the weekend to get over your sudden superiority complex. And besides, there are tons of cute boys at Beacon Hills High."

"Wow, gold digger and a cradle robber. Is there anything else you want to add to round out your already outstanding personality?" she mocked.

"You'll never make friends with a mouth like that," Julie stated.

"Never stopped it before," she said on her way out of the room. As she reached the top of the stairs she could hear Julie whisper "crazy bitch" under her breath. But she held her tongue, not wanting to give away the fact that she could hear everything the other woman did or said from a distance well beyond the reach of the human ear.

Julie wasn't exactly parent material. All she really wanted out of being a foster parent was the check. But Rina didn't mind that so much because it meant they left her alone. She could tell that under the supervision of self-obsessed Julie and her dopey husband Ben, there would be no trips to a child psychologist or family meetings like with the rest. It was more like being a tenant in a boarding house. Except she didn't have to pay rent. Well, at least not yet, knowing Julie.

Rina had been living with Julie and her husband Ben for about three weeks now. They were the third set of foster parents she'd had since her real parents abandoned her at age 12. She had no other known relatives apart from a grandmother in Russia who was far too ill to take care of her. She didn't really know her, but she always felt a bit of a connection to the woman. She was always sending her things: books of fairy tales, cards, money. Unfortunately, the books were in Russian, a language she had learnt to speak from her parents, but could barely read.

After her parents left her, she became a really bad kid. She was constantly fighting and getting into trouble at school, the mall...everywhere really. But it wasn't her bad girl antics that sent her parents and the last two fosters running. They didn't run because they were sick of her, or because they were deadbeat parents. They ran because they were scared.

"Strange Occurrences," as it was written in the police reports. It was as if Rina was a magnet for them. Their little lives would be perfectly fine until she showed up. And then it would happen. Dead birds would be strewn across the lawn, small fires would spontaneously start, glasses would randomly shatter. It was like her energy was too much for this world to handle. She didn't understand at first, and for years she was almost as scared as they were. That was, until she realized she wasn't the only one. Not only did her heightened senses allow her to bend human capabilities, they also opened up her eyes to things the rest of the world can't even comprehend. The supernatural was all around her, and she soon learned how to manipulate her powers as she pleased. Self-taught and a bit reckless, she soon got herself into trouble, and behind bars. But you live and you learn. And when it came to her powers she was dead set on learning.

The next day came and the girl woke up late, trying to milk every second of freedom before she had to go back to school. She hadn't been in a real school for eight months and was definitely not prepared. Spring break had recently ended and starting at a school with only three months left was going to be rough.

"Julie," she said, "can you drive me to the mall today?"

"I'm busy," Julie said as she painted her nails while lounging on the couch in her signature velour jumpsuit.

"I see...You promised me almost three weeks ago that you would take me to get new clothes for school." she replied.

"Why do you need new clothes anyway, all you ever wear is those sweat pants and the same old t-shirt?"

"Well Julie, seeing as the last time I was in an establishment without a uniform I was 13, and there's this new phenomenon called growing, these are the only things I can fit into."

"Fine, we can go," she said. "I just remembered there's a big sale at my favorite store and I want to get more of these jumpsuits. But I'm not paying for you're stuff."

"I have my own money," Rina stated coldly.

In about an hour they were at the mall, which was packed with weekend shoppers. The girl split from Julie and made her way through the various shops. Luckily for Rina, her grandmother had been sending her money for the past few years after her parents left. Not being able to spend it in her previous situation, she had saved up more than enough to buy a kick-ass new wardrobe. Rediscovering her style after all these years was a challenge, but she managed to figure it out. She was defiantly on the darker side, but not in a Hot Topic wannabe goth type of way. And she liked to wear her makeup dark, to offset her near-ghostly pale skin and long, straight, raven-black hair.

While she was making her way through the mall, she began to pick up on something. A strange and strong energy. 'Other worldly,' she thought to herself. She looked around, but there were too many people for her to pinpoint the source.

"There you are. Are you done yet? I want to go home," a familiar voice said. Rina turned around to see Julie standing behind her.

"S-Sure," she replied, too occupied by her senses to really give much of an answer. "I'm done." With that they made their way to the exit.