Kim was running late – again. She quickly closed the door to her mom's car and hurried inside the Seaford High main building. She squinted against the harsh fluorescent overhead lights spilling into her vision.

The hallway was swarming with kids and teenagers, talking and rushing about. Kim ran to her locker and opened it as fast as she could. Once she got all her necessary books, she sighed slightly and combed back her hair with one hand. Catching a glance at her reflection in her locker mirror, she growled slightly at how terrible she looked.

Kim had woken up exactly fifteen minutes earlier. Her brown eyes were bloodshot, with faint purple bags underneath them. Her hair was frizzy and uncombed and her cheerleading uniform was wrinkled. She was positive her breath smelled really bad, too.

She closed the locker door and turned, only to crash straight into someone.

Books and papers went flying. Kim bent down to gather her things. She looked up at the person she'd collided with. She was a tall, thin girl with curly red hair and gray eyes. She picked up her books and smiled. "Hey."

Kim checked her watch and cursed. She shoved her stuff into her open backpack, crinkling several worksheets in the process. "I so don't have time for this. Look –"

The bell rang, cutting her off mid-sentence.

Kim cursed again, and ran up the now-empty staircase.

She burst into her classroom, completely out of breath. Fortunately, her period one teacher never showed up on time, so everyone was standing and chatting amongst themselves, too preoccupied to notice her. She found her seat and punched the guy next to her. He woke up with a start.

"I'm up, I'm up." The boy, Jack, rubbed his eyes blearily.

Kim rested her head in one hand massaged her forehead. "You better be. We better both be if we're gonna make it through the day."

[line break]

About forty-five minutes earlier

Janelle stood outside the main building of Seaford High School, thinking, this is it. Butterflies were turning her stomach into a nervous mosh pit. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside.

The inside looked exactly like your typical high school. There was a big stairway right in front of her, flanked by two hallways. The walls were lined with blue lockers.

She went to the office and gave her name to the woman at the front desk. She greeted her warmly, and gave her map and her class schedule. She circled all of her classrooms on the map for Janelle, and also handed her several notes to give her new teachers. Janelle tucked them into her back pocket and went back into the hallway.

After studying the map carefully, Janelle started down the right hallway. Just as she past by, a girl slammed her locker shut and walked right into her.

The girl dropped her things, and they both bent to pick them up. Janelle's eyesight was a bit blurry without her glasses, but she could tell that the girl was very pretty. She had blonde hair, a blue cheerleading uniform, and a pink backpack. Janelle handed her the books and said, "Hi."

The cheerleader checked her watch. "I so don't have time for this. Look –"

The bell cut her off, which Janelle was kind of grateful for. She was sounding a bit snotty. As if to accentuate that opinion, she cursed and took off up the stairs without so much as a "thank you" or "sorry for bumping into you." Janelle sighed and went quickly to her first class.